Monster - Chapter 34
Chapter 34: The Reliable Adult, Lin Sandie
It took a full two days for Lin Sandie to finally persuade Little Fool to leave the abandoned temple. There was nothing worth staying for, but Little Fool couldn't bear to part with "her mother."
In the end, Pie had to speak up, breaking the rules to coax Little Fool into leaving. Only then did she reluctantly agree. Pitying her circumstances, Lin Sandie instructed Little Fool to use brute force to pry an obsidian stone from the goddess's forehead, telling her to carry it with her. "Your mother will be in this obsidian stone from now on," she said with great conviction.
Pie, once again breaking the rules, pointed out that Lin Sandie was a "Blasphemer."
Lin Sandie couldn't care less how Pie defined her. This mysterious being had already given her enough trouble to earn her dislike. How she chose to raise Little Fool was none of its business.
However, this incident gave Lin Sandie a deeper understanding of Little Fool's nature as a Sentinel. When Sentinels become too focused on something, they do indeed tend to lose themselves.
The goddess statue was clearly not Pie, yet she had superimposed Pie's voice onto it and, afterward, was completely unable to distinguish between the two.
During those two days, Lin Sandie not only taught Little Fool how to read but also began to explore her own abilities. According to the description of the Spirit Separation state on the light screen, most people's spirit forms were some kind of animal. For instance, when she later taught Little Fool to check, hers was a white bear. Lin Sandie's, however, was a cloud of black fog. She had no idea what kind of monster was hiding within it.
Lin Sandie didn't dwell on the fact that her spirit form was black fog; she just quietly practiced her Spirit Separation.
For now, she only had the body of a rabbit doll, which made doing anything difficult. Mental deterrence had limited effect on Little Fool. If her spirit form could grab or attack, then the next time Little Fool overate so recklessly, she could resort to a more physical form of education.
"This is an eye, this is a mouth, this is a nose…" Today's lesson for Little Fool was learning the parts of the human body. She placed Lin Sandie opposite her, pointing to the corresponding features on her own face while looking at the little rabbit expectantly.
The little rabbit had said that if she learned well, she would get candy.
"This is a shoulder!" Little Fool placed her hands on both shoulders and shouted.
"Correct. Very good, very smart." Lin Sandie didn't hold back her praise. A hand emerged from the black fog, holding a jar of cheap, plentiful star candies.
Little Fool immediately held out her hand.
Though generous with her verbal praise, Lin Sandie was quite stingy, pouring only three star candies, each smaller than a pinky nail, into Little Fool's palm.
Little Fool popped the candies into her mouth with an "Ah-nom," bared her teeth, and crunched them loudly.
Putting the star candies back into her space bag, Lin Sandie sighed. She had no idea if this was the right way to raise a child, but she had no training in this area. The fact that she could remain patient was a testament to her good temper.
She had gritted her teeth and spent 100 points on the space bag bound to her spirit form. It was only 0.2 cubic meters, the smallest size available, and couldn't store living things. But she had no choice; it was an expensive item. According to the item list, a one-cubic-meter space bag cost 10,000 points.
She now had 30 points left from what she'd taken from Little Fool, while Little Fool had 196. Little Fool's points had been used to buy the space bag, while hers had been spent on food, snacks, various necessities, and information about the Aztec civilization for Little Fool…
Why do I have to keep track of my finances every day even in a Tower World? This isn't scientific!
"Let's go. We're heading to the White Bear Tribe."
"Little Rabbit, what's 'scientific'?" Little Fool pinned Lin Sandie to her shoulder with a safety pin and asked.
"It's hard to explain." Lin Sandie knew Little Fool had heard her inner thoughts and didn't mind.
Her very presence in this Tower World was a violation of science, not to mention that she was currently a rabbit doll. According to Pie, even though she had bought books about the Aztec civilization, they only represented the Aztecs of the Main World. Most Tower Worlds were distorted reflections of the Main World.
This meant that what she saw here wouldn't be exactly the same as what was described in the books about the Main World's Aztecs.
Still, Lin Sandie wanted to understand as much as she could. At least she now knew she was in a world that was almost 500 years before her own time.
Little Fool was an ancient little savage.
Pie's mission for them was to go to the White Bear Tribe, located west of Lake Texcoco. It didn't specify how they should get there. After reviewing a lot of information and consulting the map on the light screen, Lin Sandie found two possible routes. One was to go around Lake Texcoco, trekking through the jungle far from the shore. This route was long and potentially dangerous.
The other was to take a boat directly across Lake Texcoco, which would be much faster. However, they might encounter Spanish and Mexica armies.
The Aztec civilization wasn't a single country but a triple alliance of three major city-states. The most powerful was Tenochtitlan, built on an artificial island in the middle of Lake Texcoco. A war was currently raging there. The Spanish, seeking Tenochtitlan's gold, had taken King Moctezuma hostage. However, Moctezuma's brother had managed to escape and, with the support of surrounding tribes, had become the new king.
