Chương 61: The little elf

By the time they reached the door, though, the tension had started to loosen, the way it always does once danger is actually behind you. Someone made a tired joke about King's new bruises. Krystal managed a small laugh. Whatever came next, at least they had time to breathe. Then the moment they entered, Benkay froze. Someone was sitting in a chair. A very large chair. And judging by how small she was compared to it, the chair looked almost comically oversized. The girl sat there with a huge smile on her face.

Benkay's eyes widened.

"HUH?!" The girl waved excitedly.

"Oh! You're finally here! HIII, UNCLE!" King immediately recognized her, and despite everything, a grin broke across his face.

"Oh, look! Faesha's here!" Benkay stared at the girl in disbelief.

"FAESHA?! What are you doing here?! You know the Fairy Kingdom capital is a dangerous area right now!" Faesha hopped out of the giant chair.

"Sorry, Uncle! Faesha just wanted to stay with you so badly!" Amelia tilted her head, some of the heaviness from the fight finally slipping off her shoulders.

"Who's this?" King smiled.

"Oh, this is Master Benkay's niece, Faesha." Faesha waved.

"Hello!" Amelia smiled and waved back.

"Oh, hey there. It's nice to meet you, Miss Faesha."

"Likewise! Faesha is Faesha!" Amelia studied her for a moment, something about her tugging at the corner of her mind.

"Wait a second." She leaned in slightly.

"Aren't you a fairy? Where are your wings?" Faesha puffed out her chest proudly.

"Ah, that's because Faesha isn't a full fairy!" Amelia blinked.

"Huh?" Benkay let out a long sigh, as if he'd already explained this a hundred times.

"She's an elf. Half fairy, half human." He crossed his arms.

"My sister married a human. Faesha's the result." Amelia's eyes widened.

"Oh! I didn't know elves were a thing."

"It's a pretty rare combination." Benkay rubbed his temple.

"And whatever she inherited from her father's side, it definitely wasn't his patience." Faesha grinned.

"Faesha takes that as a compliment!" Benkay pointed at her.

"It wasn't one." He shook his head.

"This kid has caused me more headaches than the entire guild combined. Sneaking into dangerous areas, sneaking out of the house, sneaking into MY chair, apparently." He glanced at the oversized chair behind her. Faesha giggled.

"Faesha likes causing a little trouble!"

"A LITTLE?" Benkay immediately interrupted.

"That's enough introductions. You're going home. Now." This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. He picked Faesha up. Faesha immediately grabbed onto the floor.

"FAESHA DOESN'T WANNA!" Benkay struggled to pull her away.

"This is for your own good!" Faesha dug her hands into the floor.

"But Faesha brought gifts for your guild! Faesha thought they would help you all!" Benkay stopped.

"Gifts?" Faesha nodded proudly.

"Mhm!"

"What kind of gifts?"

"It's all in Faesha's magic pouch. If you let Faesha get it, Faesha will show you!" Benkay sighed.

"Fine. Go get your silly gifts." He pointed toward the door.

"Then you're going home. Your mother would kill me if you got hurt. She's a scary woman." Faesha wagged her finger.

"Nuh uh uh." Benkay raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"The gifts are in return for letting Faesha stay with you!" Benkay went completely silent. For several seconds, he just stared at her. Then he grabbed her again.

"Yeah. You're going home."

"NOOO!" Faesha clung to the floor with all her strength.

"FAESHA PROMISES THEY'LL BE WORTH YOUR TIME!"

"Let go!"

"UNCLE, PLEASE! JUST LET FAESHA STAY!" Benkay sighed.

"Fine! What are these gifts?" Faesha instantly stopped struggling. A proud smile appeared on her face.

"It's a secret." Benkay's eyebrow twitched.

"Just tell me." He pinched her cheek.

"Ow! Ow! OWWWW!" Faesha pouted.

"You're so mean! You know that?"

"I'm not mean. You're just annoying." Krystal immediately stepped in and lifted little Faesha into her arms.

"She's not annoying!" Krystal hugged her.

"She's the cutest, most adorable little thing in the world, aren't you?" Faesha giggled.

"Krystal, that tickles!" Krystal gently placed her back down. Faesha reached into her magic pouch.

"Okay! Here's what Faesha got!" She pulled out a spear.

"This is for you, King!" King blinked.

"For me?"

"You can control it with your magic, so you don't even have to physically hold it!" King took the spear.

"Woah! Thanks! This is awesome!" Faesha reached into her pouch again and pulled out a necklace.

"This necklace increases your strength by a considerable margin." She handed it to Max.

"This is for you, Max!" Max examined the necklace.

"This is most appreciated, Faesha." Faesha smiled before reaching into her pouch once again.

"And these are for you, Krystal!" She pulled out a pair of elegant boots.

"They can increase your speed by a lot!" Krystal's eyes lit up.

"For me?" She quickly put them on. They fit perfectly. Krystal smiled.

"They fit too! You know me too well, Faesha." Faesha giggled.

