Chapter 126: Ability

Ethan shifted his gaze from the girl to the small sapling behind her. "I’ll take care of her."

"That is fine as well. I will come to check on her occasionally."

"You are more than welcome." The guest before him was rather special, and Ethan saw no reason to refuse.

The dragon seemed very satisfied with his straightforwardness. It let out a loud laugh, then looked up at the sky.

—ROAR!!!!!

The deafening cry was beyond comprehension, Ethan and the others went rigid where they stood.

The dragon roared on, unconcerned.

"From this day forward, this is my territory. Any monster is forbidden from approaching."

That was very good news, from now on, Ethan could farm in the fields without worrying about monster attacks.

"Then, I shall take my leave first..."

"Wait, don’t go yet, meow~" Pearl called out, stopping the dragon.

"Hmm? What is it?"

"You seem to know a lot about the World Tree, quick, teach us how to take care of her, meow~"

An ordinary tree only needed watering and fertilizer. But the girl standing beside Ethan was also the World Tree. Whether she should be treated as a human or raised as a tree was a real question.

Pearl leaped up and landed on the girl’s head. The image of the snow-white cat perched atop green hair looked unexpectedly harmonious. But nobody had the mind to appreciate the picture, all eyes were on the dragon.

"That is indeed a question. The World Tree is both that tree and this young girl. If you wish to raise her as a human, treat her as a human. If you wish to raise her as a tree, treat her as a tree."

Simple and clear. In other words: do whatever you like.

Ethan nodded, the dragon transformed into a streak of light and vanished into the horizon.

A brief silence followed.

Ethan was the first to speak. "Let’s eat first."

Today’s lunch was spicy roasted meat.

Sizzling cuts of meat straight from the fire, paired with fresh vegetables from the greenhouse, crowded the dining table. As everyone took their seats, Ethan looked at the girl.

"What do you want to eat?" Did she want roasted meat, or would she prefer to absorb fertilizer and water like a tree?

The girl curiously reached out and grabbed a piece of roasted meat.

"Then sit here and eat, meow~" The girl sat down beside Pearl, once everyone was gathered, Ethan picked up a leaf of lettuce.

"Wrap it up like this to eat."

The girl clumsily imitated him, wrapping the spicy meat in lettuce and stuffing it into her mouth in one bite.

’How will she take it?’ She was the World Tree, after all. Was it really okay to let her eat meat?

Under Ethan’s worried gaze, the girl’s green eyes sparkled. "Delicious~"

’Good.’ The girl reached for more lettuce, cheeks flushed from the spice, while she sniffled happily, the others began to eat as well.

"Phew, so spicy, meow!"

"It would be great if we had some soup."

"There’s bean sprout soup, want some?"

"Oh, thank you."

"It tastes even better with minced garlic, here, you try too."

A vampire recommending garlic was a bit odd, but Walter placed a pinch of minced garlic on the girl’s roasted meat without hesitation, she stuffed the garlic-seasoned meat into her mouth and nodded in satisfaction.

They couldn’t communicate in full sentences yet, but in the face of delicious food, everyone’s feelings were connected.

After a pleasant lunch, Ethan poured everyone a glass of juice, then looked at the girl. "Since you’re going to live here, you need a name. Do you have one you like?"

"It seems she can understand us, but can she speak?" Zharok asked, sipping his juice.

The girl shook her head and made a gesture, but nobody could read it.

"Is that sign language?"

"If it’s sign language, I know a little bit, but that doesn’t look like any sign language I’ve seen, meow~"

"If only she could write... Pearl, can you teach her how to write?"

"No problem, meow~"

With the communication issue settled for the future, the next step was a name. Everyone except the girl began tossing out ideas.

"How about Morganna, meow?"

"Langrasia Averyhans."

"Remihilian."

Nobody had a decent suggestion, the names grew more elaborate and more absurd. The girl watched the debate with mounting boredom, chin resting on the table.

Ethan thought for a moment, then spoke quietly. "How about Liora?"

Liora — full of vitality and pure.

Everyone fell quiet, but the girl seemed to like the name very much, she nodded gently.

"Then we’ll call you Liora." Since she liked it, so be it.

The girl who had just become Liora trotted happily over to Ethan’s side.

’Could this be the legendary imprinting effect?’ Just like a newly hatched chick that treats the first living creature it sees as its mother, Liora had been personally planted by Ethan — his hands had placed the seed in the soil and patted the earth down, it was only natural for her to feel closest to him.

Zharok grinned and reached out to pat Liora’s head, she didn’t dodge, she accepted the pat calmly.

"What are we doing this afternoon, meow?" The World Tree had been planted, and the preparatory work for the paddy fields was nearly done, Pearl found herself with nothing to do.

"The greenhouse needs tending, and we have to prepare for planting Mana Grass."

"Ah, I almost forgot about that, meow~"

Pearl had her own task, too — injecting mana into the Sun Stones.

Ethan looked at Zharok and Walter. "We can handle the rest. You two should get some rest."

"Then let’s continue our chess game."

"Is that alright?"

"Of course." The two smiled and returned to the table to resume their unfinished match.

Ethan glanced at the board, then took Pearl and Liora to the greenhouse.

"Are you here to help?" he asked.

Liora nodded.

"Thank you. Once we’re done, I’ll make you some new clothes." Liora wore a small dress crudely stitched from a single piece of cloth, calling it a dress was generous — it was more like a sack with two holes cut in it, he could make her something better right now, but it would just get dirty during work, better to wait.

He patted her head and opened the greenhouse door.

Thanks to the Sun Stones, even in the dead of winter the greenhouse stayed as warm as spring, Liora seemed to love the warmth, she closed her eyes and basked in it for a moment before opening them wide to study her surroundings.

"That’s a Frost Orange tree, meow, and that’s..." Pearl hopped onto Liora’s head and began introducing the crops one by one.

Liora didn’t seem to mind the cat perched on her head, she took small steps on her short legs and walked up to a Frost Orange tree.

"The Frost Oranges have already been harvested." All of them had been turned into candied fruit, except for one tree’s worth saved for eating fresh.

"Meow, you’re the World Tree — you should have some kind of special ability, right, meow?"

Liora tilted her head, looked at Pearl, then at Ethan.