Indeed, the Elves of this world all possess a concept of time befitting a Long-lived Race.
In comparison, Lin Yu had not yet cultivated such a mindset; four months of time spent together felt quite long to him.
Two days later, Vlamay returned from outside the forest, handed a brand new Holy Scripture to Lin Yu, and then said with a smile:
"Don't be sad. I will come back to visit you often. Moreover, before long, an entire Village of refugees will be relocating here from the North, which has suffered greatly from the Demon Race. Perhaps you will have some interaction with them."
"If you don't mind, you can allow them to live nearby and shelter them."
"But I don't advise you to get too close to them. You are, after all, a god; even an unconscious turn over could be an unbearable disaster for the tiny lives around you..."
"I understand." Lin Yu nodded. "Were your frequent departures last month for this matter?"
Vlamay chuckled, "Sort of. But don't get emotional yet. I'm not doing this just for you—do you remember the day I first arrived here?"
Lin Yu nodded, "I remember."
Vlamay smiled, "I accepted a Commission from these Villagers that day. They originally lived in the forest but were driven out twenty years ago by a Monster here—the Rumble Rock—and were forced to move North."
"Now that the North is engulfed in continuous warfare, their Village is affected again. The younger generation, missing their childhood Hometown, pooled their money to hire an Adventurer to check on the situation here..."
The rest of the story goes without saying; Lin Yu was perfectly clear on it.
"So they arrived three months before I did?"
"Not quite. For ordinary people, migration is quite troublesome, especially since they were bringing along the old, weak, Women and Children, along with much of their household goods and cargo. It took them about three months to reach the Town nearest the forest."
"That's already quite remarkable. No wonder you were often out at that time."
Lin Yu nodded and said with interest, "In an era like this, not only could you persuade the Villagers to relocate collectively, but you could also hire a Magic user like yourself to scout the way and escort the entire Village while bringing their families along."
"There must be an extraordinary individual among these Villagers, right?"
Vlamay chuckled lightly, "As expected, you saw through it!"
"That's right. There is a Warrior in the Village with excellent aptitude. I am a Magic user and require Vanguard protection, so I invited him to adventure with me a long time ago."
"It's just a pity that the war had already spread to his Hometown by then."
"He couldn't bear to leave his Friends and relatives in the Village, so he absolutely refused to go with me."
"There was nothing I could do, so I had to put in extra effort to first solve the safety issue for the Villagers..."
Speaking of which, in the Original Work, the notes Vlamay left for Frieren did indeed mention that she had visited the place where Souls rest and met a fallen comrade from the past there.
Although this plot point was designed to introduce Frieren's main quest to travel Northward, the information revealed also proved that Vlamay indeed had experience adventuring with companions when she was younger.
It's just a shame that the outcome of that experience didn't seem very pleasant...
Lin Yu silently looked at Vlamay, hesitating whether or not to remind her.
Vlamay naturally didn't know what Lin Yu was thinking. Her gaze shifted as she looked at the Horned Beast lying behind Lin Yu.
"You should be quite clear about the nature of the Demon Race and Monsters, right?"
"...Of course!"
Lin Yu snapped back to attention and said softly, "The Demon Race are Monsters that can speak, while Monsters are savage beasts without reason, unable to communicate, and filled with malice toward Humans and living things."
"Correct."
Vlamay nodded, looking at the Rumble Rock, "But your Rumble Rock is not like that."
Lin Yu turned his head, patted the Rumble Rock's jaw, and smiled, "Is it possible that it is just an ordinary animal possessing Magic Power?"
"Impossible!" Vlamay shook her head. "The Ridgepeak Lord is a Monster; that is beyond doubt."
"Is that so?"
Lin Yu remained noncommittal, forcefully opening the Rumble Rock's slightly narrowed Eyes, pointing at those helpless yellow pupils, as if to say, 'Look, can a Monster have such Eyes?'
"So I find it strange why it turned out like this."
Vlamay said calmly, "Lin, when you first arrived in this World, did anything happen?"
Lin Yu was slightly startled and hesitated, "Nothing, I suppose—does that lake count?"
Vlamay shook her head and continued, "In this world, one problem has long plagued Humans: where does the innate malice of Monsters toward Humans come from?"
"Regarding this point, one hypothesis is quite popular: that this malice was forcibly instilled by some evil entity."
"The evidence is the Hero's Sword in the Land of Swords. Legend says it is a Treasure left in the World by the Goddess. Only a Hero capable of defeating an apocalyptic catastrophe can draw it out."
"Whether the legend is true remains debatable, but the Desire of Monsters to destroy this Hero's Sword is certainly not false."
"Since it appeared, Monsters have been continuously drawn here, attempting to destroy the Hero's Sword, as if there is an existence completely opposed to the Goddess hidden behind them..."
Lin Yu mused, "Hearing that, it does seem to be the case."
Vlamay turned to look at the Rumble Rock, "If the malice of Monsters is indeed artificially instilled, then there exists the possibility of reverse Brainwashing to restore their reason."
Lin Yu said thoughtfully, "You mean, I washed away the malice that spontaneously generated in the Monsters' minds?"
Vlamay nodded, "Exactly. And I discovered that it's not just the Rumble Rock; all Monsters within your range of activity, whether strong or weak, lack the aggression of outside Monsters."
"Admittedly, they still choose to attack Humans who suddenly intrude, but that is not due to cruelty and malice, but the instinct of a wild animal defending itself against danger..."
Hearing this, Lin Yu suddenly remembered that he had indeed unconsciously released his aura when he first entered this realm.
Could it have been at that time...
Lin Yu pondered for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "You only dared to let those Villagers move over after confirming this point, right?"
"That's right!"
Vlamay said with a smile, "Over the past month, I scouted the entire forest and confirmed that this situation was not an isolated case. Only then did I send a message to the Villagers who were staying in a nearby Town."
As she spoke, she raised her hand and gave a light Snap. Two massive figures immediately materialized in the forest behind her.
Both figures were standing outside Lin Yu's Territory, thus outside his perception.
Clearly, Vlamay must have intentionally positioned them there.
As for the purpose, that was hard to say!
Lin Yu's gaze swept over the two figures, discovering that one was a giant ape, two meters tall, muscular, and covered in white fur, while the other was a giant wolf, over three meters long, covered in grayish-white fur.
Judging solely by the Magic Power fluctuations on the giant ape and the giant wolf, they were undoubtedly powerful Monsters.
But looking at their Eyes, they lacked the pure brutality of typical Monsters; instead, they were lively and intelligent, much like the Rumble Rock.
Could it be...
Lin Yu's heart stirred, and he turned to look at Vlamay.
Vlamay smiled, "That's right. Both of these guys escaped from your Territory. They also regained their reason like the Rumble Rock. It would be a real waste for such rare, special species to die outside, so I captured them both and brought them back!"
It was just as he thought!
A smile appeared on Lin Yu's face, and he happily accepted these two parting gifts.
A moment later, the thirty-five-meter-long Rumble Rock propped up its four limbs, its entire body radiating Magic Power several times stronger than a year ago, scrutinizing the two small, trembling things before it.
Lin Yu paid no mind to the interaction between the three Monsters.
He held the Holy Scripture, standing on the small path at the edge of his Territory, looking at the smiling White-robed Woman before him:
"Thank you for the gifts; I like them very much."
"Then... farewell."
"Yes, farewell."