After calling Artorius over as well, they explain the situation to him and Maira.

“All this time they’ve been doing something with all the magic users,” Artorius says.

“Why isn’t the council doing anything about this?!” Maira exclaims.

“The council?” Rielle questions, tilting her head.

“The council is a set of leaders from multiple races that are responsible for the decisions made here,” Erica explains.

Maira raises her index finger.

“From soul coin tax to managing the guards to protect the borders, and even making important decisions that decide the direction of Aitura,” Maira adds.

“So they’re more or less like the government?” Rielle asks. 

“Exactly,” Artorius says.

“You would think the council would be all-powerful or something,” Rielle states.

“Unfortunately, most of them are people like us. When one has a minimum of 10,000sc, they are eligible to join the council itself.” 

“Come to think of it, there were a few powerful ether sources I sensed when I first arrived at the center of town,” Rielle states.

“There’s at least 2 or 3 council members with strong ether,” Erica states. “If I had to guess, I’d assume it was someone from the council causing these events.”

“Let's not jump to conclusions, because the enemy could be concealing their magic like me,” Rielle states.

“Ugh! This is all such a boring headache!” Maira exclaims. “Too much sneaking around!”

Rielle chuckles.

“It’d be one thing if I could settle this with a few spells, but… if it is the council, then this may require a bit more strategy,” Rielle states.

“Then in the meantime, we should relax ourselves. And what better way for me and Rielle to do that, than a picnic?!” Maira questions.

“What about us?” Erica asks.

“Sorry, but this is my date. You’ve got next in line so you’ll be fine!” Maira says as she grabs Rielle by the hand and smiles at her.

“Come on, let's go!” Maira says.

She drags Rielle out of the house and takes her down the street. In the nearby park, she takes Rielle up a tall hill. Rielle looks out over the hill, realizing she can see most of the town from there. When she turns back, she sees Maira sitting atop a plaid picnic blanket. With the basket at her side.

“The view here is amazing,” Rielle says.

“It is. It’s my favorite spot to come relax.” Maira states.

Rielle walks over and sits next to Maira, who rests her head on Rielle’s shoulder. Rielle points beyond the east gate at the dark red streak far on the horizon, that tore into the sky like sharp claws.

“That’s the entrance to hell,” Maira says. “It’s impossible to completely seal up, so demons enter those plains to escape the torture of hell.”

“That sounds like an issue,” Rielle says.

“It’s not too bad. It's one of the reasons the guards exist, to cull the demon population and protect Aitura.”

“Things are somewhat peaceful here, I guess that’s thanks in part to the guards,” Rielle says.

“Yup! Well, barring what we spoke about earlier at least!” Maira says as she picks up the basket. “So, you wanna guess what I’ve got in here?”

“Let me guess, food?” Rielle mutters.

“On the first try, too!” Maira says. “But… This food is special… I MADE IT!”

Rielle's joyful expression, warps as the edges of her mouth curl downward and her eyes open wide. She grips her stomach as if in pain and glares at the basket itself while radiating a dark aura.

“Time out! Don’t jump to conclusions!” Maira begins. “Sure, I was bad at cooking while alive. But—”

“Just bad? You were boiling a loaf of bread, and somehow managed to make it catch fire!” Rielle says in exasperation.

“Okay, so I may have been terrible and maybe I almost sent you to an early grave to serve you rare chicken. But that’s in the past! I’ve spent that last couple hundred years learning how to cook from the basics.” Maira says. “Tell you what, if I don’t wow you with my cooking, then you can blast me with whatever spell you want, even experimental ones.”

Rielle grabs her by the shoulders and smiles.

“Seriously?!” Rielle states.

“Yup! But if I win... I get to kiss you.” Maira says.

“Fine by me!” Rielle says.

“Mai’s cooking was so bad, I thought she was cursed like Art. But it was just her cooking skill. I want to have faith in her growth, but I also have a few spells I never got to test out. So one could say I am just ever so slightly praying that her cooking is still bad.” Rielle thinks.

