“Hey, Lil. Let’s go outside.”

At Ian’s sudden statement, Lil looked at him curiously. He smiled, patted her head, and added,

“The squirrels came to check on you.”

The squirrels were Lil’s benefactors who had helped her. She was happy they came to see her. Lil quickly ran outside.

When she opened the door, Lil dashed out barefoot. Looking around eagerly, she spotted a group of squirrels near the edge of the forest. Lil ran straight toward them.

“Thank you for helping me yesterday, squirrels!”

‘Are you okay?’

‘Are you fine?’

The squirrels spoke to her one after another.

“I’m okay! Thanks to you all.”

‘That’s good.’

‘Here, take this.’

Each squirrel held something in its paws. When she accepted it, she realized they were acorns.

“Are you sure? Aren’t these your food?”

‘It’s for you.’

‘It’s tasty.’

‘Eat it.’

The squirrels climbed all over Lil’s body, offering her acorns. Their fluffy tails tickled her.

“Okay, I’ll take them. Thank you!”

Lil bit into one of the acorns she received. It was properly sweet and delicious. According to ‘Michiru-chan’s’ memories, acorns were supposed to be bitter, but apparently, some were sweet.

“You picked the tasty ones for me, didn’t you? Thank you.”

‘We’re good at choosing.’

‘We find the sweet ones.’

It seemed the squirrels’ special skill was finding sweet acorns.

“Oh yeah! My name is Lil now! It’s kind of like yours, right?”

‘It’s similar.’

‘A friend?’

Lil chatted happily while petting the squirrels.

Ian and the others watched this scene with a mix of surprise and admiration.

“The commander being an ‘interpreter’ is amazing. I never imagined it would be like this.”

“Perhaps the first king achieved a contract with the divine beasts in a similar way?”

Rosaline and Gloria felt like they were witnessing a moment of history.

Meanwhile, Lil was gradually disappearing into a crowd of squirrels.

‘Everyone’s here to say hi.’

‘Take turns.’

The squirrels informed her.

“Alright, I’ll come here every morning then.”

Lil’s heart swelled with excitement at the thought of making new friends. She wondered what kinds of animals would visit next.

After playing to her heart’s content with the squirrels, Lil returned to Ian and the others, reporting her conversation with the squirrels. Clever Lil had even asked if there were any abnormalities in the forest.

Hearing her report, Ian and the others were impressed. Ian patted her head gently, praising her. Lil was overjoyed to have been useful.

“Tomorrow, other friends will come to greet me too!”

She jumped with excitement at the thought. It was such a childlike gesture that Ian and the others felt relieved. Children should act like children. Everyone hoped she would soon feel safe enough to relax and be spoiled.

Next, they had to introduce Lil to the stationed knights at the outpost.

There were only a few knights stationed here. Their main role was to observe the divine beasts and ensure there were no unusual signs. In case of emergencies, they would contact headquarters for backup. Including Ian, there were six stationed knights in total. Three of them had yet to be introduced to Lil.

Ian carried Lil as they walked through the outpost. Along the way, Rosaline explained things about the outpost, which Lil tried her best to remember.

They eventually arrived at a garden-like courtyard where the three knights were waiting.

Ian called them over, and they gathered. Lil greeted them nervously.

“My name is Lil. Starting today, I’ll be working here. Please take care of me!”

She stumbled slightly over her words due to nerves, which embarrassed her. But Ian patted her head, reassuring her that she’d done fine. Lil convinced herself to accept that as enough.

“I’m Hayden Cooper, the vice commander. Nice to meet you, Lil.”

A man who seemed too casual to be a knight reached out his hand to her. He roughly patted her head, leaving Lil wide-eyed in surprise. Rosaline quickly fixed her disheveled hair.

Ian gave Hayden a disapproving look.

“I’m Martin Butler. Welcome, little newcomer.”

He appeared to be the oldest of the group. ‘Michiru-chan’ was excited — “He’s an attractive older gentleman!”

“I’m Maynard Pfeiffer. Nice to meet you.”

The youngest of the group crouched down to greet Lil at her level. His kindness warmed her heart.

Lil silently repeated their names to herself over and over, determined to remember them properly. Forgetting would be rude, so she worked hard.

The knights’ gazes toward Lil were filled with warmth. They had cared for many abandoned children before, so they instinctively viewed children as something to be protected.

Because they often took in abandoned children, this outpost tended to have many skilled younger knights and female members. Ian thought this might be a good environment for Lil.

——————————————

That afternoon, a message arrived from the royal palace instructing them to continue protecting Lil. Ian felt relieved. The palace also planned to send someone to assess Lil’s skills — a remarkably thorough effort.

Ian called Rosaline and asked her to gather essential daily necessities for Lil right away. He had noticed earlier that Lil had walked outside barefoot. If she didn’t get shoes soon, she might injure herself.

Rosaline called Lil over to measure her size. Although she had heard Lil was six years old, Lil was much smaller than an average six-year-old. Yet Lil didn’t cry like a typical child, nor did she throw tantrums. That saddened Rosaline.

In truth, Lil wasn’t suppressing her feelings — her mental age was slightly higher due to her past life’s memories. But no one knew that.

“I’ll get her the cutest shoes and clothes I can find,” Rosaline resolved. “And I can’t forget the sweets either.”