Chapter 84

〈 Episode 84 〉The Changed Village

Squeeee!

Asha held Lucia in her arms, flying at high speed towards the Orcs’ village. Lucia, held facing Asha, tapped her mother and shouted.

“Mom, Mom! Let me down!”

“Lucy! What’s wrong!”

The howling wind made it hard to hear each other, and the mother and daughter had to shout.

“I think I can fly now!”

“Huh?”

‘Is that possible?’

Asha was dubious, but she remembered Lucia creating clothes for herself just a day after being born.

‘I can let go for a moment and catch her again!’

In fact, even if Lucia fell here without any preparation, she wouldn’t be seriously hurt, but a parent’s heart couldn’t help it. Asha prepared to let go of Lucia and warned her.

“Lucy! I’m letting go, be careful!”

“Okay! Let go, Mom!”

“One, two, three!”

As soon as Asha let go, Lucia fell rapidly. Even though she trusted her daughter, Asha’s heart sank.

“Lucy!”

At that moment, huge wings unfolded from Lucia’s back. Asha was mesmerized by the pure white wings that seemed to cover the ground.

“Wow…”

Lucia flapped her wings slightly, using the wings that had appeared on her back, then rode the air current and flew up to Asha, shouting with a bright face.

“Mom, Mom! I flew!”

Asha couldn’t help but adore Lucia, who had succeeded in an unbelievable feat as if it were natural, and was now smiling so innocently. She unconsciously clutched her chest.

‘Ugh, as expected, my daughter is bad for my heart…’

She wanted to hug Lucia right away, but it was dangerous to touch each other while flying at high speed. Looking at Lucia flying next to her, Asha realized that she had grown a bit taller.

“Lucy! Did you get taller?”

Lucia glanced at Asha and nodded.

“Yeah! My body was too small to fly easily before!”

‘Lucy is cute even when she grows up.’

Lucia, who had grown from looking about 7 years old to looking about 11 years old, had longer arms and legs, and wasn’t that much shorter than Asha.

‘Now she’ll really look like a younger sister instead of a daughter.’

Asha felt a little depressed thinking about how Lucia would be about the same height as her later on. Even if Asha and Lucia measured their heights right now, there would only be a head’s difference, unlike before. In fact, Lucia had already transformed into an adult woman and become taller than Asha several times, but she didn’t know.

‘Just 10cm, I should have added just 10cm more! Mom’s dignity… sob.’

Asha, who was briefly overwhelmed by the pain of her short height, brushed aside the regret over her irreversible choice and used Spell to boost the Wind Magic. She felt like she could fly faster now that the burden of carrying Lucia was reduced.

“Lucy! Is it okay to fly a little faster?”

“Yeah!”

Riding the swirling Wind Magic, the mother and daughter flew quickly towards the village.

Asha felt a sense of liberation as she watched the scenery rushing by. She poured out the resentment she had accumulated in the military not long ago and shouted with all her might.

“You Ground pounders! I can fly, you bastards!”

“Mom, what’s a Ground pounder?”

“Haha… words Lucy doesn’t need to know!”

‘Right words, beautiful words… even if I fill 2 years, the Air Force is better, hmm hmm…’

Asha vaguely glossed over it for Lucia, and then noticed a message floating in front of her.

[Winged Garment Usage Time 04:59]

‘Crap, time limit! I almost became dried fish because I didn’t see the message.’

She broke out in a cold sweat at the thought of almost dying absurdly. Asha had been so caught up in flying that she had forgotten the Winged Garment’s 2-hour time limit. Usually, the system only displayed unwelcome messages about pregnancy or Seedbed Constitution level ups, but Asha felt like she had received help for the first time in a while.

“Daughter! I don’t think Mom can fly anymore! Let’s go down!”

“Mom! Want to fly with me?!”

“Huh?”

Asha looked at her own buzzing wings and then at Lucia’s wings. The wings, which were at least 4 meters wide, fluttered slowly in the Wind Magic, but their speed was not at all inferior to hers.

“Should we! Lucy, can you catch me well?”

“Yeah!”

“Okay, then!”

Asha gained altitude and then released her Winged Garment. Lucia glided down and quickly caught her as she floated for a moment due to inertia and then began to fall.

“Got you!”

