The number of times Lith has made Mayzin baffled was astounding. If she were to count, both hers as well as Lith's fingers won't be enough.
With how shameless the comment he just made was, Mayzin was considering whether to beat him up or throw him in a dungeon full of insects.
After careful consideration, she decided to let the matter go. This boy had worked hard. It wouldn't be appropriate to punish him for his loose tongue.
Mayzin shook her head and said, "If you're done talking, let's leave."
"Heh."
Lith walked close to Mayzin and stood an arm's length before her, then placed his hand on her shoulder.
"If I am done talking, you say? Well, I am not done talking then, aunt."
Mayzin rolled her eyes.
Lith took a step close to her and bending his knees a bit, lowered himself a head shorter.
"So no kiss?"
Lith did his best pitiful puppy face he could muster and asked, making Mayzin's eye twitch.
"You won't give up, would you?"
"Absolutely!"
Shaking her head, Mayzin held Lith's hand that was on her shoulder and pulled him, making him crash in her embrace.
"Oh my so forceful" Lith commented in a mock girlish voice, as if he was a young maiden who was pulled into a hug by her heroic knight lover.
Mayzin ignored the useless words and craned her head down.
The next thing Lith knew, a pair of soft, sweet lips were pushing against his. The warmth from them made him melt.
A second passed and Mayzin continued to press her lips against his. In her mind, she came to a conclusion that this shameless nephew of hers would only bother her again if she ended the kiss too early. Since she went so far to do it, she may as well continue it for a few more seconds.
The feel-good hormones flooded Lith's body. He wrapped his arms around her waist, well, tried to, before Mayzin slapped it away, and also broke the kiss.
"Tsk. So stingy." Lith commented as Mayzin took a step back.
Mayzin, with a calm look, said, "If you have the energy to complain, you need to train."
""
"Why did it rhyme?"
Mayzin shrugged. "No idea. Now let's leave."
..
Back in the Inn.
"U-uwaaa who are you guys?"
The green-haired girl yelled in shock and backed in a corner of the room.
The emotionless Sylvia and the confused Fei were staring at her while Meryl slept on the bed in her cat form.
The door of the room opened up at this point, and the green-haired girl saw the tall Lith.
"G, god!"
She instantly recognized him and was about to rush towards him, but stopped herself from doing so when she saw a tall purple-haired woman with a scary aura walking behind him.
'W, w, what'
Fei walked close to the girl and placed her jeans on her shoulder, making her tremble. "Calm down, will you?"
"What's happening?"
Lith asked as he entered the room and saw the flustered green-haired girl.
"She thinks we're monsters who want to kill her." Fei answered.
The girl stood quietly with her head down.
Lith sighed and shook his head. Coming across someone normal was truly troublesome.
The girl wasn't cowardly or wrong for acting the way she was acting. She was a weak human, and this was justifiable behavior from her side.
It had been such a long time since Lith came across someone weak that he had almost forgotten the way they behaved.
The average person in this world thought of Rank 9 and above as Gods. The established churches worshiped Emperor Ranks, and in such a state, the reaction this girl showed was probably something an average person would.
From being taken from a peril to being dropped into another dangerous situation, paranoia was inevitable.
Had Lith not seen his fate tangled with hers and found potential within her, he would've left her alone.
Lith walked close to the girl. As he reached near her, a faint scent of herbs and medicine filled his nose. He couldn't smell this before as the area they were in was too chaotic and mixed with the scent of blood, sweat, and dust.
Lith placed his hand on the girl's shoulder, causing her to look up at him.
The green-eyed girl with clear round glasses saw the chiseled face of the handsome silver-haired god that saved her.
His face, his purple eyes up close, they looked even better.
The girl wanted to touch Lith's face and feel it, but with the predicament she was in, it was impossible to do so, making her lower her head down in disappointment.
Lith misunderstood her reaction, and consoled, "It's okay. You're in a much better place now."
The girl blinked in amusement and looked up.
"There are no enemies. Nobody is trying to harm you. That there is Fei, my maid."
Lith pointed at Fei, then shifted his finger to point at Sylvia.
"That's Sylvia, also my maid. And that's hm"
Lith put on a pondering expression, carefully considering his words to say out loud to describe Mayzin, who was gazing back at him with a neutral look.
"Well, that's the Dragon Empress."
""
What Lith said did not register the young maiden's mind, for the words were too astounding.
Only after a few seconds did realization struck the girl like thunder, making her feel a chill down her spine.
