Chapter 8
Calias looked very grumpy. His face was full of annoyance. Daisy asked him carefully,
“Is something wrong again?”
“It’s too noisy. I lost my appetite.”
He meant that he didn’t like Daisy talking with Pell.
‘Wait, is he being rude to the man who helped us?’
Daisy looked at Pell nervously, but Pell just smiled kindly and stood up.
“I think the young sir doesn’t feel comfortable with me. I’ll leave so he can eat peacefully.”
“Okay! Goodbye, Sir Pell! I’ll stay and watch Caly eat.”
“You too, Miss Daisy. Have a nice day.”
—Click—
As soon as the door closed, Calias muttered,
“I don’t like him.”
His face was clearly annoyed.
“Why not?”
“I just get a really bad feeling.”
Calias felt something strange and unpleasant from Pell. It reminded him of someone who might one day point a sword at him.
“Come on, don’t overthink it. You don’t like people in general. Maybe that’s why?”
“No. This feels different.”
“You’re probably just hungry. That makes everyone cranky.”
Daisy tried to cheer him up and made a suggestion.
“Want another bowl of rice?”
“…Fine.”
Calias looked shyly at his empty bowl, pretending not to care—but his hand was already holding the spoon again, ready for more. Daisy smiled happily.
“Wait just a moment! I’ll bring it right away!”
She rushed to the kitchen. Meanwhile, Calias sat there, still thinking.
‘That Pell guy… Something feels off.’
Even though the egg rice was great, his bad feeling about Pell didn’t change.
Later, Daisy, Calias, and Pell said goodbye at the edge of the village.
“Thank you so much for helping me. I woke up safely because of you.”
“Passing out suddenly isn’t a good sign. You should still see a real doctor.”
Pell kindly worried about Daisy’s health.
‘He’s so nice!’
Daisy’s heart felt warm. She dug through her bag and gave him something wrapped in paper.
“What’s this?”
“A sandwich. You said you’re heading to the next town today, right? Eat it on the way.”
“When did you even make this…?”
“While making breakfast for Caly this morning.”
Even though Pell had helped them for free, Daisy wanted to give something in return. So she made a sandwich, putting all her thanks into it.
“I hope your knight training goes well, and that you reach the level you’re aiming for!”
Pell gratefully accepted it.
“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”
“You can look forward to it. It’ll be tasty!”
They waved goodbye, and Pell rode away on his horse. Daisy and Calias picked up their bags and walked toward the forest in the west.
“Let’s go home!”
“Try not to faint again.”
“No way. I won’t for at least a month!”
“Your illness is weird. I should study it.”
“Finally interested? Isn’t that a bit late?”
“Be grateful I’m interested at all.”
They walked down the forest trail, bickering playfully. The path home felt fun and light.
Life at the tower was busy. Since Calias couldn’t use magic, dust piled up and chores increased.
Daisy, the only one staying there, had to do everything—watching Calias, cooking, cleaning, and now even fixing the windows.
“Am I a maid or something? Taking care of a kid, cooking, cleaning, and now window repairs…”
She was grumbling when the door suddenly burst open and Calias appeared.
“Calias? What’s wrong?”
“This.”
He handed her a huge egg, about the size of a human head. It had a dark red, shiny shell that looked like metal.
Daisy’s eyes widened.
“This is…”
She remembered it from the food storage—it was the biggest egg in the bunch.
“Are you sure we should eat this?”
“Yes. I must eat this egg.”
“But it’s way too big for just the two of us…”
“That means we can make many dishes with it.”
Calias said that and left just as suddenly, leaving the big egg behind.
Daisy looked at it helplessly.
“Sigh… do I really have to cook this?”
But the answer was clear.
It was the first time Calias had asked her to make something.
So of course she had to.
“Even if it looks really suspicious!”
“Ugh! What is this thing?!”
Daisy tried cracking the egg, but it was way too hard.
“The shell’s too strong!”
She couldn’t break it with her strength. But using a hammer might crack it and ruin the inside.
After thinking hard, Daisy chose to boil it.
“I’ll hard-boil it, then break the shell and use the inside for sandwiches or salad.”
She took out the biggest pot in the kitchen.
—Boil, boil.
Bubbles and steam rose from the water.
“Alright! Time to drop it in!”
She gently placed the heavy egg inside and slammed the lid shut. She wiped her forehead.
“It’s big, so let’s boil it for an hour. I hope it turns out okay.”
She flipped an hourglass and started doing other kitchen chores while waiting.
Everything seemed peaceful… until—
—Clatter! Bang bang!
The pot lid suddenly started shaking like crazy!
“Eek! What the—?!”
Daisy dropped her cleaning brush and stood up, shocked.
—Rattle rattle!
It sounded like thunder in the small kitchen.
‘Is the water boiling over?’
She covered her ears and ran to the pot. With oven mitts on, she opened the lid.
—Hissssss!
Steam exploded out, fogging up the whole kitchen.
‘Hot!’
She covered her face with her sleeve.
Then, after a moment, she heard something.
「Koookoo…」
A tiny sound tickled her ears.
‘What was that? Why is the pot making that noise?’
She lowered her arm and peeked into the pot.
And inside the steaming pot…
“W-what?! Where’s the egg?!”
The egg was gone.
Instead, a small dragon poked its head out and looked at her.
It had dark red scales and licked the air with its tongue. Then it let out a tiny cry.
「huh? Mama?」
