Danmaku, my skills refresh weekly.

Just as the regimental commander and deputy commander were playfully bickering...

"Sorry to bother you."

A gentle, polite male voice rang out, followed by a burly figure sitting down beside Bert. He raised his wooden wine glass and lightly clinked it against the glass on Bert's table.

"Could you elaborate on what you just mentioned about the 'glutton'?"

"Huh? Who are you?" Bert stared, feeling the soft cushion disappear from the back of his head, and Bert became angry.

"You can call me, um... Charles. Hmph, it's nothing, I'm just a little curious about this Mr. [Abyssal Maw] that everyone's been talking about. Can he really eat that much?"

Serenia sized up the easygoing middle-aged man. His messy, purplish-red hair swayed casually around his nose under his headscarf, and his dark eye patch blocked half of his vision, yet he didn't appear fierce.

He seems like a very easy-going person...

“Of course, no problem.” Serenia nodded.

"Hey. Don't make decisions on your own... Tch."

When Bert saw Serenia's hands clasped together in a pleading gesture, he gave a haughty look and glanced at the strange man:

"The rumors outside that he could devour the entire Orario are all false. He's just a kid with a big appetite."

"Oh~ how big exactly is it?"

"Huh?" Bert scoffed. "It's just a few hundred plates. Back when I came to Orario alone, starving, I could eat just as many!"

Serenia wrinkled her nose: "Bert is bragging! You can't even finish ten plates now. I saw it with my own eyes, in the end you had to use a basin to serve the food."

Uncle Charles clinked glasses with Serenia: "Oh? That little girl, do you know which clan that child belongs to?"

Serenia shook her head: "I don't know, but if she can eat like that, she'll probably be known no matter where she goes."

"Thank you."

Uncle Charles tossed down the money for the drinks, waved goodbye to everyone, and took his leave.

Leave the tavern.

Chardo's warm expression gradually turned cold.

This was the fourth tavern he frequented. Whenever he inquired about the strongmen in the city, he always received familiar words such as "brave" and "fierce".

The strongest in the city... he's not even as good as a chef in a restaurant.

At least Chardo sensed a rival in [Little Giant] Mia.

This is the result of "bulimia". His five senses become overly sensitive. By seeing the color and texture of the food and smelling any unpleasant odors, Chardo can perceive the "state" of his prey.

At least, the cook's conviction was dozens of times stronger than that of the "Wild Boar Boy" in his memory.

As he walked, he silently blended into the night, and in the secluded, dark alleys, fierce battles would occasionally erupt.

Chardo also saw the so-called "banner of justice." It was a group of vibrant young girls, stepping on starlight, steadfastly guarding their "beliefs."

"Interesting, but that's all; they're still too weak. Perhaps Alfia would be interested in them."

In comparison…

"On the contrary, this good-for-nothing kid has some talent."

Chardo silently distanced himself from the noise, pondering the other party's abilities.

Chardo, who possesses similar abilities, is familiar with the similar reactions that occur after eating. This is evident from the accounts of the werewolf and the human girl.

"The effect seems to be even stronger than mine, the conversion efficiency is too fast... Heh."

Chardo couldn't help but laugh.

At this moment, he felt as if he had returned to the time when he first came to Orario and joined Zeus's Familia.

Chapter 53 Ciel: I'm a Father Now?

The next day, early in the morning.

Xia Er, with a small tent under his head, got up early, brushed his teeth, washed his face, and quickly got dressed.

The luxurious rest time is over. I've managed to draw a skill that can rapidly boost my stats, so I must seize every second and cherish every minute to become stronger.

"Yesterday, I ate almost all the common foods in Orario and used the Divine Wine to finish things up. Although I haven't seen any specific stat feedback yet, I've done everything I could. The rest I can only rely on the dungeon."

While thinking, Ciel put on the [Nika Pocket] and took out the Fairy Pearl to examine it.

"It's still fast asleep, and doesn't seem to be recovering. But I remember it opened its eyes when I saw old man Pom yesterday? Does it need some kind of stimulation?"

Charles pondered for a moment, then held up his hands and exclaimed, "I have a big orange!"

A magical tangerine, about the size of a small watermelon, appeared in Ciel's arms. The fetus inside the orb twitched its eyelids, but then weakly collapsed again.

Charles tore open the fruit's skin, took out a segment of flesh, and gently touched the pearl:

"Hey, want some?"

The fetus inside opened its eyes wearily, and the precious pearl emitted a faint glow.

