When Caroline finally woke up, it was well past when Thio’d left for work. It was the first day since coming to the Capital she was on her own and she was looking forward to it. Thio could get annoying with his motherly smothering.

The first thing she did was her stretches. After that, she made her way down stairs, giving a morning greeting to Metts along the way. He informed her that Thio had left her a “cold” breakfast to eat. It turned out to be a hardboiled egg, bread, cheese, and some fruits. It was simple but delicious.

Once she was done, she looked around the kitchen thoughtfully. Thio had done all the cooking since she came here and had constantly rebuffed her efforts to cook a full meal (though he’d let her help the last few days). Now that he was gone, she could do whatever she wanted. And what she wanted was to make lunch.

Technological advancements in this world were wildly inconsistent due to magic, and this was never more obvious than when looking in the kitchen. Stoves used magic to start and maintain constant temperatures, with any burnable item being used as fuel. Even poor people had stoves, though much smaller, that worked along the same lines. And if you were wealthier or ran a business, you could build a cold room, which had something called an “ice lamp” that used the very air as it’s cooling and energy source.

It was the strangest thing in the world for Caroline to see a stove run on magic and then have to turn around and use an outhouse, or bathe out of a bucket. It bothered her for a long time.

Eventually she accepted it by thinking of the fact that in her old world, foreign countries would often have similar contrasts. A big city with all the modern marvels, but you go out into the country and they lived in huts and got water from a well. Even in a world ruled by science, it wasn’t evenly distributed, and the vast majority went without.

In many ways, the Empire was like that. Smaller communities only got tastes of “civilization”, while big cities got the lion’s share (such as the Capital, which had plumbing).

Perhaps, she finally decided, it wasn’t the magic that was the problem. It was really just the sudden and drastic drop in the “quality of life”. Even the wealthy in Hillsdale could be counted as poor compared to how people in her country lived. In the end, maybe she was just spoiled.

Well, not anymore. Four years of living outdoors as an Adventurer and having a one room home with the bare necessities had toughed her up substantially. Rather than being annoyed by the contrast, she was extremely thankful for whatever magic could make easier.

Caroline had known how to cook prior to living in Hillsdale, but the skill had been refined over the years. Due to the tiny size of her stove and her extremely limited mana, she’d learned to do “one pot meals” (mostly stews or soups) and “cold” meals (sandwiches and the like). And she’d gotten extremely good at camp-style cooking (roasting) from adventuring.

After looking in the pantry and the cold room, she decided to make a stew for lunch. But when she went to get the pot, she discovered it was too heavy for her to lift, as it was made of cast-iron. She had flashbacks to water buckets and gave an exasperated chuckle.

Not dissuaded, she hunted down Metts to help her instead.

“Are you sure the Master wants you doing this?” He asked suspiciously. Thio had given him strict instructions on making sure she didn’t do any strenuous activities. Cooking, in Mett’s mind, was a gray area as far as that went.

“It’s not like I’m trying to lift weights or anything.” She rolled her eyes. “I just want to make lunch. The things I can’t do, I’m asking your help with, and you’re wanting to learn how to cook. So this works out for both of us, right?”

Metts looked thoughtful and then gave a nod. “What did you need help with?”

With Metts as her “right hand man”, she got the pot filled with water and on the stove. They both peeled and chopped away at vegetables, herbs, and beef. After dumping it all into the pot, she closed the lid on it and gave a satisfied smile.

“Yep, it should be ready by lunch time!” She tapped her chin. “I wish we had some crusty bread. It’d go really well with this. Is there a bakery nearby?”

“There is one, but it’s a bit of a walk.” Metts hesitated. “I don’t think Master Thio would want you walking that far. I can get it for you if you like?”

“Ah… I really wish we had a carriage or something…”

“Hm, this house actually came with a small stable. Master Thio even repaired it, but he didn’t buy any horses for it.”

“Probably because he can Transport anywhere he wants.”

“Yeah…”

They were both silently jealous of Thio’s magic.

“Us regular folks gotta walk though.” Caroline scrunched her face up. “Ha… I wish I at least had my horse.”

“You own a horse?”

“I did, before it got stolen.” She balled her hand into a shaking fist. “The same guy who turned me into an invalid took everything I had, including my horse.”

Metts gave a long whistle of sympathy, “I really hope that guy gets caught.”

