Author's note: Please reply to the poll, I want some opnions!

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“So, Reynald. You’re already healed, you can leave now.” The healer Dylis said, not too long after the sun set. The conversation with Arnold was enough to distract me from the lingering pain in my head…but even now that Dylis mentioned the injury again, the sensation of pain had faded away.

“Really?” I asked, shocked to my core…so only a few hours of rest was enough to fix the injury Gerald gave me. Although, a few hours of rest is a lot here, as minor injuries were healed in the matter of a hour at most.

“Yes.” The healer replied. Trusting her words I slowly got off the bed. Except a lingering dizziness, from being too long on the bed, there was nothing wrong with my body.

“Thank you for your help.” Bowing down to Dylis, I took my leave, planning to go back to my house…after giving a small visit to Larissa. She sent me a letter, meaning she cared about me…and so I couldn’t help but imagine, that I had a chance to win her heart. Or at least be friends with her.

“So, I guess I’ll be going too.” Arnold said, as he slowly tried to get off his bed…before falling back down, not even able to stand on his own feet. The wolf truly did a number on his body.

“No! You idiot, you must rest more!” The healer shouted, outraged at Arnold’s actions. I swear I’ll find that guy tied down to the bed for his own safety…

With an awkward smile, I made my way out of the infirmary, back on the streets. Placing my hand on my pocket, I felt the letter Larissa gave me. I knew where she lived, in the house of the chief hunter of the village, Leonard, who also was Larissa’s father.

Gulping, I walked to the front of the house: the biggest in the village, and one of the few that was made by…bricks, was it? Moving my hand up, I knocked on the house, hoping somebody was there. Yet…nobody answered. I waited. I waited. I waited. After what it seemed an eternity, I heard a voice.

“Yo!” I turned to the source of the voice, and saw Larissa…dragging the corpse of a deer, slightly smaller than Larissa’s size…wait…how was she…did she carry all that all the way from the forest? It looked quite hard, especially how sweaty the girl is, the clothes even sticking to her skin.

“...that is how you greet your friends, right? Or that was how Arnold greets you? Did…I say anything wrong? Hello? Hello?” I heard the voice, yet I couldn’t help but stare at the deer corpse even more.

“…Isn’t that heavy for somebody of your size?” I asked…I am sure I could carry it, but for Larissa…

“Oh, that’s your concern? Isn’t a hit from Gerald a little too hard for your size? Isn’t almost being bit in half a little too dangerous for Arnold? Just this much effort, is something I can handle easily.” Larissa said, crossing her arms. “I might be a girl, but I’m not a weakling.”

After such words were said, she grabbed the deer’s corpse by the leg dragging it across the ground. The blood had dried out some time ago,  and in fact, the deer only had a huge hole on his forehead, and no other injury: Larissa killed it with a  single shot from her bow.

She was still struggling it, dragging the corpse rather…slowly. And so, I picked it from the other half. “Even the strong needs help.” I said with a smile. Corny, but effective.

“…Yes.” The archer said, with a light blush on her face as she accepted my help. And so, we made our way to the girl’s kitchen…and only now I figured out: that was her dinner.

Unlike my home, though, the kitchen looked more…complex. Amazed, I began to inspect every little thing. On the corner of the kitchen, there was a column of bricks, with a hole on the middle of the column, and a black pit connecting to the bottom of it.

Probably sensing my curiosity, Larissa spoke up. “That’s a grill.” She said with a confident smile. “It’s where I cook my food. Or at least, where I cook meat.” She added.

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“Oh…sorry! I’ve never seen such thing before. Arnold taught me to cook meat over a campfire, so” As I was talking, I was interrupted.

“…So you held your sword over a campfire until the meat was half-cooked and ate it…” Larissa said. By some reason, I wasn’t getting a good feeling of her words.

‘No! I didn’t!...Arnold did that!” I said, quickly trying to salvage the situation, yet it only made the girl facepalm.

“…Just go read the book over there.” Larissa said, pointing to a closed book on the table, a huge one with a black cover. I am sure if I threw it at Gerald’s head, even him would be knocked out cold.

 “I know how to cook wolves on my own, so I don’t need it but…j-just don’t damage the book! It’s from my father’s!” She added, before she placed the deer on top of a huge wooden bowl, and began to cut the corpse down. The bowl’s main purpose was to stop the blood make a mess in the kitchen, and make it easier to clean afterwards.

I nodded, as I took the book from the table, and began to read it…only to be amazed. It wasn’t ‘just’ a cooking book. It was a book describing more beasts than I’ve ever heard of, including their vital spots, the locations, methods of hunting. It even included drawings of many beasts, including a dragon…wait…

“….Did your father cook a dragon?” I asked, bluntly.

“Yup! Him, Gerald and Dylis were once some of the greatest adventurers in the land!” Larissa said, with a wide, cocky grin, pride brimming from her figure as she put some deer meat on the grill, and started the fire to cook it. So that’s it… no wonder Gerald is absurdly strong. They even killed a dragon.

A dragon slayer is teaching me. I fought against a dragon slayer, and lived to tell the tale. “No wonder Gerald is so scary…he even killed dragons… was he also the fabled hero who slew the demon lord too?” I asked, already expecting a yes, even if the hero came before him.

“That’s his grand-uncle, according to Leonard. He laughed while he said that, so I can’t be sure!” Larissa said, only to cause me to face palm. I don’t know how absurd that man’s strength is, but I can be sure that he surpasses any rumors. Only then I saw the grinning face of the girl…

“That’s a lie, isn’t it?” I asked deadpan.

“Yep! The hero of the legends is unrelated.” Larissa said, with a wide smile. As much as I loved to talk to her, it was slightly annoying to see how cocky and proud she always is.

“But it looks Gerald became close to being a second hero, didn’t he? He’s truly a monster when it comes to strength.” I said, laughing a bit.

“Yup! But that’s on his prime, he’s now an old man. He’s burnt out of all the fighting, and prefers to just teach others.” The girl replied…

“Speaking of burnt out…” I pointed at the grill. “Are we eating charcoal-flavored meat?” Specifically, at the black-colored burnt thing on it.

“No, my meat!” Larissa said as she stared in disbelief at the grill.

Me on the other hand, I was a bit more practical. Stomach calls, so I walked over to the burnt meat…and ate it. “Could be worse.” I said, at least, it tasted better than the first time I tried to eat a deer on my own, since I ended up eating it raw along with the skin, due to not knowing how to start a campfire, or how to separate the meat from the fur.

And that was when, Larissa stared at me as I ate the food. “ Want some?” I said, offering it to the girl.

“…I’ll go call Dylis in advance.” Larissa said, shaking her head at my offer. A part of me tells me that I didn’t make a good impression by eating burnt food…but another part, specifically my stomach, is glad I ate something filling, even if it was a far call from the best meal.

Either way, I do not regret coming over for free food!