Entrusting an Orphan?!

"Toby!" Gloria raised her hand, and the seabird perched atop Angel's hair flapped its wings and landed on her palm.

"Ever since Toby was born, it has stayed by my side. It is a new life I accidentally synthesized, using an ordinary seabird as the main material and combining it with various illusion spirits and rare materials. Since its birth, I have tried every possible way to recreate the circumstances of that time, hoping to create another Magic Beast like it, but nothing has worked. It could be said that Toby is one of a kind." As Gloria spoke, her gaze toward Toby carried an unusual tenderness.

"All these years, Toby has remained by my side. Though it does not possess special powers like other Magic Beasts, it is highly intelligent. By now, Toby can understand human speech, and the capacity of its spiritual power is already about equal to that of a wizard apprentice."

At this point, Angel vaguely sensed that Gloria intended to entrust Toby to him.

"Barbie Restaurant travels through various regions year-round in search of ingredients. With my protection, Toby has naturally been safe. But this time, I have reached the threshold of advancement. For a food wizard to advance, they need a great quantity of unique ingredients and spell formulas. I have scoured the Southern Region for hundreds of years. Though there must still be some omissions, I have basically incorporated it all into my own system. Even so, I still have not amassed enough to advance."

"So this time, I have decided to leave the Southern Region and venture into more distant lands, or perhaps into the unknown planes. I never considered it before. But I have been stuck at this threshold for over a century. If I still cannot find a direction, I fear I may never have another chance in the future. So this time, I have decided to take the plunge."

As Gloria spoke, she used a soundproof barrier. Only Angel could hear her.

"This journey is fraught with peril. I cannot guarantee Toby's safety, so I hope that while I am away, Toby can stay with you."

After Gloria finished speaking, she stared fixedly at Angel. To be honest, she had many options. For example, she could leave Toby at Candy House, or entrust it to a close friend. But after she explained her intentions to Toby, it refused to stay anywhere and stubbornly insisted on following Gloria. Only after much coaxing and persuasion had Toby reluctantly chosen someone.

And that person was not any friend of Gloria's, but someone Toby had met only once: Angel.

.

Though she did not know why Toby had chosen Angel, Gloria thought of Sanders's regard for him, as well as Angel's character and his potential future achievements. In the end, she did not object. Knowing that Angel would leave with Sanders tomorrow, she had come to the Bauhinia under cover of night.

Toby had understood Gloria's words as well. Its bright little eyes looked at Angel too, as if waiting for his answer.

Angel: So it really is entrusting an orphan. Though it is not quite for a lifetime, it is close enough...

One pair of large eyes and one pair of small eyes watched him. Angel truly wanted to refuse, because he himself was lost about the road ahead. Heaven knew why Sanders had taken him as a disciple, heaven knew whether he could satisfy his bargain-bin mentor, and heaven knew what awaited him at Savage Cave.

Angel had not figured out any of those questions.

But the one asking him was Gloria, a "true wizard" whom even Sanders had called "worthy of respect."

Flora had also told him to maintain a good relationship with Gloria.

Thinking of this, Angel gritted his teeth. Forget it. Things were already like this, and no matter how bad it got, it could not get much worse. Even if I cannot satisfy Sanders, perhaps with Toby mediating between us, Sanders will spare Gloria some face and not make things too difficult for me.

"Alright. I will take good care of Toby until you return, ma'am."

Seeing the expression on Angel's face as though he were marching to his death, Gloria burst out laughing.

"Do not make it sound so solemn. You make it seem as if I am using my position to pressure you." Gloria smoothed her hanging hair. "And do not worry. Toby is actually very easy to care for. Once you return to the mainland, you will not even need to worry about its food. It will find a way to solve that itself. Besides, Toby is very clever. With it helping you, perhaps it will end up taking care of you instead~"

Once Gloria finished speaking, she looked at Toby in her palm and did not look away for a long while.

