"I'm back! And I brought the kid from this morning."
Seth and Raki reached the spot he had left Clare 20 minutes ago and found a small bon-fire had already been lit.
Around it, were two logs placed diagonal to each other, clearly meant to be used as seats.
The lady herself was already seated on one, hands tucked between her thighs, eyes watching the fire burn.
Her heavy armor had been set aside nearby, leaning against a tree. Without it, she looked noticeably lighter, though the massive sword still rested within arm's reach.
Clare's eyes moved towards Seth and lingered for a second before shifting over to Raki who stood a little behind.
Her expression didn't change in the slightest as it shifted back to the flames.
"…Why are you here?" She asked plainly.
Raki hesitated, clearly he hadn't prepared for their next encounter with each other. But with the girl he'd been chasing before him, he stood firm.
"I-I wanted to see you."
Clare stayed silent.
Seth moved away from him and quietly took a seat on the log opposite of Clare and began sorting the ingredients.
"Found him on the streets. He seemed desperate enough in wanting to see you, and so… I brought him."
Seth casually told her of his part in the subject.
Shit. I don't got any pots to cook in…
He stopped paying attention afterwards.
Clare side-eyed Seth,the displeasure prominent in her gaze as she turned back to Raki who was looking between the two nervously.
"You should be resting. With the condition you were in when we found you, you shouldn't be awake until tomorrow," she explained as she studied him.
"Clearly you haven't properly rested… Why did you leave the inn so early?" She stared at him.
The tiredness wrapped around him like a sheet.
Red eyes.
Dark circles under them—looking like a racoon.
His stance was stiff, like he was forcing his body to stay upright purely through willpower.
Even the way he breathed looked strained.
"I'm fine," Raki said, clenching his fists.
But even as he said it, his eyes briefly flicked to the side towards Seth.
What he saw nearly made him lose all composer if not for Clare being there and not doing anything.
The whole time, Seth was sitting by the fire, completely focused on something else.
Small, dark tendrils of biomass slipped from his fingers and reshaped themselves quietly beside the fire, forming into cooking utensils.
He poked at them, adjusting the shape while muttering to himself, getting a feel for crafting.
Raki looked away quickly, sweat forming on his brows.
As for the reason why he left the inn so early,
I can't tell her that…
Before he had lost consciousness earlier, he clearly remembered hearing a man's voice along with Clare's.
Speaking to her and addressing her with such familiarity that it ate away at him.
He wanted to know what their relationship was and who he was.
What if they're…
The thought alone had trimmed his resting time short and forced him out of bed.
He shut the thought down before it could finish.
And when he woke up at the inn…
Clare noticed the strange expression on his face.
Her eyes narrowed in suspicion slightly
…but she couldn't tell what it meant.
Before she could ask—
Seth suddenly spoke.
"How long are you planning to stand for, kid? Sit down before you pass out."
He casually pointed toward the empty space on the log he sat on.
"Food's gonna take a bit anyway."
He stared into the pot he had just made and sighed.
"Man, this is gonna be rough."
He glanced at the meat and vegetables sitting beside him.
"No spices. No seasoning. No oil."
He looked offended.
"Now… what the hell am I supposed to cook with just meat and vegetables?"
Raki hesitated.
"…Um."
Seth glanced at him.
"Yeah?"
"…If you want… I can do the cooking?"
"You can cook?"
Raki nodded.
"I used to help my uncle and brother…a lot before… so I know how."
Seth stared at him for a moment.
Then immediately pushed the ingredients and the pots over to him.
He pointed at the fire dramatically.
"Be my guest, chef."
Seth leaned back relaxed after handing everything over.
Honestly, he was pretty glad to get that responsibility off his hands.
Cooking with no spices, no oil, no nothing?
Yeah… that sounded like a nightmare to any 21st century person.
Best leave it to the professionals.
Or at least… the people who were used to cooking like that.
Backwater folks probably deal with this kind of stuff all the time, he thought.
Meanwhile, Raki immediately got to work.
He adjusted the pot Seth had made, tossed some chopped vegetables in first, then started working on the meat.
Even with how tired he looked, his movements were careful and practiced.
Seth watched for a second.
"…Huh."
Kid actually knew what he was doing.
Clare, on the other hand, stayed quiet on her log, her silver eyes calmly watching the whole scene.
