The next day, early morning, Baiyi and Mia made their way home in a whirlicote.
Baiyi did not mind going back to Mia's house for a visit but actually, the timing was a little unsuitable. The matter with Undine was not settled yet, his new servant Attie had not fully settled down yet, he had not started making the staff that he wanted to make for Tisdale yet, and even the repair of the black gold armor had to be shelved for a period of time.
But there was nothing that he could do at all. Looking at Mia who draped herself on his arms with her little mouth slightly opened and puppy eyes that were looking at him pitifully, all that he could do was to agree to it. Hastily, he tidied up the matters on hand, set the homeothermal formation properly in the house, left behind a huge amount of gold coins in the house, bought a piece of magic-plated slate and carved a communication formation on it. Since Tisdale was tied down by her work in the workshop, she could not join in on the trip so Baiyi decided to leave the communication tool behind. Worried that she would be lonely staying in such a big mansion, he also left Attie behind to keep Tisdale company as he went on the trip alone with Mia.
Before they left, he purposely bought two sets of beautiful clothes for Mia and dressed her in a youthful and elegant clothes. Then, he rented the most expensive carriage available in the market and the two of them set out early in the morning.
Actually, Mia's house was situated not far from the south of Arfin city. They would arrive in no time if they use the Flying spell but she still insisted on going back in a carriage. Apparently it was so that she could have the feeling of going back home. After some pondering, Baiyi decided to give in to her. After all, it was a good thing if she was willing to spend a long time stuck in a small space together with him, wasn't it?
Other than Mia in the carriage, there were also the plants that were planted in the animal coin banks that Baiyi brought along with him. Although it was quite troublesome to bring all of the plants along, he did not trust Attie and Tisdale to take good care of them at all--- particularly Attie who kept going against his order and insisted on plucking out the newly sprouted tender seedlings. With no other choice, he brought all of them together with him.
In the beginning, Mia high-spiritedly enjoyed the idyllic countryside scenery through the window but after some time, she began to feel bored and started to lie down lazily on the soft seat of the carriage. With her head on Baiyi's thigh and her black long waterfall-like hair spreaded beneath her, she observed the ethereal patterns carved on top of the carriage as she sighed with admiration, "What a spacious couch! It's so steady and the seat is so soft and comfortable. Even the ceiling is carved beautifully with dainty patterns. This is the most comfortable carriage I've ever been in before! Thank you so much, Mr. Hope!"
Duhh! Just this trip itself costs us almost a month income of an ordinary household, you know. Of course it's comfortable! Baiyi thought to himself. Reaching out his hand, he lifted Mia's head before he quickly inserted a soft cushion between her head and his legs, "Use this to pad your head. It'd be softer."
"Mmmmmm..." The little girl sighed in satisfaction, her big eyes squinted slightly. It seemed like she was really enjoying herself.
She was wearing a new aqua blue dress that Baiyi had bought for her yesterday. Although the neckline was relatively higher and her neck was fully covered up, the dress was actually an off-shoulder dress that exposed her round sweet shoulders. Unlike other ordinary dress, the waistline was tight, fully revealing the outline Mia's slender waist. The highlight of the dress was the special dye used to color the clothing. Under the bright sun, patches of light shone from her dress as if it was weaved from the water of a deep blue lake. Coupled with Mia's delicate small face, the dress made her looked even more dazzling and attractive.
Even if the dress was high-necked and long skirted, it was able to fully bring out her beauty to the highest degree.
"Take off your shoes and put your feet up. You will feel much more comfortable that way," Baiyi suggested again.
To his surprise, the girl shook her head in refusal. She was wearing a pair of open-toed sandals on her feet that had a black silk bow on her heels. In truth, she really liked the pair of new shoes and ever since she had put it on, she was very reluctant to take it off. She even lifted up her legs high and admired the shoes that was sitting on her lovely feet, "The new shoes are so beautiful! I don't want to take it off!"
Because of such a bold action, the blue skirt that was originally covering her knees slipped and exposed the full view of her fair and pale thighs in front of Baiyi. Still, not aware that she was particularly seductive in such a pose, she even swung her legs in the air unwittingly, causing five certain Walkers in the Void to be banned from speaking again.
"You're a big girl already! Aren't you afraid of being seen by others?" Baiyi cast his eyes away as he instinctively lifted up a hand to pinch her little face.
"Well, there's nobody here other than you. I don't see any problem with it," Mia adopted an indifferent attitude, "Anyway, haven't you already seen my entire body, Mr. Hope?" As she was saying that, she took hold of Baiyi's hand that was going to pinch her cheeks and rubbed her face against it. Then, in a kid-like tone, she purred, "It's still gonna take some time before we reach home. Can you tell me a story pleaseeeee, Mr. Hope?"
Baiyi was enjoying himself very much in such a father-daughter-like moment. Joyously, he caressed Mia's face gently as he asked, "I have many stories, which one do you want to hear? A love story about