Chapter 1282: A Small Crowd of Curious Elves ( 1282 )
Chapter 1282: A Small Crowd of Curious Elves ( 1282 )
She glanced at Gloria. "Ah... Gloria~"
Gloria gave a proper curtsy and recited the traditional elven greeting. "May the Eternal Grace of the Stars bless you, Your Majesty."
"My my~ This is how you show proper respect." Viessa smiled, turning her gaze back to Liana. "Your cousin knows how to greet royalty."
Liana let out a weary exhale. "Mother, pardon me, but I need to focus on the mission. We don’t have time for..."
"No." Viessa’s eyes turned serious before softening into a sweet smile. "I’m sure your youngest sister, Lyzia, couldn’t wait to meet you either~" She glanced at Gloria again.
"And your mother is also here, Gloria. Genevieve has been asking about you. Surely you wouldn’t leave without greeting her, would you?"
Viessa turned and glanced over her shoulder, folding her fan neatly in her hand. "Don’t worry about it. I’m sure by now, your youngest sister has already contacted her future brother-in-law~"
Liana let out a long, weary exhale.
"Fine... but I’m not staying for long."
Viessa began walking gracefully, with Liana and Gloria following behind.
"At least stay for breakfast and spend a few moments with your sisters. The last time you returned to the Elven Nation was years ago, during your sister Azariah’s wedding. I know the mission is important, but family is also important, isn’t it?" Viessa glanced back with a gentle smile. "Besides, I’m sure the mission will proceed smoothly with my future son-in-law handling it alone. He seems more than capable, wouldn’t you agree?"
Liana crossed her arms as she walked, glancing to the side with a puffed cheek. "Still, I won’t let my Young Master handle everything alone."
Viessa just smiled and continued walking gracefully toward the dining room.
Meanwhile.
Elven Northern Border.
Nanrion Town.
The elven folk walking around the city square glanced toward the fountain, where a huge orange pekko was resting, and beside it, a human lay sprawled on the ground, snoring loudly. He wear ragged, patched clothing, stained with dirt and frayed at the edges. His hair was messy, and his face was hidden under a worn hood.
"What’s a human doing here?"
"Don’t know..."
"Where are the guards? Why don’t they do something about him?"
"Who knows? The guards just pass by him."
"I believe he’s been here for two days now, right?"
"Yeah. Some say he arrived with that bird and just stayed there. Others say he’s from Armand."
"From Armand? A beggar? Wow... first time I’ve heard Armand has beggars."
"Yeah... but according to my friend who’s a guard, his name is Jee. So just call him Beggar Jee or something."
"Oh... So he’s begging for money?"
"Hmm... I don’t know... but I’ve never seen him put out anything to collect coins. No bowl, no cup, nothing."
Another elf joined in and glanced at the human still sleeping. "But this human doesn’t cause any trouble, right?"
"Yeah, all he does is buy food and eat with that huge... er... pekko, right?"
"Yeah, a pekko. That means this beggar is really from Armand."
"But don’t you find it weird?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"You know, he has that pekko. If he sold it, he could easily get 20 gold coins."
Another elf chuckled and shook his head. "No~ I don’t think anyone from Armand would sell a pekko. Besides, I’ve been to Armand before, pekko are everywhere. They’re practically a part of their culture."
"Yeah, me too. Even with pekko roaming around, their places are still incredibly clean."
"Really?"
"Yes. Besides, maybe that Pekko is really his friend. I’ve heard from Armand people, especially the coachmen from the Armand Pekko carriages, that Pekko are hard to befriend. But once they do, the Pekko becomes fiercely loyal to that person for life."
The other elf glanced at the one who suggested selling the pekko, teasing him with a smirk. "What kind of person would sell a companion? That’s just cruel. Pekko aren’t just monster bird, they’re loyal friends. You’d be a weirdo if you tried to sell one."
The other elf nudged his friend. "Look... the human is awake."
The entire group of elves who had gathered to gossip turned their attention toward the fountain, their eyes fixed on the human with curiosity.
Javier stretched his arms above his head, letting out a long, lazy yawn. He rubbed his eyes before patting the orange pekko’s wing, mumbling something softly to it.
"Look... he’s stretching."
"Yeah... he yawned too."
They all watched as he continued patting the pekko, whispering something that made the bird let out a soft, rumbling squawked.
"I wonder what that human is saying to his pekko."
"Yeah... I want to know too."
More elves joined them, forming a small crowd as they watched the scene like a curious audience.
"Ah... look, he’s touching his ear and mumbling something."
"Is he crazy?"
"M... maybe... but he’s not dangerous, right?"
"No, I don’t think so. The guards just casually ignore him."
"Yeah... besides, Armand has supplied our soldiers with new equipment, like detectors or something. So I doubt this human poses a threat to us."
"Hey, don’t worry. If someone from Armand causes trouble, we just complain to the guards, and they’ll contact Armand. Armand is strict about punishing anyone from their nation who causes trouble or poses a danger to others."
The other elf nudged his friend again. "Look. He’s starting to talk to himself again."
Javier rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, his lips moving as he mumbled softly. The huge orange pekko beside him tilted its head, watching him with curious eyes.
"Perhaps that’s the reason why he’s a beggar from Armand," one elf said thoughtfully. "We all know Armand never has homeless people, let alone beggars. Their government always helps those in need. Maybe this guy just... doesn’t fit in."
"True. But maybe because he talks alone, they couldn’t help him," another added.
"Yeah... or maybe he’s just someone who’s free-spirited and carefree, enjoying his life by doing things like this, sightseeing the whole world. There’s nothing wrong with that."
"Mm... I guess there’s nothing to worry about."
"Hey... he’s standing now."
"And whoa... that pekko is huge!"
Another elf chuckled. "I’m going now. The breakfast special at Miss Squina’s won’t wait!"
"Ah, right! The special breakfast prepared by that beauty~"
"Mm~ Despite being 500 years old, she’s super cute."
Another elf started running. "I’m first!"
"No way!"
The group quickly dispersed, leaving Javier alone again as they rushed toward the popular elven breakfast spot.
( End Of Chapter )
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