The place where they Apparated was still some distance from the market, since that area was protected by Anti-Apparition wards when the market was open, so the three of them had to walk for a while.
Noah was carrying Little Dumpling—oh no, now it was Frie, Freedom Black Lam.
Frie tried to grab Noah's hair, so Noah simply placed him on his shoulders, letting him sprawl on top of his head and pull as much as he wanted, freeing up his attention to talk with Lys.
"Little star, what happened to that young man who came last time? Haven't seen him come again."
Lys thought for a moment. A young man who came? After thinking, she remembered—Noah was referring to the wizard who had nearly been scared stiff by her at the ball and had come bearing gifts to apologize, whom Noah had seen.
"Oh, he came to deliver something, Dad." At this point, Lys hadn't yet realized the seriousness of the problem.
Because this topic of marriage would be brought up by Noah from time to time for a very, very long time afterward.
Noah looked somewhat disappointed. He wanted to say more, but Frie yanking hard at his hair interrupted his next words.
Wrinkling his nose, Noah watched black hair drift down before his eyes and couldn't spare attention for talking with Lys anymore, hurriedly pulling that little thing down from his head.
The oblivious little creature still waved the remaining black hair in his hand, cackling and trying to stuff the hair into Lys's hands.
Lys instinctively reached out to take the hair, but after seeing clearly what was in her hand, her steps paused and she almost laughed out loud.
Senna laughed without any restraint, and amid the cheerful teasing, they quickly reached the market.
The family seemed to have arrived a bit early—many vendors hadn't even shown up yet.
Lys surveyed the environment here. Having moved here several months ago, this was her first time coming over.
Frie had soiled himself, making his whole body stink, and Noah needed to deal with it, so he told Lys and Senna to browse first. "I'll find you after I'm done cleaning up."
Lys followed behind Senna as they browsed. Although there were quite a few wizards at each market, the same wizards came and went, so when new faces appeared, someone would always notice and regard the family with curious eyes.
Lys looked at the distinctively styled items on the stalls, listening to half-understood German mixed with slang, and managed to buy some plants and materials.
When Lys was standing beside a stall with Senna's purchases at her feet, studying a strange alchemical item she'd just acquired, she was so absorbed that she didn't notice someone approaching. That person tried to lift the head of Gabeng, the snake draped over Lys's shoulder.
"How much for this snake?"
Lys's eyes, which had become difficult to open wide since gaining weight, widened. "This snake is not for sale!"
"Oh, do you sell venom then?"
"I'm not—" Lys waved the item in her hand, blurting out English before switching to German after a moment's thought. "I'm not selling anything. I'm standing here waiting for someone!"
The person asking about prices rubbed his nose. "I see you... sorry..." The other person glanced at Lys's plain-styled robes with an embarrassed expression and left.
Lys's robes did look rather simple, but to prevent her from feeling uncomfortable when sweating during movement, Noah had personally made this very thoughtful robe that suited her perfectly using extremely comfortable fabric.
Lifting her left hand to look at her clothing, Lys looked up puzzledly just as Noah came over carrying Frie.
The person who had tried to buy Gabeng spoke quietly and quickly, so Noah didn't hear clearly. He asked Lys what was wrong.
"Nothing much. I think I need to buy some fabric or new robes."
Lys murmured as she took Frie, letting Noah straighten the robes that had gotten twisted around her body.
Lys bared her teeth as she snatched back the hair from Frie's hands, then sighed: "Maybe Mom is right—mus suits him perfectly. He really is as annoying as a fly."
Only when Lys threateningly raised her wand did that little guy finally quiet down, lying on Lys's left arm and staring with those big gray eyes at a Pygmy Puff on a passing girl's shoulder.
Seeing Frie calm down and no longer pulling little star's hair, Noah didn't hurry to take Frie back but bent down to knock on his leg. After years of atrophy, even with magical assistance, his legs still couldn't handle prolonged activity.
Passersby would glance over—Lys was simply too conspicuous. Her current build was already quite robust, she had a big fat snake draped over her shoulder, and a beautiful black-haired little child lying on her left arm. It was very eye-catching.
Although Lys had recovered considerably physically, she still began sweating under such a burden. She waved her wand and used Mobiliarbus to levitate her little brother, reducing her load.
The entirely new experience of floating made Frie withdraw his gaze from that Pygmy Puff and start paddling his limbs, trying to return to Lys.
"Ahhh!" The child's tender voice was crisp, drawing attention from people nearby.
Some smiled kindly, others pointed and whispered: "Using a Levitation Charm on your own child—aren't you afraid you'll drop the kid if you lose focus!"
Lys and Noah's gazes immediately turned over. Noah only understood the key words, but he still repeated in German: "Son, mine!" to explain.
Who would have thought the person's next comment would make Lys laugh in exasperation: "Heh, found herself quite a handsome old man..."
Before Lys could react, that person walked away, leaving Lys to explain to Noah with mixed amusement and frustration what the person had said.
Senna had just finished buying materials and came over to hear this joke, laughing so hard she nearly bent over.
The family sat at a food stall and ate some jam sausage rolls. Senna and Lys also drank some beer brewed by local wizards.
"Mm, this drink is really good." Lys floated Frie above her head as she praised it, while Senna kept recalling the earlier joke.
She teased Noah: "Hahaha, quite a handsome old man!"
Noah, having endured countless blows all morning, ate his jam-spread bread in silence.
The nearby shop owner tapped the table with his wand, and a mug of beer hopped in front of Lys. "Excellent magical control, young lady."
Lys raised her eyebrows at the beer in her mouth. "Of course! Your beer is delicious too."
"Are you from Britain?"
Lys replied: "Yes, work requirements brought me to Germany."
The stall owner became interested. After glancing at his wife, he put down his cleaning work and leaned his upper body forward. "Your German doesn't sound very fluent yet—haven't been here long?"
Lys nodded to the owner and used magic to gently rock her carefree brother who was suspended in mid-air and nearly falling asleep.
"Let me ask you something—didn't you have some Voldemort over there..." Lys's wand paused, and her left hand wearing protective gear unconsciously tensed.
"They say he's..."
Lys coughed lightly, not letting the shop owner finish: "Boss, your beer is quite good. Pack me a barrel to take away, use your largest container."
The vendor was stunned, then tactfully withdrew his curiosity, packed the beer with a Shrinking Charm, and handed it to Noah who was following behind Lys.
"I come to this market once a month. If you like the beer, come again next time."
When Lys was paying, the vendor didn't forget to inform her of his business hours—maintaining some professionalism alongside his gossip.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
🔥 Want to read the next 80 chapters RIGHT NOW?
💎 Patreon members get instant access!
⚡ Limited-time offer currently running...
👉 [Join on Patreon - patreon.com/DarkGolds]