Fall arrived, but nothing much changed for me. I still continue to practice my combat and magic skills, though I now practice archery and throwing as well. I'm also studying almost every day, I've learned about history, geography, and the laws of the duchy and kingdom. I also tried making a map of the town, listing what is where, rather than just having certain key places like the guard stations listed. That netted me the mapping skill, which I thought would be useful in the future.

I've kept practicing alchemy, compounding, magic tool crafting, and related skills. At some point, I gained Farming and Arboriculture, though I'm not sure why I didn't gain the farming skill sooner. I was able to find the pattern in magic circles, discovering that it is its own language, and thanks to my language comprehension skill, I was able to learn the language.

After quite a few experiments, I was finally able to find a combination of ingredients that will produce usable ink. I sold the rights to the ink immediately after that, hoping that some eccentric researcher or craftsman out there would figure out colored ink on their own. I may have dropped a hint to Jay about colored ink, saying that creating black ink was more troublesome because most plants, shells, etc. are not black.

During the fall I was able to find berries that can be used to produce yeast, which my parents were happy about, especially my dad, who just about cried tears of joy, after thinking he would have to eat hard bread until next spring. My days went by rather peacefully, getting through the winter months easily thanks to barrier magic and hot water baths. I even managed to make bath bombs since there wasn't much to do during the winter.

Spring came along, the temperature increased, migratory birds started to show up, and flowers started budding. During this time, I was utilizing rain barriers to tend to my garden and the spirit tree saplings that were already as tall as me. I didn't bother setting up a rain barrier when practicing swordsmanship though, thinking of it as training for combat in bad weather.

On nice, sunny days, I would wander around town, I even managed to convince the guards to let me run around the town, staying next to the wall. It wasn't easy, but when I pulled out the sharpened dagger I made while practicing blacksmithing, using a combination of fire and earth magic to heat and mold the blade instead of a forge, since I didn't have one, and showed that I could use it, along with magic, the guards relented. I had to carry a note with me from the guard to show to other guards I passed by though.

One day while I was wandering around town, slowly filling in my map, section by section, I heard a group of kids being loud. Thinking that they must be playing an interesting game, possibly using one of the products I sold to Jay, I changed course to go see. Upon passing through a small side street, I came out to a large empty lot, that only had mud, and a single tree in it. Under that tree was a catkin girl, and at the edge of the lot was a group of boys being rowdy, yelling about how they don't want any girls in their area while throwing mud balls at her.

Fortunately, it seems that the boys didn't have good aim, because I only saw one muddy spot on the side of her dress. I could however see tears in her eyes, so I ran over to her, sliding to a stop and using magic to create a wall of mud to block their throws. Once I had successfully blocked any throws they might make, I gathered a large amount of mana and sent a large wave of mud toward them. The boys screamed when they saw the wave of mud and turned to run away, unfortunately for them, I wouldn't let them get away so easily, trapping their feet until the mud crashed into them.

Covered in mud from head to toe, the boys ran away crying and screaming, while I used magic to clean up the mess I had made before turning to the girl. "Sorry for showing up all of a sudden like that, you're not injured anywhere are you?" I asked. "Oh right, I'm Cero, what's your name?"

"I'm Miya," She said in a barely audible voice, still with tears in her eyes. "I'm fine."

"I see, I'm glad you're not hurt, but it looks like they managed to hit you once. Let me get you cleaned up." Not waiting for her to respond I gathered my mana, formed a clear image in my mind, and chanted "Cleanse" and "Dry" activating my magic and cleaning away the mud, and drying her dress. Although seeing it up close, it was actually a skirt and blouse that she was wearing, not a dress.

She was a little shorter than me, and about the same age, maybe about a year younger than me now that I was about to turn 8. She had short, pure white, hair, with matching short fur on her small triangular ears that were currently folded downward, and on her tail as well. She had deep, crystal clear, sapphire blue eyes, that perfectly matched her white hair and light skin tone.

The sudden use of magic must have shocked her because her eyes shot open and she seemed to forget that she had been crying. She kept looking between me and her dress before finally asking, "You can use magic?" Causing me to burst out in laughter, which in turn caused her to puff out her cheeks, seeming to think I was making fun of her.

"Sorry, sorry. I just couldn't help myself, I mean, I had just used magic against those boys who were bullying you, but only now you ask if I can use magic? Ha ha ha…" I replied, getting my laughter under control before sighing. "To answer your question, yes, I can use magic. My mom has been teaching me magic since I was 5, and my dad has been teaching me combat skills, both used to be adventurers. What about you?"

She giggled a little after realizing why I was laughing. "I can't use magic or fight, my mom is a baker, so that is all I know about."

"Hm… I see, well, being able to bake is also good, tasty food is the best after all. What brings you to this area? Also, we should probably go somewhere else so that we don't find any more problems." I say to her.

