Volume 7, Chapter 36 – The White-Haired Girl Who Wants to Get Close

Since Milu had cooking ingredients prepared in her storage tool, Fia didn’t need to specifically use teleportation magic to return to the Royal City. Rather than the ingredients, the more headache-inducing part was the lack of a suitable place to cook in the Land of Exile. The buildings here were unplanned; not only were the streets crooked, but even the square was an irregular patch of muddy ground. It was only after a reminder from Anastasia that the group found a clearing near the edge of the Land of Exile.

Judging by the aged footprints on the ground and the lush grass surrounding it, few people passed through here, so it lacked the strange stench of the Land of Exile. When Fia used [Fairy Fire] to burn away the turf, then used [Airflow Control] and [Telekinesis] to blow away the ash and level the ground, a smooth clearing was revealed.

The piled-up firewood burned brightly against the backdrop of the night, and the soup in the pot bubbled and boiled. The bursting bubbles released a rich aroma of meat broth. Combined with the occasional sparks rising from the fire, anyone seeing it wouldn’t be able to help their appetite, wanting to share a bowl from the pot.

Of course, if it weren’t summer but a cool autumn day, the craving for delicious food would be even stronger. After all, sitting by a fire in the summer isn’t exactly a comfortable experience, not to mention the buzzing mosquitoes in the wild. If it weren’t for the fact that the Land of Exile was near the territory of the undead and the temperature was always on the lower side, Fia would have definitely abandoned the idea of a picnic.

“Milu, your cooking skills have improved a lot compared to before. You’ve been learning combat techniques from Anastasia and yet you still find time to ask Claire for cooking advice. Doesn’t that schedule feel too packed? Aren’t you tired?”

“It’s fine.”

Wearing an apron and holding a spoon to taste the flavor, Milu curled the corners of her mouth. Though it was only slight, it was enough to see that Milu was in a good mood. She pointed to the back of her neck.

“She helps.”

“She?”

Sitting on a stone stool, Fia looked puzzled before realizing that the “she” Milu spoke of referred to the other, short-haired Milu. When the two merged into one, their memories were shared.

“Speaking of which, the other Little Milu has a different personality from this one. Shouldn’t Sister give that Little Milu a name as well? Otherwise, when the two are together, it’ll be hard to tell who is who.”

Liti’s point wasn’t without merit, and Fia nodded.

“That’s true. Since Milu is very similar to Claire, how about Euphimia? Sometimes I can’t help but think of Milu as Claire’s daughter.”

“No.”

The smiling Milu immediately pouted.

Perhaps Milu disliked the idea of being treated as Claire’s daughter. Fia recalled that when she first met Milu, Milu had said she wanted to call her “Mama.” Maybe Milu wanted to be her daughter.

But then again, whether she was Claire’s daughter or her own daughter, wouldn’t the result be the same? Even the pronunciation of the names was identical.

Fia gave a wry smile and said.

“Then using my name, how about Euphemia?”

“No.”

To Fia’s surprise, Milu rejected it again. Her exquisite, petite face was full of stubbornness. Fia couldn’t help but feel that if the person speaking wasn’t her but someone else, Milu would have already turned her face away.

She didn’t want to be Claire’s daughter, nor was she willing to be called by Fia’s name. Then what did she want to be called?

“No need to change names. I am me, and she is also me. We are one person.”

“Heh heh, Little Milu is definitely worried that her other self will snatch Sister away, and then Sister will stop loving her. Even though she’s younger than me, her possessiveness is terrifying. I feel like if Little Milu were as mature as Sister Claire, she would definitely compete with Sister Claire for Sister.”

“Milu doesn’t have those kinds of thoughts.” Facing Liti, who was pressing her body close, Fia wore a look of helplessness and distaste. Milu’s feelings for her were just a child’s attachment to an adult, not a twisted emotion like Liti’s. She turned to Milu for confirmation. “Right?”

“Err.”

Milu’s body stiffened, and her fair face turned red. She looked away, not daring to meet Fia’s gaze.

Eh?

Awkwardness suddenly descended upon Fia.

No, no, no, Milu, what on earth are you usually thinking? Even if it’s a lie, could you just say “yes” right now?

“It seems Little Fia doesn’t realize how popular she is. As for me, even if it’s Little Milu, I won’t allow her to monopolize you, okay? Little Fia belongs to everyone.”

Doesn’t she belong to Claire?

Fia’s expression became even stranger. No matter how she looked at it, this conversation was bizarre. She felt as if she were being sold off by Claire.

Reaⅾ оո ΚatReаⅾіnɡСafе

With her small chest pressed against Fia’s arm, Liti looked on with approval.

“Exactly! Sister Claire is the best. The Goddess must have put Sister Claire and Sister together so that Sister can comfortably become the Queen and then have countless Royal Concubines. Oh, right.”

