Demon Hunter: School of the Wolf.

Chapter 652 The "Check" Written by the "Father-in-Law"

"Clap~"

Ada Emin gently closed the heavy parchment book and looked at Erin with admiration in her eyes: "You learn really fast, you're very talented."

“Most children from mountainous areas don’t learn as fast as you.”

"Although this isn't the first time, I really want to ask one more question: Are you really a Witcher?"

Although the ancient language is the native language of the elves, considering their long lifespans and equally long growth periods, it cannot be considered a compliment that they learn the ancient language faster than ordinary elven children.

Of course, the second half of the sentence is indeed a genuine compliment.

The slightly arrogant and sarcastic tone fits the stereotypical image of an elf's praise.

“There are quite a few Witchers who know Ancient languages,” Erin smiled politely. “Vesemir and Dante can both speak fluent Ancient languages…”

“It’s different,” Ada Emin shook her head. “Other witchers just have another language, but you received the most orthodox training in the ancient language, a course that the mountain people once prepared for their people with exceptional magical talent.”

"Vera has high expectations for you."

Erin shook his head slightly, offering no response.

Ada Emin didn't seem to mind. She stood up from her chair and glanced out the window. "Although it's still early, let's stop here for today. Vera told me before she left that you're interested in the Druid path?"

“That’s right,” Erin nodded, then stood up. “I’d appreciate it if Ms. Ada could help me find a good mentor.”

As Ada Emin walked out of the cabin, she shook her head slightly: "Zebi is a very enthusiastic Archdruid. In fact, even if Vera hadn't come to me, if you had gone to him yourself, he would have definitely taught you the ways of the druid."

"For a druid, sharing their beliefs and ideals with others is a greater joy than saving endangered animals or stopping deforestation..."

"Zebi should probably thank me for finding him a good student..."

Erin smiled slightly after hearing Ida Emin's words, not taking them seriously.

Among ordinary druids, there may be many who yearn to make their own beliefs—whether it be protecting nature, restraining logging, or naturalism—known to the public.

But at the Archdruid level, in order to be closer to nature, they almost always stay in the Druid Circle or in remote, uninhabited mountains and forests.

More importantly, Zebi Ortega may indeed be a great druid who loves to teach, but finding a great druid who is somewhere in a tree hollow, woodland, or crow's nest to contemplate nature is no easy task.

Perhaps this is something even Vincent van der Rohe couldn't do.

The mistress of the Maidalui Ring is not, in the conventional sense, the lord who possesses control over the entire Maidalui Ring and all the druids within it.

In the Druid Circle, all Druids are equal.

Vinsenna was merely the manager of the Maidalui Ring, responsible for the external affairs of the entire Druid Ring, ensuring that worldly matters did not disturb the druid masters' secluded meditation, much like a professional manager in a large corporation in her previous life.

Therefore, it's impossible for Vesena to know everything about the Druid Circle, let alone the Archdruids who truly stand behind the Maidaldo Druid Circle.

More importantly, this is strange.

A demon hunter who spends all his time either hunting monsters or walking on the path of hunting monsters suddenly becomes a vegetarian and converts to the druid path.

Moreover, instead of consulting other druids and archdruids, they insisted on finding Zebi Ortega, hidden in some remote corner of the vast Maynard Rim of the Druids, to become his disciple.

This looks very suspicious.

Vera's current arrangements are much better.

The sorceress was busy with the affairs of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers and could only entrust the youngest master witcher of the Wolf School, Ida Emin, with a momentary burst of enthusiasm.

Having just saved her entire clan's lives, Aida Emin was naturally not going to introduce a regular druid, leaving Zebi Ortega, a half-elf, as the only option.

It is only natural and logical.

“Therefore,” Ada Emin pushed open the door, but did not leave the room, “merely introducing a druid is not enough to repay even a fraction of the debt owed to the free elves…”

Erin paused, then looked up.

In the deep eyes of the red-haired elf, there was a solemnity and gratitude he had never seen before.

“We are allies,” Erin said softly.

He wasn't surprised that Ida Emin could guess that the celestial conjunction that day was related to him, after all, the lovebird was given to Francesca Fantaby through her hand.

It's possible that Ida Emin was with Francesca Fantaby when the lovebirds arrived.

