Shay's Reward

Aina and Xia Yi were very close.

Although compared to the bond between an ordinary mother and son, there was certainly something different about their relationship… But that was only natural. Given Aina’s nature and personality, it would be difficult to expect her to behave like an ordinary human mother.

It was Xia Lun’s existence that had brought Aina and Xia Yi together.

Aina liked Xia Yi very much.

Xia Yi was only five years old. She had known the little fellow for merely five years—a truly insignificant span of time compared to Aina’s long life.

When Aina had given birth to Xia Yi, she had not suffered the pain that mortal mothers endured, nor had she needed to put in much effort. The delivery had gone remarkably smoothly. With Aina’s strength, she had completed the birth under Xia Lun’s sole supervision. The arrival of the new life had been as calm as a deep breath. There had been no screams of agony—only a soft whimper, after which the little one had fallen into the soft arms his father had prepared long in advance.

So, if one were to say that they loved each other deeply… perhaps they had not reached that point yet. But without a doubt, they did regard one another as very important people in their lives.

For Aina, it was because of Xia Lun that she had learned how to bring another person into her life… Loving someone was not a simple matter, and Aina still needed time before she could truly accomplish it.

At the very least, Xia Yi was incomparably luckier than Aise had once been—and Aina herself had already made considerable progress.

The tenderness of motherhood manifested in Aina in a distinctly unusual way, but that only made it all the more precious.

Xia Yi sat on Aina’s lap. Aina lowered her head slightly, a few strands of her silver-white hair cascading down like a waterfall. A faint yet genuine smile rested on her lips as she listened to the child’s innocent chatter.

Watching this scene, Xia Lun could not help but smile.

This, it seemed, was everything he had ever hoped for…

“What is it? Xia Lun, why are you staring at my face and grinning like an idiot?” Aina noticed his gaze at once. She raised her eyes and asked with a soft laugh. A hint of mischief flashed through her crimson eyes. “Did you think of something pleasant? Or were you so captivated by my beauty that you lost yourself?”

“You noticed even that?” Xia Lun admitted without hesitation. His gaze was frank and filled with affection. “You’re simply too beautiful, Aina.”

“Mother really is beautiful… I’ve never seen anyone prettier than Mother.” Xia Yi sighed sincerely as well, nodding his little head emphatically.

There was not the slightest exaggeration in his words.

With Aina’s beauty, she generally had to use magic to lower her presence whenever she entered a city, lest she attract unnecessary trouble. Even after becoming a wife and mother, Aina’s natural air and charm had not diminished in the slightest. Instead, Xia Lun’s love and affection had made her even more alluring and radiant.

Furthermore, Xia Yi had always traveled with Xia Lun and the others on their adventures. He rarely had the chance to visit large cities, and at his age, he truly had not seen many people.

Even so, Aina was quite pleased by the father and son’s compliments.

Loving beauty was simply human nature, and even Aina was no exception.

Without that beauty, she probably would not have been able to enchant Xia Lun so completely.

She knew that when she had first met Xia Lun, it had been her appearance that had drawn his attention… Otherwise, she would have been nothing more than an ill-tempered, arrogant mage.

Aina did not think there was anything wrong with that. Charm was also a part of her power, and as the Demon King, she naturally made good use of every source of strength at her disposal.

Though this particular power known as “charm” had only ever been deliberately used on Xia Lun. As for all the other countless beings of the world, she was stingy even with a single glance.

“Hah-ka~” Aina let out a delighted little laugh in her uniquely tsundere-like tone. “Then I’ll accept your compliments… Now, Xia Yi, tell Mother—what kind of toy would you like? As long as you ask, Mother can get you anything you want…”

Her fingers gently combed through Xia Yi’s soft hair, but her gaze turned meaningfully toward Xia Lun. The corners of her lips curled into an ambiguous smile.

“As for you, Xia Lun… I know what you want. You can make your request tonight.”

“A toy?” Xia Yi tilted his head. Unlike ordinary children, he did not seem particularly interested in ordinary toys.

“For example… a teddy bear?” Aina’s understanding of the preferences of ordinary children was admittedly rather limited.

“That’s something little girls play with. I’m a man, so I can’t play with that.” Xia Yi gave a small snort, wrinkling his nose disdainfully. “Besides, it isn’t fun. It’s childish.”

If Niya ever heard her son say something like that, she might be quite hurt, Aina thought silently.

“Then how about having your father carve you a little wooden sword?” Aina suggested again. She had already decided to reward Xia Yi properly, so naturally she was not going to give up so easily. “I can inscribe it with a magical circuit.”

Inscribing a magical circuit onto a wooden sword… It was probably the most extravagant toy imaginable, and one no one else would ever think of making.

“But I already have a little wooden sword, Mother.” Xia Yi shook his head. “It suits me quite well.”

Aina thought for a moment. “Then you can ask your father to teach you dual-wielding.”

“Aina…”

The moment the conversation touched upon Xia Lun’s area of expertise, he immediately interrupted.

“For Xia Yi at his current age, the most important thing is to master the single-handed sword first. Learning how to use several different weapons is not necessarily a good thing. On the contrary, it may distract him. If he can master one weapon thoroughly, he’ll be able to draw connections and apply that knowledge to other weapons as well. So at the very least, he should become proficient in the fundamentals of single-handed swordsmanship before he begins learning other weapons…”

Aina was ultimately a mage who focused on mana and the elements, and she knew little about the methods warriors used to build a solid foundation step by step. Xia Lun secretly felt a small sense of professional superiority as he spoke, his expression animated and his explanation growing increasingly long-winded.

But Aina simply ignored her husband, who was rambling on with great enthusiasm.

She looked at Xia Yi. After a moment’s thought, a faint glimmer flashed through her eyes. She gently raised a hand, and a thread of dark-red blood mixed with magic flowed from her fingertip. It twisted and gathered like a living strand of silk.

“Coo-coo?”

A tiny blood bat appeared on Xia Yi’s shoulder. It tilted its head and looked at its new master.

“Mother, it’s so cute!” Xia Yi’s attention was instantly captured. He cried out in delight and eagerly reached out with both hands, cradling the docile blood bat against his chest as he felt its gentle trembling. “And it smells like Mother!”

“Does it? I’m glad you like it.”

The blood bat was only about the size of two fingers, even smaller than the one she had given Luo Lun back then… But it would be able to grow alongside Xia Yi and keep him company.

“But why does its cry sound so strange?” Xia Yi asked, puzzled.

“Don’t worry about such a trivial matter.” Aina smiled and gently stroked Xia Yi’s head.

She had no idea what an actual bat was supposed to sound like.