Chapter 8

“Ah, ah!”

Elena, still looking dazed, fed another spoonful of soup to Little One, who had been trying to put the empty spoon into his mouth. Little One ate it well, seemingly enjoying the taste.

“Good, if you eat that, you’ll grow up big and strong.”

Little One finished more than half of the soup and ate a few blueberries as dessert before settling in the middle of the room, chewing on a rabbit doll.

Elena watched him for a while before turning to Felix. He was gazing out the window with a serious expression, lost in thought.

“Felix, what are we going to do now?”

Without moving his chin from where it rested on his hand, Felix shifted his gaze toward her.

“About Little One. If, like you said, his parents don’t come looking for him, what should we do?”

“For now, we’ll wait until the festival is over. If we still can’t find his family, I’ll take him to the professor.”

“Do you think the professor will have a solution?”

“I’m thinking that maybe he could trace the spatial magic that brought him here.”

However, Felix didn’t look very confident. Elena glanced back at Little One. By now, he had abandoned the rabbit doll and was playing with blocks.

“Abu.”

She couldn’t help but wonder why this child wasn’t crying for his mother.

“And also…”

Felix suddenly spoke in a serious tone. Elena turned her attention back to him.

“Just in case, don’t get too attached to Little One.”

His gaze was fixed on Little One, who was crawling toward a block that had rolled far away.

“Why?”

Though she thought it unlikely she’d grow attached to such a troublesome and demanding child, she couldn’t help but ask.

“Why do you think?”

Felix lowered the hand supporting his chin and turned his body toward her.

“Because, no matter what, he’ll leave in a few days.”

There wasn’t a trace of humor on his face. It wasn’t the usual indifferent expression he often showed her, but a completely blank one.

In the more than ten years she had known him, it was rare to see him like this, and it felt awkward. Elena turned her gaze back to Little One.

Unlike the heavy atmosphere between them, Little One was babbling to himself as he explored the room’s objects.

He grabbed things with his hands, brought them to his mouth, and drooled all over them.

Watching his carefree antics made her tension ease, and she let out a soft laugh.

“Ha…”

At that moment, Little One, who had been crawling around, suddenly sat up on the floor.

He wasn’t doing anything in particular. He simply clenched his fists and sat there.

His face scrunched up as if he were exerting himself, making his already chubby cheeks puff out even more.

His body even trembled slightly.

‘He’s cute, but what is he doing?’

Concerned, Elena asked quickly.

“Little One, what’s wrong?”

But Little One didn’t respond. He didn’t even look at her, maintaining his seated position.

Just as Elena was about to approach him, worried he might have hurt himself while crawling, a cheerful sound echoed through the room.

“Pfft.”

Little One’s face tensed up again as he grunted.

“Pffft, pfft.” 

A series of realistic sounds followed, accompanied by the gradual spread of a foul odor.

“Ugh.”

Little One, who had confidently finished his business in the middle of the room, relaxed his expression and smiled contentedly.

***

Elena had always thought Felix wasted his magic on trivial things. Just that morning, she had clicked her tongue at him for heating water with magic.

But her long-held opinion of him changed entirely in an instant.

Felix was, without a doubt, a genius who knew how to use advanced magic to make life more convenient.

A true mage who could perform magic essential for humanity!

For today, at least, she felt she could endlessly praise his incredible skills.

It definitely wasn’t because Felix had used magic to instantly clean a smelly diaper.

“You’re amazing.”

Watching Felix fasten a diaper that looked brand new onto Little One, Elena muttered absentmindedly.

No matter how many times she looked, the diaper seemed no different from freshly washed clothes that had been dried under the sun.

And it had taken less than ten minutes.

As Felix helped Little One into his pants, he smirked, lifting one corner of his mouth.

“Now you realize?”

His arrogant attitude made Elena want to punch him, but today, she found it impressive instead.

Was this the confidence of someone truly capable?

“Yeah, you’re amazing. No wonder girls follow you around.”

She gave him a thumbs-up, genuinely meaning it, but all she got in return was a curt, “What’s with you today? Did you eat something weird?”

Little One, now wearing the miracle diaper Felix had cleaned, resumed playing. Elena stared at him absentmindedly.

Six days remained until the festival ended.

Could we take care of Little One until then?

