The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 296: Sometimes, you just forget; it happens...right?

Chapter 296: Sometimes, you just forget; it happens...right?

[Master!]

"Oh, you’re awake," I welcomed the little bird into my arms, who as usual headbutted me as a greeting. Whether in a bird form or a boy form, Jade was still Jade. "How are you feeling?"

[Little tired!]

"Slightly tired?"

[Yes!] The green head bobbed up and down. [Human form is tiring! But fun!]

"Oh? What’s fun about it?" I asked while bringing Jade and Ignis to the balcony, enjoying our afternoon tea with a taste of winter’s sunlight.

[Jade get to talk with everyone!] the little bird replied enthusiastically, flapping its wings until a small gust appeared. [Jade can only talk with Master and Ignis and Vrida in this form!]

"Ah, that’s right," I nodded in approval. "It’s indeed nice being able to talk with a lot of people."

As long as it was done in a controlled environment, at least for me. Once I was thrown into a crowd, suddenly I wouldn’t like to talk anymore.

[Yes, Jade like talking with Master’s friends! Jade can talk to Succubus and Elf too! And Darky!]

"Can you turn anytime you like, Jade?" Ignis asked while sunbathing on the railing.

[If Jade have energy!] The little bird nodded, before pecking into the jellies as if they were a source of energy. [If Master give Jade yummy ball, Jade can turn again!]

"What if I don’t give you the energy ball?"

[Mm...Jade not sure] the little bird contemplated while eating more jelly. After devouring a whole piece, it gave me a speculation. [Jade think Jade can do it after five days!]

I see...so the transformation skill had a natural cooldown time of five days. Seemed like it truly took Jade a lot of energy to maintain a human form. Perhaps the biggest factor was to make sure the child form could speak--even though the child did not have organs. Just like the little bird’s form, Jade’s whole body was made of a magic energy cluster. The only ’organ’ the elemental bird had was the core and the magic circuit attached to that core.

That was good enough, considering Jade was still as much of a child as before. I asked Jade to turn into the elemental bird form, and nothing changed from before--which meant Jade was still in the adolescence stage. I wondered if Jade would be able to turn anytime once it reached the mature stage.

Well, it didn’t matter if Jade couldn’t. Jade was adorable enough as a little bird.

But I recalled my conversation with Natha about what our child would look like, and it made me think it would be good if Jade could converse with Shwa easily in the future. In the child form, Jade would be able to become Shwa’s playmate too.

That simple imagination put a smile on my lips, but I also got embarrassed to think too far into the future when we didn’t even know how to conceive the child yet.

[Master red!]

I was too busy thinking that I didn’t realize Jade already jumped on my shoulder and patted my cheek. I squeezed the little bird’s cheek and remembered the planned visit to the realm of nature.

"Ignis, we will go to the realm of nature next week, are you coming?" I looked at the Salamander, who opted to stay off when we went to Gluttony last time.

"I will," the Salamander replied briefly. But after a few seconds, it added. "I didn’t go last time because your friend need a bodyguard."

Pfft--I already knew that, but it was cute seeing Ignis feel the need to explain itself so I wouldn’t misunderstand. It wasn’t a big deal; after all, Ignis did it to keep Zia safe.

Talking about Zia, the Succubus came together with the warm cakes the cook made for our afternoon snack. "Jade, you’re awake!" Zia exclaimed, and Jade jumped to greet her. "How sly--you woke up right on time to eat jellies, didn’t you?"

Jade giggled without refuting that, since the little bird’s internal clock did seem to work around snacking times. Having someone new joining the table seemed to reignite the little bird’s appetite, and another plate of jellies was served. Zia laughed at the little bird and started to eat enthusiastically too.

Watching Jade and Zia stuff themselves made it feel like the group was finally here. I remembered what we talked about in front of Vrida two weeks ago and clapped.

"Alright, should we go with Vrida to the Lair tomorrow?"

* * *

[Vrida!]

Jade chirped loudly and flew straight to the wyvern’s head, jumping over her snout and laughing when Vrida purred delightedly. The wyvern had been down when Jade stopped visiting her, and every time I came, she would ask me about Jade.

Heh--it was almost like Jade was the owner instead of me.

"Hey...this is safe, right?" Izzi looked at Vrida hesitatingly.

