Chapter 1046 – Mo Lan’s Child-Rearing Daily Life 12

“Also, Mommy needs to prepare all sorts of supplies for the journey—not just for our own use, but for doing business along the way!”

Mo Lan paused, her gaze warm and expectant as she turned to Sylvia. “As for you, my little traveler, you have a very important task too!”

“I… have a task too?” Sylvia straightened her small frame, a spark of anticipation lighting up her face.

“Of course!” Mo Lan said with certainty, then rose and retrieved the complete set of 《Young Witch’s Primer》 from the bookshelf, placing the thick stack beside the map.

“Your first task is to study these books again from beginning to end—more carefully this time. This time it won’t just be looking at pictures. Mommy will read with you, and I’ll explain all the important knowledge inside—things like common dangerous magical plants and animals, basic weather identification, and simple safety rules. We’ll very likely need this knowledge during our travels.”

Sylvia looked at the stack of books and, while finding the task a bit daunting, nodded firmly at the thought that it was all for the journey.

“And there’s a second task—an even more fun one.”

A mysterious smile tugged at the corner of Mo Lan’s lips. She picked up an oddly shaped magic pen whose tip flickered with a faint glow and placed it in Sylvia’s small hand. “And that is—you get to design our travel route!”

“Me?” Sylvia’s eyes went wide with surprise. She pointed at herself with a tiny finger, hardly able to believe it.

Planning a route—that sounded like something only grown-ups could do!

“Yes, you.” Mo Lan confirmed with a smile, pointing to the map spread out on the floor. “This isn’t an ordinary map—it’s a magical item. See these glowing place names and markers? Use this pen to gently tap any place that interests you—like here…” She guided Sylvia’s small hand, touching the pen tip to the marker for Sunset Forest on the map.

The instant the pen tip made contact, the marker immediately blazed to life. Moments later, a small, lifelike three-dimensional miniature illusion rose from the map’s surface—towering ancient trees lush with greenery—while beside it, several lines of elegant, concise text appeared, introducing the basic features and highlights of Sunset Forest.

“Wow!” Sylvia let out an exclamation of wonder, her eyes brimming with amazement and excitement.

“See? It’s simple, right?” Mo Lan withdrew her hand. “Your task is to use this pen to ‘explore’ this map. Find all the places that look interesting, beautiful, or that make you curious, and mark them. Don’t worry about how far away they are, and don’t worry about whether they’re dangerous—just follow your heart’s curiosity. Then, we’ll connect all the places you’ve marked together, and that will be our preliminary travel route! When the time comes, our mobile dwelling will carry us from stop to stop, exploring each place you’ve chosen.”

This task instantly ignited every ounce of Sylvia’s enthusiasm.

She gripped the wondrous magic pen tightly, gazing at the enormous map that seemed to have come alive before her. Her small face was filled with eagerness to try and a solemn sense of having been entrusted with an important responsibility.

For her, this was not merely a game—it was the beginning of her participation in planning her very first journey.

“Mm! I’ll search really hard! And study really hard!” Sylvia nodded vigorously, her gaze already impatiently scanning the map.

Mo Lan didn’t disturb her further. She leaned back on the sofa and began mulling over the design plans for the mobile dwelling.

There were still two years until Sylvia’s third birthday—quite a generous amount of time.

Ever since they had made their travel pact, the rhythm of their daily life became even more defined. While Mo Lan designed and refined the mobile dwelling on one hand, she also set aside a fixed time each day without fail to pull Sylvia onto her lap, where the mother and daughter would spread open the thick 《Young Witch’s Primer》 and read through it word by word, with Mo Lan explaining as they went.

That knowledge about the world, Magic, and safety—rendered vivid through her gentle explanations and lively analogies—ceased to be dry and dull, quietly taking root in Sylvia’s heart like seeds.

The magical map, meanwhile, became Sylvia’s most beloved “new toy.”

Whenever she had free time, she would lie on her stomach on the carpet, gripping the matching magic pen, tapping and poking at the map.

Each touch of the pen tip would awaken a miniature illusion and text description of a region, and she never tired of it.

She didn’t just explore it herself—she would often excitedly call Tessa, Evelyn, and Dorella over, pointing at the illusions hovering above the map and “introducing” them in her sweet, childish voice.

However, after the initial novelty wore off, Tessa, Evelyn, and Dorella quickly lost sustained interest in this map that they could “only look at but never visit.”

To them, the shimmering illusions were pretty, but ultimately too distant and unreal—not nearly as tangible and fun as the sandbox or flower beds right in front of them.

More importantly, their own mothers had also noticed their interests and inclinations, and had begun crafting new, more appealing activities tailored just for them. The little ones’ attention was naturally captured.

And so, when the four little friends gathered together again to share their latest news, the conversation turned into enthusiastic praise and amusing comparisons of what their respective mothers had arranged for them.

Tessa boasted with animated delight, punctuating her words with a vigorous pump of her small fist:

“My mommy makes me all sorts of different yummy food every day now! It’s super, super delicious! After I eat, I feel like my arms and legs are even stronger! And Mommy has started teaching me how to ‘fight’! Not real fighting—she teaches me how to use my strength, how to dodge. It’s so much fun! Mommy says when I’m a little bigger, she’ll take me into the forest to ‘spar’ with those thick-skinned, low-level magical beasts! Hehe, I’ll definitely win!”

Her small face was brimming with excitement over her growing strength and longing for future “real combat.”

Sylvia listened with wide eyes and asked curiously, “So… just by eating yummy food, without learning Magic, you can beat magical beasts?”

In her little mind, dealing with powerful creatures surely required Magic—Witches had to use Magic to protect themselves. Could fists really work?

Tessa puffed out her small chest proudly. “Of course! My mommy says that converting the energy in food into strength that nourishes the body is one of her Manifested Gift’s abilities—that’s the effect of the Dietary Fortification Card right now! My mommy has been growing stronger just from eating ever since she was little. She’s super strong! She even showed me her old magic recordings—she knocked down a really, really huge dragon with one punch! When I grow up, I want to be a super strong Witch just like Mommy!”

She mimicked a punching motion, her small fists cutting through the air with gusto.

Sylvia nodded thoughtfully and murmured softly, “Then… then I should ask my mommy if I can use that Dietary Fortification Card too. On our journey, we might really run into danger. If I were a bit stronger too and could protect myself, Mommy would worry less about me.”

(End of Chapter)