The tension begins to fill the air as Maira opens up the basket. Beads of sweat roll down Rielle’s cheek as Maira reaches in. She gulps as Maira pulls something out of it. A strange aroma wafts through the air as Maira sets down the box.

“What is that smell? I don’t recognize it.” Rielle says.

Getting flashbacks to Maira’s often odorless or incredibly strong-smelling meals made a shiver race down her spine. Upon a second whiff, Rielle realized something.

“This smell is quite mild when I think about it. It… smells like… Something normal.” Rielle thinks.

“What is that?” Rielle asks.

“Why, it’s none other than some sandwiches!” Maira states proudly. “I figured I’d keep it simple when it comes to the food. It’d be a pain to keep something warm.”

Maira opens the box and pulls out two slices of bread with cheese and thick slices of meat in between. Surrounded by lettuce and slathered with a sweet, yet savory honey blend. Sprinkled with herbs, pepper, and a little salt.
“I made sure to make yours out of roast geef since I know how much you love it,” Maira says. 

She hands it to Rielle, who grabs it and eyes the sandwich. With the aroma now in full splendor, she could feel her mouth watering at the thought of eating it.

“What are you waiting for? An invitation? Take a bite, come on!” Maira exclaims.

Rielle takes a nice bite of the sandwich. The savoriness of the meat danced along her tongue while the sweetness from the honey paved a delicious path for the rest of the sandwich to travel. The pepper added a subtle kick, while the herbs enhanced the flavor, leaving Rielle with an expression of pure bliss. Rielle was practically drooling after the first bite and snapped back to reality to see Maira’s smug grin.

“So, how was it?” Maira asks. “Like sex, right?”

“It was amazing. I don’t think I’d compare it to sex, though.” Rielle says with a chuckle. “Still, you’ve come a long way, Mai. I’m happy to taste your cooking… and not risk near death.”

“Although you can hardly call a sandwich cooking, even something like this was out of her reach all those years ago.” Rielle thinks.

“Hey, that last part was unnecessary!” Maira exclaims.

The two of them share a laugh during their meal.

“To think that if I’d never met you, the trajectory of my life would’ve been so much different,” Maira states.

“Back then, you were so much more quiet, reserved, lonely,” Rielle says.

“Ugh… Although it was an unpleasant time for me, I don’t regret a second because it meant I got to meet you!” Maira says.

“I’m glad I met you too,” Rielle states as she strokes Maira’s cheek. 

After finishing their meal, Rielle was lying atop the blanket, her head resting on Maira’s lap. The two of them were calmly watching this world’s “Sunset.” The dark of the sky bled into the orange at the horizon. The blood-red tear in the sky blended against the orange, adding a pinkish hue.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Maira asks.

“It is,” Rielle says.

Maira places her hands on Rielle’s cheeks and looks down into her eyes. Rielle smiles at her, watching as Maira positions herself to steal a kiss from her soft, dark red lips. Maira backs off, giving Rielle a wide smile, and blushing all the same. Rielle reaches up, caressing her cheek as they continue to watch the sunset together. Hours pass by as the two of them spend time together and finally, night falls. Rielle walks Maira back home before heading home herself. Rielle enters her bedroom and collapses onto the bed. She breathes deeply, and turns over, resting her hand on her stomach.

“Today was nice,” Rielle says with a smile.

While gently relaxing on her bed, she hears a familiar sound.

PING!

“Hm? Someone’s trying to message me.” Rielle thinks.

She accepts the transmission.

“Hey, Ri. It’s Erica. I think I might need your help tomorrow.” Erica states.

“I don’t mind, but what’s up? Did something happen?” Rielle asks.

“Apparently, there’s been a sharp increase in demon activity. So the guards have issued a request to those that are confident in their combat abilities.”

“Sounds Interesting enough. Sure, I’ll tag along. It’ll be fun getting to fight again after a while.”

“Awesome! Then I’ll see you at the east gate bright and early!” Erica says before cutting the transmission.

“I better get to bed then, if I’m gonna be up early.” Rielle thinks.