Elves are a kind of magical creature.
They are born within nature, nature's beloved children.
From the moment they're born, they are blessed by nature.
Natural disasters will not take their lives, and their extremely long lifespans allow them to live peaceful and stable lives.
This makes them hold a pleasure-seeking attitude toward the entire world.
And under nature's blessing, even if elves do nothing, just relying on their extremely long lifespans and nature's gifts, they can reach heights ordinary humans could never hope to touch.
For example, Cocotte.
As an elf who pushed laziness to the extreme, any magic Cocotte learned was studied solely to create a good sleeping environment.
With nature's blessing, she didn't even need to practice much.
And she still reached the fourth-tier level that most mages spend their whole lives unable to reach.
Not to mention, as a former councilor, she was one of the very top among fourth-tier mages.
As for magical practice?
What practice? Does magic that's already understood still need frequent training?
But even elves, who are normally this free, still have one thing they fear.
And that is nature itself.
When Viktor appeared before Lacy, it was as if he made her face nature itself.
It sent Lacy into a long dazed stupor.
The instant she saw Viktor, she felt an impulse to almost kneel.
To want to believe in him, to worship him with utmost reverence.
On Viktor's body, she seemed to see…
'Nature.'
But Lacy knew clearly that the man before her was obviously human.
Then what exactly was this feeling?
"You… I…"
Being stared at by the terrifying existence in front of her made Lacy so uncomfortable that she became tongue-tied.
A certain feeling seemed to keep reminding her, telling her, a spark flashed through her mind, and a single word suddenly appeared in her head.
It was a word she had never spoken before.
But that feeling kept urging her, making her unable to stop herself from wanting to say it.
Suddenly, Lacy shot to her feet and gave Viktor a deep bow.
"Dad!"
Liya, "?"
Leon, "??"
Vega, "???"
Viktor, "..."
———
Lacy kept her head low. On her face, two bright red patches had already formed.
She felt utterly ashamed, wishing she could find a hole to crawl into on the spot.
What on earth was wrong with her brain, to say something like that?
She knew very well how important that word was to humans.
The man before her clearly looked much younger than she was.
And yet she shouted "Dad" at him.
This was really… Too rude.
But at this moment, everyone's expressions had already returned to normal.
As if they didn't care at all.
Viktor was already sitting in the main seat of the sofa, while Liya stood by his side.
Smiling with squinted eyes, she introduced Lacy, "Let me introduce, this is the head of our Clavenna family."
"The Empire's current chief professor of the Royal Academy of Magic."
"One of the twelve councilors of the Mage Council."
"The youngest fourth-tier mage in history, Count Viktor Clavenna."
This string of titles made Lacy fall into even deeper silence.
"..."
She didn't dare raise her head, nor even sneak a look at Viktor from the corner of her eye.
Vega stood on Viktor's shoulder, speaking in a voice only the two of them could hear, "I thought for a moment you had a kid behind my back."
"She doesn't seem very smart."
Viktor didn't respond to Vega, as if he agreed completely.
He leaned forward on the sofa, hands folded on the table.
"You want to find Cocotte Yard, right."
Hearing Cocotte's name, Lacy suddenly lifted her head, staring at Viktor with disbelief.
The surname Yard was one only the elven royal family could possess.
Elves' names were not given by parents.
Every elf is born without a name or surname.
Because elves have no parents.
'Yard.'
That is the place where every elf is born.
It is a gigantic divine tree, and all elves are nurtured and born from that divine tree.
Within the elf race, there are two sacred treasures protected for countless generations, tied to their survival and reproduction.
One is the divine tree "Yard," and the other is the "Holy Spring of the Moon."
Every generation of elves must be nurtured by watering the Elf Tree with the holy spring.
The spring water flows into the divine tree, nourishing the natural energy within it.
After receiving the blessing of the spring, the divine tree constructs an elf's body and consciousness.
The power of nature bestows names and surnames upon elves.
And the surname "Yard" will, over hundreds of years, be bestowed upon one elf.
She will receive the surname Yard and become the queen who leads the elves.
