Chapter 8, continuing with blessings for Tim, um, Bat...
“Fia, no,” Bruce’s gaze softened instantly when it met the confusion in Enid’s eyes, his voice a little too serious, “There’s no need to use the word ‘cost’ between family members. I want your genuine blessing, not something you have to pay for. Besides… this is your home too, child.”
Tim also seemed somewhat disapproving of what Enid said. "Obviously, I agree with Bruce. You're my older sister, aren't you?" Although she seemed more like the younger sister, he didn't deny it.
Faced with Tim and Bruce's words, Enid began to fall into deep doubt and confusion. Bruce said gently with a hint of helplessness, "Perhaps you can tell me first what you need to give up for the blessing?" He didn't really believe in free lunches; on the contrary, he was very wary.
She didn't quite understand Bruce's caution; once the topic clearly shifted, she actually felt relieved.
"In other words, what I need to give up is my magic. Most of my magic comes from oak trees, and a small part comes from other natural trees, flowers and plants. If you need me to make things easier, then please plant more oak trees nearby. This is the power that the gods have given me. As my sincere praise, it is the Mother Goddess's recognition of me."
Bruce didn't deny this, because he knew that Enid was the first to rise, quietly waiting for the first rays of sunlight to appear, offering a hymn of praise to the early riser. As for the other details, Dick provided more detailed information, including her genetic condition determined through blood tests, and now, Zatana had come and also tested Enid.
Her body was very healthy, and the source of her magic was an incredibly gentle favor. Even so, Bruce was not entirely at ease about the blessing Enid spoke of.
"I... it's because you don't trust me, Father, right?" She was too perceptive, so she lowered her head somewhat dejectedly: "Actually... well, it's not just because of the price, my blessings are sincere."
Bruce realized for the first time the annoyance of his overly keen intuition, but he didn't want to give Enid that impression, so he offered a slightly more moderate explanation: "Oh no, of course not, I was just... worried about you." Tim shrugged beside him and casually relayed the scene to the public channel where Bruce wasn't present.
"Sorry, Fia, um, maybe you could try me first? Is that alright?"
"Hmm...of course, Father, what is your full name?"
“Mine? Bruce Thomas Wayne.” Bruce wasn’t actually surprised that she didn’t know his full name.
Enid did not refuse, so Bruce naturally asked Zatana for help. Incidentally, Bruce had already introduced Zatana to Enid, who liked the very beautiful lady. So she didn't mind giving Bruce her first blessing under Zatana's gaze. As for the location, everyone moved outdoors together.
She stood up, her white robe billowing even without wind. She clasped her hands together in front of her chest, thumbs touching, the other fingers alternating, and a soft glow slowly emanated from her body.
"May Mother Goddess bestow mercy and love upon you, cleanse you in the name of the oak, guide you in the name of the raven, let the wind and rain wash away all your worries, let the grass and trees bless your well-being, and bless you in the name of the great druid Enid Niaf Grady, Bruce Thomas Wayne."
She exuded an aura like that of a forest, and under everyone's gaze, Bruce Wayne clearly noticed that his body began to feel lighter. He was even certain that his physical condition had been instantly restored, but this required further testing, and just then Enid stopped.
Surprisingly, Enid didn't feel that she had used up too much energy. "Looks like there are oak trees here, right?" Enid asked, somewhat puzzled. Afo smiled.
"It seems that Master Dick was right. After he mentioned it to me last night, I arranged for people to plant oak trees overnight. They are all a hundred years old. The higher quality oak trees should be delivered this afternoon. Miss Enid, you don't need to worry. Of course, if it's convenient, you can release your other companions now. Many domesticated mammals have already been released in some areas. The master will check the number of animals regularly, so you don't need to worry."
She paused for a moment, then looked at her father, whose complexion was even more outstanding, and Alfred, who was smiling gently. Her eyes involuntarily welled up with tears.
"Did your brother tell you all this, and then you prepared it overnight?"
"Yes, I hope Mr. Dick is right."
“Yes… that’s right,” she choked up a little, “I just didn’t expect it, but why.” Her moist and bright green eyes looked at them. Damian chuckled softly beside her, but didn’t say anything hurtful. As for Tim, he didn’t intend to steal Bruce’s thunder.
