Myuke was clearly delighted. She hummed a happy tune all the way to the store.
“We’re here!”
Upon their arrival, Myuke quickly opened the door and went into the shop filled with all sorts of magic stones—both loose and inlaid into accessories—with Anima following behind her. They were specifically interested in bracelets and rings, and though the shop likely had some rarer, more exclusive stones on display, Myuke wasn’t at all interested in them. She ran straight to the back of the store and started scanning the display for a fire rabbit stone.
“Welco— Oh, if it isn’t Anima!” The merchant’s face lit up the moment he recognized who had just walked into his shop. Anima had only ever visited it once, but it was when he’d sold the golem stone, which was clearly such a rare stone that it made him a memorable customer. “What can I do for you today?”
“We’re here to buy a fire rabbit stone. Do you have one?”
“Of course, of course! Please, follow—”
“Daddy! I found it!” Myuke’s voice boomed through the store. Anima couldn’t distinguish between different magic stones, but she was an expert at it. She ran up to him, holding a ring in her hand. “It fits perfectly! Can we get it?! Can we?! Can we pleeease?!”
“Of course. Think of it as a thank-you for always helping with the chores.”
She happily nodded. They went up to the counter, paid, and headed for the exit.
“You know where to find me when you get your hands on a rare magic stone!” the shopkeeper shouted after them.
“I do, thank you.”
“Thank you for your purchase! Please, come again!”
With that, they left the store.
“Yaaay!” Myuke cheered. “My very own magic stone!”
She reached up at the sky and watched as her ring twinkled under the bright winter sun. Her smile didn’t fade in the slightest during their walk to the doctor’s house. She couldn’t wait to put her brand-new fire rabbit stone to use.
“It’s good to see you, dearie! Come in, come in! You too, Myuke!”
The doctor welcomed them with an especially warm, loving smile—much more so than she had when she’d run into Anima the previous day. The reason behind that was simple: she loved children.
She was all over the girls whenever she visited to check up on Luina. Anima and Luina both trusted her, and they loved the idea of her being the doctor of their newborn once they’d actually been born. She was sure to be kind and caring toward them.
“Good afternoon! I came with Daddy to learn how to cook!”
Myuke enthusiastically explained her reason for coming, eager to get cooking.
“I’m sure Luina would be delighted to eat your cooking.”
“I want to be useful to Luina too, so please, teach me how to cook. Can you show us to the kitchen?”
“We won’t be going into my kitchen, dearie,” the doctor replied, shaking her head. “Nor am I going to teach you how to cook.”
Anima was thoroughly confused. He didn’t think she’d lied to him, but he felt a bit led astray.
“Didn’t you say yesterday that you’d help me?”
“Oh, no, I did. But I never said that I would be the one teaching you, did I?”
“Then who’s going to teach us?”
“My granddaughter. Oh, she was so excited to teach you after I told her about you. She’s a very good girl, I promise.” Her tone and expression radiated pure, unadulterated love for her granddaughter. She must have trusted Anima deeply if she were going to introduce him to someone so precious to her, much less let that person teach him to cook. “Unless you were hoping that I was going to teach you?”
“Honestly, I’m grateful to whoever takes us under their wing.”
He had been under the impression that the doctor would be the one to teach them, but what mattered at the end of the day was that they were given the knowledge they needed. The doctor’s vouching for her granddaughter was enough to convince Anima that she was a decent cook, and he was ready to learn all the intricacies of the culinary world from her.
“I have work today, dearie, so I couldn’t teach you even if I wanted to. Go to my granddaughter—five houses down to the right. She’s waiting for you.”
“Five houses down to the right. Got it. Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. Luina is like a second granddaughter to me, and I want to aid her as much as I can.”
They thanked her again and left her house, following the directions she’d given in search of her granddaughter’s house.
“Teaching someone takes a lot of effort,” Myuke said as they walked. “Not a lot of people are willing to do it. Does she owe you or something?”
“I don’t think I ever did anything that would make someone indebted to me. Though perhaps it has something to do with Krain?”
“Hmm, yeah, that would make sense. The whole town cheered for you when you took him down.”
Krain had been a noble in possession of a golem stone, and had ruled the town with an iron fist. An accomplished Hunter who was rotten to the core, he’d made life a nightmare for numerous townsfolk, so his defeat at Anima’s hands had been celebrated all across town. It wouldn’t have been outlandish to think that the doctor’s granddaughter had been one of his many victims.
They arrived at the house while Anima was thinking about Krain. One knock, and the door immediately swung open.
“Welcome, Anima!”
The woman before him couldn’t have been more than five or six years older than Luina. She had blonde hair and wore a kind smile. Anima thought for a second, then realized that he had seen her before.
“So you’re the doctor’s granddaughter?”
“Yes! Thank you again for helping Ena.”