That Day till Evening

Katze turns into a lump of overwhelming energy as she cooks. It's like she's possessed, but her passionate, relieved face shows just how thankful she is to Oria. Meanwhile, the silver-haired child and the old woman prepare glasses.

Finally…

"Ta-da! Katze Belgar's special dish is all yours, Oria!"

"Woaah…!"

She prepares three types of dishes: a grilled beef with barbeque sauce, a plate of omelet rice, and onion bread chopped into five pieces. Gazing at how all those foods are produced, Oria can only stand in awe while her mouth slowly watering just by how appetizing and delicious smell they give.

"Come on! Don't be shy. Have a bite!"

"Hm! I'll be happy to try!"

Oria gets on the chair and grabs a spoon and a fork while Granny Poly gets her each of those foods on a wooden plate. Oria is eager to savor them, but before that, they pray to Goddess to bless their food.

"Goddess, bless our food…"

Just like last time, Oria follows what they say. With that, they enjoy their lunch for the day. Oria tries the omelet rice first.

"Hmmm~! (This is so good!)" The omelet is chewy complimented with the tasty rice hidden underneath it. She then tries the grilled beef. Again, she's mesmerized by the parade of taste flowing down her tongue. The barbeque sauce captivated her as they slightly taste spicy but savory afterwards. Finally, she eats the onion bread.

"Oh…! (This one… why, does it… tells me that I've tried it before? I've never eaten anything like this before! But why do I feel like I've eaten it before?)"

Among the three dishes, Oria loves the onion bread the most. She even resorted to use her hands to eat them directly. For some reason, they give her a sense of nostalgia.

"Oria. Use your fork," the old woman said.

"It's okay, Granny. Let Oria savor them to her heart's content," Katze convinced her grandmother.

"Good grief, Katze…"

"(Uwoaah… drinking milk while eating these foods really tastes good! I love milk!)"

At last, their luncheon is over. Oria helps them clean up the table and wash the dishes with Katze and the old woman. While washing the plates, Oria asks the young woman about the noblewoman who had scared the entire house.

"Who's Lady Celia, Miss Katze?"

"Ah… that lass, eh? Yeah, she's one of our regular customers. Baroness Celia White, an aristocrat from the capital."

"Was she a bad person?"

"I… no, not really. She may be a noble, but her mindset isn't anywhere near ordinary noblemen. She's beautiful, admired by many, and even known for her intelligent mind. She doesn't see commoners as nobody. She may look intimidating, but she's a good person at heart."

"Yeah… I guess you're right. That scary old man was knocked out by her words, hehe."

"Yup. Exactly."

"Keh-heh-heh. Lady Celia dislikes the arrogance of nobles, though herself can be arrogant at times, gah-hah-hah."

"Granny Poly? She called you, umm… Mrs. Fyan… Fyan what is it again?"

"Ah, you mean Fyan Gallipoli. Yeah-hah-hah… it's been a long time since I heard that name. It was my full name, child. I used to be called by that name when I was younger, but now I'd prefer myself to be called as simply as Poly. Friendly, and simple."

Katze sneers, "Hmph. Just say you don't want people to call you Fyan the Hag."

"—Oh, you want to start a war, eh? Right here? Right now!?"

Meanwhile, Oria quickens her hand movement to finish cleaning the dishes.

"(Ah, this is bad. Gotta hurry, and then retreat!)"

Fortunately, they didn't revolt into a mouth warfare. Oria can breathe in relief that she doesn't have to witness more of their ramblings.

"Phew… u-umm, putting that aside, uhh… why would Lady Celia come here?" Oria immediately turned the topic back.

"Hm? Ahh, as I said, she's a patron. One day, when we were visiting a city to the south, we accidentally stumbled across the good lady."

"Then?"

"Katze wore a divine cape at that time. And guess what?"

"Umm…"

"She noticed that I was wearing a divine cape," Katze answered. "She even found out that it was Granny's creation. She asked if we take requests, well, obviously, we said yes. She came to our flat two months later, then officially became our first customer from the aristocracy."

