I lived close by, so it didn’t take long to get home. The moment I stepped inside I quickly lit a fire in the furnace with a few fire arrows, using a tier two version of the spell that made the fire last after contact so I didn’t have to burn wood. ‘The smell of burnt wood is nice, but not as good as the smell of saving money.’

 

“You coming!” I yelled back to Lola, who still hadn’t entered through the front door. Hesitantly looking at the structure as if she was afraid it might collapse the moment she walked in.

 

‘It feels good to be back.’ I yawned, throwing my helmet over in the corner and taking off my jacket, dumping the rest of my gear out from storage to take a load off. Storage magic didn’t technically use up any mana, but it did occupy a small portion of my mind at all times, making me aware of everything that was in it, its weight, and so on. Needless to say, it was nice to at least mostly empty it out every now and then.

 

‘Home…’ It was a small house made originally out of wood but now mostly made of shaped clay that I used to patch holes with my magic. I stretched my arms, feeling the cold air brush across my stomach as my shirt lifted up. It was just a plain white tank top I honestly outgrew a while ago, but it was the only shirt I owned, and I had to wear something under my armor to stop the leather from rubbing against my bare skin. It actually worked pretty well for that… But it was made from a worn down white cotton that had thinned out… So not only did it cover as much as I’d want, but it was basically see-through.

 

I mean, legally speaking I was probably fine wearing it out in public, but no way I’d ever actually do that. I’d probably rather just die. ‘Right, new clothes, then get my armor repaired, then I’ll worry about my weapons, I can probably fix them on my own if I rent out a forge for a day and grab some lumber.’

 

“Lola?” I said softly, still not seeing her. ‘Does she think my house is gross or something?’

 

The floor was made out of stone. There were a few warps here and there but it was mostly in good condition, the rugs that covered it had long been thrown away because of the leaks in the ceiling, but it wasn’t like the house itself had rotten and molded. I did actually do my best to take care of it.

 

I leaned to the side to get a better look at the door. “You coming?” I asked again.

 

She came inside slowly, inspecting the walls and the ceiling. “This is way worse than I remember…”

 

“If it bothers you so much then you can pay to fix it. Buy me the materials and I could do it myself.”

 

“Chika…” 

 

I sighed and plopped onto my bed. “Whatever,” I said, covering my face with an arm to block out the light… It was a touchy subject.

 

“Chika, what am I cooking, I don't see any food here?”

 

I groaned. “I forgot how much of a pain you were.” I opened up my storage and pulled out a few warg legs, throwing them on the counter. “Cook that then. It’s… Mostly butchered…”

 

I had already covered my face again, but even without looking, I could practically see the appalled look she must have had.  “Come on, you expect me to eat just this? What about seasonings, vegetables?” 

 

‘What else did I expect from an elf…’ “Look, if you're not providing the ingredients, you shouldn't complain about them, and if you're planning on eating too then forget it. I'll just make it myself. Who knows how long this will last since I’m still trying to get my muscle back from the winter.”

 

I sucked the meat back into my storage. “After a quick nap though. I don't think the toxin has worn off all the way yet since I pulled an all-nighter instead of resting properly.

 

“WHAT!”

 

I wanted to come up with a quippy response, but I had already started drifting off. The tiredness came in a sudden wave of fatigue that I didn't expect, and my whole body felt like it was melting into the old mattress. In a strange way, I felt at ease for once, so it became hard to repress the tiredness.

 

“Ah no, wait! Don’t fall asleep you could die!” She slapped me across the face. “You need an antidote, or maybe a healing potion?”

 

“Aren’t you like… Some big-shot adventurer… Why the heck are you panicking like this?” I asked calmly, raising a hand to my cheek. ‘You could have at least pulled it a bit…’

 

“Because you’re only E rank, you could probably die from stubbing your toe if you did it bad enough.”

 

‘She… She’s serious isn’t she…’ I laid back down. “The toxin was self-inflicted, and if it was going to kill me it would have done it three days ago, within 24 hours of applying it.”

 

She finally calmed down. “Why would you apply a toxin to yourself though?”

 

I reached behind my head and untied my hair, kicking my feet up onto the bed. “It has healing properties. I don’t have money to waste on potions so packing spider webs in the wound is more efficient. Oh, you asked what happened to my arm, that’s what we're talking about.

 

I would have used healing magic on the spot, but if something really bad happened afterward then I’d be out of luck, besides, it takes a lot of energy out of me. I’m not exactly Plutia’s favorite, since I never donate anything, and rarely go to the shrines.”

 

She let out a long sigh. “Sounds like you thought it all through then… U-uhm…”

 

I turned my eyes to her face as she timidly looked away. “I’m sorry for hitting you. It doesn’t hurt does it?”

 

“Well, it woke me up, that’s for sure, but no I’ll be fine, you hit like a mage.”

 

Her worried face quickly turned sower. “I should hit you again for that…” She groaned.

 

I ignored it though, letting out a yawn as I stretched again, wrapping my arms around one of my pillows. “Well, come on, what are we eating?”

 

She grabbed the warg legs and started cutting them up. “Gross dogs apparently…” She groaned. As she got to work. Several spices and other ingredients laid themselves out across the counter, coming from her storage. Lucky for you I went shopping recently.”

 

I curled up on my bed, with a smile. ‘When was the last time this happened? Maybe six years? No… It was more like 4, she cooked for me after…’ I let out a snort, unable to stop a smile from creeping across my face. “I don’t get why you think wargs are gross, they taste way better than those vegetables you brought.”

 

“Because they are!” She pouted, holding the leg up to my face. “Can’t you smell it in the meat? Even if you can’t you just have to look at how dark it is! Meat is supposed to be red Chika!”

 

“You’re so spoiled… You better not overseason the meat just because you think it tastes bad…”

 

She groaned again. “I don’t overseason the meat…” She muttered.

 

“And make sure you bring the water to a boil so that the vegetables soften properly and aren’t all crunchy and gross.”

 

“Chika…”

 

I held back my laughter. My previous comments were serious, but I figured I might as well just keep going. “Don’t forget to soften the meat first beforehand so we don’t break our teeth trying to chew it.

 

“Chika!” She yelled. Letting out a long sigh after seeing my grin. Just be a good girl and take your nap. I've got this.”

 

“If you say so.” It wasn’t that I didn’t trust her… But I didn’t. Her cooking was… Well, it just wasn’t as good as mine.

 

I grabbed my old torn-up blanket and wrapped it around myself, closing my eyes but as tired as I was a moment ago, the thought of her messing up the food made me anxious when I knew how easy it was to prevent it. “Agh… Just let me handle the meat, you can do everything else…” I groaned as I got up, grabbing the leg along with my harvesting dagger and cutting into it.

 

She growled, but as I met her gaze her face softened and she went back to what she was doing without a word. ‘Something’s changed about her, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.’