Cocotte Yard was the elf who, within the past hundred years, had been granted the royal surname by nature.
Ordinary people could never know her name.
Yet the man before her not only said the elven queen's name, he even said the surname "Yard."
From Lacy's perspective, this was unimaginably shocking.
But she didn't know that during the years Cocotte served as a councilor, her name had spread all throughout the Mage Council.
Elves lived deep within the ancient elf forest, their ability to receive information was indeed very poor.
Chances were, even now, they still didn't know Cocotte had once served on the council.
But hearing Viktor speak Cocotte's name only made Lacy even more certain.
'Viktor must know something.'
Lacy nodded hard, but Viktor still looked at her quietly, his tone calm, "Then what's the price."
Hearing this, Lacy froze for a moment, as if she didn't understand.
But soon, Liya explained.
"Mm… you know, some favors aren't free." Liya placed both hands on the back of the sofa, leaning forward, her chin resting on her arm as she lay sideways.
Smiling sweetly, right next to Viktor's head, "Since you want our help, you'll have to give something in return."
Hearing this, Lacy looked at the two of them, her eyes beginning to mist.
But she held it back. She understood she must not cry.
After all, asking others for help required paying a price.
Those humans who captured her said the same thing.
They would help her find the queen.
So Lacy was already prepared. She knew very clearly the purpose of leaving the forest.
Lowering her head, as if expecting humiliation, she lightly bit her lip.
"I… I understand."
"I'm willing to do anything, as long as you can help me find Her Majesty the Queen…"
Liya suddenly laughed. She had been waiting for this answer.
"Really?"
"R-really."
As soon as she finished speaking, a white sheet of paper covered in black writing appeared before Lacy, along with a pen.
Lacy looked at the paper, confused, "What is this?"
"Go ahead and sign."
Liya smiled lightly, "Once you sign, we're family."
"Family helping family, doesn't that sound reasonable?"
A wave of bad premonition crawled up Lacy's spine.
Elves' sixth sense was always sharp, she felt like she had stepped into some sort of trap.
But in order to find the queen, she gritted her teeth, picked up the pen, and wrote her name on the contract.
The moment the pen lifted, the contract slowly glowed blue.
The paper slipped out of Lacy's hand and returned to Liya's.
Taking the contract, Liya smiled.
"Mm. From today on, you're an official employee of the Clavenna family."
"Don't worry, our family head will let you properly meet our other employee."
"Huh?"
Lacy was stunned, unable to understand what had just happened.
How did she suddenly become an employee?
And what did meeting the other employee mean?
She came out here to find the queen.
Suddenly, Viktor's eyes flashed with a blue light.
In an instant, violent winds rose.
The large curtains shook wildly, and the windows trembled under the pressure, clattering loudly.
That terrifying magical aura gathered around Viktor, and a blue magic array appeared beneath his feet.
Dense magical energy spread throughout the entire room.
"Is… is there an earthquake!?"
She panicked and quickly stood, only to discover that she was already surrounded by an expanding magic array beneath her feet.
"A… a teleportation array?"
"How can it be this big!?"
The teleportation array completed instantly, and a pillar of blue magic shot upward through the skylight.
The massive energy surged outward through all the open windows.
"Go in."
Viktor's voice sounded slowly.
Lacy was afraid, but Viktor continued, "You will meet the person you want to meet there."
Perhaps his words ignited her resolve. Lacy took a deep breath, gathered her courage, and closed her eyes.
She stepped into the column of light.
In barely half a second, her entire form turned into blue mist and vanished from sight.
After she was gone, the array still did not dissipate.
Liya looked at Viktor, who still hadn't moved, puzzled.
"Hm? We're not going back together?"
Viktor stood up. Under the roaring winds, his coat flapped chaotically.
Whoosh!
"Bring Cindy, and call Halnarsen too."
Liya froze for a moment. She could understand bringing Cindy, but calling Halnarsen…
Viktor placed his hands in his pockets, his icy gaze seemingly directed toward the capital.
"There are some debts."
"It's time to settle them."