Instead of the usual screaming, Talia awoke to a grating drilling sound outside the hut. Wincing in pain, she sat up, casting a spell that granted her temporary numbness to all forms of pain.

Normally, Talia was a composed, calm, and rather patient person. Since meeting Erik, Talia had discovered a whole new spectrum of other feelings and emotions- many of them weren't good ones.

Annoyed, she walked outside to see Erik with some sort of hand-held drilling device, his back hunched over as he concentrated on the task. The lake lay beyond him, its surface glinting in the morning sunlight.

"What are you doing so early in the morning?" Talia asked, her voice still groggy from sleep.

"Creating a portable generator system," Erik replied without looking away. "I conjured more of the runic generators and am planning on selling it to the village later. If there's no need to exhaust mana to produce light at night, wouldn't that be a good thing?"

"Well, I suppose..." Talia said, scratching her head. "But don't you think that's a bit... excessive? I mean, you could just use your magic to create devices that produce light, right? And then keep selling those?"

"I'm greedy, not evil," Erik finally glanced up at her, staring a bit too long at the way her crop top hiked up her stomach. "If I do that, then I'll run this village dry of its money, or get hate and complaints from the customers about why they'd have to frequently purchase them. Besides, this model is much better. I provide them with both an energy source they can use for a very long time and things that require the use of said energy source. That way, they won't think I'm ripping them off."

Talia looked at him skeptically. "But... isn't that just being greedy too? I mean, you could just sell the light-producing devices without the generators and-"

"I may have gained a bit more stamina, but this is the third portable generator I've conjured, and I'm already exhausted," Erik groaned, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Aside from that, a surplus of dead devices littering your world? Do you not care for the environment?"

Talia frowned. "Well... I guess I hadn't thought about that. I mean, I suppose magic is more efficient in the long run, but..."

Erik sat back on his haunches with a small smile. "Hey, I'm not trying to replace magic with science. I'm trying to enhance it. Your explanation of runes got me thinking more about the practical uses of magic. So I'm experimenting with a sort of 'magic-enhanced technology' model. That way, people can use magic in ways they might not have thought of, and it all helps to push the boundaries of what's possible."

Talia considered this for a moment. "I suppose that makes sense. And it does sound more sustainable in the long run." She paused, her expression shifting to one of curiosity. "So, have you thought about hiring people to help with the stand? You know, now that we've got a bit of money coming in?"

"Yeah," Erik jerked a thumb over to a box full of paper on one of the tables. "I drew up a contract already. Just have any potential slaves- er, employees sign the document and I'll train them tomorrow."

Talia glanced at the box, then back at him. "You know, you don't have to sound so... sinister about it. It's not like they're signing their lives away."

The sound of drilling stopped.

"Ha-ha... where have I heard that before...?" Erik chuckled, sounding a bit traumatized. He resumed drilling before Talia could question what he meant, causing her to look over the documents instead.

She picked up one of the contracts and began reading through it, noting the terms and conditions for employment. "You've thought of everything," she said with approval. "This seems fair." After making sure she understood everything, she signed her name at the bottom of the page.

"Why'd you sign it, too?" Erik asked, taking the contract from her. "We're already business partners, there's no reason for you to sign a contract."

"Well, just in case something happens to you, I guess?" Talia shrugged. "I mean, I don't want anyone else taking over the business, or thinking they can just take advantage of it. Besides, I'm happy to help out with the stand."

"I suppose that's fair enough." Erik paused, looking at her for a moment before continuing, "You know, you could always hire someone to take your place here, if you wanted to. I'm sure there are plenty of people who'd be willing to help out at the stand while you did something else."

Talia frowned. "Are you suggesting I abandon you, Erik Park? Trying to get rid of me?"

"No, of course not!" Erik exclaimed, though a part of him did kind of see it that way. "It's just that I thought you might want to do something else with your time. Something more... fulfilling, I suppose."

"What could be more fulfilling than working alongside you, achieving wealth and prosperity?"

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"...I thought you wanted to be a medical sorceress and bring said prosperity back to your family," Erik said, recalling her earlier dreams. "I know that's what you told me."

"Yes, I do, but I've been working on that for three and a half years. What is a bit more time spent helping you out at the stand, really? Besides, I think I can learn a lot from you about running a business. And it's not like I can't do my studies while I'm working here. I can always use magic to make myself more efficient. And it's not like I'm giving up on my dreams. It's just..." Talia trailed off, thinking for a moment. "It's just that I feel like we're building something really special here. And I want to be a part of it. I want to see where it goes."

"You just want a passive income so that you'll never have to work again after this."

Talia didn't respond, spinning back towards the hut in a grand gesture.

