The two couples were seated roughly in front of each other, around a raging fire. The one closest to the fire was Emily. Instead of a scholar's robe, she was wearing a less stuffy outfit this time, with an apron on top.

She didn't look as young as Clest. She was probably around a decade older, but she still looked rather charming. Clest actually wondered how gorgeous she were in her prime.

Meanwhile, Emily was swiping her fingers methodically in the air. It might seem strange to those unfamiliar, but she was simply interacting with the System. Naturally, her displays were only visible to her and her seeker, so she looked like she was just swiping her finger in midair.

Pine and Clest watched curiously, when a butcher table materialized out of a bright silhouette beside the fire. A butcher knife and a few other meat-dressing tools also materialized on top of the table.

Emily stopped interacting with the System after her seeker placed the deer on the table. Instead, she picked up a skinning knife with her right hand.

"Watch carefully, okay?" she smiled confidently at Clest, as if hinting that she wanted to pass on her knowledge to her. As for the young Clest, she vigorously nodded a few times, her eyes almost sparkling.

Emily mercilessly, yet masterfully skinned, gutted, and separated the carcass in the next few minutes.

When Emily was done, her apron had a few streaks of blood on it, but that was it. She had done all of it so fast, and so precise, that the carcass actually looked so beautiful now. It was perfectly separated-- the skin, the innards, the extremities, and the meaty chunks.

Emily smiled proudly as she put down her tools. "As a keeper, you should learn to be able to prepare meat as fast as possible."

Clest's excitement almost bubbled over, seeing Emily's skills. She then enthusiastically affirmed, "Please teach me how to do that!"

Pine looked at Clest with an unreadable expression. He had no idea if Clest was acting or was actually this excited over the woman's keeper skills. At the very least, Pine figured out that they were going to keep pretending that Clest was the keeper, and he was the seeker-- just the way it should be.

As for Emily's seeker, he wasn't hostile towards the young couple, sure, but he wasn't to keen on getting to know them. The entire time Emily was bonding with Clest, he was just sitting against the cave wall, arms crossed and eyes closed. He seemed to be comfortable enough in such a position, that he was able to nap.

"And you, young man!" Emily suddenly addressed Pine. "You have to take great care of your keeper, okay? Keepers aren't slaves!"

Pine was initially startled, but he relaxed. "I intend to do just that," he said, wrapping his arm firmly around Clest. The gesture surprised her. Pine didn't really initiate much of these kinds of things after all. Oh, but she actually kinda liked it-- her cheeks blooming slightly red.

Emily looked fondly at the two, before letting out an exaggerated sigh. "Oh, the burning hot passion of youth. Where has it all gone to?" she asked aloud, which made her seeker open his eyes.

"Hey, I heard that," he mumbled, closing his eyes again right after.

Emily just started to laugh aloud from the minimalistic reaction. "I'm just kidding. This guy couldn't live without me for a day. He's just embarrassed because you guys are here. Isn't he cute?"

The seeker, although attempting to maintain a neutral expression as he tried to rest, had an expression that hinted a little bit of bashfulness.

As Emily started to treat the meat with herbs and oils and condiments, the young couple's mouths of course watered. It had been forever since they managed to get a taste of a properly seasoned meal.

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For a while, Emily engaged the two in small talk. Eventually, when the meat started cooking, the two were basically drooling.

She only grinned in amusement at the two. "You two are not Married yet, right?"

Clest and Pine glanced at each other for a split-second, before Pine replied, "Yes. We were actually looking for a lotus exactly for Marriage."

"Hmmm," Emily thought for a bit. "What about this? I'll finish some stuff I need to do tonight, and tomorrow, I can lend this lotus to the two of you temporarily so you can get Married. Sound good?"

"Wait, seriously?" Clest couldn't help her surprise. "You'd do that for us?"

"Why not!" Emily laughed. "Adventuring without any keeper and seeker skills is extremely difficult after all. Instead of an adventure, it becomes more of a survival instead."

