Chapter 381: The Initiative

Time rewinds two hours.

Lady Kali had just left the ranger's cabin, and was now bracing herself against a tree as she struggled toward her own magic treehouse.

This spot was already far enough from that fellow's place, so she dropped her invisibility early.

A dim, pallid, weary, dazed, exquisite face was revealed.

It's over.

That man knows everything.

Knowing his nature, he probably wouldn't humiliate me to my face — after all, he usually does spare my dignity and indulges my temperament.

Kali's heart went numb.

She recalled yesterday's scene, when their eyes had met and neither of them could look away for a long time.

And she recalled how solemnly he had declared, "No one is taking her from me."

Could it be that he actually likes me?

Not just the simple lust the other girls in the forest feel?

Heh.

Ask yourself honestly — do you really think that's possible, Kali? With a face like mine, every feeling a man has is just lust, nothing more.

That lecherous mutt of a man is a human-shaped pestle — every last brain cell is in his lower half, and the head on his neck is purely for show and a weak point.

He may not say it to my face, but he'll definitely use it as a handle to control me.

But how is that any different from humiliating me?

Daring to humiliate an elf!

No way!

Then he can only atone with his death.

I'll kill him! At worst I'll keep his ashes for the rest of my life! At worst, after I die, I'll be buried together with his ashes mixed in!

Kali imagined the scene of herself gazing at the ashes and missing that man.

A sudden sour ache and reluctance welled up inside her.

Crack, crack—

Not far away.

Came the sound of dry leaves being crushed underfoot.

Kali looked toward the sound. It was Miss Xiao Ke, the half-deer girl she had just run into once before. A small hand in a knit glove patterned with leaves carried a basket brimming with fresh wild fruit.

The other girl spotted her too, and broke into a sweet, adorable smile.

"Kali! Good morning."

"Oh, Miss Xiao Ke. Good morning."

The Young Lady's gaze drifted a little, awkward — after all, Miss Xiao Ke had almost caught what had happened inside the treehouse.

She hesitated for a moment; she wasn't actually sure whether Miss Xiao Ke had seen anything.

So she put on her usual sour face and asked tentatively: "I saw you passing near that fellow's cabin just now. What happened? Did he bully you?"

"Huh?"

Miss Xiao Ke was startled, her cheeks instantly flushing red.

Half her face buried in her brown scarf, her deer ears twitched and flailed.

"I just happened to be passing by — I wasn't going there on purpose to look at him."

"Happening to pass by is fine, but Miss Xiao Ke, you still need to be careful. At night that whole area is full of succubi shrieking — going there is an insult to your ears."

"E-exactly! An insult to your ears."

Miss Xiao Ke looked as though she'd found a kindred spirit, and broke into a cute, smiling face.

But seeing the Young Lady leaning against the tree as she walked, she couldn't help but ask, puzzled: "Kali, is your foot hurt? Let me help you back."

"N-no, thanks, you don't need to."

She absolutely could not be helped!

There's something else inside her body — a lot of it, and strong-smelling. If she smelled it out, where would my dignity go?

Faced with the stiff refusal, Miss Xiao Ke didn't mind. She was more worried about Kali's condition, so she insisted on accompanying her back to the magic treehouse.

The two walked and chatted as they went.

As they talked, the conversation drifted to that man.

Complaining together, denouncing him together.

Gradually, the two girls' feelings warmed a little.

All the way, Kali's heart was in a tangled mess. Now that she had a companion with a shared topic at her side, she couldn't help but ask:

"Miss Xiao Ke, half-deer people are also monogamous. If — and I mean if — the person you liked had quite a few women, just like this ranger, what would you do?"

The adorable half-deer girl froze for a moment, then visibly panicked.

"Wh-what do you mean? I do not like Rod, that lecherous mutt! How could I! Not at all!"

"I said if."

Kali wasn't blind. Miss Xiao Ke looked like she hated that man, but in truth she relied on him and was attached to him — anyone with eyes could see the two of them were far from ordinary.