"Of course Faesha does!" She reached into her pouch one last time.

"And last but not least..." Faesha pulled out a tiny gray creature.

"A Fire Spirit!" Everyone looked at it.

"It's a companion buddy that amplifies fire moves!" She proudly held it toward Benkay.

"For you, Uncle Benkay!" Benkay stared at the tiny spirit. Then he immediately grabbed Faesha's cheek.

"Ow! Ow! Owwww!" Faesha squirmed.

"UNCLE! FAESHA GAVE YOU A PRESENT! WHY ARE YOU PINCHING FAESHA?!" Benkay sighed.

"You've known me your whole life." He pointed at himself.

"Tell me, Faesha. Have you EVER seen me use fire magic?" Faesha's smile faded.

"Well... now that you mention it... not really." Benkay facepalmed.

"You're so absent minded." He looked at the Fire Spirit.

"This thing is completely useless to me." He pointed toward Ace.

"Give it to that guy over there. He uses fire magic." Faesha looked toward Ace.

"That grumpy guy?" Ace's eyebrow twitched.

"I can hear you you know..." Faesha walked over to him and held out the Fire Spirit.

"Here you go, Mister! Faesha heard you use fire magic, so this could help you out!" Ace looked at the spirit.

"I don't want it." Silence. King's eyes widened. Krystal's eyes widened. Max's eyes widened. Benkay's eyes widened.

"Oh no..." King whispered.

"Did he just reject Faesha's gift?" Faesha's eyes began to water.

"So..." Her lower lip trembled.

"Sniff... you don't like Faesha's gifts?" Ace's eyes widened.

"Wait." Faesha started crying.

"WAAAAAAAH!" The entire guild house shook with her cries. Everyone instantly covered their ears. Benkay calmly looked at Ace.

"Well, this is what happens when you reject Faesha's presents without a valid reason." Ace covered his ears.

"ALRIGHT! FINE! I'LL TAKE THE DANG THING!" The crying immediately stopped. Faesha looked up.

"Really?" Ace sighed.

"Yeah. Just stop crying already." Faesha's face instantly brightened.

"YAY! FAESHA IS SO HAPPY!" Ace picked up the Fire Spirit.

"What do I even do with it?" Faesha pointed toward it.

"It's simple! Just use some of your fire magic to activate it!" Ace held out his palm. A small flame appeared. The Fire Spirit absorbed the flames. Its gray body slowly changed color. It turned blue. The tiny spirit suddenly stood up. It waddled around on Ace's palm.

"MEEP!" Ace stared at it.

"... Meep?" Faesha nodded.

"Meep!" Ace looked confused.

"That's what spirits say?"

"They don't speak our language, but they can understand it." Faesha shrugged.

"So a meep is the best you're going to get out of it." Ace stared at the tiny creature.

"I see." Faesha suddenly remembered something.

"Oh! And since you used your fire magic on it, the Fire Spirit is now forged to you for life!" Ace froze.

"For... life.....?"

"Mhm!"

"You mean I can't get rid of it?"

"Nope!"

"Not even if I want to?"

"Nope!"

"You're telling me I'm stuck with this thing forever?" Faesha nodded.

"Unless you die or pass it down to a relative." Ace stared blankly at the Fire Spirit.

"Great." He sighed.

"Now I'm stuck with this thing for life." He looked down.

"What's your name?" The Fire Spirit looked up.

"MEEP!" Ace blinked.

"Your name is Meep?"

"MEEP!" Amelia's eyes sparkled.

"Awww! It's so adorable!" She stepped closer.

"Can I touch it, please?" Ace shrugged.

"Sure." Faesha's eyes widened.

"Faesha wouldn't recommend that if she were you." Amelia reached out and touched Meep.

"OW!" She quickly pulled her hand back.

"My hand!" Faesha smiled awkwardly.

"Oh, yeah. Another thing." She raised a finger.

"Only the person it's forged to can touch it without getting burned." Amelia looked at her hand.

"Well... I wish I knew that sooner." She whimpered. Thomas chuckled.

"Well, Ace, looks like you got yourself a new companion." Ace glanced at Tony.

"Well, it's better than Tony, at least." Tony's ears immediately perked up.

"What was that?!" He pointed at himself.

"YOU REPLACED ME ALREADY?!" Ace looked away.

"With this little ball of fire?!" Tony looked devastated.

"Ace! How could you?!" Ace sighed.

"I was joking." Tony folded his arms.

"That wasn't a very good joke." Ace looked down at Meep. The tiny Fire Spirit waddled across his palm.

"MEEP!" Ace smirked.

"I wonder how my new abilities will fare against one of the RobogeneX units." The room suddenly became quiet, the earlier weight from the arena settling back over them for just a moment. Benkay smiled, though something more serious flickered behind his eyes.

"Now that..." He looked toward the Fire Spirit.

"... might actually be worth seeing." Ace clenched his fist.

"Then I guess we'll find out soon enough."