The kitchen was similar to one on Earth; the only notable difference would be the electronics or the lack of. There was a stove, sort of. It functioned the same way Earth-made one would, but without the pipes and wires. There was also a fridge, a small shelved closet that, well, refrigerated.

The ingredients in said fridge were interesting as well; everything on Earth, and more, was here but with slight color variations; for example, the milk tasted similar, but it was slightly pink, eggs had weird patterns, and so on.

The kitchen had two grills as well, and thankfully, I found their fuel, both coal, and charcoal. I engraved both of them with the same two symbols, and set them aside, I had no idea how the charcoal would react, but it wouldn’t hurt to try.

I had three main goals; First, something that would instantly recover my mana.

Second, something that would give me slow enough regeneration, so I don’t topple over mana manapool.

Third, turn whatever I make into a consumer-friendly product to be sold in the shop.

My main ingredient was a white powder-like substance, and that naturally means dilution. My very own impoverished mana potions, I couldn’t help but smile at my slap to any alchemist’s face.

With the first goal achieved, I had to focus on the second. I needed to somehow take small enough doses every few seconds. I thought of using some sort of pills, but I immediately abandoned the idea. I have zero pharmaceutical knowledge, and I’m not experimenting on my body, not again, at least.

An Intriguing idea crossed my mind; I took some sugar, pink milk, and a slab of green butter. It took a few tries to get the ratios right, but it worked. I made some sort of caramel. I allowed it to harden a bit and had the consistency I wanted. It took about five minutes to completely melt in my mouth, and it was delicious. I made an extra complete batch to verify my recipe, and it turned out great.

I emptied my mana and started measuring the charcoal needed completely fill my manapool, about a flat teaspoon full.

I now had four measurements, Small, Medium, Large, and X Large.

The smallest one is my manapool worth and doubled the amount for the next size, so the medium is double the small, large is double the medium, and so on.

It was already morning when I was done. The end result was four bottles of my home-made mana potions and four batches of the magic-candy, each bottle had eight servings, and each candy batch had twenty-four bite-sized cubes. Elated that I can start practicing my magic, I hastily cleaned up, and as I was placing everything on trays, a cough halted me.

The Innkeeper was standing at the kitchen door with her hands on her hips, a hanging brow, and a questioning look. I could see a small broken horn behind her back.

I offered an awkward. “Good morning.” To which she returned with a slight smirk, amused at my stiffness.

I got the first test batch I cooked; I made not to mix them up somehow, I have no idea how the white charcoal would affect a non-mage, and I’m not about to experiment on a little girl.

“I got a little carried away, but here you go. Try this out.” I said, presenting the tray.

Her questioning gaze wavered a little as she picked up two pieces of candy and placed one in her mouth first, and hummed in approval. She tried feeding the other to the girl, who stubbornly refused. She let out a few more exaggerated moans, finally convincing the girl.

I could see Luna’s face light up as she moved slightly away from the Innkeeper’s back, clutching her clothes.

Looking at the peeking girl, I said. “You can have the rest of this.” I placed the tray down on the counter. “I can make some more if you want.”

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I noticed the Innkeeper reaching for the mana-filled candy, and I hastily stopped her, making the girl behind her flinch.

A deep frown formed on the woman’s face before I explained. “I’m sorry, I added a lot of stuff to them, and I have no idea how these would affect you.”

Her face relaxing, she remarked. “I’ve seen adventurers use food before to mask the taste of some remedies, but I’ve never seen candy before.”

I smiled at my successful misdirection and bargained. “I admit I got umm a little carried away.” Looking at my stacked candy. “ but I can pay you for whatever ingredients I used” I paused for a second and grinned. “or I could simply give you the recipe.”

A greedy smile graced her face as she let out a hearty laugh.

I went back to the room carrying the trays. It took two trips from the kitchen to get everything transported. Entering the room, I found Valeriana standing in the middle. It seems like she just got back.

