Lux followed the group, like an ant trailing behind a column of ants carrying food, except this ant named Lux stayed at the very end of the line, neither getting too close nor falling too far behind. She didn't even help watch over the plant people, like a spy ant from another colony.

  Because they were escorting the plant people, the group moved very slowly. As for the grape Kabbalah, it was said that once a tracking magic item was inserted into it, elves with a group of Acriders would soon come to inspect and transport it.

  Lux trailed along at the end, walking slowly. Occasionally, she could hear the faint weeping of the plant people and some curses. This time, the elves didn't directly kill the plant people but instead cut off their plant tongues. Perhaps these plant people weren't suitable for eating raw.

  As dusk fell, the music from the central flowerbed in the elven center began to play. The group had just reached the city gate of Radiant Glade. The music really traveled far; Lux hadn't thought it was that loud even within the city. Maybe there were magic items that helped transmit sound, like the flower baskets hanging from the trees? Well, Lux didn't know, and right now she wasn't in the mood to think about it.

  "Good work, everyone," the guard elf at the gate said to Emily after tallying the harvest of the elf squad she led.

  Emily glanced at the converted total points for the entire team and nodded. Then, all the elf squad members lined up, and she personally distributed the points.

  When it was Lux's turn in the queue, Emily pressed her crystal disk against Lux's: 2500 points.

  "This is after deducting the 500 points I lent you. And since you didn't participate in the plant person capture operation, you don't get a share for that," Emily said before turning to talk to the elves who were recording the mission details.

  'That's quite a lot,' Lux thought. She didn't really know the cost of things in Radiant Glade, but 2500 should be enough to buy some gifts for Sylvie and send them over.

  "Short ears, let me ask you, how many points did you get for this mission?" Sacrina walked up to Lux, her hands on her hips.

  "2500. Why?" Lux replied.

  "What?! How is that possible? You didn't contribute to the plant person capture!" Sacrina asked, surprised.

  "Yeah, they only calculated my share for capturing the grape monster," Lux said, shrugging.

  "Looks like Captain Emily didn't deduct her share as the leader..." Sacrina figured out the answer, her voice growing softer and softer until it was almost a whisper, her lips barely moving.

  "Let me ask you, what do you think of Captain Emily?" Sacrina asked, just as Lux was trying to find an excuse to leave.

  "She's a very capable person, a very strong captain," Lux said. She had almost added that Emily was a good person, but she swallowed those words, because apart from Sylvie, she didn't dare call any other elf a good person yet.

  "Of course! That's Captain Emily, the Aetherwing! Captain Emily is so powerful, elegant, dazzling, the most perfect captain worthy of the name genius!" Sacrina began to rave after hearing Lux's words, seemingly lost in admiration.

  "It's a pity that because of some entanglements, otherwise, with Captain Emily's contributions, she could definitely... That's why the celebration in three months is absolutely crucial!" After saying this, the dazed look in Sacrina's eyes turned to determination. "And you human are nothing but trouble, a burden dragging Captain Emily down! Captain Emily shouldn't be your handler at all!"

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  "Captain Emily's only flaw as an elf is that she's too kind, too hesitant. But fortunately, the God of Nature and Life allowed me to meet her, and also allowed Captain Emily to meet me!" Sacrina spoke in a rush, like someone frantically grabbing items during a massive sale, giving Lux no chance to interject.

  "So I will be the one, I will watch over you, I will protect Captain Emily, and I will witness Captain Emily become a Vice-Envoy as her subordinate!" Sacrina grew more and more excited as she spoke, her gaze flickering between the sky and Lux.

  "Finally, don't even think about doing anything that would disgrace Captain Emily, because—" Sacrina lowered her voice and said to Lux, "I'm here, I, Captain Emily's most loyal and most trusted person, am watching you!"

  With that, Sacrina turned and walked towards Emily.

  Lux's feeling after hearing those words was that if most of the elves here were like Sacrina, the terror level of the elven race would have to be raised several notches.

  "Lord Delaska wishes to invite Captain Emily's team to sample his new dishes," an elf in formal attire said, addressing Emily and the team members behind her.

  "Very well, I express my gratitude for Lord Delaska's kind invitation," Emily bowed, then said to the other team members, "Everyone, follow me. Let's go and taste Lord Delaska's masterpieces together."

  Then the waiter elf led the team members inside to a dining hall. After everyone was seated, a Blessed elf wearing white divine robes with a green outer lining and a golden circlet entwined with flowers on their head approached them. "I have long heard of your reputation as Aetherwing, Emily. I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to invite you to taste my new dishes today."

  "You flatter me, Lord Delaska. I am honored to be invited by you," Emily said, standing and bowing.

  "I am very pleased you could come, especially with the celebration just around the corner. I also hope someone can evaluate my cooking," Delaska said with a smile. "All the more so since it's Captain Emily. Many are saying that once the celebration begins, the Envoy will personally pardon your family's transgressions. You were merely implicated innocently. At that time, with your talent and contributions, you might even be directly blessed and become a Vice-Envoy." This Blessed elf smiled very happily, as if celebrating Emily's future success in advance. "Then I will have to address you as Lady Emily."

  "Lord Delaska will always be my equal friend," Emily continued politely. "I will not forget your kindness and generosity."

  "Haha, regardless, beneath the gods, we are all chefs and servers providing delicious food for the gods and the elves," Delaska said, very pleased with Emily's words, and also seeming quite proud of the chef profession.

  "Please, try it quickly. This is a mushroom dish I've been researching for two months," Delaska said. The elven waiter beside him approached, holding a tray with a large covered dish. When it was opened, an exquisite dish with a rich sauce and a mix of various sautéed and stewed vegetables was presented to everyone.

  The mushrooms on top were unusually swollen, as if stuffed with a lot of filling, and the rich broth was like a fragrant hot spring, allowing the mushroom pieces to soak in it contentedly.

  The other elves praised the dish after seeing it, but Lux remained silent. She had already guessed what the main ingredient was.

  "Everyone, please try some," Emily said after tasting a piece with her fork and offering praise. Then she invited the other team members to try it.

  "For a mere assistant mercenary to be able to come to a restaurant like this and eat food personally made by a Blessed, you humans are truly lucky," Sacrina said to Lux before stepping forward to taste the dish.

  As the other elf teammates finished eating one after another, and only Lux remained standing motionless to the side, everyone's attention began to focus on this seemingly unmoving human.

  "Um..." Lux decided to say something, even if it was a lie. "I only eat meat. I never eat vegetables, so thank you very much for the invitation, Mister..."

  "What?!" Sacrina exclaimed upon hearing this, a look of utter disdain on her face. "Actually eats meat? What a barbaric human!"

  "Impudent!" Emily said loudly, then addressed the Blessed elf with a displeased expression. "I apologize. As this human's handler, this is also my rudeness."

  "It's alright. Humans are all like this," Delaska said with a cold smile. "Killing animals to eat meat, and so crude and arrogant. I met humans a long time ago, and she is no different from them."

  Well, Lux could only leave early under the disgusted gazes of the elves, but she also felt a sense of relief.

  However, Lux really needed to catch some animals and grill meat to eat now, otherwise she would have to go back to gnawing on those cakes. She had opened the distributed lunchbox earlier, and she really couldn't bring herself to eat the vegetables inside.

  "Then I'll head out of the city gate first," Lux thought, and started walking towards the exit.