"I'll accept this deal! Patched with the blood and the heart of my ancestor!"
"What are you, a necromancer…?" Lothair wholeheartedly chuckled, all while trying to contain the neverending pain from showing on his gentle and caring face. "Well then, let's go straight into the business then. Naming you is one of them."
"Really? That easily? I don't need to prove my worth and stab my chest to acquire a name for myself??"
"Your perception of value is rather twisted." With a trusting gesture of closing his own eyes, he placed his hand on top of the sitting child. While he wasn't the tallest demon to show this kind of gesture, he was surely the current most soaring silhouette within the child's eyes.
"Mmh, that's ticklish."
"It might be sudden and too good to be true, especially in this continent, but I sincerely hope for nothing but your growth and freedom. To give someone who's similar; if not potentially better than what I'm capable of, I seek nothing but a mundane joy.
"Henceforth, I shall take you within my temporary custody. With it, comes the name that I shall engrave in your soul."
Lothair then opened his eyes, as if an enlightenment occurred in his mind. "M-E-T-E-I-A. Six letters as a blessing, and ends with a vowel, ensuring your demonic self to bloom everlastingly." Lothair blessed the child with resilience and strong regeneration through his healing spell. "Meteia, from now on, that's the name you should use when introducing yourself."
Lothair built a temporary settlement on the broken city, all while taking care of Meteia as he imparted every bit of important knowledge into the child's brain.
From basic knowledge, to the intriguing political conflict and its cause and causality. From how to be a magus, into practical theories about how everything around them came to be.
In exchange, Meteia also told Lothair about her daily life along with the story of how this mess of a place came to be.
"The road near the town hall is often littered with the mayor's swarm of pets. They lunge and bite at nearby passerby more often than the midnight sales in slavery district."
"I assume that the town hall you're referring to is the cracked egg-like structure in the western area."
"Mmm! That giant egg was once placed on top of a magnificent castle! I don't know why, but it gives off an eerie yellow hue every full moon."
"Quite ironic, to see that the egg withstood the test of time instead of the castle."
Sometimes, Lothair would leave Meteia with a task while he recovered his insanity within the Poison-King Forest.
Most occasionally, Lothair would bring Meteia to the surrounding regions. On their journey, Meteia often inquired her master about himself.
"Master, have you ever made any mistake? It might be idiotic to ask someone who's smart and as capable as you, but I'm still curious."
"Of course I have, you little buffoon. I didn't manage to get here without huddling a bed of thorns along the way... Don't tell me, you're still sulking for failing that task I've given yesterday?"
"It's my first time failing something so simple, I'm utterly disgraced."
"Hahaha, it's better to taste the feeling of failure this early. Otherwise, the fall would be much more painful if you're not accustomed to it."
"Mmm! Still, I can't imagine you making a mistake, Master." Meteia pointed at her open fingers as if she was counting something. "You're powerful enough to defeat an ancient mountain beast, your opinion and action are sensible and precise, and your wisdom is as bountiful as the northern sea!"
"The absence of imperfection is merely a guise. Now come, help me hunt that cockratrice as I prepare for our dinner."
Meteia brandished her jagged saw with a beaming smile. "Just you wait, Master, I'll cut the head cleanly this time!"
It was a humble and an enjoyable life. Lothair didn't really need to use much of his Overheal while still progressing his research and pique of interest as he guided Meteia's healing capability to bloom.
He missed his trio of morons from time to time, but it wasn't as lonely when he was working on his project alone within the Poison-King Forest.
As for those three members of misfits, they would certainly miss the cooking of their leader.
"MMMMMH! TWIS IWS SWOO GWOO!" The young Meteia inhaled the large portion of the shack-sized honeyed poultry. To call her stomach a living void would be an understatement. "Mwaster! Pwardon mwe two awsk, bwut I'm rwarery sweeing ywu weat."
Lothair couldn't tell his adorable little apprentice that his guts and intestines were perpetually churned like a meat grinder, as it would send her festive feast into an awkward mood.
"Your Master is actually capable of harvesting energy and nutrients from the surrounding air. Also, don't talk when chewing."
"That's so cool! And efficient! Can you teach me how to do that later!?"
"I will, but I will also stop cooking breakfast and dinner if that's the case. More efficient, no?"
"Uuuh! Master is using a scummy trick!"
Meteia sulked a little bit because of that, but it really didn't prevent her from consuming the whole turkey to the bones.
Lothair then inquired about the little ball of energy to sit beside him like usual. As his hands knitted the little one's damaged robe, he read out important lessons and knowledge in the form of tales and stories for Meteia's curious and childlike mind.
The story would often come with great philosophical questions about morality and how demons weren't who they think they originally were. Valuable life lessons such as reference on who's to trust and how to be trusted were also laid out on the immersive maze of epic fantasy.
"Alexandros didn't know what to do about his future. Whether the thread of fate is visible or hidden from his eyes, he believes that he couldn't survive out of sheer will alone. In this case, would it be better to stay in the forest, or leave the altar that was entrusted to him, and follow the path laid by the green monk?"
"Alexandros didn't know of his own potential! Of course, it would be better to follow the green monk. After all, his aunt isn't even thinking about him in the slightest when entrusting the altar and the forest." Meteia raised her fist. "But!
"The altar and the forest means a lot to him. Sure, he would only rots away within there, but he would be happier that way to live with the natures and animals who he holds dear!
"In the end, it depends on Alexandros himself. Both options are equally valuable, but he needs to commit to one, or else, it will only be a cloud that he sees.
"To me, it's not about what's better, but it's about entrusting your own life to yourself with no regret. With how Alexandros is troubled between choosing which fruit is his favorite when asked by the squirrel, he would probably end up regretting one of the options he left behind."
"Indeed, to value your own actions and opinions as high as the king and Overlords, is what it means to be a great demon. You sympathize and try to be in Alexandros' shoes and immediately acknowledge that you and him are two significantly different demons.
"Though, you lack the critical thought on how to guide him without making his effort feel unjustified in his eyes. Instead, you just leave his own problem for his own to solve. If you want to be someone of a great position, you need to learn how to do that one day. Heh."
"Uuuuuh."