Yesterday’s vulnerable state was gone; What stood midst was a proud warrior. She held a one-handed sword in her hand, and her clothes had a few patches with minor burn marks on the skin beneath them. Seems like slimes here are highly acidic.

She noticed me come in the room and stared at me, daring me to comment on her battered state.

She snapped at my quiet staring. “What!?”

“Welcome back.” I said, ignoring her outburst.

She kept glaring at me, and I continued. “I’ll see if the Innkeeper has any burn ointments, I’ll be back in a few minutes.” I set down the trays I had and warned. “Oh, and don’t eat those.” Her eyes narrowed at my order. “Everything is heavily loaded with mana, and I have no idea how they would affect you.”

I left the room and went downstairs. The Innkeeper, whose name I finally know, Hana was cooking breakfast. I asked her about the ointment, and after multiple reassurances that it was nothing serious, she agreed to get me some.

She went to Luna’s side, whose eyes were cast down. She knelt down on one knee, now face to face with the crestfallen Luna. She tightly hugged her and whispered something into her ear.

I couldn’t make out whatever she said, but I assumed it was some sort of encouragement. Hana kept hugging her for a few more seconds and finally let go of the girl.

Luna took a deep breath, released it, and repeated the process two more times. She lifted her head; I could see a flurry of emotions pass through her eyes, fear, hesitation, and ultimately determination.

“th-thank you for the candy.” She finally confessed.

Her eyes were boring into me, following every subtle movement I made. She was waiting for my answer.

A smile formed on my face, the very first genuine one in a very long time.

“I’m happy you liked it; I have an even better recipe I can make, If you’d like.” I replied.

Luna kept staring at me for about two seconds, turned her eyes to Hana, slightly smiled, clung to her neck… and broke down crying.

Her crying turned to wailing when Hana whispered. “Look at you. You did it. I’m so proud of you.”

My smile disappeared, and I felt a very faint tug at my heart when I heard her sorrow.

It took about five minutes for Luna to calm down and stop clinging to Hana’s neck. Hana let go of the sniffling child, turned around, and mouthed me a ‘thank you’ alongside a grateful smile.

She stood up and stated. “I’ll go get you the ointment.”

She looked at Luna and asked. “Can you wait here for me Luna?” Sensing her hesitation, she continued. “You know where we keep the medical supplies, right?” receiving a hesitant nod, she continued. ”It’ll only take a few seconds, and you know where to find me.”

Receiving a weaker nod, Hana stood up, smiled at the downcast girl, ruffled her hair, and left.

I was alone with the traumatized kid. Is it wise to leave the kid alone with her boogeyman? I’m not really sure. I inspected the girl more thoughtfully; there was something familiar about her, and I couldn’t pinpoint it. It took a little while, but something clicked in my mind.

Ah, so that’s it.

A small chuckle escaped me before I could stop it, and the kid deflated. Right, I’ve been staring at her and finished it with a snicker.

“I’m sorry; I’m not laughing at you.” I apologized, but her eyes didn’t leave the ground.

Sighing at my stupid mistake, I looked at my hands and said. “I’m really not making fun of you. You just reminded me of someone.”

I felt her head rise ever so slightly; two tiny beads peeking at me, compelling me to continue. “My little brother was a crybaby just like you.” she comically pouted. “He was almost always crying.” I paused for a second. “When he couldn’t understand something? He cried, couldn’t win a game? Cried, got a bad grade? Yeah, you guessed it right, cried. He always cried, but he never gave up. No matter how many times he failed, he would always try again. He would fuck up somehow, but he’d never throw in the towel. I really couldn’t understand that.”

I let out a chuckle when I saw a frown on her face and continued. “What I mean is that he was strong. The strongest person I have ever known, and you.” pointing at her. “reminded me of him.”

I sighed again. This was a can of worms that I vowed to never touch again. The rest of the wait was spent in silence. By the time the Innkeeper returned, the familiar numbness was back, and I wholeheartedly welcomed it.