Rabbits taste good. So, I often wondered why not many places in the twenty-first century sold them. It was just a passing curiosity until I realized they have too many dishes already to add another one. I had thought about opening a rabbit restaurant in that advanced world but ultimately settled down for a travel blog writer, who got commissioned for traveling. It offered me enough pay to get by, and when I was low on cash, I made some money by doing some hard labor. The hardest part of living in that advanced world was killing myself and coming up with new names every fifty years or so, along with new lineages, of course.

Garlan had brought two rabbits for our brunch, after skinning and cleaning them, and on a long enough stick so that the bloodied stench wouldn’t reach our hands. I knew [Explosion] from the realm of flame magic, but I decided to let my lady take the initiative for lighting up the fire.

She raised her palms and cast [Fire Wall] over the dry splits of wood Garlan had placed before her. I removed a cloth from my pocket and spread it on the ground, and she sat down after many complaints. She was wearing trousers inside the brown cloak, something ladies of the capital never wore, but I had reassured her they would be more comfortable during our venture. Indeed, those were trousers meant for boys, but there was no law in the world that my lady couldn’t wear them. Her embroidered navy blue frock complemented her dark pants, though not the cloak.

“I won’t eat this vile thing,” my lady complained, turning her head away from the aroma of the freshly cooked rabbit, albeit begrudgingly.

“You eat it in the mansion most of the days, my lady. Though butcher makes the killing for you, and maids do the cooking. Just imagine Garlan as your butcher for today and me your butler,” I said, twirling the stick over the flames at an even pace. I am not a great cook, but I have thousands of years of practice, so I can guarantee that my dishes taste great.

“Here are some spices,” Garlan handed me a couple of bottles of spices from his pochette. “I just bought them last night, so they are as clean as your mansion spices could get. And I am a water and earth attribute mage, so you don’t have to worry about water.”

I spread some spices over the partially sweltered rabbit and gratefully returned them to my bread lad. “Any clues on the black deer, Garlan?”

“Not really. I met some mercenaries on the way, and even they hadn’t seen it. They entered the forest from the north and exited it from the west. Since we covered most of the southern part, let’s head east next.”

When I was ready with the well-done steak, I cast a small [Waterfall] over my hands after removing my gloves before moving it over to my lady and then passed the tender parts of the roasted meat to her. She was used to seeing me use many spells, so there was no interrogation, unlike Garlan, who was staring at me with envy.

“How many attributes do you have, bastard?” He took a hard bite off the almost burnt rabbit and snarled at me.

“I can use spells from all eight attributes.”

Eight attributes were too limited to distinguish the type of spells one could conjecture. I have slain dragons before, so I could say I have dragon attribute, but it would be useless in this world since no such attribute exists. Ultimately classification of magic based on the type of spell is another mistake mortals make, for they don’t have the ability nor time to create new spells.

My lady was enjoying her meal, completely disregarding our conversation. A smile tugged her lips, her ears perked, as she wolfed down the meat. I had never seen her so happy in the dining room of the mansion, so I was glad that we had skipped breakfast today.

We were back on the road when our meal ended, a comfortable silence lingering among us. I adjusted my lady’s cowl as always, and she had stopped punching me ever so often. The woods had thickened beyond the clearing, and stout trees surrounded us, with harmless animals following our trail at times. My [Devil eye] was a foot ahead of us to warn us of the potential danger. I saw a black shadow right in front of us through my extended vision, and I stopped in my tracks, my lady and Garlan following my suit.

“The deer’s right ahead,” I said, glancing at the grazing black deer. “How do you intend to catch it?”

Garlan gave me a smirk as he removed the crossbow hung on his back, much to our surprise. “You are not planning to kill it, are you?” I asked, standing protectively before my lady on instinct.

“I am using a thin arrow coated with paralyzer for the deed. It wouldn’t hurt the deer as long as I miss its vital points. You stay here with your lady.”