"I was on my way back home from delivering some bread. Okay, um… I'm going this way." she pointed down a different side street from the one the boys ran down.

"I'll walk you home then so no one else can bother you. Just lead the way." I said smiling in a reassuring tone of voice.

After that, we walked to her house together, talking about what kind of foods we like and other such run-of-the-mill topics. Upon reaching her place, I realized we were in the poor part of town, the house was a bit run down, and not nearly large enough to properly run a bakery, but I didn't say anything about it. She invited me inside through a side door rather than the front entrance, which I accepted.

"Mom~, I'm home!" Miya yelled loudly after walking through the door. "I brought someone with me. That's okay, right?"

"There's no need to be so loud. Is that why you were gone so long?" Miya's mom asked, coming around a corner. "Oh, hello there, what's your name? I didn't know Miya had any friends like you." Seemingly referring to the fact that I was a well-dressed boy around her daughter's age.

"Hello ma'am, my name is Cero. It's a pleasure to meet you. It's not surprising you didn't know about me, we just became friends a few minutes ago, and I decided to walk her home." I said while smiling, not saying anything extra.

"Oho, I see… You're quite polite, you wouldn't happen to be from an influential family or something, would you?" She asked, digging for more information.

"Not at all, my parents are former adventurers, I've just been studying since my baptism is all." Avoiding the whole bit about being a registered apprentice merchant, I gave an innocuous reply.

"Geez mom, that's not important!" Miya stated, inserting herself before her mom could say anything else. She seemed rather happy though. "Cero can use magic, isn't that cool?! Hey Cero, can you teach me magic?! Can you, can you?" You could clearly see the excitement in her eyes when she shifted topics to magic again.

I quickly used detailed appraisal on her, to find out if she had enough MP, INT, or MND, to be able to learn and practice magic. Seeing that she didn't have very much MP, and her intelligence stat was only normal, I knew it would be almost impossible for her to learn anything beyond basic magic.

"Well, it's not impossible for you to learn magic, but most beastkin aren't very suited to using magic. What does your mom think about it?" I asked turning towards her mom, indirectly stating that I would have no problem teaching Miya, but I would leave it up to her. "Sorry, I don't know what to call you ma'am."

"Fufufu, my name is Maya, but you can just call me mom if you want." She said with a heavy implication, winking and giggling. "If you want to teach my daughter magic, I won't oppose it, just make sure to be safe." Then looking as if she just thought of something, continued, "I just made lunch, would you like to join us?" She asked me with her tail twitching back and forth like she found a fun toy.

"If you wouldn't mind, that sounds nice miss Maya." I replied to Maya before turning back to Miya, noticing the small twitch when I called her 'miss Maya'. "I don't have anything I have to do until closer to this evening, so I can start teaching you magic after lunch." Miya showed the greatest smile as of yet when I said that.

Lunch was a sausage-filled soup with freshly baked bread, unfortunately, it was only somewhat softer than average hard bread. I hate the bread anyway, and despite it not being the fluffy bread that I am now used to, its flavor was quite good. After trying the bread and giving my opinion on it, I pulled some fluffy bread out of my item box and set it on the table. This caused the catkin mother and daughter duo to stare at the bread with the tips of their tails twitching back and forth in curiosity.

Barely holding in my laughter at the two perfectly in sync catkin girls, I offered for them to try it, tearing off a chunk for myself, which released the aroma of freshly baked bread into the air. The two, quickly tore apart the bread to take some for themselves, squishing the bread lightly and watching it bounce back up with interest. They reminded me of how cats play with mice and other prey before they eat them.

"I know it is different from what you are used to, but you should try it while it is still warm," I said to the two of them, having already eaten the piece that I took.

Upon trying the bread, they both went wide-eyed, before yelling "Delicious!" at the same time and quickly eating the remaining bread they had grabbed.

"Feel free to eat the rest, I have more, and I can teach you how to make it later. I'm fine with eating the bread you baked for lunch." I said, continuing to eat the soup and bread.

"So this is the kind of bread rich people eat, I had never even heard of it before, and you're even going to teach me how to make it?" Maya said quietly in a stunned tone.

"You're rich Cero?" Miya asked without hesitation, in a much louder voice than her mom, seeming surprised by what her mom said.

"Well, I'm not poor… but let me correct you before you get the wrong idea. Rich people eat the usual hard bread, just like everyone else, your bread may even be a bit better. This is bread that I baked, and you won't find it anywhere else, that is why I can teach you how to make it." I said to them, slightly exasperated.

After lunch, I went we Miya to her room, and began lecturing her on the basics of magic while filling in the part of my map that I had explored today. With that out of the way, I first got Miya to promise me she wouldn't try using magic on her own until I gave her permission, then tried to get her to feel the mana inside her body. Even telling her where to find the mana in her body, she was struggling, not comprehending what she was supposed to be looking for.

