Ben met up with the mayor to wrap up his job. There were some Council officials there, so he needed to make a report directly. They finish the process fast because they needed to take the dark mages to the national branch soon.
After the meeting, Ben and Bella headed to the mayor's residence. Elefsia returned to her house with her parents, so they can rest now. They had lunch and a bath before going to sleep.
Ben woke up that evening to find a little intruder in his bed. Elefsia was sleeping on his left because Bella slept on his right. There was a dark expression on his face, but he didn't do anything that would disturb the little girl.
'It seems I can't get up now. Let's just improve my magic to kill time.' Ben thought.
Ben asked A.I Chip to come up with some simulations from the data and Ben's ideas. He focused on improving his Sun Devil Slayer Magic because he had only known it for a few months.
As for Curses, he put it on the back burner because he still needed to improve his emotional control first like Morgbitt said, especially the negative emotions.
All his Devil Slayer Magic spells were derived from his Dragon Slayer Magic spells. He didn't have any knowledge of Sun Devil Slayer Magic, so there's no other choice. It wasn't a problem though because he had A.I Chip's assistance.
Ben improved his magic all night. The girls finally woke up the next morning and Bella was surprised to see Elefsia there. But she didn't mind and acted like nothing was wrong.
"Why are you here?" Ben asked Elefsia.
"I wasn't able to sleep in my bed, so papa and mama brought me here. Auntie Amanda told me to sleep here and I really can sleep here." Elefsia explained.
"Auntie Amanda? Who's she?" Ben asked, confused.
"She is my mother's sister, the house's owner." Elefsia said.
Ben blinked. He now knew the mayor's name. It made him realize that he always called her mayor and never bothered to ask for a name. Fortunately, Elefsia told him otherwise he would be ashamed if he learned it from someone else.
Knocking was suddenly heard on the door and Marc came in. He told them to have breakfast with the mayor and Elefsia's parents. They went there and had breakfast immediately because Ben was really hungry. He didn't eat anything last night.
Elefsia sat very closely to Ben and their chairs were almost touching each other. She kept peeking at Bella who was sitting on Ben's lap while eating roasted meat. Her mother and aunt were giggling while her father had a worried expression.
"E-Elefsia, you need to focus on your meal." Elefsia's father, Herald said.
Elefsia nodded but continued what she was doing earlier. The corner of Herald's mouth twitched and his wife, Vina, giggled upon seeing that. Ben raised an eyebrow in confusion, but he just ignored it and kept eating his food.
Amanda told her staff to prepare a lot of food because she knew Ben had a big appetite. His appetite surprised the noble family as it was their first time seeing someone eat so much food. They can't understand where all the food went because Ben's body still looks normal.
"Do you use magic to digest all that food?" Herald asked curiously.
"No, I just eat a lot because I need a lot of energy. You can say that my body is special and normal portions aren't enough for me." Ben informed him.
Ben's body was affected by his Slayer Magic, including his appetite. That's why his appetite is big since he is a Dragon Slayer. Now he also has Devil Slayer Magic, so his appetite increased.
After the meal, Ben wanted to buy supplies for his journey. But Vina stopped him and asked him to accompany her daughter. She will have her men get all of his supplies, so he doesn't need to do it himself.
He wanted to refuse, but the little girl held onto his pants with hopeful eyes. Having no choice, he agreed making Elefsia happy. Her father didn't seem to be very happy though, but he said nothing after his wife glared at him.
They go to the garden behind the mansion and sit in a gazebo. Elefsia can finally sit on Ben's lap because Bella laid on his head. She didn't ask anything and just climbed up herself. It surprised Ben, but he let it be, and they talk.
"How old are you, Elefsia?" Ben asked.
"Um, 8?" Elefsia answered with some uncertainty.
"Ha ha ha, you should know your own age. Well, you should know all about yourself, so find it out after this, alright?" Ben asked while rubbing her head.
"Okay." The little girl replied.
"Alright, I've asked you first, now you can ask me anything." Ben said.
"Hmm, tell me the stories about your jobs." Elefsia stated.
"Sure, but will it be long?" Ben asked after agreeing to tell her.
Ben then told her some stories about his jobs. Of course, he filtered them and tried to make the stories friendly for children. Many of the scenes weren't meant for children because they were too scary.
Bella also joined the storytelling by doing an act on the table to clarify. Her act is accurate, but it looked very one when she was the one who did it. Still, it made Elefsia happy seeing her funny act.
Ben and Bella were happy to see her this happy. At least they can help her recover a little by doing this. They keep telling her stories for a few hours because there are a lot of stories they can tell her.
Elefsia finally found out that they are traveling around the kingdom now. It made her sad to know they couldn't stay for long. She didn't want them to leave and kept hugging Ben while holding onto his clothes.
Ben had no idea what to do and asked for help from the adults. Elefsia's parents then reason with her. Finally, she agreed to let Ben and Bella resume their journey after spending 3 more days there and accompany her while playing.
The next day, he accompanied Elefsia to the field to play upon her request. She only played with Bella though because they play girly games that Ben never knew about. Bella taught Elefsia some games she played with Wendy and Carla.
The 2 little girls played happily while Ben watched from the sidelines. But then they start to use him as their play thing. They play with his hair by tying it with rubber hands in many spots.
Ben just let them do it to make them happy and satisfied. It's already a good thing that Elefsia can smile and laugh after what happened before. He knew she won't forget it easily, but at least she can ignore it for now.
Around noon, the other child hostages came there. They were asked to come there with their parents by the mayor. The conversation involving the adults will bore the kids, so they follow the mayor's instruction.
With more kids, they can play more games together. The new games and some friends made Elefsia very happy. She didn't have any friends who will play these kinds of games that will get their clothes dirty. All of her friends are noble and rich kids.
Ben worked on his magic again while supervising the kids. There's nothing he can do there, but he still needed to be productive. The kids will be fine because there are guards that will keep watch over them.
They finished playing that afternoon and everyone returned to their homes. Ben's group also returned to the mansion to get some rest. They play games of Elefsia's choosing for the next 2 days.
Then finally, it was time for Ben and Bella's journey to continue. Elefsia is sad, but she left them go because she agreed to do so. Ben rubbed her head and then gave her a silver bracelet with some colorful gems on it which are lacrima crystals.
"Wear it anytime and it will protect you when you're in danger. It will also send a signal to me when you're in danger and I will come to help you." Ben said as he patted the little girl's head.
Elefsia nodded and wore it before hugging Ben and Bella. Then they bid farewell to her and leave the Port Town, resuming their journey.