Chapter 208 The Present
Returning to the present, Lucia happily reviewed the words the kids wrote, advising them on pronunciation and offering suggestions for improvement. Occasionally, she would focus on individual students for one-on-one instruction, although she essentially did this for most of the class. The rest, she guided on the board. Everyone present studied diligently, and even if some students had more trouble learning the material than others, Lucia dedicated time to familiarizing them in the way they needed.
After teaching for most of the day, Lucia felt her body calling for food. She went to the kitchenette and grabbed the bare essentials for Aleshia's needs. Although the portion was smaller than what the other kids received, Lucia managed to fulfill the body's needs by using nature magic as a substitute for the food.
Lucia felt a twinge of regret for having forcibly sedated Aleshia, but she believed it was for Aleshia's good. As Lucia reflected on her choices thus far, she munched on the nuts and berries.
During Lucia's mealtime, Daniel entered the room. Upon seeing her, he approached with a stern expression and asked, "So, are you the hat or the girl?"
Without hesitation, Lucia replied, "The hat."
"Alright," Daniel said, returning to his normal voice. He reached into the food storage and retrieved some more food, handing it to Lucia. "Here, what you have now isn't enough for the growing girl."
"Thanks, but I'm using magic to make up for the rest," Lucia muttered, reluctantly accepting the food.
Daniel smiled knowingly. "Regardless, you are still helping the children learn to read and write. I believe you deserve more for that. You know I check in every once in a while, right?"
"Sure, sure. Do you have any tasks for me? I'm free for the rest of the day and would love to get outside and explore the area," Lucia replied with a hint of frustration.
"You know I can't let you go too far, given that you have the power to cure our curse," Daniel said, pausing to give her a sincere look. "But I don't have the strength to keep you here, and even if I tried, you would leave without a second thought. I know that about people like you."
Lucia took a moment to reflect on Daniel's words and didn't want to disregard all the help he had provided in sheltering her and Aleshia. With Aleshia's promise in mind, she felt compelled to do what she could before she decided to leave. Lucia realized that forcing Aleshia to flee again would only deepen her regrets about abandoning the wolf and would create new regrets. Lucia wanted to prevent any further guilt from weighing on Aleshia.