And so I recounted my time in Gash Town, the village I had helped reclaim, Elnea wanted to hear more stories, so I shared more anecdotes of Teto’s and my travels with her. I told her about the orphanage and the training facility I’d helped build, the Church of the Five Goddesses and the beautiful wedding ceremony I’d once witnessed, the little dwarven friend I had made in the former mining town, the bustling port city, the towns that had been destroyed in the stampede... I made sure to alter the stories slightly and exclude some details so as not to blow my cover.
Elnea listened intently to my travel anecdotes, occasionally nodding and asking for more details. I tried to reply to the best of my ability without giving too much information about myself. When I came to, I noticed that several hours had passed since I had started talking. Looking out of the window, I saw that the mana coming from the World Tree had dwindled—a sign that night was about to fall.
“I’m a bit hungry,” I said.
“Hm? Oh. My apologies. I have forgotten to have a meal prepared for you.”
“It’s fine; I brought my own food.”
With those words, I took out a jar and an earthenware pot from my magic bag. Time didn’t pass inside my magic bag, meaning that I could store freshly made meals in it and have them still be warm by the time I wanted them.
“That is a magic bag, is it not?” Elnea said, her curiosity piqued.
“You know of them?” I asked back.
“Indeed I do. I have beheld many magic items in my time. There are several dungeons in our forest, and I have heard that you can find magic bags in them. Pray tell, which dungeon did you find that one in?”
“Uh, I didn’t find it myself, someone gave it to me, so I don’t really know. I’m just using it because it’s handy,” I lied before changing the topic. “Anyway, want some?” I asked, opening the lid of the pot I had taken out of my bag.
“This dish smells quite pungent, does it not?” she noted.
The dish in question was Teto’s favorite—curry. As soon as I had removed the lid, the spicy aroma spread into the room. I had made some pork curry using orc meat as the main ingredient.
I heard Elnea gulp loudly beside me. “This aroma is stimulating my appetite... It resembles stew, yet it seems completely different at the same time. I had no idea such a dish existed in the outside world.”
I paid no attention to her rambling, opening the earthenware pot in which I had some cooked rice and ladling some onto a plate. I had used rice grown by the minotaurs in the forest; it was glossy and looked delicious. The next and last step was to ladle some curry on the other side of the plate, and boom: you had curry rice.
“So? Want some? I’m the one who made it. I have bread too, if you’d like.”
“What a splendid opportunity! I shall share a meal with you!”
I prepared a plate for Elnea, as well as side salads for the two of us, and set the dishes on the table. She gingerly scooped some curry rice and brought it to her mouth for a taste. Then another. And another. After taking the first bite, her spoon didn’t stop for a single second. The spicy aroma of the curry mixed with the sweetness of the sautéed onions, all enveloped in pork fat, must have been giving her taste buds a wild ride.
“I’m glad it’s to your liking,” I said, picking up my own spoon and digging in.
While I was technically an adult, my body was still that of a preteen, and that unfortunately included my tongue, meaning I had to limit myself to what some would call “moderately spicy” curry. It was a good thing, since Elnea had never had curry before; had it been spicier, she might’ve struggled with it, but this one was mild enough for her to dig in to her heart’s content. She was still as poised and elegant as ever, silently sipping on her wine and taking small bites of her salad, but she was devouring her curry rice with much more gusto. She had treated me like a child the entire day, yet I managed to blow her socks off completely with my dish; I felt a bit like I had won this battle.
Pleased with myself, I resumed my meal.
“It was delicious. Much better than stew,” Elnea said when she was done with her food.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
“You must be tired. You should go take a bath.”
I put the used dishes into my magic bag and headed to the adjoining bathroom. I had used Clean to get rid of any dirt and grime while we were in the forest, so I wasn’t dirty per se, but there really wasn’t anything like the feeling of soaking into a nice, hot bath.
“Haa... This is heavenly,” I sighed in happiness.
“Let me join you, child!”
Elnea entered the room, her beautiful figure unabashedly revealed before my eyes.
“Wh-What are you doing here?!” I squeaked.
“Children should not bathe alone. You and I are both female; no need to be embarrassed.”
“I can take a bath by myself, thank you very much! And, yeah, we might both be women, but you still took me by surprise...”
“No need for you to concern yourself with such matters,” she said, joining me in the bath.
I glared at her from the corner of my eye as she started washing her body beside me.
At least this bath is more than big enough for two people, I thought, seeing the silver lining in this otherwise dire situation. But then, my eyes caught sight of Elnea’s ample, perfectly round breasts, and another wave of despair struck me as I looked down at my own, completely flat chest.
“One day your chest will grow just like mine, child. Do not lose hope,” Elnea comforted me.
I couldn’t possibly tell her that, no, my body would never grow past this point, so I simply mumbled a quiet little “Th-Thanks.” I felt a bit guilty for not telling her the truth, but oh well.
I could use my Transformation Magic to make myself look older, but even when I did, my chest was nowhere near as big as Elnea’s.
Soon the two of us exited the bath and headed to bed, but today had been such a hectic day that I had a hard time falling asleep. Elnea, on the other hand, was dead to the world, having had quite a few glasses of wine.
As I glanced through the window from my spot on the sofa, I couldn’t even rejoice at reaching my destination. I just felt weird and out of place.
“I wonder what Teto’s doing...” I muttered.
I still couldn’t parse everything that had happened to me in the past few hours; I was too worried about Teto and Althea. Still, there was nothing I could do at the moment, so I ultimately decided to try falling asleep again.
I lay down on the sofa, feeling myself sink into its plush softness. It was more than big enough for me to fall asleep on.