"Huh… She's really sharp, isn't she?"

"Too sharp. I won't be shocked if she turns out to be a superhuman or a divine being."

"Keh-heh-heh. Almost every month, she requested divine clothes. Well, she'd sent us a letter first before we did her request. If she didn't send a letter, that means she's not asking for more."

"Interesting…"

"I know, right? Granny and I were really shocked when we noticed she's paying us with gold coins. Half of them goes into donation, and half more goes to our pocket to buy materials to make more divine clothes."

"Oh… What's a divine cloth, by the way?"

"Oh, right… well, to put it simply, divine clothes are clothes that was sewn with a complex magic circuit in them, allowing some enhancements to be installed in them later. Granny and I can make them, as long as we have magistones and the right tools."

"Magistones?" Oria sounded a bit surprised.

"Yeah. They're stones that has mana in them. We use them to fill the magic circuit in the clothes with mana."

"Oh, I see… so, umm… does that mean, you uhh, run out of magistones when making that last divine cloth?"

"Damn right, you are, Oria. I was shocked, you know."

"Katze, language."

"Ah, shuddap. Anyway… I didn't mean to give Lady Celia faulty products. I thought she'll imbue the cloth with her own mana. Well, I was stupid to think that way, heheh…"

"Good grief, Katze. You should've told me if you ran out of magistones. I could ask Marcus to get some more in the woods."

"Erk. W-Well, yeah, I'm sorry. I realized I was wrong for not telling anything to you, Granny. But you see, I was by the last minute, so I couldn't trouble him."

"Izzatso…"

"That's why, Oria," she said as her eyes rolled to the little girl's, "today, I'm really glad that you helped me. I couldn't make any excuses because she's a noble. She'd turn down my excuses anyway, so I didn't tell her the full truth."

"No problem. I was happy to be of help! Heehee."

Katze smiles wider, "Hehe. Thank you, Oria. I really thank you for that."

"Keh-heh-heh. I was surprised more by the fact that Oria can use [Mana Transfer]. Who taught you that, girl?"

"Now that you said it, yeah. Oria, where did you learn that art? You haven't joined a job, yet right? Since you're still eight. Lady Celia also said something that you have a [Magic Processing] skill, too."

"Errgh…" Oria reluctantly replied. She knew she must not say a word about her skills and abilities. "(That was an emergency… I hope Faruk forgives me.)"

"Oria?"

"Enough, Katze. Dux asked us to not dig her past, right?" Mrs. Poly reminded her sternly.

"…Oh, yeah. You're right. Sorry, Oria."

"I-It's okay. If there's anything I'd want to say… Master Dux taught me a lot about it. And umm… yeah, that's it, ehehe…"

"H-Huh…"

Meanwhile, Granny knows what she was about to say but didn't utter a word about it. "(It must be her other guardian, her master. I wonder who is this master of hers…)"

"Oh, right!" Oria suddenly yelled. "I think I have a few magistones with me. Can it be of use?"

"Huh? Where did you get a magistone?" the red-haired woman asked.

"From a dungeon!" Oria cheerfully said.

Everyone silences. The chirping of the bird outside is heard, and the breezy wind can be felt blowing into the house. Soon, Katze responds, followed by her grandmother.

"Eh? Dungeon?"

"Keh? Dungeon!?"

…

..

.

Evening comes. Oria had realized she just said something that she shouldn't say. It made her panic, but eventually she was able to worm her way out by some big-brain explanations.

Now, in her room, and in her pajamas, Oria sits on the bed, murmuring to herself.

"(I felt bad for lying. I played dumb by telling them that I was talking about wide-open plains, and I said they were called a dungeon. They laughed at me, but at least they didn't know that I was actually talking about a real, legitimate dungeon. They even said the magistones I talked about was just simple stones scattered on the field. Oh, dear, I need to control myself to not speak too freely. I hope Faruk isn't mad about this…)"

After that, Oria lays her back against the comfy simple bed. Spreading her arms, rubbing the cold parts of the bedsheet.

