POV Illios:
As I watched the carriage where Elena and Elizabeth were getting further away, I felt a sense of emptiness.
"Goodbyes are always a little painful," I thought.
I had never been alone since I was born in this world, as I had at least one interaction with Elena every day, and since Elizabeth was born, I always made sure to see her with the same frequency too, even if the little one was asleep.
"Maybe I should take a walk around the city, I have nothing else to do."
I finished my duties before they left so that I could bid them farewell without any complications. As for why I didn't go with them? It's because my father sent an inspector to check on the situation, something that annoyed me a bit, but I can understand it if it's to verify that I'm not starving the county residents, especially considering that the Phoenix Ice Sect is relatively close.
As I thought about those kinds of things, I walked through the city that I renovated with the help of robots, which I called relics of the Empire, so that the residents wouldn't bother me so much.
"I must say I did a great job," I thought as I compared the new city to the one in my memories.
The difference is immense. Previously, the houses were made of some kind of ugly wood and the streets were full of waste. In addition, commercial and public buildings had deplorable hygiene. I never even thought I would find so many pests in such a damn cold place, but with the help of the system, it wasn't difficult to change the situation, rather I would call it annoying.
Now the streets are properly paved with four lanes for greater mobility, and buildings have strong and durable structures thanks to the technique of the mythical Roman concrete, which in my past life could have stood even after a thousand years. Although in the immortal world a thousand years is relatively not much for cultivators, for mortals, who knows how many generations will live there.
I also planted some low-value spiritual trees to increase the residents' resistance and longevity. Although they are not suitable for cultivation, they can passively benefit and, most importantly, increase the possibility of people being born with aptitude thanks to constant exposure to spiritual energy.
While thinking about the changes I had made in the county, I passed by a fried food stand whose smell caught my attention. I saw a woman with a pale complexion selling filled buns that looked appetizing.
"Give me five, please," I said, and the woman looked surprised for a moment and then quickly got to work.
Her behavior was not strange since most people in the territory knew me. This was because I moved around the territory to plan various projects, and inevitably, my appearance stood out. In fact, even without my abilities (system purchases), my appearance inherited from my father, the emperor, is completely exceptional. Now, add the demonic charm of the Star Demon Body, and I'm sure many ladies fell for my charms.
"Here you go, young prince," the woman said with a charming smile. When she handed me the bag containing the buns, I could feel her hand deliberately brush against mine.
It's not that I despise this woman or others in the territory, in fact, I think it's a good idea to have a few adventures. But the thing is, this woman was already married and honestly, I didn't want any weird rumors going around. However, I'm sure someday I will fall into sin and enjoy a night of passion with her and other women in my territory.
"Thank you," I said as I handed her three low-level spiritual stones.
I remembered that this woman had a son, and this little one's dream was to become an immortal cultivator. So I gave her enough for him to at least survive as an outer disciple in a low-level sect. Who knows? Maybe he's a hidden prodigy or something.
When she saw her payment, she looked at me with grateful eyes, but I simply walked away. Maybe next time we can play a little, but for now, I just wanted to eat my buns in peace.
I headed to a park that contained many colorful spiritual trees and sat on a nearby bench. This place was created when I saw that my territory had nothing but snow, snow, and more snow. So I tried to create a tourist attraction with the resources the territory offered me, and thus, I built this beautiful place.
The leaves of the trees softly shimmered with cold tones, contrasting with the occasional falling snow, creating a beautiful sight to behold.
As I ate the warm buns and proudly observed the landscape I had created, I felt a gaze.
When I turned my head, my eyes spotted... a child? I'm not sure if it was a boy or a girl, but what I did see was that they were very dirty and shivering, yet their focus was solely on the bun in my hand.
This touched me.
In my previous life, there were occasions when the situation was so bad that I even had to endure hunger and cold, so I knew all too well the sensations this child was feeling.
"Come, sit here if you want one," I said, pointing to a space on the bench, although I have to admit it sounded a little suspicious.
"..." The child hesitated for a moment and then resolutely approached and sat on the bench.
Even from up close, I couldn't identify the child's gender, so I simply gave them the warm bun, which they immediately devoured.
After finishing the bun, they looked at me with puppy eyes and, without further ado, I gave them the bag with the last three.
As they ate and enjoyed the warm buns that I also loved, I wanted to ask about their situation, so I started with a simple question.
"What's your name?"
"...", the child stopped eating and put on an expression as if they were debating whether telling me their name was the right thing to do.
"Lila," they finally responded, and with that, my uncertainty about their gender was resolved.
"Lila is a nice name," I said, remembering that in a culture from my world it meant "night."
She simply finished eating the last bun and fell silent, sitting a little closer than usual, as if seeking my warmth.
I could go anywhere in the county without any problem, since I possess the bloodline of the ice phoenix. It would be funny if an ice phoenix specialist got sick from the cold. Moreover, average cultivators can use spiritual energy to protect themselves, but it's obvious that normal people like the little one by my side can't do that.
"How old are you?" I asked, looking at her attentively. Although she was covered in rags, I couldn't see any visible curves that indicated her development as a young girl, so I guessed she was around twelve or thirteen years old.
"...Sixteen," she responded slowly.
"Damn," I thought. A sixteen-year-old looking that bad meant that her situation was really deplorable and she needed immediate nourishment.
I really felt a bit sorry for her, so I decided to help her and gave her a bag containing ten low-grade spiritual stones and a marrow-cleansing pill in case she wanted to become a cultivator.
When I gave her the spiritual stones and the marrow-cleansing pill, the young girl looked at me with tearful eyes and walked away in a direction without saying a word of thanks.
"At least you could have said 'thank you', geez," I whispered with a bitter smile.
Despite everything, I felt good about having helped someone in need. After a while of watching the direction she went, I decided to get up and walk through the park, enjoying the scenery once again.
Suddenly, my senses went on high alert and I realized that someone was approaching me. I turned around and there was the young girl from earlier, with some kind of backpack and looking at me with familiar eyes.
Those eyes, although the comparison might sound offensive, reminded me of the dogs I shared food with in my past life, those that once you gave them something, they followed you everywhere.
"Look, Lila..." as I thought of a way to get rid of her, an idea lit up my mind and I remembered a plan I had since I was a baby.
This plan was called "Immortal Combat Maid" and it consisted of me raising a group of women with the resources of the system, to form my own special force with a bunch of beauties who would serve me at any time.
This plan was quite ambitious, but it wasn't without merit, as with the almost infinite resources I could get from the system, I could easily form an elite division of any kind.
I really don't know why I dismissed the idea at the time. Maybe it sounded too fanciful, or maybe I would have to spend a lot of time selecting and filtering through a bunch of women to find the right ones. But now that I remember, I think it's a good idea to start with the plan. Besides, Lila is the perfect subject to test whether this plan is viable or not.
Resolving my thought, I asked her:
"Lila, do you want to become a princess?"
I had a very ambitious plan in mind for this young girl and it was no joke about being a princess. I intended to make it happen.