“Oh, this one looks pretty good,” Lindyss said and scribbled into a small notebook with a pen. She had asked for a quill and inkwell at the front desk of the library, but was pleasantly surprised by the dwarves’ innovation.

“Which one?” Erin asked in a nasally voice. She was lying on her back beside the book in front of Lindyss, her head hanging upside down off the edge of the wooden table. “Can we go outside and play? You haven’t left the library a single time in the past two to three weeks. You’re starting to smell funky.”

“I smell fine,” Lindyss said with a snort. “It’s your nose that’s broken. And this method of increasing mana regeneration is really feasible compared to the others.”

Erin sat up and rubbed her eyes. “What is it? Why do I always have to ask twice before you answer my questions?”

Lindyss rolled her eyes. “I’m not sure why you’re even asking me any questions,” she said and put her pen down. She read over what she wrote before nodding and flipping the page.

“You’re ignoring me again!” Erin said and kicked her feet against the tabletop. “What’s the method?”

“A sacrificial ritual and absorption of souls,” Lindyss said as she leaned back and placed her feet on the table while placing the book onto her lap. “It’s much easier than finding an herb that’s been growing for thousands of years. Humans are everywhere.”

Erin blinked twice and tilted her head to the side. “You’re joking, right? I know you’re a bad person, but even you wouldn’t resort to human sacrifices, right…?”

Lindyss let out a dry laugh. “Yeah, sure, just a joke,” she said and closed her notebook before Erin could check, placing it into her pocket. She flipped the page of the book on her lap and placed her finger down, stopping the fairy from flipping it back. “Calm down, I’d resort to making tea out of fairies’ birthflowers before human sacrifices.”

“That’s even worse!” Erin said.

Lindyss ignored her and snapped her fingers. An earth elemental popped out of the ground, taking the shape of a formless blob. Lindyss pointed at it, and a drop of blue light formed on the tip of her finger before falling onto the elemental. “Tell E I need some goat’s blood, a horsetail brush, a sacrificial knife made of a heifer’s skull, and some manacles to prevent people from squirming.”

An arm appeared in the center of the formless blob. “Understood,” the elemental said and saluted. “The mana you’ve given me is more than enough to send a message. Is there anything else you’d like to request?”

“A cup of hot water,” Lindyss said.

The elemental saluted again before melding back into the floor.

“Hey,” Erin said, staring at Lindyss with narrowed eyes. “You said the human sacrifice was a joke.”

“Yes,” Lindyss said and closed the book in her lap before swapping it out for another book that was on the ground beside her. “Yes, I did.”

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Then why did you request for materials that suspiciously seem like sacrificial tools!?” Erin asked, eyes bulging. “The holy dragons are going to hunt you down! There won’t be anything left of you once they catch you.”

“Didn’t I already tell you it was a joke?” Lindyss asked, raising an eyebrow. “Goat’s blood, manacles, and a brush can be used for many different purposes other than human sacrifice. Jeez.”

“And the sacrificial knife made out of a virgin cow’s skull?” Erin asked.

“That’s for stabbing nosy fairies,” Lindyss said with a smile. The ground bulged before Erin could respond. A cup of hot water shot out of the floor, landing on the table. A jar of blood, a larger than average brush, and a yellowing knife followed moments after. Lindyss grabbed the items and shoved them into her pocket, causing them to disappear without a trace. “And the manacles?”

“E didn’t have any,” the earth elemental said. “I have to go to the dungeons, but the library’s on the way, so I dropped those off first.”

“Wait. He had a knife made of a virgin cow’s skull, but he didn’t have manacles?” Erin asked. But the earth elemental had already left before she finished her question.

Lindyss shrugged. “Sometimes, things are just the way things are,” she said. “He had a knife, but he didn’t have manacles. That’s just how things are.”

“There’s definitely something wrong with your head,” Erin muttered. “That’s just how it is.”

Lindyss ignored her, staring at the protrusion in the ground that the earth elemental had left behind. “Maybe I should replace my skeletons with earth elementals. They’re just as efficient and obedient, but they have less sass.” She rubbed her chin before shaking her head. She had a feeling another weird religion would appear if she used the earth elementals in the same way she used her skeletons. “Ah, forget it—skeletons are great. I can trust them to watch over the kingdom while I’m on vacation.”

“Skeletons…?” Erin asked.

“A joke,” Lindyss said and waved her hand. “Don’t worry too much about it.”

“If you keep joking around like this, I’ll never be able to figure out when you’re being serious,” Erin said while pouting.

“I see no issue with that,” Lindyss said. “And why are you still here? You complain so much, but you stick to me like glue. Don’t you have better things to do like, say, not bothering me? That’s an excellent suggestion given by yours truly; you should put it on the top of your to-do list.”

Erin shook her fist at Lindyss. “Why are you so grumpy and unpleasant all the time?” she asked. “I bet this is why you haven’t gotten married yet despite being so ancient. What’s so bad about a fairy trying to make friends, huh?”

“I’m pretty sure you know my stance on fairies,” Lindyss said. “Do I have to try to kill you again to make you leave me alone? Or is that it? Everyone’s terrified of you, and no one except for me had ever tried to kill you, so you started seeing me as an equal.”

Erin pursed her lips and crossed her arms over her chest.

Lindyss blinked as her mouth fell open. “Wait, you’re not serious,” she said. “That’s really it!?”

Erin snorted. “So what if it is, huh!? You got a problem with that?”

“Yes, I have a problem with fairies in general,” Lindyss said with a nod. “So what do I have to do to make you leave me alone? Give you hugs and kisses and bake cute cookies?”

Erin rolled her eyes. “Or you can just give up and accept—”

A loud voice echoed through the whole library, drowning out Erin’s words. “Auntie! Are you here?”

“Don’t shout in a library,” Lindyss said. A few moments later, Vur appeared from behind a bookshelf. “Welcome back. Did you get what I asked for?”

Vur nodded and handed Lindyss a bag filled with phoenix feathers. “But why do you need them? If you want to revive someone, I can do it for you.”

“Your resurrection skill has limitations; you shouldn’t always depend on it,” Lindyss said. “And I’m not planning on bringing anyone back. These can help me absorb souls if Grimmy decides to stick some more in me.”

Vur tilted his head. “Oh. Makes sense.”

Erin’s gaze shifted from Vur to Lindyss. “That was a joke, right? You don’t actually absorb souls, yeah?”

“Yeah, sure, just a joke,” Lindyss said in the same tone as before. She shoved the bag into her pocket, causing it to disappear, before nodding at Vur. “Now onto your mana regeneration problem: I found a few feasible solutions.”