Everland - 2 - EN

The smell of cooking had already reached us by the time we made it home at last. We went to the back of the house to put away the baskets and firewood we had gathered.

“We’re home!” I shouted as I stepped through the door.

“Good work, Klein, An.”

Imagine a mother character from an anime. Her appearance was plain, though a bit above average. Between her soothing smile, her lack of anger, and the wisdom she showed at times, my mother was perfect from every angle. No joke, if this were an anime, I might have grown paranoid, considering what those wicked writers do to characters who are so kind and beloved.

She had raven-black eyes like mine, hair of the same color tied low, pale skin, and a somewhat pretty face.

To be honest, she did not look like the people in the village, and neither did my father. If not for Grandpa, who was without question a native of this village, I would have thought my parents might be nobles on the run.

“Get ready for dinner,” she said with a smile. I knew that smile. She must have made something good.

“Is that pork?” I peeked into the pot over the hearth. Mom must have used extra spices, because the pot smelled amazing.

Mom nodded. “The hunters brought in one huge Pigest this morning. Everyone got a good-sized share.”

Pigest was the name people used for wild boars that tended to grow quite large. But if one was enough for the whole village, it had to have become a Spirit Beast.

I still did not know how normal animals became Spirit Beasts. They were rare because they tended to be smart and almost never came near villages. To be honest, it was a bit concerning that one had been hunted.

I used my power to see information.

Sure enough, to normal eyes, the pot held nothing but ordinary broth and meat. To me, though, it looked like a colorful Kaleidoscope vortex. In fact, that was not much of a surprise, since every soul I had seen was even more amazing. No, what shocked me was a concept I had never seen inside that Kaleidoscope.

This was the first time I had seen Magical outside the items I had made. Judging from its metaphysics, this meat could make humans stronger when they ate it.

It took all I had to hold back my excitement, since I had spent a long time searching for a safe way to improve my body. Was this why the village hunters looked like modern athletes? No wonder I had never found the concept of Magical in their bodies or souls; this meat enhanced muscles and bones by stimulating the growth of far stronger new cells.

What a shame that I had not thought of this myself, but, to be fair, super strength had not been on my priority list.

Despite the strong urge to try this enhancement, An and I washed our hands with the bucket of water behind the house. I would have preferred a bath instead of wiping my face and arms with water and a towel. However, water was scarce here.

So I did the next best thing: magic!

With a snap of my fingers, a cold, fresh feeling spread through both An and me. Even my mouth felt incredible. I had fallen in love with this spell the first time I made it, and using it had become a habit whenever I could. However, it had also made my skin a bit sensitive. Good thing I had made my clothes as soft as modern clothes, or even more comfortable, without changing how they looked, so no one suspected a thing. I could not imagine the itching I would have had to endure without it. And of course, I also had magic to clean my clothes, but I held back from making them look new all the time, since that would make people suspicious.

Once we had cleaned up, An and I returned.

The kitchen had a dining table, so it also served as the dining room. There was also a large hearth for cooking and heating the room.

The sky outside had grown dim, so the orange light from the hearth wrapped the room in warmth. Our silhouettes and the furniture cast shadows that danced on the walls. If Mom had not lit two oil lamps, the room would still have felt dark. No, to my modern senses, the world felt so dark at night.

For a while, the clack of wooden spoons against plates mingled with the sound of the hearth.

“Marley might arrive in a few days. He even paid a runner to deliver a letter,” Mom said.

It felt strange for her to mention Father by name in front of me. I was a bit worried about their relationship, but up to now there had been no sign that they had a bad one, except, well, they did not seem close either.

“He will come home with his friend.”

Hearing that, I glanced at An. The last time Father came home with his friend, they had brought An. Would they bring another child? Or … would they take An away?

Mom glanced at me, then said, “Marley said Sir Elyon is coming to visit An.”

So he was the same knight who had brought her here.

After that, Mom began asking about our day. Of course, I did not mention that the village children had ambushed us. I had to stare at An to stop her from saying anything. Thank goodness, she listened to me this time.

After dinner, An and I went to our room on the second floor.

“Hey, let’s go to the workshop. I want to give you something.”