Chapter 456 Returning to the Fortress (1/2)
Sunlight spilled through the dome glass and brightened the spacious hall entirely. Lize arranged the framed drawing on the wall cautiously before taking two steps back and nodding in satisfaction.
”All's good,” Lize mumbled while caressing the little girl's head gently. ”Christie is really talented because not anyone can draw such a beautiful picture. Putting this here as a decoration is a really great suggestion.”
”…” The little girl was dressed in a simple yet elegant robe. She hugged the drawing board in her arms while blushing and lowering her head shyly. Lize smiled in response to Christie's shyness and once again patted her head.
”This is really, really beautiful…” Lize praised softly.
Christie's drawings skills had become increasingly adept and she could draw a much wider range of subjects now. From the start, this little girl could only draw human portraits and landscapes. But now, she learned to draw some imaginary stories and even legendary battle scenes. Some of the extraordinary scenes portrayed heroes who triumphed over evil and battles between the Demons and the undead creatures. These scenes were drawn so realistically that some might have thought that Christie had seen them for herself.
But Lize was more worried about another matter.
”Rhode… is not back yet?” The little girl lifted her head hesitantly.
Lize sighed helplessly. Ever since the Fortress was built, everyone had been busy. Rhode's planning covered every aspect perfectly before he left, but this meant that everyone had a lot of responsibilities. Marlene oversaw the overall situation in the Fortress from morning to midnight every day while Canary and Mini Bubble Gum trained the mercenaries and sometimes wouldn't return after a few days in the wild. As for Lize, she was occupied with the management of the Fortress and other Clerics. Last but not least, ever since Rhode had handed over a mission to Lapis, she had been cooped up in her alchemy workshop and seldom stepped out. Once in a while, Lize would check on Lapis when she had the time and it was apparent that this young lady wasn't having an easy time either.
Back in their days in Deep Stone City, everyone would accompany this little girl for shopping during their leisure time and ever since they moved into the Fortress, they had been so busy that they didn't even have time for themselves. Even though Christie had been sensible and obedient all this while, Lize felt that this little girl was actually feeling really lonely.
But, when exactly will Mr. Rhode be back? It had been almost a month since they left the Land of Atonement and there was no news of them. Come to think of it, they should be back by now… Lize squatted and gently stroked Christie's long hair.
”Don't worry, Christie. I think they will be back soon. Just a little while more and I'm sure Mr. Rhode will be…” before Lize could finish her sentence, Christie gazed over Lize's back and her eyes lit up instantly.
”Rhode…” Christie let go of the drawing board in her arms as she called out Rhode's name softly while Lize turned around and recognized the familiar person instantly.
”I'm back, Christie, Lize. It seems like you two are doing fine?” Rhode greeted gently.
”Rhode…” Christie called out for Rhode softly once more as she scuttled forward and dived into Rhode's arms. Rhode smiled widely and caressed Christie's long hair tenderly before lifting his head at Lize. Facing this black-haired young man, Lize felt her clear vision suddenly blur and distort. Then, she blinked to force the tears out of her eyes. ”Mr. Rhode, you're finally back…”
”There's Anne too, Lize. Christie~!” Anne peeked out behind Rhode while waving to Lize cheerfully. She squatted down quickly and gave Christie a big hug, not forgetting to rub the little girl's fair, tender cheeks. ”Ah… Christie. Long time no see Have you missed Anne?”
”… Yes… Of course. I feel bored when Sister Anne isn't around…”
”Alright then, Anne shall bring you somewhere fun, okay?”