“Me too. I hope that guy gets hanged and then has his head lopped off, but not before I beat him to a pulp!” Her eyes narrowed at the thought, while Metts nodded in agreement. Caroline could put up with a lot, but attempted murder was way over her “line in the sand”.

She cleared her throat. “Ahem. Anyway. If you could get me that bread, I’d appreciate it.”

“As you wish Madam!” He gave a quick bow and then paused. “Er, you will refrain from any strenuous activities while I’m gone, yes?”

Caroline put her hands on her hips and scolded, “Excuse me! I’m an adult, several years older than you! I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself! Just because Thio is a worry-wart doesn’t mean you need to be too!”

“Sorry, sorry! Just had to make sure! Going now!” He scurried away before she could say anything else.

She sighed as she watched him leave. Having a fourteen year old mother her was embarrassing.

‘You almost die once and people never forgive you,’ she thought and then chuckled.

——

Caroline passed the time with embroidery. It’d only been in the last few days that she could sit down and get any serious work done on the shirt she’d started a week ago. It was coming along nicely now and she was enjoying seeing the crude designs she started with take shape into something beautiful.

Every now and then she’d get amused with herself. When she was ordinary girl with her parents, the idea of embroidering never even entered her mind. Now that she was a rough and tumble Adventurer, she’d become highly proficient in this very domestic skill. The contrast made her laugh.

It took Metts about half an hour to get the bread, and only because on the way back he got a ride. Crusty Bread was an actual type of bread, a fairly common one, found in the Empire. They were shaped like small hoagie buns, but with a harder crust. Having forgotten to ask how many to get, Metts decided on six (two for everyone).

After he returned home, Caroline decided she’d talk to Thio about getting a horse. He didn’t need it, but she and Metts would appreciate having one. And with all the money she saved up over four years, it shouldn’t put any financial strain on him to get one.

——

When it got closer to noon, Thio came home for lunch. He transported just outside the front door. He’d developed a pounding headache from dealing with all the stupidity at work. Monsters and demons on the rise, but all anyone would talk about was his love life. They were worse than the LDF when it came to gossip. It was like dealing with teenagers!

Upon entering the house, the strong smell of seasoned beef struck him. He’d expected to make lunch, as he always did, and was surprised. He stood there, slightly dumbfounded.

“Hey, you’re back!” Caroline greeted him, lightly jogging up to where he stood. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be home for lunch since it was your first day back at work, so Metts helped me make something.”

She gave him a big beaming smile and a hug. “Welcome home!”

When he felt her warmth, his whole body started loosening and the throbbing in his head began to ebb. He wrapped his arms around her in return, breathing in her scent deeply, and basked in the glory of being a married man with a wife to come home to.

“Madam, I think the stew is—” Metts choked on his sentence, startled by the sudden appearance of Thio. Despite weeks having passed, he never got use to Thio simply appearing at random in the house.

“M-Master!” He sputtered and then paused, finally noticing what they were doing. “Uh… sorry… didn’t mean to interrupt. I’ll just… uh…” He started backing away awkwardly.

Caroline laughed, released Thio, and started walking towards the kitchen. “Don’t worry about it! The stew is probably done, is what you were saying, right? Time to taste MY home-cooking for once Thio, hurrah!”

Thio slightly flexed his empty hands, feeling a little lonely, before hurriedly following after them.

Metts got the table ready while Caroline checked the stew. They then traded places, with Metts getting everyone their food while Caroline and Thio sat down. It was a well practiced “dance” in the kitchen that they’d all gotten use to.

Thio, seeing that both Caroline and Metts were waiting for him to start, took a spoonful.

“It’s good.” He complimented.

“Really?” Caroline asked, hands clasped together.

“Yes, really.”

“Woohoo!” She fist pumped in victory. “I told you I could cook!”

Metts was stuffing his face enthusiastically. Around a mouthful of bread, he said, “This is really good. My Mom makes stews during the winter all the time, but I’ve never tasted anything like this before.”

“That so? It’s a common recipe in Hillsdale. Mariel taught it to me.”

Thio gave a slight nod and explained to both of them, “It’s a regional recipe in the south. I imagine most of the recipes Caroline knows will be like that. When I first moved here, my cooking was the same. I expanded my recipes to include ones from this area though, so it’s less noticeable.”

“You’re surprisingly dedicated to cooking for a guy.” Caroline commented, waggling an eyebrow.