Charles blinked, then simply buried the entire orb inside the magical citrus.

As the light within the orb flickered, magical umbilical cords resembling tentacles took root inside the magical citrus.

Russian qing.

The pulp melted completely, transforming into a rich life force that filled the inside of the fetal pearl.

Ciel could clearly sense the fetus, which resembled a little fish-man, and it was visibly becoming more handsome.

The dark green skin began to gradually turn into a healthy white, and the grass-root-like hair fell out quickly, replaced by sparse baby hair.

"Aba aba..."

Charles and the unborn baby stared into each other's eyes. The baby's large, bright eyes, which occupied half of his face, shone with a clear, foolish glint.

"Waibibabu?"

"Father—" the fetus asked, looking around in confusion with its finger in its mouth.

"I'm not your father!"

The whole process was quite magical, and Ciel just gave it a try, but to his surprise, it actually worked.

The gem tree, after all, isn't a monster, proving that this jeweled fetus has strong plant compatibility. Perhaps due to it being a first-time creation, it has flaws in various aspects.

The flaw in the Fallen Fairy Spirit indicates that its fall was not complete.

Coincidentally, the magical citrus in Charles's hand seemed to be a crop full of magic, and it also carried a strong life force and purifying effect.

These conditions not only fulfill the modification process for the [Precious Pearl Fetus] in the Sharl Project, but most importantly...

"Don't move around here, I'll get you some more oranges."

Ciel remembered that the magic's effects included a function similar to illusion. Even if the experiment failed, Ciel felt he would be unharmed. But now…

You can tell just by the way this clone cub looks at you.

"Charles, I'm a father!"

Now that the experiments have confirmed that the "magic citrus" does indeed have the effect of improving the fairy's state, there is naturally no reason to stop.

"I have a huge, huge orange!"

thump—

With two-thirds of his mental energy depleted, a huge crop, half the height of a person, took over Xia's small bed.

Charles picked up the jewel, from which came urging sounds.

"Don't rush... let me see first. Hmm, seems like a little troublemaker. But he's not fully developed yet..."

Hmm, calling a girl a troublemaker directly doesn't seem very polite...

Charles placed the pearl on the large orange and let it parasitize him.

The changes in the fetus are more obvious this time. It has gradually grown from about 2 months old to about 6 months old. The facial features have relaxed, and the soft, twisted hands and feet have also reached a normal, relaxed position.

Ciel watched the whole thing with curiosity. The dark green jewel filter gradually turned orange, and his appearance transformed from a little fish-man into a dolphin, then slowly developed into the prototype of a human baby. He felt his spirit being inexplicably purified, and an emotion called emotion welled up in his heart.

A moment later, the orange light gradually faded, and the baby, sucking its fingers, slept peacefully inside the orb. Charles checked on the magical citrus.

"Three pieces of fruit are missing... Are you full?"

It is unknown how many more magical citrus fruits the fairy spirit needs to absorb before it can completely escape its predicament.

He also gained access to the effects of his magic from it.

"The item's level is fine; it can indeed remove most negative status effects. But my level is too low. I can't unleash the true power of magic until I reach Hero level. This means I need to compensate for quality with quantity..."

It's quite remarkable that level 1 can be effective against abnormal statuses imposed by level 8 and above. There's no need to be too extravagant; we can simply spend more time hoarding more oranges.

Charles simply put the large orange into his backpack and carried it with him.

"We also need to keep some spiritual potions on hand and stock up on plenty of [Magic Citrus]. Oh, and we also need to give the little guy a name."

With his worries resolved, Charles was ready to go, as there were still many things waiting for him to accomplish today.

Little did they know that after the orange was placed in the package, the ten bottles of alchemical potions stored in the corner of the backpack would have a strange reaction with the orange.

The crimson liquid, transformed from Ciel's blood, seeped through the orange peel and then, through the umbilical cord, gradually seeped into the fetus's body.

“Father…”

……

The courtyard of the Soma clan.

The hundreds of square meters of blue ceramic tiles were filled with adventurers about to be triggered.

They were either confused, surprised, or whispering among themselves.

"Um, were you also personally notified by Lord Soma?"

"You...you too? No way?"

"That Lord Soma? That Lord Soma who never leaves his home? Why?"

"It seems like a lot of big things have happened in the clan recently. I heard that even Freya and Loki personally visited the captain..."

"That shouldn't be considered a 'visit,' right?"