Alvrin had taken on Ophelia as his disciple after tying up the loose ends at the guild hall. As they traveled, she was in charge of carrying all their cooking supplies, as well as setting up the fires and obviously, cooking. The food she made was good, great even, when compared to this world's other chefs. No matter how many dishes she made though, she couldn’t unlock any skills.

One day, Ophelia fell ill with a slight cold and it was decided that Alvrin would make dinner that night. When the porridge was done, Lina carefully lifted the girl into a sitting position to help her eat. After the first spoonful, the girl went stiff for a moment before choking and coughing it all up. Lina smacked the girls back trying to dislodge the creamy substance.

When the girl could breathe again, they noticed that she was crying. Thinking she may have just been scared due to the frightening experience Lina attempted to calm her down.

“There there, you're alright. It’s okay.” She cooed lightly.

They were both surprised when the girl jumped up and ran towards Alvrin. She jumped at him, wrapping her small arms around him the best she could.

“Thank you! Thank you! I don’t know what you did, but it worked. I got my first skill!” the girl shouted in glee.

The adults looked at each other and smiled. They knew this day would come soon. Alvrin had secretly been nudging her towards making dishes that reminded him of his original world in hopes of it qualifying as otherworldly. He hadn’t wanted to tell her about his origins to keep her safe. If the nobility found out about his being a retainer, they wouldn’t hesitate to chase. Her relationship to him alone put her in danger, let alone if she actually knew his secrets. He hadn’t thought just eating his cooking would be all it took to unlock her skill.

“Well don’t just stand there, show us what you got!” He pushed her away from himself lightly, far enough where he could look at her face.

A little screen came into view, its translucent golden hue familiar. When he read it, he couldn’t believe his eyes. This was not good. This was very, very bad. He grabbed the girl by her shoulders tightly then. The girl was frightened now, confused as to why Alvrin had such a serious look on his face.

[https://imgur.com/KC3UOca][https://i.imgur.com/KC3UOca.jpg]

“You can never show anyone this skill. Do you understand? NEVER even mention that you have a skill actually. No one can know you can do something like this.” The look in Alvrin’s eyes was enough to scare a seasoned veteran, let alone a little girl.

She started crying, shaking under his touch. Her eyes now faced the ground and it looked like she may have been struggling to breathe. Suddenly Alvrin was knocked out of the way, releasing the child.

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“What is wrong with you!” Lina shouted as she shielded the girl from him. She was looking at him incredulously. She hadn’t seen him look like that before, even in the whole time they had been together. She had to admit, his look even scared her a bit, but like hell she would let him treat a kid like this.

“Take a look,” Alvrin said. His face had lost the edge it had previously held, now replaced with a deep sadness.

Lina turned around to where the girl was still projecting her skill page. She winced when she saw it.

“Oh no…” Lina looked down at the child again. Her eyes still faced the dirt. She could see the dots lining the ground caused by the girl's tears. She felt guilty. This child had no idea what was happening, or how much her life was now in danger. All she could was sigh.

“Alvrin, calm down, we need to explain what's happening. She doesn’t even know what these words even mean.” Lina wrapped the girl up in her arms, ignoring how she flinched away from her.

“I’m sorry Ophelia, I just… I need to tell you something about my hometown. It has something to do with your skill, and it’s… not good” Alvrin looked crestfallen. He seemed like he had lost something very important to him just then. The fake smile he had plastered couldn’t hide his disappointment.

Peeling herself away from Lina, the girl peeked at Alvrin. Her face was red, extremely red. She had a sheen of sweat glistening on her forehead too.

“Okay. I’ll listen” she said in a small voice. She was still scared and confused. She tried to walk forward to close some of the distance between them, but before she got far, she collapsed.

“Good going moron, you literally scared her half to death!” Lina rushed to the girl, laying her head gently in her lap.

“What are we gonna do Lina? She's not safe anymore. I knew bringing a child with us was a bad idea.” Alvrin was pacing back and forth. His index finger’s knuckle was stuck in between his teeth. He was biting down so hard that he could faintly taste the blood coming from it.

“Well for one thing, you need to stop. Come sit down and let's think about how we should explain this to her. You're not the only danger to her now, she's a danger to herself.”

Alvrin listened to his girlfriend and came to sit beside them. His head fell into his hands, landing in between his knees. He could feel the hotness of fresh tears welling up inside his eyes. I just ruined this little girl's life. How could he live with himself now? Her title was already suspicious, but now with this skill, and her traveling with him, she was sure to be discovered.

“When she wakes up, we need to tell her everything.” Alvrin was going to object, but she continued speaking, “no, you can’t keep it a secret from her. She's in too deep. Whether we're around or not, she's going to have to be diligent from now on. She's now a potential target.”

Alvrin’s heart squeezed. He cursed himself for allowing himself to think he could be happy. This child wasn’t even his daughter. She wasn’t family. But it felt like she was. They had only traveled together for a few months at this point, but he grew incredibly attached to her. She lightened his heart with every stupid song that didn’t make sense, and with every dish made out of nasty ingredients she had seen for the first time. He was afraid to admit that he loved this child.

“Okay. We’ll tell her when she wakes up.” He let the tears fall. He clasped his hands together and did what he always did in these types of impossible situations. He prayed.