He gave Lydilia a quick rundown of what to watch out for. “It’s a homunculus, but it also grows like a human child—you can also get sick or hurt. And keep in mind that your magic power is roughly one tenth of what it used to be. Depending on how you train, your magic could grow stronger, but until you get used to it, be aware of that.”
“That sounds doable.” Lydilia nodded confidently. But she looked down at her feet and fiddled with her fingers. “More importantly, though... Let me ask again. Are you really sure you—”
A quiet knock on the door interrupted Lydilia.
“Are you finished, Allen?” Charlotte asked from the other side.
“Yes. Come in,” Allen called out.
The door opened slowly, and Charlotte peered into the room. At first her brows were furrowed anxiously, but her face brightened up as soon as she saw Lydilia. “Ooh, how adorable!”
“Eep!” Startled by everyone suddenly piling into the room and crowding her, Lydilia hid behind Allen.
“Pretty impressive, bro,” Eluka commented. “Whipping up a homunculus this quickly? Way to go.”
“Hm, I like the fact that she’s a little shorter than me. There there, good girl,” Natalia said, petting Lydilia’s head along with Eluka.
“H-Hey! Don’t do that! Who do you think I am—ack?!” Lydilia screeched and tried to get away, but she backed into Roo and Gosetsu. She was completely surrounded.
“Aww, she’s so tinyyy! She might be small enough for me to swallow her whole!” Roo piped up.
Gosetsu chuckled. “You ought to keep yourself in check, Young Roo. If you’re going to eat her, it’s much more prudent to wait until she’s bigger.”
“Eek?! H-Help me, Allen!” Lydilia shrank back from the beasts and clung to Allen’s legs.
Allen raised an eyebrow dubiously. “You weren’t scared of them before. What happened?”
“They look a lot bigger now! It’s scary! Besides, that Infernal Capybara definitely doesn’t like me...!”
“Well, it’s true that you stirred up trouble for Lady Charlotte, but I also appreciate that you saved her from her imprisonment. Remember, be a good girl—if you don’t behave, I shall gobble you up,” Gosetsu threatened her with eyes wide as saucers.
“Ack...I can’t take her death stare!” The body seemed to shape the spirit, as they say, and Lydilia seemed to have grown younger to match her new vessel. She acted like a ten-year-old should.
“It’s much more natural and wholesome for you to act like this than pretend to be a grown-up,” Allen remarked, gazing down at Lydilia and thoughtfully stroking his chin. “Looks like I did make the right judgment.”
“Enough rambling, hurry up and help me!” Lydilia cried. “I just got this body, but my life’s already in danger!!!”
The two beasts were edging closer to Lydilia, but Charlotte patted their heads with a troubled smile. “Oh, you two...be nice to Lydilia. Starting today, you’re family, so I hope you’ll get along.”
“I know. I’ll take good care of her!” Roo barked.
“Your wish is my command, Lady Charlotte,” Gosetsu replied cheerfully.
“Family, huh...” Lydilia’s expression grew somber again. She tilted her head a little and meekly glanced up at Allen. “Um, is it really okay...?” she asked anxiously. “Doesn’t it go against the laws of nature for someone like me—who died centuries ago—to get another chance like this?”
Allen cocked his head. “What do you mean? There’s plenty of precedent for cases like this.” It wasn’t uncommon for someone to have all the memories from their past life. There were tales of wizards and witches who kept creating new bodies for themselves to live a thousand years. On the magical beast side, there was also the phoenix, which rose anew as a fledgling bird from its own ashes. Death didn’t always signify the end in this world. “Your life is yours, and yours alone. Do with it as you like.”
“I’m not so sure that’s how it works...”
“Besides, see this?” Allen showed her a piece of paper. “I’ve already registered you as a resident of the city. You can’t back out now.”
“Wh-When did you—?!” Lydilia stared at the document with wide-open eyes. It was a proof of her identity issued by the local government. With a simple background check, anyone could register as a resident, regardless of their nationality or species.
“So you see, you have to accept your fate. Do whatever you want to do.”
“Whatever I want...?” Lydilia’s gaze wandered around the room, then she sucked in a breath. She stared hard at the piece of paper that Allen held out. “It was always my dream to learn how to read... I didn’t even know how to write my own name in my past life.”
“That’s a good goal. I’m sure you’ll be able to read documents like these in no time.”
“H-Hm. Is that my name there?” She pointed at a line.
“Yes,” he replied.
Natalia peered in from the side and asked, surprised, “Oh, she’s not registered as Lydilia?” The name on the document was Lydie Crawford.
“I changed it just to be safe. If she has the same name as the saint, there might be some problems down the line.” If Lydilia grew up to be a full-fledged witch, her name might lead to comparisons to the saint of legends. People might even try to pry into her connection to the Evans clan, which would be troublesome. “If you don’t like ‘Lydie,’ you can pick another name. Feel free to go back to your old one too, if that’s what you want.”
