The two people with different thoughts looked at each other in silence for a while, and the smile on their faces was somewhat forced.
"During the time that I'm back at the Forest of Elves, you should close early." Sophia paused for a moment, then frowned and said, "Also, don't listen to the words of those drunkards."
Alan laughed dryly, wondering why Sophia had such a bad opinion of mister Wayne...
Before sending Sophia out of the tavern, she gave Alan something.
"Is this pendant a seed?" Alan was puzzled.
Sophia looked at him seriously and said, "This is the holy relic of elves, the seed of the Tree of Life. Wear it close to your body. The magic power contained in it can constantly regulate your body, making you stronger and stronger, and increase your vitality." After saying that, she curled her lips and looked at Alan's small body in disgust.
Although Alan was not convinced, he could not refute it. After all, in this foreign world where everyone had the same physique, Alan's small body was pitifully weak.
"Since this seed is so important, is it okay for you to give it to me?" Alan asked.
Sophia looked indifferent. "You are a friend of the elves. Take this tree seed as a gift from your elf friends. After all, you don't have the ability to protect yourself at all, you are still so weak..."
Alan, who was stabbed by Sophia's words again, almost fell down...
"I'll take this seed as a loan from the elves. I'll return it to you when I find something that I can use to strengthen my body and keep me safe."
"Whatever you want." Sophia turned around and walked out of the city.
Alan was in the tavern and watched her leave the street before going back.
...
There were only the rustling sounds of small animals in the night in the Forest of Elves. The riverbank that Stanton chose for the night was also very quiet. There was not a single small animal near the camp at night.
The knights traveled the entire day and experienced a tough battle. After everyone ate their fill, Olivia only arranged for Stanton to keep watch. He just broke through, so it was not bad to use this night's watch to consolidate his magic power.
The next morning, before the dewdrops on the leaves evaporated, Olivia and the others already packed their luggage and were ready to set off.
"Stanton, let's set off. We must reach the elf clan today. We don't have much time left."
The news that she received from Yupanki yesterday made Olivia feel a sense of urgency. The situation in the Imperial City was not optimistic. She had been out for almost half a month, traveling from the center of the Empire to the border, crossing more than half of the country.
She thought that it would be good to relax for a period away from the center of power, but from what she knew now, she did not have much time to waste.
The group of people who were traveling in the forest during the day finally arrived at the gate of the elven base when night completely replaced the day.
"Who are you people? Why are you still approaching the elven base at this time of night?" Stanton looked at the elven boy that was only up to his chest, holding a bow and arrow in his hand. The elf boy's face was full of fear and tears could be seen in his eyes. Even so, he stood firmly in front of the convoy despite the stiffness in his body.
When Olivia got down from the horse, she saw Stanton's stiff face. He was trying his best to make himself look friendly, but unfortunately, things did not go his way. The child opposite him was almost scared to tears...
She stepped forward helplessly and patted Stanton's shoulder. "Go to the back. You cannot control the magic power in your body well. The pressure is too great."
Olivia always felt that her Chief Knight's hobbies were very incompatible with his looks. After all, he looked like a fierce and serious person. Who would have thought that he liked children the most, but was also the worst at dealing with children? When he was free, other than training, he actually liked raising flowers the most...
Hearing the princess' words, Stanton instantly heaved a sigh of relief and his entire body relaxed. He thought that his appearance scared the child to tears. He tried his best to show his gentleness.
When the low-level knights in the team saw their boss in such a state, they could not help but cover their mouths and laugh secretly. Only their boss, the silly bear, did not have a correct understanding of his own face. The others were very clear about it.
Especially when their boss was facing people and things that he was not familiar with or liked, his expression became stiff, as if he was going to kill someone. Even the maid who rarely had any emotional fluctuations along the way smile when she saw this scene.
Olivia chased her Chief Knight away and stood at the front of the team to negotiate. This time, she was here to seek an alliance. Naturally, she could not put on the airs of a princess.
