Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

None of the elves present noticed.

From the moment the "kidnapping" occurred, the little sprite held hostage by the forest ghost remained unusually calm.

There was no struggle, no crying.

They would even do it while Lin Gui was speaking.

Subtly adjust your posture to make yourself look more like a qualified "hostage".

Lin Gui's letter was not actually unread.

At least Claudia read the letter that was supposedly sent to her by her father.

The reason why the delivery notification was not triggered is because Claudia only read a portion of it.

This part is what made this little elf, who always hated humans, so special.

I was deeply shocked.

In the letter, the father did not shy away from the evil in humanity.

He described the nobles and merchants who hunted elves, and the filth and cruelty of the slave markets.

But then he wrote these words:

"...But Clotina, my little star."

"Did you know? Those chained up and sent to the auction house... weren't just elves."

"And then there are the ordinary people who have no power, no gold coins..."

"Their children's lives would be taken away at will by nobles, and their wives would be forcibly taken away by lords."

"They toiled like animals, yet they didn't even have a single piece of black bread."

"They even... hate those 'high and mighty' humans more than we do."

The father's letter was very long, recounting everything he saw in Blackwater before and after he became a ghost.

The anger of the souls at the bottom of humanity, their hatred for the nobles and those in power.

How they tore apart and devoured the soul of a captured slave trader, bit by bit.

"I used to think that all humans were the same."

"Now I understand... it's not the entire race that's at fault."

"The mistake lies in the apocalypse of this city-state; it has unleashed the monsters hidden within the hearts of those filthy, powerful humans."

"And those civilians who succumb to the monsters and coexist with them for survival are not much different from us."

Clotina's worldview was shaken at that moment.

She thought it might be a trap.

But the Elvish writing style, and the familiar tone of his father's voice.

None of them can be forged.

Even the father in the letter tried to convince himself of his identity.

The letter also revealed a secret known only to Claudia and her father.

That poem, written by Claudia in memory of her mother.

That was the mahogany longbow that my father prepared for my coming-of-age ceremony.

A birthmark that I was born with.

Claudia was certain that this was her father's letter.

However, its contents contradict the elves' concept of including it in their code.

It is too far removed from tradition and subverts the teachings of the elders.

This made her hesitate to continue flipping through the pages.

The letter that was revealed mentioned a human mage who delivered the message at the end.

He had black hair and black eyes, and a beautiful human girl was by his side.

The father seemed to want to testify on behalf of his clan.

This human is not like those despicable humans.

Even his father thought he was too kind, to the point that it was a struggle for him.

Seven copper coins can help unrelated ghosts cross dangerous forbidden areas to deliver messages.

At first, the father thought the other party had some huge conspiracy.

However, it was through his interactions and by silently observing his interactions with other civilians who were delivering messages.

He saw sincerity, and then, collapse.

Sincerity lies in communication with ordinary people.

He completely lacked the arrogance and contempt that a practitioner should have towards ordinary people.

He was like a boy next door, just an ordinary person.

It has a touch of humor, and it speaks up for the ordinary people it talks about, expressing indignation at their plight.

Then, with words of malice that even the father found terrifying, they attacked the noble relatives, along with various livestock.

Sometimes, the father felt that his words were too evil, too heretical.

However, it garnered strong support from the surrounding civilians.

They then became close friends.

As for the collapse, it's because most ordinary humans didn't cultivate themselves during their lifetimes.

This prevented them from writing letters, so they had to rely on this human mage who could see them to write them for them.

There were thousands of letters.

Every day, the human mage saw off the last guest with a heart on the verge of collapse.

Her father seemed particularly eager to introduce her to this human mage.

But Claudia couldn't bear to watch any longer.

The father was unaware of the sympathy he expressed for the monk and for those humans in his words.

How terrible it is among elves.

If discovered by the elders of the Elf Forest, or reported by their own kind.

Removing their names, expelling their race, and banishing them from the homeland of the elves are the lightest punishments.

The elves' hatred for humans is not just lip service; it is enshrined in the World Tree Codex.

It has never changed since the Dark Ages.

In particular, Claudia and her father's tribe were the Shadow Tribe, a subordinate tribe of the Night Elves.

Night elves have always been the most wary and ostracized of all elven tribes.

Especially after the high elves betrayed them.

Claudia couldn't bear to watch any longer; she couldn't accept that her father had become a traitor who pitied humanity and abandoned the suffering of his people.

She wanted to destroy the letter; she couldn't imagine how her fellow countrymen would view her if they saw it.

However, before Claudia could take any action, she was kidnapped by the kind-hearted mage her father had described.

The other party's act of kidnapping and threatening their fellow countrymen is no different from those hateful humans.

but......

The words were riddled with flaws, and the other party's acting was nothing short of terrible.

This, on the contrary, made Claudia believe her father's words in the letter.

Perhaps this human is truly kind; he simply wants to finish delivering the letter from the other side here.

Driven by the forest ghost, the letters flew to the eyes of each angry elf.

The human mage seemed to be guiding these elves to sign so-called slave contracts in a signing-off manner.

Just then, a shadow was moving back and forth on the snow.

Claudia knew that this was a code given to her by the Shadow Tribe warriors.

Every night elf born in the Forest Sentinel begins training and cultivation from a young age.

Claudia is considered one of the more outstanding elves among the young night elves.

They naturally knew what the code meant.

The warriors are ready, as long as Claudia avoids the most fatal blow.

Then they can kill this human mage.

And now is the best time.

Claudia looked at the mage who had somehow loosened the wooden stick that had been supporting her.

For a moment, I was caught in a dilemma.

She looked up and gazed into the human's gray eyes.

She saw the fear she had been forcibly suppressing in her heart, and felt helpless and exhausted.

I recalled the description of him in my father's letter.

In a moment of emotional turmoil, she disregarded the rescue efforts of her own people.

He subconsciously reminded her.

"Watch out, there's danger behind you."

"I know."

"Eh?"

Claudia was stunned.

I know that?

"Eh...?"

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

He just stared blankly up at Lin Gui's gray eyes, which were so close to his own.

There was no surprise, no panic, not even the slightest bit of unexpectedness.

There was only one kind of... the calm that I had long anticipated.

Lin Gui didn't even look back.

He merely turned his head slightly and glanced at the direction behind him out of the corner of his eye.

Then, he lowered his head again, his gaze falling on Clotina's face.

There was a hint of... how should I put it?

Like an adult watching a child do something foolish, there's a sense of helplessness mixed with a hint of admonition.

"Little guy."

Lin Gui's voice was very soft; only she could hear it.

"It's best not to do this kind of thing again."

"What if I really am a bad person..."

He paused, his gray eyes staring directly at her.

"You're risking your own life, and the lives of your people."

"It's all gone."

Claudia was completely stunned.

She reminded him that she was risking being seen as a traitor by her own people.

It was a sudden, inexplicable impulse that made me believe what my father said in his letter.

But the other party... already knew?

Not only did he know, but he also turned around and "educated" her?