"Your Highness, you"ve been locked in detention again, and it"s for an entire year this time. What should we do?" Beneath the tree of life, Firis looked at Irina with a concerned expression.Snarr stood beside them, also with a concerned look on his face. He hadn"t antic.i.p.ated that the princess would be so decisive as to kill Schubert straight away. However, her actions had most likely successfully intimidated everyone involved.
"Being locked in detention isn"t a big deal; what"s there to worry about? Back when I left the Wind Forest, I was right in the middle of a detention period. If I want to leave, no one can stop me." Irina pinched Firis" nose with a nonchalant smile as she said, "Don"t worry about me, Firis. You don"t have the spare brain capacity anyway."
Firis looked at Irina and opened her mouth, but she discovered that she didn"t have any response to that. She had partic.i.p.ated in Irina"s last escape from the Wind Forest. Even though she had only played a minor role, with the blessings from the tree of life, she was sure that no one could stop Irina from leaving the Wind Forest.
Irina turned to Snarr, and said, "Snarr, I have a few things that I need you to do."
"I"d be happy to be of service, Your Highness." Snarr nodded respectfully.
"I"ll have to trouble you to continue searching for Alex and my daughter. Judging from Alex"s personality, after suffering such an ordeal, he definitely wouldn"t remain in Rodu or the Roth Empire. He"s most likely at the Demon Islands, dragon island, or in Chaos City. We"ve been to those three places many times, so we are quite familiar with them. I"m going to write down a few locations for you to search; perhaps you"ll find some leads. I"m also going to write a few letters for you to deliver to some of my friends who will be able to help you. However, after what happened with Josh, I"m not sure if some of them are still worthy of my trust, so try your best to refrain from telling them about Alex," Irina instructed.
"I"ll be sure to keep that confidential." Snarr nodded with a serious expression.
Irina nodded before continuing, "News of Schubert"s death will most likely have already spread to Rodu, so you"ll definitely be on their blacklist. Hence, before everything dies down, you have to make sure to never go to the Roth Empire again. Also, constantly be on your guard; there are most likely members of our own elven race who want to bring you down as well."
"No problem, my specialty lies in lurking in the shadows." Snarr nodded with a confident expression. He then hesitated momentarily before asking, "Your Highness, did you kill Schubert just to avenge Master Alex and the young mistress, or was your intention to abolish slavery and the family system in the elven laws?"
"Your Highness, the family system is already deeply rooted in the elven race. If you want to abolish it, you"ll be making enemies out of all of the major families…" Firis turned to Irina with a concerned expression upon hearing that.
"That"s right, I"m trying to abolish the family system so our elven brethren can have true freedom." Irina nodded with a grave expression as she said, "So what if it"s a deeply rooted system? I"ll just have the uproot the entire thing. Freedom is the soul of us elves, and what Helena is doing is crus.h.i.+ng that soul. Having all of the major families turn on me isn"t a scary prospect, as all of the other elves will side with me. What I need now is time, and a year of detention is just enough."
Firis and Snarr"s eyes both lit up.
"Alright, you two can go for now. I"ll give you the letter tomorrow." A hint of exhaustion flashed through Irina"s eyes.
Snarr and Firis both nodded before leaving the cave.
Irina sat down beneath the tree and looked up. The branches of the tree of life parted, allowing the moonlight to s.h.i.+ne down on her through the opening of the cave.
"Alex, my daughter, where are you? When will I be able to see you again?" Irina murmured to herself.
…
"Do you want to eat the moon, Little Amy?" Mag asked with a smile.
"I do! The moon is so round and white; it looks delicious." Amy looked up at the moon with yearning in her eyes.
A smile crept onto Mag"s face upon seeing that. This little foodie wanted to eat everything that she saw.
However, he had had the exact same thought when he was a child, so he really looked forward to the moon festival every year as it was an occasion where he could dine on delicious mooncakes.
At the time, he"d been naive enough to believe that mooncakes were actual moons plucked from the sky, which was why they were so delicious. As such, he"d cherished each and every piece of mooncake he ate.
"The moon isn"t easy to pluck from the sky, but if you want to eat it, I can try to make it into mooncake for you." Mag looked at Amy with a smile.
"Using the moon to make mooncake? That sounds delicious! I want to eat mooncake! When will I be able to eat mooncake?" Amy"s eyes little up as she clapped her little hands together with elation. Ugly Duckling"s body was contorted into a strange shape as a result, but it was also looking up at Mag with yearning in its eyes.
Mag shook his head as he replied, "It"ll have to be in three more days. The moon isn"t in its roundest for yet, so it"s not ripe to be picked. The best time to pick it will be when it"s as round as a plate. We can then make it into a mooncake and share it with friends; that"s when it"ll be most delicious."
"Oh, I see. It must be super delicious." Amy nodded with a thoughtful expression. She then turned to Mag with a curious look, and asked, "Father, why do you know how to make mooncake?"
"In my hometown, we held a festival called the moon festival every year. On that occasion, relatives and families would gather together to eat mooncakes. It"s a festival of reunion." Mag smiled as he provided an explanation. Even though he had already accepted this world, he still missed his parents with the moon festival on the horizon. He thought back to his childhood where he had sat in his mother"s lap while eating mooncake under an osmanthus tree, and a hint of nostalgia washed over him.
"Reunion?" A hint of hope appeared in Amy"s eyes as she looked up at Mag, and asked, Father, will Mother be coming to reunite with us?"