The war had ended, yet the scars it carved stayed raw.
“Next up, we’re interviewing an elf who lived through the war.”
An elf reporter in a green-and-white dress pushed open an old wooden door. Behind it, a hesitant girl’s face peered out, like a moon half-hidden by cloud.
“Who… is it?”
She wasn’t just half-awake—she was sunk in gloom. Her eyes were red, her spirit haggard. Even her once-silky jade-green hair had withered like frost-bitten grass.
“Hello. I’m with Elven TV. We heard you, Miss Qiu Ruyi, were a direct witness. We’d like your thoughts on the war.”
“Ugh… that’s something I don’t want to remember.”
“Please, we need your story. Only then can the people watching feel it, straight from your heart.”
“…Fine. Come in.”
Qiu Ruyi waved them inside. She moved like a winded sparrow, brewing a few cups of Starbus coffee, then set them gently on the table.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome… I’m dizzy, so ask away. Where do you want to start?”
“From the beginning.”
“All right… That day, I caught a human girl trying to slip into the Elven Forest. I never expected… an assault by Crimson Paradise.”
…
Under Qiu Ruyi’s steady voice, the battle of Cascade Gorge was laid out, beat by beat.
Blood sprayed. Artillery roared. Her tone stayed low, but the sorrow of war pressed into every word like rain on cold stone.
“By then… the situation had grown dire. Steel machines ripped our line apart. Then, from behind, more human troops arrived.”
“Were they enemy reinforcements?”
“No… those humans weren’t like the ones attacking us. They helped. They treated the wounded Elven Guard. They fought beside me and pushed the enemy back. We won.”
“What? Humans like that exist? Weren’t you attacked because you captured a human girl?”
“Yes… and funny enough, those humans had come to rescue that same girl. But when they saw we were about to be slaughtered, pity stirred in them. They helped us. They said they couldn’t accept us capturing human adventurers, but they refused to watch elves be butchered.”
“That’s… surprising.”
“They call themselves the Azure Front. It’s a group formed by outsider elves and human adventurers. The previous conspiracy? They’re the ones who exposed it.”
…
“Hehe, that did it~”
A silver-haired girl clapped, satisfied, the glow of the screen reflected like starlight in her eyes.
“LittleSnow’s a real genius. The Azure Front just found a treasure!”
This was Dixue’s strategy—through a TV interview, carry the raw pain of war into every household of the Elven Forest, while sending the Azure Front’s name across the land.
Tell the elves this: humans aren’t your enemies. Criminals are.
It helped that Qiu Ruyi could wear masks. She looked like a veteran scarred by years of war—so real that even Yue Liuyi almost fell for it.
“Right! Isn’t Sister Qiu a branch leader of the Rangers Lodge? Why do the elves trust her enough to interview her?”
“Outside Dragon Heaven, the Rangers Lodge runs underground. It can’t be public. In the Elven Kingdom, Ruyi serves openly as Captain of the Capital Guard.”
“Sister Qiu is really a Captain!?”
“Mm. Which means the elves aren’t our enemies at all. And when we head for Rainbow Fortress, their help could make the road safer.”
“Huh?”
Yue Liuyi paused, surprised at how far ahead Dixue was thinking.
Violence would be simpler—just break into the prison and be done.
But to let everyone walk away satisfied, you need careful plans and gentle threads.
“Next, it depends on Tisinate’s response. If she clings to her stubbornness after this, our cause will be justified.”
“Got it.”
As the girls spoke, a knock came from outside.
Dixue had shifted back into her elf guise. Even without the fruit of the World Tree, the silver-haired girl could raise those long ears with natural ease.
“Dixue… Lady Dieyu… someone’s here to see you. A gray-haired elf girl, and two catfolk girls.”
“Eh? Lingwei and Zaocun?”
“They’re here? Let’s go welcome them!”
…
With more adventurers joining, the camp had grown again.
It looked like a small village now—over twenty bamboo houses, a lounge for rest, even a TV wired in.
Zaocun and Lingwei walked the stone-paved path, faces bright with curiosity.
“Wow! This is the sisters’ camp? It looks amazing!”
Every bamboo door hung with a rainbow of basketed flowers. Spring scent pooled under the eaves, and your mood lifted as you walked.