"T-t-t-the what!?!?"
Her body trembled and her legs felt weak. Lith cast a Light spell on her and calmed her down, making her think rationally and not die from intense shock.
The girl gradually calmed down and came to a realization that it was only right for Mayzin to be here. She was under the shelter of god, so wouldn't god have a connection to a Supreme entity like that?
Yes, it made sense now.
The girl convinced herself for the situation to be normal.
Seeing her calm down, Lith was relieved.
"So, what's your name?"
He didn't know how to address her, so knowing her name was the first important thing.
"My name?" The girl looked at Lith through her innocent green eyes.
"It's"
The girl took a pause, leaving Lith confused.
"it's huh?"
"What? What's my name?"
From the distance, Mayzin raised an eyebrow in surprise, which was followed by Fei, Sylvia, and Lith respectively.
The ginger cat also woke up from her sleep and turned to look at the girl.
"Ah what my name"
The girl was flustered and trembled.
"Name, name, name, name"
She began wandering around like a headless chicken, as if doing so would have her remember her name.
Lith hit the girl's head with the side of his palm and immobilized her, unable to watch her in such a state.
The girl was knocked unconscious and was free to be searched.
Lith turned to Sylvia and asked, "Can you do a memory search?"
Sylvia shook her head.
Memory search differed from normal magic. It wasn't based on any of the twelve elemental laws, and lay in the domain of souls.
"I can, Master." Fei's response came right after Sylvia's rejection.
"Come here then."
Mayzin probably knew how to do a memory search, but asking her to do it was robbing his maids of the work opportunity, since they rarely got any work from him.
Fei placed her hand on the girl's head and a bright glow flowed from her hand into the girl's body.
A few seconds later, Fei was done.
"There was a sealing spell in her mind." Fei said with a complicated look on her face. "It had to be broken apart to gain complete access to her mind, but that was apparently just a cover. The girl's memory of her name and her childhood as well as teenage years were fully wiped out. The memories are only there from the time she appeared in the Giant Kingdom, which was half a decade ago."
"This girl was surviving by making potions. Acting like an apothecary is natural as breathing to her, but turns out, she isn't actually an apothecary, but an alchemist, who's potential was sealed."
Long story short, the girl in Lith's arms was a genius. Whoever wanted to harm her could only erase her memories. They couldn't erase the things related to alchemy as it was deeply ingrained within her.
Had they tried to erase it too, the girl would've disappeared from existence. Thus, they sealed it with a spell, and put up another spell in her mind to act as decoy for the former one.
Fei clearly said that the girl's memories won't return, no matter what method was used. Sending her back in time was not possible either as she would meet with the same fate.
The reason was not related to her, but rather with Lith.
Getting helped by Lith, there's a string of fate coming out of Lith that was tightly coiled around hers. Even if she goes back now, she won't escape her destiny.
Trying to sever these strings would result in the girl's demise. The possibility of it happening was a whopping 100%.
If the girl wasn't destined to meet Lith, then the only destiny that awaited her was death as the envious people would kill her instead of letting her live.
Lith sighed and rubbed his temples as he heard all of this.
"Is this really true? Fate and destiny and all that"
"Yes, Master." Fei said flatly. "I was forced to use the powers of my race and bloodline when checking this girl. This alone can be enough proof."
Fei's race was quite peculiar. Yellow Phantom was unheard of and her bloodline was that of Timebound Seers. It was an ancient clan consisting of the highest order of Time Path experts. At least, that's what Fei and Sylvia had both said to Lith.
Fei's words made Lith look at the green-haired glasses girl with pity and sympathy.
"Nothing can be done about your memories. I am sorry about that."
Lith then caressed the girl's head.
Fei looked at the girl with pity too while Sylvia and Mayzin had apathetic look on their faces. They weren't moved by such a backstory as to them, this girl looked like an average damsel in distress. There were thousands of such people who incurred such a tragic fate every single day.
The world was a cruel place. Lith was well protected and was only made to see the good happy surface of it.
Not knowing whatever was going on in Mayzin and Sylvia's mind, Lith continued,
"However, not all hope is lost. Let's consider today as the day you were reborn. From today onwards, you'll make new memories. Happy memories where you'll be surrounded by your alchemy materials, friends, and this new family. And from today, since you call me god so much"
A soft smile surfaced on Lith's face.
"you shall be called Liz. Your full name being Lizbeth, derived from Elizabeth, which means god is my oath."