Ruger happily drank his soup and enjoyed the two flavors of roasted meat. Since Lord Layden did not mind the trouble of cooking, he, as the diner, naturally did not fear the toil of tasting it.
Just as he was eating and drinking with relish, his heart suddenly stirred. With a wave of his hand, a huge curled-up figure appeared beside the campfire.
"Zhizhi!" the creature cried out.
It was the magical pet he had not seen for quite some time.
A crisp chirp sounded by his ear—and in Ruger's heart.
"Zhizhi, you've gotten bigger!" Ruger ate roasted meat with one hand while reaching out with the other to stroke his magical pet's smooth head. "You really can sleep! Yes, yes, you couldn't control it, I know. Yes, you were also trying to save food..."
Clever Bug chirped away, and through their connection, Ruger could roughly understand what it meant.
It did not look as cute as it had inside the egg. Its black carapace carried a rather vicious air, yet inside, it was still that same Clever Bug. Perhaps it would be fierce toward outsiders, but to Ruger, it was still the little fellow that expressed its feelings by swaying or giving two little shakes—the egg that had so often stayed by his side in its breeding pouch.
"This is your magical pet?"
Layden looked astonished as he tossed over a large chunk of roasted meat.
Zhizhi abruptly reared up its insect body.
Ruger had long suspected that Zhizhi's cleverness came from its considerable mental strength. From some of the scenes he had seen before, it appeared that many members of the Little Crybaby Bug race possessed the qualifications to become spellcasters. Among the Little Crybaby Bugs, Zhizhi was considered one that had not awakened the light of spiritual