The Witcher is not worried about this.

She knew more than one secret about Erin.

Although Vera's relationship with her seemed ordinary, it was clear from the fact that Vera trusted Ida Emin, the Elven Know-It-All, who had once been her adversary and even her enemy at one point, to know about the "Child of Miracles".

Vera trusted Ida Emin as much as she trusted Ianna, the High Priestess of Meritelli, whom she had raised herself.

More importantly, after being weakened time and again, the Mountain People are not only no longer qualified to covet the Conjunction of the Celestial Spheres and the Gate of Ard-Gase, but they are also unable to withstand the Wolf School's turning against them.

The Gate of Ad Gais was not a treasure to them, but a calamity.

“The people of the mountains always repay kindness,” Ada Emin shook her head. “We are indeed on the decline, but we have no shortage of valuable treasures, and each one is carefully selected, such as the lovebird, and so on…”

She paused, then glanced down at his chest where a layer of black cloth was visible: "Night."

Upon hearing this, Erin remembered that "Night Color" was originally Francesca Fantaby's treasure and had always been worn on her face. She felt a little embarrassed, as if she had been caught stealing underwear. She awkwardly tucked the black cloth around her chest a little deeper.

He coughed awkwardly twice: "It really is very useful."

Ada Emin smiled, then said solemnly, "On behalf of the Free Elves, I invite you to the Free Elves' camp."

"You can choose any treasures that the free elves possess, as long as they are not in the possession of others and are not currently necessary for the free elves, without any limit on the number."

"Believe me, even with these two limitations, the legacy of the former Elven Royal Court is still enough to dazzle anyone."

"certainly……"

Ada Emin winked playfully. "Francesca Fantabe isn't on the repayment list, even though she's the Free Elves' most prized possession, and even though I think she'd be more than willing..."

Erin was embarrassed again, and opened his mouth as if to say something.

and many more!

Representing the free spirits... Unlimited treasures...

This sounds so strange.
Although Ada Emin is an omniscient being and certainly holds a high position among the free elves, she probably doesn't have the authority to use the treasures of the Elven Royal Court, no matter how many treasures there are, let alone take them without limit...

Unless… “That’s right,” Ada Emin seemed to have been waiting for Erin’s surprised reaction, and nodded with a smile, “This is the promise of Himles Fendabey, the uncrowned Elf King of the Free Elves.”

Himmler Fantaby?
Francesca's...father...

Erin stared blankly at Ida Emin.

“It wasn’t me, and it wasn’t Enid,” Ada Emin chuckled, then shook her head, denying her own statement. “Or rather, Enid didn’t do it on purpose.”

She sighed softly, with a hint of schadenfreude:
"How could a naive little girl who has fallen in love possibly hide it from a sensitive father?"

"You don't even need to ask me, Himmler can find the protagonist of the story on his own."

"But don't worry, apart from me, Enid, Himless, and Kalia, no other free elf knows that you are the one."

It's alright... Erin had expected this.

But considering the generous reward offered by the free spirits, he found it even stranger.

Unlimited treasures... Doesn't that sound a lot like the richest man tearing up an unlimited blank check to get the blond guy away from the girl?

“Sure,” Erin nodded calmly, “I’d also like to meet the leader of the free elves…”

Ida Emin nodded slightly.

Stepping out of the cabin, dazzling sunlight streamed through the gaps in the emerald leaves, casting dappled patterns of light on the moss-covered ground.

Having lived in the Ring of Maynard Rui for so many days, this was the first time Erin had stepped out of the treehouse.

Subconsciously squinting, the Witcher's cat-like eyes adjusted to the change in light.

Oak trees grow into treehouses arranged in an orderly fashion, row upon row, standing quietly at the base of the trees.

The kingfisher chirped softly, standing fearlessly on the treetop, tilting its head to look around.

In front of each treehouse are flowerbeds and herb gardens, with tulips, daisies, roses, sage, safflower... some you can name, some you can't, all growing exceptionally well, their vibrant life force practically overflowing.

Several fat cats, nestled by the house, glanced at Erin and Ida Emin as they walked out of the hut, meowed once, and continued sunbathing.

At first glance, the small druid village was quiet with few people around.

