Do ratmen dream of the sacred tree of spirits?

Chapter 6 First Encounter

Andrei sat down next to the fully armored knight, who was sitting right between Andrei and Fafnir.

This is like winning the lottery!

Fafnir felt somewhat surprised and embarrassed. To be honest, he didn't really want to be with these two people of high status and felt a little uncomfortable.

"Hello, teacher. I see." The armored warrior took off his helmet, placed it at his feet, and nodded to Fafnir and his two companions. "In that case, we're colleagues now."

"Zaytsev—Viktor Zaitsev greets you, little ones, just call me Viktor."

Viktor Zaitsev turned slightly and extended his hand to Fafner, who was sitting opposite him.

"Hello Mr. Zaitsev, I am Fafnir Beckett."

Fafnir quickly shook hands with the knight, and he could clearly feel the cold, hard texture of the knight's gauntlets.

Victor then moved closer to the two people opposite him.

"Greetings, sir. I am Martha, I do not have a surname. Allen is my younger brother." Martha quickly and lightly shook the knight's hand.

"I'm Allen, hello." Allen was a little flustered and lightly touched the knight's gauntlet with his hand.

"Little Fafnir, Little Martha, Little Allen, hello, my colleagues. Don't be nervous or reserved. You don't need to call me by my last name or address me as 'sir'."

Fafnir was pleasantly surprised and delighted by his first meeting with Victor. Victor seemed like an easygoing person; his pointed ears revealed his elven blood, yet he was able to greet them, these lower-class people, with a peaceful demeanor.

"Little Fafnir, what were you talking about just now?" Victor asked curiously, continuing the conversation.

"Mr. Victor, I just introduced myself to Martha and Allen. I was going to ask them, 'Why are you volunteering at the grammar school?' But then you and Lord Andrei came over."

"Oh? Why? I'd like to hear it."

Bishop Andrei, who was standing nearby, interjected: "What are your true thoughts, the three of you? Why did you choose to volunteer at our church's grammar school?"

A soft, melodious voice came from the bishop's mouth. It was a peculiar language that the three of them had never heard before, yet they immediately understood its meaning.

Fafnir, Martha, and Allen fell silent for a moment, unsure how to respond.

"Now, tell us, starting with Allen."

Fafnir felt a slight sense of familiarity with this unfamiliar language, which was somewhat similar to Common Elvish, but the language seemed to bring him a certain pressure.

"If we go to grammar school, maybe my sister and I won't have to do such tiring work anymore..."

"My parents hope that Alan and I can relax a bit..."

"I'll just let things take their course. It would be great if I could learn something new. I hope my job will be easier, and my parents will feel more at ease..."

One sentence after another came from the three of them, but...

—Although I do have this thought in my mind, it's not something I intend to say out loud! I haven't even opened my mouth yet!

Fafner was somewhat surprised.

Is it an ability similar to "words becoming law" or some other kind of magic?

This seemed to be the first time he had felt the extraordinary power of this world.

Silence fell over the carriage again, and the atmosphere was somewhat awkward.

Fafnir hadn't yet recovered from the eerie feeling of "involuntarily speaking the truth," and he stole a glance at the person beside him.

Alan trembled even more violently, and Martha lowered her head.

Bishop Andrei's grey eyes calmly looked at the three of them, his wrinkled face expressionless, as if nothing had happened.

"Ahem," Victor cleared his throat, breaking the silence, "Um... Teacher Ze Ruo, this is too sudden. Why did you suddenly start using magic? The little ones aren't ready yet. Don't scare them."

"The truth doesn't need preparation," Andrei said casually.

Good heavens, this is the method of superhumans, using "truth serum" on three children with an average age of less than ten years old—Fafner silently complained in his heart.

Victor sensed the tension in Allen and Martha's voice, leaned forward, and whispered:

"Don't be afraid, children. This is just a simple lie detector spell. Teacher Ze Ruo is a very nice person, isn't she, teacher?"

Andrei ignored him.

Victor shrugged, and his armor clicked. "Kids, you see, he's given in."

Fafnir couldn't help but chuckle at this dry humor.

The carriage fell silent again as it moved smoothly along the main road. The view outside the window gradually changed from the green fields of the manor to sparse woods, and sunlight danced through the gaps in the leaves on the carriage floor.

"Ha, little Fafnir, what do you want to learn? Just as you said, what knowledge do you want to learn?"

Victor seemed to dislike the dull atmosphere and wanted to liven things up, so he took the initiative to speak.

"Hmm..." Fafnir pondered, "My parents are accountants, and I want to learn some bookkeeping skills; I also want to learn Elvish, because I have always lived in the Holy Kingdom of the Elves."

Fafnir's tone was rather serious. Of course, he was just making things up; he certainly wouldn't say he wanted to learn supernatural powers or money-making skills, as that wouldn't fit the character of a seven-year-old.

Although many of the things he says now don't fit the image of a seven-year-old child—who cares, it's all a talent brought by his rat-man bloodline.

"Goodness, hahaha, that's great, what a wonderful plan!" Victor was delighted after hearing Fafnir's words.

"Little Fafnir, you know what? When I was a kid, I always dreamed of learning magic and combat skills to kill people."

Do you know when I finally learned Common Elvish?

Although I am an elf, I only learned Elvish after attending grammar school; you might even learn it faster than me.

"I can teach you all of these. Right now, I'm also Teacher Ze Ruo's assistant, and I handle a lot of the church's bookkeeping. I can teach you these things."

"Although you didn't mention it, what do you want to learn at grammar school, my little Martha, my little Ellen?" Victor asked softly.

Martha was silent for a moment, then mustered her courage and spoke:

"I don't know Elvish or bookkeeping, but if I were to learn, I would like to learn sewing so that I can become a skilled maid and won't have to do odd jobs anymore."

Allen remained silent for a moment, opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

"Little Allen, be bolder, this isn't good," Victor said with a smile, then changed the subject: "But don't be too happy yet. You'll only be qualified to study if you complete the daily work at the grammar school, and you can even audit the students' classes."