Free Web NovelThe apples were delicious—fragrant and sweet.
Before she knew it, dusk arrived. The orange sunset draped the orchard like syrup.
Vieya spent the entire afternoon playing with Aislin, relaxing while striking a balance between work and rest.
“Actually, Yuno and the others were originally elves of normal size, just like us. But a very, very long time ago, one elf from their clan blasphemed the gods, so the Moon Goddess descended a punishment upon the entire clan.”
“Punishment?” Vieya asked. frёeωebɳovel.com
“Mm, punishment.” Aislin nodded. “That branch of elves must offer gold coins to the Moon Goddess every month. Otherwise, their bodies will keep getting smaller—smaller and smaller—until they disappear from this world entirely.”
Her voice was soft. She took another bite of the red fruit and continued,
“After their bodies shrink, it becomes very hard for them to face monsters on their own. So growing fruit and selling it to other elves became the path their clan found to survive.”
Vieya nodded in understanding, then suddenly asked, “But why do I feel like she’s really afraid of you?”
“I was a bit mischievous as a child.” Aislin let out a heavy sigh. “I didn’t know my limits back then. When I got greedy, I’d bring my little friends here to pick fruit—but we didn’t have any money.”
“So you stole her fruit?” Vieya glanced sideways.
“Ugh, if it were just stealing fruit, that would’ve been fine. At least our parents could come later and pay for it.”
Aislin’s ears drooped as she spoke gloomily. “I didn’t want to trouble Yuno and the others, making them fly back and forth to pick fruit just to satisfy our cravings, so I chose to knock the fruit down with stones. But I used too much force and knocked her down from branches dozens of meters up.”
“Luckily, Yuno was small and light, so when I knocked her down, she only passed out. But I was scared to death back then... I thought I had killed one of my own people. Later, Mother personally came over, healed Yuno’s injuries, and then whipped me while she was at it. Wuwu... it hurt so much I didn’t dare sit on a stool for weeks.”
“......”
Vieya blinked, not expecting the elf lady to have been that wild as a child.
“Ever since then, Yuno avoids me whenever she sees me...” Aislin said softly.
......
Moonlight fell.
Inside the wooden house.
Under the warm yellow glow of the fluorescent lamp, Jasmine poked back and forth at the white dumplings on her plate with a fork. Her round eyes were filled with grievance and anger.
Her thoughts were still stuck at noon—after Mom finished lunch and promised to spend the afternoon with her.
“I just left for a moment, and Mom ran off again... saying nothing, just disappearing on her own...”
So disappointing. A mom like this...
Jasmine lowered her head. The white dumplings on the plate had already been mashed to pieces, dark filling spilling out.
I spent the whole afternoon making dumplings in the kitchen, and she still hasn’t come back this late.
Just as she was wondering whether Mom was busy with serious matters or out wandering around, there was suddenly some movement at the door. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
Jasmine turned her head to look. She saw Isabelle—carrying a crate of red fruit—walking in slowly. Disappointment flickered across her face. She had thought Mom was back.
But... where did so many fruits come from?
After hesitating, she stuffed the cooled dumplings from her plate into her mouth, then stood up to help Isabelle carry the crate.
“Oh my, little mistress, there’s no need for you to do this. I can handle it myself!”
Isabelle tried to refuse, but then she saw Jasmine use magic—waving out a stream of white air that instantly lifted the heavy crate.
Isabelle immediately felt much lighter.
“Fish-sis, can’t you use magic?” Jasmine asked curiously.
“Uh... well, my injuries haven’t fully healed yet. The doctor told me not to use magic casually, to reduce the chance of accidents,” Isabelle explained as she moved the fruit basket to the corner and stacked it securely, then wiped the sweat from her forehead.
“Thank you, little mistress.”
“It’s fine.” Jasmine shook her head lightly, then returned to the dining table. After a brief pause, she asked, “Fish-sis, have you eaten dinner yet?”
“Not yet,” Isabelle said, supporting her waist as she turned slightly. “What’s wrong, little mistress?”
“Why don’t you come eat with me? I made too many dumplings this afternoon. I can’t finish them by myself,” Jasmine said.
“Huh? Is that okay?” Isabelle asked in confusion. “Weren’t you saving them to eat with the master when she came back?”
“......” Jasmine was silent for a moment, then shook her head. “I won’t save them anymore.”
