Chapter 252: Silence Contract.

"...And that's what happened."

In the dorm room shared by Shu Li and Ace, the members of the Light Squad sat obediently in a neat row, like elementary school students reporting their adventures to their teacher.

Ilio sat on a bench by himself. After listening to Shu Li's summary, he produced a teaching pointer and, controlling it with wind magic, gave each of the five Little Fairies and the young dragon a light tap on the head.

"So you sold me out along with yourselves, did you? Hmm?"

"Oww!"

Shu Li clutched his head, his eyes half-closed as he protested guiltily, "H-how was I supposed to know a Demon Lord would suddenly show up?"

That immortal, indestructible Demon Lord had been far too powerful. To stay alive, Shu Li had been forced to reveal the Little Fairies' true identities in front of their human teammates and bring out every last trump card he possessed.

Yet after hearing their account, Ilio wasn't worried about how close they'd come to losing their lives. Instead, he was upset that their identities had been exposed!

How unreasonable!

Shu Li puffed out his cheeks without realizing it.

Hector cast a sympathetic glance at the Little Fairies and the young dragon, then said earnestly to Ilio, "Don't worry, Teacher. We've sworn an oath to keep their identities secret."

Cindy and Nasha nodded together.

Seriu added, "The circumstances were exceptional. You can't blame Sperien."

Ace smiled and offered his own reassurance. "What happened today also made us realize that every one of us has received Sperien's help at some point."

"Fate really does work in mysterious ways," Hector remarked.

Shu Li lifted his chin and puffed out his chest, looking thoroughly pleased with himself.

Ilio twitched a finger, and the pointer promptly tapped Shu Li on the head three more times.

"Oww!"

Shu Li glared at him accusingly.

Just wait until they returned to the Elven Kingdom! He was definitely going to complain to the Elven King about Ilio bullying him at the academy!

Ilio put away the pointer and took five yellowed sheets of paper from his storage ring. The sheets floated before him as he simultaneously controlled five quills, writing a string of complicated Elven characters across them.

When he finished, he waved his hand, sending the papers and quills floating toward Seriu, Hector, Cindy, Nasha, and Ace.

"Sign them," he instructed.

Seriu took his paper and quickly scanned the writing. "Is this... a confidentiality contract?" he asked in surprise.

Hector was taken aback. "We've already sworn an oath. Why do we have to sign a contract too?"

Shu Li frowned. "Ilio, you're going too far."

"Not so fast." Ilio raised a finger and said seriously, "I trust their integrity. What I can't guarantee is that someone else won't use underhanded methods against them."

"Someone else?" Shu Li looked puzzled. "Who?"

"You studied dark magic under the King, so you should know how dangerous it can be," Ilio explained patiently. "There's a type of dark magic called Soul Seizure that allows the caster to dig through a victim's memories. If a necromancer were to use Soul Seizure on any of you, keeping your mouths shut wouldn't prevent your thoughts from being exposed. This contract acts like a defensive wall, protecting your memories and preventing outside forces from invading them."

There was no helping it. The underage Little Fairies and young dragon had too little experience of the world. They didn't understand how malicious people could be. Ilio could only make up for what they lacked, ensuring that their growing bonds with the humans wouldn't become a vulnerability.

Ilio glanced almost imperceptibly at Ace.

The King really was something else, making him do such a thankless job.

Just look at the Little Fairies! The resentment in their eyes was growing by the second.

Ace was the first to pick up his quill.

"Teacher's concerns are justified. We're not strong enough yet, and someone with malicious intentions could easily take advantage of us and force us to reveal secrets without meaning to."

With a few decisive strokes, he signed his name in the lower right corner of the paper.

With someone taking the lead, the others stopped hesitating and signed their names as well.

A flash of golden light rose from each sheet and entered the forehead of its human signatory.

The contracts were established.

Ilio opened his palm, and the signed papers and quills flew back into his hand. He tucked them into his storage ring.

"All right. You can go get some rest."

Every one of them had dark circles under their eyes. If he kept them awake any longer, they'd start accusing him of mistreating children.

