Looking at the delicate, small, and cute girl he was holding, and hearing how she addressed him, Shilo hesitated before speaking.
“Lady Saintess?”
The girl blinked her eyes. “I’m here.”
Shilo: “…”
He silently set the pocket-sized version of the Lady Saintess down. Since this was indeed the Lady Saintess, then that big golden dog…
He shifted his gaze to the side. The large dog, which had fallen until its head spun, shook out its fur and came trotting back toward the Lady Saintess. The latter naturally reached out and patted its head.
“Xiaobai, be good~ It didn’t hurt when you fell, did it?”
As expected…
There were so many things to complain about in that moment that Shilo didn’t even know where to begin. In the end, he could only watch as the Lady Saintess remounted her “warhorse.”
“Lady Saintess, why have you become so small?”
With a little “heave-ho,” Lintis climbed back onto the dog’s back and said with a giggle, “This is my magic, a high-rank Star-Moon spell — Mirror Flower, Water Moon.”
“It’s my own original creation~”
Shilo was slightly surprised. The abilities the Lady Saintess possessed seemed to refresh his understanding of her every single moment.
“Is this ability that convenient? It can even change your form and age?”
“Hmm…” Lintis nodded her small head, thinking for a moment before saying, “Originally, it didn’t have such a realistic effect. I just improved it a bit. Rather than calling it a simple spell, it’s more like a fused version of holy arts and magic.”
“Anyway, anyway! Where are the things you brought me? Also, I’m hungry. Mr. Shilo, go cook dinner…”
For some reason, this voice, which usually sounded somewhat annoying, made him feel a sense of peace in his heart today.
“Alright.”
Before he could even process it himself, his body had already responded.
Lintis tilted her head, feeling a bit surprised that Shilo had agreed to her request so easily, but that didn’t stop her from being happy.
“Then let’s go back quickly!”
“Okay.”
One large person, one small person, and one dog walked toward the wooden house under the fading light of the sunset.
The journey wasn’t long, but it wasn’t quiet either.
Lintis excitedly told Shilo about the interesting things that had happened today. For example, she had set up a defensive barrier around the farm, taught Xiaobai basic commands like sit and shake, and successfully trained him into a qualified “warhorse.”
As for why Xiaobai’s fur color had suddenly changed, when asked why, the only response she gave was a willful answer like “he’s cuter this way.”
She had also collected many beautiful stones, leaves, and wild flowers, saying she wanted to see if there was a chance to make them into little specimens later.
The topics were numerous and disorganized—both childish and not particularly interesting. However, when Shilo saw the Lady Saintess smiling as she spoke to him, he felt that it was actually quite entertaining. The corners of his mouth couldn’t help but turn up a few degrees.
“Eek!”
Suddenly, Lintis let out a startled cry.
Because she had been focused on talking, she forgot about the existence of the porch steps. As Xiaobai climbed the stairs, she failed to maintain her grip, and her body fell backward uncontrollably.
In the state of Mirror Flower, Water Moon, her body didn’t possess much strength. She could only instinctively close her eyes and flail her arms, trying to grab onto anything to steady herself.
Suddenly, she felt a warmth in her hand, and the expected pain never arrived. Only then did she dare to slowly open her eyes.
She found that Mr. Shilo had grabbed her hand, preventing her from falling, which allowed her to breathe a sigh of relief.
“Mr. Shilo, thank… ah!”
Just as she was about to apologize, Lintis’s body was suddenly lifted into the air. Then, she fell into someone’s arms in a princess carry.
This posture immediately caused a blush to rise on her cheeks. Her eyes blinked rapidly, unable to fully grasp the situation.
“Mr… Mr. Shilo?”
There was a tiny, imperceptible tremor in her voice.
“Lady Saintess, there are a lot of steps. Is it alright if I carry you up?”
Lintis froze for a moment, realizing her reaction had been a bit excessive.
“…I see. Then I’ll leave it to you, Mr. Shilo.”
“Mhm.”
Shilo carried Lintis and slowly walked up the steps.
The culprit behind the whole ordeal tilted its dog head in confusion, unable to understand what these two humans in front of it were doing.
There weren’t many steps, and they soon reached the door. Shilo pushed it open, walked inside, and placed Lintis steadily on the sofa.
The entire process was quiet. Neither of them said a word. Only at the moment he set her down did their gazes inevitably meet, and then they both looked away simultaneously, proving their hearts weren’t nearly as calm as they seemed.
Shilo withdrew his hand and stood up straight. With a flash of white light from his hand, a box of exquisitely packaged snacks appeared.
He handed the snacks to the Lady Saintess, who had been looking over with an expectant face for a while.
“Lady Saintess, these are snacks. You can eat some for now, but don’t eat too many. We still have to eat dinner later.”
Lintis’s eyes lit up. She snatched the snack box, which was nearly as long as her arm, and hugged it tightly to her chest as if afraid someone would steal it.
This lasted for a few seconds before she suddenly realized something and began to huff at Shilo.
“Honestly, Mr. Shilo, I’m not a child. Why are you saying those things to me?”
Hearing this, Shilo, who was about to go to the kitchen, stopped and looked the Lady Saintess up and down. He said quite seriously, “Aren’t you? I think it doesn’t look like an act at all.”
Lintis puffed out her cheeks in a pout, but Shilo only gave a light chuckle and turned to leave.
The Lady Saintess was left alone on the sofa to sulk.
However, this anger came quickly and left just as fast. Lintis’s attention was immediately drawn back to the snacks in her arms. She struggled a bit to open the box, and seeing the wide variety of small biscuits inside, a crystal-clear liquid escaped the corner of her mouth.
The next second, she seemed to transform into a little pig, eating with complete abandon. Her hands and mouth were covered in biscuit crumbs, and her face was full of satisfaction.
Shilo, who was busy cooking, took a moment to glance over. He shook his head helplessly and turned back to focus on the work at hand.
About half an hour later, the sky had turned dark, and dinner was ready.
When Shilo brought the food to the table, Lintis immediately came trotting over and sat down on a chair.
She picked up her knife and fork, ready to start eating, only to find that because of her short arms, she couldn’t reach the food at all.
After several failed attempts, she got angry and simply stood on the chair, trying to climb onto the table to eat.
She thought it would definitely work this time, but her small hands holding the fork couldn’t bring the food to her mouth properly. Several times, she lost her grip and the food fell.
Watching the wasted food fall onto the table, Lintis pursed her lips sadly. Her large eyes gradually filled with tears, looking incredibly pitiful and aggrieved.
Watching this scene, Shilo felt it was a bit funny. Although the Lady Saintess was usually quite childish, this scene was simply too amusing.
After all, the usual Lady Saintess wouldn’t cry just because she couldn’t reach her food…
‘Probably?’
Shilo suddenly hesitated. He quickly shook his head to dispel the disrespectful thoughts in his mind and reached out to pick the Lady Saintess up from the table.
Meeting her confused gaze, he sat down on the chair and placed her on his lap.
“Lady Saintess, do you need me to feed you?”
Lintis sniffed, sat her bottom firmly on Shilo’s lap, and slapped the table with zero politeness to urge him on.
“Yes!”