Xu Qiaoqiao stared at Aikeli with hostility; this guy must have done that before.

“You can’t imprison Junjun. He needs to be able to come and go freely in your house. He’s repaying a debt of gratitude, but he’s not going to be your free laborer.” Xu Qiaoqiao stretched out her paw and shook it at Ai Keli, then leaned directly against Jun Qi in a boss-like sitting posture.

Ekri nodded, indicating that the suggestion was acceptable.

“The second one.” Xu Qiaoqiao stretched out two claws at the other person’s head and continued, “He can’t do this for you all day long. He needs to rest and sleep. You didn’t see when I came in just now, his stone mill was practically sparking.”

That would require a lot of effort and speed.

Ekri smiled and said, "I am a wizard and can make potions for the little fox. Don't worry about him getting tired; that's not going to happen."

Xu Qiaoqiao: "..."

"Just tell me if it's okay or not."

Seeing the wizard's actions, Xu Qiaoqiao finally understood why Jun Qi didn't want this wizard to be his master. Nonsense, this wasn't a master, he was clearly a boss, and she was just his underling.

They're exploiting us too much.

Ekri said happily, "Of course, I can remove this magic circle right now."

After saying this, he stood up, took out his wand, and began to chant a spell. Gradually, a pale blue light surrounded him, and his soft hair moved without wind.

Some light appeared on the ground. Xu Qiaoqiao peeked out and saw some strange symbols drawn on the ground, as well as circles, large circles enclosing smaller circles.

The light grew stronger and stronger, just like a young female magician using magic. Ike was still chanting incantations, and the tip of her wand was also emitting light.

As the incantation finished its last syllable, the magic circle on the ground shone brightly, then gradually began to dissipate, disappearing along with the strange symbols.

Ekri slowly opened his eyes, put away his wand, sat down again, and smiled at Xu Qiaoqiao and Jun Qi: "How about it, is that sincere?"

The two little ones were still staring at the ground, lying face down on the table, showing no further reaction for a long time.

Ekri: ? ? ?

What are you two doing?

After waiting for a minute and the two little guys still hadn't responded, Ike couldn't hold back any longer. He reached out with both hands, grabbed the two little guys by the back of their necks, and lifted them up in one go.

Then, he received two pairs of bright, sparkling eyes.

Xu Qiaoqiao exclaimed, "Magic, magic, is this magic? It feels so amazing!!"

Jun Qi echoed Xu Qiaoqiao's words, his eyes practically overflowing with light: "So handsome! Ai Keli."

Ike: "..."

The change in your attitudes was too fast.

Indeed, Ekri rarely uses magic in front of outsiders, mainly because the continent of Light doesn't have a good view of wizards; they are often driven away on sight.

As for the rest, it's his personality. He's too withdrawn and didn't have many friends before he moved to this forest.

During this period, his interactions with Jun Qi and Xu Qiaoqiao were the most frequent he had in recent years.

"So, little mole, you've changed your mind?" Ike put the two little guys down and subconsciously ruffled their fluffy fur a few times.

Xu Qiaoqiao shook her head: "Of course not, but your magic was really cool."

Jun Qi nodded vigorously beside him: "Yes, yes, those lights suddenly lit up, and you, do you know, just now your body suddenly floated in mid-air."

"And that crystal ball, it lit up too." Xu Qiaoqiao pointed to the crystal ball on the shelf next to her. When Aikeli started chanting the incantation, the glitter inside the crystal ball flashed and started to float automatically.

Ekri tilted his head: "You... like magic?"

I've never seen an animal that likes magic before. On this continent, those who learn magic are all abandoned, unacknowledged, and the most hated children. For example, he was such a child when he was young.

As for animals, they don't think about as many things.

Xu Qiaoqiao and Jun Qi nodded and said in unison, "We like it! It looks so cool when they use magic."

At the end of her sentence, Xu Qiaoqiao added, "It's less about disgust and more about fear—fear of the unknown and fear of your abilities."

Fear?

Aike's smile froze for a few seconds. Looking into the innocent eyes of the two little ones, he could tell that they were sincere about what they had just said, without a single lie.

His gaze gradually became complicated, and Erik lowered his eyes to conceal the complex emotions within.

...

After this incident, Xu Qiaoqiao visited the cottage even more often, though most of the time she asked O. and Henry to pick her up and drop her off.

However, Xu Qiaoqiao didn't just hitch a free ride on the deer carriage. She would bring delicious berries for O. and Henry, and occasionally she would share half of the candy she got from Ikeli with Jun Qi, and then give some of her own portion to the two of them.

Ikeli's pockets were full of all sorts of candies. Xu Qiaoqiao also discovered some things: Ou liked strawberry-flavored candies, while Henry didn't like sweets and preferred salty ones.

So almost all the candy that Xu Qiaoqiao gave to the two of them ended up in Ou's stomach.

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