Expectations and Reality

The Next Morning

Luz stirred in her sleep to a familiar smell. As if on instinct, her body crawled out of bed, following it. It wasn't until she reached the living room that her glassy eyes shot open, now awake. She sniffed the air once more, determining the source to be outside. Pushing open the front door, she was once again given a unique sight.

A makeshift camp of branches and leaves was set near the tree line. In the center was a roaring campfire with Shirou working a pan. Shirou basted the pieces of meat on his pan before doing the final sear and plating it.

Fou walked from the forest toward her servant and gave him some herbs with a jovial yelp.

Meanwhile, Hooty was stretched over a log, placing some seasonings and ingredients Luz assumed were taken from the kitchen.

Hearing the door open, Shirou turned. "Oh. Good morning, Master. Shall I prepare you breakfast?"

Her eyes landed on a few plates of food left out on the side. Faint trails of steam were still wafting from the plates and bowls. "You made food?" She blurted out, swallowing at how savory everything looked.

Shirou smirked. "I know my way around the kitchen."

A hint of drool nearly dripped from her mouth, but she quickly caught herself and cleared her throat. "I haven't eaten real food in so long. Please give me some." Just as she reached for a plate, it was snatched up by Shirou.

He looked at her, concerned. "Luz, how long has it been since you last ate a good meal?"

"Uh…" She smiled nervously. "About two days now."

Her servant made a face of disappointment, placing the plate back on the log. "Hooty, prepare the table. Fou, fetch Eda and King" He pointed to a stump. "Luz, sit."

As the other two went about their task, the girl obliged. "Sitting." He was supposed to be her servant, but the teen, a head taller than her, still held a commanding presence as a chef.

Luz watched Shirou intently from her seat. A Chef's knife appeared in his hand, and he proceeded to dice carrots and onions with professional perfection. Eggs cracked expertly against the pan, and the meat fat melded with the eggs. Soon, several over-easy eggs were plated, and Shirou had just finished folding his fourth vegetable omelet.

The front door opened again, revealing Fou with the Owl Lady and the baby demon in tow.

Eda flattened down the dress she hastily put on after being woken up. "Sheesh. Let a woman sleep in. I need my beauty sleep."

King yawned, a small blanket draped over his shoulders. "Yeah, and what's that smell?"

Hooty moved right up to the duo "Family breakfast time! Hoot Hoot!"

Eda and King finally looked at the makeshift campsite and the prepared table. Luz waved at them from her seat. "Morning, guys!"

The little one turned to the witch. "I told you he would be alright."

Eda glowered. "Quiet you." Taking a look at the food, she was a little impressed. "Got any apple blood?"

Shirou simply nodded to his assistant. "Hooty?"

Her house security came up to her with her cup. "Ice cold. Your usual. Hoot!"

Eda slowly accepted her thirty and flirty mug and took a sip. "Thank, I guess."

As everyone sat with Hooty and Fou on the ground with their bowls, Shirou's expression went flat. "Eda, care to explain why my master hasn't eaten in the past few days?"

Eda blinked before turning to the girl. "You haven't?"

Luz flushed at the looks she was getting. "I've just been nibbling on the granola bars in my backpack."

"Really? I just thought you humans didn't need much food since you don't have magic." Eda glanced at Shirou. "Well, you at least."

Shirou sighed. "I'll let it slide since this is still something new to you, but if you are going to be her teacher, she needs to be well-nurtured."

Eda shrugged. "What? It's not my fault she chose not to eat."

"From the day before and what I've heard from Hooty, cannibalism is commonplace here." He patted Luz on the head. "I would prefer that my master not partake is such activities, and I'm sure she would agree."

Luz laughed nervously. "The bowl of eyeballs wasn't my taste."

Her servant looked at her sternly. "Remember, Luz. Hunger is the enemy, and I shall protect you from that as well" She nodded in affirmation and anticipation of future meals. With that done, Shirou clapped his hands. "Now, let's eat."

After the first few bites, their opinion of their new friend drastically increased. Eda would never admit it, but she could get used to this servant thing. "If this is you outdoors, how well do you do in an actual kitchen?"

Shirou took another bite of his omelet before smiling. "Would you like to find out?"

Eda narrowed her eyes and the subtle challenge. "Tempting. Very tempting."

---

Now fully refreshed and fed, Eda introduced her plan for Luz today. Since they had done deliveries yesterday, it was time to stock up on supplies. "We're headed to the beach."

Luz beamed, under the impression that she would be getting her first lesson soon. "Yes! We can also show Shirou around town on our way there."

Eda pondered for a moment before shrugging. "I do need to stop by for some things at the market. Sure."

After cleaning up, the quartet trekked to town. At the same time, Eda and King went about haggling. Luz pulled her servant to every stand, introducing him to all the cool stuff.

During this visit, Shirou learned many things about this demon realm. There were similarities to what he knew of the Reverse Side of the World. The demon realm was certainly different. For one, most of the beings he met were either Witches, Elves, and Demons. The fairies he met were very different from those he gleamed from Avalon's making. A few blacksmith stands caught his attention, examining the weaponry used in a realm full of magic. For the most part, they seemed mundane from what his senses were picking up. Perhaps there was more to the craft here not for sale.