"(Even though it's about to snow, I still feel like it's summer now…)"

Sighing, Oria opens the status screen.

"It's been a while since I checked my status… Faruk didn't allow me for the sake of my safety… but I guess it's okay if I do it before I go to sleep."

Scrolling her status, she eventually reaches the skills section.

"That's right… I haven't checked what skills I have now… let's see…"

<ORIA ARGENTORA, LV. 5>

Skills:

[Strategist Lv.3], [Diligence Lv.8], [Hoarder Lv.2], [Survivor Lv.4], [Sickle Lv.7], [E-404 Lv.?], [Magic Processing Lv.1], [Caster Lv.1], [Agility Lv.1], [Weapon Witchcraft Lv.4], [Appraisal Lv.3], [Knife Lv.4], [Focused Eye Lv.3], [Danger Perception Lv.1], [Jeopardy Sensor Lv.1], [Pathfinder Lv.2], [Poison Resistance Lv.3], [Heat Resistance Lv.1], [Pain Alleviation Lv.1], [Signal Lord], [Fire Magic Lv.2], [Wind Magic Lv.1], [Earth Magic Lv.1], [Water Magic Lv.1]

"Uwaah… I have plenty of them… alright, then. Let's see… I have uhh… oh, this one! [Danger Perception]! I got it somehow when fighting the Mega Mollis. Let's see what the description says about it…"

<Perception Skill: Danger Perception Lv.1>

Desc: Detects danger from particularly any threat within proximity of the user.

"A perception skill, huh… Faruk, what's a perception skill?" Oria looked beside her in a curious expression, only to realize that she was alone in that room. "…Oh, yeah. I forgot he's out. I can't ask him about my skills."

Sighing, Oria returns to checking her other skills.

"I guess Danger Perception was the one warning me about the sense of discomfort when I was about to be attacked by that monster. Maybe. I'm not sure. I'll ask Faruk later."

She checks the other one.

"Let's see… oh, this one…"

<Passive Skill: Jeopardy Sensor Lv.1>

Desc: Convergent skill formed from [Focused Eye] and [Pathfinder]. Dungeon only. Replaces Pathfinder ring with an attack detection ring. Warns the user if the user is in potential danger by showing flashes and arrows of the incoming attack.

"What's this skill…? When did I learn it?"

Then, Oria remembers that one time where she didn't catch what the system was telling her about an update of her skills.

"Oh, right… I think it was that one. I guess it was the one responsible along with the [Danger Perception] that I could tell the Mega Mollis was about to attack. Too bad it works only in dungeon…"

She then notices one skill. "Oh, I do have [Magic Processing] skill. No wonder I can use magic. But I wonder when I got it…"

…

Somewhere in the dark clad of the night, deep in the mountain forest, a squid-headed wizard accompanied by a flying eyeball of iron strides to the direction of Fred Village.

"Nyuhuhuhu! It was interesting how you shooed them away, Faruk."

"Hmph. It was the most effective way to do it. For the time being, they'll not approach my cave."

"Yeah… I think they've yet to learn their lesson, though. That being said, may I ask why we would go to Fred Village, hm?" Dux asked in a teasing voice.

"Of course. I need to make sure Oria is fine."

"Nyuhuhuhu~ it seems you've TRULY changed to a doting father, no?"

"Cease your weird ideas, Dux. I do not see myself as a parent for her. My life is tied with hers through that Soul Contract, so, it is only normal that I make sure she's safe."

"Hahaha. What a dishonest dragon. Well, then! Let us go to Katze's house! Hopefully, she's not asleep, yet. Well! I can just siren her to open the door for me, nyerehehehe…"

The Silver Dragon does not reply to his annoying voice. Faruk is deep in his thoughts right now.

"(Today… I sensed a powerful presence entered Raskiel Mountains and then left. It was almost like a Guardia's presence. It made me feel uneasy. I must see that Oria is safe first. Only then I can continue dealing with these slavers.)"