Without getting attached?

***

“Ow.”

She was sleeping soundly when a sharp pain in her head woke her. It felt like someone was pulling her hair, making her scalp sting.

She had a good idea who the culprit was.

“Little One, don’t do that.”

“Eub.”

When Elena opened her eyes, she saw Little One clutching a handful of her hair and putting it into his mouth.

As soon as their eyes met, he smiled with her hair still in his mouth. His chubby cheeks stretched wide to the sides.

“Don’t smile like that. I’ll get attached. And don’t eat my hair. That’s dirty.”

When Elena pulled her hair away, Little One pouted his lower lip with a crestfallen expression.

“Even if you look at me like that, I’m not giving it back. So don’t make that face.”

Having lost his “toy,” Little One seemed to be looking for a new one. He tried to crawl over Elena’s body, which was blocking his way.

While taking a nap, Elena had placed a sofa and chairs along the edge of the bed to prevent Little One from falling. She had also fallen asleep next to him. Thanks to that, it seemed Little One had woken up before her and played quietly by her side.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Elena grabbed Little One’s foot, which was pushing against her stomach. He flopped down onto her.

“Ung.”

Little One wriggled on top of her stomach.

“Do you know where Felix went?”

Elena looked around as she asked. While she had barely managed to soothe the fussy Little One to sleep and taken a nap with him, Felix had disappeared.

“Wooong.”

Right, like you would know.

As she pondered how to entertain the small child drooling on her stomach, Elena began to tickle his sides with her fingers.

“Kyaa! Kyahaak!”

Little One burst into laughter, twisting his body.

Worried that he might fall off the bed, Elena quickly set him down on the floor. As soon as he was on the ground, Little One sped off, crawling.

“Haaa!”

From time to time, he turned his head to check if Elena was following him.

“Should I tickle you more? I’m coming to catch you, Little One!”

“Nya!”

As soon as Elena pretended to approach him, Little One laughed again and crawled away. She caught his chubby belly just as he reached the door.

“What are you doing?”

The door opened, and Felix entered. It felt like being caught red-handed doing something she didn’t want him to see. Elena gave an awkward smile as she held Little One in her arms.

“I was worried he might bump into the door.”

But Felix didn’t believe her.

“I heard everything. It echoed all the way into the hallway.”

Her face instantly flushed red. She cleared her throat a couple of times and changed the subject.

“By the way, where did you go?”

“To the dormitory. I had some things to pack.”

“Things to pack? Didn’t you already pack earlier?”

“That was just a quick pack. This time, I brought books and clothes.”

“Books? What kind of books?”

“I wanted to look into spatial magic. We can’t just sit around doing nothing until the professor arrives.”

“I see.”

In his hands was a large suitcase. In the other hand, Felix carried a large, paper-wrapped package. The package was quite sizable.

“What’s that?”

Noticing her gaze, Felix handed her the mysterious package.

“Take it.”

“What is it?”

Since Felix didn’t answer, Elena decided to open it herself.

Little One, still in her arms, also seemed curious. He stared intently at her hands.

When she unwrapped the paper, she found a baby carrier and two sets of women’s clothes. They were thick dresses suitable for winter. The baby carrier appeared to be designed to secure Little One in front of her.

Felix sat on the bed and pulled a book out of his suitcase, muttering quietly.

“You can’t manage with just one outfit for six days.”

“Did you buy these?”

“I couldn’t go into your room.”

Elena examined the clothes and picked up the baby carrier. Little One, perhaps recognizing it as his, reached out his hands with interest.

“Euu!”

“This will make things easier, won’t it?”

“Ah!”

Elena handed the baby carrier to Little One and looked at Felix. By then, he was already engrossed in his book, reading with a serious expression.

“Thank you. I’ll use it well.”

“Yeah.”

He replied indifferently, not even looking up from his book.

“And from now on, I’ll be reading, so don’t bother me.”

His tone was annoyingly smug.

‘Even when I’m grateful, his attitude always ruins it.’

Muttering complaints inwardly, Elena held one of the dresses against her body. For once, Little One didn’t whine or demand anything. He simply sat quietly on the floor, watching her.

“Do I look pretty?”

Though he couldn’t possibly understand her words, Little One smiled brightly.

“Mya!”