By night, the Elven Capital bloomed with festival light, a sea of lamps like fallen stars.
Against scattered starlight, streets ran like silver rivers ringed in glow. Luminous magic-stone lamps swayed on branches, casting sprites’ silhouettes, turning trees into dreamscapes.
The war had ended. For the elves, that rare blessing rippled like warm wind. Doors opened, and joy spilled out as faces bloomed into smiles.
Yue Liuyi sat in a chair at the hug‑pillow doll shop, watching the river of footfalls flow by. Day had painted the capital serene; night revealed her true pulse.
Elven Guard returning from the front crashed into embraces. Children chirped like sparrows, dashing ahead, their laughter tethered to parents like bright kites.
The innocent human adventurers were freed as well, blinking like owls at noon, dazed and unsure what tide had just turned.
“Yue, your juice’s here!”
“Eh…? Thanks, LittleSnow!”
She took the cup from Dixue. The watermelon juice, clinking with ice, ran cool as spring water down her throat.
“Slow down, Yue. No rush… the others won’t be here for a bit.”
“Mm, okay…”
The wide room held only two girls. Quiet fell like soft snow, and the air smoothed into peace.
“Yue… is there something you want to ask your big sis?”
“Eh…?”
Her heart warmed first, then her gaze locked on those jade-green eyes so close. Yue Liuyi flushed; meeting the eyes you love is a quiet kind of bliss.
“LittleSnow, there’s no one else now… um… am I really a World Tree Maiden?”
“Mm, absolutely! I’d never mistake you, Yue. It’s hidden deep, but you carry that life force only a World Tree Maiden has.”
“But… I don’t remember anything. My memories are just me growing up like an ordinary kid…”
“On Yue’s planet, there’s probably no World Tree anymore, right?”
“Eh? Yeah… none.”
Back home, even ordinary trees were rare; a World Tree was a myth blown away by sand.
“Then maybe, when you were little, a kind human found you. To protect you, they concealed your power.”
“Ah!?”
Dixue’s guess jolted Yue; she nearly toppled off her chair like a leaf in a sudden breeze.
“Eh? Did big sis guess wrong?”
“Uh… I don’t really know… my family’s a bit… unusual.”
“Unusual? In what way… Would you tell your sister?”
Dixue tilted her head, worry pooling in her eyes as she looked at Yue.
“Mm… I remember Mom was gentle, Dad was sunny. But when I’d just started middle school, they disappeared…”
“Eh!? Disappeared!? Then how did you manage back then, Yue!”
“I lived by books, same as now. We didn’t have much money, but we had lots of books… After they vanished, I opened a little rental shop, living off lending magic tomes.”
“Renting books to live? Yue… did you support yourself alone…?”
“Yeah… you could say that. But since no one was home, classmates often came by—fried chicken, board games—it was actually pretty fun.”
“Uu… uu…”
The silver-haired girl’s eyes brimmed, then tears fell like rain pebbles; she broke into sobs.
“Whoa! LittleSnow, why are you crying all of a sudden?”
“Because, Yue… you’re too pitiful! Such a kind, cute girl, yet with such a harsh fate. I’ve decided! I’ll take you home and protect you. I won’t let you suffer again!”
“Uu… a-actually it wasn’t that bad. For a bo—um…”
Yue realized her story tangled the more she tried to explain. In Dixue’s eyes, she was a tiny, soft loli, running a little bookshop, school by day, customers by night—so hard.
But Yue… was a boy.
On Dreamwood Star, the streets were safe enough; those days hadn’t felt so rough to him. His parents’ sudden vanishing did leave him adrift for a long while.
After that, he adapted.
Yet none of this could be said to Dixue, because the first thread to pull would be telling her he was a boy.
He felt the urge rise like a tide: tell LittleSnow everything. Their bond had woven this far; hiding any longer felt wrong.
If there was a misunderstanding about the World Tree Maiden, better clear it now. And with no one else here, chance hung ripe like fruit.
So Yue nodded, steady. He set his hands on Dixue’s shoulders, still trembling with soft sobs…
“LittleSnow!”
“Eh? Yue…?”
“LittleSnow, I have something very important to tell you!”
“E-Eh?? W-what… what is it…?”
A faint blush bloomed on the silver-haired girl’s cheeks. Her smooth words snagged, tripping like stepping stones.
“Um… actually, I’m…”
“Whoa! Found Sister Yue!!!!!!!!!”
“Eh?”
