The rest of the patrol and the trip back home was lively and full of chatter and we all became good friends. Yeah right. Maybe it could have been if the only person who can understand me did not hate me for an unknown reason. The female archer kept pestering the leader, I have no clue if it is to thank or ask me question as she failed to convince Aelynthi to talk to me. The silent spearman is... the silent type. The friend of the female archer has checked out my weapon more times than I have checked out women. I am considering gifting him one of my grenades without explaining how they work and hope for the best... Why am I here again? Ah, yes Kate is busy... All the hype of exploring an elven village died when the method of communication flew away and other options are currently non viable. I wonder if I successfully run away what will Kate's reaction be? Disappointed? Sad? Angry at me because I dared to disobey her? Collar me so that I can not run away? I get the feeling that our relationship is not that negative but she is a dragon, furthermore she is a woman, I may ask her or time will tell.

We go our separate ways after returning, after dinner 2 elves come up to me and gesture for me to follow. Shortly we arrive at the elders tree house. There I is see the village elder with Aelynthi standing by his side, her face as always shows her favorite expression towards me. The elder looks at my holstered weapon, silence rains for a few seconds.

Kerym Brypeiros finally breaks the silence by saying: "Thank for using your rank 2 artifact to protect the safety of the patrol group as that situation could have become quite dire." He pauses.

Should I say something? Nah...

Wait did he say rank 2? Why is it rank 2? Alright, from his perspective my gun rapidly killed 12 wolves from a distance of about 100 meters, so with this weapon I am in the power range of rank 2 mages. I do not feel powerful, in cqc I would be a goner or if attacked by large amounts of weak enemies, 20-30 would do. Heck, if I was alone against those wolves and 3 or so did not flee then I would most likely become a dog bone after the soft bits of me enter their stomach. Though there is a chance they would have failed to bite through my armor but I am not optimistic of my chances surviving being the chew toy of a group of wolves. I need to improve the sustained fire rate of my pistol or build a copy or completely redesign the whole gun not to use highly pressurized air. The elder breaks me out of my thoughts.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"This here is my granddaughter Aelynthi, she entered rank 1 at the age of 20 years, with her talent I believe she will enter rank 2 before 50 years of age, she is talented in music, dancing and is a good housekeeper."

Now this is starting to sound like a sales pitch, I wonder if the person in question knows about this, judging by her face it seems no, as her glare is not of a woman that is about to be married off to a man she hates, it is just the gaze of a woman that is looking at the man she hates. I decide not to speak and see where the elder is going with this. Is my guess incorrect? After all, she will have a lifespan of about 1000 years while I will have one of about 100 if I fail to extend it.

"I wish for you to take her in as your lifelong servant."

Huh, I did overthink things... So she serves me for 100 years, gains the status of a servant of a dragon's student if that is worth anything, then when I die of old age she walks away with one or two of my artifacts and knowledge from my hands. This will stabilize her position as a rank 2 mage when she is free from my service. This is my best guess, that explains the motivation behind the elders offer, I did make some assumptions but I feel like I am not far off the mark. Can I even make this decision without Kate? I do not even understand my relationship with Kate. Well any guy would be happy to have a beautiful elven assistant, but I am not any guy, I have a boat load of secrets and the female in question has a wish to beat me up.

"I would like to consult Teacher Kathorrunth before making a decision." Kerym does a nod of acceptance and starts talking to Aelynthi, I see a surprised look on her face, followed by anger directed at Kerym, she says something, huffs and leaves. I can mostly confirm that she did not know about the becoming my servant part. I wonder if there is another hidden motive in the elders actions like an external threat, political or otherwise. He turns to me.

"She agrees and will be ready when the time comes. Good night." You call that being agreeable?

I almost let disbelief cross my face and can not help but think does everybody see me as an idiot or something along those lines? Have I missed some information or interaction, excluding of course the part where Kate said I was dropped as a baby? Did Kate say anything more, like that I am a complete idiot?...