Magic Farm 148

Chapter 148: The Luckiest Child in the World

Clarissa, crying as she was, suddenly began to cough violently.

She clutched her chest, her cheeks flushed from the force of her coughing, and anyone could see at a glance that she was not in good shape.

Qi Yu, who was closest to her, reacted the fastest. Almost without hesitation, a faint white light radiated from him, falling gently upon the child.

Her ragged breathing, under the soothing influence of that gentle, tranquil energy, gradually calmed, and the dizziness slowly faded away.

With delight, she exclaimed, “I don’t feel sick anymore!”

Seeing that his life magic seemed to be effective for her, Qi Yu did not stop, but continued to cast another blessing of life.

The duke and the duchess covered their mouths, watching this scene in astonishment.

They saw Clarissa’s expression relax, her cheeks blooming with a healthy flush—one entirely different from the fleeting redness brought on by excitement.

Even her withered, yellow hair seemed to soften and grow lustrous under the nourishment of that life force.

The duchess was the first to recover her composure. She walked over gently and took her daughter’s hand.

No one knows a child’s body better than their parents.

All the more so since she herself was a mage.

The duchess sensed that within Clarissa’s nearly depleted body, a new, profoundly gentle vitality had emerged, slowly nourishing her from within.

That sense, ever-present in recent days, that her daughter was about to leave her, that her lamp was burning out—astonishingly, it had vanished!

“How can this be?” The duchess knelt beside her daughter, nearly wild with joy as she looked at Qi Yu. “Sir Elf, how did you do this?”

Though mages who practiced life magic were rare, with the vastness of the Kyra Empire, they were not impossible to find.

Only recently, the high priest they had sent away was himself a level-seven life mage.

A seventh-level mage was already a formidable, high-ranking sorcerer.

Yet even the priest’s life magic could only lessen her daughter’s pain and slow the decline of her body.

Unlike this elven gentleman before her—his power had actually brought Clarissa’s body back to life!

Qi Yu: ?

He clarified, “It was only a very ordinary, basic blessing of life.”

But the duchess’s reaction made him realize something was unusual.

He placed his hand on the child’s arm and quickly sensed that surge of vitality.

“It’s the power of the World Tree,” he said, surprised and a little pleased. “It seems it can help you.”

The World Tree?

The duchess cried out, “Isn’t that the sacred relic that life mages pursue all their lives?”

She wanted to say, wasn’t such a thing just a legend, a fictional artifact?

Could it really be real?

But on second thought, the one before her was an elf!

A being of legend as well.

Suddenly, it all seemed to make sense.

She hurriedly said, “Sir Elf, I beg you to stay at the manor a few more days. Whatever reward you require, I will do everything in my power to provide.”

Qi Yu shook his head. “I’m sorry, I cannot agree.”

“I came here because I accepted a commission.” Just now, when this little girl named Clarissa saw him, his quest panel had popped up a message—mission complete.

He could stay here for no more than twenty-four hours.

Qi Yu explained patiently, “Once the commission is over, I have to return.”

The duchess, being a mage, understood mysterious forces better than most. Besides, the arrival of this elven gentleman had been strange from the start.

“Then, you…”

“I can remain in Ophelie for another twenty-four hours,” Qi Yu answered her unspoken question directly. “However, next month, I should be able to come again.”

Hope instantly rekindled in the duchess’s eyes.

If he could come again next month, that would be wonderful. Clarissa’s health was improving—holding on for another month would be no problem at all.

This news not only filled the duke and duchess with hope, but also made a little girl’s eyes shine.

She asked joyfully, “Then, when you come to Ophelie next time, will you visit Clarissa again?”

“Of course,” Qi Yu said.

Clarissa, feeling a little greedy, asked, “Will you bring the little sprite with you too?”

The bluebell sprite immediately puffed out its tiny chest—this little human liked it, hee hee.

Qi Yu also found the little human endearing, but he couldn’t decide for it. “That depends on whether the bluebell sprite wants to come.”

The bluebell sprite declared at once, “I’d love to come out with Lord Warden!”

Lord Warden. The duke and duchess exchanged a glance and silently committed this title to memory.

Clarissa said she had many little secrets to share with the elf, and didn’t want her parents listening.

As the duke and duchess left, only three people were left in the room.

Oh, and a thumb-sized sprite.

Dan Xingyu asked eagerly, “Should I leave too?”

Clarissa laughed. “No, you’re the elf’s friend.”

She was a little curious. “Are you an elf as well?”

