Obeying Sheena’s command, I bring the Goblin Trio to the nearby lake to wash ourselves.

When we arrived at the lakeside, I was captivated by the scene before me. The lush greenery and all kinds of alluring flowers are clearly reflected on the surface of the crystal clear lake. It was truly a sight to behold, I’ve never seen a lake as clear as this in my whole life.

It makes me hesitate slightly to wash this dirty body of mine in this crystal clear lake. However, before I could respond, the Goblin Trio already jumped into the lake and play with the water happily, with their loincloths attached and all.

I could only watch the heartwarming scene before me with a wry smile. Seeing the Goblin Trio splashing the water so merrily in the lake, they really seemed like a child at this moment. I mean this is only to be expected, goblins have short life span, and they grow up rather fast. Heck, they might only be a few months old for all we know.

When I thought of something like that, something suddenly hits me, “Hm? I wonder just how long is the life span of an ordinary goblin?”

However, I didn’t ponder too much upon it. Their life span will undoubtedly increase after they evolve into hobgoblins. I have high hopes for these three goblins, they will definitely surpass hobgoblin, and evolve into an ogre, then a demon, and beyond!

When I got in front of the lake, I tried to take off my gloves so that I can scoop up the water to wash my face. However, I discovered that I cannot remove the arm protectors that are attached over the silk gloves.

“Eh…? I cannot take off the gloves…” I tried to apply more strength to pull the arm protector apart, but it didn’t even budge an inch.

“Fufufu… Are you sure you know how to take it off?” Sylvidia suddenly appeared before me.

“Uwa…!!!” I am still not used to seeing someone appear and disappear in front of me all of a sudden, I couldn’t help but scream in shock. However, what surprised me the most is not the sudden appearance of Sylvidia, but the form that she was taking.

Sylvidia looked completely human, with her wavy blonde hair, her clear blue eyes, her pale and smooth complexion, her well-developed curves, and her frail-looking arms and legs, she looked just like a sprite that came out from the fairy tale.

“What?! That is rude ye know! It seems like you have just seen a ghost or something… Am I that scary?” Sylvidia was displeased by my scream.

“Um… S-sorry…” I apologized on reflex.

“Never mind that… Here, show me your arm protector.” Sylvidia shrugged it off like it was nothing, and extended her hand to show me the palm.

I instinctively extended my hand to grab her palm, but before I touched her palm, I suddenly come to myself, “W-wait-wait-wait! Before that… Who are you?! Are you really Sylvidia?!”

“What… if I am not Sylvidia, then who might I be?” Sylvidia asked amusingly.

“B-but… that form… you look like human! Aren’t you supposed to be a Winged Unicorn?” So I asked, but Sylvidia only answered indifferently, “I told you earlier right? That we Spirits do not possess a Material Body. Therefore we do not have a permanent form. We can change the appearance of our Spiritual Body however we want, but most Spirits would choose to retain their original form from when they were still alive…”

After listening to Sylvidia, I come to understand a little more regarding the amazing ability of the Spirits, “So you mean, that Winged Unicorn was…”

“My original form of course!” Before I could finish my sentence, Sylvidia completed my sentence for me and cleared my doubt. Then she asked me, “If nothing unexpected happen, and you end up transforming into a genuine Spirit after five hundred years, you would choose to stick with your original form too right?”

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“Ah… ahahahaha… Of course… of course I would… hahaha” I laughed awkwardly and secretly thought to myself, “If I end up transforming into a genuine Spirit, I would probably stick with my original form as Sylvidia had said, but I would beautify myself by removing all the wrinkles and pimples on my face, make my skin smooth and fair, remove all my body hair and stuffs.”

Sylvidia obviously heard all of that through our Spiritual Link so she smiled impishly and teased, “Hehehe! That much is obvious, who wouldn’t want to make themselves look better? Tehehehehe!”

Knowing that Sylvidia had heard everything that I was thinking, my cheeks turned as bright as tomatoes, I covered my face with both my hands in shame, and said, “Wh-wh-wh… Who gave you permission to read my mind?! Oh jeez… this is so embarrassing…” My tone in the end turned very soft and high-pitched.

My face feels so hot, even my ears had turned bright red, if this was in an anime or manga, steam would probably escapes from the top of my head right at this moment. While I was still covering my face in embarrassment, Sylvidia was roaming around my body to check the armors. However, no matter if it was the shoulder piece, the belt, or the breastplate, all of them wouldn’t even budge an inch. It was as if the armors had glued onto my body.

“Hm…” Sylvidia grabbed her chin and was in deep thoughts for a moment, then she said, “This is strange… I couldn’t feel any dark element from this set of armor, it couldn’t possible be a Cursed Armor, then what in the world…”

My body flinched when I heard the word “cursed”, I couldn’t help but ask, “S-Sylvidia… What do you mean by Cursed Armor?”

“Hrm?” Sylvidia raised her face to look at me and explained, “A Cursed Item is the opposite of Spirit Item. A Spirit Item is possessed by a kind-hearted Spirit, they will grant their power to the users in exchange for a little bit of Spiritual Power. However, a Cursed Item is different, they are possessed by a Devil. Once equipped, the user will never be able to take it off, and the Devil will keep draining the user’s Magic Power without an end in sight. That’s why Cursed Items are usually more powerful than Spirit Items, but it comes with a great risk to equip them.”

“Gulp… T-then… Are you saying… this set of armor is c-c-c-cursed?!” I started to panic, but Sylvidia reassured me by saying, “Worry not, that is not a Cursed Armor. I don’t sense a shred of demonic aura from that armor. In contrast, I can sense something holy…”

Then Sylvidia muttered to herself quietly, “But a Blessed Armor shouldn’t have a limitation like this, just what is going on…”

Due to my sharp hearing ability, I was able to hear Sylvidia muttering to herself. I was surprised to find out even the all-knowing Sylvidia has something that she doesn’t know of. If this is not a Cursed Armor, nor a Blessed Armor… then just what is this set of armor I’m wearing. I’m starting to get a little anxious, and also a little expectant.

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Author’s Note

Sylvia finally found out that she cannot take off the armor, but it is neither a Cursed Armor, nor a Blessed Armor, just what is this set of armor?! Stay tuned for the next chapter!

One reader suggested a living armor, that is interesting in its own way. Anyone have other suggestions? ;)