"You don't need to give me the explosives; you can handle them."

Maggie gathered her thoughts and casually gave the order.

Yarlin was ultimately Ford's man. He only asked for her opinion because of his apparent status. In reality, even if she had given the order, Yarlin would most likely have found an excuse to take the potion away. So it was better to leave it to him directly and save himself the trouble of being bothered by Ford.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Yarlin bowed respectfully.

"The nun has confirmed their identities; they are a mercenary group from the north. The message has been sent back to the temple by carrier pigeon, and the temple will issue a bounty on them."

Attacking the Holy Maiden of Light is one of the most serious crimes in the entire temple, equivalent to offending the temple's dignity. Maggie was not surprised by Arlin's seriousness; she was simply following procedure.

After all, this concerns the temple's reputation, and has little to do with her personally.

"Yes, the knights are all exhausted tonight, they should get some rest."

Maggie had no interest in listening to these meaningless words and simply glanced absently out the treehouse window.

...

The night passed quickly. After seeing Yarlin off, Maggie slept soundly in the treehouse, not worried about whether the mercenaries would come back. She slept very well anyway.

Maggie slowly walked out of the treehouse and lazily stretched.

The morning sun shone through the trees and onto the ground, filling the air with a fresh scent. Compared to last night, the stench of blood in the air had largely dissipated.

The elven village was peaceful and serene, hardly resembling the scene of a life-or-death battle with mercenaries that had just taken place the night before.

Maggie stepped onto the soft, damp soil, which was covered with a thin layer of green leaves. If she had the strength, Maggie would even like to stay there forever.

As she was thinking this, her keen eyes spotted a small figure running quickly toward her.

"Big sister!"

Nesser's clear and crisp voice came from afar, and Maggie couldn't help but smile as she stood still and waited for Nesser to approach her.

Nesser stopped precisely in front of Maggie, tilted his head back and revealed a big smile. The sunlight shone on his exquisite features, and Maggie felt her breath catch in her throat for a moment because of his beauty.

Nesser is like a work of art meticulously crafted by God.

Are my family members still safe?

Maggie bent down slightly, reached out and stroked the top of his head, and asked softly.

"Yes, thanks to the knights my sister brought, Grandpa Village Chief and everyone else weren't seriously injured, but..."

As Nesser spoke, a dejected expression suddenly appeared on his face.

"Several grandfathers died from serious injuries while protecting their relatives."

Seeing Nesser's expression, Maggie's resentment towards the Duke exploded exponentially.

[Don't cry, poor thing. Wait until I get stronger, and the first thing I'll do is take down the culprit who harmed you, to avenge you and to avenge myself!]

She simply knelt down and gently comforted Nesser.

“Elves are all brave, as are the grandfathers, and so are you.”

Perhaps because Maggie comforted him, Nesser seemed less upset than before. However, for some reason, he turned to look at her with a conflicted expression.

"What's wrong?"

Maggie thought he had something to say but was too embarrassed to tell her, so she took the initiative to ask.

Nesser bit his lower lip, looking troubled, and hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Sister, Grandpa Village Chief wants to see you."

Maggie chuckled. It wasn't difficult for the elven chieftain to ask to see her, yet he had taken so long to say it.

"Okay, I'll go see him."

Nesser nodded and walked ahead to lead the way for Maggie, the two chatting as they walked.

"The Mother Tree of Elves is in the Green Forest, where most elves live. Elves who leave the Mother Tree's protection are like us, often coveted by bad people. That's why Grandpa Village Chief is so wary of humans."

"Actually, this is not the first time the village has been attacked by humans. Although we have reported it to the nearby human cities, it has never been effective."

Nesser’s tone was calm and innocent, but his words made Maggie feel heartbroken.

While humans are nominally prohibited from attacking and killing neutral races or buying and selling slaves of neutral races, this is actually quite lenient in practice, and very few countries actually put much effort into enforcing it.

Those who truly protect are friendly races with whom they have mutually beneficial relationships, or powerful races that cannot be offended.

Despite this, the underground slave auctions still attracted people from all races, especially the neutral elves.

"Then you must study magic diligently to protect the village."

Maggie was willing but unable to help; she was in dire straits herself and could only offer Nesser words of encouragement.

"certainly."

Nesser turned around and nodded vigorously at Maggie.

"Um... if... I mean if... if I have the chance in the future, I will eliminate all the bad guys!"

Faced with Nesser's pure and innocent soul, Maggie would involuntarily reveal her true personality, without having to painstakingly pretend to be strong or weak, just to survive.

“Okay, Nesser believes everything your sister says.”

Nesser's smile was bright and sunny, and Maggie felt as if her soul had been healed.

"We've arrived."

Pleasant times always pass quickly. Nesser led Maggie into the small open space in the center of the village. The elderly elf turned around with difficulty, leaning on his cane, and nodded slightly to Maggie as a greeting.

"Greetings, Your Highness."

Maggie wasn't sure what the elf village chief's attitude was, so it was better to be cautious at this point.

"Elders don't need to be so polite."

The village chief turned his head and coughed softly before continuing.

"Thanks to the Holy Maiden's Holy Knights, who happened to be stationed there, otherwise the village would probably have been razed to the ground and disappeared without a trace."

Maggie felt a little relieved. Fortunately, the village chief wasn't senile and was causing trouble for humans indiscriminately.

"We also want to thank the village chief for allowing the Holy Knights to stay overnight. It's all related to cause and effect; the village chief made the right choice, so there's no need for thanks."

Maggie had no intention of taking advantage of the situation, and simply replied calmly.

Upon hearing this, the village chief's eyes flashed with surprise. He then looked Maggie up and down before adopting a solemn expression, as if he had made a great decision.

"It seems that this Holy Maiden is indeed a reasonable person. I am truly grateful to the Holy Maiden for being willing to save Nesser's life."

After the village chief finished speaking, he was about to bow to thank Maggie. Most elderly people have bad backs, and this action made Maggie's heart skip a beat. She immediately said to Nesser.

"I went to help the village chief. Everything I did was from the bottom of my heart. No thanks are needed."

Nesser quickly ran to the village chief's side and reached out to help him up.

"Grandpa Village Chief, my sister said there's no need for formalities."

Nesser blinked his big eyes and looked sincerely at the village chief.

"Oh, you silly child, I only saved your life, and you're already so obedient."

The village chief had no choice but to stop bowing and sighed helplessly.