In a fancy restaurant in Lan Exeter, Viltz looked helplessly at the little girl who kept swallowing all the food in front of her.
"Eat slowly, the food won't go anywhere."
"It's just that everything is so delicious! I can't stop eating!"
"Sigh, whatever, if you're still hungry, then tell me and i'll ask for more to be brought to you."
Viltz rubbed his temples and sighed.
Looking out the window of the restaurant, he took in the beautiful views of the city full of canals through which all sorts of small colorful boats were passing. The whole atmosphere reminded him of the city of Venice from his previous world, immersing him in a wave of nostalgia.
"I'm full!" The girl rubbed her bulging belly and proclaimed proudly.
Viltz only sighed in helplessness, wondering how long he would have to act like a nanny.
Looking at the girl, Viltz's expression became complicated, she originally planned to kill her parents to prevent future problems, even though they were the ones who conceived her body, Viltz had no sense of gratitude or anything similar, he only felt disgust and contempt for them.
After questioning the brothel owner, he learned that his mother died after giving birth to his sister and his father got into a fight with a city guard and ended up dying.
Since her mother worked as a prostitute in that brothel, after she died, the owner adopted the little girl and used her as free labor to do some housework.
Viltz learned that his mother had another child a couple of years after him but it was stillborn.
Sighing, Viltz stopped thinking about those issues and looked at the little girl, with a simple spell he made her hair grow back and now she had long black hair tied in two pigtails, her eyebrows also grew back and she was wearing a luxurious blue dress that only the richest of the nobles could afford.
Viltz smiled wryly as he remembered the tailor's face when he first entered his store and saw the girl's tattered clothes. If it wasn't for the noble aura and the luxurious clothes Viltz was wearing, the tailor would have kicked them out, thinking they were poor guys.
"Well, i can't just call you girl all the time can i? What would you like to call yourself?"
"Huh? I don't know, my name isn't girl?"
Viltz slapped his face and sighed deeply.
"This is going to be very tedious."
After thinking for a while, Viltz finally made up his mind and told the girl in a solemn voice: "Listen, from today onwards your name will be Lena!"
"Mmm!" The girl continued to chew on a bun while nodding vigorously.
Viltz sighed and slumped back in his chair, exasperated.
"Bah! Whatever! Now i have to hire another carriage to get to the outskirts of Kovir's druid settlement.
Well girl, you've already eaten half a restaurant, it's time to go!"
Viltz rang the bell beside him and waited for the waiter to come.
"My lord, do you need anything else?"
"No, that's it, here's the bill pay, whatever's left over you can keep as a tip."
"Thank you sir!" The waiter bowed to Viltz and picked up the coins on the table.
Viltz carried Lena over his shoulder and headed for the outskirts of town, where he hired a carriage to take them to their next destination.
During the trip, Viltz noticed that the girl was quite quiet, only peeking out of the carriage window to look out at the scenery from time to time.
"Sigh, looks like her big appetite and poor common sense are the only problems i'll have to deal with during these days."
...
Two days later, the carriage stopped near the entrance to a forest.
"No need to wait for us, here's your payment, you can go back now."
Viltz tossed a pile of coins to the carriage driver and drove into the forest with Lena following behind.
As they went a little way into the forest, suddenly some trees began to shake and three of them uprooted from the ground, transforming into Ents.
Before the group of Ents could attack, Viltz recited a string of numbers, causing the Ents' eyes to glow with a green light.
The Ents returned to their original places, turning into seemingly normal trees.
Feeling in a good mood, Viltz began humming a song as Lena followed behind him, bouncing and swaying her pigtails to the rhythm of the song.
"In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight!
In the jungle, the quiet jungle, the lion sleeps tonight!
Aweem away, aweem away, aweem away, aweem away.
Near the village, the peaceful village, the lion sleeps tonight!"
"Shut up already for god's sake!"
"Eh?" Viltz turned toward the voice that had interrupted him and found a woman in her 30's glaring at him in annoyance from a distance.
"Haha! Long time no see, you're still the same old grumpy old lady aren't you Lyana!?"
"You brat! How dare you call me old! I'm only twenty years older than you!"
"Haha! Just kidding, don't take it to heart! So, how have you been all these years, last time i didn't get to say goodbye to you because you went on a trip."
"I'm fine, and how have you been?"
"Well, you know how Ban Ard is, it's study and study until you graduate, and now i'm here visiting."
"And may i know who is that little girl who bears an eerie resemblance to you? Oooh! Wait!" Lyana covered her mouth and looked at Viltz with a look that seemed to judge all her sins.
"I can't believe you had a daughter at this age! It seems the years in Ban Ard have made you loosen up a bit too much, looks like i'll have to re-educate you, these things didn't happen when i was in charge of your upbringing!" Lyana waved her hand and a green vine came out of the ground and curled around her hand, forming a thorny whip.
"Very well child! How many lashes do you think you deserve?"
"Wait! Wait! It's not what it looks like! She's not my daughter!"
"Now you want to trick me? But it's your vivid image!"
"Let me finish talking! She's my sister!"
"What?"
"Yes! That's my sister! I found her while visiting Lan Exeter by chance and brought her with me."
"Oh, now i understand! How is it possible for the kind little boy i personally raised to turn into that kind of pervert?"
"Ugh, shut up and don't embarrass me anymore please!"
"Oh my, could it be that you are still...?"
"I've been really busy, i didn't have time for that stuff okay?"
"Haha" Lyana let out a mocking giggle and didn't stop laughing until a full minute had passed.
Lyana wiped away her tears and commented with a chuckle, "Congratulations, you are surely the first Ban Ard student to graduate a virgin in the entire history of the academy."
A vein stood out on Viltz's forehead but she decided not to comment further on the subject.
Lyana looked at the girl who was still looking at them curiously and gave her a friendly smile.
"What's your name little girl?"
"Little girl! Oops, i meant Lena!"
Lyana arched an eyebrow and gave Viltz a questioning look.
"It's complicated, i'll explain as we walk."
...
"I see, so your biological mother and father died huh?"
Letting out a sigh, Lyana shook her head, although she despised those kind of irresponsible people who would just throw their children away after conceiving them, rejoicing in someone else's death was not something she would do.
"So you named her Lena huh? That's a good name." Lyana stroked the head of the girl nibbling on a fruit she found along the way.
"We've arrived!" Waving her hand, the bushes on either side of the path moved, leaving a path in the middle for them to pass.
The group entered the small settlement.
Viltz smiled and was about to step forward confidently but Lyana gently grabbed him by the shoulder and said softly.
"Wait, i have to take you somewhere first."