"Of course, Vrida is a smart girl," I answered proudly, and the keeper gave me a thumbs-up. She dragged a new saddle that could accommodate three people and fitted it to Vrida.

"What are you afraid of? You’re the one who wants a mount," Zia teased the elf, covering her mouth mockingly.

"I was never asked for a dragon--you were."

"This is a wyvern."

"I know!"

"New adventure, Izzi," I patted the elf. "Just treat it like riding a motorcycle in the sky."

"Hey, that’s not reassuring."

"Fine; just imagine riding a roller coaster,"

"That’s even more scary!"

"Eh, what? What is that? Tell me!" Zia chimed in excitedly, and I told her quietly about the concept of a motorcycle and rollercoaster while we waited for the saddle to finish getting installed.

Once I finished explaining those two simply, Zia’s eyes filled with sparkles. "A park filled with devices for games? A public place just for people to have fun?" she cupped her cheeks, gasping. "It sounds like a festival! Tell me more about it!"

I looked at Izzi--who had an arched brow at Zia’s response--and told him to tell her about it. After all, I had only seen amusement parks on television and the internet. Izzi, while living in an older timeline, had a direct experience of visiting one, so I left the explanation to him, while adding from the side.

Needless to say, Zia hounded the elf with more and more questions, even after we were up in the sky, flying sixty kilometers per hour. I told Vrida to fly slower for Izzi’s sanity, and while Jade was disappointed with the lack of speed, the little bird still had some fun since it had been so long.

Letting Zia and Izzi debate which amusement park’s ride was better, I tried to do something I had never tried before; purifying mana while moving. It was a form of training for me, and also my way to give Jade its yummy energy ball.

After all, Jade wanted to show the other elemental birds, as well as Angwi, how awesome it was.

And I had to say; it wasn’t as easy as I thought. The mana in the air, unlike the one in the ground, was very dynamic; constantly moving at a fast pace, riding the wind. To ’catch’ the mana, I had to absorb them fast enough before they could get away, especially because I was also moving at a relatively fast pace.

So I told myself to try and absorb little by little, a small section at a time rather than continuously absorbing the mana endlessly and having them scattered before I managed to put them inside my system.

Halfway through the process, I felt Zia’s hands circling on my midriff, and Izzi’s hands on my shoulder. Jade turned into the true elemental bird form and created a half-sphere barrier on top of me. It wasn’t until my ass touched the wyvern back again that I realized I was almost floated away.

I blinked and stopped absorbing the mana. Immediately, I felt heavier and almost fell back--no, not heavier, I just went back to my original weight. Fortunately, I had two lines of defense behind me, holding me tight. I gasped and leaned forward, holding the shock Vrida. Jade dispersed the barrier on top of us and turned into a little bird again, before headbutting me hard on the forehead.

[Master bad!]

Two short words full of dread and accusation. The little bird continued to hug my neck while chirping out scolding. While my forehead still throbbing, my upper body was shaken from the back.

"What are you doing?!" two different, yet unified voices yelled at me.

Awkwardly, I scratched my neck in guilt and embarrassment. "Uhh...sorry," I muttered. "I didn’t know that would happen."

I mean...I was just experimenting. I certainly had no idea my body would get weightless and defy gravity. I didn’t even realize I was floating while it was happening.

"Val, didn’t Lord Uncle tell you not to purify elemental mana in the air?" Zia scolded, hitting me on the shoulder. "Didn’t he warn you that it’s dangerous?!"

Oh...!

"I...forgot," I bit my lips, dread caressing my nape as the image of a furious Natha came to mind. Oh, no! "D-don’t tell him, please?"

"What do you mean ’don’t’? I can keep whatever secret you want, Val, but not when you’re doing something that harms yourself!"

Looking at the angry, fiery purple eyes, I knew Zia was serious about it. So I immediately added with a sigh.

"No; I mean...I have to tell him myself," I said. "Otherwise, he’ll get angrier."

[Hmph! Jade also angry!]

Zia looked at me keenly, even holding my jaw so I wouldn’t turn myself to the front again. After scrutinizing my eyes, she finally relented. "Fine. But if you’re not telling him soon, I will, okay?"

"Alright," I nodded, and Zia let my face go, although her other hand was still on my waist.

Behind, Izzi let out a soft muttering. "Well, good luck with that."

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