"I shall be back with our breakfast, Erik Park!" Talia declared as she walked inside to change.

"Yeah... take care," Erik shook his head with exasperation. Illyanth trudged outside, huffing as he laid underneath the shade of a tree, watching Erik work.

----------------------------------------

When Talia returned to the hut with breakfast, she found Erik lying face-down in what looked like a brand new structure, off to the side of their hut.

Erik was surrounded by rows of tables, all neatly arranged. Spherical cans of metal dotted the area, and the entire place was sheltered underneath a makeshift canopy of wood and canvas. The canopy was wired with what looked like small glass bulbs, their light barely visible against the morning sun. A few devices whirred in the corners of the canopy, blowing a cooling breeze down below. A row of the portable generators Erik had crafted earlier hummed softly off to the side, powering the entire structure.

"What is all this?" Talia asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. Illyanth and a couple of Lambwolves took residence under every one of the breeze-generating devices.

"Is that you, Talia? Give me a second," Erik's voice was muffled by the ground.

Talia looked at the new structure, then back at Erik, confused. "Um... Erik? You made a marketplace?"

"No," he rolled onto his back, slowly recovering his energy. "I made a place for people to eat their burgers. I noticed that many of them can't use magic, so they were pretty much sweating from the heat last night. So, I just thought of something to keep them comfortable while they wait for their food." He gestured at the canopy of wood and canvas above them. "It's a pavilion with a built-in air conditioning system." He grinned proudly.

Talia looked around, impressed. "That's... amazing, Erik. I mean, I never would've thought of something like that." She walked through the tables, marveling at how considerably cooler it was under the canopy. The Lambwolves looked up at her with playful eyes, their tails thumping against the ground. "How did you manage to make this in the short time I was gone?"

"What the fuck do you mean? You were gone for four hours! It's lunchtime!" Erik snapped, still resting on the ground. "After the first hour, I figured you weren't coming back, so I just ate the leftover burger I made last night."

"Oh," Talia said, looking a bit guilty. "Well, I'm here now. Can I help you with anything?" She crouched down beside him, offering a hand to help him up.

"You can start by telling me why it took you four hours to supposedly beg for breakfast," Erik grumbled, accepting her hand.

"I'm sorry, I was just... distracted," Talia said, helping Erik to his feet. "I was thinking about how we could improve our lives here. Maybe we could start our own tavern or something."

Erik caught the scent of alcohol on her breath.

"Hey. Don't tell me you went to beg for breakfast and drank instead."

Talia averted her gaze. "I brought breakfast!"

She led Erik back to the hut, where she'd stashed a cloth bag full of food inside. There were several plates of eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast, as well as a pitcher of orange juice and a thermos of coffee. "I hope you're hungry," she said without an ounce of shame. "I sort of... lost track of time."

Erik raised an eyebrow at her confession, but said nothing as he sat down at the makeshift table and began to eat. He seemed more focused on the food than her admission. Talia took a plate for herself and sat across from him, watching as he ate.

"So, about this tavern idea..." Talia began, but Erik cut her off.

"Too many expenses. First of all, there's no guarantee that this burger business will even take off," Erik said between bites. "But even if it does, we'd still need a steady income to cover our basic living expenses. If we were to open a tavern now, it'd just eat up our income faster than we can make it. And also, I have no idea how to even make alcohol."

Talia was crestfallen. She knew he was right about the expenses and the risks involved.

"However," Erik continued. "If you're so adamant about alcohol, we could always try our hand at providing drinks along with our burgers."

Talia perked up at the idea. "You mean like a 'boozy burger' or something?" she asked, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "I could see that working. We could even come up with different types of drinks to pair with our burgers. Like a 'Bloody Mary Burger' or a 'Margarita Burger'."

"Huh. I didn't know those drinks existed in this world too," Erik muttered. "Well, we could always experiment with them. We'll need a special refrigerator, though, to keep the drinks cold and fresh. I'm already thinking of some portable ones that might work."

"That sounds nice," Talia agreed, nodding in approval. "Maybe we could even create our own signature drinks for the stand. Something that people would remember us by."

"Perfect," Erik grinned. "We can work on that after we gather supplies for our burgers tonight."

"Oh, are we hunting in the forest?" Talia asked as she watched Erik stand up and walk towards the hut.

"Yeah... you sound like you don't want to come with," Erik replied, giving her a suspicious glance.

"I don't." Talia bluntly replied.

"You-! It makes things easier if you're around, since you're the one blessed with all the cool magic," Erik scowled. "Besides, you don't have a choice. This is part of the job you're getting paid for."

Talia sighed, standing up as well. "Fine," she grumbled, following Erik into the hut. "But I'm only doing it because I have to."

"That's... what I just said."