Just as Yue was about to spill it, something wrapped around her waist. Furry, soft, swaying.
It was, of course, the adorable catfolk girl—Zaocun.
“Eh? Zaocun, why are you here?”
“Didn’t Sister Yue say we’d meet at the doll shop? We’re going to tour!”
“Oh… right! I forgot. LittleSnow, um…”
Yue turned to Dixue, only to find the silver-haired girl had already slipped back into her usual mask. Aside from the faint red at her eyes, she stood like a poised beauty, no trace of the sobbing girl.
This silver-haired maiden hid herself too well!!!
“Mm… Zaocun got here first? Good. Worth praise.”
“Thanks for the dried fish, Sister Dixue! Sister Maria and the others are behind us, they’ll be here soon… mm…”
Zaocun’s cat ears flicked. She hesitated, a rarity for this catfolk girl.
“Zaocun, did something seem off?”
“Mm… outside, I ran into a few people in cloaks. They looked all secretive. Weird!”
“Oh, that…”
“Were they dangerous?”
“No, they’re actually…”
“Why am I bringing you to tour the Elven Parliament!”
“Hmph! Don’t think your deceiving the queen and stirring civil strife just ends like this.”
“That was because Her Majesty kept it all veiled! She wouldn’t explain.”
“How could a thing like that be explained!”
“Uuu… it’s all Ailuna’s fault, Ailuna made everyone…”
“Please don’t! Lady Ailuna, your safety is our greatest wish!”
Xiao Bai and Tisinate walked in together, Ailuna tucked between them. The pink‑haired girl’s eyes were red; she’d cried plenty.
But at least there was life back in her gaze now, not the madness and fracture from the World Tree’s core.
“Ailuna?”
“Uu, Yue Liuyi! I’m sorry!!!!!!!!!!”
Ailuna saw Yue and dropped to her knees with a thump. The iron cuffs on her wrists and ankles chimed with a cold ding‑dong.
“Whoa, Ailuna, why are you kneeling to me! Get up!”
“I heard it was Liuyi‑chan who saved me… and when I broke, Liuyi‑chan stopped the fight.”
“That was nothing. And… ‘broken’ isn’t a word for you, Ailuna…”
Yue hurried to lift Ailuna into a hug. The soft World Tree Maiden nestled against her, warm as moss under sun.
“Uuu…”
The pink‑haired girl settled into Yue’s arms, soaking up a brief calm. To the two guardians of the World Tree Maidens, though, the scene skewed awkward.
Especially Tisinate, who pressed down her own impulse hard, insisting to herself this was pure friendship between Maidens.
“Aiya… never in my dreams did I think I’d see a World Tree Maiden in person—two of them! And one even made into a hug pillow!”
“Ruyi, don’t tease my little Yue. Yue doesn’t have her World Tree Maiden memories yet, so everyone, treat her like an ordinary girl for now.”
“Mm… ordinary? With this much cuteness, nothing’s ordinary…”
Qiu Ruyi slipped off her cloak and stepped inside. So the four cloaked girls Zaocun saw were the Elven Kingdom’s most authoritative four—disguised to avoid stirring up the citizens.
As they entered, familiar voices rose outside the door…
“Sister Yue…”
“Dixue, we’re here too.”
The door swung wide; Breeze drifted in first. Then came Xiang Xiaoyan, violet hair restored, the gentle and capable San Hua Zhi, smiling Maria, and Zero Wei in a maid uniform.
“I heard, as compensation for our imprisonment, the elven lords will tour us through the Elven Capital, all costs waived. Is that true?”
“Mm… true. But Maria, don’t be wasteful. This outing’s expenses use Rangers Lodge funds.”
“Hah? Why are we using Rangers Lodge funds? And… how do you know my name!?”
“As the Rangers Lodge’s branch chair stationed in the Elven Capital, this is only proper.”
“Hold on… Qiu Ruyi! You finally admit you’re colluding with outsiders—siphoning funds?”
“Uu… I forgot Our Majesty was right here. Exposed!”
“Little Qiu, don’t be scared! I hear Liuyi‑chan’s also Rangers Lodge and a World Tree Maiden, so this doesn’t count as treason!”
“You called me Little Qiu! Xiao Bai, are you trying to…”
“Eh…? S-sorry…”
“Whoa! Don’t fight, everyone! If you have to fight, just bully Ailuna! > <”
“…”
Looking at the four elf girls before her, Yue Liuyi suddenly understood.
Why elves are called a “peace‑loving” race.