Thio lip quirked upward. “Of course. While my colleagues are content to eat out or mooch off of their family and unfortunate friends,” It was clear he was talking about Evans just then. “I have always found it more efficient, cheaper, and healthier to cook for myself.”

“I agree! And if you’re good enough, no matter where you go, you can make yourself a good quality meal.” She patted her chest. “I’m the reason my party had good meals when we were out of town fulfilling a Request!”

“Hm… didn’t you have a hunter in your party? I should think he’d be good at out door cooking.”

“You mean Jack, right?” She laughed. “His focus has always been on preserving meat, not cooking meals. Though his jerky and smoked meats are amazing. I’m sure he’d be willing to send me some if I ask, so you two can try it too.”

“I wouldn’t mind trying some Adventurer meats.”

Caroline nodded and then changed topics, “What do you think about owning a horse?”

Thio blinked at the sudden shift.

“You don’t need one, right? You can just pop in and out, but us mortals have to walk around everywhere. This neighborhood isn’t near any taxi areas either. Too posh. I was thinking owning a horse might be a good idea. I’d have my own brought up here but…” She grimaced. “That got stolen weeks ago.”

Lowering his spoon, Thio had the grace to look ashamed. “I hadn’t thought about that, but you’re right. This house came with stables for horses, so there’s room.”

“I can pay for the horse.”

“Ah, no need for that. Hm… where to get a horse… I know the Knights breed chargers…”

“Chargers? Like war horses?”

He nodded.

“Uh, would they even sell us one of those?”

“I doubt it. The Calvary Knights are horse fanatics and extremely jealous over their teams. But, they would be the people to ask about who to buy horses from in the city.” He frowned slightly. “Though the price for that information is passionate sermon on the wonders and disadvantages of every breed on the planet.”

Caroline chuckled.

“Metts,” Thio turned to the young man. “Do you know how to ride a horse?”

Metts shrugged. “In theory. My Dad runs a small delivery business, so I know basic horse and carriage care.”

“Ah,” Thio tapped his chin thoughtfully, a distant look in his eyes.“…carriage… I wonder if we should get one of those too…”

“Would we really need one though?” Caroline responded in slight confusion. “Even if we’ve got to haul a lot of stuff, most places deliver.”

“We probably don’t need one now but in the near future...”

“The near future?”

“Hm. For when our family gets bigger.”

Caroline almost choked on her stew. Coughing, she grabbed a cup of water and downed it.

“Exactly how far in advance are you planning?!” She managed to wheeze out.

“Hm? If we calculate recovery time, at least a year and a half.”

Her mouth fell open and she was left momentarily speechless.

“Well, that’s being optimistic.” Somewhat puzzled by her response, he continued talking, “I’ve heard of it taking longer. But I’m hoping for at least one child in the next five years. Though… There was only you and your older brother, correct?”

She could only nod stupidly.

“Hm… birth rates are determined by the maternal side, or so everyone says. Is having so few children common in your family?”

“Er… few? Is that few?”

His eyebrows shot up. “Of course? I would say having anything less than 4 children is somewhat unusual.”

“F-four?! Isn’t that a lot?! And aren’t you an only child?”

Both Thio and Metts glanced at each other and then looked at her with pity. There were some serious gaps in her education.

Very gently, Thio informed her. “Four is on the low end, and single children like myself are… rare. Though Metts family is considered big, I’d say the average is about 5 to 6 children per couple.”

“Master is right.” Metts added. “There’s a family in my old neighborhood with only three children, because the wife got real sick and then couldn’t have any more kids after that. They were all boys though, so the parents were guaranteed to have someone to look after them when they couldn’t work any more.”

Caroline’s face flushed with embarrassment. She’d noticed that families were bigger here, obviously she’d noticed (she was good friends with Mariel, who was on her second child, so it was hard not to). It’s just that she never thought about it in relation to herself.

Thio totally misunderstood her reaction. He reached over and patted her hand, saying kindly, “Even if your family was small, there’s no shame in that. From what you’ve said, your parents loved each other, and that’s all that matters in the end. We will be the same. Whether we have few or many children, as long as we’re a loving family, we can be proud. I know I will be.”

She glanced up at his heartfelt declaration and earnest expression and couldn’t help feeling a little touched and amused.

Caroline gave a low chuckle. “That’s… thank you. To be honest, I hadn’t thought that far ahead… I guess it’s good one of us is a planner.” She then cleared her throat. “But getting a carriage now for something that won’t happen for at least a year… is that really wise? Wouldn’t it be wiser to save our money…?”