As the place began darkening, the fire's illumination got brighter.
A few minutes passed like that.
The smell of cooking meat slowly started spreading through the small clearing.
Seth stretched his arms behind his head.
Then suddenly paused.
"…Oh."
He patted his side.
Then reached into his pocket and pulled something out.
Clare's purse.
He stared at it for a second.
"…Right."
He had completely forgotten he was still holding onto it.
"Hey, Clare!" He called out.
"Hmm?"
"Catch!" He threw the small purse over to her, her catching.
"It's a good thing I carried the purse. Or I might've looked like an idiot," he said as he smirked. "Darn things costed more than what you were trynna give."
Clare tilted her head in confusion before she checked inside the purse. After a bit of counting, she glanced back up.
"Where's the rest?"
"Huh?"
Seth raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"What do you mean? That's all that's left," Seth said.
Clare blinked once. "There are only four gold pieces and one silver piece left…"
"Uh, Yea…The meat and vegetables cost six silver."
There was a short pause.
Even Raki slowly turned around from his duty.
"…Six?" he asked quietly.
Seth nodded like it was normal.
"Yeah. The lady said meat's pretty scarce lately."
Raki stared at him.
"…But you paid six?"
"Mhm?"
Raki looked at the meat.
Then back at Seth as if he was an idiot.
"Even during extreme shortages… that amount would cost at most four silver."
Seth froze.
"…What."
Raki nodded slowly.
"Four silvers at most."
Seth's eye twitched.
A long silence followed.
Then—
"…You're telling me."
With his fingers crossed over his mouth.
"…that old lady might just possibly robbed me?"
Raki didn't say anything.
Clare also remained silent.
Seth grabbed his head.
"HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW?!"
His voice echoed through the trees, probably chasing the wildlife away with his sudden outburst.
"I don't even know what the hell these silver sticks are worth!"
Raki flinched slightly.
"…I think it might be because of how you look," he said quietly.
Seth immediately turned to him.
"Continue, I'm listening. If it's something insulting, your dinner."
Raki hesitated before pointing at him.
"…Your clothes."
Seth looked down.
The black outfit he had created earlier still looked pristine.
Clean fabric.
Sharp stitching.
Not a speck of dirt on it.
Then Raki pointed at his face.
"And… your skin and hair are really clean too."
He was a little embarrassed saying it.
"Most travelers and villagers don't look like that."
"…You look more like a noble."
"The vendor probably thought you were rich… and tried to charge you more."
Seth stood there in silence.
Clare's eyes moved slowly over his outfit.
Then she nodded once.
"…That is likely." Even she herself thought he was an aristocrat.
Seth stared blankly into the distance.
"Wow."
A vein popped slightly on his forehead.
He slowly looked upward.
System.
A calm voice responded in his mind.
[Yes.]
Did you know this was gonna happen?
There was a short pause.
[I've already predicted the possibility of the host being targeted for exploitation at some point.]
Another pause.
[However… not in this manner.]
Seth sighed deeply.
"Great."
He rubbed his face.
Then looked down at his clothes.
"…Yeah no. This gotta go."
Right before the two's very eyes, the clothes on Seth's body morphed.
The black and gold coat shortened, becoming a black, tight shirt with a high neckline that showed his chest and ab muscles.
From the waist down, his old black and gold pants became dark gray pants, with segmented metallic silver greaves and pointed boots from medieval armor.
To finish off, a white cape with red interior over his shirt, buckled at the shoulders.
The transformation finished with a soft shff as the cloth settled into place.
Seth blinked.
Then slowly looked down at himself.
"…Okay."
He flexed one arm.
The sleeve tightened slightly around his bicep.
"Not bad at all."
He ran a hand over his chest.
He nodded to himself in approval.
Then he finally looked up.
Raki had completely stopped cooking.
The spoon in his hand was frozen mid-stir.
His eyes were wide enough to rival dinner plates.
Clare wasn't much different.
Her silver eyes were locked onto Seth with a rare look of pure surprise.
Neither of them had said a word.
They had just watched his entire outfit transform in under ten seconds.
Seth blinked before flashing a peace sign, smiling mischievously.
"You guys never seen someone change outfits before?"
Chapter 11 end.
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I'll probably(30% chance) skip some scenes for next chapter.