Chapter 37
Chapter 37
Snow fell quite early.
I was frantically progressing through the ‘Cooking Skill Training’ quest by making ice cream when I stopped and opened the window wide to look outside.
It really felt like the North here.
A place where winter is very long.
The North, where night has already fallen, is a lonely and harsh place without magic lamps and gas lamps.
But it was equally beautiful.
It was even more so when I saw Luwin’s garden lit by magic lights and the snow falling over it.
As I was blankly staring outside, I spotted a figure moving in the distance and leaned my upper body out.
“Cassis!”
“…Irina?”
He strode towards me.
Since the kitchen was on the first floor, our eye levels were similar through the window.
He seemed to be looking inside from outside the window.
“What are you doing?”
“I was practicing making ice cream.”
“I see. How’s the progress?”
“To the point where I want to quit?”
Cassis smiled slightly at my words.
I stepped back and suggested to him.
“Do you want to come in?”
“I’m dirty from being outside, is it okay to enter the kitchen?”
Ah.
That’s a bit problematic.
I slightly furrowed my brow, feeling awkward about saying no after inviting him in first, but Cassis shook his head, saying it was fine.
“Where are you going now?”
“I was thinking of going in since I finished all the work I needed to do outside.”
I see!
“Are you busy today too?”
Cassis shook his head at my question.
“No.”
“It seems like it’s been a long time since you weren’t busy, Cassis.”
“The same could be said for you, Irina. It’s been a while since you looked relaxed.”
I grinned at Cassis’s words.
Actually, as he said, I had been working all the time except for sleeping hours for the past week. I even worked during meal times.
Maybe because I lived so diligently, today feels quite relaxed.
Thanks to that, I quickly finished what I had to do and was holed up in the kitchen training for level-ups.
“Where are you going now, Cassis?”
“I was thinking of reading a book in the study.”
“You’re not reading work-related books again, are you?”
Cassis slightly curled up the corners of his mouth, seemingly amused by my suspicious words. He shook his head.
“I was thinking of reading a novel.”
“Oh? That’s great!”
Cassis seemed not to understand why I reacted this way.
“Just a moment.”
I immediately went inside and grabbed a steaming mug I had prepared earlier.
I approached the window again and handed my mug to Cassis.
“That’s a gift.”
It’s hot chocolate I had just brewed.
I made it thinking I’d drink a cup while working because the weather was strangely chilly.
But since Cassis passed by at such a good timing, I decided to give it up to him.
“…”
I deliberately widened my eyes and looked at him as he remained silent.
As I slightly grabbed his arm while speaking, Cassis stepped back a bit.
His arm naturally tried to move away from me, but I grabbed it again.
“It’s the first snow of winter night. On such a night, the combination of study and novel can’t miss hot chocolate, right?”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
Cassis quietly looked into the cup.
He slightly lowered his head, and maybe due to the height difference between inside and outside the building, I could see all of his eyelashes.
He, whom I always had to look up at from far below, was now in a similar position to me.
“Thank you, Irina.”
“You’re welcome.”
He stared at my face for a while and then muttered to himself.
“Irina always shakes me up.”
“Pardon?”
When I asked again, not having heard or understood properly, Cassis shook his head.
“No. I meant that thanks to you, tonight will be warm.”
“Yes, have a good time.”
I waved goodbye to him, and Cassis smiled slightly and disappeared past me.
It was just an ordinary night with nothing special, but strangely, my heart felt warm.
I stared for a long time in the direction Cassis had disappeared before closing the window.
Now it’s time to train again.
* * *
[>Successfully cook C- grade dishes 100 times. (71/100)
>Successfully cook C grade dishes 30 times. (17/30)
>Successfully cook C+ grade dishes 10 times. (2/10)
>Fail to cook a higher grade dishes 1,000 times. (1,000/1,000)]
[SYSTEM | You have reached 50% proficiency in the ‘Cooking Skill Training’ quest.]
[SYSTEM | Your ‘Cooking Skill’ levels up by 1 point. C- -> C]
I checked my level that I had barely raised while dry heaving.
I don’t know how many times I failed.
I filled that failure proficiency a long time ago.
I must have failed at least 3,000 more times.
I thought I could use skills freely, but that wasn’t the case.
The more I used them, the weaker my body became, and I started to break out in a cold sweat.
So now I was on the verge of collapse.
I sat down on the floor, banged my head against the wall, and groaned ‘Urgh’ in agony.
