The Boy’s reaction did not exceed Xia De’s expectations; it would have been surprising if someone could calmly accept that he was about to drink “the price of growth.”
“What kind of growth do you want?”
Xia De asked. The Boy, who was protecting himself with a toy knife, was not stumped by the question. He looked up at Xia De:
“It’s carefree, it’s free, it’s not being bound by adults, it’s doing whatever I want, it’s…”
Xia De didn’t continue listening but turned and shook his head at the Saint. This wasn’t growth; he didn’t even understand what he wanted.
The God maintained that smile:
“When you told this gentleman your wish, what you craved was indeed to become an adult.”
The voice was still so gentle, but Xia De instinctively felt that His tone seemed a little different:
“Lying and denying your past words are not the actions of a good child.”
The God said softly, picking up the teacup and gently shaking it. Xia De was so startled he almost dodged.
“Child, I want to tell you a truth: when you make a request, and a kind person fulfills it, even if you’re not satisfied, you shouldn’t be critical.”
Xia De inexplicably thought of the story of the Witch Princess who craved eternal life, which the God had mentioned when he first met Him. So he understood that the Boy probably had no other choice.
The young man wearing a ridiculous clown hat walked out from behind the counter with the teacup, bent down, and handed it to the Boy. He said nothing, just smiled and watched him. The Boy bit his lip, very unconvinced. He turned to look at the other two children, then tilted his head and said:
“There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
He took the teacup, tilted his head back, and drank the liquid inside. But after just one sip, the teacup fell to the ground, and the Boy clutched the floor, retching violently.
He retched more and more severely, eventually collapsing onto the toy store floor. Painful groans escaped his mouth, and his body twitched and convulsed, but his height and physique were rapidly changing.
After a brief thirty seconds, a young man in adult clothes opened his eyes amidst the stains on the floor. He dazedly crawled up and looked at everything in the toy store:
“I grew up?”
He incredulously touched his face. Xia De was surprised by the peculiar effect of the potion. Seeing the God return behind the counter and remain silent, he proactively spoke:
“So how do you feel now?”
“I feel like I can see higher, and I have more strength…”
He touched his body, then looked at Xia De gratefully:
“Sir, I really grew up!”
A child is a child. Not long ago, he was hostile towards Xia De, but now the look in his eyes was completely different:
“I really grew up!”
He happily waved his hands:
“Great, I can finally avoid being scolded by Dad!”
“No, as long as he is still your father, he can always scold you.”
Xia De reminded him. He vaguely understood what he needed to do to fulfill this second wish.
“Is that so?”
The grown Boy looked at him in confusion, but quickly became happy again:
“I can finally go out and play with my friends at night whenever I want.”
“No, you probably can’t. You’ve grown up, but your friends are still very young.”
The grown Boy froze again, then cautiously said:
“I finally don’t have to follow the tutor to study anymore…”
“No, you must study. Growing up means you have to move out and earn your own money. If you don’t study, where will you work? Mining or manual labor?”
The Boy looked at Xia De with his mouth open.
Xia De also looked at him, stating a basic fact:
“You wouldn’t think that after you grow up, you’ll still live under the protection of others, would you? Then why do you want to grow up?”
“I…”
The grown Boy pointed to himself, then suddenly picked up the toy wooden knife and hugged it:
“I don’t want to grow up.”
“Look, that’s a child.”
The young man leaned on the edge of the counter and said to Xia De. The potion’s effect was disappearing, and the Boy was transforming back to his original appearance (Note). As for his clothes, just like before, under the Saint’s power, they naturally changed with his body.
“Did I fulfill his wish?”
“Of course.”
The Saint nodded.
“But he didn’t get growth, he changed back.”
Xia De pointed out this fact.
“But he did gain growth, look.”
The young man wearing the clown hat pointed at the Boy. The latter looked at his hand, and upon realizing he had returned to his original appearance, he smiled happily.
“At least he understood what the price of growth is. This is also a very good kind of growth, after all, it’s really difficult to make children understand this.”
“Do you always use similar methods to reason with children?”
Xia De asked curiously.
“No, different children have different situations. Actually, I prefer to be gentler.”
The Saint smiled and shook His head. Xia De made no comment on this.
After completing the wish about growth, it was time for the final wish about “power.”
Xia De looked at the Girl who had re-emerged from between the shelves. She immediately stopped and looked at Xia De very warily:
“I don’t want to drink strange potions.”
