At this time, the two teammates who were originally from the North had already left, leaving only Damon and Vlamay traveling together.
They passed through the Elf village that had been annihilated by the Demon Race. The elves in the village had perished along with the Demon King Army, leaving only one seriously injured Silver Hair Elf Girl kneeling on the ground, waiting for death.
Regarding this situation, Vlamay, having returned from the Demon King City, was already accustomed to it.
She first affirmed the Elf Girl's strength, then habitually offered sarcastic remarks, believing her choice to fight the powerful enemy head-on was utterly foolish.
Of course, despite the mockery, the soft-hearted Vlamay still had Damon carry the girl, intending to take her to a nearby town to find a Monk in a Church to treat her injuries.
But what Vlamay never expected was that this Silver Hair Elf Girl possessed magical talent beyond that of an Ordinary Person; she was actually a rare Magical Genius among the Long-lived Race of elves!
The girl judged purely by intuition that this seemingly weak Human before her was actually a powerful Great Mage far surpassing her.
This discovery filled Vlamay with both surprise and joy.
Furthermore, the intelligence gathered from the Demon Race along the way—that the Demon King had ordered the extermination of the elves—made Vlamay keenly aware of the Demon King's fear of the Elf Race.
Without any hesitation, Vlamay immediately decided to take her as a Disciple, pouring out all her Knowledge to teach her.
Writing up to this point, Vlamay's Letter was nearing its end.
In the very last part, she left her Itinerary: first taking Frieren to meet her Teacher, and then coming to this forest to visit him.
In addition, she boldly assumed that her newly accepted Disciple would surely gain Lin Yu's approval.
This sentence sounded like a joke between friends, but Lin Yu still keenly sensed the Hidden Meaning behind it—Vlamay intended to leave her Holy Scripture to Frieren!
That was why she needed Lin Yu's approval.
"Only in her thirties, and she's already thinking about what happens after she dies?"
Lin Yu grumbled verbally, but a complex emotion that was hard to describe welled up in his heart.
Lifespan issues!
The thought of losing this friend decades later genuinely made him uncomfortable.
Lin Yu shook his head, composed himself, and tucked the Letter in his embrace.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Lin Yu looked up, facing the Old Village Chief and Damon, "Do you have anything else?"
"No—"
Damon shook his head, while the Old Village Chief beside him quickly shot him a glare before respectfully saying:
"My Lord, regarding the construction of the Jifeng City Wall..."
"Hasn't this already been discussed? You are fully in charge!"
Lin Yu waved his hand, glancing at him, "Or do you need me to send some Yellow Turban... Strongmen to help?"
The Old Village Chief quickly stated his case, "That's not it, My Lord. While building the City Wall, we also need to construct a protective Barrier. We wanted to ask Your Lordship for some Mana Crystals to serve as the Barrier's Energy Source."
"So that's what it is."
Lin Yu nodded, "I will have Rumble Rock move tonight. If you need them, you can go collect them yourselves!"
The Old Village Chief was overjoyed and quickly said, "Thank you for the Divine Gift, My Lord!"
Damon, standing nearby, looked utterly bewildered, completely failing to understand the connection between the two matters.
Lin Yu noticed his confusion and explained with a smile, "That place was where I used to test new Magic. Due to Mana convergence and the theory of Mana permeating matter, a large Mana Crystal Vein formed underground."
"Rumble Rock really likes that spot and has been resting on the Vein for the past few years..."
Mana Crystal Veins form like that?
Damon's mouth opened slightly, and he looked at Lin Yu with some confusion.
Seeing the expression on his Son's face, the Old Village Chief snorted, looking as if he shared in the glory.
Afterward, he quickly adjusted his expression and said respectfully yet nervously to Lin Yu, "My Lord, there is one more matter. Regarding the City Lord Guard that Jifeng City is about to establish, I wish for Damon to serve as the first Captain..."
"You certainly don't shy away from recommending your own kin!"
Lin Yu teased with a smile.