“Ah, money won’t be a problem.”

“Really? Didn’t you just buy and remodel this house?”

“Hm. But other than sending money to you, I haven’t done much else with it. So I’ve got quite the buffer fund at this point.”

“That’s gotta be some buffer fund.” She said in amazement. “You’ve really come a long way from living in a grass roof house. You must be breaking some kind of record getting to Archmage in four years.”

His eyebrows rose. “I’m flattered you think so, but no. The quickest rank increase was for a Dragon Mage some 300 years ago. He got it in one year and two months.”

“What on earth did that guy have to do to get promoted so quickly?”

“Get conscripted during a war, mostly.”

“Oooooh. They were desperate then.”

“Yes they were.”

“Hey, Thio…”

“Hm?”

“What’s a Dragon Mage… do exactly?” Caroline’s eyes got round and sparkled with interest.

“Ariel defense, attack, and rescue.” He paused. “I noticed this before but… Do you like dragons?”

“Like them? AREN’T THEY SUPER COOL!?” She suddenly stood up, hands balled in excited fists. “Douglas says there’s over 100 varieties, some fly, some swim, some breathe fire! Ah, not that I want to meet the ones that breath fire, I hear they’re nasty—”

That’s an under statement, thought Thio.

“—but dragons are like people. There are just all sorts! Some are stupid, some are smart, some are even human-looking! But this area of the world doesn’t get many of the friendly dragons. It’s all fire dragons and drakes and man-eaters. Why is this country so deadly, huh?! And Adventurers aren’t suppose to fight those dragons anyway, the military gets called. So I’ve never fought a dragon, much less met one. I want to so bad! SO BAD! Why can’t we have friendly dragons like that nation.. Uh… what’s that nation called?”

“Are you, perhaps, thinking of the Grand Isles?”

“Yeah, them! I hear over half their population is made up of dragons! And they’re super friendly and cute too! Ah… but it’s so far away… so much money to get there… life isn’t fair.”

Thio and Metts glanced at each other.

“I must say, not many people are that positive in their outlook of dragons.”

“Eh? Really? Douglas loves ‘em.”

“Ah… that man… I’m pretty sure he isn’t normal…” Thio muttered and then turned to Metts, who was a better sampling. “What do you think of dragons?”

“Uh, I don’t love them like Madam, but they’re interesting enough I guess. I don’t know if I’d wanna get close to one though, they’re very… sharp looking.”

“Right, that’s the normal response of people in the Capital. And only because everyone here sees them fly overhead so often.” Thio explained. “But people from the south aren’t like that.”

“Really? Why not?” Metts asked.

“Because the common dragons of the south are Man-Eaters, not the dragons you see here. Man-Eaters are given that name for a reason, with their favorite targets being children. They were rather famous for raiding homes at night and stealing children for midnight snacks.”

Metts face blanched in horror. “And you lived there?!”

“There hasn’t been a Man-Eater attack in years. If they haven’t all been slaughtered, then they’ve at least been driven out of the populated areas. But the stories and fears of them are still very real in the south. It’s why they thought Caroline had been kidnapped, despite all evidence to the contrary.”

Caroline clucked her tongue, shaking her head, sitting back down. “It’s all superstition at this point. Dragons aren’t all bad. I wish southerns were a little more open minded like Douglas. His way of viewing them is better.”

“You may be right, but it’s a difficult thing to change.” Thio tilted his head. “Since you’re so interested in dragons, would you like to visit a Dragon Pen?”

“Dragon Pen…?”

“You asked about Dragon Mages earlier, didn’t you? Well, they ride or care for Dragons. Naturally the Dragons must be kept somewhere. That’s called a Dragon Pen. There are several surrounding the Capital. My rank gives me access but I also have a connection there to show us around. What do you think?”

“I’d love to go! How exciting! Let’s make it a date! It’ll be our first!”

“Date…?” He gave her a puzzled look.

“Yeah!” She paused, shoulders drooping. “Or… or is that a bad idea?”

“What? No, no. We can make it a date. That’s fine. Yes. Let’s have our first date.”

She sent him a beaming smile.

In the face of Caroline’s obvious excitement, Thio didn’t have the heart to tell her that she had the order of events wrong. You dated when you were courting, not when you were married. And dating was activities like walking around town, going to parties, or having dinner with each other’s family.

It was not, nor had it ever, involved visiting dragons.