What should one pay attention to on a first date with an elf? Probably not a question many people in this world would consider.

  However, this wasn't exactly a date; it was just Emily taking Lux to familiarize herself with the environment of this elven city.

  But Lux still felt a bit anxious.

  She lay on the bed, occasionally glancing at the moonlight streaming in through the window.

  She only had two sets of simple tops and pants, which looked worse than even the Acriders who worked as waiters, let alone compared to other elves.

  The only way she could make herself look presentable was to wash her face. Maybe she should prepare a small gift for Emily to take with her tomorrow.

  But all she had were her clothes. She couldn't possibly give Emily the flower cakes and dried salted vegetables Sylvie had packed as a gift.

  Or she could write a poem and recite it to Emily, adding at the end, "This poem is dedicated to the beautiful Emily." It's normal for friends to give each other valueless but heartfelt things.

  Forget it, she had no inspiration right now and didn't know what to write.

  Suddenly, she had a good idea.

  Then Lux fell asleep, feeling secure in the thought of the gift she would prepare.

  It was morning, a world where the lingering remnants of night mingled with the emerging glow of the new day.

  The sunlight poured down like flowing maple syrup onto the lazy, still-sleeping ground, making this moment seem so delicious.

  At the central flowerbed in Radiant Glade, a green-haired, pointed-eared woman stood beside the huge circular flower arrangement. Her beautiful hair was like a gift kissed and blessed by the wind; when a gentle breeze arose, her green hair flowed like soft green leaves being combed by the wind.

  She wore clothes completely different from her usual duty attire: a deep green woman's shirt, cut open on both sides to reveal purple light silk underneath, circular cutouts on her left shoulder and right lower abdomen edged with colorful, undulating ribbons. Her arms wore light blue cool silk arm sleeves, and a deep blue neck collar encircled her neck. Her skirt was light green with a gray lace trim, and the inner thigh area was cut open like gentle waves parted by a small boat, revealing her legs clad in white shorts. On her head was a brown circlet adorned with green crystals, and a gardenia-colored leather-like woven bag was slung over her shoulder.

  This was Emily, arriving as if riding a carriage drawn by the morning light, just as the sun had risen.

  But the person she was waiting for took quite a while longer to arrive.

  "I was just preparing a gift for you. You can't say I'm late," Lux said, slightly stunned after seeing Emily. She also figured it was about 'a quarter of the sun's journey across the sky,' but adding this line felt safer.

  Emily looked at Lux, also slightly taken aback, because she noticed that Lux's clothes were exactly the same as two days ago, as if her attire was her actual skin, permanently attached.

  Actually, Lux was a bit embarrassed. She couldn't imagine what kind of clothes and appearance would match Emily's current attire. But for Emily to match her would be simple: just wrap a plain tablecloth around herself as a skirt.

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  "Oh, right, this is for you," Lux said, holding out a bundle of fresh flowers wrapped in a tablecloth. She had originally wanted to buy the tablecloth from the old Acrider at the inn, but he had just given it to her. The flowers were still dewy, looking as if they had sprouted from the somewhat dirty (Lux had tried washing it for a long time) tablecloth. "Although these beautiful flowers can't compare to your even greater beauty, they are enough to serve as green leaves to set off the beautiful Miss Emily."

  "..." Emily didn't seem moved by Lux's street-smart words or the flowers in her hand. Her eye twitched slightly, and she said, "You picked these from the flowerbeds next to the public streets, didn't you?"

  "As expected of Captain Emily, you saw right through me," Lux said, giving a thumbs-up. "I almost got caught by those Acriders. They get up to work so early."

  "Don't do that again," Emily quickly snatched the bunch of flowers and stuffed them into her bag.

  "You don't like these flowers? How about this one?" Lux formed a flower shape with her two hands, a gesture she often used to play and invent new hand signs with Mitty when they lived together.

  But Emily didn't find Lux's humor amusing. Her lip twitched again, and she said to Lux, "Are you performing 'idiot' for me?"

  "Ah? You don't like it?" Lux felt a bit awkward. She had spent most of her time with her younger sister and hadn't made many friends, especially other girls. This led her to inadvertently treat the elf girl the same way she treated her sister when trying to make friends.

  "Sigh," Emily sighed softly, then said to Lux, "Follow me. I'll take you to the shopping district on Maple Street in the East District of Radiant Glade first."

  Lux felt slightly defeated and had no choice but to follow. But watching Emily's lips, which never seemed to curve into a smile, Lux suddenly found her goal for the day and secretly smirked as Emily turned to lead the way.

  Soon, they arrived at a street lined with shops. The road surface here was paved with maple-red wooden planks, and numerous stores with signboards were arranged on both sides. Most of the buildings were shops with oak-brown exteriors, and all the Shop assistants were Acriders.

  First, Emily led Lux to a gift shop, because Lux had mentioned wanting to send some gifts to Sylvie.

  Stepping into the gift shop, Lux was immediately drawn to the dazzling array of goods on the shelves. It displayed not only elven handicrafts but also many creations from humans and dwarves.

  "The Elf Forest opens to human merchants for one month every two years. Although they are not allowed into Radiant Glade, they can set up markets in the open spaces near the city for trade," Emily explained to Lux. "Although many human merchants complain that one month isn't enough to sell everything, they often bring an enormous amount of goods, many of which don't sell out even in two years."

  "I see," Lux said, impressed, then her eyes wandered around.

  "This mechanical watch face is so cool! Wait, 3000 points? That's so expensive!"

  "This vase is beautiful too! But it's also so expensive..."

  "Is this a wood carving made by elves? Why is it so expensive too?"

  Lux realized that she could afford almost nothing here.

  "You only think it's expensive because you've only participated in one mission," Emily said. "Our team usually goes out on missions once every three days, with two days for rest. As long as you participate in enough missions, you'll naturally earn more points."

  "I see," Lux calculated. Even if each mission only earned 3000 points, that would be 30,000 points a month. That seemed not bad.

  Then Lux's gaze shifted from the expensive 'high-end gifts' to the cheaper ones, such as various small ornaments with different shapes and exquisite paper and pens.

  Lux noticed several very special pens. Their bodies were wrapped in abundant, soft white fur, with only the nibs exposed.

  "Emily," Lux said suddenly, her tone serious.

  "What's wrong?" Emily asked, puzzled by the change in Lux's expression.

  Lux lowered her voice and said slowly, "You absolutely must not buy two of these pens at once."

  "Because... these pens will turn you into a rabbit!" Saying this, Lux picked up two pens, holding one in each hand, raised them above her head, and hopped slightly, mimicking a rabbit while turning her head and winking at Emily.

  Emily watched Lux's performance, her expression twitching slightly, her eyelids fluttering like the rabbit Lux was portraying.

  'Good heavens, even the Acrider shopkeeper next to us, who had a wooden expression, almost couldn't hold back a laugh. Emily didn't even smile,' Lux thought, feeling a bit disappointed.

  "If there's nothing you want to buy, let's leave quickly," Emily said, exhaling and regaining her composure.

  "Wait, I still want to buy some paper and pens to send to Sylvie," Lux said, then selected some exquisite grass paper and two "rabbit ear" pens to pay for. She planned to record a voice message to send with these gifts to Sylvie, including her "rabbit transformation" performance.

  'Looks like the challenge will continue,' Lux thought, carrying the paper bag after paying, secretly glancing at Emily beside her, whose expression was still a bit stiff.