Due to Lyssa's loud reactions, Ellie prematurely woke up from her afternoon nap.
Still sleepy, her eyes remained close. Searching for comfort to sleep again, her hand clumsily searched for her big brother.
A minute had passed and Ellie could still not find Elihim that should be right beside her. Sher opened her eyes and saw that her big brother was nowhere to be found.
Back to the living room, Lyssa's shouts were interrupted when there was a cry that erupted from Elihim's room.
It made Lyssa jumpy while Elihim immediately shot out of his chair, running upstairs to see Ellie crying out of the room.
"Elihi's missing!! Sob!"
"..."
Both Elihim and Lyssa soon calmed down, hearing this.
"I-I'm here, Ellie."
Hearing his voice, Ellie stopped crying and jumped onto him.
"Elihi!"
"I'm just talking to mommy, Ellie. Sorry for leaving you while you're still sleeping."
Elihim comforted while they went downstairs to which Lyssa commented.
"I told you it's better to wait for your little sister."
But after she said that, she felt something amiss. The cause was at the tip of her tongue but no matter how much she thought about it, she wasn't able to figure it out.
While Elihim let Ellie sit beside him on the table, Lyssa prepared her portion of the snacks.
"There, there, you want me to feed you?"
"Ahhh~!"
"Hm..."
Lyssa raised her eyebrow. She saw Elihim and Ellie like father-daughter, instead of brother-sister.
Meanwhile, Elihim couldn't continue his talk with Lyssa anymore. He didn't want Ellie to hear any of it.
'But it's fine. I have already achieved the objective. If Lyssa didn't talk about it when Heron is home, I just have to push again next time.'
Lyssa scratched her head. The thing that was at the tip of her tongue was plaguing her.
'There's something that I find weird about him. It is not that he is weird in general but...' while she thought about it, she suddenly remembered, looking at the chair Elihim was sitting on.
'Earlier, he reacted faster than I am. What an incredible child...-!'
After that last word, Lyssa finally realized what she felt something amiss.
'Why do I feel maturity from him!? This calmness shouldn't be present in a seven-year-old child! Thinking about it, maybe it is a coincidence but he seemed to be leading the conversation earlier. I realized a lot of things as if he planned it...'
Although Elihim can act like a child, his wisdom and experience from his past lives were too much to hide.
Furthermore, thinking that Ellie was in danger, Elihim couldn't care about Lyssa's suspicion anymore.
'I mean, it is not a bad thing... maybe it is a good thing? Maybe it's a talent some kids have.'
There are a lot of "maybes" in Lyssa's thoughts.
'But as long as it is not harmful, I guess I could consider it as a talent from my son.'
Somehow, she was was reluctant to connect it to the fact that Elihim was found in the middle of dangerous woods.
She didn't want to think of Elihim as entirely different. A mature child is better than anything else in this case.
After that, even though their conversation was cut off, Lyssa had heard enough.
That was why, on the evening that Heron came home, Lyssa said to him.
"Heron, we need to talk."
Heron, who was tired and was in no mood to do anything, still felt nervous. This was the first time his wife took the initiative to talk.
"... sure."
Heron then followed Lyssa to their room. When the door clacked when it was locked, Elihim's ears twitched.
'They begun.'
He then ordered the system of [Universal Law]
'Law Activate: Ears of Walls.'
[Ears of Walls temporarily activated for 30 minutes.]
After that voice sounded in Elihim's head, he felt his strength leaving him. However, on the surface, there were no changes in his posture except for the uncontrollable sweating. Not that it was noticeable in Ellie's eyes.
"What are you doing, Elihi?"
Ellie tilted her head in puzzlement. After Elihim took their share of dinner, he was putting some strange dust on the pot.
"Hm? Just putting some helpful seasoning on our meal."
"Eh? Can you also put some on me?"
"No, Ellie, this is only for adults. Papa and Mama are always tired, right? They need this."
"Oh..."
Ellie cutely bounced, feeling excited that her big brother was secretly helping their parents.
"Don't tell this to them, okay?"
"Un!"
'I need a long sleep after this... it is regretful that only my stamina and energy are the only things I can exchange for Laws. They are not a lot since I'm just a child. However, as long as I don't have anything else in my possession, I can only pay renewable variables in my body.'
Elihim sighed.
In his last life, he was practically invincible. Even against the Progressor, he had some confidence.
Meanwhile, in this life, his family didn't have a single coin, let alone him.
'Specific imaginative abilities are harder to activate. I can only have Law to compensate it. However, the downside of Law is its lack of firepower. If there's a time, I need to fight, I will have to use elementary imaginative skills. Or if desperate, I may have to make one of my kidneys as payment. Depending on how desperate it is, I may have to sacrifice an eye, an arm..., or a portion of my lifespan.'
Although Elihim was confident that he would regain a lost arm in the future, he would rather not do it for Ellie and his parents.
While Elihim was adding some "things" in their share of the dinner. Lyssa and Heron was inside their room.
Strangely, even though it was their room, they rarely slept in it at the same time.
"What... is it that you don't want to talk about?"
Heron had a darkened face. He was preparing for the worst.
'Is she finally going to ask for a divorce? I can't blame her... after all that I did.'
It took Lyssa a moment before she could speak. She found that after staying silent in a long time, speaking out her thoughts was a little hard.
"Heron... I..."
"..." Heron sighed and tried to continue her words, "You want to ask for a divorce, ri-"
"I love you."