The Old Village Chief said seriously, "Damon is the Vanguard in Lord Vlamay's party and has fought head-on against the Demon King and the Demon King Army. There is no Warrior in the Jifeng Territory superior to him!"
Lin Yu nodded, "That is indeed true."
Hearing their words, Damon, standing nearby, frowned.
After a moment of hesitation, he bowed, "Thank you for the Lord's favor, but I am an Adventurer and it is difficult for me to serve Your Lordship long-term. If Your Lordship can accept a Captain who might abandon his duties to go adventuring at any moment upon a companion's call, then I..."
"No problem!"
Lin Yu agreed without hesitation, a look of admiration appearing on his face as he looked at him.
Damon was caught off guard, his words cutting off abruptly before he finished, staring at Lin Yu with a face full of shock and incomprehension.
He had said that hoping to make this Lord retreat from the idea, but unexpectedly, the other party completely didn't care about his loyalty to his companions, even viewing it as a commendable bonus point.
Of course, this only applied to Vlamay's companions.
If it were anyone else, it would be completely different!
Damon snapped out of his shock and said hesitantly, "My Lord, isn't that inappropriate?"
Lin Yu raised an eyebrow and retorted, "Then you don't want to accept?"
Damon showed hesitation.
"That's fine too."
Lin Yu nodded, turned to look at the Old Village Chief, and smiled, "I rarely dictate your decisions, but on this matter, let Damon decide for himself. He delivered Vlamay's Letter for me, so I owe him a favor."
The Old Village Chief, who had just been ecstatic, was pulled back by his own Son in the blink of an eye.
However, this only applied to the first half of Lin Yu's words. When he heard the last sentence, the disappointment and anger that had just surfaced instantly transformed into immense delight.
The Old Village Chief straightened his Robe, turned around, and looked at Damon with a serious expression:
"Damon, do you really want to waste the Lord's reward on this?"
"..."
Damon seemed to realize something too, and his expression began to change.
Lin Yu observed the two with interest, sensing some Hidden circumstances behind them that he was unaware of.
Not long after, Damon gritted his teeth and, swayed by his old Father's counsel, completely changed his attitude, suddenly kneeling on one knee and swearing allegiance to Lin Yu with the courtesy of a Knight.
Lin Yu looked at them with some surprise, musing thoughtfully:
"Judging by your expressions, you don't want to waste this favor!"
"It is a reward, My Lord!"
The Old Village Chief corrected Lin Yu's wording, then said respectfully, "My Lord, you should know that Damon's ancestor and I were once Knights of the Unified Empire. It was because an ancestor in a certain generation made some mistakes that our Noble title—and even our Family Name—was stripped away!"
Hearing this, Lin Yu suddenly understood, finally grasping the Old Village Chief's desire.
In this world, Ordinary People did not have Family Names; only the Noble class was qualified to possess Family Names passed down to their descendants.
"Speaking of which, the Unified Empire seems to have sent an official letter acknowledging my status as Lord..."
"That's right."
"I understand. Do you wish to become Nobles again, or do you want your former Family Name back?"
"Neither!"
The Old Village Chief shook his head, kneeling on one knee alongside Damon, looking at Lin Yu with burning eyes, "The Ancestor from three generations ago disgraced that Family Name. What Damon and I desire is a brand new Family Name bestowed by My Lord!"
Huh?
Lin Yu looked at the Old Village Chief with complete incomprehension.
This was not his fault, as he had never had any direct contact with the Nobles of this world from beginning to end.
For a former Knight family like the Old Village Chief's, the Family Name was more about honor than the meaning of the name itself.
After all, their previous Family Name was also bestowed by Nobles; it didn't possess the inherited significance related to ancestor worship found in China Family Names.
Although he didn't fully understand, Lin Yu chose to respect it.
After a moment of thought, he looked at the father and son kneeling before him and said, "Let it be Stone!"
"In another language I know, it means rock."
Stone?
This sounded much better than the previous 'Donkey's Tail'!
The Old Village Chief was ecstatic, decisively pulling Damon to bow and express their gratitude.
"Thank you, My Lord!"