As if thinking of something, Liti let go of Fia and tilted her head to look at Anastasia, who was sitting on Fia’s other side. The latter was poking at the fire with a wooden stick, her preoccupied expression suggesting she hadn’t heard the previous conversation.

“Sister Anna has been with Sister all this time. Has there been any progress? I thought Sister would have figured things out because of Sister Anna. The one-month agreement is almost up, you know. Since the original Sister Anna coming back is only a matter of time anyway, you should consider the future during the time you have left. If you keep Tilulu and the Fire Cat waiting too long, Sister, your conscience will bother you, won’t it?”

“Don’t bother Fia.”

“Why did the address suddenly change to ‘Fia’ at a time like this?”

“I like it.”

Milu replied in her usual emotionless tone and turned to ladle a bowl of meat soup with a spoon. The monster meat in the pot had been boiled until tender. Combined with the rich aroma of the spices and the delicious color of the broth, just looking at it made one feel its tastiness.

Milu first served a bowl of meat soup to the stiffened Anastasia, then to Fia and Claire, and finally to herself and Liti.

Being placed last by Milu, Liti naturally protested. However, Milu quieted her with a single look. She signaled Liti to look at Anastasia. Anastasia had gone from staring blankly at the fire to staring blankly at the meat soup. The flickering firelight reflected on her face, revealing her dazed expression.

At this point, anyone could sense something was wrong. Fia and the other three exchanged glances, and finally, Fia spoke first.

“Does Anastasia not like the flavor of this dish?”

“Ah—”

It wasn’t until Fia bumped her shoulder that Anastasia snapped out of it. She regained her senses and struggled to force a smile.

“It—it’s very delicious. It’s not inferior to the dishes I make. I haven’t tasted Lady Claire’s cooking since coming to this world; I didn’t expect to experience it through Euphimilu first.”

But you haven’t drunk it yet, have you?

Fia really wanted to answer like that, but Anastasia’s forced smile made the words impossible to say.

“It’s good as long as you’re okay, Anastasia. You were spacing out so much, I thought you didn’t like it.”

“I just have some things on my mind.”

“What things?”

“Well… I was thinking, those arms targeted me twice. Could it be because I come from another world and pose too much of a threat to them, which is why they’ve set their sights on me?”

“You’re worried about that?”

Fia immediately let out a sigh of relief and nodded.

“It is indeed possible they targeted you because you’re from another world, but the reason definitely isn’t that you’re too much of a threat. It must be something else.”

Like violating the order of the world or something similar.

“After all, if they were targeting based on threat level, they should have targeted me first. Since they’ve attacked you twice, they’ll definitely come a third time when we’re off-guard. The fact that my spirit magic works on them proves they are intelligent beings. In that case, we can design a trap to lure them in.”

Fia gently stirred the stew with her wooden spoon and continued.

“For instance, we can create the illusion of you being alone. Once they appear, we’ll immediately freeze them with [Spatial Confinement].”

“But how would they know Anna is alone? This attack itself was very strange. Could they be monitoring our lives and knowing Little Fia wasn’t by Anna’s side?”

“Because I went to the Abyss. The main bodies of those arms are Chaos. I suspect the ones attacking Anastasia are powerful individuals within the Chaos.”

When she was in the Abyss, she hadn’t encountered the powerful Chaos Helian had mentioned. Since those Chaos are born from ordinary Chaos, if the powerful individuals and the ordinary ones share the same source and can share consciousness, then while she was dealing with the ordinary Chaos, the powerful individuals would be able to know she wasn’t by Anastasia’s side and seize the chance to ambush her.

In other words, she and Claire would have to be over the Sea of Chaos at the same time to lure those withered arms into attacking Anastasia.

Rеαԁ оո КαtRеaԁіոgСαfe

But then, how would they know when Anastasia was being attacked?

No, it wasn’t as if there were no way.

Fia thought of the communication tools used by the members of the Twilight Flower.

If she could use [Hyper-computation] to strengthen the [Remote Message] left by the Eldest Princess, she should be able to create a magic with an extremely long communication range. The price, however, would be that Anastasia’s mana would be instantly drained.

She’d try it when they got back. Speaking of which, she hadn’t had a chance to read the diary Erin Slate had given her yet—it was written by the Eldest Princess’s first personal maid, a woman named Maggie. It might contain things related to the Eldest Princess.

“Eh? Sister went to the Abyss? Didn’t you say the Abyss is a place with no return?”

Hearing Fia’s statement, Liti, who was soaking her rice in meat soup, widened her eyes. Her violet-red eyes held more curiosity than worry.

