“Daddy~ the baby in the egg seems to have fallen asleep.”
Aya Jiu’s eyes were wide and round as she earnestly watched the white egg in her embrace.
She didn’t want to miss a single moment of the baby hatching.
Yet, after consuming the magic crystal, the white egg lay motionless, as if sound asleep.
“That’s because the baby inside needs to accumulate strength before it can hatch,” Aya Tone explained, gently lifting his daughter and settling her onto his lap.
“Is it like how Aya Jiu has no energy if she doesn’t eat?” little Aya Jiu asked, her voice soft and sweet.
“Exactly, Aya Jiu is so clever!”
Aya Tone leaned down, rubbing his face against her daughter’s tender pink cheek.
‘The milk powder hadn’t been bought in vain; it not only enhanced his child’s physical strength but also boosted her intelligence.’
‘Indeed, there was a reason for its high price.’
“May I see it?” Huo Wushuang’s calm voice inquired.
She had observed it for a long time, and even after employing her X-ray magic, she still couldn’t see through the white egg.
Initially, she hadn’t believed Aya Tone when he said the magic crystal had been consumed.
Now…
‘Perhaps this white egg truly possessed extraordinary qualities.’
“Big Sister, here~”
Aya Jiu’s voice was sweet.
She extended her plump little hand, carefully presenting the white egg to Huo Wushuang.
The three of them sat together on a long wooden bench.
Huo Wushuang stared at the white egg before her, momentarily lost in thought.
‘They just gave it to her?’
“Big Sister~ you mustn’t lose Aya Jiu’s egg, okay?”
Having experienced the magic crystal being mysteriously consumed by the white egg, Aya Jiu worried the egg might suddenly vanish.
She still wanted to witness the baby’s birth with her own eyes.
“Mhm.”
After a soft affirmative hum, Huo Wushuang began to examine the white egg.
‘The eggshell felt cool to the touch; surely, this layer was what blocked her magic.’
‘If X-ray magic couldn’t penetrate it, what about using magic power to probe?’
An idea immediately sparked in her mind, and a wisp of magic power slowly released from her palm into the egg.
“Buzz!”
Suddenly!
The patterns on the white egg abruptly glowed, and the magic power Huo Wushuang had poured into it instantly lost connection with its source.
Sensing the severed connection to her magic, a profound interest flickered in Huo Wushuang’s usually placid eyes.
Though her awakening of abilities had not been long ago, under the guidance and instruction of her elders, her insight and capabilities could not be viewed as those of an ordinary nascent awakener.
“My magic power was eaten?”
Ultimately, Huo Wushuang was still a “newborn” whose abilities had only recently awakened.
In terms of mental power, she was inferior to Li Jia, and thus naturally unable to uncover the egg’s mysteries.
“How fascinating.”
Just then, Huo Shenming strode over with brisk, light steps.
“Young man, may this old man sit here?”
Hearing the voice, Aya Tone looked over and recognized the old man he had seen earlier beside Fire Finch.
He quickly replied, “Ah… please do…”
‘Anyone who could sit at the main table was, to some extent, a respected figure in the village.’
‘Both by custom and reason, he could not afford to be disrespectful.’
“Grandpa!” Huo Wushuang exclaimed.
She no longer cared about examining the white egg in her hands.
‘Why was Grandpa here?’
‘She had just heard people outside arguing about the dungeon rampage; how could Grandpa have time to come here?’
‘He couldn’t have seen her engrossed in her phone the whole time and come to scold her, could he?’
The more Huo Wushuang thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
“Wushuang, you and the child go play somewhere else.
This gentleman and I need to talk.”
Huo Shenming plopped down on the empty chair to his right, spreading his legs wide with an air of robust confidence.
‘The matters they were about to discuss were not for young ears.’
“Aya Jiu doesn’t want to!”
Little Aya Jiu, hearing the old grandpa immediately tell her to get off her daddy’s lap, instantly grew displeased.
She pouted her little lips and made a face at Huo Shenming.
‘She had only just managed to get onto Daddy’s lap; why should she be sent away!’
