Chapter 11: Promise and Departure

Yiluo froze for a moment when she heard Coco’s words, then her brows lifted with joy.

She immediately moved the small wooden stool to the bedside and entered staring mode.

See?

This is the charm of Yiluo.

Even someone as guarded as Coco was melted by her “gentleness.”

Yes, she had taken another step toward being a qualified father.

Having been away from her daughter for many years, Yiluo couldn’t help seeing Coco—similar in age to her own girl—as a stand-in.

It filled her with a sense of accomplishment and made her think she was accumulating parenting experience for when she returned to her original world.

Yiluo’s reaction surprised Coco greatly.

She hadn’t expected her to agree so readily—much less happily sit beside the bed and keep staring at her.

Coco felt extremely embarrassed.

She secretly peeked at Yiluo a few times, but Yiluo’s expression didn’t change at all.

Her gaze never left Coco’s face, making her increasingly unable to bear it.

This person… is definitely weird!

Coco even began regretting asking her to stay.

Who could handle being stared at so intensely!?

“P-please… please… please stop staring at me!”

Finally overwhelmed, Coco burst out, her embarrassment exploding.

“Hm?”

“So this is the legendary tsundere, huh?”

“I understand, I understand. Saying ‘don’t’ actually means you do want it.”

Coco bit her lip.

She finally admitted—she really shouldn’t have asked her to stay.

But if Yiluo wasn’t here, and with her injured leg, she truly would be scared.

Scared that someone might suddenly come in and drag her away.

She feared unfamiliar humans deeply.

She feared Yiluo too… but there was also an inexplicable desire to trust her.

Not because Yiluo saved her.

Simply because the girl gave off a natural sense of warmth.

“That… what’s your name?”

Coco remembered that the girl had told her earlier, but she had been beaten so badly that she couldn’t think at the time and didn’t remember it.

“Yiluo.” Yiluo blinked.

“Yiluo… thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Yiluo blinked again.

…

Stop doing malicious cute gestures, you jerk!

Coco wanted to complain but held it in.

She continued asking, “Your surname?”

“My surname is Yi and my given name is Luo. Yi Luo.”

Now it was Coco’s turn to blink in confusion.

A huge question mark formed in her mind.

Was this girl messing with her?

How could she have a one-character surname and a one-character name?

That was so strange!

Coco scratched her head.

Then her ears drooped.

Maybe… she just doesn’t want to tell me her real name.

Maybe she’s wary of me.

That makes sense.

After all… I have demon blood…

Through observing Coco for two days, Yiluo had learned the meaning of the cat ears.

Ears suddenly upright and puffed meant fear or being startled.

Ears drooping suddenly meant sadness or disappointment.

As a researcher of cat-ear-girls, Yiluo immediately noticed Coco’s slide into dejection.

Is my surname a problem?

After a brief thought, Yiluo guessed the issue.

Names here probably resembled Western-style names.

Coco had likely never seen a name like hers.

“In my country, names are like this. Coco, what about you? What’s your surname?”

Yiluo explained.

But Coco remained downcast.

“I don’t have one.”

“Only very excellent maids may be granted a surname by their master.”

Yiluo tilted her head in genuine surprise.

She had thought Coco’s maid outfit was just a disguise… but Coco was actually a real little cat-ear maid.

“Coco isn’t excellent? You could live off looks alone.”

Even with swelling on her cheeks, Coco’s cuteness couldn’t be hidden.

Paired with those cat ears—it was explosive.

When the subject of maids came up, Coco’s expression turned serious.

Her eyes sparkled as she explained, “It’s not about excellence. I’m still a trainee maid. You only become a formal maid at 16, and only then might you receive a surname.”

“Oh~ how old is Coco?”

“Ten. I’ll be eleven soon.”

Even younger than Yiluo expected.

She was basically still a loli cat-ear girl!

Coco’s love for the maid profession was also extreme.

Was the job really that appealing?

Yiluo had played butler and high-end club staff before, and she had never found anything glamorous about the service industry.

But perhaps the viscount’s estate where Coco worked had good people.

That must be why Coco longed for recognition so much.

“Coco, do you want to go back?”

Coco paused, thinking.

“Coco wants to go back.”

“Coco must go back!”

Yiluo smiled softly, shaking her head.

A small wave of sadness passed through her.

But she quickly brushed it away.

She reached forward and ruffled Coco’s hair gently.

