The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 108: Your child tends to expose you more after they grow up

Chapter 108: Your child tends to expose you more after they grow up

When I said we would need twelve days before, it was because I had planned to only feed Jade the purified mana from the river.

I did not account for the bird to be naughty and took every piece of purified mana I produce for training for the past few days. While I was busy being frustrated and focused on the guns, I forgot to calculate how much energy this little bird had ingested.

And so it actually made sense that Jade was ready to evolve now. It had been overeating for the past few days, after all.

But I also had a feeling that it wasn’t just because of the mana consumption. The bird had different condition and reaction now compared to the first time. I remembered seeing Jade rolling around inside the ball of energy cheerfully inside the clearing during the first time.

But now, the bird curled up as if it was hibernating, and after I put it inside the light blue sphere, Jade’s mind had been blocked, as if the bird was in the state of deep concentration.

It got me thinking that playing with the water creature I made before triggered an ephihany--an enlightenment, if you would. Coupled with the mana it consumed all over the week as a fuel, no wonder an evolution was being triggered.

This time, I had no heart to left Jade here all alone. Fortunatelly, it was possible to take the sphere back to the tower, and I managed to ask the trees to tell me the way back. They moved their branches and leaves and ferns to create a path toward the Lair.

For safety, I put the blue sphere over a filled bathtub, and spent the night watching the bird digesting the mana from within before going to bed.

* * *

*chirp!chirp!*

I woke up with a cheery chirping sound filling the suite. But when I opened my eyes and looked around, I couldn’t see Jade anywhere in the bedroom.

When I checked on the source of the chirping sounds, I found Jade in the tub, playing with the water in the shape of little forest animal.

"What, are you copying me?"

The little bird tuned its head at my voice, and flew to me cheerfully. The water shapes burst and splashed around the large tub and tiles, and my nightshirt got a bit drenched from the wet bird.

"So it’s seemed you’re not just capable of throwing waterball at others now, huh?" I laughed as Jade climbed over my chest to perch on my shoulder. "But did you really evolved? You still sma--oh..."

Before the word ’small’ could escape my lips, Jade chirped loudly and flew away while twirling in the air, sending water droplets into my face. It basically a local rain over my head, and I had to close my eyes because of it. When I opened them, however, I was greeted by a bigger size bird.

Spreading its turquoise wings wide, the span reached nearly two meters, and I instinctively reached out my arm to let its white claw land softly there. The green eyes that stared at me contained a slight bit of maturity, although the tilting forest-green head looked adorable still. I could see more beautiful patterns spreading out from the head to the belly, but the most enchanting part was the colorful tail that was almost twice as long as its height, swinging in the air elegantly.

Jade was the size of an eagle now, although its appearance was more refined and beautiful than menacing. Its still half the size of adult elemental birds, but then, this juvenile stage was like the half point into adulthood, so it was very fitting.

"Oh, look at you, growing up so prettily," I rubbed the bird--which I couldn’t call little now--on its head. Jade cooed happily and nuzzled against my palm. That part didn’t seem to go away at least, which strangely put my mind to ease.

[Master!]

"What?" my caressing hand flinched in surprise. "We can talk without me needing to transmorph now?"

[Yes! Jade grow! Not a baby! Not a child!]

"Oh! Such a smart bird you are!" I exclaimed in surprise. This was unexpected. I didn’t know I’d be able to communicate in common tongue with Jade. But probably because it wasn’t an elemental bird’s native tongue, Jade’s vocabulary was still that of a child--its voice too, by the way. Not to mention I had been going back and forth talking in demonese too, as practice. But it was enough to communicate more smoothly now, more precise.

"Can you still do that thing where you send me your thoughts through images?" I asked curiously, and Jade answered by sending me flowers and rainbows and animal-shaped waters.

It was quite weird having a big and heavy bird perching on my arm that sent me flowers and rainbows while talking in a child’s voice, so I asked Jade to turn back into its cute, round little size for now.

"You’re heavy now, so I can’t take you around on my shoulder anymore if you’re in your true form," I told Jade as I refilled the tub with warm water--might as well take a bath since I got drenched. "But you can show off however you like later."

Jade tilted its head to muse my words, before nodding and jumping into the tub with me, floating like a white ball. [Master, I can go out now!]

Was it because it used to chirp in a high tone? Every sentence seemed to end up in exclamation. "Hmm, let me see," I playfully gripped the bird’s plump body in a tight hold, and crisped giggling sound filled my mind as I examined Jade’s astral body.

"Mm, yes, you have solid mana core now, and the basic fourteen gates had been established too," I nodded and let the bird go. Before, Jade’s mana was only swirling inside its mana core. But now, it was properly flowing through the circuits and making rounds, just like blood vessels. With this, the bird no longer needed to be supported by the elemental mana in the air. And since it was no longer just a clump of mana, Jade should be able to safely cross the portal now.

Later on, with its growth, more mana gates would be formed, especially around its wings, and Jade would be able to perform even more magic, as well as produce elemental mana on its own, just like the adult elemental birds.

[Can we go out?] Jade asked while swimming around with the little ducks I made atop the water’s surface.

"Do you want to go out?"

[Out! Show Nightmare Jade is no child!]

I burst out laughing at that. Oh my God--this little guy. "Why do you call him like that? He’s the Master of this place, you know."

[But Jade belongs to Master, not Nightmare!]

"But I belong to him, you know," I replied with a laugh, and Jade chirped loudly in protest. It was a jest, but technically, he did kidnap me, and by the contract of the brand, I was made his bride.

[Wrong!] Jade turned and flapped the short wings frantically, splashing water all around and destroying two ducks in the process. [Nightmare belongs to Master!]

"...that’s an interesting take," I chuckled and leaned back. It was funny, but also a little embarrassing. "Still, if you think that, then shouldn’t you act more cordial?" I scooped the bird up and squeezed its cheek. "Since both of you belong to me."

Jade was quiet then, and I could see the green eyes and turquoise wings drop in response. [But Master...like Nightmare more. Master thinks about Nightmare more...]

"Uhh, well..."

What should I do if you exposed me like that?!

How was it possible that a bird could make me feel this much embarrassment? "Ngh--forget about it," I shook my head to escape the fact that my familiar found out how often I was thinking about Natha. "So, you were saying you want to go to the Castle to show him that you’ve grown, right?"

[Yes!]

"Hmm..." I leaned back against the tub and stared at the bathroom’s ceiling in ponder. Suddenly, a thought came to my mind. A mischievous one. "Then...should we make a surprise visit while at it?"

[Surprise?]

"Uh-huh. We won’t tell Natha that we come so that he will be shocked when he finds out,"

[Nighmare shock! Yes!]

We giggled at the thought and played more with the water, making bubbles where Jade could enter and roll around inside. I spent a while choosing the outfit I’d wear today while sipping on my morning herbal drink, and told Angwi I would use the portal today. She raised her brow in surprise, but nodded at the grin plastered on my face.

As I activated the portal, I wondered how Natha would react. He was actually supposed to come here this evening, but I thought it would be nice to beat him to it this time. I would need to walk through the long halls to reach the Lord’s private quarters, and even longer if I wanted to go to Natha’s office. But I feel like seeing those silver eyes widen and stunned was worth the hassle.

Or I could also just stay in the greenhouse. I believed one of the servants or the gardeners would see me and informed Natha about it. It might be nice letting Jade transform back to its original form and fly around the lake and the garden. The scenery would be different from the Lair.

"Do you want to use your real form now?" I asked the bird before we crossed over, and Jade excitedly twirled in the air again. I let the no-longer-little bird perch in my stretched arm before walking through the swirling gate.

And then, it was dark.