"Hello, young elf! " Looking at the beautiful human woman who was smiling kindly, the young elf was finally not so nervous. That man who was as big as a mountain just now looked too fierce, moreover, he had been emitting a very strong magic power, which made him feel very pressured.
"This is the residence of the elf clan, right? We are diplomats of the Oreste Empire. We are here to make a deal with the elf clan and to meet the elf queen."
The elven youth sensed Olivia's kindness and knew that they were not enemies. He pulled out a small, slender wooden whistle from his neck and blew it gently.
"Beep... Beep Beep..."
The whistle was clear, melodious, and rhythmic. It had a certain rhythm and the sound traveled far into the forest.
After the whistle stopped, another whistle came from somewhere in the distance. The rhythm was different from the previous rhythm. Both sides seemed to be passing some kind of message through this small whistle.
After hearing the whistle, the young man's expression relaxed. He smiled at Olivia and said, "Sister Maya and the others will be here soon. Wait a moment. Without them opening the door, you won't be able to reach the elf clan."
"Well, thank you... you helped us inform them. I don't even know your name. My name is Olivia, the youngest daughter of the emperor of Oreste."
The elven youth probably never seen such a beautiful human female treat him so gently. He shyly averted his gaze and introduced himself in a low voice, "My name is Jensen, I'm a reserve member of the guards."
Just as Olivia was about to continue getting more information from the elven youth, a series of soft footsteps came from the forest. Jensen's ears twitched, and he knew that Maya and the others had arrived.
"Jensen! Get over here!" The first female elf who walked out of the forest was suppressing her anger as she shouted at the young elf.
The group of elven squad members who were dressed in battle attire was all on guard as they looked at Olivia and the others. The elf who called Jensen stared at Stanton without blinking.
The young elf who was being shouted at walked towards his own people with his head lowered.
The young man's face was filled with grievance and stubbornness as he held back the tears in his eyes.
Maya pulled the young man in front of her and inspected him carefully, afraid that he was injured.
Olivia was deep in thought. It seemed that this young man was not an ordinary elf to the elves.
"Everyone, please tell us your purpose of coming." After checking once and making sure that Jensen was fine, Maya asked the group about their purpose.
"We are diplomats of the Oreste Empire. I am the youngest daughter of the emperor, Olivia!" At this point, she paused for a moment. "We came to the Elf clan because we wish to do business with you and to meet the Queen to discuss something."
Olivia had done some research on the elves. According to legends, every elf had the ability to sense the good and evil of others. Therefore, the first step to getting along with the elves and gaining their friendship was to gain their trust. It was best to show them kindness and treat them sincerely.
Maya stared at Olivia for a while, then, her gaze fell on Stanton. "Are you all Princess Olivia's convoy? But why do I remember the news saying that the princess brought about 30 servants and the Chief Knight Stanton was only a Grand Mage?"
Olivia was also stunned when she heard her doubts, then, she continued, "This is because we encountered an enemy attack at the outskirts of the great elven forest, and the casualties were quite heavy. Stanton broke through at the last minute or else I would have died in that battle."
Maya still had some hesitation on her face and did not speak for a long time. Jensen, who was standing behind her, reached out and tugged at her sleeve, indicating for her to lean in to whisper in her ears.
"I can feel that what the princess said is true. Moreover, they really don't mean to cause any harm." After saying that, he looked at Maya carefully.
Maya looked straight into Jensen's eyes. She was originally wavering, but after receiving Jensen's affirmation, she finally stopped hesitating and believed Olivia's words.
However, this Stanton Knight was really amazing. He actually broke through during a battle. One had to know that if he broke through in that state, he would die if he wasn't careful.
"Your Highness, I apologize for my rudeness just now. Please forgive me. After all, it is a critical time." After realizing that it was her own misjudgment, Maya apologized directly.
Olivia did not care much about it. Although she was very curious about the "critical time" that she mentioned, she did not ask questions that should not be asked in other people's territory. She just waved her hand to show that she did not care.