“I feel like I’m going to throw up…”
It was similar to a hangover.
[You’re really something else.]
[How much did you do to get tired when you shouldn’t be exhausted by using skills moderately?]
I was almost crawling on the floor.
Fortunately, there was no one in the kitchen.
Bam.
Just as I thought how fortunate it was that no one was here, someone came.
“Hello, Irina.”
“…”
“Hello, ugh, you.”
I nodded my head while sitting on the floor.
Sian sat in front of me.
His field of vision suddenly came down.
He smiled, narrowing his eyes.
“I came because I felt power vibrating somewhere.”
“…”
“It’s strange. I was suspicious because I felt a very strong power back then.”
“I told you. I said I thought you might be a pope or something.”
He whispered in my ear.
It suddenly became chilly, as if a snake was wrapped around my neck.
I shuddered and tried to step back, but Sian didn’t let me go.
He pressed his fingertip to my forehead.
A cool sensation flowed gently through my body.
According to Sian’s expression, this power is called holy power.
‘Is this really holy power?’
The system, which had been noisy until just now, became silent.
I thought they might not even talk because Sian came, but they usually talked quite often.
Why?
“Irina, you need to focus.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m talking to you.”
He spoke with a gentle smile, but that made it even more chilling.
Just like when he goes berserk.
The cool power flowing through my body to calm me down suddenly stopped.
When I met his yellow eyes, his pupils elongated.
He smiled.
The power flowed again.
“That’s right.”
“So?”
“But after that, I could barely feel any power. Sometimes I felt it strongly, but it was so faint that I wondered if I had felt it wrong.”
It seems he felt a very faint power every time I used a skill.
“But today, I came because power was flowing abundantly somewhere.”
“…”
When I remained silent, not knowing how to answer, Sian immediately pressured me with a new question.
“So, does my god remember me?”
I desperately called out to my twin gods, who were my gods and once Sian’s gods.
But they didn’t answer.
Moreover, the system didn’t seem to be working well either.
The screen stuttered as if it had lagged.
“You should answer.”
I tensed up and opened my mouth.
“…”
But I don’t know what I can say.
Should I say ‘The god remembers you’?
Or should I convey ‘The god says not to play with you, Mr. Sian’?
I was worried that Sian might go berserk like before at my answer.
“They seemed to remember you.”
“Really?”
Sian opened his eyes wide, as if a little surprised.
He stood up, stroked his chin, and tilted his head.
I got up from my seat with my body feeling normal, perhaps thanks to Sian’s help.
Sian muttered as if lost in thought.
“Then why don’t they answer my calls?”
“…”
“Why did my god abandon me?”
I had nothing to say because I didn’t know the situation at all.
The system was still unresponsive.
“I protected it. I protected the world you cherish.”
“Even though I couldn’t save anything I loved.”
Sian muttered as if a little crazy.
He was panting.
He seemed to be despairing.
The fortunate thing was that he didn’t seem like he would go berserk like before.
Watching him continuously searching for the god, I quietly asked the system.
‘Did you really abandon Sian Terezia?’
[…..]
[…..]
There was no answer.
I reached out and grabbed Sian.
He didn’t seem to notice that I was holding him.
I took a step closer and firmly grasped the hand that wasn’t covering his face.
He stopped muttering and looked up, sweating profusely.
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize.”
“Sometimes, sometimes I’m like this.”
He stammered.
Originally, I was planning to ask him how the world’s destruction comes about.
Or how he saved the world.
“It’s okay.”
“…Thank you.”
He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand as if trying to calm down.
The other hand that wasn’t rubbing his face was tightly holding my hand.
I waited quietly until he calmed down.
“I’m okay now.”
“…Mr. Sian.”
“Yes.”
This is why I’m problematic.
I should know how to just leave someone who’s moderately sad alone.
Strangely, once someone catches my eye, I can’t do that.
I want to help, want to pull them out of their misery, or somehow let them know that they’re okay and will be okay in the future.
If the situation isn’t okay… can’t we just make it okay?
This must be why the system told me not to get close to Sian Terezia, and why Cassis told me not to pity him.
‘Even Cassis knew what I didn’t.’
I decided to just ask.
“Can I use that question now?”
He stared at me blankly.
One hand was still holding me tightly.
“Who is Sian Terezia?”
Who on earth is he?
He says he saved the world, but why does this person in front of me look more like a failure than a hero?
