The Mecha-Kai Species During Dimensional Travel

Although she found it strange that this beautiful older sister spoke so oddly, the little girl still politely answered the other's question.

"Mm, my name is 'Volumen.' What's your name, big sister?"

"Xiu Er."

"...Huh?"

"[Inquiry] You say your name is Volumen?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

Looking at Volumen, who was completely baffled and had no idea what was wrong with her name, beneath Xiu Er's calm expression lay a heart that was anything but calm.

Though she couldn't rule out the possibility of a namesake, Xiu Er couldn't help but think of another possibility.

She was afraid she had encountered the childhood form of humanity's greatest mage, before her homeland had been invaded by the Demon race, before Sariel had picked her up.

The childhood version of Volumen!

Chapter 21: A Brief Afternoon

Takuson wandered aimlessly through the streets of this city.

Xiu Er had given him a considerable sum of money, enough for small-scale expenses.

He had also left his weapon back in the room at the inn where they were staying.

After all, when going out to play on the streets, what use was carrying that weapon? Besides, his own body was a weapon in itself.

Was a "weapon" really such an inconvenient thing?

Every time Xiu Er took him to a different city, it was the same—she let Takuson go off on his own with a sum of money to explore the city.

As for whether he would get lost, or have his money stolen or snatched?

Xiu Er never worried about any of that.

Getting lost was no issue for him; Takuson's trail could never escape her detection. Her disciple's whereabouts were always under Xiu Er's control.

As for being robbed or pickpocketed, Xiu Er had never lectured him about it, but Takuson himself thought differently. He would only blame it on his own lack of strength.

If he were strong enough, he would spot the thief before they could touch his money pouch.

That was Takuson's way of thinking.

"Even though Master said to arrange my own time, I don't really know what to do."

Sometimes, having too many choices was a kind of trouble in itself.

"In that case, I'll go check out the food street first."

To be honest, lunch hadn't been a peaceful meal due to various reasons.

So for someone who regularly trained hard, he often needed to consume large amounts of food to replenish his energy. Right now, his stomach was still hungry.

"What should I eat? I remember Master said there were things I could eat..."

And so, with these thoughts in his mind, he headed toward the food street.

"Ouch!"

Just as Takuson was daydreaming about food, a person who seemed to have popped out from some corner suddenly collided with him.

However, due to years of training and combat, his physical strength was far beyond that of an ordinary person.

So, not only was Takuson unaffected by the collision, but the man who had bumped into him instead fell to the ground.

"Huh?"

Realizing he had apparently run into someone, Takuson quickly looked toward the direction where he had felt the impact.

"Sorry, sorry. Are you hurt?"

"Tsk—hey, watch where you're going next time!"

The other man was clutching his backside, his face twisted in pain.

He grabbed Takuson's outstretched hand, which was offered to help him up. But not only that—the one who had initiated the collision actually gave Takuson, the one who was hit, a nasty look.

"Honestly, what's the point of training your body to be so hard?"

The man muttered his complaints, but he didn't choose to press the matter. He just said a few words and tried to leave, looking like he was in a hurry.

However, when he tried to go, he found that Takuson hadn't let go of the hand he was holding.

"What, what are you doing? I've got things to do, I don't have time to waste with you here."

For some reason, beads of cold sweat dripped down the man's forehead.

In response, Takuson just stared at him with a smile, his grip on the man's arm like an iron clamp, holding him fast. No matter how the man struggled, he couldn't budge an inch.

"Don't worry, I won't interrupt your urgent business."

Takuson said with a smile.

"As long as you return what you shouldn't have taken, that'll be fine."

"Otherwise, I can't guarantee how many good parts of you will still be intact."

With that, he extended his other hand, palm up, as if waiting for something.

Watching Takuson's genial smile, the other man broke out in a cold sweat. In the end, he used his free hand to pull out a pouch of coins and, trembling, placed it in Takuson's palm.

Yes, the man who had bumped into him was a thief.

