Free Web Novel"You're finally back!"
As soon as Loren stepped out of the seawater, Reflection Naclis leaped directly onto him, straddling his neck and hugging his head.
"Hey, you—"
Fortunately, Loren's stats were high enough now; otherwise, Reflection Naclis would have definitely knocked him over.
Loren pried Reflection Naclis's hands apart and lifted her off himself.
"Everything taken care of?"
Laila adjusted her clothes as she spoke; the largest swimsuit Loren had bought was a bit tight.
"All taken care of."
As Loren and Laila were talking, Movila also imitated Reflection Naclis and jumped toward Loren. But this time, Loren was prepared and caught her midair.
Given Movila's size, Loren could easily hold her in his hands.
Loren simply held her that way, but she stretched out her arms, unable to reach him.
"..."
The atmosphere grew awkward. In the end, Loren took the initiative to hug Movila, and only then did she reveal a satisfied smile.
Loren set Movila back down on the ground and said:
"We're heading back tomorrow. Let's enjoy ourselves today. The people back home must be getting impatient."
Not to mention anyone else, Mirrorheart was definitely the most anxious. Ever since she had started that habit, Loren felt like his milk had ice in it—Mirrorheart couldn't go a single day without him.
This was the longest Laila had ever been away from Anna. But this trip had indeed been dangerous; Mara had nearly unleashed a Super-tier Magic on them.
Super-tier Magic wasn't something mortals could withstand.
It was a shame Casper had left early and didn't witness that. If he had truly felt the pressure of Super-tier Magic, he would have gone even more insane.
...
These past few days had been the happiest of Reflection Naclis's life. But happy times always passed too quickly, and soon they were boarding the train back home.
Nothing happened along the way. A day later, the group arrived home.
"You're finally back!"
Before coming back, Loren had told the household through Movila. So when he stepped off the train, he saw the people who had come to welcome him. Anna was the first to charge at him. Loren was already used to her tackling him, and before Anna could knock him over, he caught her midair.
"Let's go home."
Without putting Anna down, Loren carried her toward the crowd.
Having been separated from Anna for so long this time, it was only right to let her act spoiled for a while.
Anna kept rubbing her face against Loren's body, making Naclis feel a little envious.
When Loren drew close to Naclis, their shadows merged, and Reflection Naclis took the chance to slip into Naclis's shadow.
She couldn't wait to tell Naclis all about what had happened over the past few days.
Just as Loren was about to turn back, Lilith tugged at the corner of his clothes. She was wearing a black Gothic dress, and her exposed eye looked up at him with a pitiful gaze. She stretched out her arms—the meaning was obvious.
She had missed Loren just as much. Ever since Loren had taken her in, she had shown an even greater dependence on him than Anna. It had taken Loren a long time to coax her into sleeping alone.
So Loren casually picked Lilith up as well, using the same hold as with Anna—supporting her by the calves and holding her bottom while she wrapped her arms around his neck.
And just like that, Loren carried two little girls in his arms, got into the Church's special car, and returned home.
...
"We had so much fun on this trip..."
Back in the bedroom, Reflection Naclis lay directly on Naclis's bed, rolling around on it.
"Master Mentor didn't go for fun. This trip was very dangerous."
Faced with Reflection Naclis's provocation, Naclis herself remained unmoved.
"It was indeed dangerous. Mara came to take revenge on Daddy, and she even nearly unleashed a Super-tier Magic..."
Having been raised by Loren, Naclis definitely knew what Super-tier Magic was. So upon hearing that keyword, Naclis got worked up immediately:
"Super-tier Magic? Was Master Mentor in any danger?"
"Don't worry, Daddy handled the Super-tier Magic with ease."
After confirming Loren was fine, Naclis let out a sigh of relief. Only then did she start to fire back at Reflection Naclis:
"Please don't call him that. You're not a child anymore."
Sensing Naclis's emotional fluctuation, Reflection Naclis broke into a smile and grew even more insolent.
Lying on the bed, Reflection Naclis let her head hang naturally. In her upside-down view, Naclis appeared to be standing on her head:
"It's not just kids who call him that, you know. Hardworking slaves call him that too."
"What?"
Hearing this unfamiliar term, Naclis was taken aback. Seeing her reaction, Reflection Naclis laughed even more wildly.
"You!"
Before Naclis could make a move, Reflection Naclis shrank into her shadow. Naclis instantly had no way to retaliate. She sat indignantly on the edge of the bed, sulking as she stared at her own shadow.
"Oh, right. We also went to the beach. Daddy bought me a swimsuit."
With that, Reflection Naclis pulled out the swimsuit and waved it in front of Naclis, then slipped back into the shadow.
Naclis was getting numb. She was very curious about the meaning of that word Reflection Naclis had just used, but she couldn't bring herself to ask. So she just fumed alone.
...
Afterward, life returned to its usual routine. There was no difference from before, and nothing else happened.
In the end, Naclis couldn't hold back her curiosity and came to ask Loren about that word's meaning. But when Loren heard it, his expression immediately changed. He simply told Naclis it wasn't a good word and that she shouldn't say it from now on.
After going through those events, Paqina had grown closer to everyone. At Loren's invitation, she also moved into his house. The accommodations at Bountiful Magic Academy were decent, but they were far from Loren's place.
Moreover, Loren's household had Seraphina, a top-tier chef, so the food didn't need much mention either. But after living there for a while, Paqina felt a bit embarrassed. It was around then that Mirrorheart approached her and told her how she could truly make Loren part of the family...
Gradually, the final exams at Bountiful Magic Academy rolled around. Paqina spent all her free time studying. She wanted to get a perfect score so she wouldn't tarnish Loren's reputation.
But there was one thing she didn't know: the new Headmaster was Bishop, whom Loren had recommended. Who would dare not give her a perfect score? They'd be asking to be kicked out of the academy.
Luna and Jessica were also studying. Even Naclis joined them to read together. But when Loren walked by, he noticed that Naclis's book wasn't right.
"Isn't that Mirrorheart's comic?"
"Hehe, busted."
Reflection Naclis made a cute expression, then grabbed the book and ran off, all the way back to the bedroom.
"You!"
Furious, Loren chased after her. As soon as he opened the door, he saw Naclis holding the comic.
Without a word, Loren pinned her over his lap and started hitting. But after several spanks, he realized something was off.
Usually, Reflection Naclis would scream at this point, but this time, she was eerily silent.
Loren looked at her face. Naclis's expression was one of utter shock, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes. She said nothing.