“Ugh, whew…”

Rope-like Tentacle strands emerged from Lucia’s skin and bound the mother and daughter’s bodies. Asha’s complexion turned uncomfortable as she felt her body bend and her head tilt for a moment, but her expression relaxed once her body was fixed.

“Lucy! Aren’t I heavy?”

Lucia shook her head at Asha’s words.

“Not at all! Mom, where should we go?”

“Over there!”

Lucia quickly flew in the direction Asha pointed, using the map function, and Asha only assisted Lucia’s flight with Wind Magic, giving her more time to look around. She was a little embarrassed to be hanging from her daughter in the air, but Asha humbly accepted her limitations.

‘Hoo, hee hee… it’s not like it’s only been a day or two, sob…’

She put aside her thoughts for a moment and realized that she would arrive at the village within a few hours if she continued like this.

“If we keep going like this, we’ll arrive at the village before sunset, right? Lucy! You remember the Village Chief, right? Shall we go to that village too?”

“Village Chief? Yeah!”

As she recalled her memories, Asha remembered how the Village Chief had doted on Lucia. Lucia seemed to brighten up at the thought of seeing the Village Chief too.

“Okay, let’s go there first!”

“Lucy! Let’s go down here!”

“Yeah!”

As they approached the village, Asha had Lucia come down nearby. The Village Chief probably wouldn’t care even if he saw Lucia’s appearance, but there was no need to show such a strange appearance to the other villagers. Lucia also knew very well what her mother was worried about each time, so she quietly landed nearby without being noticed as soon as she saw the village.

Lucia flapped her wings once while holding Asha, and then made the wings disappear as she landed on the ground.

“Oof, ugh, dizzy…”

Asha stepped onto the ground and tried to regain her balance. She staggered for a moment, but soon started walking properly. Lucia, who had been watching her worriedly from the side, ran up to Asha and took her hand.

“Mom, are you okay?”

“I got a little dizzy from flying while hanging… I’m okay now. Let’s go, Lucy.”

“Yeah!”

‘I saw the village had changed a bit earlier… Eh, how long has it been?’

Asha scratched her head and headed to the village with Lucia.

‘Is this the right place?’

Asha was bewildered when she saw the village. The village in Asha’s memory was the typical rural village she had first seen, and the village that was in a mess with parts destroyed due to the Tentacle attack and evacuation she had seen last. But the previous appearance of the village was nowhere to be found, and large brick houses that could be seen in the city were lined up in a row. The clumsy wooden fence was also piled high with heavy stones, making it look too sturdy to be called a rural village.

‘A fortress, or what? Is this really the village I know?’

Asha was flustered when she saw what looked like a decent pension village tightly surrounded by Stone Walls in front of her.

“I, is this the right place?”

She checked the map again, but this was the only village near the Orcs’ village.

“Mom, what’s wrong?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. Let’s go in for now.”

Asha hesitantly approached the Stone Wall and brightened up when she saw a familiar face. The face of Asha was unforgettable to a man who was watching the mother and daughter approaching the village from the watchtower.

“Asha! Have you come back?”

“What’s going on? Is this the village I used to live in?”

He gave a bitter smile at Asha’s question.

“It won’t end today if I explain it. Let’s go together for now.”

“Yes. Lucy, let’s go see the Village Chief!”

“Yeah!”

Asha was busy looking around the village as she walked inside, which had almost completely lost its former appearance. Freddy asked Lucia, who was trotting along, how she was doing.

“Lucia, how have you been? You’ve already grown, huh? No, Lucia! Have you grown this much?”

‘Ugh, I should have told Lucia to stay small!’

Asha had been with her daughter, who changed her body here and there every time, without thinking anything of it, but she realized it when she came in front of others. Freddy was confused because she had grown so much in less than half a year. She had grown at least a hand span, so anyone who had even a little acquaintance with her would not be able to miss the difference.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

‘Scary, my daughter…’

Asha clicked her tongue as she watched Lucia, who was innocently replying as if she didn’t know anything. Freddy scratched his head and just moved on.

“I must have been mistaken… Maybe she’s growing fast because she’s young. Anyway, Asha, welcome back. The Village Chief will be happy too.”

“How has the Village Chief been?”

“You can tell just by looking at the village, but a lot has changed. The Village Chief has done a lot of work. It would be better to ask him for details.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Asha nodded and entered the Village Chief’s house, which had become a three-story mansion, unlike the small house it used to be.