Chapter: 42. Will She Come?
Really… should I bring Xue Fei to the Knight Corps camp less often in the future?
Following the direction of Xue Fei’s gaze, over several rows of neatly trimmed rare trees, Xiya also saw the “pointed ears” that Xue Fei mentioned.
If they didn’t take off their knight helmets and just looked at their faces, one might think they were beautiful young girls from the remote areas of the kingdom coming to the capital city, as their delicate features seemed quite rare in the capital.
However, when the knight helmets were removed, and the glistening beads of sweat on their lovely hair were brushed aside, revealing the pointed ears hidden within, it became clear they were indeed visitors from another land.
They were the elves, often praised for their beauty and elegant magic by the world.
Not only females, but there were also elves in the male knight training camp, though not in large numbers.
“They all came together from the Elf Forest, traveling over mountains and rivers to get here,” Xiya recalled the situation and responded.
“Ha…? Why did they come here? It’s not like they couldn’t stay in their hometown like me, right?”
“Pfft, don’t say it, but that’s actually true. Only their reasons for leaving their hometown are exactly the opposite of yours, Xue Fei.”
“How so?”
Xue Fei’s departure from home was due to the high expectations of the demon race, which put too much pressure on her, forcing her to leave her hometown.
“But these elves are different,” Xiya said with a flicker of sympathy in her eyes, also affirming the elves, “The elf race is known for its diverse magical abilities, but all the elves training in the Knight Corps are basically ‘anomalies’ who naturally possess no magical talent.”
“Really… there are elves who can’t use magic?”
“Yes, at first I found it quite strange since it’s said that any elf can use magic. But they genuinely can’t. I heard that the elders and residents of the Elf Forest don’t accept them because they can’t contribute to the protection of the forest, so they received cold looks and could no longer stay in their hometown. They came to the Kingdom Knight Corps hoping to train themselves as knights and gain strength, rather than relying on the inherently weaker magic.”
“I see… those pointed ears are very inspirational.”
“Right, they train harder than others, probably hoping that one day when they return to their hometown… they won’t have to face any more cold looks and words. They refuse to accept their fate.”
Like butterflies flying from a distant forest, they hope for the day when the wind will blow them back home, filled with joy.
Xue Fei couldn’t bear to hear this; she rubbed her eyes, feeling very moved.
—Until she said this sentence, the touching atmosphere dissipated.
“Wuwu… so pitiful! They can’t even stay in the beautiful Elf Forest and can’t eat the pride of their hometown, the cabbage mushrooms! So sad…! No, I really feel for them. I have donuts; I must share some with the elves!”
“Are you really feeling for their food…?! Ah, Xue Fei…! The elves probably don’t…!”
The elves might not love donuts.
Before that sentence could be said, Xue Fei had already taken out a still unopened bag of donuts from her storage magic, planning to give some to the diligent elves to let them taste a snack from the capital.
But halfway through, she suddenly stopped.
After a moment of thought, she reopened her storage magic and quietly swapped it for a different flavor of the same kind.
Knowing her, Xiya guessed she probably changed it to a flavor she herself didn’t like!
What the flavor was didn’t really matter.
What mattered was that as guests in a foreign land, receiving a donut lifted by a cute little girl amidst the confusion of the strange country was undoubtedly a small stroke of luck, like finding a ray of sunlight in the fog.
So regardless of what flavor the donut was, it would taste the sweetest.
Xiya watched from afar as the petite figure stood there, bringing a moment of smiles to the elves – “Miss Shaya.”
A slight smile unconsciously crept onto Xiya’s beautiful face.
Xue Fei, do you know?
Bringing smiles to others is quite a proud ability.
The world is too big, and troubles too many.
Fortunately, keeping an eye on one person can disperse the worries, and everywhere she looks, there are blooming flowers.
This might be the happiest time Xiya has felt since coming to the Knight Corps over the years?
……………………………..
On the way back from the Knight Corps, Miss Shaya was in a great mood.
The root cause was that Xiya actually said she would take her to the most famous donut shop in the capital for some free shopping!
Hee hee… indeed, good deeds are rewarded. She had just shared a bag of donuts with the hardworking elves and then went to the shop to replenish her supply of five bags!
And they were all strawberry-filled!
Of course, it wasn’t just because she got donuts; her curiosity about the surrounding environment was also one of the reasons for Xue Fei’s good mood.
The Knight Corps training camp was not far from the Kingdom of Komir castle. Other than having been inside the castle once, Xue Fei hadn’t really explored the area surrounding the castle, filled with human history.
“Xiya, Xiya! What’s that?! That square one! It looks like a library!”
“That’s the library… the Royal Library of the capital, which houses many magical records from the kingdom’s history, and other books that you can think of.”
“Oh, impressive… I wanted to build a library in the Demon Territory too. And what about that, that one…! The oval one surrounded by big white columns!”
“Which one? Oh, that’s the Gladiatorial Arena.”
