It's a somewhat chilly day, but the weather is nice enough to be outside. So here we are, eating with our new friend

"H-Hey, slow down or you’ll choke!" Ashie tried to calm Eve, who was eating bread like it was her last meal on Earth

"Hey, hey, hey… I don't judge you when you make weird noises while you eat, so don't tell me how I should eat!" She looked at him, showing off her sharp fangs

"I-I'm not judging you!"

"Hahahaha, Ashie’s right, Eve, the bread won’t run away if you eat calmly..."

"Oh yeah? Then explain that!" She pointed at the bread… that was running away!?

"Ashie, the bread is running away!"

"WHAT!?"

Ashie jumped up and ran after it.

"Get back here!" he shouted as he chased it

Meanwhile, Eve burst into laughter watching the scene

"Hahahah, that's why you should never doubt your elders," she said smugly before taking a big bite of her bread

However, she ended up choking.

"K-Kugh… H-Help…!" she gurgled strangely.

"Eve!" I ran behind her, wrapped my arms around her, and squeezed hard.

I pressed and pressed until she finally spat out the piece of bread.

"Phew…~" I sighed in relief.

Eve was left coughing on the ground

"Tsk... Damn..."

Ashie returned with the bread and was visibly sweaty from the chase

"Ugh… I’m back..."

"How did it run away? Magic?"

"Uh… no, a little mouse stole it."

"Ew, it’s probably infected, throw it away," Eve said with a disgusted face

"Of course not! You don’t waste food..."

"And what are you gonna do? Eat it? That’s not healthy."

"I’ll give it to the birds."

"Whatever."

Those two still don’t get along completely, but I can’t say they don’t get along either.

By the way, there’s something I’m curious about. Can Eve use magic? Ashie can use elemental lightning magic, but unlike him, Eve doesn’t come from a magical bloodline. So wouldn’t she be like me? Unable to use magic?

"Hey, Eve."

"Hmm? What?"

"Can you do magic?"

"Why so suddenly?"

"Just curious."

"Well, no, I can’t." She lay back on the grass, lying flat on her back.

"So I’m not the only one who can’t use magic?"

"Hehehe, don’t get cocky, little brat. I can’t use magic, but my physical ability grows as I do." She gave an arrogant smirk.

"What do you mean?"

"Us dracos and beastfolk have natural physical enhancement, we’re stronger than the average human kekekekeke."

"Uh..."

Ashie came closer and sat down next to me.

"But you’re amazing just the way you are, Finn… I respect you more than any magic user."

Ah, I feel my cheeks getting warm. This feeling is strange—what could it be?

"Aaaaaaaaah! He’s blushing!" Eve laughed at me.

"Blushing?"

"It means you’re embarrassed, dummy~"

So, when my cheeks heat up, it means I’m blushing?

Oh, cool.

"It’s nothing..." That’s what I said, but I really am embarrassed they can read me just by looking at my face.

The three of us stayed quiet for a while, simply enjoying the breeze.

There’s nothing else but us in this moment.

"Aaah~ The weather’s so nice..." Ashie commented.

"Yeah, it is." I smiled at him.

Oh, right

"Eve, Ashie, what if we make some blackberry jam?"

"Hmm? Where did that come from?"

"I agree with Eve, that was unexpected."

"This morning I went to the market and saw some vendors selling blackberry jam for 15 Bronzes."

"FIFTEEN!?" Ashie looked shocked.

"Hmpf, you really don’t know anything… Selling jam isn’t as simple as homemade bread. First, it’s a tedious process. You need to get the blackberries, clean them, peel them, boil them, mash them, preserve them, and then you need jars to sell them."

"Well..."

"Then let’s just make it for ourselves, so we can eat something tasty." Ashie rubbed his belly.

"Huh… fine, whatever."

A smile formed on my face. In reality, I didn’t want to sell anything or anything like that—I just wanted to walk in nature again. It was something I used to do back at the cabin. The blackberries are just an excuse.

The three of us lazily stood up and headed to the forest outside the city

The forest itself isn’t dangerous. There are wild animals, but they’re not hostile. The only real problem is getting lost, but that’s not a concern for Ashie and Eve—they’ve been here many times before.

I used to live in the forest, so I can find my way almost by instinct. So it’s not a problem at all.

We walked for a while looking for blackberries. We gathered some, but most weren’t ripe yet.