Bruce met Alfred's encouraging gaze, walked over, gently patted her shoulder, and tenderly stroked her soft red hair.
"Because you are my daughter, my family. Alright, child, now, would you mind coming down with me? Let's see together how I've been enhanced after your blessing, shall we?"
He subtly explained the upcoming tests, and Enid nodded, following Bruce and the others. Zatana lowered her voice and walked to Bruce's side, clearly amazed by Enid's earlier ritual. "Isn't that amazing? Oh, don't worry, Bruce, there's absolutely no problem with it, from a magical point of view."
Not only from a magical point of view, but even from a scientific point of view, there was no problem, and Bruce's heart, which had been pounding in his chest, finally calmed down a little.
"Father, are you relieved now? Hmm... I didn't really care. It's normal, since it's the first time you've encountered a blessing. Actually, I'm quite curious too... Could you explain it to me? What kind of effect does my blessing have? I'm sorry, I don't really know much about my abilities."
Enid looked somewhat apologetic. Of course, this wasn't her first time using it, but she had never really understood it in detail. Bruce, of course, knew this, so he gave a brief explanation and, after making a more detailed record of how much power Enid had used, asked her questions.
"Fia, can you control the power you have when you bless someone?"
"My power is constant, and I can't control it. It just recovers very quickly, so it looks like I used very little power this time, but it's actually the same as every time before... So, may I bless Tim? Tim, would you like to?"
She spoke hesitantly, looking at Tim with a somewhat uncertain gaze, as if waiting for an answer.
“Of course, Fia.”
Before Bruce could speak, Tim answered first. Based on his understanding of Bruce, he knew that Bruce was definitely holding an unusually conservative attitude. However, although Tim was also cautious to a certain extent, after the series of tests just now, his curiosity took over. Of course, this also greatly helped Enid's unusually smooth profiling and eliciting of information.
He did not deny one thing: he had a certain amount of trust in Enid.
Enid's intuition told her that they meant no harm and that all the information they conveyed revealed genuine emotion, so she smiled too—a bright smile that made her eyes crinkle, as lovely as the rare sunshine in Gotham.
"May Mother Goddess bestow mercy and love upon you, cleanse you in the name of the oak, guide you in the name of the raven, let the wind and rain wash away all your worries, let the grass and trees bless you with well-being, and bless you in the name of the Great Druid Enid Niaf Grady, Timothy Jackson Drake."
Aside from the name, there was no difference, but one thing was clear: it was necessary to say the full name of the person being blessed during the blessing ceremony. After the glowing light, Tim keenly noticed that his body was much better than before; at least his lost spleen seemed to have grown back, didn't it?
Enid showed no other emotion. Tim observed her closely; it seemed she didn't know much about the blessed person's body? This needed confirmation. She also received a signal from Bruce, who politely said goodbye and went to examine the body. Enid was slightly agitated.
"That's great. It's been a long time since I've given someone a blessing, so I'm a little happy. But it's a pity that everyone can only receive one blessing. However, I can treat you."
"Is it magic too?"
"Yes, it's magic too."
She blinked at Bruce, who hesitated for a moment before saying, “But perhaps not…” He paused, “Well, I don’t think that’s a reason for us to rely entirely on magic, is it?” He looked serious, and Enid felt a little disappointed; she knew she had been rejected.
Perhaps her expression was too obvious, so Alfred stood behind her and smiled slightly at Bruce, probably to encourage him. Bruce reached out and gently touched her hair, also to encourage and comfort her.
"Child, I don't mean to distrust you, but this requires more testing, and you need to better understand your own abilities, don't you think?"
Enid, who was about to say that she knew a lot about humans, stopped herself just as she was about to speak. She seemed unable to be sure that her understanding of the abilities was 100%, because she had never used many of her abilities on humans, not even during her time at school. There were no humans at the school, and the Oko Girls' Magic Academy was not even in this world; it was an academy in the cracks of the world. Therefore, she did not understand humans.
"You are the right father."
“Great, maybe you can go for a walk around Gotham with Damian later? Damian will protect you.”
