Free Web NovelTime slipped by, and in the blink of an eye, afternoon arrived.
At that moment, the sun was swallowed by a swath of dark clouds, and the long street sank into inky gloom.
Aislin Iluvita Moon did not know why her father had suddenly decided to leave the Elven Forest. But after hearing about the transaction between Phoenix and Vieya, she found herself at a loss for words. Along the way, she silently escorted her father out of the city.
Her father said she was going to invite the other Demon King maid from the slime household to come and treat the Queen Mother’s illness.
“Be careful on the road...” Aislin looked at Phoenix and said softly, “Mom.”
Phoenix smiled and shook her head, signaling Aislin not to worry. She wanted to reach out and affectionately pat her daughter’s head, just like before.
But then she suddenly remembered that her daughter had already inherited the throne of the elven race, and that there were quite a few people present.
So instead, she simply stepped forward and hugged Aislin, then shouldered her pack and turned to Vieya.
“Good luck to you,” Vieya said with a beaming smile, waving goodbye—only to have Phoenix, using her height advantage, fiercely pinch her cheeks.
“Let go!” Vieya hissed reflexively, puffing out air.
“Mhm, and thank ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) you too,” Phoenix said.
She released her grip just in time, still a little reluctant, but clearly delighted at having won back a tiny round against the slime girl this time.
Vieya rubbed her face and cast a glance toward Marlam at the side, grumbling, “Take that martial monk with a bit of real strength along too. Otherwise I’m afraid you won’t make it back.” freēwēbηovel.c૦m
“Alright, thank you!” Phoenix said, offering her thanks once more in earnest. Then she pressed a red feather into Vieya’s palm and laughed softly.
“Take this as a gift. It can ward off misfortune and draw in good luck.”
“Isn’t this farewell dragging on a bit too long?” Marlam urged. She was already numb. Earlier, she had drunk too much, gotten tipsy, and been tricked by a certain monster girl, accidentally agreeing to something she never should have—escorting Phoenix safely to her destination, and then escorting her safely back to the Elven Royal Court.
That’s what happens when you drink too much. Your head turns to mush, and by the time Marlam realized what she had agreed to, it was already too late.
“Sigh, you’re all alone, so of course you can’t understand this kind of feeling,” Pike the little dog sighed wistfully, overcome with sentiment. “Another moment of parting in the mortal world...”
Smack!
Marlam flicked Pike hard on the forehead and said flatly, “If you can’t speak properly, then don’t speak.”
Like a bullied punching bag, Pike clutched his head and shot her an aggrieved look. Over the following days on the road toward the southern lands, he complained to Marlam more than once, scolding her for drinking herself into trouble and getting fooled like an idiot.
In response, Marlam simply lay sprawled atop the divine bird’s back, gazing up at the drifting clouds, and said softly,
“No worries about food or drink, top-tier treatment, no karmic entanglements. As for owing her a favor—how do you know I was the one being fooled?”
“I don’t understand,” Pike said.
Hearing this, Pike could only stare blankly, utterly confused.
......
......
After Phoenix left, Dorothy could only be entrusted to the care of other elves.
And Aislin visited Dorothy much more frequently. Each time, she brought along plenty of fruit—and each time, she carried back fruit that no one had eaten.
“Mom, Mom! Today Aislin-sis brought us more yummy fruit again! This one’s really good...”
Vieya had just returned home when her daughter slammed straight into her arms. Small hands held up a washed purple fruit, offering it up like a treasure.
What a considerate, good child.
These past days, Vieya had been sleeping through the day and active at night—on one hand bringing the dragon egg to warm places to speed up its hatching, and on the other going into human towns to inquire about things similar to liquid time.
Unfortunately, that kind of item had vanished from this land thousands of years ago. Only in Tartaros’s underground city might there still be some stock left.
Flaviel was not in any hurry. She seemed to thoroughly enjoy these quiet days spent accompanying the slime.
What was most strange at the moment was that the group of paladins who had claimed they would come to pay their respects to the Elven Queen never showed up. As a result, the research materials compiled by many scholars from the Tower of Erudition—Dragon Eggs and Other Giant Egg Hatchling Data—were also impossible to obtain for now.
‘Come or don’t come. Even if I take it slow, I can still hatch the dragon.’
Vieya accepted the purple fruit and took a vicious bite, then casually ruffled her daughter’s hair, making the child cling to her and rub against her nonstop.
‘Still... it’s already been three days. I wonder whether Phoenix and the others have reached the southern lands yet.’
Back then, when Vieya traveled by ship, it took only about three days to get from the southern lands to the western coast. Under normal circumstances—if the journey went smoothly and there was no special weather—Phoenix’s flying speed should be much faster than that of an ordinary oceangoing vessel.
“Mom, should we go inside and sit down?” Jasmine’s voice broke Vieya out of her thoughts. “Aislin-sis has been bringing fruit every day these past few days—there’s too much to finish eating, so Fish-sis cut the fruit into chunks...”
Accompanied by her daughter’s nonstop chatter, Vieya walked into the house. Inside, she saw a large basin filled with ice cubes, piled high with colorful fruits. Beside it, Isabel immediately stood up when she saw her master return.
“Is it good?” Vieya asked curiously. In the past, Flaviel had been passionate about all kinds of food and loved making all sorts of dishes herself. Naturally, fruit medley had never been left out.
Isabel said uncertainly, “It’s my first time making it, but I followed the recipe you wrote, Master, and didn’t add anything extra. It shouldn’t be too bad...” freēwēbnovel.com
That wasn’t written by me. It was written by the egg.
Vieya walked over, speared a piece of fruit, and put it into her mouth to chew. Her expression gradually turned strange. Clearly it was just a medley of chopped fruit, and Isabel’s knife work was good—but somehow, the flavor still felt inferior to what Flaviel used to make back then.
Seeing her master’s neutral expression, Isabel asked nervously, “Is there something not to your taste?”
“It’s fine. Maybe there are a lot of fruits in here that I’ve never eaten before, so the flavor feels a bit novel,” Vieya said after swallowing the fruit, thinking for a moment. “If I eat more, I’ll probably get used to it.”
“Phew...” Isabel let out a long breath of relief.
But just as she relaxed, dense footsteps sounded outside the courtyard, followed by a knock on the main gate.
Thump thump thump!
At the same time, an elf outside called out loudly, “Miss Vieya, Her Majesty the Queen says that the group of paladin guests you mentioned in your letter before has arrived. She asks that you come over for a moment.”
Paladins... has that cardinal finally arrived? He really took his time—four days, and only now showing up.
Outside the courtyard of the Slime Cottage, two messenger elves waited eagerly. Before long, the courtyard gate opened, and Vieya appeared before them.
“Miss Vieya!” one of the messenger elves cried out excitedly, then quickly covered her mouth, like a fan who had just seen her idol.
The other elf, however, appeared far more mature and reliable. As soon as Vieya came out, she immediately added an explanation.
“Her Majesty did not wish to trouble you, but those humans say they want to see the intruder who was captured and imprisoned in the death cell. Since that intruder was caught by you, Her Majesty would like to hear your opinion.”
The intruder imprisoned in the death cell...
Vieya froze for a moment. If they hadn’t brought it up, she would have almost forgotten about it. After all, among the three enemies sealed within the 【Moko Riverside Scroll】 in her possession, there was still one monk—and that monk was also one of the chief culprits behind the invasion war of the Elven Forest.
Sigh... looks like I really got muddle-headed playing around with Flaviel these past few days...
Vieya sighed inwardly, lifted her gaze to the two messenger elves, and said softly,
“Let’s go.”