I nodded, watching the disgruntled expression on my lady’s face. She never liked taking orders and never from the ones she considered mutts. But somehow, she didn’t raise a tantrum as usual and pulled her cowl to cover her exposed bun that I had tied hastily in the morning.

I followed Garlan with my [Devil eye] as my lady lazily leaned against the rough bark of the tree. She didn’t kick the trunk for its roughness, instead ran her hands over the novel texture, all the while watching me out of the corner of her eyes.

“My lady?” I called out to her.

“What?!” she asked and clicked her tongue in annoyance.

“Did you have fun?” I smiled and knelt down to tie her shoelace again. She pulled back her leg at first but placed it back on the ground after much hesitation.

“Somewhat,” she squeezed the words out begrudgingly.

I laughed. “Become a formidable villainess, and no one would be able to stop you from having fun.”

“Aren’t you pushing me down the wrong road, mongrel?” she raised her eye in question.

“I am, my lady. And you can always choose to stop before it’s too late.”

She didn’t reply and averted her gaze from me, but I knew she had seeped in my words. I knew her like an open book, having seen her grow up, so her subtle actions never escaped my eyes. If she decided to stop right now, there was no point in me staying here any longer, and I would transmigrate again in search of fun.

My [Devil eye] grabbed my attention soon, and I watched Garlan running through the trees with surprising agility for his petite body. My lady had cast [Freeze] spell on us thrice, but the heat was still unbearably for both of us. She was sweating profusely now, perhaps more than me, and I wiped her sweat with my sleeves every other minute.

Garlan jumped his way through the bushes, his [Boulder] spell raising solid mud from the ground interrupting the agile deer’s antics. The deer slowed down, and Garlan immediately trapped it within four raised boulders until his arrow took it out. He waved at my [Devil eye], pushing out his belly.

He lifted the deer with ease and placed it on his shoulder after casting [weightless] spell before walking in our direction with a wide grin. As soon he reached close, he handed his crossbow to me as I eyed the partially soiled cutlass on his waist.

“This completes our mission for the day,” Garlan said and glanced at the sun, which was almost overhead now. We would be late for lunch, but I doubt my lady necessarily minded since the Marquis and Marlica were rarely in the mansion for lunch over the weekend. They called Saturday Beruf here, but it is irrelevant. The former had his own mates from the officialdom, while the latter had to flaunt her wealth amongst the noble ladies of other households.

How do I know? Well, I am an undead who loved eavesdropping with my eye.

If I talk about the splendor of the Valorat house, it dates back to the generation of my lady’s grandfather, who was a renowned general during the reign of the former emperor. The non-Aggressive treaty signed by the Yvenaught Empire at the borders of Coln is still in effect, albeit for only five years more. Geneal Garlo died in the war along with his eldest son, and the Marquis reaped all the benefits of their achievements.

I hold no prejudice against the household as a whole, but the fact that my lady’s mother died bitterly is something I will remember till the end of Brackett Valorat. Indeed, she was poisoned to death by her own husband when my lady’s maiden family, Nerken Dukedom, was executed as traitors of the kingdom on fair charges of treason accumulated against them. It was the only Dukedom in the entire kingdom, and never has there been a second one.

There’s more to it than meets the eye, but they undoubtedly betrayed the country, for this is the heroine’s story. That fact alone is my last resort for blackening my lady if emotional manipulations do not work.

I bet the creator of the world used the same route toward the end, so I’ll try to create a new one to avoid the unfavorable ending. For now, I’ll patiently wait for my lady to grow up.

I followed my lady silently as we returned to the capital. She kept her eyes on the road but occasionally glanced in my direction, confused at my stillness. Garlan, on the other hand, was running his mouth laboriously, talking about his exploits beyond the forest in the cities afar. My lady appeared interested initially, but Garlan’s unrivaled ability to cast himself in golden light annoyed her, and she had ignored him the rest of the way back.