It's a good place to retire... A strange thought suddenly popped into Erin's mind, even though he was only fourteen years old and his life as a witcher had just begun.

“The Ring of Maidalui is not usually like this,” Ada Emin suddenly said.

"Ok?"

“This is where the ordinary druids of the Ring of Maidal,” Ada Emin said, looking around. “Druids cherish the tranquility of nature, but most of them, who haven’t encountered any bottlenecks, still enjoy being around people.”

“Usually, when a new couple moves to the outer ring road, they’ll celebrate for days.”

“The Ring of Maidaloy seems to have some important mission recently, and most of the druids have been sent out, which is why it’s so quiet.”

“Go that way, we’re going to the inner ring. I already sent a message to Zebi this morning.”

Ida Emin pointed to a path leading from the druid village into the dense forest and led the way.

"For the Black Dragon?" Erin followed behind.

Ada Emin turned and gave him a deep look: "No, just as you and Vera expected, the existence of the Black Dragon was already disproven before news of Ban Ad's disappearance came out."

"The Ring of Maidalui seems to have been busy even before the black dragon appeared."

"However, even if news of Ban Ad's disappearance comes, it doesn't matter. The various Druid Circles of the Northern Continent may have some differences in their ideologies, but they have one thing in common—they all despise the Brotherhood of Sorcerers, especially those male wizards in Risberg who advocate genetic modification."

"Upon hearing that Ban Ad had been teleported to the Cavern of Ten Thousand Demons, most of the druids in the Ring of Maid would only offer a few sarcastic remarks and then forget about it."

Erin nodded without asking any further questions.

He was too preoccupied with his own affairs to pay attention to the anomalies of the Druid's Circle.

Even in autumn, the Ring of Maidalui remains lush and green.

The further you go into the heart of the forest, the more you see towering and majestic trees, each one taller and more imposing than the last.

Stepping on the decaying leaves, listening to the rustling whispers of the woods, it felt as if I were walking on the rings of time.

Arlin's tense mind, which had been preoccupied with the prophecy, gradually relaxed with the tranquil atmosphere of the woodland and the occasional wandering creatures.

A small fawn, its base color reddish-brown with white spots, stopped in front of him with its dark, moist eyes wide open. It tilted its head back, nuzzled the back of his hand, and squinted its eyes.

Erin paused for a moment, then chuckled and reached out to stroke the fawn's soft fur.

“The druids of Mayna have not deliberately tamed the wild beasts within the Druid Circle,” Ada Emin was also “entangled” by a fawn, her slender fingers rhythmically stroking the fawn’s forehead and nape. “But simply conforming to druidic doctrine, driving away poachers, and preventing noble lumberjacks from entering is enough to make the creatures of this forest dependent on it.”

"Beasts born and raised in the Druid Circle cannot be released into the forests outside the Druid Circle, as they will die quickly because they cannot adapt to the perilous nature."

"This also involves the ideological differences among Druids. Is the very existence of Druids an interference with nature...?"

"Let's go. If you keep dealing with them, they'll only gather more and more, and eventually none of us will be able to leave..."

Ida Emin stroked the fawn for a while, then patted the back of its neck. The fawn turned back reluctantly, but received no response, so it hopped away.

Erin saw pairs of warm, black eyes emerge from the bushes not far away. She patted the fawn like an elf and followed in her footsteps deeper into the forest.

"Which faction does Master Zebi belong to?" he asked curiously.

“Let me think,” Ada Emin tapped her smooth chin with her index finger. “Two hundred years ago it was the latter; he strongly rejected all Druid interference with nature. A hundred years ago it was the former.”

"As for now, I'm not quite sure. You can ask him yourself in a bit..."

Can ideologies and factions really change like this?

Ban Adler was so angry with his ideology and faction that he almost got his brains kicked out.

Soy almost died because of the collapse of his ideals.

Erin turned his head in surprise to look at the female elf.

“Druids are warlocks, and yet they are not warlocks,” Ada Emin smirked. “Since you’re interested in the druidic path, I don’t need to explain further; you’ll see for yourself soon enough…”

"Alright, we've arrived..."

"That is the sacred Mayna, the largest oak tree on the northern continent..."

(End of this chapter)