“Whoa!”

“Huh!? She’s the Head of the Elven Parliament?”

All the girls—except Dixue—fixed the little loli with wide, startled eyes, like sparrows breaking from a branch. It was wild to picture such a petite child as the Head of the Elven Parliament.

“Yes~ Official introduction. I’m Qiu Baimo. You can call me Xiaobai~”

She planted hands on her tiny waist, sunning herself in their surprise like a cheerful sunflower.

Qiu Ruyi didn’t play along. The green-haired girl strode over like a gust on grass and lifted the loli clean off the floor.

“Waaah! > <”

“You hid from me and acted on your own? If you’re this naughty, even on Elven Children’s Day, you still get a lesson!”

“Eek! Ruyi, don’t!”

“Calling me ‘Xiao Qiu’? Looks like you’re really pushing it today.”

Ruyi shook Xiaobai up and down, the way one shakes out a cloak in the wind.

Then she plucked off the headband that ringed up those twin ponytails.

Whoosh—pale yellow hair poured down like a waterfall, spilling to Xiaobai’s knees. Wrapped in silk-fine tresses, the tiny loli looked even cuter, like a doll in a veil.

“No, no!!! Ruyi, you’re the worst!”

She flailed, a sparrow pecking at the breeze—but her little arms couldn’t reach Ruyi at all.

“Mm. Pardon the scene. My sister is like this—Head of Parliament, yet not at all steady.”

Ruyi spread her hands and set Xiaobai on a chair in the body-pillow shop. For a moment, the usually languid green-haired girl settled like a stone in a stream, showing a touch of elder-sister calm.

“Huh!? Xiaobai… is Senior Qiu’s sister?”

“Yes. But she’s only three years younger than me. Treat her as a peer.”

Among elves, time runs like a long river. They live so long that three years feels like one in human seasons.

“But she looks so small…”

“For some reasons, my body stopped growing. I’m what you’d call a legal loli!”

Xiaobai thumped her chest, smug as a cat in the sun. Unlike an ordinary loli, she wasn’t flat; there was a spring to her curves, like ripe fruit under silk.

“Eh? LittleSnow, does that mean…”

“Mm, Little Yue. House Qiu is a famed name in the Elven Kingdom. Not as grand as the royal line, but a branch of high-elven nobility. They’ve long pushed openness, so their sway among common folk runs deep, like roots under moss.”

“I see!”

Watching the sisters, Yue Liuyi understood how Qiu Ruyi could be both a vice-chair of the Rangers Lodge and captain of the Elven Capital’s guard. For ordinary people, such roles would be walking on thin ice over a winter pond. But with such lofty standing, it becomes a matter of banner and family stance.

Thus, the meeting to decide the future of detained humans began in a doll-and-body-pillow shop, like a chessboard laid on velvet.

Everyone—Yedie Snow, Qiu Ruyi, Qiu Baimo, Zaocun, and Ailuna; even the shopkeeper—liked the choice. The shop had a back room, snug as a hollow in a tree, perfect for private talks.

Only Yue Liuyi objected, a faint protest like a reed in wind. She didn’t want to sit ringed by a crowd of her own body pillows. But Butterfly Snow President overruled her.

“Little Yue, don’t be willful, okay? Everyone’s happy—this place fits like a glove!”

“Ugh…”

On the white table, bright as fresh snow, the shopkeeper set down clear juice like spring water. The girls sat up straight, trying to show respect, their skirts neat as folded petals.

Still, a playhouse feeling tugged at Yue Liuyi’s heart, light as paper lanterns. Surrounded by so many pillows of herself, and facing a tiny loli, the feeling sharpened like a quill.

That loli, even seated, had only her eyes peeking over the table’s edge, like two fireflies over a windowsill.

“Then, let’s officially begin.”

Xiaobai’s voice rose from below the tabletop and echoed through the room like a bell.

“Alright.”

“Butterfly Snow President, Lady Liuyi. I love the Fengyi pillow, but I’m not like my sister—business stays business.”

