782 You're no Duckling of Mine

A corner of the ice cream cake on the table was missing, revealing the cross-section of the cake as if it were a work of art. The pink ice cream and yellow cream were giving off an intoxicating fragrance, immediately making Irina's eyes light up.

"…" Mag was a little speechless. Irina had asked him many questions about Amy back in the cave, but who would've thought that she'd be more interested in the ice cream cake on the table than she was in Amy? Could it be that Amy had inherited her foodie gene from Irina?

"No, I was waiting for Father to come back and eat it with me." Amy shook her head before looking at Mag and Irina with a perplexed expression as she said, "Father, you said you had something important to do, but you came back with Big Sister Irina. Is seeing Big Sister Irina more important than eating cake with me?"

"Er…" Mag looked at Amy and contemplated how he was going to explain the situation. After all, he couldn't tell her that he'd left her behind to save Irina's life, but he didn't want her to feel as if he had abandoned her for some trivial matter, either.

"Oh, I understand. It's ok." Before Mag even had a chance to say anything, a thought suddenly occurred to Amy, and she nodded with a knowing expression on her little face.

"What are you talking about?" Mag looked at Amy's expression and wondered just what was going through that little head of hers.

In the meantime, he was still scrambling for an excuse to explain the situation. Now clearly wasn't a good time to reveal to her that Irina was her mother.

There were many people in this world who still wanted to kill him, and he didn't yet have the power to protect Amy and Irina.

Three years ago, they had dared to assassinate Alex in Rodu, and three years after that, they attempted to assassinate Irina in the exact same place.

If he were to blow his cover and it was revealed that he hadn't actually recovered to his peak, then he would immediately be hunted down. In that situation, neither he nor Irina would be able to ensure Amy's safety.

As such, it wasn't the time to reveal the truth yet.

As opposed to revealing to Amy the identity of her mother—only for Irina to have to depart and return to the Wind Forest—Mag would rather have Amy remain under the impression that her mother was still on the moon.

He was going to tell her the truth when he had the power to protect both of them.

He had discussed this notion with Irina back in the cave, and she had agreed to this after some hesitation.

"If the important thing he was referring to is bringing me here, then that's fine, but if he was to bring back other women…" Irina turned to Mag with a dangerous smile.

A chill suddenly ran down Mag's spine, and he shuddered as he turned away from Irina. He pointed at the manifestation of himself as he said, "Amy, get rid of this thing for now."

"Sure!"

Amy nodded obediently before waving a little hand, upon which the manifestation immediately disappeared.

"Meow~"

Right at this moment, a feeble cry sounded from within Irina's arms. A little furry black head emerged, surveying its surroundings carefully with a pair of pitiable green eyes.

Ugly Duckling was just looking at its ruined ice cream cake with a grief-stricken expression when it abruptly raised its head and caught sight of that black cat. It immediately arched its back and all of its orange fur stood up on ends as if it were preparing for battle.

This was the first time it had seen another cat, and its reaction was even more exaggerated than when it had encountered a giant dragon for the first time.

"Meow!"

The black cat was given a fright, and immediately buried its head back into Irina's chest.

"Is that another Ugly Duckling?"

Amy looked at the black cat in Irina's arms with a curious expression. However, she shook her head after carefully inspecting the cat, and concluded, "No, this cat is much prettier than Ugly Duckling. That should be a little black kitty, not an ugly duckling."

"Meow~"

Ugly Duckling meowed in an indignant manner. Was it really that ugly? It was clearly far prettier than that little black thing!

"It's alright, you're the ugliest, and no one can take that from you." Amy leaned down and stroked Ugly Duckling's head in consolation.

"Meow~"

Ugly Duckling lowered its head in a completely dejected manner.

The black cat carefully stuck out its head again and began to appraise Ugly Duckling in a curious manner.

Irina carefully inspected the black cat before nodding as she decided, "Your fur is really black, so I'll call you Night. If someone asks you why you're so black, you can tell them it's because you're Night."

Was that supposed to be a deadpan joke? Mag raised an eyebrow.

"Wow, that's such a cool name!" Amy's eyes lit up as an excited look appeared on her face, and she asked, "Then, should we also buy a white cat and name it Day?"

"That's quite a good name as well." Irina nodded in agreement. However, she then looked at Night and shook her head as she replied, "But I don't think getting a white cat is a good idea."

"Is that because night and day can't coexist?"

Mag was struck by a sense of exasperation as he listened to this conversation. As expected, Amy and Irina had perfectly synchronized reflex arcs.

"Go and play now. If you can't even beat that fat orange, then don't go around telling everyone that you're my cat." Irina placed the black cat down on the ground with a serious expression.

As soon as Night settled on the ground, it retreated toward Irina's legs while appraising Ugly Duckling with curiosity in its emerald eyes. However, after hearing Irina's words, it mustered up the courage to meow at Ugly Duckling.

Night was also only a small cat, but it appeared to be quite a bit older than Ugly Duckling. It was most likely three to four months old, but it was extremely thin due to malnutrition. As such, it was around the same size as the much more portly Ugly Duckling.

Ugly Duckling immediately hid behind Amy's back, looking at Night with a tense and fearful expression.

"You're such a scaredy-cat, Ugly Duckling. If you're going to keep this up, then don't go telling anyone that you're my duckling, either," Amy pouted with a critical expression as she looked at Ugly Duckling.

"Meow~"

Ugly Duckling cat a pitiable glance toward Amy before reluctantly emerging from behind her.

"Meow!"

Night meowed at Ugly Duckling before taking a hesitant step toward it.

"Meow~"

Ugly Duckling looked up at Amy, and it didn't dare to retreat. However, it then looked at Night, and neither did it dare to advance. As such, it was at a loss for what to do and rolled over onto its back, wagging its little tail as a gesture of truce to Night.

"You're so embarrassing! You're no duckling of mine."

Amy buried her face into her palm.