Legendary Traveler: By Earning Progress Points I will Become Supreme!

Calling it a device that heated water was a bit of an oversimplification, to be honest. Realistically, it was more like a giant kettle with a space to put an Energia Crystal in the bottom.

Think of a propane camping kettle on a larger scale, considering it was large enough to be called a boiler.

Add 10 gallons of water, slot in a Fire Elementalized Energia Crystal, and within 5 minutes, the water is piping hot.

Setting it up was easy because the shed he'd brought with him to Genovia, courtesy of his thoughtful Mom, was insulated and could keep all the warmth inside, turning the small 7x7 room into a practical sauna.

With that all set, Aoni moved to the other side of the shed and began setting up some basic PVC piping, connecting the tub to the heater. Although a bit crude and by no means aesthetically pleasing, it served the purpose of creating a usable bathing station.

'Sigh, note to self: take some classes on Runesmithing. If I knew some basic Genovian Ener-Runes, I could solve all this with a few strokes of a pen.' Scratching his cheek, Aoni stood up, dusted off his hands, and took one final look at his completed efforts.

Once satisfied, he stored all the garbage, i.e., cardboard boxes and plastic wrap, in his inventory and crossed the small room with ease; now, it was time to let the party begin.

Sneaking out of the newly minted bathhouse, Aoni was careful not to let his summons catch a glimpse inside as he slipped past the door and closed it instantly.

Alright, Nyria, bring me the largest water bottle from the storage chests, and Glacia, come here. Sliding down the outer wall of the bathhouse, Aoni sat down and spread his arms wide in a hugging gesture.

Sure, he'd teased the floof, and he could see that she was regretting her mischief, but to be clear, Aoni wasn't actually mad at her in any way.

If anything, he knew she was a baby and, if left unchecked, would break things and make messes, but he felt it was necessary to discipline the floof; if not, she'd grow up with some weird hobbies.

"gaoo?" Watching her sister fly off to collect what was asked of her, Glacia's eyes shifted toward her Lord, whom she'd missed terribly, and even though she knew she'd been "bad," she still wanted her cuddle time.

"Yes, come gimmie a hug, no tricks, I promise, I missed you just as much as your sister," rolling his eyes upon seeing Glacia's hesitation, Aoni smiled and wiggled his arms a bit, which seemed to do the trick because half a second later the furry missile collided with his chest.

"Gaoo gaoooo ooooOOOO," Glacia babbled while rubbing her face against Aoni's chest and hiding the trickle of tears coming from her eyes.

"I know, I know, I'm home, don't worry, I'm not upset, but you have to remember to listen when I say something, Glacia; if not, you make things harder on your sister and me." Ignoring the fact that her fur was clumped up and messy, Aoni gave his floof lots of loving attention in the form of behind-the-ear scratches, head pats, and, of course, belly rubs, her favorite thing.

"One day, in the future, we may have guests coming to visit, and if that happens, you need to remember to be on your best behavior, so something like what you did in the cave can't happen again, got me?"

"GaoooooOOoo,"

'So…rr…y, I…do…be…tter.'

Hearing a new, softer voice entering his mind, Aoni froze mid-tummy scratch and stared down at his baby yeti with shocked eyes.

"You? Was that you, Glacia? Did you just say something?" Hoisting Glacia up under her armpits and holding the floof out so he could see her, Aoni stared directly into her eyes, but the floof refused to make eye contact —a clear sign of her embarrassment.

Although her words were broken and barely understandable, there was no doubt in his mind that Aoni had distinctly heard a childish, near-baby-like voice of a little girl, different from Nyria's. That fact shook him to his core because, oddly enough, it was the same voice he usually heard in the form of Gaos, a cutesy, almost catlike little voice.

"Chee…" Landing beside her Lord and Big Sister, Nyria dropped a small storage box on the ground beside them and watched the two with knowing eyes.

'She's been practicing, brother, as a present for when you return.'

"Ahhhh, my sweet little babu, SO CUTE!" Throwing all thoughts of punishment out the window and acting like a doting father, Aoni brought Glacia to his face and rubbed his cheek on hers.

"My little floof, I am so proud of youuuuu, go on try again, this time say, Brother,"

"G..gg…gao."

'B..ro…dder'

"EEEEEeEee, My Little Glacia is so smarrrttt, look at you Mwuah muwah muwah!" Planting kisses all over her fluffy head, Aoni spazzed out thanks to the cuteness overload.

---

It took Aoni several minutes to calm down, and after having her speak simple words over and over again, he was able to understand that her level of speech was akin to that of a Human Infant. Thus, he decided then and there to set aside part of his daily routine for Language lessons in an attempt to help build up Glacia's vocabulary quicker.

Sure, he could rely on her growing and utilizing the LoS, which would, to an extent, transfer the knowledge directly from him to her over time. Still, since he had gotten a little too excited, he figured it wouldn't hurt; after all, it was the same thing he had done with Cammy when she was a baby.

---

"Okay, okay, folks, I apologize for that. I got ahead of myself, haha. Now, then, Glacia, I promise you'll like Fun Bathtime, so don't worry about having to roll around in the snow anymore!" Getting back on task, Aoni took the box that Nyria had brought and was surprised to find its contents weren't the bottles he'd crafted or even bowls; instead, the entire 10x10 dimension box was filled to the brim like a water taker.

"The heck?" Raising an eyebrow and looking to Nyria for answers, he discovered that this was how she and Glacia had been staying hydrated.

Essentially, the first thing the bird had done when Aoni left was to go to the lake and fill the box to the brim with water; that way, they wouldn't have to make trips to collect more for some time.