“Good—business as business! But first, one premise: Little Yue is my wife! She’s not a bargaining chip. I’m absolutely not buying my wife.”

“Huh? Butterfly Snow President, do you read minds? How’d you see through my inner thoughts…”

“How is any of that business-as-business!!!!”

The topic veered like a kite in gusts, and Yue couldn’t help but gripe.

“Don’t rush, Little Yue… Before formal talks, it’s elven custom to speak of Little Yue.”

“What kind of custom is talking about me!?”

“Beauty. Elves speak of beautiful things before serious matters. When we share a sense of beauty first, everything after flows smoother, like water finding its channel.”

“So that’s how it is… ugh…”

Yue looked down at her knees, where a fancy skirt rippled like lake lace. Negotiating as a girl felt strangely delicate.

“Mm… Since Butterfly Snow President and I share a consensus on beauty, let’s step ahead.”

“Of course.”

“On releasing the human adventurers… we already entrusted the exchange terms to Sister Ruyi.”

“I’ve received them. If needed, I’ll write to the governor of Gelwen to request the release of the captured Elven Guard. Saving human adventurers would be great merit for him; there’s no reason to refuse.”

“But… we want to add one more condition.”

“Going back on your word isn’t what good kids do.”

“Rest easy, Butterfly Snow President—this proposal benefits you too.”

“Oh?”

“We elves want official licensing for the Yue Liuyi body pillow. Not only to sell in the Elven Forest, but also to outsiders.”

“Huh? That actually is good!”

“Why is it back to me again!”

“Little Yue, it’s fine. The Fengyi pillow is already a hit—just go with the flow~”

“Help! Someone’s starting to sell my wife!?”

“Lady Liuyi, relax. If you’re worried about certain uses, our elven-made Fengyi pillows will include special measures.”

“Sp-special measures?”

“Yeah! Since the Fengyi pillow is designed for girls, we’ll add a gender-detecting spell. If a boy touches it, the pillow detonates instantly! Better to shatter like jade than live as cheap tile!”

“That’s even worse! Isn’t that just a human bomb? It’d be a murder weapon for terrorists!!”

“Huh? True…”

…Anyway, the massive profits from a Yue Liuyi pillow could push peace like rain on a thirsty field. If everyone wins, who still yearns for war? If bellies are full, who throws life away? Since ancient times, uprisings and wars bloom when the economy goes barren.

The elves went to war, first for the Elven Queen’s stubborn will; second, because humans flooded the Elven Kingdom with goods, draining precious resources outward like sap from cut bark. Meanwhile, elves struggled to earn coin from outsiders with their own wares.

The Yue Liuyi pillow solves it neatly. Elven craftsmanship, paired with a swelling market of girl shoppers, is a perfect match—everyone knows girls have fierce buying power~

Thus, the partnership was set like ink on parchment.

“Good. To a happy collaboration. Once we receive our captives back, we’ll release the innocent adventurers at once.”

“I trust elves don’t lie—but we still need paperwork.”

“No problem. Oh—let me offer a favor too! For your companions, the Parliament can authorize early release…”

“Huh? Senior Xiang Xiaoyan and Senior Maria?”

“Mm. But among your group, there’s a green-haired girl held in the Elven Queen’s palace. We can’t help there.”

“Is it… Breeze?”

“I don’t know… but Tisinate seems to treasure her especially and hasn’t published any information.”

“Then it’s probably Breeze. After the World Tree Maiden ran off, the Elven Queen may be using Breeze as a stand-in. Otherwise the World Tree’s workings could falter.”

“What!? The World Tree Maiden ran off?”

Xiaobai popped to her feet—yet even standing, she was still shorter than everyone seated, like a bud beneath tall reeds.

“Huh? You didn’t know?”

“How would we! The girl at the World Tree’s core doesn’t just leave the Tree… When did this happen!?”

“Just recently. But she’s back now.”

“Back?”

“Mm… The pink-haired girl before Xiaobai? Ailuna-chan! She’s the World Tree Maiden—mother of the planet, you could say!”

“…”