Eleanor's brow furrowed even deeper. She looked at Benita, seemingly waiting for her to rescind the order.
Benita smiled. She reached out and patted Suren's shoulder, her tone carrying a reassuring certainty. “It is already wonderful that you are willing to help with this now.”
Suren wanted to say something, but in the end, she only nodded vigorously.
Benita turned around and raised her voice, letting it carry throughout the side hall and to the ears of those eavesdropping outside the portico.
“Starting today, Suren will serve as the Captain of the Guard for Qinghe Town. Hort is demoted to Vice-Captain, with a chance to redeem himself. All guard members will be re-registered. Anyone unwilling to stay may leave right now.”
The previously dejected Hort froze, seemingly unable to believe he had only been demoted rather than dismissed.
“A new guard selection will be held in three days, open to both women and men. The two of you will discuss the details and report to me tomorrow.”
“Yes, Madam Mayor!”
“Yes, My L—Madam Mayor!”
Benita had gained new inspiration from Suren. Most women worked the fields just like men, and their strength was by no means inferior.
In fact, they were often more meticulous and conscientious than men. As long as they were given the opportunity, they wouldn't perform any worse than anyone else.
“Ms. Eleanor will serve as the Steward. The clerks will also need to be re-selected, and I will leave that matter to you as well.”
Benita smiled at Eleanor. “The position of Tax Collector is vacant. Decide on whoever you deem suitable first; there is no need to wait for my review. We will be extremely busy over the next few days.”
“In that case, Madam Mayor,” Eleanor said with an elegant and composed smile as she spread a detailed map of the town on the table. “Where shall we begin?”
For the rest of the time, the clean side hall was filled only with the rustle of turning pages and the quiet murmurs of the two women in conversation.
Eleanor stacked the tax ledgers from over the years, the yellowed pages flipping rapidly beneath her fingertips.
Her voice was steady and clear. Years of experience managing estates allowed her to easily spot the tricks in the tax ledgers.
As Benita listened, her pen flew across the draft paper. It took only a few minutes to reclaim the skills she had neglected for four years.
The shadows of the window frames gradually crept upward, and the light in the side hall began to soften like watered-down honey, its warm glow blurring their outlines.
Eleanor had to stop her hand from flipping through the ledgers.
Outside the window, the twilight had already turned into a sheet of molten gold.
“The sun has set.”
Sylvia raised her hand to block the sunset, which wasn't particularly dazzling, and took out a thick booklet to hand to Wu Yao.
The booklet had a deep blue cover embroidered with a crescent moon pattern in silver thread. Its edges were already somewhat frayed, clearly indicating a long history.
“What is this?” The booklet felt heavy in her hand, far weightier than she had expected.
She casually flipped open a page. It was densely packed with runes and spell structures, with each rune annotated in two different ink colors.
The black ink represented the runes themselves, while the blue was for annotations. The annotated script was slender and elegant, not the common language of humans.
“The Compendium of Common Elven Spells. It contains over three hundred of the most commonly used basic spell structures.”
This was an introductory book that Sylvia had kept for a very long time. It had been with her ever since she was a young elf who had just learned to sense the elements.
“I am giving it to you.”
“Sylvia!” Wu Yao stowed the booklet into her Inventory and lunged forward to hug her. “You are the best elf ever!”
Sylvia was forced half a step back by her embrace, her hands hovering in the air, unsure of where to place them.
Wu Yao's eyes darted around as she pushed her luck. “Do you happen to have any Elemental Cores or Mana Crystals?”
Sylvia looked down at her in surprise. It had been a very long time since she last heard that term, and she even wondered if she had misheard.
Wu Yao's eyes lit up, and she almost jumped. “You do?”
Sylvia's expression instantly shifted from surprise to shame, her blue eyes downcast. “No, I don't.”
Wu Yao's shoulders slumped. Her disappointment was so obvious that Sylvia's sense of guilt deepened, as if she owed Wu Yao something important but was unable to provide it.
“Elemental Cores vanished from this continent a very long time ago. Where did you hear about them?”
“From a quest,” Wu Yao replied honestly.
Sylvia was dazed for a moment, feeling as though she had heard a perfectly reasonable explanation.
Yet, as this explanation passed through her consciousness, it was filtered out, leaving only a vague impression.
Sylvia nodded subconsciously and continued the conversation. “Elemental Cores only have a chance of forming in places where elements are most densely concentrated. Unfortunately, the elemental concentration on the continent today can no longer support their creation. It is practically impossible for you to find one now.”
“What about the older Elemental Cores?” Wu Yao refused to give up. She didn't believe this trash game would give her an impossible quest.
The older ones...
Sylvia remained silent for a long time before finally speaking. “Elemental Cores are naturally drawn to Witches.”
Her gaze drifted blankly to the floor. “Most Elemental Cores were held by Witches. They would be attracted by the aura of Witches and become their companions. A small portion would accompany other magical creatures, such as elves and dragons.”
“But—” Sylvia's voice suddenly dropped, “human nobles and mages stole almost all of them.”
Wu Yao automatically pieced together a logical chain in her mind: Witches had Elemental Cores, humans launched the witch hunts, killed the Witches, and stole the cores.
She waited for Sylvia to continue, but there was only silence.
Looking up at Sylvia, she realized the elf was pursing her lips tightly.
The twilight leaked through the broken window panes, casting over her face and dyeing her golden hair a somber copper. Rather than making her look warmer, the light cast a trace of chill.
Her jewel-like blue eyes shimmered with a thin layer of light. It wasn't tears, but it burned with a startling intensity.
Her voice carried a touch of hoarseness. “They wiped away their consciousness.”
Sylvia lowered her head, her golden hair sliding off her shoulders to conceal her expression, leaving only her slightly drooping pointed ears visible.
Wu Yao shifted uncomfortably. According to basic human logic, she probably should have said something to comfort the elf, who looked as if she were about to break.
But she was playing a game, and she didn't even understand what was being said!
What consciousness? Whose consciousness? How could consciousness be wiped away? What would happen to the Elemental Cores after that?
“Cough... So, uh,” Wu Yao scratched her eyebrow and asked cautiously, “what does it mean to wipe away their consciousness? Whose consciousness?”
Wu Yao was already very familiar with the look Sylvia gave her.
She knew she had probably asked another foolish question of common sense, but why should she bother researching it herself when she had an NPC to give her the TL;DR version!
Rate on N.U.