“Hmm… the Abyss in other places is indeed like that, but the one we saw in the Netherworld isn’t. Anyone can enter and exit that abyss freely. It’s just that there’s no air to breathe down there, so an ordinary person would suffocate and die.”

Fia originally wanted to say oxygen, but Liti was a native of the World Tree Continent and wouldn’t understand the word, so she used a simpler explanation.

With that thought, she shook the recording crystal she had used earlier in front of her companions.

“Want to see? There are images from beneath the Abyss recorded in here.”

“I do!”

“Liti shouldn’t watch. If you do, you’ll have nightmares tonight.”

“Why? If Milu can watch, I can too!”

“Then don’t use being scared as an excuse tonight to run into my room with your pillow saying you want to sleep together. If I find you sticking your hand inside my clothes, I’ll throw you out the window.”

“Hmph. If I’m not coming, I’m not coming. At worst, I’ll just sleep with Little Milu.”

Isn’t that just being scared?

Fia smiled. She handed the recording crystal to Claire, letting Claire inject mana to play it for the others while she shifted her focus to the dish Milu had prepared. Milu’s intense gaze had already made her feel a bit self-conscious; it was the expression of someone waiting for a review—her anticipation was so heavy that she wasn’t even interested in the video.

She ladled up some stew and took a light sip.

As the explosive flavors of the spices spread across her tongue, a rich meat aroma instantly filled her mouth. Fia’s ruby-like eyes widened, and saliva began to secrete rapidly.

The taste of Milu’s cooking was exceptionally good. Compared to Claire’s preference for lighter flavors, Milu had used many seasonings, making the taste more stimulating. It was perfect for stimulating one’s appetite in the hot summer, making one want to quickly dive into the main course.

She had never explicitly said that she liked more stimulating flavors, yet Milu had made it perfectly to her liking. This little girl’s perceptiveness was simply too delicate.

“Mmm…” Fia put down her spoon and offered Milu an encouraging smile. “It’s delicious. I’m actually considering whether I should let Milu handle the cooking for the rest of the summer.”

“Leave it to me.”

Milu, who had her long white hair tied in a side ponytail, puffed out her petite chest, her face full of pride and joy.

“That would be a lot of work, right? Between training, studying, and now cooking… You should only do it occasionally. Usually, we can leave it to Anastasia and the maids of the Twilight Palace.”

“No.”

Flatly refusing, Milu leaned her upper body forward in a huff. The Stellacryst Beast’s bright red slit pupils stared at Fia as she said stubbornly:

“Fia said she’d leave it to me. You can’t back out.”

“I only said I’d consider it…”

“ Gunu-nu… ”

A low growl, like that of a kitten, came from her throat. Milu suddenly gave Fia the illusion of a newlywed wife having a sulking fit.

Rеad оո КαtReαⅾiոɡCаfe

Setting aside any legal concerns, Milu did indeed have the vibe of a young newlywed; though she was stubborn, she was stubbornly cute.

…What am I thinking?

Milu is just a child, even younger than Liti, only about thirteen or fourteen years old.

“Ngh, ngh—”

While Fia was thinking, the Milu before her continued to make dissatisfied sounds. Fia couldn’t help but find it amusing. She wanted to reach out and pat Milu’s head, but Milu turned her head away and looked aside.

What was with Milu today?

“Fine, fine. I’ll leave the summer dinners to you. But if you feel it’s too much work, you must hand it over to the maids—at least let them help you out as assistants.”

“Then what about my reward?”

“Reward?”

Seeing that Fia didn’t understand, Milu turned her head slightly as if embarrassed and made a nearly imperceptible gesture with her chin toward Fia’s lap, her cheeks flushing slightly.

Did she want to sit on her lap? Liti had run over to Claire to watch the recording crystal and wouldn’t notice what was happening here, but the stone stool was too low; Milu would have to sit sideways on her, and since she was holding the food, it would be difficult to move.

Fia, forced to guess, gave a wry smile.

“I suppose I could, but how am I supposed to eat your cooking then?”

“You can feed it to me, Fia… like Claire does,” Milu’s voice trailed off as she gripped her hands in front of her, her toes twisting against the ground. She fidgeted and mumbled softly, “You can… enjoy me as well…”

“…”

It wasn’t that she was speechless; rather, she was momentarily captivated by Milu. Fia stood dazed.

Perhaps it was because she usually lacked emotion, so once she expressed her feelings, she became exceptionally endearing. In the firelight, the beet-red Milu was incredibly alluring, even making Fia feel a desire to pull her close and plant several kisses on that face that looked like a ripe apple. The reality was that Milu’s body was petite and soft, the touch when holding her was quite comfortable, and if one inhaled deeply, they could smell a pleasant scent like violets on her snow-white skin. It made it hard to let go.

Hey, Dofilia, wake up!