Damian glanced at Enid, seemingly unconcerned about the matter, perhaps out of affection for her (or maybe not so much, but rather because of Serd). He then said, "Of course I will protect her, Father."
“That’s great. You can use my card then.” Bruce winked at Enid and handed her the supplementary card he had prepared. Enid was taken aback when she took the bank card from Bruce. So he just gave it to her like that without exchanging anything? “Hmm? Don’t worry, this is my supplementary card. Use it as you like.”
"Thank you, Father. I can use this card to..."
"You can go buy what you want. As for rebuilding the forest, don't worry about the children, leave it to me, okay?"
Enid nodded, deciding to trust him a little. Seeing the father and daughter getting along well, Afu stepped forward after the conversation ended. "It looks like we can go and put Miss Fia's little animals in their habitat first." Afu had prepared the habitat.
These small animals weren't specifically prepared for Enid; they were from the forest. There were just too many small animals living in the forest, so perhaps it would be better for a few to move out, wouldn't it? Of course, all of this was arranged with the animals' consent.
As for Damian, he naturally went with Enid and got into the car that Alfred had prepared. Bruce said that they could go, but he had other work to do. The vehicle arrived at the habitat after about 12 minutes of driving.
After getting off the car, the forest was perfectly maintained. The layout and the faint aura emanating from it were almost identical to the forest in the Holy Land. It was clear that no one else had been there except for Dick, so he must have prepared a lot. Enid's heart seemed to be touched by something, and she began to lose her ability to speak. She could only whisper a thank you to Afu.
"You're welcome, Miss Fia. It's my honor, and perhaps we should thank Mr. Dick more."
"Um……"
Enid responded softly, then walked a short distance away. In the empty, huge space, she summoned a pitch-black wormhole. The animals emerged in an orderly fashion and began to migrate slowly to suitable locations according to their own habits.
Except...except for hedgehogs.
The hedgehog, who had fallen to the back, somehow rolled out and bumped into Damian's shoe. In the chaos, her quills hit Damian's ankle, startling the hedgehog so much that she froze and almost burst into tears. Just when the hedgehog thought she was going to be scolded, she saw Damian squat down and approach her with her palms outstretched.
The hedgehog looked up and met those bright eyes, and as if possessed, climbed up.
"Her name is Anne. Actually, she wasn't planning on leaving... but it seems she likes you, Damian."
“Hmph, a wise decision.” Damian was somewhat pleased. “I’m going to take care of him. Obviously, Wayne Manor is big enough, and I’m capable of taking good care of it.”
"I think perhaps we should get the master and Miss Fia's consent, shouldn't we? After all, Miss Anne was brought by Miss Fia."
Upon hearing Afu's words, Damian looked at Enid, who tilted her head to look at the little hedgehog in Damian's palm. Her round little eyes looked back and forth, as if she was trying to say something.
"Perhaps I think this requires Anne's consent, but it seems she's not opposed to it. However, she needs to make a deal with you, Damian. She requires that you never insult her again... Well, she likes you a lot because you're the first person she's ever stabbed without getting angry."
Upon hearing Enid's words, Damian met Annie's gaze, his tone becoming more serious: "I assure you, but it's obvious you need training. I will train you and your thorns so that they won't prick...our own people anymore, but rather the enemy. You'll be patrolling with me at night from now on."
Bruce, after hearing Damian's words, conveyed his personal opinion through the public channel: "I don't think this is appropriate, at least not until she meets the training goals, Damian."
Enid didn't quite understand what was being said on the channel, but she heard Damian's reply, the determination in his words, and the sudden surge of fighting spirit that had ignited in little Annie as well.
“I will prove it to you, Father.”
A note from the author:
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Annie the hedgehog really likes Damian because it was the first time someone had been pricked by her and didn't get angry. Annie's quills are very special and sharp! Also, Enid has never been pricked, haha.
Oh, I forgot to mention, Mei Bao will apologize later, to Bat Daddy [please]. Although Daddy was never really angry with her, Mei Bao has always felt very embarrassed. The apology scene is later. She will also apologize to her mother later, but the progress won't be that fast because the mother's apology scene involves some other things. It will have to wait until the Holy Forest is built, since she is dead.
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