Finn left the room and headed straight to the kitchen. He encountered the staff in different places, looking at him in concern, though of course they all had their jobs so they had to do those as well.

"It's alright, focus on your work," he said, going behind the counter.

Finn washed his hands repeatedly, heaving a deep breath. It took him a moment, trying to erase the bloody scene in his mind away.

This place had always been bloody, but Syl to him had always been an anchor. It could be because his first impression of her was so strong. So when he saw her broken, it made him feel particularly panicked.

There was also the fact that he cared for her as well, so his mind wasn't the best right now.

And what was the most meditative activity for him? Cooking. And he ought to cook good meals to greet the patients when they woke up anyway.

For their meals, as newly recovered patients, it had to be the following: easy to digest, restorative, and comforting.

After some thought, he took out some stonebulb, this world's garlic-onion thing. He chopped it accordingly, and slowly simmered it until it was sweet and mellow.

Next, he got some bindergrain rice (he had a lot of processed rice now, thanks to the staff, including tools like threshers and so on, courtesy of Tumble) from the cellar.

He boiled it down into a soft porridge base. It was thick, but not heavy, with a gentle sweetness. He then drizzled some ivara vine oil for smoothness and garnished with finely chopped basilume leaves for soothing aroma and digestion aid.

[Stonebulb & Bindergrain Congee (D)]

[Information: A soft, slow-cooked porridge made by simmering Bindergrain until it thickens, flavored with the sweet-mellow depth of caramelized Stonebulb. Increased HP and stamina recovery by 15% for 15 minutes.]

Because it was a simple dish, it was only classified as D-class. Well, it was fine, he swore to feed them much better food—he just hoped she recovered soon.

…

Back in Syl's room

"Please be alright, Auntie…" the boy whispered as soon as the door closed. Now that they were alone, his guard softened a bit, though the magic coming from his hand did not stop.

Sniffle

"Don't leave me too."

The day he lost his mother and the many maid aunties and guard uncles was still vivid in his mind. One by one, they fell, and they fell protecting him.

They had no qualms losing their lives as long as he kept his.

Each death placed heaviness in his mind, a deep responsibility a child couldn't really comprehend yet.

And then, it was his mother. "Live. You must live," she chanted before sending him away with the last maid auntie alive, leaving him behind, taking down many enemies with her.

Not long ago, something similar happened again and, ironically, it started in his mother's grave. Some of the people were familiar, old friends of his father, yet somehow they ended up aiming to take his life.

All of them, except his auntie, wanted to kill him.

His aunt fought valiantly and, aside from his father and some elders, that was the first time Athie had seen such a display of power. It was intimidating, but because he knew it was his aunt's power, it was also comforting.

He watched as many powerful enemies turned to ice directly, while some were stabbed by sharp ice.

It was an explosive fight that created crater after crater in that forest. They wanted to kill them quickly lest they attract the human guards, so the enemies did not hold back.

Athie, the weakling, could only watch as his aunt stood in front of him and fought all those people alone.

They had to run, but the way back to the human's territory had been blocked. They ran and ran while they fought, with auntie covering his body.

She shielded him with her body as so many did. He told her to let him go, but she never listened.

And if he died…what would happen to those who sacrificed their lives to him? But he did not want any more deaths!

He had to watch her defeat so many elves by herself, without caring for her own injury.

By the time she killed their attackers, though, she was bleeding profusely. He could only attempt to heal her. However, her wounds were too big and too deep, even when he used all his mana, he couldn't fix them all.

He even lost consciousness at some point, and he didn't even realize it.

They could've died because he was so weak and incompetent!

Thinking of this, more energy emanated from his palms and to his aunt's.

By the time half an hour passed, he had already consumed all the mana potions. His aunt's color improved, but he wanted to try again and again until she woke up.

The door opened again about an hour later. "You can eat this to gather energy, too," the newcomer, Finn, said.

Athie didn't even look at him, eyes fixed on his relative. He was not in the mood to eat at all. However, when his nose caught a whiff, his stomach decided for him.

He gave a furtive glance in the direction of the newcomer, who gently placed a bowl on the nightstand next to him.

"You'll need it to regain energy to heal Syl," Finn said, handing the utensil to him.

"I call it Stonebulb and Bindergrain Congee," he said. "It has to be light since you're recovering—but I'd feed you tastier food soon."

The boy did not say anything as he ate. He felt the smooth texture of it enter his mouth and then his throat. It felt like the heat travelled all the way to his heart.

It was warm.

Finally, he let the tears he was holding back fall, and when he felt large and warm hands patting his head, he felt his remaining walls break down.

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