She gave herself a hard mental slap and struggled to regain her senses.

Where did Milu learn this kind of thing?

—It had to be from what she’d overheard from the maids in the Twilight Palace.

Fia immediately arrived at the answer.

Several times she had heard the maids of the Twilight Palace discussing how to make someone they liked fall for them, or how to pique the interest of an expressionless young lady.

Milu was undoubtedly imitating their gossip.

She’d definitely have to give those maids a thorough education once they returned; even if they were going to talk about such things, they shouldn’t let a child hear them.

Fia set the bowl aside to hide her embarrassment. She then smoothed out the skirt of her black dress and patted her lap for Milu, who was still wringing her hands and too shy to look up.

“It’s fine if you want to sit here, but you shouldn’t say those things lightly in the future. Those are words meant only for the person you love, and only after a marriage relationship has been established.”

“Of course I wouldn’t say it to anyone else.”

“What did you say, Milu?”

“Stupid.”

Aha? Did I just get scolded by Milu?

Fia was utterly baffled, but Milu didn’t give her a chance to press the matter. Milu first solemnly smoothed her skirt, then walked to Fia, turned around, and carefully sat sideways on Fia’s lap.

Rеad оո КаtReаԁіոgСafе

In an instant, the reassuring touch and warmth, along with the scent of violets, enveloped Milu. It made her, who was already self-conscious, even more embarrassed. However, she still tried her best to maintain an expressionless look, though her cheeks had turned scalding hot.

After holding the position for a second, Milu looked up at Fia’s face. Seeing that Fia was looking at her, she immediately pulled her gaze back like a startled rabbit. In truth, she wanted to hug Fia’s neck with both arms like Liti usually did, pressing her entire body against Fia to feel her warmth and marking Fia with her own scent. However, Liti was Fia’s sister, which was why she could act so naturally affectionate; she was not, so she naturally couldn’t do the same.

Still, this was quite nice too.

She wiggled her bottom to settle into the most comfortable position, then leaned over to pick up the bowl and spoon Fia had placed on the stone stool. Still expressionless, Milu ladled a spoonful of stew and moved it to Fia’s lips. There was a trace of caution in her bright red slit pupils.

“Aahn—”

Feeding play?

She learned this from the Queen Mother, didn’t she?!

Gazing at Milu, who was poking the wooden spoon toward her with an expressionless face, Fia was speechless. Even she and Claire hadn’t fed each other like this; it felt as if she were being treated entirely like a baby.

She shyly turned her face away and cleared her throat.

“Um, Milu, I can eat by myself.”

“Didn’t you say you couldn’t eat?”

Milu tilted her head, trying her best not to let her eagerness show on her face.

“I can just use [Telekinesis]. Besides, rather than Milu feeding me, it should be me feeding Milu.”

Sitting Milu on her lap and playing feeding games like a couple… if they were alone, it would be fine, but the moment she realized her companions were sitting nearby, her sense of shame and guilt both reached their peak in an instant.

“Hmm…” Milu frowned, then relaxed her expression. She handed the bowl and wooden spoon to Fia. “Alright then. Aahn—”

Suddenly, Milu’s throat and soft, small tongue were exposed before Fia’s eyes. Fia could even see the pink, ring-like structures in Milu’s throat that were currently pulsing.

She was practically a seductive fairy…

If she hadn’t seen much of the world, she might have started having inappropriate thoughts.

Mhm, I really am an adult; my willpower is firm.

Casting the stray thoughts to the back of her mind, Fia took the wooden spoon and gently delivered the stew into Milu’s wide-open mouth.

It wasn’t until Milu closed her mouth with an “aw-wu” and swallowed the stew that Fia let out a sigh of relief. She felt as if she had completed some sort of ritual. Her mind was telling her that this wasn’t feeding a daughter or a sister at all, but a full-blown lover’s game.

It definitely wasn’t her fault for having such thoughts; it was all because Milu had a subtle sexiness to her.

Fia felt that her back had already started to sweat.

“Mhm, delicious.”

Milu nodded, her beautiful face and the curve of her lips filled with a sense of happiness. Her wing-shaped ears flapped slowly, giving Fia the urge to open her mouth and take them in—in fact, Fia had long wanted to try how they felt, but just like with Tilulu’s ears, she only thought about it and didn’t dare to actually do it.

“This is Milu’s cooking, so of course it’s delicious.”

“It’s because Fia fed me, so it’s delicious. Ah…”

“What is it?”

Milu, sitting sideways on Fia, suddenly sat up straight and gazed at the wilderness ahead. Fia followed Milu’s gaze and discovered several dirty children squatting in the bushes. Behind them were several adults holding onto them, their faces full of urgency.

They were families who didn’t want their children to be taken away by the soldiers. Fia quickly understood the situation.