Heir

Although she had already noticed it before, Camilla was once more surprised by Bloed's intelligence.

Not only he accepted quickly the concept of a completely new world, but he also understood many of the explanations about technology easily.

But what earned most of Camilla's admiration was his curiosity.

As a scientist, Camilla knew how important curiosity was. Curiosity is the fuel that drives science. The desire to find answers is the spark that motivates mankind to explore the unknown.

So, instead of getting irritated by Bloed's endless questions, she patiently answered him.

With each question she answered, Bloed asked a new one. He asked about robots, about cars, about airplanes, about schools, about science, about the humans on earth. Every time he learned something new, he could not hide the astonishment on his face.

"Amazing…" Bloed let out a sigh of admiration. Camilla could not help but lift up the corner of her lips when she saw such a childlike expression on him. She thought that such an expression was much more suitable for a child of his age.

"Bloed, what do you think about our world?"

"… It sounds amazing. I can't believe that anyone can fly using that airplane thing. Moreover, humans on your planet don't have magic!"

"Hahahaha, yes, but we had science and technology. In our world, even the weakest human could fly through the skies."

"… I would like to see it."

Camilla smiled sadly. "Unfortunately, I can't take you there…"

Bloed nodded. He could not deny that he was slightly disappointed, though. In a corner of his mind, he wanted to see a world like that.

"Bloed, where is your family?" Camilla suddenly asked.

Bloed fell silent. He gritted his teeth and looked at the ground as though thinking about how to answer.

"… I don't have a family." He said after a while.

Camilla's eyes flashed. Many different emotions appeared in her eyes in an instant, and then, she sighed.

"… Me neither."

An awkward silence descended in the dining room.

Blood took a deep breath and calmed down. After talking with Camilla, he realized that the otherworlders were not so terrifying as he thought. In the books he read in the palace, otherworlders were described as terrifying creatures that devoured magic.

However, Camilla was instead very beautiful, kind, and knowledgeable. Plus, she didn't treat him as a cursed child neither she minded teaching him new knowledge.

To be honest, he wanted to stay here for a little longer.

But…

"… I think it's time for me to leave." Bloed said.

"Already? You are right, we have spoken for a very long time." Bloed had arrived in the morning, but it was already afternoon.

"Thank you for the food." Bloed said softly. He then stood up from the chair and grabbed his things.

But when he was about to leave the spaceship, Camilla opened her lips.

"Bloed, do you mind helping me with something?"

"Huh?"

"You see, our food reserves are running out, and you are pretty good at hunting. Do you mind bringing us food every day? Don't worry, we will pay for it. Plus, you can eat here."

Bloed was startled, but in the next second, he nodded while trying to hide his excitement.

"Okay!"

Then, he left the spaceship hurriedly.

Camilla smiled and shook her head. After Bloed left, she took a deep breath and fell deep into thoughts.

At some point, Tito had appeared beside her.

[Master, what was that for?]

"… Tito, I slept for four hundred years… Four hundred years is a very long time."

[…]

"When I fell asleep, the war against the Devourers was at its peak. Each day, hundreds of battles were fought in the human confederation's territory. However, you and I know that we were losing…"

[Master…]

"Each day, we received reports of defeats and colonies lost. Although we won some battles, that was far from enough to change the situation."

Camille sighed. Although she hated the devourers that killed her family, she had to admit that they were a very powerful enemy.

Precisely due to that, she hesitated.

"Tito, answer me a question, do you believe that human confederation had any hope of winning."

[… According to my calculations, humans only had a 23.56% probability of winning the war.]

"23.56% huh… How laughable." Camilla smiled self-deprecatorily. "Then Tito, do you think it's possible for the human confederation to endure four hundred years of war against the devourers?"

Tito did not answer, but its silence was enough of an answer.

"Perhaps I'm the last survivor of the Human Confederation."

The spaceship fell silent.

For a few seconds, none of the two spoke, but finally, Camilla opened her mouth.

"I think it's fate, Tito. Although Bloed is a bit aggressive, he is a very kind and smart child. I tested him before, and his intelligence and curiosity are impressive even for me.

"… Maybe God doesn't want for the human legacy to end, so he sent him towards us. Don't you think it's a miracle that someone like him was the one that awoke us?

"Hahaha, it looks like God doesn't want for me to be reunited with my family yet. It doesn't matter though, I can wait for a few more years, I'm sure they will not mind.

"Tito, prepare everything. We will make Bloed the heir of our race's legacy."

Tito fell silent. It looked at its master with its lone eye and hovered silently beside her.

Then, with a smiling-like gaze, it nodded.

[Understood, I'll prepare everything.]

It was more than happy about seeing its master live for a little bit longer.

…

From then on, Bloed's classes started.

Every day he would bring the prey he hunted and Tito would prepare it for them. Then, Camilla would teach him knowledge about the earth.

Bloed was very happy about that. He found Camilla's stories very interesting. Moreover, he liked Camilla very much, so spending time with her was enjoyable.

Eventually, he stopped leaving the spaceship after classes and started to use it as his base. That way, he could spend more time learning from Camilla.

Camilla was a very good teacher, and Bloed was an excellent student. Plus, this spaceship originally belonged to a scientific fleet, so the knowledge inside its database was incredibly high. Bloed probably could not learn it even if he studied all his life.

At the same time, Camilla and Bloed's relationship grew closer and closer. Camilla found that spending time with Bloed helped her to forget about her pain, and Bloed found in Camilla the concern he never found on his family.

Like that, one year passed.