“Don’t worry, I don’t have potions that give ordinary people power either.”
Only then did the Girl relax and come to the counter, but she still dared not approach him.
Xia De already had an idea before this, but before truly starting, he still asked first:
“Ahem, it’s like this: before fulfilling your wish, can you tell me how you understand the word ‘power’?”
“It can protect myself, and it can protect what I want to protect.”
The Girl said, and the other two children also nodded.
“Alright, next question: Do you think, besides the power to split rocks and move mountains, is wisdom considered power?”
Xia De also pointed to his head.
“Of course!”
The Boy who craved stories and the Boy who craved growth said together, but the Girl was hesitating. She understood how Xia De wanted to give her power.
“To be honest, wisdom is certainly power, but sir, what I crave is my own… is to be able to achieve… is…”
She hesitated, wanting to express her thoughts, but struggled to find suitable words for expression at the moment.
Xia De understood her meaning. The Girl agreed with the power of wisdom, but what she wanted was a more tangible power.
“How about you listen to me first, and then think about what kind of power you really want.”
Xia De suggested, and the Girl nodded:
“No problem, sir.”
The Saint behind the counter watched this scene with a smile. He had no intention of interrupting.
“Have you seen water boil?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Have you seen steam lift a kettle lid?”
“Of course, sir.”
“Then, have you thought that this kind of power could be used in other ways?”
The Girl tilted her head and looked at him, while the other two Boys were a bit confused.
“Now only she can understand you, this is her wish.”
The God reminded him. Xia De nodded and gave another example:
“The steam generated by a small kettle can lift its lid; then what can the steam generated by a huge kettle lift?”
“This…”
Judging from her exquisite small dress and shiny black leather shoes, the Girl’s background should be quite high, and her education level should not be low. But this question was still too difficult for a child.
Xia De wanted to rephrase it, or have the Saint conjure some small parts to facilitate his demonstration, but he didn’t expect the Girl’s eyes to light up, and she said something that surprised Xia De:
“Are you trying to tell me about using the method of converting heat into power to create machines that even ordinary people can use?”
Her eyes sparkling was not an exaggeration. Those nimble eyes really were faintly glowing.
Xia De cautiously moved to the side:
“What’s going on?”
【This is not the power of the Ring術士 system, not even a relic. I felt a similar power on that Miss Jialinna.】
“That’s roughly what I mean.”
Xia De agreed with the Girl’s point verbally, glancing at the Saint, who listened to their conversation and didn’t seem to want to say anything.
“But this is just a tool, sir. I can create similar tools, but others can also create and use similar tools. Such power is not eternally for my use.”
The Girl looked at Xia De, appearing to crave an answer.
“This is just technology, you also need a system.”
“A system?”
“Aside from Gods, humans and other creatures that walk the material world inevitably need the help of their kind. If you possess technology, you must use a system to manage people, to distribute your gains, and to share your losses. Although you are just one person, a system can make you one hundred people, one thousand people. Technology and systems can make you stronger.”
The light in the Girl’s eyes grew even brighter. Seeing this, the little Boy holding the toy knife, for some unknown reason, pulled the smallest Boy and hid between the shelves with a look of horror.
“But sir, even if I construct a perfect system, the system will eventually decay, because people change.”
The Girl asked.
“You need culture.”
“Culture?”
The condition of her eyes was already close to that of Mia in a lightless environment at night. The Girl herself also began to glow at this point, and some wind was swirling around her. If it weren’t for this being the Saint’s shop, where any extraordinary power would be suppressed, Xia De believed this phenomenon would become even more obvious.
Unusual thinking seemed to give her some inspiration, but the Girl herself didn’t notice her condition.
“You need people to recognize you, trust you, and adapt to the system you construct, the technology you create, so you need to use culture to assimilate them. Festivals, writing, accents, shared stories, similar behaviors.”
“Technology, system, culture…”
The Girl pondered, then suddenly looked up at Xia De:
“Sir, is this the power you spoke of?”
“Yes, are you satisfied with this power?”
Xia De actually spoke very superficially, or rather, he didn’t say anything concrete; these words were more of a way of thinking. He was prepared for the Girl not to accept it and planned to then discuss basic physics, but the Girl nodded:
“I am very satisfied. wisdom is indeed humanity’s greatest treasure. It seems that even men are not entirely useless.”