“I promise in Yiluo’s name—I will take you back.”

After sending Coco home, she could focus on finding a way to return to her original world.

This time, Coco did not dodge.

She let Yiluo pat her head.

Her determined expression hid a trace of worry.

.

.

Coco’s recovery speed was astounding.

In five days, not only had her outer wounds healed, even her fractured leg had recovered enough for her to walk slowly.

At this time, Yiluo decided to depart.

Destination: the Elva Empire.

“Congratulations, Tuotuo. You’re free now.”

Yiluo stood beside the flower-eating beast and patted its butt.

She wasn’t planning to bring it on this journey.

Tuotuo paused mid-chew, looking doubtful—almost suspicious of her words.

Yiluo laughed helplessly.

Why was a magical beast thinking more than humans?

She never reflected on how much of a mischievous devil she was.

“Alright alright, if you won’t leave, I’m leaving.”

She waved and turned away.

But before she got far, Tuotuo ran over and bit her skirt.

Yiluo stared at it in surprise as it licked her affectionately.

“What are you doing!? My skirt! Is this revenge!?”

Yiluo could tell Tuotuo was attached to her, but bringing it into the city wasn’t suitable.

So she pretended to be stern.

“Baaah~”

Tuotuo looked pitifully sad.

“Alright, alright. I know you’ll miss me. I am pretty charming after all.”

“Go home. Don’t get caught by other humans. They won’t be as kind as me.”

She hugged Tuotuo’s big head before letting go.

The beast ran off without looking back.

Was I good to it…?

Yiluo wondered briefly, then stopped thinking about it.

Saying goodbye to Granny Vini and Vivian took a round of warm chatter.

Before leaving, Yiluo crouched down to look Vivian in the eyes.

“Remember our promise, okay?”

She placed her finger to her lips and blinked—just like their first promise.

“Don’t worry, Sister Yiluo. Vivian remembers.”

Vivian mimicked her gesture perfectly.

The two shared a smile.

“Safe travels. May the Goddess of Light, Eos, bless your journey.”

“Sister Yiluo, come visit us again!”

Yiluo just smiled and nodded without speaking.

“Hi, you two lovely young ladies. We’ll reach the town at dusk. If the ride gets too bumpy or uncomfortable, just tell me—we’ll stop to rest.”

“Okay, Uncle Senel. I’ll let you know. I hope your shopping trip is a big success.”

“Haha! Miss Yiluo sure knows how to talk. Let’s hope so!”

Through Granny Vini’s introduction, Yiluo and Coco rode in Hunter Senel’s open wagon headed toward the nearest town.

The cart bed, usually used to carry food or goods, was now layered with soft straw.

Yiluo leaned against the back, tilting her head up to bathe in the morning sunlight.

Her mood was bright and relaxed.

Beside her, Coco quietly scooted closer and whispered, “What did you promise Vivian?”

Coco wore a green coarse-cloth dress and a matching green hat covering her ears and tiny horn.

Granny Vini had specially fetched it from the village yesterday after noticing Coco’s old dress was too big.

Now the two looked like simple village girls—though far too pretty for their own safety.

Yiluo narrowed her eyes at the sky and answered softly, “I found ten silver coins hidden in our bed and left them for Vivian. We agreed she would tell Granny Vini tomorrow to give her a surprise.”

Coco frowned. “Huh? When? I didn’t see anything.”

“Of course you didn’t. It was while you were asleep. I did many things Coco doesn’t know about.”

Yiluo twirled her golden hair with a mischievous smirk.

Coco had lived with her long enough not to fall for her tricks so easily.

“Yiluo, you’re teasing me again!”

Coco’s pout was irresistibly cute—Yiluo felt like she’d profited immensely.

“You’re really a good person… just a little weird.”

Coco muttered quietly.

Yiluo didn’t respond.

She leaned back against the wagon again and closed her eyes to enjoy the sun.

She whispered, “Coco gave me a ‘good person’ card… but I wanted a ‘dad’ card…”

Coco’s sharp hearing caught it instantly.

She didn’t understand, so she scooted closer.

“What’s a ‘good person card’? What’s a ‘dad card’?”

“H-hey? Coco stop, that tickles—”

“No! Miss Yiluo must explain! I’m curious!”

Uncle Senel listened to their playful bickering and felt his mood brighten.

He took a sip of goat milk wine and hummed a hometown tune.

Today’s journey felt especially pleasant.