The atmosphere gradually fell silent.

From Gloria's behavior, it was clear that her bond with Toby was truly deep.

Angel felt a little envious. In the mortal world, he had his mentor and his brother; but after stepping into the world of wizards, would he encounter people with whom he could share life and death, people bound to him by deep affection?

No one knew how long passed before Gloria slowly put away her sorrowful expression, gently raised her hand, and released Toby.

Toby circled above her head for a long time.

"Go on."

Toby hesitated for a moment, then slowly flew above Angel's head and landed once again in its old spot.

My hair is a mess again... Once we get back, I have to correct this bad habit of its!

Gloria said, "Until I return, I will have to trouble you."

With that matter settled, Gloria naturally prepared to leave. Before she departed, however, she left Angel a capsule-shaped soft bubble.

"This is a spatial pouch refined from microorganisms that live within the plane crystal wall. It can hold a large quantity of items. However, this one is single-use. It contains some of Toby's daily necessities, as well as the reward for helping me care for Toby. Just crush the pouch to take them out."

After saying that, Gloria was about to leave.

.

At that moment, the door was suddenly pushed open, and a bleary-eyed Alan rubbed his eyes as he walked in from outside.

--While Angel had been speaking with Moro, Alan had taken Irene back to his room.

"Grandpa, Irene is already asleep. Do we still need to... Huh, who are you?"

Gloria had not cared about Alan suddenly barging in. He was merely a child. But when she glanced at him, a trace of surprise flashed through her eyes.

"Is he your grandson?" Gloria pointed at Alan and asked Moro, who stood to the side.

Moro thought Gloria was reproaching Alan for his recklessness. He nodded in terror. "Yes, he is my grandson, Alan. Ma'am, my grandson is young and ignorant..."

Gloria waved a hand, interrupting Moro.

"I am asking you: what change occurred when your grandson underwent his talent test?"

"A change?" Moro muttered in confusion. "The change was 'something from nothing.' During Alan's talent test, he saw a piece of black bread appear on the empty plate before him."

Something from nothing was the most common type of change recorded in the Abyras Talent Compendium Yearbook.

"Something from nothing? I do not think so." Gloria smiled and, from somewhere unknown, produced a metal badge. Engraved on it was a small wooden cottage hidden in a forest, while the back of the badge bore a relief portrait of Gloria.

"This is my badge from Candy House. If you are willing, you may take my badge and send him to Candy House... After all, among the food wizards of the Southern Region, if Candy House claims second place, no one would dare claim first..."

Gloria had made herself clear. How could Moro possibly fail to understand?

Alan had the talent to become a food wizard? Moro looked at the fair, plump, adorable little fatty. This grandson whom he had always doted on actually had the talent to become a food wizard?

Thinking back on Alan's usual interests, he was either eating or looking for something to eat.

Even today, when the mirage brought about by Barbie Restaurant had appeared, Alan had been deeply immersed in it, yet his appetite had not controlled him into doing anything excessive.

Moro had never thought deeply about these signs before. He had only assumed that his grandson was growing and that eating more was a good thing. But with Gloria's reminder, did those scattered clues not all point to Alan's talent...

Indeed, those within the situation were blind to it.

After Gloria left, Moro's heart became tangled.

Should he send Alan to Candy House to become a food wizard?

Though food wizards belonged to the mysterious side, they had always been weak in the wizarding world because their combat power was low. Many wizard apprentices who followed the path of food, unable to advance into formal wizards and possessing pathetic combat strength, simply attached themselves to the powerful and became their cooks. Their status might not be low, but neither was it particularly high.

Alan had food talent, but of course he did not have to take this path. It all depended on his own choice.

With Gloria's recommendation, Alan would at least not become some unnoticed nobody at Candy House. But on the path of food, becoming a powerhouse was far too difficult. Moro did not want his grandson's fate to be becoming someone else's cook.

What a dilemma!