"Sky Dragon's... Crushing Fist!"
With the tender shout came a small fist wrapped in azure wind energy, smashing fiercely into the thick tree trunk.
Bang!
A muffled thud sounded. The big tree remained motionless, not even a leaf falling. On the contrary, Wendy herself grimaced in pain. Shaking her reddened little hand, she muttered aggrievedly, "So hard..."
Tike stepped forward immediately, gently cupping her reddened hand. Gentle emerald-green light glowed from his palm; strands of warmth dispelled the pain, and the redness and swelling subsided at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Through their interactions day and night over these few days, their relationship had become much closer. Tike even started teaching Wendy some basic Dragon Clan attack magic hand-in-hand, although he had only learned these skills from Irene not long ago himself.
"Wendy, you can't use the magic I taught you to attack me in the future," Tike said half-jokingly. "Otherwise, I'll be very sad."
"Mm! I will absolutely never attack Brother Tike!" Wendy nodded vigorously.
Seeing Wendy's serious expression, Tike felt warmth in his heart.
He knew she was a kind-hearted child, no different from the Edolas Wendy he knew. The reason he specifically gave instructions wasn't so much to restrict Wendy as to make himself feel more at ease.
Once the redness and swelling on Wendy's hand completely disappeared, Tike proposed: "Staying here forever isn't a solution. Let's go out and look for Grandeeney together?"
For the past few days, they had been waiting on the spot, hoping that the Sky Dragon named Grandeeney would come looking for them, but she never appeared.
Wendy lowered her small head and gave a soft "Mm," her mood appearing somewhat down.
Tike rubbed her hair, soothing her uneasy emotions.
Then, hand in hand, the two left this temporary woodland residence.
Crack.
Shortly after their figures disappeared into the depths of the dense forest, a clear crack suddenly appeared in the center of the thick tree that Wendy had struck with her tender fist, rapidly spreading outward, and finally shattering completely.
In the following days, the two began aimless wandering.
Tike had never met Grandeeney and couldn't track her by scent. Although Wendy was raised by Grandeeney, she wasn't of her bloodline. Plus, being young, even with the keen sense of smell far exceeding ordinary people as a Dragon Slayer, it was difficult for her to pinpoint a precise direction in this vast forest.
In the blink of an eye, over half a month had passed, and they still hadn't found any clues about Grandeeney.
That night, they arrived at a dilapidated village and prepared to rest there for the night.
Tike chose a relatively intact broken house and walked in. After clearing a relatively clean open space inside, he pressed one hand lightly on the rough ground. Various steaming delicacies appeared out of thin air, the tempting aroma instantly filling the air, dispelling the stale and moldy smell in the house.
Just then, hurried footsteps came from outside the door. Immediately after, Wendy, who had just gone out to relieve herself, rushed in pulling up her pants, crying and shouting. She plunged behind Tike, clutching the corners of his clothes tightly with both small hands, her body trembling uncontrollably due to extreme fear.
"There's... there's a ghost—!"
Regarding this, Tike's face didn't show the slightest surprise, just gently patting Wendy hiding behind him.
The moment he stepped into this village, he had already sensed the "scent" belonging to souls permeating the village.
"Mm, there is a 'ghost.' Don't be afraid; I didn't smell any malicious intent. Let's go say hello to him, okay?"
Although Wendy's small face was full of reluctance, she was still led by him, walking step by step toward the slightly larger house in the center of the village.
Just arriving at the door, they clearly glimpsed a hunched, nearly translucent old man, appearing somewhat panic-stricken, trying to hide himself behind the door panel.
Tike stopped, not intruding rashly, but kept a distance and asked very politely: "Grandpa, sorry to disturb you. We are passing travelers; may we ask to stay here for a night?"
Wendy still clutched Tike's clothes tightly, peeking half her head out from behind Tike to size up the old man, asking in a voice almost only audible to the two of them: "Brother Tike... is... is this Grandpa... the 'ghost' you mentioned?"
The old man's figure swayed slightly, his voice carrying the huskiness and ethereal quality precipitated by years:
"This old man is a ghost lingering here for four hundred years, named Robaul. This place has long been abandoned. If you don't mind, stay as long as you like."
"Um..." Tike blinked, then asked sincerely, "Grandpa, you stayed here all this time; do you have any unfulfilled wish?"
A trace of bitterness appeared on Robaul's face as he nodded gently.
"Need my help?" Tike offered proactively. "Consider it a thank-you gift for our lodging tonight."
Robaul shook his head slightly, his illusory gaze sweeping over the still tender faces of Tike and Wendy hiding behind him.
"Sigh, no need. You are still too young; this is not something you children can solve."
"Huh?" Tike tilted his head, a trace of a peculiar look appearing on his face. "Too young to solve? Could it be some event that must be handled by adults... uh, an R-18 event?"
The originally serious Robaul suddenly felt somewhat amused and exasperated.
"What kind of messy things are in your head, child? Go back and eat your food quickly; rest early after eating."
"Oh!"
Tike responded crisply and led Wendy away from this house.
Watching the two small figures disappear outside the door, Robaul sighed slightly in his heart.
Ever since his clan perished due to his magic, how long had it been since living people entered here?
And such two lively and cute children at that.
Wonder if the outside world has become more peaceful compared to four hundred years ago?
Just as Robaul was immersed in these distant thoughts, footsteps approached from afar again. Looking up, he saw Tike and Wendy walking back, each holding a pile of steaming food.
Looking at the two who returned, Robaul asked somewhat puzzledly, "Why did you come back again?"
Wendy took a step forward, looked up at Robaul, and whispered, "Brother Tike said you looked a bit lonely here alone and wanted to invite you to eat something with us."
Robaul was stunned for a moment, then shook his head with a trace of affectionate expression.
"This old man is a body of a deceased soul; eating is no longer necessary. You eat by yourselves."
"Together, together!"
Tike leaned closer holding the food, even deliberately pouting, putting on a pitiful expression.
"Does Grandpa Robaul hate eating with us?"
Wendy beside him followed suit, trying hard to blink her big eyes, her small mouth pouting slightly, holding food with both small hands, looking at Robaul eagerly.
Influenced by Tike, her previous fear of this "Ghost Grandpa" had dissipated significantly. Instead, she felt he alone... a ghost staying here for years was somewhat pitiful.
"Besieged" by such gazes from two children, even Robaul, who had existed for four hundred years, felt somewhat overwhelmed.
"Fine, fine, this old man will 'accompany' you to eat a little."
He extended his nearly transparent hand, picked up a piece of bread emitting the scent of wheat, and hesitantly put the bread into his mouth—or rather, attempted to make the action of "eating."
"Hmm?"
The moment the bread touched his tongue, Robaul widened his eyes slightly, carrying a trace of disbelief and pleasant surprise.
This taste was actually so real!
He tasted a few more bites of other food Tike conjured, his face gradually dyed with satisfaction and aftertaste.
"If there could be some wine, that would be even better."
Tike scratched his head somewhat awkwardly.
"Wine... this won't do. I've never drunk wine, so I can't replicate it with magic."
"Magic?" Robaul's movement paused. He turned his gaze to Tike, with a bit of inquiry. "You mean, all this food was created by you using magic?"
"Mm." Tike nodded affirmatively.
"Truly quite good magic." Robaul expressed approval.
"Mm-hm-hm!" Tike nodded vigorously, unable to hide a trace of small pride on his face. "Right! With it, I'll never have to worry about going hungry!"