“Aya Jiu, that’s not polite!” Aya Tone admonished softly, surprised by his daughter’s sudden outburst.
‘With outsiders present, he naturally couldn’t scold her loudly in front of others.’
“Daddy~”
Hearing her daddy’s words, Aya Jiu’s little face crumpled, her eyes welling up with tears of grievance, on the verge of crying.
Seeing this, Huo Shenming quickly intervened, “The child didn’t mean it; this old man isn’t angry.
Don’t cry, don’t cry.”
‘The face she made looked more like a child playfully coaxing an adult to him.’
‘How could he be angry at such an adorable expression?’
Yet, it would have been better if he hadn’t spoken.
Little Aya Jiu stared at him with wide, red eyes, her small nose twitching as she desperately held back her tears.
‘Uh… how did that… backfire?’
Huo Shenming pondered, ‘I didn’t say anything to scold her, so why is the little darling even more upset?’
“I apologize, esteemed sir.”
‘His daughter was being naughty, so Aya Tone had to apologize himself.’
“This old man is Fire Finch’s grandfather; you can just call me Grandpa.”
‘The first step in gathering information was to build rapport, and the form of address was crucial.’
“Then… Grandpa Huo?” Aya Tone tentatively asked.
“Aye—” Huo Shenming’s heart blossomed with joy.
Then, with a beaming smile, he asked Aya Jiu, “What’s your name, little one?”
…
Aya Jiu pouted, sulking in silence.
Aya Tone was about to speak, but Huo Shenming raised a hand to stop him.
With a hint of regret in his voice, he said, “Oh dear, I was going to reward the clever little one with a candy, but it seems I’ll just have to eat it myself.”
As he spoke, he pulled a gleaming golden candy from his pocket.
“Hmph, Aya Jiu doesn’t eat things from strangers!” she declared, her small nose slightly upturned, completely unmoved by the candy in Huo Shenming’s hand.
“Grandpa Huo, this child doesn’t like candy.
Perhaps some pretty stones would be more effective.”
‘Aya Tone had also realized that the old man genuinely didn’t mind the child’s impoliteness.’
‘On the contrary, he seemed quite fond of Aya Jiu, which immediately put Aya Tone at ease.’
“Stones?” Huo Shenming paused, slightly taken aback.
‘What an eccentric interest!’
“Grandpa, she means magic crystals.”
Huo Wushuang, still holding the white egg, interjected.
“Ah, those! Wouldn’t you know, Grandpa actually has a super pretty one right here.”
With that, Huo Shenming pretended to rummage in his pocket, but in reality, he retrieved a fist-sized pink magic crystal from his storage pouch.
‘This was a magic crystal born from a lord he had hunted before his retirement.’
‘Though not exceptionally high-grade, it held significant collection value and would be priceless at auction.’
‘Yet now, this treasured item was being used to coax a child—truly an unprecedented, first-time occurrence.’
Sure enough, upon seeing the magic crystal, a clear, crisp voice rang out.
“My name is Aya Jiu! I’m four years old this year!”
At that moment, no trace of tears remained in little Aya Jiu’s eyes, only adoration for the magic crystal.
‘So pretty, and pink!’
‘Even prettier than the one Daddy brought back.’
Her little money-grubbing demeanor thoroughly amused Huo Shenming.
Playful and generous, he casually dangled the magic crystal in his hand, and her round, wide eyes tracked its movement as if locked on.
Yet, he couldn’t give her the reward just yet.
“So, Aya Jiu, your daddy calls me Grandpa, then what—what should you call me?”
“Great-Grandpa!”
“Aye—such a good girl!”
Huo Shenming’s smile was so wide that the wrinkles on his face crinkled together.
He dangled the magic crystal before Aya Jiu, “Since Aya Jiu is such a good girl, how about this as Great-Grandpa’s welcome gift?”
“Thank you, Great-Grandpa~”
Aya Tone, Huo Wushuang: …
‘It seemed all their worries had been for naught.’
‘Staying there any longer felt utterly superfluous…’
What a sweetie.