Chapter 14: Not at all!

After depleting my mental energy three times, I fell asleep the moment I hugged my egg babies on the bed.

It was a comfortable sleep—maybe because I’d just scored some loot, enough to cover rent. I slept until I woke naturally.

“…Hup! That felt good!”

Waking up near evening, I lazily crawled out of bed and stretched comfortably.

After three mental outbursts, my mental energy cap had actually increased, and my sore limbs felt much better—progress that made me genuinely happy.

I moved my body, then looked at the two egg babies lying quietly beside me. Feeling cheerful, I picked them up, gave each a gentle kiss, and stroked their smooth shells.

The little ones were sleeping deeply, not reacting to my affection.

I’m not worried about them becoming dead eggs yet—it’d take at least a month without proper nourishment for that to happen. That means I have a month to find suitable magic crystals for them.

“Hup.”

After touching their shells, I hopped off the bed, yawning, and headed to the kitchen.

I hadn’t eaten breakfast or lunch, so, starving, I stuffed the remaining black bread and vegetables into my mouth—now that I had more money, I could eat this up and buy better food later.

“Phew… time to buy some meat. Without proper nutrition, I can’t train my body…”

After scarfing down the bread and veggies, I craved meat. Considering my funds and the daggers and knife, I decided to sell the weapons—keeping one dagger—and use the money to buy more herbs for potions and some decent ingredients.

This scrawny body is painful to look at—flat-chested, ribs showing, it’s a miracle I haven’t starved. Long-term malnutrition is bad for growth and training, and I don’t want to stay this weak. Since I have the means now, I’ll start fixing it.

“Hm-hm-hm~”

Humming, I tidied up, ready to go sell the weapons for coins—this “windfall” put me in a great mood.

Two days ago, I started with a measly three silver coins, but now… conservatively, each weapon should fetch forty or fifty silver coins. That’s doable.

As I got ready, a thought hit me.

“Right, I’ve been so busy I forgot to figure out this charm ability.”

I paused, recalling how I’d accidentally charmed two people.

I turned to the bathroom, staring into the mirror at my eyes.

If I remember right, my eyes turned from reddish-orange to a seductive purple then.

So, the pupils are key?

I thought, staring at my reflection—but after pondering, I couldn’t figure out how I triggered it.

The racial inheritance mark might hold answers, but my brain’s too fragile to handle the flood of knowledge it’d unleash.

My bloodline… whether called Phoenix or Fenix, it’s technically an Immortal Bird, the name depending on preference.

Among Immortal Birds, there are many bloodline branches…

The first Immortal Birds were born from elements, pure elemental beings with near-indestructible survival in their domain.

My bloodline, a Fire Phoenix, is the most common and ordinary of the clan.

That’s all I gleaned from my initial contact with the racial mark—my mental energy and brain can’t handle more for now, and I’m not planning to try soon.

Sure, it’s called an Immortal Bird, and I’ve got insane self-healing…

But I don’t know its limits.

What happens if my head’s crushed, leaving just a body? Or if only my head remains? Or if I’m completely eaten?

I don’t know, but I suspect a full corpse might revive, while being eaten or beheaded would likely kill me.

I’m definitely not testing that! No way!

I thought, then studied my eyes in the mirror for a while with no answers. I shook my head, letting my bangs fall to cover my eyes slightly—if I accidentally trigger the charm, this might prevent trouble.