"Ugh... We’ve only gathered 13 so far. This is a waste of time," Eve said, clearly annoyed.

"It’s just a matter of patience. We’ll find more soon."

In the distance, we heard a galloping sound. A few meters ahead, there's a dirt path that connects to the back of the city, so it’s normal for carriages and merchants to pass through that area. But this sound was loud. It sounded like many horses.

"Do you hear that too?"

"Yeah. How many horses could it be? A hundred? A hundred and fifty?"

"This is weird..." I put my hand on my chin.

Why would there be so many horses heading to the city?

As far as I know, horse races don’t happen around this time of year, and even then, the usual number of horses is around 50, not hundreds...

While I was walking, I bumped my head on a tree branch.

I looked up toward it—and saw a bunch of ripe blackberries.

"Guys, come here! Look!"

"Woaaaah!" Ashie was drooling just from seeing all those perfectly ripe berries.

"They look so delicious... but I don’t think we can reach them," Eve sighed, discouraged.

Hmm… Think, Finn, think, think… We can’t waste this juicy batch of berries. We need to bring at least some of them back...

I got it!

"I’ll climb the tree."

"What are you talking about, you idiot!? That tree’s way too big!"

"Ashie, give me a boost."

"Uh, okay." Ashie stood with his back to the trunk and laced his fingers together, palms open

Alright… Here goes...

I placed my foot in Ashie’s hands, pushed up slightly, and grabbed onto the tree trunk

I climbed a bit more, then lifted my leg to sit on a branch

"I did it!"

I used to do this all the time at the cabin—though the trees weren’t this big, the technique is the same. It just takes more effort now

Little by little, I began picking bunches of blackberries and tossing them down for Ashie and Eve to catch.

I spent a while gathering them, until there was just one last bunch—and I kept that one for myself.

I jumped down from the tree and dusted off my clothes.

"With this, we’re more than set. We’ll make jam for today, tomorrow, the day after, and beyond!" I smiled proudly

Ashie nodded with an excited grin.

"Let’s go make that jam already. I can’t wait anymore." Eve looked like she was ready to devour the entire haul right then and there

The three of us ran back toward the city.

We’re going to feast~

But as we entered the city, we noticed something

There was smoke. A lot of smoke.

"What’s going on? Look at all that smoke..."

"Is someone’s house on fire?" Ashie began to sweat with worry.

"I don’t think that’s it... L-Look, the smoke’s coming from several places."

"Now that you mention it… you’re right..."

What’s happening?

"Let’s go to the tavern and ask my grandfather what’s going on."

We passed through the city gates, and the farther we went, the more we heard desperate screams in the distance.

"Wh-What’s going on? F-Finn, those screams are scaring me..." Ashie started breathing heavily.

At that moment, I felt something grab my back. When I turned around, I saw Eve hiding her face against me.

"Eve?"

She didn’t respond, but I could feel her trembling in fear.

"I’m scared... I’m scared... I’m scared, Finn, I have a bad feeling..."

I’m scared too. This isn’t normal. But we have to keep calm. If we want to figure out what’s going on, we need to stay composed.

"Don’t worry. I’m sure it’s nothing really serious. And if it is... we’ll face it together."

"You’re right..." Ashie stood next to me and grabbed my hand, squeezing it tightly.

We started walking slowly, and began to notice things.

Almost the entire northern part of the city was destroyed.

"Finn..." Ashie was trembling nonstop.

I glanced at him, but we kept walking.

As soon as we passed the post that marked the city center, we saw the scene

Bodies everywhere. The scene made no distinctions—children, elders, women, men, babies—they were all sprawled on the ground

Just then, I heard a gut-wrenching scream behind me

I immediately turned around and saw Eve throwing up uncontrollably.

"No, no, no, NO!" Ashie had started hyperventilating and crying nonstop.

"Mama, papa!" Eve ran off toward a house two corners away.

"EVE, WAIT!" I tried to grab her arm but couldn’t reach her.

What the hell is going on!? I should go after Eve, but I can’t catch up to her. And there’s no one else around... Is it safe?

On the other hand, I should go to the tavern and find my grandfather.

I turned and looked at Ashie.

"Ashie... let’s go."

Ashie was still crying, but he nodded and held my hand.

We both ran toward the tavern.

Please, let everyone be okay... Please... Please... Everyone...