He had deliberately collided with Takuson to steal his money pouch.

When Xiu Er handed the pouch to Takuson, the thief had spotted it and marked him as prey.

Who would have guessed the kid was so strong? He'd caught on in an instant.

The moment his hand was seized, the thief's heart skipped a beat. Staring at that smiling face, his heart turned ice-cold.

Weighing the pouch in his hand and confirming the amount was correct, Takuson finally let go.

But he didn't let the thief off that easily.

"Ah!——"

A scream rang out through the street, drawing the attention of passersby.

But when they saw who was screaming, they turned back and went about their own business.

"Huh, looks like your reputation isn't great around here either."

Takuson noticed the expressions of those passersby, which told him something.

He looked without a shred of pity at the man lying on the ground, clutching an arm whose bones had already been shattered. His icy glare made the man on the ground choke back his cries in fear.

"Consider this a lesson. If I catch you at it again, it won't just be one broken arm."

"Eep—!"

The thief scrambled away in terror, not even bothering with his fractured arm as he crawled off.

"Mm, just as I thought. Looks like keeping up with this technique pays off."

Yes, to avoid being robbed, Takuson had worked hard to develop a set of "anti-thief" super-senses.

As long as someone came within five meters of him, he could instantly perceive everything about them.

Over the past few years, he'd used this trick to beat up quite a few thieves. That last one was only mid-tier.

But come to think of it, weren't the city guards supposed to be catching these thieves?

The people on this street felt a sense of relief seeing Takuson punish the thief, so they watched him leave with approving looks.

What a hassle.

That was what he thought to himself.

A few minutes later, Takuson arrived at his destination—Food Street.

He stopped in front of a cookie stall.

"Mm~ smells good. I'll bring some back for Teacher to try."

With that as his starting point, Takuson began his shopping spree on Food Street...

"This one's nice."

"This flavor's good too."

"This one's a bit pricey."

"This one tastes a little greasy."

Soon, it was late afternoon, just before dinner.

Remembering the time he'd agreed to meet his teacher, Takuson quickly gathered up an armful of purchased food, including some gifts he thought were good enough to bring back for Teacher to try.

With a cheerful mood, like a husky, he ran to the agreed meeting spot.

It was the place his teacher always went to in every town—the city's central plaza.

"Hehe, I might have bought a bit too much today. Hope Teacher likes it. But I can still finish the leftovers, no waste at all."

Thanks to Xiu Er's training, Takuson had been forced into the habit of being a big eater, needing a lot of food.

This haul was enough to feed an ordinary person for three days, but for Takuson, it was only half a day's worth.

He arrived at the plaza in high spirits and saw his beloved teacher.

But this time, there was someone else beside his teacher.

A little girl sat next to his teacher, chatting and laughing, and his teacher was actually talking to a stranger, which was unusual.

"Huh? Who's that?"

That was the only thought in Takuson's mind at that moment.

Chapter 22: The Future About to Be Changed

"Teacher, whose kid is this?"

A firm male voice interrupted the conversation between Xiu Er and Volumen.

"You're back, Takuson."

Xiu Er showed no surprise. As mentioned before, Takuson's whereabouts were always within the range of his detection devices.

"[Inquiry] How was your day today?"

"Not bad, same as usual."

"I brought you some good food too. Hope you like it."

Takuson said as he approached his teacher's side.

Carrying a handful of snacks, the black-haired youth wore a smile that easily inspired goodwill.

"Mm, thank you."

"Between us, there's no need for 'thank you.'"

"[Rebuttal] This is a necessary courtesy."

Faced with Xiu Er's rebuttal, Takuson didn't argue further. His teacher could be unexpectedly rigid about certain things sometimes.

But it wasn't a big problem; he was long used to it.

Just as Xiu Er had grown accustomed to having such an enthusiastic disciple by his side, Takuson had also gotten used to his teacher's seemingly cold demeanor and somewhat stubborn nature.

Xiu Er casually picked up something that looked like a bread roll.