"Shut up, you Black Charcoal." Yulian, dressed in a black mage's robe, muttered in a slightly shrill voice, his expression grave. Watching the father and daughter walk away hand in hand, he muttered, "That was a strong magical fluctuation just now. Is that little girl a genius? Or is that man a hidden master?"
"Now you really are a Black Charcoal." The green-hatted parrot clucked at the black crow, its feathers completely singed, full of schadenfreude.
"Old man, please call me Fama • Odin • Highness. My palace was destroyed by that little brat. Get me a new one right now, and preferably a magnificent royal robe, so that others won't see my beautiful body." The black crow said somewhat discontentedly, sniffing around, then cried out again, "Damn it, where did that roasted chicken smell from?"
"One more word and I'll feed you a new experimental drink." Yulian turned to look at the black crow, expressionless, his voice as shrill as a demon crawling out of hell.
The black crow immediately cowered, shifting its leg to the side and saying somewhat awkwardly, "Then...then at least give me two leaves, otherwise standing here is too unsightly."
"Green Bean, go find him two leaves." Yulian said, turning and walking towards the shop, muttering to himself, "Strange, how come I never noticed any magical fluctuations over there before? Perhaps I can spar with him."
"Lord Yulian, next time you need my help, please call me Sang Ni." the green parrot cheerfully said, turning its head to unlock its cage, fluttering away, and returning shortly with two leaves. It placed them beside Black Charcoal, then flew back to its cage, locked the door, and elegantly preened its feathers.
"I never imagined that I, the king, would fall to such a state." Black Charcoal sighed, looking around before picking up the two leaves and wrapping them around his body to protect his vital areas.
Mai Ge led the cheerful Amy towards the square. After setting fire to the black crow, Amy was clearly in a good mood, skipping and hopping ahead, occasionally stopping to wait for Mai Ge before continuing on.
Mai Ge had ten gold coins in his pocket. Although gold coins were quite important to him now, he wouldn't hesitate to buy Amy anything she liked or wanted.
However, the little one was sensible and wouldn't waste money. After wandering around for half an hour, she only wanted a small wooden puppet that moved on strings.
Next, Mai Ge took Amy to the largest market in Aden Square, but unfortunately, after searching the whole place, they couldn't find a single swan, let alone the Ugly Duckling.
There were ducklings, but Mai Ge worried that if they didn't grow into swans, Amy would think he was lying, so he didn't buy them.
The prices of ordinary vegetables at the market were very cheap, but the system said that outside ingredients couldn't be brought into the kitchen, which dashed his hopes of buying groceries.
"Daddy, are we not going to be able to buy the Ugly Duckling today?" Amy looked up at Mai Ge at the market entrance, her expression a little disappointed.
"The vendor said the Ugly Ducklings haven't hatched yet, so we might have to wait a while to buy them." Mai Ge nodded, wondering how to comfort the expectant Amy. It was already early autumn, and even swans were rare near Chaos City, let alone cygnets; it would probably be a long time before they could be found.
"Hmm!" Before Mai Ge could comfort her, Amy's gaze was already drawn to a roadside herb stall. She skipped over, squatted down, stared at it for a moment, then turned and waved to Mai Ge, saying, "Daddy, come and see quickly! This must be the Ugly Duckling's egg!"
"Hmm?" Mai Ge walked over. A muscular, dark-skinned middle-aged man sat beside the stall, weaving a small basket from dry grass. He was probably a herb gatherer; his hands were calloused from climbing ropes. Sacks of herbs lay on the ground, and beside his feet was a small pile of grass with a large, grayish white egg, about the size of a bowl, on top of it.
"Daddy, let's buy this egg! You said there's no Ugly Duckling now, so we can go home and hatch it." Amy said, pointing to the egg on the ground and looking up at Mai Ge, her face full of anticipation.
"Okay." Mai Ge nodded with a smile. The little one had been disappointed many times today, and he wanted her to go home happily. He then looked at the herb gatherer and asked, "Boss, what kind of egg is this?"
"Well, I'm not entirely sure. I found this yesterday on a cliff while I was gathering herbs. It's a place only birds can reach, so it's probably a bird egg. This is very nutritious." the herb gatherer said with a simple smile.
"How much?" Mai Ge's eyes lit up. If it was a bird egg, it was about the same size as a swan egg, and judging by its size, it could probably grow bigger than an ostrich. If tamed properly, it could be a perfect mount for Amy.
"If the little girl likes it… just three gold coins." the herb gatherer said, scratching his head with a smile, looking at the expectant Amy.
"Okay, three gold coins, please keep them." Mai Ge immediately pulled out three gold coins and handed them to him. The herb gatherer risked his life everyday walking on cliffs, and if it really was a large bird egg, three gold coins were really not expensive at all.
"Alright, this little basket is perfect for the little girl; it's just the right size to hold this egg." The herb gatherer placed the egg, along with some hay, into the newly woven basket and handed it to Amy with a smile.
"Little Amy, quickly thank Uncle." Mai Ge said hurriedly to Amy.
"Thank you, Uncle." Amy happily took the basket, carrying it with both hands, and whispered, "Ugly Duckling, be good, okay? I'll hatch you slowly."
"You're welcome, you're welcome," the herb gatherer waved with a smile, looking at Mai Ge with a laugh. "My daughter is the same age as her and also likes raising little creatures, but we already have two monkeys at home, so I didn't bring it back for her."
"Yes, the little one has been talking about it these past few days. I hope she'll like it when it hatches." Mai Ge said with a slightly helpless smile, but his eyes were full of affection as he looked at Amy.
After saying goodbye to the herb gatherer, Mai Ge wanted to help Amy carry the eggs, but she refused. She carried them herself with some difficulty, making Mai Ge who was following behind, a little worried that it might fall to the ground.
The walk back took almost half an hour. Amy gently placed the small basket on the steps by the door, breathed a sigh of relief, and turned to Mai Ge, saying earnestly, "Daddy, thank you for buying Amy the Ugly Duckling's egg. I'll take good care of it from now on."
"Hmm, but the herb gatherer Uncle just said that this might not be the Ugly Duckling's egg; it could be another bird's egg," Mai Ge said with a smile, taking out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her forehead.
Amy shook her head firmly: "No, Little Amy believe this is definitely the Ugly Duckling's egg. I'm going to hatch it, raise it slowly, and turn it into a swan, and then... and then..."
Then Mai Ge looked at Amy and swallowed.