Dan Xingyu replied, “Of course not. See, I don’t have silver hair or pointed ears like an elf.”

He sighed, feigning disappointment. “I’m just an ordinary, handsome human.”

Clarissa burst into giggles.

She said earnestly, “Sir Elf, I owe you an apology.”

Qi Yu was puzzled. “An apology for what?”

Clarissa blushed. “Actually, before I met you, I always thought my parents had hired someone to pretend to be an elf to cheer me up.”

Qi Yu: …

Now he was the one feeling guilty.

Seeing his silence, the little girl hurried to explain, “But as soon as I saw you, I knew I must have guessed wrong.”

Her blue eyes sparkled. “You look exactly like the elf I imagined! How could you possibly be fake?”

Dan Xingyu took a big gulp of tea, afraid he would burst out laughing.

Seeing the local child at a loss for words, he interjected, “Now you can rest easy. We really are from the Forest of Stars, not people your parents hired.”

Qi Yu was stunned. Was it really possible to talk like this?

Dan Xingyu hadn’t uttered a single lie.

But he hadn’t told the truth, either.

“I feel better than I ever have,” the little girl said, cherishing the wreath on her head. She asked softly, “Sir Elf, did you use elven magic on me? Does it mean I don’t have to die now?”

Qi Yu was taken aback.

Dan Xingyu set down his teacup, the smile vanishing from his face.

“You…”

“I’m not stupid,” Clarissa said, lowering her head, her fingers twisting her skirt. “I know I’m different from other children.”

“Don’t be afraid.” The elf’s voice was calm, carrying a soothing effect as if by nature.

Clarissa’s anxiety was eased. She looked up at him, careful and hopeful.

“I just used life magic on you. My magic seems able to repair your frail, congenital body.”

Qi Yu told her, “For the foreseeable future, your life is in no danger.”

“The energy that healed you didn’t come from me, but from the World Tree.”

Qi Yu thought for a moment, then said, “When I return home, I’ll ask it for you. If the World Tree is willing, perhaps next time I come, I can bring you one of its leaves.”

Clarissa immediately said, “But if it’s not willing, you mustn’t force it.”

Qi Yu: …

He smiled. “I won’t.”

The little girl breathed a sigh of relief. Leaning back in her wheelchair, she pleaded with Qi Yu to tell her stories of the Forest of Stars.

Qi Yu: …He really couldn’t make anything up.

Dan Xingyu, smiling, said, “Why don’t you tell us first—why do you like elves so much?”

He deftly shifted the child’s attention.

Clarissa answered at once, “Because I’ve read so many adventure novels.”

She said the books described elves as the most beautiful, pure, and powerful of all races.

For a child who loved to dream, who wouldn’t adore such strong beings, almost without any weakness?

She said, “Actually, I don’t just like elves. I like dragons, unicorns, dwarves, and…”

She counted on her fingers, rattling off dozens of names in one breath.

Qi Yu and Dan Xingyu listened intently, but they understood: what the little girl loved, longed for, and yearned after were all things she herself could not do.

She loved adventure.

But perhaps, in this life, she would never see that dream fulfilled.

“Then you really are blessed,” Dan Xingyu suddenly said, sighing in exaggerated fashion. “I’m starting to think, Clarissa, you must be the luckiest little girl in the whole world!”

Clarissa was puzzled. “Is it because I met elves today, when most people never will?”

“Yes, but not just that.”

Dan Xingyu stood, walking to her side. “Because today, you not only get to meet the elf you love, but also another kind of legendary creature.”

Clarissa looked at him, eyes wide with delight. “What is it?”

Dan Xingyu said, “Well… open your eyes wide and watch closely, and you’ll see.”

He snapped his fingers.

Golden points of light, like a river of stars, flowed from his body and soared into the sky.

Clarissa’s eyes widened.

She saw, within that golden radiance, a vast and beautiful figure gradually take shape.

On the second-floor terrace, the duke and duchess sensed something was wrong and turned to look toward the garden.

“My God…” The duke’s teacup slipped from his hand and crashed onto the carpet, tea splashing everywhere.

But neither of them paid it any mind.

“That’s… a dragon?”

It wasn’t just Clarissa who was stunned.

Qi Yu, too, stared in awe at the golden dragon unfurling itself in midair.

Had it really only been ten days since he last saw it?

The little dragon, barely three meters long before, had grown several times larger.

It soared in circles above the garden, its wings casting a shadow that even blocked out part of the sunlight.