The duo also stopped by some restaurants in the area. Shirou wouldn't always be available to cook, so learning the local options was important. At the very least, there were vegetarian options to avoid the more questionable meat on the menu. The servant even conversed with a fellow chef on cutting and seasoning techniques. The elder laughed happily and said Shirou was welcome any time.

On the magical side of things, it would seem that magic had been streamlined here. All the users seemingly had to concentrate while drawing a circle in the air. Strangely enough, many adult magic users seemed to have some sort of seal on their hands. What they did, he didn't know. While he was sure there was more to it, he would save those questions for another time. Eda had already started grouping them to move on.

A little more walking later, the quartet had arrived at their beach destination. What immediately stood out for Shirou and Luz was the corpse of a trash slug that towered over them, flies audibly buzzing around the corpse.

Eda elbowed her student. "Well, Luz! Did you ever think you'd see something as breathtaking as this?"

Shirou held his breath. "Not in a good way." Upon closer examination, he sees more items that would have come from human society. "How did these things even get here?"

Eda gestured to the waters. "I'm not sure why, but the Demon Realm and the human world have random portals appearing, and sometimes, items fall in, ending up here."

"If that's the case, why are there more humans sent to the boiling isles?" asked Luz.

"Oh, there was plenty."

"Really?"

"There's one over there." Eda gestured to the back of the Trash slug where the skeleton of a human with clothes washed up on the shore.

Luz stared at the bones for a moment before shaking her head of the thoughts. Shirou quickly pulled her away from the bones. "I don't like this. Why are we here again?"

"Was that necessary," grumbled Shirou.

Eda walked to the trash slug. "What? This is the real world. It doesn't get much more inspiring than the trash slug. It makes a home, a life from what others have thrown by the wayside." She pulled a rubber chicken from the trash slug's mouth. "Until, blam, it gets blasted by a wave one day and croaks from all the salt."

Listening to that little summary, Luz and Shirou couldn't help but notice the similarities with their new host. There was a story behind that, but it wasn't the right time to ask.

"And then we get to sell the stuff it ate." She pulled out a pickaxe to start the excavation.

Luz shied away from the tool. "Please don't make me."

Shirou sighed. "Eda, I fail to see how this benefits her training. This is trash rummaging."

"Yeah." Luz crossed her arms. "I was already doing deliveries yesterday."

King walked away, unfurling a towel. "Aw, come on, guys. Not every day you get to go to the dump and pick apart a garbage carcass."

Shaking his head, Shirou walked up to the corpse, doubting it would be edible. "Wouldn't it be easier to use your magic to pick it apart? I'm sure Luz would appreciate the demonstration."

Eda swung her pick at the trash slug. "Nah. I was never really that good with deconstruction spells. If anything, I can blast it to pieces, but I risk losing potential merchandise."

Luz avoided looking at the trash slug any further. "So, Eda… What if we tried some new lessons for my apprenticeship? Like… Read ancient scrolls or mix together potions, or—"

Eda tossed things from the trash slug's mouth. "Ugh. That sounds like a bunch of magic school stuff."

Luz and Shirou both blinked. "Wait. Is there a magic school here? Like, winding towers, cute uniforms, dark plots that threaten your life kind of magic school?"

Shirou looked at his master and had a different vision of the magic learning facility: the Clock Tower. Not a very nice place for young ones to learn.

Eda hummed in acknowledgment. "What's worse, they force you to learn magic the "proper" way. But magic isn't proper." She smiles. "It's wild and unpredictable. And that's why it's so beautiful. I didn't finish school, and look at me! Who wouldn't envy where I am right now?" The flies around Eda didn't help her image.

Luz's expression fell, imagining that this is what her magic training amounted to.

"While I agree that higher applications of magic are in the realm of the abstract, there have to be some fundamentals for her to learn," offered Shirou. "You can't speak sentences if you don't know words."

Eda felt put off by them, dropping her pick. "Uh... Hey, here's a lesson. A great witch is resourceful." She grabs and sticks Luz's hand in a puddle of trash slug bile. "Like this." Eda dragged Luz's hand back and forth before letting go.

Luz continued digging until she pulled something, cringing a bit. "Oh, hey. Greasy slime ball."

Eda closed Luz's hands around the slime ball. "Use your slime ball wisely, young witch." She stood and headed back for the trash slug. "Back at it! We'll hit the stink nodes first."

Looking at his master's forlorn expression, Shirou spoke up. "Eda, if you don't feel comfortable teaching Luz right now, that's fine. Just say so. We would appreciate the honesty. I may not be as well versed in the magic of this realm, but I can at least give her some basics that I know."

Luz mirrored the sentiment and started walking away disappointed. "If it's okay, I think I'll head home and take up Shirou's offer. I can see that you're busy right now." She got down and pet King's belly, eliciting a few giggles. "Love you, King. You little beach peach."

Shirou knelt to King and looked at the Owl Lady. "Keep an eye on her for us, little guy." With that, the master and Servant started their walk back to town. "I'm sorry about today so far, Luz."

"It's fine, Shirou…" Her expression brightened a bit. "Do you think you can teach me to make swords out of thin air too?"

The redhead laughed. "Let's not get too carried away."