The young duo looked at each other, clearly happy with the way things turned out. At least they wouldn't have to set out again to search for a different lotus.

"Anyway," Emily suddenly said, "I'll just get some stuff from the shelter. You two watch the meat. Make sure it doesn't burn, okay?"

Emily went into the shelter for a few minutes, and the entire time, awkward silence reigned over the three that was left behind. Thankfully, Emily quickly came back, with two glass vials in her hand. She took one of the vials and applied its contents to a brush she had, using it to lather the liquid on the cooking meat.

As the two curiously watched her do her thing, Emily said, "It's a new condiment I created! Hehe, I hope it tastes alright."

"You must be an alchemist then, Miss Emily?" Clest noted. Glass tools like bottles and vials were difficult to create without having the Alchemist or Metallurgist system. Clest guessed that Emily was one of the two, and she was inclined to believe that she was the former.

"You got that right!" she replied, storing away the emptied vial. As for the other vial, she gently nudged her seeker so he could open his eyes and hold onto the vial for her. She then addressed the young duo again, "I'll just get the tea I prepared. We can start eating in a few minutes."

The two respectfully nodded, doing their best to not seem like they wanted to devour the deer meat in front of them right now.

Emily came back outside with a wooden tray. On it was a simple, metal kettle, and four glass cups. Steam was rising from the kettle.

"Here you go." Emily cheerfully distributed the cups, pouring everyone tea, then pouring herself some too. She then took the vial from her seeker, before saying, "Please excuse us. We actually have throat problems, so we take this medicine twice a day."

"Oh, no, it's okay." Clest rapidly shook her head, not minding it at all.

"Yes, please take your medicine." Pine also chimed in.

Seeing that the two didn't have any averse reactions, Emily poured half of the contents of the vial into her tea, while the other half, she poured into her seeker's cup. Storing the empty vial away, she immediately took a sip and released a satisfactory sigh. As if that was the cue to start sipping, the remaining three people also took a sip, also releasing a satisfactory sigh. The tea was good, for sure.

"Alright, let's eat!"

The four of them shared the deer meat among themselves. They savored the taste of the meat, especially Pine and Clest. It was so good that they would made delighted noises when they first took a bite, the juices of the meat filling their mouths.

In just a few minutes, the large chunks of roasted deer meat was gone. All that was left were bones.

"Ahhhhh," Pine let out a long sigh, reclining in his seat while holding his belly. "I haven't eaten that much in so long."

"Right???" Clest agreed. "That was so good, Miss Emily."

"Hehe, I'm glad you liked it!"

"...Ugh, sorry, Miss Emily," Clest suddenly forced a smile. She grimaced, bringing a hand up to her head. "I feel a bit dizzy."

Pine instinctively held on to Clest, seeing her suddenly start to sway. "Hey, you okay?"

"Oh, no," said Emily, "Clest, is something wrong?"

Pine glanced at Emily. She looked worried.

...

Pine's glance turned into a stare. Was it just him, or was there a streak of excitement in this lady's eyes?

"Nghh," Clest groaned, her weight leaning more and more into Pine. "Pine..."

Pine briefly glanced at Clest, who he was holding beside him, before staring back at Emily, his expression turning grim. "...Miss Emily?"

At this point, the excitement in the older lady's eyes were starting to shine bright. The flames in front of her flickered across her glasses, right into her crazed eyes. Even her lips started to lose its innocent smile. It was being replaced by one of amusement, as if something hilarious was going on.

"What is it?" Emily asked Pine, attempting to feign concern, but she accidentally let a laugh escape her lips.

"...You! " Pine growled. He was already supporting Clest's entire weight. She was already unconscious. "What did you do to her?"

Emily flashed a big, amused grin. Her glasses shone as she stood up. Her seeker stood up as well. Together, they towered over the two.

"I did the same thing for you too."

Pine's vision blurred for a second. It was finally kicking in.

"...What..?"

He tried to resist the urge to fall asleep, but his eyelids were too heavy. Together with Clest, they both fell backward into the moist cave ground with a thud.