Chapter 342: A New Life, By All Means

"Elves are a close-knitted community. They rarely interact or communicate with the outside world. Their settlements are deep within forests and jungles and are often too difficult to come across."

The old woman paused to close the book and then said-

"I have been living in this town for almost 80 years, and I have not heard of an elf settlement in the vicinity."

The remark made the daughter and the boy frown.

"That means he was either kidnapped from a faraway place or abandoned from the community."

The mother displayed abnormal concern on her face as she leaned on the tables.

"Either way, he will not be taken back into the community.

Elves are a race of great standards. They will not accept a person once they are separated from their flock. They consider such individuals as abominations to their race.

Not to mention, I have heard about the execution of such people in the past."

The mother's words were mildly threatening and the elf felt it. Miss Aleria saw the tremor that went down his spine and probed her mother-

"Mom, what are you implying?"

The old woman moved the book to a side and raised her eyes to see her daughter's face.

"I was warning you.

Ever since you joined the forces, you have a sense of justice that have annoyed many people in the past. You are prone to return the lost objects regardless of the background. You are too impulsive and does things without cross-checking.

When the Lieutenant returns from the kingdom, you will present him and you would insist on returning the child to his community. But that is essentially executing him.

So I wanted you to know about the pros and cons of your possible action."

With a smile, she spoke with care and love as she observed her daughter. The words welled up the daughter's eyes but she restrained her emotions.

The old woman nodded at the two before standing up and walking to her room. She then came back and walked to the kitchen.

"Umm, Mom. You have my old dresses, right?"

The old woman poked her head from the kitchen with a funny smile before pausing her works and walking to her room again.

Placing two well-folded frocks on the table, she turned to her daughter.

"Are you going to make him wear the dress with the dust and dirt on him?"

The mother's question conveyed that the boy is dirty with dust and indirectly asked Miss Aleria to direct him to the bathroom.

Quickly, the daughter fulfilled her mother's wish and took him to the bathroom. Since he is a boy, she asked the boy to clean himself before handing him a towel. The boy gave a nod before entering and locking the door from the inside. 

Simple, yet beautiful!

The bathroom was small yet it was beautifully arranged. The necessary items were well-stacked on the shelf and the elf stepped to the mirror while running his eyes around him.

I really have pointy ears.

Standing in front of the mirror, the little elf checked his ears. The pinna was two inches long and had pointed tips.

Other than that, he could not find anything unusual in his appearance. His body was slightly tall for a 12-year old and the lean physique was devoid of any muscles. Maybe it'll come in time, he thought.

Staring down at his hands, he recalled Lee Shen's memories of childhood. The training regime came up in his head and he positioned himself according to the images in his head.

But his mind repeatedly murmured that this is not a suitable place for it. Thus he took his mind's advice and concentrated on bathing.

***

The clean-up session took almost ten minutes. When the elf wore the towel around his waist and opened the door to exit, he saw the mother and daughter duo sitting on the couch.

The old woman stood up and walked to the boy and gave him a pair of new clothes. His eyes skimmed over the folded clothes on the table and he deduced that these are perhaps a new set of clothes.

He went back inside and returned in a minute with a new look!

"Now you look fantastic, boy."

While our little elf was taking a wash, the squad leader's mother somehow got her hands on a set of boy's clothes. It was as if they were tailored for him except they were a little tight at places.

The pants were made of tanned leather and the upper wear was an off-white tee-shirt. They looked beautiful on him and the shower was refreshing.

"Come here, sit."

The old woman asked the guest to sit down on the couch. She probed about the comfortability of the outfit to which the elf replied positively.

Miss Aleria then notified her mother that the boy does not have a name. Hearing this, the woman sunk into thoughts.

Miss Aleria and the elf boy eagerly waited for her response as they observed her sitting with a contemplating expression. The duo did not blink and sat like a statue for two minutes.

Then the old woman raised her head and asked-

"How about Jonathan?!"

With an exclamation, the words fell in their ears. The boy felt pleased with the name while the daughter's expression was different.

"Mom, that's your husband's, my dad's name."

She was kinda infuriated by the statement her mother did. Thus she spoke without reserve.

The response was laughter.

"Oh poor girl, you don't know the meaning of that name, eh?

Your father once told me that his name means special. I consider this unique boy the same, so I don't think any reason to disagree with the logic."

Damn! The old lady had a thug-life demeanour when she explained her part and leaned back on the couch!

Finding the daughter's expressions creating a tug-of-war in her head, the old woman leaned forward and pointed at the elf boy and gave her verdict-

"Here on, you shall be known as Jonathan."