Her struggle caused me to want to try an experiment, and with her permission, I took her hands and began passing mana through her body, telling her to let me know if she felt any pain or anything. Slowly I changed the course of my mana, lowering it closer and closer to the source of hers while keeping it flowing through our arms and connected hands like a circuit. When my mana got close enough to her source, her mana began to react to mine, trying to follow it. I asked if she felt what I was talking about, but her answer of "I think so" wasn't very reassuring, so I kept the mana circuiting until she could properly feel it.

Once she could feel her mana, I taught her how important it is to be able to control it before attempting to use any magic. When she heard that I wouldn't teach her anything else until she could control her mana at will, she immediately set her complete focus on trying to control her mana. I watched her practice, seeing sweat start to build up on her brow without her noticing because she was so focused. After half an hour or so, she got too tired to continue, so I told her she should continue doing that every night before bed until she can freely manipulate her mana. I also told her it took me quite a long time before I could do it, however, I didn't mention that I was 3 years old at the time.

After our little training session, Miya was tired and had to lie down for a bit, so I went to teach Maya how to make fluffy bread. Maya was a quick learner, showing off her prowess when it comes to baking. I told her how to make the yeast and what variations I tried on the recipe, and she immediately understood and even suggest other possible variations.

I showed her how to make the bread once, explaining the bit about letting it rise in a warm place until it had doubled in size while using magic to expedite the process. She didn't know anything about magic, so she bought my fibbed explanation, and I didn't have to wait to complete the bread. Then she started making some on her own, even making some improvements to it as she went. I ended up giving her a jar of yeast as well as some spare jars to be able to make more yeast since she would need enough to run a business. I also suggested a few vague bread ideas, using my knowledge from Earth.

With our little baking class coming to an end, I invited them over to my place for dinner the next day, showing Maya on my map where I lived. She agreed to come for dinner with Miya, at a slightly later time than we normally ate dinner. I left my map with her so she could be sure that she didn't get lost, and went to say goodbye to Miya, telling her about dinner the following day, and promising to come to see her regularly to teach her magic.

Walking home, I took a detour to the merchants guild to stock up on some more alchemy materials, and then at the market to get some more cooking supplies. Lastly, I stopped by the adventurers, guild to see if they had any high-quality fresh meat I could buy. Thanks to my being friendly with Marcus, I was able to get a good-sized chunk of meat from a Blue Bull, which is a C-rank monster that rarely shows up around these parts, though I would have to come help dismantle some monsters sometime soon as payment.

Leaving the guild, I bumped into my dad who was also on his way home. "Cero? What are you doing here?" He said, obviously surprised to see me there.

"I stopped by to ask Marcus about monster meat on my way home," I answered with a shrug before walking home with my dad.

When we got home, mom had almost finished making dinner, so I guess we took longer to get home than I had thought. We quickly washed up before sitting at the table. After dinner, I told my parents about my day, telling them I made a friend, that her mom runs a bakery from her house, and that I had invited them over for dinner the following night.

Dad didn't have much of an opinion either way on the matter, just saying, "good for you." My mom on the other hand seemed rather excited about me making my first friend. Asking me a bunch of questions, then wondering what she should make for dinner.

"On my way home I picked up some stuff from the market, and then stopped by the adventurers guild, where I was able to get some Blue Bull meat we can use for dinner." As soon as I mentioned the Blue Bull mean, dad suddenly became interested in tomorrow's dinner.

"Blue Bull, huh? Now that's good meat, maybe we should have steaks, it's been a long while since I last had a good steak." He said in a single breath, showing his excitement.

"Calm down dear, you will remain on your best behavior tomorrow night, or you can go to bed hungry," Mom said in a cold voice. "Steaks wouldn't be a bad choice though, I guess we can have a sausage soup and a salad with it, and then the fluffy bread." She said with a thoughtful look.

"That sounds good, we can use the ingredients I picked up today. I taught miss Maya how to make fluffy bread and gave her some yeast, so she might bring bread for dinner, she had already made improvements to it, after I showed her how to make it just once. She's very good at baking, I'm looking forward to what more she creates." I told my mom while thinking about making a vinaigrette for the salad, not wanting to eat plain vegetables anymore.

"If she's that good, I hope she does bring some bread tomorrow. I'll look forward to trying it, even if I have to wait and try it directly from her shop." Mom replied honestly.

Dad still hadn't recovered from being shot down by mom before I went to use the magic tool, to warm up the water for a bath quickly. Then after taking a quick bath myself, I went to bed thinking about how to make the vinaigrette, while my mom went to enjoy a nice long soak in the bath. I can use red wine vinegar in place of sherry vinegar, I have black pepper and salt, there is something similar to garlic that I can use, and I have multiple kinds of oil already, so the only thing I don't have is Dijon mustard. I'll have to check if there are any mustard-like seeds available tomorrow, if I can't replace them, I will just have to skip adding mustard.