Chapter 35: The Citizens of the Ideal Land

“Hicari, what kind of person do you think our Lord will be?”

A tiny pink-haired fairy, no larger than a palm with transparent wings, flew up and rested on the shoulder of a forest elf with light green hair, who was carrying their luggage.

Hicari’s eyes, clear as mountain water, flickered with unease before she answered: “I don’t know. Let’s hope he isn’t a bad person…”

The fairy sat on Hicari’s shoulder, swinging her legs and looking up at the sky. “We shouldn’t be so unlucky again, should we?”

Before coming here, the two of them had participated in a draw and ended up being assigned to a low-level territory. Based on Hicari’s strength and level, she shouldn’t have been sent to such a place.

She could guess the reason behind it—likely interference from kin who were jealous of her—but it didn’t matter now; leaving was a blessing.

****

Inside the territory.

Qin Yu and his group had prepared a welcome ceremony for the new arrivals.

“Xiao An, you came too?”

A silent, purple-haired little girl appeared near the welcoming crowd. Qin Yu walked over to greet her.

Angel saw Qin Yu approaching and instinctively wanted to hide, but he had already reached her.

She was a child with an aptitude of 8, just like Hong. At only eleven or twelve, her mental state wasn’t quite suited for a warrior’s life, but in Fate Paradise, one had to be prepared to fight, or they would die.

“My Lord… Xiao An… just wanted to see… the elves…”

Angel was incredibly curious about the incoming elves, which was why she had left her room; usually, she stayed inside, keeping to herself.

“Watching is perfectly fine. But Xiao An, you should spend more time with the others; staying in your room all day is boring.”

After the merchant left, Qin Yu had visited Angel and found her sitting alone in a dark room, hugging her knees and staring blankly, lost in thought.

“Xiao An… will…”

Angel replied cautiously, gripping Qin Yu’s finger. Qin Yu smiled, patted her head, and led her forward to await the arrivals from Avalon.

“I see them…”

Yin Feixue, relying on her superior senses, easily spotted them in the distance.

“I heard the elf sisters are all very beautiful~”

“How many do you think are coming?”

“Maybe a dozen?”

“A dozen is too few.”

“We’re only a small territory; a dozen is already a lot. I’d guess fewer than ten.”

…

As the children chatted, Qin Yu squinted, trying to make out the figures in the distance.

One… and then… just one?

He had expected at least three forest elves, but only one had come.

The children whispering among themselves were equally surprised to see only a single elf approaching.

Hicari, finally seeing the distant territory, quickened her pace.

“Hicari, look! It seems the Lord has prepared a welcome ceremony for us!”

The fairy Nanafu, resting on Hicari’s shoulder, pointed into the distance.

“It seems you’ve rested enough—can you fly on your own now?”

“No way! I’ve been flying for so long, my legs are tired.”

As she said this, Nanafu rubbed her smooth legs, pretending they were in great pain.

“Do your legs hurt from flying with wings?”

“Ugh, Hicari, you don’t understand! Fairies fly using phantom limbs!”

Hicari knew Nanafu was talking nonsense, but she didn’t call her out. Nanafu tried to hop off, but Hicari pressed her back down.

“Didn’t you say your phantom limbs were tired? Rest properly.”

“Hehe~”

Nanafu laughed.

Soon, they entered Qin Yu’s territory and met their Lord.

“My Lord, we are the subjects sent by Avalon to assist you…”

As Hicari introduced herself, Nanafu flew up, bowing to Qin Yu and the others in mid-air.

“My name is Hicari.”

“I’m Nanafu! My Lord, I look forward to working with you!”

Nanafu was delighted with Qin Yu and his territory, especially the Lakeside Villa, which was far better than the place she and Hicari lived in back in Avalon.

“Welcome, both of you. I am your Lord, Qin Yu. Everyone here is a subject just like you—though they are mostly children, I advise you not to underestimate them.”

Hicari scanned the group. She had wondered why there were so many children, but looking closer, she saw they all possessed high aptitude—especially the red-haired wolf-eared girl and the purple-haired girl Qin Yu was holding.

As for the strongest person here, it was the silver-haired girl floating in mid-air beside Qin Yu; she looked to be a vampire.

“Understood, My Lord.”

A brief interaction gave Qin Yu a preliminary impression of the forest elf named Hicari: a very earnest girl. As for the fairy, having her around as a mascot wouldn’t be bad either.

Most importantly, Hicari possessed Tier 5 strength, which mitigated Qin Yu’s initial disappointment. It wasn’t a loss; raising a single high-tier combatant was advantageous compared to managing a scattered group of low-tier units.

Even with only two, the welcome ceremony proceeded. Hicari and Nanafu felt the warmth of the community, which was a welcome change.

This gesture caused their affinity for Qin Yu to jump to 50—a great success. Affinity was a reference for loyalty; high affinity didn’t guarantee high loyalty, but low affinity certainly meant low loyalty.

Since there were only two of them, Qin Yu let them stay in the Lakeside Villa; as residents of Avalon, they certainly wouldn’t be used to living in standard human dwellings.

That night, Hicari and Nanafu slept in their new room.

“Hicari, I think we’re so lucky! The Lord seems like a very good person~”

Nanafu was very satisfied with Qin Yu, while Hicari merely nodded, saying nothing more.

“What’s wrong, Hicari? Don’t you want to say something? Those children all look at you, the ‘cool big sister,’ with such longing.”

Though Nanafu the fairy was novel and drew the children’s attention, Hicari was the one they truly looked up to; Nanafu was more like a new toy to them.

“Nanafu, the Lord is… unfathomable. Have you noticed?”

“Really? I just think he’s kind and approachable…”

Nanafu didn’t understand what Hicari saw, but being here was better than facing prejudice every day in Avalon.