“Maybe the master just has something to do tonight and got delayed outside?” Isabelle tried to cover for Vieya’s staying out late. “For example, perhaps the elven royal court ran into trouble again and needed the Holy Sword’s envoy to hold the line—after all, the greater the ability, the greater the responsibility.”
“The elven royal court is very peaceful today,” Jasmine said slowly. “I asked Elliti. She said the top ten for the Elf Queen election have already been decided, and they’ve reached the written exam stage. All the candidate elves are staying home cramming and won’t come out to cause trouble.”
“Then maybe it’s something else—like the master went to the elven physicians to help choose nourishing ingredients for you?” Isabelle kept trying.
“Really? Fish-sis?” Jasmine’s eyes lit up. Maybe that really was the case?
Yes—exactly like that.
Not neglect, but a more subtle kind of love.
Jasmine’s thoughts became lively again. Mom was a rather dense slime to begin with. Aside from fighting, she was always a beat slow in other areas. When cooking, she had to prepare the seasoning order in advance just to get a dish out properly. When she was headmaster of the magic academy, she woke up early every day and was very proactive, yet still didn’t achieve much.
She put in the effort, but the results were never great.
So as her daughter, she had to be understanding. She couldn’t be full of resentment just because of a momentary feeling of being overlooked. Maybe Mom’s brain just hadn’t reacted yet?
Thinking this way, Jasmine’s face once again bloomed into a bright, ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) energetic smile.
Seeing the master’s daughter calmed down, Isabelle also let out a sigh of relief.
Phew. Being a maid in this household wasn’t easy either.
And this time, the master had clearly come to the Elven Forest with a purpose.
When her consciousness had sunk into the abyss, the master had told her so many things—happy things, troubling things, sorrowful things... As time passed, Isabelle had gradually begun to recall some of them.
The most important point was that Jasmine had two mothers. One was her own master—but the other’s identity was unknown.
And this time, the master’s goal in coming to the Elven Forest was the rumored revival ritual beneath the World Tree.
With all the clues interwoven, the remaining answer became obvious.
The master wanted to use the World Tree ritual to revive someone very important to her.
Who was that person?
So hard to guess.
Isabelle vaguely felt that she had grasped a crucial key to the matter.
Tap tap tap!
Just as she was lost in thought, there was a sudden knock on the door.
“Jasmine, I’m back,” came the slime’s voice from outside.
Click.
The tightly locked door opened at once. Vieya stood outside, still holding the posture of knocking. For some reason, the atmosphere inside made her hair stand on end.
What’s going on? Why is everyone looking at me like that...?
“Mom, have you eaten dinner yet?” Jasmine glanced at Vieya’s empty hands and asked softly.
“Not yet.” Remembering how she had gotten too carried away in the afternoon and forgotten her promise to her daughter, the slime girl felt guilty, and her voice unconsciously grew smaller.
“Hehe.”
Hearing that answer, Jasmine seemed a little happy. She smiled and ushered Vieya to the table, then picked up the yellow basin of dumplings and ran off to reheat them, quickly running back again.
The cooled dumplings were steaming once more.
Watching this scene of motherly kindness and filial affection, Isabelle felt warmth spread even through her corpse and couldn’t help but smile like a doting aunt.
“Mom, you know what? When I made the dumplings for you this afternoon, I prepared a surprise!” Jasmine said proudly.
“A surprise?” Vieya looked at the dumplings, then at Jasmine, her expression puzzled.
Jasmine nodded and smiled. “Yes, a surprise! Mom, guess what I added to the dumplings?”
“Don’t tell me you squeezed mustard and fish mint into the filling?” Vieya’s mouth twitched. She felt her daughter must be very unhappy about her breaking their promise and wanted to make it memorable.
For example—adding a stink bomb to soft, glutinous dumplings.
Facing her old mother’s suspicious, wary gaze, Jasmine stopped smiling and fell silent for a long while.
Vieya immediately felt awkward. Had she guessed wrong? After thinking, she probed again, “Then... super sour lemon?”
“......” Jasmine looked at Vieya, lips pressed together, saying nothing.
Vieya swallowed. “Then... stinky durian?”
“None of those.”
Jasmine’s gaze toward Vieya was complicated. She said slowly,
“Mom, I added a little love.”
Vieya: “......”
The warm atmosphere froze instantly, filled with the awkwardness radiating from the slime girl.
Sensing trouble, Isabelle hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over. “Ahahaha, dumplings don’t taste good when they get cold. Let’s sit down and talk while we eat! It wasn’t easy for everyone to get together for a meal...”
