The little girl sat on a stool, her tiny frame leaving her feet dangling in the air, bare little toes kicking back and forth. Her pretty, adorable face looked around curiously, left and right. Since her creation, she had lived solely in the divine realm, never experiencing the outside world, so everything here filled her with wonder.
Debbie had changed into her clothes, maintaining her usual style, quite different from the residents of Stan Town. She claimed it was the latest trend on the continent, though no one could verify that, and to others, her fashion seemed somewhat odd and unconventional.
Now, she and Ye Chui stood side by side in front of the little girl, bending down to examine the cute little creature.
“Is she still the Jiji we summoned in the ruins? She looks so young now. Her memories must be gone, right?” Ye Chui asked doubtfully, then tried addressing her. “Do you remember who we are?”
“Jiji?” The little girl’s big eyes looked at Ye Chui and Debbie strangely. Just as Ye Chui interpreted her expression as confusion, she spoke in a stiff voice. “Of course, I know you, jiji. You’re the ones who, without a second thought, turned me into a heroic spirit.”
“So you remember everything from the ruins?” Debbie exclaimed. “It seems this form doesn’t affect your memories. But you’re so tiny. How old are you?”
As she asked, Debbie reached out to pat the girl’s head, her face showing the doting expression of an older sister meeting a cute younger one.
“Five thousand four hundred and thirty-seven years old,” the little girl answered, tilting her innocent face upward.
Debbie’s body visibly stiffened. This little sister was a bit old.
“Jiji!” The girl suddenly climbed onto the stool, standing upright to match Ye Chui and Debbie’s height. She put her hands on her hips, her cute face full of seriousness. “You, jiji, since you turned me into a heroic spirit and brought me out of the ruins, you have to take responsibility for me! Jiji!”
“What!?” Ye Chui and Debbie were startled, instinctively showing a hint of panic. A child suddenly demanding they take responsibility? They were just teenagers, and the pressure was immense. Plus, they hadn’t even sorted out dinner, and now they had to care for a kid? Wait, was that even the right way to think about this?
Ye Chui quickly calmed down, realising what Jiji meant by responsibility. Her purpose had been to guard the divine realm, later tasked by the goddess to protect the demon’s seal. Now, with the divine realm shattered and the demon dead, she had no purpose left. Her request for responsibility likely meant she hoped Ye Chui and Debbie would give her a new reason to exist.
“You can adventure with us from now on,” Ye Chui said, hesitating before placing a hand on Jiji’s head.
Though Jiji was a heroic spirit, her body felt real, her hair soft. She didn’t resist Ye Chui’s touch, even showing a look of enjoyment. “Jiji~”
Ye Chui turned to Debbie. “Does summoning her use a lot of magic?”
“Not much, about the same as summoning the clown. I can maintain this state for a few hours,” Debbie explained. She looked at Jiji’s adorable face, unable to resist pinching her cheeks, which prompted a resistant “jiji” from the girl. Debbie laughed. “I’ll try to keep her summoned to train my magic. Gilga’s injuries aren’t healed yet, so we might rely on Jiji in many places.”
Though Debbie often seemed unreliable, she was clever at heart. Having gained an epic heroic spirit like the Valkyrie, magic management was crucial. She couldn’t keep possessing the mad clown every time she summoned the Valkyrie for battle.
Jiji’s matter was settled, but the next issue was pressing.
“What are we eating for dinner? We don’t have a single copper coin,” Ye Chui said to Debbie. “And the house across the street got wrecked because of us. We need to find a way to compensate them.”
“When we were in the ruins, there was so much gold in the goddess’s palace. Why didn’t we take some?” Debbie grumbled.
Ye Chui’s storage space still held a large amount of dragon bloodstones, the corpse of the dragon ant queen, and dragon ant eggs, all incredibly valuable. But Ye Chui believed their worth went beyond gold, with greater potential uses. Even with plenty of dragon bloodstones, he didn’t want to trade them for money, as they held power far beyond gold’s value.
“Looks like we need to go back to our old trade and take on missions at the mercenary guild,” Ye Chui concluded.
With that decided, the two, who had just returned home, prepared to head out again. As for Jiji…
“Jiji, jiji!” The little girl, hearing they were going outside, cheered with joy. Her tiny wings fluttered, lifting her small body off the ground, floating unsteadily in the air, like a child excited to be taken to an amusement park.
Ye Chui and Debbie sighed helplessly. They had planned to leave her at home. Though she looked like any other girl, her wings were hard to conceal. But, well, in a world where strange things were commonplace, it wasn’t a big deal.
“Wow!”
Jiji, who had spent five thousand years in the decaying relic garden, was thrilled by the human world. As soon as they stepped outside, she ran around with arms outstretched, drawing attention. A pretty little girl attracted eyes everywhere, but what shocked people more was the thought: What a happy family… Wait, when did these two troublemakers get a daughter!?
Ye Chui and Debbie had to keep pulling her back from various places. Though Jiji was ancient, having lived in the divine realm with her sisters gradually dying off, leaving her alone, her strong will was paired with a childlike mind.
Feeling the crowd’s astonished “they’re so young” stares, even Ye Chui and Debbie’s thick skin felt a bit hot. Luckily, they soon ran into a familiar face on the street: Green.
“Your injuries are alright now?” Ye Chui greeted with a smile, noting Green’s healthy complexion. It was their first time seeing him since leaving the ruins.
“The Blue Horn Guild has excellent healers. I’m fully recovered,” Green replied. He glanced at Jiji, who quieted down upon seeing him, sucking on a finger as if finding him familiar. Green thought she seemed odd but wasn’t too concerned. Nothing Ye Chui and Debbie did could surprise him anymore.
He had come to find them for an important reason.
“Miss Debbie, can you summon the Valkyrie Jiji?” Green asked seriously.
“What for?” Debbie asked curiously, glancing at Green, then at Jiji.
“Well… I think I’ve fallen for her…” Green said, lowering his head, his face slightly red.
“Bloody hell!” Ye Chui exclaimed.
Green panicked. “I know it’s strange… But in the ruins, she took care of me for a while. Though her appearance was terrifying, I felt her kindness. When she was summoned as a heroic spirit, I fell for her at first sight. I know it’s odd to love a heroic spirit, but I want to confess my feelings to her in person…”
Green’s expression softened as he spoke.
“It’s my first time falling for someone. Love feels so sweet, so irresistible…”
Green looked enchanted.
Ye Chui and Debbie exchanged glances. Poor guy… Then Ye Chui bent down, picked up Jiji, cleared his throat, and said to Green, “Just so you know, this kind of thing comes with a three-year minimum sentence. Take it easy…”
“Huh? Three-year minimum?” Green was stunned, then looked at Jiji again.
Jiji finally recognised him, waving her hands cheerfully. “Jiji, jiji, it’s you! How’s your injury, ka?”
Green froze.
In that moment, Ye Chui and Debbie distinctly heard the sound of a heart breaking.
Green, the spatial mage, twenty years old, experienced his first love, only for it to shatter before it even began.
