"S-so you found this guy... outside the town?"
Face flushed red and eyes sparkling, Eleen clenched her hands tightly as she stared at the tiny wolf in Ian's embrace. Beside her sat Doris, who, despite having her usually calm face, was clutching Eleen's arm as if wanting to pull it out. The two of their eyes didn't leave the wolf pup for a second.
"Yes. When I went out to practice my Aether, I found his mother and a monster fighting for their lives. Fortunately, Alaric was also there to take care of the fight, but he passed out due to excessive mana usage."
Ian recounted his story with a straight face and a beaming smile. He pointed at Alaric sleeping on the bed as proof of his words.
"Oh."
"Hmm..."
"I see..."
Eleen, Doris, and Claus nodded their heads one after another, yet their responses didn't match how they should be. Barely looking away from the child, they exchanged suspicious glances.
"Um, but couldn't you get rid of the monster yourself? Like... extend your hand and Foosh, holy power clarifying might."
Doris asked a question. Everyone else nodded.
"Is young master Alaric so weak to faint after killing a monster? He was fine from fighting all those elementals..."
And then Eleen.
"Human, I think you're lying to cover how you're enslaving a poor wolf pup."
Claus also... What kind of bullshit did he just blabber?
"...."
The three looked at Ian, suspicion dripping down their faces. Ian closed his eyes.
'Yeah, it's hard to believe such a lie.'
He didn't put much effort into coming up with a story since he didn't want to lie about Lior from the beginning. But after thinking about it for a bit, it appeared to him that telling the truth outright might put the child in danger. It wasn't every day that an Aether creature popped up out of nowhere, and the people who knew about his existence might want to take advantage of him.
And he didn't want to pose any danger to this child.
'Of course, whoever thinks of harming Lior won't get to live for long. Not in this life, not in all of their future lives.'
'No, wait, I've decided not to die again and see this round to the end.'
Still, if the situation doesn't flow as it should, he wouldn't hesitate to jump into the next round and find whoever dared to commit such a sin.
'But I can't die like this... If I regress, Lior's visibility will fade again, right?'
It was somewhat tempting...
Looking at the children in front of him, Ian didn't know if it was better to be honest or not. Despite being worried that they might pose Lior any form of harm, he knew he couldn't hide the truth from his group for long. If they were going to know about it in the future, why ruin his image by lying to them right now?
"So basically, no one believes me."
Hesitant at first, the three then nodded their heads.
"Why? Maybe I didn't want to use my Aether and kicked Alric to fight and die?"
"...." "...." "...."
"No? You're not buying it..."
"...." "...." "...."
"Look, it was Raven who got rid of the monsters and punched Alaric unconscious."
"...." "....." "...."
Oh god, really, this one was more probable.
"What if I say it's a rare Aether creature I found after my Aether went through some changes upon leaving the jungle?"
"...." "...." "...."
The three exchanged glances for a brief second before nodding their heads.
"That makes more sense."
"Yeah."
"I agree. So can I touch it?"
Doris changed the subject as soon as she received an answer. She couldn't hold it anymore. The baby looked soft and fluffy. It had those round eyes and that chubby belly. She wanted to pat its head so bad!
"Ah, right."
At her request, Ian held out the baby to their faces.
Before anyone could pat him, Lior wriggled and twitched its body, set free from Ian's grasp, and ran to hide in his shirt. It all happened in less than a second.
-M-master don't do that. I'm scared!
He rubbed his head against Ian's chest. His whole fur was puffed up.
-What are you scared of?
-I-I don't know.
Ian patted the pup's body a few times through his shirt. He must need some time to adjust to this new situation. Going through so much mana channeling must've been exhausting enough, so he probably doesn't have the energy to socialize.
'Good thing everything went smoothly with the whole process.'
Thinking back about the process in which Lior entered some mana into his body, Ian couldn't help but be reminded of the price he paid Zal for his help.
"I know much of the past, less from the future. It's a tale as short as my life and as long as yours. A repeated, never-ending cycle of what one might call a curse."
Even if not because of Alaric's presence, he couldn't just directly tell Zal he was a regressor. First, he didn't feel like explaining the whole situation as it would take too long, and he also didn't find it comfortable to directly talk about the topic. On top of that, where would the fun of it go if he directly told the truth? Let Zal deduce the situation on his own.
'Plus, what he gave me isn't worth enough for me to reveal all my secrets.'
He'd tell him more if Zal provided more information. A fair trade.
The second problem was again, regarding Zal. In order for him to become Alaric's master and teach his magic, he needed to travel with them. And how was he to introduce him to the other members?
'Seriously, why do I even care about these guys? Can't I just take him in and tell him it's none of their business who this dude is?'
That would make his job much easier, but he couldn't do so. It'd be more beneficial if he gained the trust of those who followed him, even if they were just some kids. Doris had great potential to become a prominent mage, Eleen was a beneficial doctor, and there was Claus, who not only was skilled in battle but also a mage with a high position, so it was better to have these kids' faith.
'How troublesome.'
Despite finding it tiresome, he already had a plan in his mind.
-Master... Can I, can I touch Kind Eleen?
The boy poked his head out from Ian's collar, clenching his shirt tight. Ian looked down at his face. He appeared worried, yet curious at the same time.
-Yeah, why not?
-No, not alone. Take me. Stay there.
-Alritgh