Though she didn't know whether the two of them had actually taken that next step.

Miss Xiao Ke calmed down, bit her lip, and her expression grew low.

"I'm a useless half-deer — no talent, no accurate prophecies. If it were me, I'd probably just carefully hover around the person I liked, not daring to ask for anything, just silently watching."

"I see."

"If only I were a cool, dashing girl like Kali! Then I'd show off my queenly air, trample that dog of a man underfoot, and take the initiative into my own hands! Hehe."

Lady Kali couldn't help but smile as well: "I'm not that overbearing."

However,

the initiative, huh?

Back to the present.

Lady Kali: "Did you sleep well last night?"

"Pretty comf— uh, slept pretty well."

Rod replied.

"I didn't sleep well."

"?"

Lady Kali vexedly rubbed her slender, fair neck, as if soothing sore muscles.

Her emerald eyes lifted coldly, fixing on Rod's face.

"Could I trouble you with something? Human."

"What are we to each other by now? Go ahead and trouble me."

"We're nothing to each other." She rebutted with a stony face.

"Alright, alright, go ahead."

When dealing with a girl, one can't only be forceful—one must match strategy to the situation.

A proud-natured elf like this one is the textbook type who yields to softness but not to hardness.

Rod had long mastered this principle.

Lady Kali took a deep breath and said:

"Recently, a strange kind of frog has appeared in this area that croaks at night. It's terribly noisy—it's kept me awake all night and left me listless. I tried to catch them, but to my surprise my magic couldn't detect them. Human, if I call you at night using 【Far Voice Chain】, I hope you'll come over and help me deal with these frogs."

Before Rod could respond, she immediately added conditions:

"Also, until the frogs are dealt with, you still can't come near my room. I sleep very deeply, very heavily, and I hate being disturbed. Got it?"

"."

Oh—?

Could this be hinting at something?

Rod pondered: "Mm, indeed a very serious problem. I've heard of cases where people died from spell backlash caused by sleep deprivation. Don't worry—call me anytime. The sleep quality of the great hero who helped advance the Wind-Wall Forest must be safeguarded by me. By the way, do you really sleep that deeply?"

"You're asking too many questions, human."

Lady Kali cast him an utterly cold sidelong glance, then turned and walked off elsewhere, her steps slightly flustered.

Heh.

Watching the elf's retreating back.

Rod recalled the awkward commission and mentally confirmed a few facts.

One: elves do indeed have their quirks to one degree or another, and Lady Kali is no exception.

Two: Lady Kali must certainly know what happened last night, but she, strong-willed by nature, thought differently from what Rod imagined—never once considering fleeing in anger or killing him, instead choosing to reverse the situation and try to pin the blame for the night raid on him.

In other words, seizing the initiative.

Even if things came to light later, she could deny everything and turn the tables, claiming I was the one who came to assault her at night.

Believe it and you'll see.

When the time comes and we've caught the so-called 'frogs,' I'll go into her room and take a look—if she doesn't seduce me, I'll lose.

Rod didn't mind this in the slightest. A night raid is a night raid—hasn't he night-raided every girl in the forest?

Three: Lady Kali must certainly like him. The unspoken paper window between them had been pierced, so her affection absolutely wasn't low. Once enslaved, he might be able to rage-pull several shared skills.

But making a proud elf willingly submit to enslavement—that was a bit tricky.

"Not bad, not bad."

Rod was in a great mood.

The paper window with the elf had been pierced; their relationship had taken a big step forward.

And at last he didn't have to pretend to sleep—he could take the initiative into his own hands!

Just watch how I deal with you, little Kali.

Just as he was thinking about what tricks he could use against the elf, a shout from afar pulled his thoughts back.

He turned his head to look.

Tally trotted over with a fawning face: "Master~~ I'm hungry~~ breakfast please~~"

The previous two chapters were a bit late yesterday, somewhat shanjian—you can check the group

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(End of chapter)