My runs with Elira would probably never bore me. The smile on her face as the wind blew her long hair back was newfound happiness that I cherished deeply.

And by the time we returned, dinner was already done. I was curious about what my mom had made, and was surprised when she served tomato soup. Surprised because it was one of the most straightforward dishes to make, but she still managed to turn it into something special.

Soon after finishing and thanking them for the meal, Cellestra and I were on our way back home, looking to relax a bit with the last few hours that were left in this day, perhaps build some more on our home.

“One of these days, we should try to stop by a bit earlier,” Cellestra said on our way home.

“Hm?”

“You know, I’d simply love to help your mom out with cooking sometime.”

“Strange as it may sound as I’m not quite sure if it’s because of my blurry memories of old, but I don’t think I helped my mom out much when I was young.” I sighed. “To my regret now. Those would have been some fun memories to make. Cooking was not one of my interests, that much I know.”

“Maybe ask her?” Cellestra suggested. “Maybe you did help her one day, but you forgot. Maybe she can help you remember.”

“I doubt it, but I’ll ask. I just feel kind of bad about now because I don’t think I can help her cook when I can’t even get inside the kitchen.”

“That’s… unfortunate,” She said softly, a smile on her face which disappeared for a moment before it reappeared. “But there’s always a way to make that happen. It’s not the hardest thing in the world to cook outside.”

“That’s true,” I admitted. “Maybe it’s something to look into… later. We’ve got plenty to do for the time being, and there’s also this old skill of mine that I need to look at, and I’m once again starting to regret promising myself to get through it.”

“The spiderling one?”

I nodded. “It’s not something I’m particularly looking forward to. You know, it stated I actually have to lay the eggs.”

“You have any idea how spiders do that?” Cellestra asked.

I shook my head.

“Would you like me to fill you in on that?”

“Might as well,” I responded. “Maybe it can help me prepare.

“I’m sure it won’t be so bad,” She said while petting my back. “I doubt it will be painful or anything. Elysa isn’t that kind of goddess, is she?”

“You’re right, and I think it will be fine, but the whole concept is just so… awkward, and I was just repulsed by the idea earlier.”

“I’ll show you,” She said with a warm smile. “And tell you everything I know if you want me to, even if it isn’t too much.”

However awkward this may be, I reckoned it couldn’t be more awkward than whatever would follow. I was really, really happy to have Cellestra at my side, supporting me and willing to talk me through all she knew.

“It certainly is more than what I know, and thank you. I really do appreciate your help.”

“So for tomorrow,” She continued, changing topics. “Tomorrow we’ll go into town for the guild and then to the carpenter’s guild. Do you have any plans after that?”

“Not sure,” I replied. “I’d like to get as much done in the dungeon as I can, but my other skill also needs some time. Maybe we should just finish our home, do that, and then try to teach you some more spells. There are still a few that I can share.”

“That works for me. I’m excited about it, but those don’t use that much mana to cast, right?”

I shook my head.

“They aren’t anywhere close to the mana requirement of the lightning arc spell, or at least the point you got to.”

“That’s a relief,” She said softly and then requested a stop as we neared the shrines. While she was using the facilities, my mind wandered off to the major challenge that still lay ahead; the obelisk issue.

More specifically, the problem was trying to find ways to prepare for it. There was something there, something that had somehow seeped into my blessing in a way, something that had been banished ages ago. Whatever it was that I had awoken, I couldn’t know yet, but I smiled knowing that there were others who were kind enough to help me without prejudice.

However, not knowing what we were up against made it hard to prepare to fight it, and while the obvious thing was to improve my own and Cellestra’s strength, it was more than likely our ace would have to come from somewhere else. I was glad to have Soranir with us for that.

I was also left wondering if there was some way to get an edge with our coin. While armor and weaponry seemed to be the obvious choice of things to spend our money on, I was trying to come up with other ideas. The only thing I could think of on short notice would be the spell scrolls, mainly because I didn’t know the limits of those, and there were bound to be some rare abilities contained within that could help out.

Either way, it was going to be crucial to gather more cash… and information, however little there may be.

When Cellestra returned and hopped on my back again, I swore she could feel what I was thinking about, and even though she remained quiet like me, her hand stroked the hair on my back gently, helping me feel more at ease.

Once home, I decided to keep myself distracted from thinking about it by doing the bit of labor that remained. I chopped down the last few trees and decided on where to place the doorway. That was if we could get an arrangement for it with the carpenter’s guild. Though, it shouldn’t be too hard to get one.

I finished up as much as I could and removed the side branches from the main trunks and placed them together, ready to be transported. I was quite sure I’d be able to move all four with me to the city, but carrying them through town would be a different story. Perhaps I could carry the logs using my arms and legs, but I’d see about all that tomorrow.

I looked at the skies to see evening setting in. There was still plenty of daylight, and I intended to put it to good use by spending it with Cellestra, who’d watched me work with great delight after taking off her armor.

It had taken her some time but she managed to do it. I didn’t help her this time as I thought it was important for her to learn how to do it.

I let out a deep sigh as I wiped a few drops of sweat off my forehead, happy to be done.

“Nice work,” She said happily.

“Glad that’s over. Now I can finally relax.”

Cellestra chuckled as I passed her, opening the curtain of our home and stepping inside, before laying my body down on the silk with my elven torso bent backward in my damaged, yet still soft hair.

“Tired?” Cellestra asked as she stepped inside and sat down at my side.

“Not really, but I’m happy this day is almost over.”

“I can imagine,” She said softly. “You’ve had it rough today.”

I nodded slowly.

“And I might get it rough again tomorrow. Oh well, at least I’m done chopping trees. That leaves us with spell training and… you know…”

“I know,” Cellestra whispered. “I’m amazed by your courage to do something like that. I don’t know if I could.”

“I’m glad you don’t have to make that decision,” I whispered back, my hand running through her hair. “If I’m lucky and this works out in the way I want, I might be able to sleep fully at night. My exhaustion is starting to build up again.”

“In a way, I suppose it’s not always a blessing, is it?” Cellestra asked, but I was certain she already knew the answer.

“Not always, no, but I’m still happy being this, even if I have to make certain sacrifices.”

Cellestra nodded and remained quiet as she ran her hands down the hairs on my legs at her sides.

“Hey, Kealyna. Still want me to explain some spider anatomy?”

“Sure,” I said. “Explain away.”

“Do you even know how you breathe?” She then asked, taking me by surprise.

Of course I knew, or… did I?

I thought about the question while holding my breath, pinching my nose as well when I noticed I didn’t need air whatsoever.

“Huh,” I let out after about half a minute. “I suppose I don’t know.”

Cellestra giggled at my words.

“I can show you, if you want… if you don’t mind me climbing under your abdomen.”

“Go for it,” I said still in a most comfortable position.

“Alright,” She said softly, standing up and grabbing the spell orb to help her see. She shook her head as I raised my lower body to offer her access underneath.“Goddess, this feels weird.”

“No need to feel weird about this,” I said. “Just relax.”

“Alright,” She replied, her voice more confident. She then took a deep breath and continued. “I’ll tell you what I know. I hope it helps.”