"Miss had a really good time today."
The Head Maid, carrying the herbal tea behind Faye, seemed to have noticed the smile on her own face. Faye didn't need to avoid the subject. Lena was her mother's closest sister, though one was a lady and the other a Head Maid, their relationship was more like that of sisters, which is why Faye turned her head and smiled, "Yes, very much so."
"You specifically brought back Master Malin and Miss Maya. Speaking of which, your mother has said that this estate does not allow any men to enter. You have already broken the rule twice today."
"Malin is just a ten-year-old child, I don't remember my mother saying that children are not allowed in." Faye caught at a not-so-much loophole; as her mother's eldest daughter, she never felt that her mother would be too harsh about this matter.
Malin was so outstanding, and outstanding in a way that not many knew. Perhaps the adults of the Logan family might recognize the effects of the Spell Formations that Malin wielded quietly or notice his amazing talents, but... as the mistress of the house, she had already sworn an oath of ownership beside Malin that day. Any fool daring to cut the line without her consent would only face her merciless retribution.
Maya was a unifying target. This silly Panseh Cat Girl may not seem talented for now, but Faye thought that according to the theory of Transcendents gathering, young Transcendents would always attract each other and come together.
This was a congregation transcending race and class.
Although this was just a theory of Faye's mother, Faye had already felt it very clearly today—those who had come over wanting to get to know Malin were all outstanding Apprentices. The slackers would consciously keep their distance from Malin. Only those people, those who wanted to become Apprentices and advance further, were interested in knowing Malin, in hopes of reaping the benefits of this friendship someday.
No matter how much weight this friendship had, this was the rationale written in her mother's books.
Birds of a feather flock together.
"Anyway, if lady asks me, I would tell the truth," said Faye's Head Maid with a smile.
"No problem, I certainly won't stop you. To be honest, if my mother were here, I would introduce Malin to her openly. He is very outstanding. I've learned quite a bit about him from my sister Margaret." Faye spoke with a smile: "Although sister is quite vigilant, she is somewhat less so towards her own sister, and it was quite simple for me to draw her out."
Faye paused for a moment, and the young girl in the corridor looked at her Head Maid: "You wouldn't tell my sister that, would you?"
"In that regard, I am the Head Maid of both lady and you, Miss." The Wild Elf smiled and shook her head: "If she were my daughter, I might tell her, some secrets should be kept close to the chest."
"Thank you, Lena. You truly are the Head Maid I trust the most." Faye turned and walked toward her room: "By the way, has there been any news from father and brother?"
"The war in the North won't stop until all of Chaos is eradicated, but your father sent a message, saying that the war is going relatively well," the Head Maid paused before continuing: "Your brother got a little injured, but it's nothing serious."
"It's fine as long as it's not serious. I'm counting on him to help me keep an eye on things. I can't let father with step three strength overwork Malin; that boy really can't withstand father's intensity." Faye laughed, always feeling that the Goddess of Fortune had smiled upon her all this year. The young girl pushed open her bedroom door: "Lena, tell me, does first love ever have a happy ending?"
"It depends on the person, my Miss." As the Head Maid placed the herbal tea on the table, she retired to the door: "But I remember my mentor said that if one does not move forward in life, there is no future to speak of."
"...It is the words of a Sage, thank you, Lena."
"Serving you is Lena's duty, good night, Miss."
As she watched her Head Maid close the bedroom door for her, Faye walked to the table, looked at the bitter herbal tea, and eventually picked it up and drank it down.
..........
"Where were you last night?" Colin asked bluntly as he looked at the trio that had just walked in.
"We were together yesterday," Faye took over the conversation: "At my estate, what's up?"
"No... I'm not blaming you. Something happened last night. A whole Noble family died in the Noble district. When I discovered you didn't come back, I was almost worried to death." Colin sighed, then recounted the events of the previous night to the three of them.
Only then did Malin learn that at 11 o'clock last night, a young Noble who had an urgent matter and visited the Bide family's estate, accidentally found the main door of the Bide residence open. As a friend of the eldest son of the Bide family, he cautiously pushed open the door, intending to scold the night-shift servant, only to discover that the entire estate had been massacred.
The distraught young man ran to call the police, and when the police entered, they too were horrified by the scene—every family member and servant had been killed, the guards in the courtyard and four night-shift dogs all beheaded, the birds in the cage on the first floor had died suddenly, the puppies by the fireplace had gone stiff, the ornamental fish in the big fish tank on the second floor had met with violent deaths, and even in the hallway on the third floor, dozens of insect corpses had been found.