“The Gladiatorial Arena? Is it like that place in the Demon Territory where they put two magical beasts to fight while the nobles place their bets? I don’t really like that kind of thing…”
“Um… it does serve that function, but actually, the primary purpose of this Gladiatorial Arena is that two people with grudges can sign an agreement and have a showdown there to fight to the death.”
“Ha? That’s so violent. What happens if someone dies?”
“They signed an agreement, so killing someone in the Gladiatorial Arena is not illegal. Unless there’s a deep grievance, no one would choose to fight to the death in the arena.”
“Impressive, impressive.”
Although Xiya was patiently introducing the surrounding buildings to Xue Fei the whole time, in reality, her gaze would almost every so often shift towards the north side of the castle.
There stood a grand hall.
With a pure white base, three spire-like structures, simple yet beautiful, it stood prominently to the north of the Komir Palace, like a dazzling pearl sculpted into the land of the capital.
Even though Xue Fei was in high spirits, she couldn’t help but notice Xiya’s gaze.
“Xiya? What are you looking at? Ah…! That white one looks nice; you must be looking at that, right? What is that?”
“Komir Royal Great Hall,” Xiya withdrew her gaze from the distance and looked at Xue Fei, her gaze filled with more anticipation and tenderness, “That’s where the kingdom’s nobles hold large banquet receptions, like birthday parties, victory banquets, and even weddings can take place in that great hall.”
“You humans are quite romantic! You choose such places.”
Xiya nodded in agreement.
However, her originally carefree pace now seemed a bit anxious.
But who cares, Xiya is a hero!
A hero must have courage!
“Xue Fei!”
“Hmm?! Why are you yelling all of a sudden?! Why are you shouting so loudly?!”
“This… do you remember when I told you that my birthday is coming up?”
“I remember, isn’t it tomorrow night?”
“!”
…… She remembers!
She hasn’t forgotten which day it is.
Her heart warmed, Xiya’s resolve became even firmer.
In that case…
Xiya slowly loosened her tightly clenched fist.
Then she raised her finger and pointed to the white great hall over there.
“Tomorrow night, the Light Family will be helping me hold my eighteenth birthday banquet there. It’s actually quite troublesome… I have to wear a dress and follow the elders through some standardized processes. But since you are a demon princess, you should know that for the nobility, they believe these processes are necessary.”
“Yeah! Super troublesome, my demon king father wants to save face, so for my birthday, I have to entertain all the nobles from the Demon Territory. Anyone who counts, anyone who can breathe must come! Hehe, but luckily I’m clever. When troublesome things happen, I just go fishing by the lake. If someone comes looking for me, I just dive underwater! So safe!”
“……”
Xue Fei, are you really that carefree…?
Xiya smiled wryly and shook her head.
“Yeah… the Light Family is pretty much the same. No invitations are needed; the great nobles of the Aulus Kingdom will basically all be present because the king will come too. Not only that, but the Corea Church State should also send someone over; it’s truly troublesome…”
“Tsk tsk tsk, but there’s no way around it, right? Who told you that your family is so notable?”
“Mm, but…”
“But…?”
“But this is the only birthday I’ve had so far that I don’t feel it’s troublesome.”
After a moment of silence, Xiya gently voiced this sentiment.
“Because you promised to come, Xue Fei…”
The frown on Xiya’s brow relaxed.
Facing the slanting evening sun behind her, a smile as beautiful as a painting blossomed in the reflection of Xue Fei’s vision.
“Xue Fei is coming too, so I would rather make this birthday more grand and splendid… so that I could tell you, sister, that I’m doing well, so you don’t have to worry. Haha… besides my parents, everyone’s well wishes are fake. But just you, Xue Fei, wanting to celebrate with me. That’s real. When the time comes, don’t mind the large venue; I’ll secretly cut two pieces of cake, and we can hide away to eat. Thinking about such a birthday… isn’t it wonderful?”
“Xiya…”
“Wuwu, the one thing I’m not sure about! Is that you won’t decide not to come because it’s troublesome… or you want to go fishing by the lake? I was just worried about this, so…”
It’s not easy to be reborn into this world.
It’s even harder to meet her.
Since all these miracles have happened, wanting to celebrate with her… shouldn’t be too much to ask, right?
The setting sun doesn’t just fall on Xiya alone.
Xue Fei’s shadow in the ground stretched far.
But the place she stood was right in front of Xiya.
Xiya inadvertently looked up and saw—Xue Fei’s faint smile.
But this smile only lasted for a moment; Xue Fei turned her back with a hum.
With her hands clasped behind her, she took off with a stride that seemed indifferent to her kin.
She didn’t answer Xiya’s question directly.
But the words she said before she set off…
Made Xiya feel completely at ease.
“Um… just that, Shaya asked me to bring you a message.”
“Shaya said she suddenly wanted to wear a dress. This is what Shaya said!”
“Quick… hurry home. Tomorrow’s matters will be talked about tomorrow!”
Xiya was momentarily stunned, looking down, her golden bangs covering her eyes.
When she looked up again.
The brilliance in her eyes bloomed with grand splendor.
The glow of the sunset was disturbed by Xiya’s vigorous nodding.
“Mm!”
