“Beautiful and outstanding… Humph.”
Verafia grunted, her scorching gold big eyes suddenly glaring fiercely at a certain youth not far away, revealing her small white tiger teeth, and then biting down hard on the berry in her hand.
Iger shivered violently, a cold sweat breaking out on his body. He wondered what he had done to offend the young lady… Could she have seen through his earlier grumbling?
A chill ran down his spine, and Iger quickly raised his head to look at Grisia, trying to change the subject.
“Speaking of which, how did an elf lady like you join this adventuring party? There aren’t many elves like you in human kingdoms.”
“Mr. Iger, are you asking me? It was about three years ago, I came with Lord Ronald… Ah, please don’t look at me like that. Lord Ronald had just rescued me from a group of thieves, and because he was concerned that I had nowhere to go, he specifically brought me to the adventuring party.”
Grisia quickly explained. But when she mentioned the golden, shining paladin, the reverence and emotion that appeared in the young girl’s pupils betrayed her true thoughts.
The half-elf fiddled with a strand of hair by her pointed ear, her gaze seemingly drifting to the handsome youth talking loudly by the campfire a short distance away. Her snow-white cheeks flushed slightly, and she lowered her head a little, her voice shy and faint like a mosquito’s hum.
“To be honest, I think the reason I was able to be with everyone at first was probably because I wanted to stay by Lord Ronald’s side.”
Totally a standard confession of a love-struck young girl!
Iger thought to himself. However, he was used to characters like this, who were standard templates for protagonists in novels. He moved his arm and looked up at the young girl, smiling.
“Lord Ronald is indeed a very excellent paladin. However, judging from what Miss Grisia said, it seems you met him in the kingdom?”
“Eh, that’s right, Grisia, did you run away to the kingdom alone too… Also, I heard from Iger that you elves sealed off your entire country after the disaster ten years ago.”
Verafia seemed to have forgotten Iger’s offense. After taking a bite of the fruit, she also slightly raised her youthful jade cheeks, her bright golden eyes looking curiously.
“Miss Verafia, are you talking about the great sealing of the elves? That’s right. I heard Lord Ronald say that this disaster almost destroyed the entire Elf Empire, and even the remaining repercussions have forced the Elf King to continue to seal the entire country.’
Grisia made a sound and then shook her head.
“However, I am not an elf born in the Emerald Forest. Besides my mother being a wood elf, I’m not much different from Mr. Iger. I was also born within the territories of the Peka Kingdom.”
“Then your parents… I’m sorry, Miss Grisia, I’ve offended you.”
“It’s nothing, it’s not like you think, Mr. Iger… At least, they weren’t killed by those thieves.”
Grisia shook her head slightly, her slender jade arms hugging her knees beneath the mage’s robe. She tilted her face upwards, gazing at the sky painted like ink.
In the clear eyes of the half-elf girl, tinged with the cold moonlight, there was a hint of loneliness and solitude.
Verafia also turned her eyes slightly, looking at the young girl’s face, which was blurred in the night. The young girl’s pale white beautiful hair was gently blown by the gentle night wind.
“It’s just that when I was very young, my parents had already left. They only left me with this name. In fact, their departure might also be related to this matter.”
“Is that so… Grisia, did they leave you an elven surname?”
Verafia suddenly raised her face, her scorching gold eyes looking at the young girl and asking.
Among the elven races, elves with ancient and long surnames were undoubtedly nobles. In fact, the inheritance of an elf’s “true name” was more important than bloodline.
Verafia naturally knew that, according to elven customs, if their surnames were not voluntarily disclosed, but were rashly inquired about by others, it would be considered an offense.
However, Grisia obviously didn’t pay much attention to this. The young girl’s slender jade fingers lightly gathered her pale white beautiful hair, revealing her fair face as she smiled slightly at the girl who looked at her with big, curious eyes.
“Yes, there is. But Miss Verafia, it’s not a very noble surname. The name they left me is Grisia. Qingge.”
“Qingge…”
Iger thought for a moment, and indeed, it was not a prominent surname in the elven history he had studied.
“In any case, Miss Grisia, I believe your relatives must also miss you dearly in their hearts.”
Iger looked up and smiled comfortingly at the half-elf girl, not noticing the thoughtful expression in Verafia’s pupils hidden beneath her eyelashes.
—
Grisia continued to chat with Iger and Verafia for about a quarter of an hour before letting the girl finish the fruit in her hand.
Iger was quite surprised to find that the Phoenix young lady in front of him was not as spoiled and willful as she was with him. Instead, she seemed quite easy to talk to, and in just a short while, they seemed to have become like best friends.
Could it be that this young lady could be bribed with a few fruits?
Iger propped up his chin, lost in thought.
“By the way, Grisia, can you tell me how you all decided to take on this mission to hunt the Dragon Crystal Flame Burst Tree in the Sunset Forest?”
Verafia seemed to have thought of something else, and she raised her porcelain-white, delicate and soft little face, asking the girl who was getting up to bid Grisia farewell.
Grisia knew that the mage girl in front of her wanted to accept this commission, but since they had obtained it in advance, she had joined their small team temporarily. Because she didn’t pay much attention, she casually said with a gentle smile.
“To be honest, Miss Verafia, it was Lord Ronald who advocated for us to take on this mission. According to Lord Ronald, the magic crystal of the Dragon Crystal Flame Burst Tree would be very helpful for his and Commander Hel’s advancement.”
“Is that so.”
Verafia nodded as if she understood but didn’t quite grasp it.
…
After a brief exchange, Grisia also got up and bid them farewell. Verafia slightly raised her eyes, watching the slender back of the young girl gradually blur behind the light veil of the moon.
Through the conversation with the half-elf girl, and by acting cute in a way that she herself found a bit embarrassing, Miss Verafia had naturally obtained a lot of useful information.
“Grisia, a half-elf, with the name ‘Qingge’, and the aura of Serathis… No wonder I felt she was a bit familiar from the start.”
Serathis, known as the “Emerald Singer,” who was her last companion back then, was also a wood elf with the appellation of “Qingge.”
And Grisia’s past experiences and spiritual aura allowed Verafia to confirm that this seemingly ordinary half-elf girl carried the elven blood of the former “Singer.”