"Once it's light, I'll visit the Magic Tower and report what happened to Danlov on your behalf. I'll have him send mages to investigate Woba Grand Canyon thoroughly and eliminate the threat."

With a cheerful smile, he rose and left Shu Li's dorm room.

The moment he was gone, the Little Fairies relaxed their tense bodies and collapsed onto the sofas.

Hector rubbed his face and asked Shu Li in a gloomy voice, "Are all Elves this... awful?"

Back when he hadn't known Ilio was an Elf, his lessons had already been so grueling that Hector had practically been worked to death every day.

Now that he knew the truth, his rosy image of the Elven race had been completely shattered.

Just now, they'd even been forced to sign a contract!

Sure, Ilio had meant well, but Hector still felt terribly aggrieved.

He really wanted to punch someone!

Waaah! If only he were strong enough to do it!

Seeing Hector looking as though he might cough up blood from sheer frustration, Angel patted his shoulder reassuringly.

"Trust me. Ilio is the only Elf who's that awful."

Budno said, "There are strict Elves too. The kind who spank you."

Like Dagmon, for example.

Whenever the Little Fairies misbehaved and he caught them, he'd grab them and give their bottoms a sound smacking without the slightest hesitation.

"Of course, most Elves are gentle and considerate. They're very good at taking care of cubs," Dixio added.

"Then..." Cindy asked curiously, "what's the Elven King like?"

The legendary Son of Light!

Oh, how she wished she could see him with her own eyes!

"The King? Hmm..."

The Little Fairies all furrowed their brows in concentration.

The Elven King was simply too perfect. They couldn't think of any words that would do him justice.

Amanda struggled to put his thoughts into words.

"The Elven King is the most, most, most, most noble Elf I've ever seen."

Cindy waited expectantly, only to receive that vague description.

"That's it?"

Amanda scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"I can't really describe him. You'll understand once you've met him."

Cindy pressed a hand to her forehead.

If she had a chance to meet the Elven King, she wouldn't be asking in the first place!

Shu Li stole a glance at Ace, who was sitting in an armchair. Then he clasped his hands together and began speaking in a voice full of adoration.

"The King has long hair that shines like gold and eyes that sparkle like emeralds. He's the most beautiful Elf in the world, purer and more sacred than moonlight. He's incredibly powerful. There's nothing he can't do. He's gentle and cares deeply for every one of his subjects. He would rather seal off the Faerie Forest than allow any of them to suffer the slightest harm. He's patient, too, and never tires of teaching the cubs. And he's selfless. To stop the Dark God's schemes, he went to enormous lengths to persuade the other races of the continent to join forces, uniting everyone who stood for the light in the fight for justice."

"Clap, clap, clap!"

The Little Fairies and the young dragon burst into enthusiastic applause.

"That was wonderful, Sperien!"

"Exactly! That's how perfect the King is!"

After listening to Shu Li's description, Cindy couldn't help looking even more eager to meet him.

Seriu asked Shu Li, "Do you really like the Elven King that much?"

"Of course!" Shu Li answered without hesitation. "I love the Elven King more than anyone!"

In his nightmare, the Elven King had appeared before him like a ray of light, gently leading him out of his fear and guiding him to use the magic sword to slay the monster.

The experience had felt so real that Shu Li still couldn't believe it had merely been a nightmare caused by a monster.

His gaze drifted toward Ace.

The corners of Ace's mouth were slightly raised, a gentle smile gracing his handsome face.

"I hope I'll have the honor of seeing the Elven King in person someday," Ace said.

Shu Li blinked and smiled.

"I'm sure that day will come."

With that topic concluded, Kumandi urged everyone to return to their rooms. If they didn't go to sleep soon, dawn would be upon them.

Budno rubbed his eyes and left Shu Li's dorm room, yawning repeatedly. The others followed one after another.

Seriu brought up the rear.

Just as he was about to step through the doorway, he stopped and turned toward Shu Li, who was seeing everyone out.

"What's wrong?" Shu Li asked.

Seriu gazed at him intently before finally voicing a question that had troubled him for a long time.

