บท 25: A Touching Conversation

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"Oh my, Blake?"

After lunch, I began to massage my grandmother's shoulders while she was resting on the couch inside the living room.

"Grandmother, how have you been feeling lately?" I asked.

"Oh, I am fine, dear. You don't have to worry about this old woman." She said with a gentle smile.

"I see. How are you feeling though? Is your body feeling more tired lately?" I asked.

"W-Well… for years now. It just comes with growing old." She said.

"Don't push yourself too hard. My mother and my father can do things just well, you don't really need to work in the fields." I said.

"But if I don't work hard, how can I repay them for what they have done for me? I can't just be dead weight." She said while shaking her head. She was a stubborn woman.

"Your spirit can provide milk for us to drink and sell, that's more than enough." I said.

"Yeah, but I don't feel right making my little goat do all the work herself." She said.

"Sigh…"

I cannot really convince her.

At the very least, I will do the same as with Erika's father, and extend her lifespan a little bit with this method. As I massaged her shoulders gently, I slowly poured Qi into her body, so masterfully and slowly that she couldn't really notice.

As the flow of Qi encompassed her body, I stimulated every single pressure point, and then, her core. In an instant, a flow of Qi began to gather inside of her chest, and then slowly distributed itself across her body.

She was feeling rather sleepy, so she didn't realized it too much and ended falling asleep due to how relaxed it caused her to feel.

"Zzzz…"

I covered her with a mantle and left her there. Hopefully she can rest well for now, she had been pushing herself too much for her age. It is already rare for a person to live this long in a world as unforgiving as this one… We must treasure every day we still have her with us.

Grandmother…

I glanced at her for a bit more as Eleanora, who had gone back to my Spirit Orb, seemed to notice this attachment.

"My lord, you've grown so attached to these humans…" she sighed.

"I have… I would have never thought that an old and cunning fox such as myself would grow attached to the fleeting lives of humans as much as I have… Perhaps after losing everything, I began to realize that I must appreciate what I have better… I am sorry for never having given you or my friends such appreciation." I sighed.

"M-My lord…" she sighed.

"Eleanora, now that I have you with me once more, I will treasure every day with you as well… I promise to make up for all the time lost, and for all the mistakes I committed." I said.

"Y-You don't have to…! I am already honored to be back with you…" she said.

"No, if I don't do this, I don't think I can call myself a man anymore." I answered.

"…"

Eleanora fell silent. A Spirit and its master can share their emotions a little bit, and I could clearly feel her bubbling emotions of happiness inside of her heart, but she also seemed to feel embarrassed.

I went back to my room, Erika had already gone back home to bring her father meatloaf, so I rested on bed and decided to nap until dinner. As a child, the stamina I have is very limited, sleeping frequently is necessary. If my body lacks stamina, I might even lose maximum Qi capacity and deteriorate my Physique Cultivation, so I cannot really skip this.

…

While sleeping, I found myself within a strange place. It was like a completely red place, the dirt was red, the sky was crimson, and there were three moons atop the sky, all three of them were a shade of red.

"Where am I?" I wondered.

"My lord? You're here!"

Eleanora greeted me, as she hugged me from behind.

"Eleanora? This place… is this the interior of my Spirit Orb?" I asked.

"Yes! This is the place I stay when I enter your Spirit Orb… It is very peaceful." She said.

"I can tell, perpetual silence and not a single life in here… It is like a desert." I said.

"Yes… I don't know how it works but maybe every person could have such a place inside their spirit orbs…" said Eleanora.

"I see. It is something I should investigate further… For now, this seems like a good place to actually train while sleeping, this way I won't lose time even while my body and mind rests." I said with a smile.

This place had a lot of potential uses. I could practice fighting techniques, and even magic, perhaps. Although I have yet to investigate the limits of this internal space.

"Ohh! That is indeed a wonderful idea, my lord!" said Eleanora.

"You're calling me "my lord" once more, Eleanora. I've told you to call me casually with my name." I said.

"I-I apologize! My lord- I mean, Blake!" she said.

"I know it's hard, and that you're doing it out of respect, but that very respect is also what… I feel has created a wall between the two of us, this is why now, I want our relationship to be… more personal. I want you to be not just a servant, but my family." I said.

Eleanora's eyes suddenly shone brightly with crimson-red light, her little form seemed to make her expressions and emotions even cuter.

"S-Such compromise… I-I will make sure to treasure such emotions, my lord- I mean, Blake." She said.

"Thank you." I said, as I petted her head as she seemed to have become rather happy.

For now, I should focus on this internal world and what can I do here. This has really been quite a surprise… perhaps I could do even more than I imagined.

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