And everywhere, girls in pretty dresses. Zaocun’s eyes danced so fast, she didn’t know where to look.
“Ah! Found Sister Yue! Zaocun wants a hug!”
“Dixue, Sister Yue, long time no see!”
The catfolk girl dashed into their arms like a sunny cub.
“Hehe, how’s it going? Been behaving at school?”
Yue Liuyi stroked Zaocun’s hair like petting a small animal. Moments like this—with friends gathered—made her happiest.
“Mm! Very obedient! Zaocun followed Dixue’s orders and nailed the ‘act pitiful’ mission! The ‘Beast-Eared Girls Protection Association’ has grown to 1,281 members! We’ve received 191 aid packages!”
“Nice work! But… what is the Beast-Eared Girls Protection Association?”
“It’s the newest club at Linyun Academy. Same vibe as the Fengyi Body Pillow Protection Club. They’re the two biggest factions on campus!”
Yue patted Zaocun’s head, so Dixue patted Yue’s head too. The motion held the same gentle warmth—petting soft fur under sunlight.
“Uh… the Fengyi… Body Pillow… Protection Club…”
Yue Liuyi murmured the name, stunned. She’d never imagined she’d be so popular at Linyun Academy.
Compared to that illusion where bandits ringed her in, the difference felt like sky and abyss.
(Being a girl is great…? Wait, huh?)
Before she could untangle that thought, a gray-haired girl approached, quiet as mist.
Those unmoved eyes. That blank mouth. The same melancholy as their first meeting—Master Hui of Linyun Academy.
“That’s how it is… If you demand the release of innocent adventurers, I’ll stand with you. On behalf of the Beast-Eared Girls Protection Association and the Institute.”
“Ah! Master Hui, you came too!”
“Mm.”
“Thank you for your support. Did you come for something specific?”
“I heard… you captured a girl named ‘Hei’. She’s a senior retainer of Crimson Paradise. Is that true?”
“Yes. She’s being held in the cave. Would you like to see her?”
“Yes…”
…
After nodding to the two adventurers guarding the entrance, Yue Liuyi, Dixue, and Master Hui went inside.
Since it was a prison, not ideal for kids, the two catfolk girls were handed to Lia for care, to try the camp’s specialty—freshly grilled fish.
The cave felt damp, but not dark. Magic lamps washed the stone in pale gold, revealing a black-robed girl curled in a corner like a crow under rain.
The Crimson Baroness had fled, but her underlings hadn’t. Eight girls in all, locked in separate rooms.
“You’re here to torture me…? Whatever you do… Hei won’t talk.”
Even hearing footsteps, the black-robed girl didn’t lift her head. Her whisper lay flat, like ash.
She wasn’t in a cage. But Officer Chen’s police cuffs held her wrists. She couldn’t cast a single spell now.
“Master Hui, this is—eh!?”
Before Dixue could introduce her, Hui took a step forward. On that expressionless face, a rare spark of anger flickered.
“Master Hui…?”
The slap cracked through the cave like a snapped branch.
A red handprint bloomed on the girl’s cheek. Hei snapped her head up. In her gaze at the gray-haired elf, fear flared, sharp and raw.
“Sis… ter…?”
“You ran from home and joined that kind of place?”
Hui flipped back Hei’s hood, revealing long elven ears. The black-robed girl was an elf too.
“N-no…”
Hei shook her head, panicked. Her eyes scattered like dandelion seeds. She didn’t dare meet Hui’s stare.
“Do you understand? To side with the enemy and harm your own kin… If the Elven Parliament learns this, do you know your fate?”
“Th-the Spring of Origins…? No, don’t! Don’t! Hei doesn’t want to go there!!! Sister, save me!!!”
“You made your choices. Bear them. You like the Crimson Baroness? I came to grant your wish. From this moment, you and I aren’t sisters.”
“No! Sister, don’t! Hei knows she was wrong! Hei knows, she knows!!!”
No matter how Hei begged, the gray-haired girl turned away. She didn’t look back.
Dixue and Yue Liuyi stood in silence, rooted like trees in winter.
Hei’s desperate cries battered the stone and echoed down the cave, ragged as torn wings.