"Thirteen years ago, on the banks of the Bakat River, I saw a Little Fairy sitting on a reed leaf, playing a harp. He had golden hair, wings as delicate as gauze, and a faint, luminous glow surrounding his entire body. He was so beautiful he seemed like something out of a dream."

"I'm certain my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. It wasn't a hallucination, either."

"Was that you?"

His voice was soft.

Shu Li listened calmly as the black-haired young man described what he'd seen. When Seriu finally asked him to confirm it, he nodded without hesitation.

"Yes. The Fairy you saw was probably me."

With that clear answer, the cloud of uncertainty that had hung over Seriu's heart finally dispersed.

"Had you left the Faerie Forest back then?" he asked.

"I was only five thirteen years ago. There's no way I could have left the Faerie Forest."

Shu Li tilted his head, thinking for a moment before explaining.

"I was taking a music lesson at the time, playing an Elven ballad called The Maiden and the Swordsman. Somehow, I triggered magic without realizing it, and an illusion appeared. At least, I thought it was an illusion back then. Looking at it now, though, it seems our paths crossed through time and space."

"The Maiden and the Swordsman?" Seriu murmured. "The place where I was standing that day was the very spot where my ancestor Sede first met the Elven maiden."

Shu Li was astonished.

"What an incredible coincidence!"

Seriu raised a hand and touched the space between his eyebrows.

When he was a boy, he'd knelt before a statue of his ancestor and prayed. A beam of light had enveloped him, and he'd lost consciousness.

Today, when he'd touched the Sword of Viona, an inexplicable suspicion had risen in his heart.

To confirm it, he decided to make a rather presumptuous request of the Little Fairy.

"Could I... hear you sing The Maiden and the Swordsman?"

"Huh? Right now?"

Shu Li froze.

Singing at two in the morning?

Wouldn't that disturb everyone else's sleep?

Seeing the hesitation on the Little Fairy's face, Seriu apologized.

"I'm sorry. That was an unreasonable thing to ask."

"No, I'd be happy to sing for you. It's just that, at this hour... I'm worried about waking everyone up."

Shu Li pointed at the hourglass on the table.

At some point, Ace had come to stand behind him.

"We could cast a soundproof magical formation," he suggested with a smile.

Shu Li turned to look at him.

What a thoughtful suggestion.

"Well, then... I guess I'll sing!"

After all that, how could he possibly refuse?

Seriu closed the door and returned to the living room, where he sat properly on the sofa and waited for the Little Fairy to sing.

Shu Li first took out his magic staff and chanted a light-magic incantation. A soundproof magical formation spread over the living room, sealing it off from the rest of the dormitory.

Once that was done, he put away his staff and took a silver harp from his storage ring.

The harp had graceful curves and exquisitely detailed patterns. Several expensive, crystal-clear gemstones were set into its body, and its twenty-six strings shimmered with a faint golden glow.

One glance was enough to tell that it was worth a fortune.

"What a beautiful harp," Ace praised.

Shu Li's slender fingers brushed lightly across the strings.

"The Elven King gave it to me."

Seriu marveled inwardly.

As expected of an instrument crafted by Elves, it seemed positively alive with magic.

Ding, ding, ding...

After testing the notes, Shu Li began plucking the strings with practiced ease.

A prelude tinged with melancholy flowed from the harp. Then, using his original voice, he began to sing the Elven ballad.

"Far away, beyond the reaches of time,

The Bakat River flows in silence.

A beautiful Elven maiden

Descends from the heavens

Upon a snow-white unicorn.

There, beside the river,

She discovers a human swordsman lying wounded.

The kindhearted Elven maiden

Tends the injured swordsman's wounds.

..."

The heavenly voice filled the room.

Seriu shuddered from head to toe, and something deep within his soul trembled in response.

Before his eyes, a wondrous vision seemed to unfold.

A river shimmering beneath the light.

A field of golden reeds.

A unicorn spreading its wings.

And a golden-haired Elven maiden of breathtaking beauty, slowly walking toward him...!