Tike picked up the clothes placed on the floor and examined them briefly.
They seemed to be of an Eastern style. He had seen similar clothing in Mrs. Plain's shop. Unlike the clothes he usually wore that could be slipped on easily, these clothes looked particularly troublesome to wear.
Tike narrowed his eyes slightly, carefully observing how the maids had dressed Selene. Then, mimicking their movements, he tried to copy what they had done.
But these clothes seemed to have a mind of their own and refused to obey him at all. After expending a tremendous amount of effort, he barely managed to get his left arm into the sleeve, while his right arm remained pitifully exposed to the air.
As for the sash, because it was loose no matter how he tied it, he simply knotted it messily into a small bunch, crumpled around his waist in the ugliest way possible.
Selene took in all of Tike's clumsy movements. She couldn't help but chuckle softly, then leaned down to carefully adjust the improper clothing for him.
Unlike his resistance when facing other strangers, Tike was exceptionally docile towards his mother's touch, like a tame kitten letting her fuss over him.
After straightening his clothes, Selene brought Tike in front of a mirror.
"Alright, little Parquino, take a look in the mirror. Do you like it?"
Tike looked into the mirror and scrutinized himself carefully.
The boy in the mirror was wearing a dark blue kimono embroidered with silver cloud patterns. Although the dressing process had been a bit of a disaster, after his mother's skillful adjustments, he now looked quite proper.
"Mm, it's pretty good." Tike nodded in satisfaction, then looked expectantly at Selene with his big, watery eyes. "Can we go eat now? I'm so hungry!"
Seeing his gluttonous look, the smile on Selene's face deepened.
"Of course, Mom will take you there right now."
With that, she took Tike's small hand and led him into the next room.
As soon as they entered, a rich aroma of food wafted towards them. A large, low table was filled with all kinds of delicacies, some Tike could name and others he couldn't.
Tike's eyes went straight, and his drool couldn't stop flowing. He impatiently pulled Selene to sit down at the low table and began to gorge himself.
Selene leaned back on her cushion, sipping the sake poured by the maids, and smilingly watched Tike clear plate after plate of delicious food.
The maids responsible for serving dishes ran back and forth non-stop, almost breaking their legs just to barely keep up with Tike's amazing eating speed.
Finally, when they were about to collapse from exhaustion, Tike patted his belly, which had swelled up like a balloon, and let out a satisfied yawn.
In the next second, that round belly deflated rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye, returning to its original flat appearance, full of elasticity like a certain straw hat boy who ate the Gum-Gum Fruit.
After eating and drinking his fill, Tike turned his gaze to his mother, who was drinking alone on the side. He hesitated for a moment, then tentatively requested, "Mom, can you practice magic with me?"
Selene slowly put down the sake cup in her hand and refused, "You can't exercise vigorously right after eating; it's bad for your health. Rest well for now. Mom will guide you later, and there are very important things to tell you then."
Hearing that he couldn't practice magic immediately, Tike lowered his head unhappily, his bright eyes dimming a little.
Then, Tike opened his arms and threw himself into Selene's warm embrace, hugging her tightly.
The drinking just now had left a scent of alcohol on Selene, but Tike didn't mind because, compared to this trivial smell, there were other, much stronger scents on her.
"Mom, you..." Tike buried his head in his mother's arms and spoke hesitantly again, "Hug me, I want to nap for a bit."
After saying that, he closed his eyes.
"Sleep, my child."
Selene raised her hand to signal the maids to withdraw. Then she placed her hand on Tike's head, stroking his soft brown hair. In those eyes that were originally full of motherly love, a strange light flashed at this moment.
---
Tike slept exceptionally sweetly. He didn't wake up until the moon took over the sun's shift and hung high in the sky.
Looking at the unbelievably large full moon, the boy pouted slightly and complained in a whisper, "Why didn't Mom wake me up earlier..."
Not only was it almost time for bed, but more importantly, he had missed the delicious dinner time!
Selene looked at his annoyed appearance and couldn't help but smile.
"It's okay, my little Parquino. Mom masters a Dragon Magic called 'Moon,' which can restore energy under the moonlight. And you, as my son, have inherited similar abilities. This is also the first lesson Mom wants to teach you: how to actively consume the magic power of the moon."
Tike's expression instantly became a bit subtle.
(So my occasional feeling of being less hungry under the moonlight before wasn't a psychological effect like the adults said, but because I can really eat the moon!)
So he raised his small hand high, looking proud: "I already knew how to do that long ago!"
Seeing his confident look, Selene was also interested.
"Oh? Then demonstrate it for Mom."
Tike nodded seriously, then held out his small hand: "Mom, give me a bowl of water."
Selene was slightly stunned, obviously not expecting him to make such a request. But she still waved her finger gently, opened a spatial rift, took out an exquisite white porcelain bowl, filled it with hot spring water using magic, and then handed it to Tike.
Tike took it, walked straight to the window, faced the huge full moon outside, gulped down the water in the bowl in one go, then wiped his mouth and said triumphantly, "I'm done eating!"
Selene's expression instantly became a bit odd.
"Your method is really... unconventional. However, you did indeed swallow the moon's magic power."
"Right? Right?" Tike looked even prouder, then urged impatiently, "Mom, hurry up and teach me the next, even more powerful magic!"
"No rush." Selene gently tapped the tip of Tike's nose with her index finger. "Your method can't be used in actual combat. Before learning new magic, Mom still has to teach you the correct way."
"You have to feel the flow of moonlight with your heart, let it merge into your body with your breath, and turn into your own strength."
"That is, Moon Breathing."