Chapter 70: A New Home and a Single Name

Soft feathers landed on the boy’s head, feeling like a towel wiping water from his face. Though he had been tapped, he felt no pain at all.

‘Next time, don’t wear such baggy clothes.’

After delivering the necessary ‘education,’ Little Eagle brought food, and a spread of provisions appeared before the boy.

Indeed, it was a ‘spread’! After all, one couldn’t expect demons to use human cutlery.

For Little Eagle, scattering grains of rice onto fresh, juicy leaves was considered a very respectful way of hosting.

One shouldn’t underestimate this small leaf; it served not only as a substitute for a bowl or plate but also eliminated the inconvenience of preparing chopsticks.

There was only one minor inconvenience!

As the boy tipped the food into his mouth, he had to be exceptionally careful, mindful not to chew up the leaf itself.

Munch, munch, munch.

“Is it delicious?”

“This is the best meal I’ve ever eaten.”

Children wouldn’t deliberately lie to make someone happy, so Little Eagle could take his praise as truth.

After several chews, the boy suddenly spoke. “Where are my parents?”

This undeniable question, Little Eagle had initially thought, wouldn’t come so soon. She had expected the boy to wait until after he finished eating.

Before answering, however, she had a question for him:

“Do you trust me, your Big Sister?”

“I do.”

“But you clearly didn’t before.”

“Back then, I didn’t know Big Sister was a good person.”

“By what standard do you now determine that I am a good person?”

“Because Big Sister saved me and gave me food, Big Sister must be a good person!”

Little Eagle longed to correct this naive, wishful thinking, but it wasn’t the right time. She still hadn’t answered the boy’s question.

After a moment of thought, Little Eagle uncharacteristically adopted a tender approach, refraining from the cruel, immediate answer she had given last time.

This time, she would be mindful of her words, subtly informing the boy:

“Your parents have gone to live elsewhere. They will live well from now on, but they can no longer be with you. It will be difficult for your family to reunite in the future.”

“Big Sister means: my mom and dad don’t want me anymore?”

She didn’t need to search through memories of the past to understand:

This was the first time she had seen someone whose expression remained normal even while weeping.

The inability to show a sorrowful expression did not mean one felt no sadness.

Once upon a time, Little Eagle seemed to recall hearing:

When a person reached an unbearable depth of sorrow, tears would still instinctively fall, yet their facial expression would remain utterly unchanged.

It was like another manifestation of ‘going blank,’ and only upon entering this state did grief truly reach its peak.

Having no experience in comforting others, Little Eagle wasn’t sure what to do.

She simply chose the safest approach: staying by the boy’s side, watching as his tears gradually flowed, then dried.

Once the boy ceased crying, Little Eagle decided to lead him out of the room to formally meet the others.

Night had fallen deep. If not for her, who was essentially a half-leader, calling an impromptu gathering, most of the demons certainly wouldn’t have been willing to leave their warm nests and brave the cool wind to report.

“Eagle Sis, you went out and didn’t find any food, yet you brought back a brat who *eats* food!”

“If you’d picked up a stray cat or dog, it would be easy enough to feed, but he’s just a snot-nosed brat.”

The demons spoke thus, yet harbored no malice in their hearts; they were merely concerned for the child’s future.

Another faction of demons, who adhered to the ‘labor principle,’ pondered a different dilemma:

“What can he do here with us? Scouting, fighting, healing—he seems incapable of any of it. He’s utterly useless, isn’t he?”

Little Eagle, displeased by their presumptuous judgment, immediately stroked the boy’s head and retorted:

“Who said he’s useless? It’s fine to keep him as a pet! Besides, he can speak. Can other pets do that?”

At the mention of ‘pet,’ those unaware might have envisioned a certain Large Dog gnawing on a bone.

Such a thought would be mistaken.

The Large Dog was the second-in-command of the group, and before Little Eagle joined, it had even served as the leader of the demon horde—in other words, the first-generation Boss.

Just as Little Eagle had said:

“Although we have companions here who perform various tasks, none of them play the role of a ‘pet.'”

Little Eagle pointed her wing towards the boy, praising him effusively:

“Isn’t this child adorable? He also looks very intelligent, and if raised properly, he will definitely be more interesting than a regular pet!”

Persuaded by her highly infectious words, the other demons also nodded their heads in a somewhat dazed manner.

The discussion seemed to conclude. The demon horde reached a consensus, deciding to diligently raise the boy before them as both a pet and a mascot.

With the mind of an eight-year-old, he naturally couldn’t comprehend what the strange creatures around him were saying;

However, the boy vaguely sensed:

He would likely have to remain in this peculiar place from now on.

He certainly felt a slight resistance, but then he reconsidered:

After losing his home, and now that he had finally found a place willing to accept him unconditionally, why be so picky?

The moment the demon horde welcomed their new member, the boy finally accepted reality.

He decided to treat this place as his new home and the surrounding creatures as his new family.

Since they were family, understanding each other was crucial;

The boy extended his small hand, gave Little Eagle’s feather a gentle squeeze, and made her look his way.

“What is it?”

Little Eagle bent down to ask the boy.

“Big Sister, I want to ask you something.”

“Ask? Alright, as long as it doesn’t involve my measurements or age, I can tell you anything else.”

Upon receiving permission, the boy’s eyes sparkled with curiosity, which he could no longer suppress:

“Then I’ll ask: Big Sister, why do you have wings?”

“You… only just noticed now?”

To be honest, the young woman—Little Eagle, that is—

Before today, she had fully believed that her wings, a defining characteristic, would be quite noticeable, or at the very least, difficult to overlook until this very moment…

Looking on the bright side:

From this day forward, Little Eagle’s surroundings indeed became more lively.

Although there were other female demons in the group besides herself, Little Eagle still proactively took on the responsibility of caring for the boy.

When Little Eagle first picked up the child and decided to raise him, it was simply because her heart wasn’t hard enough to let him fend for himself in the wilderness.

This meant:

She had felt compassion!

In recent years, her primary attitude towards the boy had mostly been one of ‘reluctance to abandon.’

At this moment, she could not have possibly imagined:

That several years later, her feelings for the boy would evolve from pure to something less so.

“Oh, right, what’s your name?”

“Wang…”

“‘Wang’, is it? I’ll remember that.”

“Actually…”

“Even though you’re a little pet, I’ll treat you well from now on.”

His intended words ultimately remained unspoken.

At this moment, the boy still remembered his name;

However, due to Little Eagle’s misunderstanding, and his subsequent failure to find an opportunity to correct her and point out her mistake;

For these reasons, the boy ultimately became a child with a name of only one character.

****

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