It was clear that this was not a problem that a normal human could cause. The police immediately notified all Churches. By the time Colin ran over, the crime scene was already crowded—The eldest son of the Bide family was a follower of the War God, the eldest daughter believed in the God of Art and Beauty, the second son was a devotee of the God of Wisdom, the third son a follower of the God of Commerce, and the two parents were devout believers of the Sea God, while their living mother was even a Proxy of the God of Justice (retired with honors).
With the Church of the Goddess of Harvest seemingly uninvolved, Colin was about to revel in the commotion, but then he heard terrible news from the Church—the Church had not seen Malin since yesterday afternoon, and both Faye and Maya had gone missing.
Asking the overnight Apprentices yielded no clear answers; the senior students even expressed relief at possibly getting hit less often, infuriating Colin. He immediately told the senior instructors that from then on there would be thrice-weekly joint combat training sessions.
He wouldn't let these little bastards get away with it.
After struggling through the night, Colin finally saw Malin at dawn and learned the situation from Malin's own mouth.
"Make sure to let us know next time you have a gathering," Colin said without another thought, and turned to go to sleep.
It was actually Miss Margaret who ran out to pull Malin and Faye's ears and gave them another serious warning. She left the Church in a huff—she had been on duty yesterday and was also very worried.
Malin and Faye were scolded, but they also understood the concerns of the two and naturally kept their bitterness to themselves.
"However, speaking of which, your sister and Colin do make a good match," Malin said to Faye beside him before morning lessons.
"There's a Thanan saying that goes, 'A match made in heaven, a shameless couple,'" Faye said with a laugh.
Hey, that's not how you use the term 'shameless couple.'
Although Malin felt a bit awkward, he realized Faye's attitude towards the two being together—of course, there was no problem.
After all, she was already a level six on the ladder at nineteen, reportedly classmates with Margaret since childhood, talented and young, innocent childhood love—what's there to be unsatisfied with?
......
The murder case of the Beyd family was quickly closed as the work of a Spiritual Body Spirit, and the the spirit that committed the murders was found by the elders of the Church in the sewers.
Another spiritual seductress, this had once again attracted Colin's attention—Mrs. Mischael's case hadn't even been half a year ago.
So Mr. Colin joined in.
Malin had no plans to become a Great Detective, whether or not it was Mr. Mischael's doing, he wouldn't step into that minefield until he had enough ability.
After all, all the Churches were now quite concerned about this matter, and it was not up to Malin, the little rookie, to take risks.
What's more, today is the second day of the Harvest Festival.
Today, he would learn how to dance with Faye, and they would be able to use it tomorrow night—speaking of which, Malin had asked Maya, only to find out that this little Leopard Girl was already very proficient.
"I've been dancing with my dad every year," Maya said, indicating that dancing around the bonfire during the Harvest Festival couldn't be simpler.
Alright then, it turns out I'm the only one who's a master at stepping on feet.
After morning Spell Formation class, Malin and Faye practiced on the rooftop for a while, and Malin was surprised to find that the dance was actually quite simple. The footwork of both partners followed each other, and there was basically no stepping on feet. This discovery made Malin feel a little happy.
"You're doing well with learning, Malin. Let's take it a step further," Faye seemed happy too, and then changed into shoes with all-metal uppers.
Wait a second! What does that mean?!
The next half hour was like a nightmare. As soon as the pace picked up, Malin would mess up. Although Faye kept trying to teach, as time went on, she started to lose her enthusiasm: "Malin, you've already learned sword dance techniques, so why can't you get these basic steps..."
Are those two things even comparable? When I sword dance, I can hack at anyone carelessly, but when dancing, I'm facing you.
"Let me do it," Maya, who was sitting on the side, suddenly chirped with a can-do attitude.
"Alright, you try. Come on, here are the protective metal plates for your feet," Faye said with a laugh, looking at Malin and walking over to Maya.
"No need, I won't let big brother step on me," the little Leopard Girl said, shaking her head with a smile.
So they switched partners and, to their surprise, Malin felt much better this time around. The quick-reacting Leopard Girl in front of him dodged Malin's missteps several times by slipping past them. Before long, after becoming familiar with the steps, Malin was finally able to dance through a full segment without making mistakes.
"That's great. Shall we continue, Maya?" Faye asked with a smile.
"No need. I think big brother is confident now. You come, Sister Faye," Maya finished saying and handed Malin's hand over to Faye who was walking over.
For some reason, when Maya passed his hand to Faye, Malin suddenly thought of a word.
Rotation.