"Your Highness, please follow me first. It is already late. For the time being, rest in our base for the night. I will send you to the elf tribe tomorrow."
After that, Maya made arrangements for the guards. Other than her and Jensen, the rest of them split into three small teams and continued to patrol.
The convoy set off again and followed Maya to the other side of the forest.
Seeing that the direction they were heading in was completely opposite, Olivia was also curious and asked, "Maya, may I ask why the direction we are heading is completely opposite to the direction of the elf tribe's encampment shown on the map?"
Jensen was the first to explain excitedly to Olivia before Maya could say anything. "I know, Olivia, your map must be an old version. The elf tribe moved 200 years ago, and the current elf tribe encampment is brand new."
"Your Highness, it's just as Jensen said. The current base was built 200 years ago by the great elder himself. As for the old site, if anyone finds it, we will find them," Maya added, she also rubbed Jensen's neatly combed hair.
"Stop, Sister Maya always messes with my head like this..." Jensen complained unhappily, but was controlled by Maya and could not avoid it.
"Little brat, you're not even an adult yet. What are you doing dressing up like a peacock all day?" Maya said unapologetically.
"Jensen seems to be very important to Maya." Olivia suddenly sighed and said with some probing.
Maya and Jensen didn't seem to hear her probing and didn't seem to care at all.
"Jensen is very important to every clansman. He's everyone's child." Jensen looked at her and smiled, Maya continued, "When Jensen was young, he was seriously ill. When he was about to die, the great elder found a folk remedy from a medical book. As long as the blood in his body was replaced, there was a chance for him to recover. Therefore, everyone in the tribe donated their blood and under the great elder's supervision, they replaced Jensen's blood."
Olivia was stunned. If he was a human, with so many people's blood, just the rejection reaction alone would have killed him long ago. Could it be that the elves all had the same blood type?
What she didn't expect was that the "child of all the elves" had another meaning. After a long time, this secret would be revealed in Alan's tavern, but that is another story for another time.
After walking for an unknown period of time, the convoy followed Maya to the stronghold of the guards.
Although the forest was pitch black, the campfire in this stronghold allowed one to clearly see the surrounding environment. Rows of neat and orderly wooden houses were spread out in a fan shape in this area.
If Alan saw this, he would definitely shout that it was such a waste. One had to know that in his previous life, such wooden houses in the forest would cost no less than four digits per night and it would not even have the original flavor of this place.
Although the environment of the campsite was also very simple, it was at least much better than living directly in the forest for the last two days.
Because there were not many empty rooms, the knights could only set up tents to rest in the end.
Olivia had not taken a bath since she entered the forest. She knew it was late at night, but she still insisted on asking the little maid to prepare hot water for her bath.
The little princess had always been stubborn in certain aspects. Even though she was exhausted, she still insisted on taking a bath. In the end, before her hair was dry, she fell asleep on the little maid's lap.
The little maid was also good-natured and allowed her to do whatever she wanted. After that, she would clean up the mess for her. Her identity was a mystery. No one knew who she was or where she came from. Even Stanton only knew that her name was Cynthia.
Stanton waited in front of the princess's door until the candlelight in the room was extinguished and no more movements were heard. Only then did he leave to rest.
Sophia, who set off late, was very strong and was traveling alone. She traveled day and night and returned to her clan right when Olivia was resting in the guard station.
Since it was late at night, she did not alert anyone and waited until dawn to report.
...
After a month of adaptation, Alan gradually got used to his current life. Every day, he waited for a few guests to come and drink, and in his free time, he would brew wine or stare into space.
Ever since he talked to Dorje about the Harvest Festival, Alan had been waiting for a chance to meet and discuss it with governor Kramer.
Unfortunately, probably because the Harvest Festival was about to happen, governor Kramer never came to the tavern. Even the administrative officer never appeared.
Alan had no choice but to grab Dorje and ask him about the previous Harvest Festival.
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