A Degenerate's Tale

Earl and the Elf Queen relocated to sit under a tree after she said her part.

They were alone in the elven forest. The sound of nature was their accompany. Such an atmosphere was indeed relaxing.

"What about you, Earl?" Saryll asked curiously.

"It was just mom who raised me." He started. There was not much that could be said about it so he told her honestly anyway. This was a sentence with many meanings he could take advantage of.

"I see..." The Queen digested the information and formed her conclusions. "That must've been why you asked about my husband, right? Growing up without a father... of course, you would be curious."

The next thing he knew, Saryll had placed one arm over his shoulder. Her touch was light and gentle.

Earl placed his hand on top of hers and said softly. "You don't need to be like this."

"You're a strong boy." She smiled but did not let go of her touch. "But since I am your teacher, I am allowed to do this. Showing concern is a part of my job."

"You must've misunderstood, Teacher." Earl protested to further reinforce his image. "I always have Lily and Aria to spend time with anyway."

"Is that so?" She gripped his shoulder tighter and pressed him in for a small hug.

Boobs!

Heavenly softness comparable to his mother pressed against him. They spent time like this for a short moment.

"Are you familiar with the trees in this forest?" Saryll was the one to break the silence.

"Not at all. What's special about them?"

"Follow me, then." She smiled mysteriously and stood up from the ground.

Her golden locks of hair fell in front of her face from the action to which she adjusted them by tucking it over her long, elven ears.

Such small action was surprisingly cute in the eyes of Earl who was still sitting under the tree.

"What's wrong?" Her voice broke Earl out of his daze.

He looked to the side and "blushed" before hurriedly standing up. "I-it's nothing."

"Hmm."

Saryll lead Earl to a random tree in the forest after a short walk. It didn't look anything special compared to the other trees.

"This one is good." She talked to herself.

Her student watched curiously without saying anything.

Bang!

All of the sudden, Saryll punched the tree! Its branches shook, followed by the fleeing of birds and rain of fruits.

These fruits were exotic in appearance. They were the fruits that were served for dinner at the Elven Palace the other day.

However, that was a matter of the least concern right now. Earl hurriedly took advantage of this situation to tightly hug the Queen's motherly thighs for protection.

Wind naturally formed around Saryll to protect her from these fruits. At the same time, she reached her hand out to grab a few.

"We can enjoy these together. It's even better when freshly plucked from the tree like this." His teacher smilingly said. She paid no mind to the clutches of his small hands on her thigh. "There's a lake nearby we can go eat these at."

They arrived at a small lake. The water was so clear, they could see every individual fish moving about.

A few wild animals and monsters could be seen on the other side drinking from the lake. They showed no concern at the arrival of Saryll and Earl.

"The water here has been blessed by the Spirits of the Forest. It has a cleansing effect that's very good for the lifeforms around here." She took a sip out of the water with her hand and dipped the fruits into the water with her other hand.

Earl followed her lead. Bending down, he cupped up the water from the lake with his hand and took a sip.

His mind was immediately refreshed and his body, reinvigorated.

"It's very good, Teacher!"

"Right? This is why we elves can never leave nature. Come sit by my side." Saryll patted the grass next to her to indicate Earl where to sit.

She was sitting off by the edge of the pond and letting her feet dangle over the water.

Earl took a seat by her side. When he looked down into the water, he could see their reflection on it.

"Here's one for you." The Queen handed a fruit over to Earl.

It felt cool in the hand from being submerged in the water. This fruit resembled a peach from his previous life. The difference was that it was a mix of purple and red in colour.

On the other hand, the fruit in Saryll's hand was yellow and a slightly different shape.

"What is this fruit called, Teacher?" He asked curiously.

"It doesn't have a name. The trees in this forest never produce the same fruits."

"How do you know that all of them are safe, then?"

"Have a taste, maybe you can figure out." She smiled mysteriously.

Earl looked at her sceptically. When he had them the other day for dinner last night, it was certainly delicious but he didn't notice anything else.

Chomp.

The texture of the fruit was astonishingly crunchy. At the same time, it was very juicy and sweet.

"Well?"

"It's certainly very good, Teacher but the only thing I've noticed is how ripe it is."

"That's getting somewhere. I'll give you a hint. Why did I have to go to that tree specifically?"

Earl thought about it for a second. "All the fruits on that particular tree was ripe without exception." He recalled. "Could the immature fruits be inedible?"

"Correct! They are not just inedible though, they can be poisonous. They're very versatile in their use because of this which brings me to my first training assignment for you. How do you think I knew which tree would be suitable?"

"Mana Sense?" Earl tossed out the most obvious answer. "No, Spirits?"

"Correct, again! I'll be teaching you how to sense Spirits. To pass my first training assignment, you must be able to talk to the Spirits of the Forest and find fruits as I did."