Village Life (1)

It was five in the morning when Zero was woken up by a stranger. In the dark, it was hard to tell who it was but Zero didn't mind since Mii didn't alert him of immediate danger. He let the lady lead him to the well to get freshened up.

As he became more awake, Zero noticed how he couldn't sense her presence at all. Perhaps the lady was one of those without life essences? She was beautiful in an ethereal way, more so than Zero remembered. Moona didn't look alive and Zero wondered how that could be.

"Good morning, you look a little different today...?"

The silver-haired lady smiled. Unable to hold back his curiosity, Zero blurted out and asked if she was a ghost. The lady chuckled charmingly.

"No, I'm not like Zoe. I'm a spirit born from the moonlight."

Zero looked lost. "You were born from the moonlight? How does that work? The moon didn't carry you in its stomach like Karris, did it?"

Moona smiled mysteriously. "Who knows? Maybe it did, maybe it didn't. I wouldn't know. However, I cannot exist without the moonlight or the dark. I don't blame you for thinking that I'm a ghost. I turn almost invisible at noon when the sun is the strongest."

Fascinated, Zero wanted to ask more but couldn't as he was startled by someone else hugging him from behind.

"Oh my! You look adorable this morning too... almost worth the pain of waking up this early. Hello, Moona. Did you look at the stars again last night?"

"Qin Yun, you might want to let go of Zero. He looks slightly blue..." Latitia commented.

The demoness blinked and quickly unwrapped her arms. "Sorry, dear. You were just too adorable and I just wanted to eat you up."

Sekkin was a lithe hunter with shoulder-length light brown hair, a cleanly trimmed moustache and a bushy beard. His eyes were pitch black and Zero knew he wasn't human when he shot out some barely visible thread from his hands to drag Qin Yun away before she could take the opportunity to smother Zero in another one of her hugs.

"We apologise for scaring you so early in the morning. Have you eaten? It's going to be hard work in the fields."

Zero shook his head and someone tapped Zero on the shoulder from behind. The brunet wasn't expecting to be offered food and beamed at the... creature?

"Don't worry," Latitia smiled. "Chowkah might be huge but he is very friendly."

Zero accepted the bread gracefully and asked, "I heard that Chowkah was a Yeti. Is he something like a Camie because he's huge!"

Cleo who was still yawning as she walked overheard that and grinned. "Nah, a Yeti is a guardian chosen by the mountain to guide lost travellers during a snowstorm. It's not the same as giants."

Zero had many questions but held his tongue as Cleo gave instructions to everyone about what they're going to do today. Zero became excited when he was told they would be harvesting. He'd harvested herbs with Hua Tuo before so he knew the basics. However, today, they were harvesting food that would be used to make lunch. Sekkin whispered to him that lunch usually tasted better if it was made with freshly harvested vegetables in the morning.

"Chowkah and Sekkin, you will draw water and till the soil before replanting the next batch of seeds. Latitia and I will tend to the remaining crops to speed up the growth of existing crops and water them. Qin Yun and Moona will check the plants for any signs of insect invasion and pull out the weeds. Zero," she paused to look at the youngest member on their team. "you will be following Qin Yun and Moona. I heard that you have some experience tending to the fields with Hua Tuo. Some of the bigger vegetables are too heavy for you to harvest so leave that to the men. You can help pick tomatoes after you're done with weeding."

Zero bounced with joy and Cleo clapped her hands twice to dismiss the meeting. Everyone scattered away to fulfil their jobs. Moona and Qin Yun pulled Zero along, explaining to him what they needed to do. Zero couldn't help but notice how Qin Yun would sneakily hold his hand or semi-cuddle him as they walked. Moona gave Zero sly smiles but didn't comment. They had to work fast because the sun was rising and Moona wouldn't be able to stay for too long in the fields.

Weeding was done in an almost robotic manner. With Zero's extensive knowledge in plants, they were done in no time. The brunet ran over to help with picking tomatoes, much to Latitia's amusement. Zero blinked when Latitia used magic to water the plants.

"Is it normal to use magic to do chores? Master usually scolds me if I tried to clean the house using water magic."

The flower fairy descendant grinned. "It feels like cheating to do so but I always think that you've got to make full use of the gifts you're given. It's better if I can use it to help everyone so I always offer to water the plants."

Zero scowled. "Master didn't allow me to use water magic to clean but he makes me do it all the time. I don't think that's fair."

Latitia giggled. "Different strokes for different folks. I guess he was trying to teach you something there. Oh, you can pick that tomato. I can make it ripe with my magic later."

Zero nodded and continued harvesting. He looked to the side and saw how Chowkah worked endlessly, ferrying water from the well to the fields. Sekkin had his back bent, replanting seeds with practised ease. He couldn't see what Cleo was doing but he saw plants growing at astonishing rates every few minutes. Zero wondered if the village would ever run out of food if Cleo didn't speed up the growth of plants using her magic.

The hours flew by quickly and Moona had to stop because the sun was coming up. Zero saw how translucent she was under the morning sun and noted that the moonlight sylph became more sluggish.

"That's a wrap," Cleo said. "Let's help to carry all the harvest to the kitchen so that Zoe and Qin Yun can prepare lunch. In the meantime, you can have breakfast with Lovina before you join the warriors for a hunt."

Zero skipped all the way back. By the time he reached Lovina's apartment, Hua Tuo was already seated and sipping on tea.

"How was your morning?" he asked his apprentice.

Zero related what he saw and experienced before throwing the old physician off with a statement.

"Latitia said that magic is a gift and it might feel like cheating to use it for chores but if it was used to benefit everyone, it should be used."

The physician nearly choked on the pancakes. After two cups of tea and working lungs, he looked at Zero seriously.

"What kind of chores are we talking about here?"

Zero became serious too and the tension in the room increased.

"Washing floors. I could do it with water magic."

Hua Tuo sighed.

"Starting fires too."

Hua Tuo gave it a thought. "Starting fires outside the house, yes. Inside, no. Washing the floors with water magic is not allowed."

"But why?" Zero pouted.

The physician sighed and Lovina eyed them with interest. "The last time you used water magic to clean, we had to repair the roof."

Zero blushed in embarrassment at that memory. "I'll get better, I promise."

The old doctor shook his head. Zero might improve but his old house might not be there by the time Zero perfected it. He wouldn't take that risk.

Sensing Hua Tuo's distraught, the witch stepped in and offered Zero more pancakes. "Let's work on that cleaning magic another time, shall we? If you can control your magic well enough, I'm sure you can try using it."

Hua Tuo gave the lady a silent look of thanks when Zero finally gave in

"I hear that the hunting party leaves at nine. It's about time, do you want to join them?"

Zero shovelled all the pancakes into his small mouth, gulped down the tea and nodded.

Lovina chuckled and bid Zero goodbye as he ran off to join the hunting party.

"Now that he's gone, shall we discuss that healing magic?" the witch smiled.

Hua Tuo and Cleo nodded at the witch and the discussion began.