The morning sun shined brightly over the horizon, beautifully reflecting off the ocean’s tides. In the distance you could catch a glimpse of some of the massive creatures that dwelled in the waters, breaching out of the surface when catching fish or any other meals.

At least, that’s what Za’Lia imagined it was like from Gaspard’s descriptions. She could hear it happening, but she’d never actually seen any of those creatures.

Although she did wish to see them, right now, her mind got rid of anything relating to that. She was hunting. She had to focus.

Shrubs gently shook as a creature passed by them, brushing against the leaves and dropping some of the berries that hung off them.

The creature snorted, marking its exact position for Za’Lia to—

“Raa!” she screamed as she jumped out of some bushes and swiped her nails against the creature’s throat.

“Ree!” the creature squealed before collapsing on the ground with a loud thud.

Za’Lia rolled once on the floor before jumping to her feet. It was a swift kill. About as good as she usually did.

“Nice job, Lia!” Gaspard pat her back. “With that, I think we have more than enough.” He turned to the piles of boars they had stacked up in a cart. Even taking into account the few they’d be taking for themselves, they had enough boars to make a decent amount of money.

“kay,” she said with a smile.

“Hm…” Gaspard held his chin as he looked her over. “You might want to change clothes before we get to town. You got them all bloody again,” he said before walking over to the cart.

Za’Lia lightly nodded as she followed.

After changing behind the cart, they beelined for the town, following the gravel path that led up to the gates. The guards at either side saluted at them as they passed by, more accurately, saluted at Gaspard while glancing at Za’Lia for a moment.

The cart was about two-thirds the size it was before, but it still looked like the stacked boars could fall at any moment. The wooden wheels creaked as the ground changed from gravel to concrete. Thankfully, the place they would be dropping by was only a few houses away.

Even with everything that’d happened the day before, the town looked more or less back to how it originally did. A few people still worked on repairs, but overall it would’ve been hard for anyone to know a battle had gone down here.

“Oh, need help with that?” Gaspard said as he put down the massive cart and jogged over to a guy holding up a piece of wood. The long piece was seemingly part of his house, the last remnants of the battle.

The man glanced back, gritting his teeth as he tried pushing the large piece of wood against the house. “Y-Yeah,” he managed to squeak out.

Gaspard put a single hand against it and pushed it until it leaned against the house. The man simply stared in silence, eyes bulging from his head.

“You’re…you’re really strong,” he folded his arms. “Guess being a warrior has its perks, huh.”

“Among other things,” he nodded, “You’re the baker, right?”

The man bowed, “One and only.”

His outfit was standard among the town’s people, a simple tunic and pants, but his brown hair was covered in white flower. It was hard to miss what his profession was even without the massive sign on the building.

“Hm, I’ve been wanting to get into baking, but I guess I shouldn’t—wouldn’t want to be stronger and steal your job, you know?” he smiled.

“Heh, as if an amateur can measure up to me,” The baker laughed. “Oh, actually, wait here.” He ran back inside and came back a minute later with a small loaf of bread. “Here, try this. Tell me what you think.”

Gaspard took it and ripped it in half, “Za’Lia, come here.”

Za’Lia’s pointy ears perked up upon hearing him call for her and she ran from the cart she’d been standing next to towards where Gaspard was. Although she couldn’t see it, it was like she could practically feel the baker’s mood change the moment she came into the picture.

Not that she was surprised.

After taking a bite from one half of the bread, Gaspard handed her that one and said, “Here.” Then he proceeded to eat the untouched bread.

It might’ve seemed like a weird action, but it wouldn’t have been the first time someone tried poisoning Za’Lia by handing them free food. Gaspard had a better tolerance for poison, so he was fine with it affecting him.

Za’Lia, after taking the bread in both hands, bit down on the crusty exterior, cutting through the softness of the inside before fully ripping off the piece. She chewed a few times, taking in the flavor as much as she could.

“Your, um, its…her palette might be a little different than ours, so I don’t know if—”

“Tasty,” Za’Lia cut him off.

The baker froze. His mouth hung open as he let out a “Huh?”

After finishing his own piece, Gaspard added, “Yeah, have to agree with Lia. This bread is pretty good. You’ve really outdone yourself,” he patted the baker on the shoulder. Although the baker probably didn’t notice, Za’Lia was well aware Gaspard was trying to hold in his anger.

It didn’t slip past him how the baker was addressing Za’Lia.

“I-Is it?” the man stuttered, taking a few glances at her.

“Of course! Weren’t you boasting your skill earlier?” He smiled. “In fact, I think I’ll take a few of those loaves off your hands. I think they’ll go well with tonight’s dinner.”

“I see—I’ll get you some right away,” the baker ran inside in a panic.

Za’Lia finished the piece of bread and licked her lips. “Yummy.”

Gaspard smiled and patted her head, ruffling her white hair. “It really is. Much better than the merchant’s at least. We really should’ve come here sooner,” he sighed.

In about a minute, the baker came out with a paper bag filled to the brim with loaves of bread. He handed it to Gaspard as he said, “Here, you can have it on the house—as thanks for helping.” He gave a forced smile.

Gaspard took the bread and shook his head, “I can’t just take it like that. We’ll pay you right after we sell them boars, alright?”

As he spoke to the baker, a few people walked into the town after getting off a carriage. Their outfits made it clear they were adventurers. They had armored tunics, coats, and weapons at their hips. The guy at the front, seemingly the leader, had a massive battle axe on his back. His short prickly hair was shaven off the sides and his glare was fixated into the distance.

The group was about to pass by Za’Lia and Gaspard when—

“Get the hell out of the way, pest!” The leader slammed the back of his fist against Za’Lia’s arm, dropping her to the ground in an instant.

“…!” Za’Lia was too distracted by how good the bread she’d just eaten was that she didn’t have time to dodge, or even react to what happened. She simply sat on the floor, a sharp sting on her arm, and a wave of pain flooding throughout her body.

…

…

And so Gaspard snapped.