The new king was organizing soldiers to counterattack the invaders. The fighting involved not only cannons but also a virus that terrified everyone in this era: smallpox.
Lin Sandie chose the first route without hesitation. Pie hadn't set a time limit for the mission anyway. While it was a shame they couldn't resupply, at Little Fool's current age, it was unlikely anyone would be willing to trade with her.
With that in mind, Lin Sandie bought Little Fool two sets of long-sleeved camouflage outfits. Using her spirit form, she helped her get dressed, carefully tightening the cuffs and pant legs to prevent insects from getting in. She also bought two pairs of hiking boots, a hat, a water bottle, and other gear, using all her available resources to "arm her to the teeth."
In truth, Little Fool probably didn't need any of this, but Lin Sandie couldn't help but view her through the lens of a modern person.
Once they were packed, Lin Sandie and Little Fool set off for the White Bear Tribe early in the morning.
The Aztec Empire's vegetation was typical of a tropical monsoon forest, composed of drought-resistant tropical evergreens and deciduous broad-leaved trees. It was early summer, the beginning of the rainy season, so it was neither too cold nor too hot. Lin Sandie tried to keep Little Fool from going too deep into the jungle, sticking to the edge of the woods, a good distance from Lake Texcoco.
Considering Little Fool was only six or seven years old, the reliable adult Lin Sandie didn't plan on feeding her instant meals every day. So, for their first mission, she had also purchased a portable gas stove, a soup pot, seasonings, and other essential outdoor cooking supplies. She intended to use her spirit form to prepare hot meals for Little Fool.
Her cooking skills were average at best, but for a little savage like Little Fool who ate whatever she could find, it was more than enough.
"Walk faster. When the number on the watch gets to 12, I'll make you something delicious," Lin Sandie said, chatting with Little Fool to pass the time as they walked.
She was certain that the flow of time in the Aztec Tower World was different from that in Leviathan. She had been in Aztec for nearly three days; if the time flow were the same, she should have woken up in reality by now, but she hadn't.
After ruling out the possibility that she was dead, Lin Sandie concluded that the time flow was inconsistent. She would have to wait until she woke up and checked the time to determine the exact difference.
"What delicious thing will you make, Little Rabbit?" Under Lin Sandie's tutelage, Little Fool could now recognize Arabic numerals from 1 to 20. Her intelligence was a pleasant surprise to Lin Sandie.
"What do you want to eat?" Lin Sandie asked.
"Spicy!"
"Spicy?" Lin Sandie was surprised by the answer.
"Cactus!"
"Hah, don't even think about it. I'll make you something much better." Lin Sandie was a bit unsure about the dietary habits of the Aztec people.
"Meat!"
"That, I can do."
Little Fool's pace wasn't fast, but as a Sentinel who was always with a Guide, her stamina was quite good. She walked for four hours straight without a single complaint. During this time, Lin Sandie taught her how to use the "Line" ability to track a bird, while she herself continuously used "Island" to stay alert for any harmful wildlife approaching them. This season, the jungle was full of venomous snakes and insects. The moment an unfamiliar creature got close, Lin Sandie would use Island to scan it, and if she judged it to be a potential threat, she would immediately tell Little Fool to go around it.
When it was twelve o'clock, Lin Sandie had Little Fool find a cool, sheltered spot with a relatively flat rock on the ground, and she began to prepare lunch.
"What are we eating, Little Rabbit~~?" Little Fool was particularly excited about this. The moment Lin Sandie mentioned making food, her eyes lit up.
"Go wash your hands first." Lin Sandie took a 1.5-liter bottle of mineral water from her space bag and gave it to Little Fool. She had already taught her how to wash her hands with bottled water.
After Little Fool walked away, she took out the gas stove, soup pot, and the shrimp, seafood mushrooms, eggs, carrots, and steamed buns she had bought from the online store. Although the space bag couldn't store living things, it kept non-living items perfectly fresh, as if time had stopped for them. This was a nice surprise for Lin Sandie.
"Little Rabbit, I'm done washing!" Little Fool ran back, her face eager to help.
"Then wash these two as well. Don't use too much water, but make sure they're clean." Lin Sandie handed the carrots and seafood mushrooms to Little Fool. The items from the online store were already very clean, so a quick rinse would be enough.
Once Little Fool ran off with the vegetables, Lin Sandie took out another bottle of mineral water. She poured some into the pot, preparing to steam the buns first.
The buns were quite large; two should be enough. It was only Little Fool eating, anyway… Lin Sandie placed the fresh pork buns on the steaming rack set over the pot and lit the stove.
While the buns were steaming, Lin Sandie took out a cutting board and chopped the washed carrots and mushrooms. The lunch menu for Little Fool today was fresh pork buns and a simple three-delicacy soup. Lin Sandie had spent a small fortune on books about children's nutritional menus, and she was determined to get her money's worth.
"Sigh… why am I, a lesbian who has no plans to get married or have kids, learning this kind of thing?" Lin Sandie would occasionally have such thoughts when she took a moment to breathe amidst the busyness.
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