Chapter 23: The Unconventional Mother and the Shadow Leopard Hunt

What, truly, was love?

Elara’s hands stilled.

“Go take a bath.”

Elara gestured towards the bathroom, effectively cutting off the nascent conversation.

‘Why ask questions whose meaning even she didn’t know?’

Elara had been an orphan for as long as she could remember in her previous life, dying before she even turned twenty.

In this life, she had severed ties with her original family, once again finding herself alone.

If asked to define love now, she could only offer: ‘It’s liking something even more than just liking it.’

Yet, it was clear Hilvyn hadn’t asked casually; Elara couldn’t simply brush it off.

Hilvyn didn’t press the matter, obediently heading into the bathroom for a soak.

‘Love?’

Elara lay down on the bed, seriously pondering the question.

There was a parent’s love for a child, a sibling’s love, the love between lovers, and perhaps the more ethereal concepts of universal or great love.

She had often wondered how she truly regarded Hilvyn.

‘Perhaps it was a sister’s love, most likely.’

Elara opened her eyes, her brown gaze fixed on the ceiling, recalling the memories of these past twenty short days.

She wished to care for her, to protect her.

Hilvyn was just like a younger sister, perfectly fitting the image Elara held of what a ‘sister’ should be.

Perhaps, it might even be a form of maternal love. After all, Hilvyn had been so tiny when Elara bought her.

She had taught her table manners, imparted common knowledge, and looked after her daily life.

‘Damn it.’

Elara suddenly shot upright at this thought.

She had no experience giving birth, yet she already had experience raising a child.

‘Becoming a mother without the pain—what kind of unconventional life is this?’

She flopped back onto the bed, peering at the fluorescent light above through the gaps between her fingers.

“Having children?” she mumbled.

‘I don’t feel any interest in men at all.’

This was likely due to her being male in her previous life. Even now, encountering certain sights—like when Hilvyn was occasionally unrestrained, her ‘charms’ inadvertently exposed, it would still make Elara’s blood rush.

‘My apologies, Hilvyn.’

However, it also confirmed her sexual orientation was still towards women. But in this world, perhaps because it was divinely created, she had yet to encounter any situation that defied the traditional pairing of men and women.

‘Living alone for a lifetime sounds quite good too.’

With that thought, Elara rolled over, preparing for sleep. Although she had spent the entire afternoon playing, even play could be exhausting.

It had been a tiring day indeed.

“Master—”

Hilvyn emerged from the bathroom.

“Just dry your hair and sleep,” Elara urged from the bed. “I’m so sleepy…”

Having said that, she fell silent.

Hilvyn used her wind magic to quickly dry her hair, then snuggled into the covers.

“Good night, Master.”

Seeing no reaction from Elara, Hilvyn’s lips parted as if to speak, though no sound escaped.

****

The next morning.

Elara woke early as usual, moved her ‘things’ for a workout, then lamented Hilvyn’s messy sleeping posture before heading out to buy breakfast.

Upon her return, Hilvyn was still in bed.

“Eat…”

“Eat what!”

No sooner had Elara uttered the first word than Hilvyn sprang up from the bed.

She had been pretending to sleep.

Elara didn’t expose her, a smile playing on her lips as she considerately moved the small table to the bedside.

“It’s your favorite toast.”

She then pulled out two jars from a row of jams stored in the cabinet.

“Yay! Yummy toast, I love it!”

Hilvyn hummed an off-key tune, her body swaying unconsciously from side to side.

“And this.”

Elara suddenly remembered something. She took out the ham she had bought yesterday from her spatial ring and sliced it into thick pieces.

Hilvyn picked up a piece, wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, giving it a glance.

“Master, you cut it so thick.”

She had been teased.

Nevertheless, she immediately stuffed it into the bread.

“It’s a good chance to taste what thick feels like. Thin slices always feel like they’re missing something.”

She dabbed a bit of jam onto her fingertip and casually licked it off.

“Don’t lick your fingers,” Elara admonished again.

“But wouldn’t wiping it off be a waste?”

“Waste comes after hygiene.”

“Oh…”

****

At the Adventurers’ Guild.

“Good morning, Miss Black Rose, and Little Sister Bai Zhi.”

Serene maintained her professional smile, greeting every adventurer.

“Let’s check out the A-rank quests today.”

Now that Elara had been promoted, she naturally wanted to experience what A-rank quests entailed.

She sent Hilvyn to choose two spells while she herself went to the quest board.

“Have you chosen?”

Elara handed the quest scroll to Serene, then leaned her head next to Hilvyn’s to look at the spells together.

“I’m a bit unsure,” Hilvyn admitted.

She lacked extensive experience. All the spells seemed useful at first glance, but upon closer inspection, some felt like they had existing alternatives within her own abilities.

“Think about when we encountered the Night Owl last time.”

With that single prompt, Hilvyn understood instantly.

“Then this one it is.”

Hilvyn pointed to [Wind Lance].

This was a high-tier wind magic, one Sevia had also used. It was considered a ‘basic attack’ among high-tier spells, with balanced attributes in mana consumption and attack power.

It was, essentially, a must-learn.

“Anything else?” Elara asked.

Hilvyn cupped her chin, looking up and muttering.

“For defense, there’s Ice Wall… Ice Cage. For escape, there’s Gust… um…”

Seeing Hilvyn’s prolonged indecision, Elara pointed to a spell and asked, “How about this one?”

It was a high-tier wind magic: [Unyielding Wind].

This spell could immediately stop bleeding, mend bones, numb pain, and then enhance resilience.

In urgent situations where there was no time to react, it could ensure one didn’t lose the ability to act.

However, stopping bleeding didn’t equate to healing; ultimately, healing magic or potions would still be required.

As for why auxiliary magic wasn’t chosen, it was because wind magic primarily focused on speed assistance. But speed and speed weren’t simply additive.

A person’s speed, without changing their physical form, had a limit. Elara already had the speed bonus from [Shadow Strike], so more advanced acceleration magic would have minimal impact.

Hilvyn agreed without a second thought.

After purchasing the two magic scrolls, Hilvyn couldn’t wait to begin experimenting with the spells.

****

At the edge of the Whispering Forest.

“Wind Lance!”

*Swish!* A Wind Lance shot through the canopy of a nearby tree, snapping two branches.

“Why do you have to shout it out, by the way?”

While shouting the name, or chanting, could accelerate a spell’s activation, the effect was quite minimal.

It was said that all spells once required their names to be spoken, with high-tier spells demanding full chants. However, a magic genius later refined the process.

Now, with the exception of epic spells, chanting was no longer necessary.

“Because I think it looks cool!” Hilvyn turned and grinned.

Elara could do nothing about this girl. She then asked, “What if the enemy knows your magic and is prepared for it?”

“Oh, right.” Hilvyn realized belatedly, seriously pondering the question.

“It’s fine, as long as the monsters don’t understand.”

‘True.’

“Alright, alright, whatever makes you happy.”

Elara also began practicing fusion magic nearby.

After a few attempts, she grew bored. This particular combination of fusion magic was already deeply ingrained in her.

She couldn’t help but think: ‘If only I could fire a shadow arrow from in front of me, and have it appear from behind the target.’

Unfortunately, [Void Step] couldn’t achieve such an effect, and all the high-tier spatial magic in the guild were non-sellable, with many also showing ‘temporarily out of stock.’

Spatial magic was clearly in decline (not really).

“Master, let’s go do a quest.”

“Let’s go.”

A-rank quest: Hunt and retrieve a Shadow Leopard.