“No...I’ll keep it. I like Lydie.” Lydilia—now Lydie—nodded slowly. Holding up her index finger, she chanted a spell. A small flame kindled. Though there was no hint of the overpowering magic that she’d used to attack Natalia, her face brightened up. She stared straight up at Allen and gulped. “The saint is dead. The one who’s here now...is an ordinary child who can do a bit of magic. That’s the way it is—right?”
“Exactly.” Allen smirked. He pulled out a book from his breast pocket and handed it to her. “Here, the tried-and-true way to learn how to read is to look at a simple picture book. You can use this one to study.”
Lydie opened the book, and her eyes sparkled in excitement. “Ooh...it’s packed with letters...!”
Allen pointed over his shoulder and said, “That’s one of the books Natalia got to read aloud for you. You can thank her if you like it.”
“N-Natalia...” Lydie knitted her brows, looking abashed. She hid her face behind the picture book, glanced at Natalia, and hesitated for a little while...but she eventually bit her lip as if to brace herself and gave a bow. “Um, I’m sorry for what I did back there... I didn’t mean to hurt you... Will you forgive me?”
“N-Never mind about that. I mean, I could’ve blocked a blow like that even if the Dark Overlord hadn’t stepped in.” Natalia humphed proudly. She eyed the book in Lydie’s hands and said brusquely, “By the way...if you want to learn how to read, I wouldn’t mind teaching you. I often help my followers with their schoolwork, so I’m used to it.”
“I’m supposed to be ten, though... I’m not sure I would be comfortable with asking someone younger than me to teach me...”
“Forget about little details. Age has nothing to do with learning,” Natalia said.
“M-Mrr... Is that so? Well then, could you teach me?”
Natalia swaggered, smiling from ear to ear. “I suppose I have no choice. It’s getting late today for a full lesson, but I’ll read to you later.” Apparently, she was pleased to have someone to look after like a little sister—she wasn’t the smallest one anymore.
“Good for you, bro. It all turned out well in the end,” Eluka said, patting Allen’s shoulder. “Papa’s gonna be so surprised when he finds out.”
“Right, there’s no way around it, is there? I can already imagine all the jabbering I’m going to get from him,” Allen said, rolling his eyes.
“Yeah, you gotta let him know.” Eluka tried to hide her smirk from him, but she was clearly amused to no end. “Who would’ve thought you’d turn into a dad? You of all people, bro.”
Lydie froze at the words. “What...?” She awkwardly turned to Allen with wide eyes, completely baffled. “‘Dad’...? Who do you mean...?”
“Me, of course,” Allen replied with a shrug. “You needed a guarantor to be registered. The paperwork is simpler if I’m officially your father.” He could have made her Harvey’s adopted child, but then they would have had to go all the way to the Athena School of Magic every time they needed his signature for some administrative procedure. So, Allen thought he might as well become her guardian both on paper and in reality, and casually signed the papers, making him her father.
Even after this brief summary, Lydie was still gaping in shock.
Allen’s brows furrowed. “What’s so surprising about it? I told you we’ll be family.”
“Uh, you know, you’re just...quite a far cry from the ‘fatherly’ type...”
“Well, I can’t deny that.” Allen nodded deeply. Not even a year ago, he would never have even thought about becoming a parent. Crouching down, he peered into Lydie’s face and ruffled the top of her head. “That means you and I are both beginners: a new dad and a new child. Why don’t we take it slow and grow together?”
“Mrr...” Lydie pursed her lips and stared at Allen. “Are you...” she finally squeezed out in a hoarse whisper, “Are you...going to be my father forever?”
“Of course. I have the curse on me, so I won’t let you get away no matter what.” Allen grinned roguishly.
This whole affair had gone in a totally different direction from what he had expected, but these days, everything in his life was like that. Still, he tackled it all with everything he had, and somehow managed to stay afloat. He’d approach fatherhood the same way; he would just give his all to fulfill his new role.
Besides, he wouldn’t be doing it alone. Allen glanced at Charlotte beside him. “What do you say, Charlotte?”
“Y-Yes. I’ll do my best.” Charlotte nodded with a serious expression.
“Huh?” Lydie’s eyes went round again, as if to ask what they were talking about.
“U-Um, there might be lots of things I don’t know how to do...” Charlotte clenched her fists in firm resolve. “But I’ll do everything I can to be a good mother!”
“Mother...? You, Charlotte...?”
“Yes.” Charlotte nodded. She pressed a hand to her chest and said with a shy smile, “Allen gave me a family. So this time...I’d love to be your family, Lydie.”
Lydie was speechless.
“W-Well, at first I thought I might be your big sister, but if Allen’s becoming your father, that makes me—oh, um, Lydie?” Noticing Lydie’s silence, Charlotte looked down sadly. “I-I guess you’d rather have a more dependable mother, wouldn’t you...?”
“Of course not!” Lydie flung herself onto Charlotte and hugged her tight around her waist. The smile on her face was shining more brightly than ever before.