"There's a crate outside. Bring it in."
It was the size of a lunchbox for Hikari, left right outside her door.
"What's this?"
A round creature the size of a bear.
Its skin was smooth. It had several eyes.
A chilling touch from the half-melted ice that had shipped it along to preserve it.
"A rainbow palpafin. It's the season of them. A kind of fish, as they call it. Schools of them are flooding through the zeppelin leylines. They aren't really popular because the meat is tough and the slippery creature is hard to catch. But hey, I doubt it's anything you can't chew; why not drop it in your stew and give it a go? It's really nutritious."
Hikari lays it out on a steel plate.
A dagger flies across the room in her hand.
She studies the strange creature.
It has skin, muscles, and organs like any other.
She stabs her dagger into its side, cutting it open and pulling out its innards.
"It's not actually poisonous, but most of it is not good for you. Especially the grey one; that's its gallbladder. I doubt you'll want to eat that. But look at these parts; that's its heart. It has plenty of concentrated nutrients, so it's usually used in potions. I guess you can just cook and eat it."
"Yes, my lady."
Hikari poured some clean water into the fish and washed out the blood.
She cut it into slices. And then she cut it into even thinner slices.
It's just as Ria said: the meat was tough, and she wasn't sure the boiling cauldron would cook it properly.
"Here, let me help."
Ria takes out a pair of gloves and puts on her apron.
She works through the pile of innards with her tiny hands.
Snipping off the tendons and removes the inedible pieces.
Hikari gets the cauldron boiling.
"The pieces are not thin enough yet. You need to flatten them to increase their surface area."
"Yes, my lady."
Hikari pressed the broad side of her dagger onto the slices and banged them with her fist.
She flattened them to over twice the area.
They were soft enough for Ria to pull at the edges.
She cut them up even further and put them through another round of pounding.
"I think they're soft enough now, Hikari. I have never seen the cooks at Moradale pound the fish this hard."
Hikari scratches her cheeks.
"One last thing before they go into the pot."
Ria takes out a pair of garden scissors.
Hard, pointy fins line the edges.
With both hands, she presses the scissors' handle and cuts off the fins.
"Oh, I can't believe I just did that. Looks like training with you did build some muscle for me."
"Nice."
Hikari notices another fin.
She chops it off with her dagger.
"Alright! Into the pot they go."
Hikari empties the plate into boiling water.
She watches the pieces swim in a whirlpool.
They have a nice texture after she beats them.
She wonders how they taste.
Chop. Chop. She dices up the vegetables.
The harvest is ongoing, so she has some fresh vegetables to work with.
Ria watches as she dices a pile of Radishes with her throwing dagger.
"Skip the ivory berries. It's not every day that you get to eat a palpafin in season."
"Yes, my lady."
In go the grain and vegetables.
She closed the lid and sat in front of it.
The warmth from the cauldron.
It gets cold at night during this time of the year.
The RazenHeir estate doesn't see snow.
The farmers will still find it warm enough to grow certain crops for the colder part of the year.
Her lady snuggles in front of the cauldron.
"Cold."
A piece of cloth floated onto her, covering her like a blanket.
"Thanks, Hikari."
Ria hugs her knees and buries her face into them, staring at the stove below the cauldron.
They sat quietly beside each other.
The cauldron bubbles. Steam rises from the seams.
"Hikari… umm…"
Ria dives back into her blanket as she sees Hikari's eyes turn to her.
"My lady."
She scrambles for words to say.
"How are things at the estate?"
Hikari turns her head.
Their eyes meet.
"Good."
"Good? Right, I should have expected that's the only answer you'll give. Let's see, you woke up and did your training. You went to the scout master, and he had nothing for you. Only a few minor monsters were appearing in the south."
"Yes."
Ria quietened down. She stared into the cauldron stove.
"My lady."
Ria flinched. Hikari's booming voice.
Though the giantess did try to tone it down while her tiny lady was around.
"Umm… Yes, Hikari?"
"City."
"City? Oh right, I went to Moradale today. Just some more boring meetings. A debrief over the end of the war. Nothing interesting for anyone outside that room. It's a good thing that it's boring, actually. Most of the troops returned home safely. I feel sorry for the several hundred men that perished when they tried to storm the city straight into a battleship-sized titan."
"Yes."
"I guess the headlines in the kingdom of Herdial would be quite different. After all, they sent in their crown jewel, and it got blasted to pieces. Now they'll be breathing down the commissioner's neck, demanding compensation. Fortunately, that's got nothing to do with me. I'll never run for the post anyway."
"He."
"But I got some good news for us. A hundred thousand spire silver as a reward for your 'supporting role' in taking down the titan."
"Whoa."
"It's pretty good, actually. Not as good as it sounds, though. It's mostly in tax exemptions and reductions in our war debt. It barely covers the cost of the Carla campaign."
"No."
"Cheer up, you did great."
"Nice."
Hikari raises the cauldron lid.
The fish and vegetables dance around in the boiling water.
She dips her ladle and fills her bowl.
"It looks cooked. The color looks right. Umm.. How do I try some?"
Hikari uses her ladle and pulls a piece of fish toward the ledge.
Ria sliced off a small piece with her knife.
She's surprised her knife can cut through the meat.
Gently, she bites into the piping hot fish.
"Oh! It's quite nice, actually. I don't remember it being this soft. Usually, those burly zeppelin crewmen eat it. And even they had to chew with their whole jaw just to put a dent in it. It must have been the way you beat it flat. Hehe."
Hikari puts her ladle in her mouth.
The soft fish melts on her tongue.
She barely had to chew.
It didn't have the strong taste of bear meat. It had a soft richness.
Crunch. Crunch. She eats it with a mouthful of vegetables.
She lets Ria cut another piece.
She had diced up the radish into smaller pieces than usual, so her lady has an easier time eating them.
Her lady digs in.
The cauldron felt warm. So did her knight.
Her tiny stomach filled up fast.
She leaned onto Hikari's leg.
It felt sturdy and warm.
Hikari ate carefully, minimizing her movements so her lady could rest.
Suddenly, her lady jumped up.
"My lady?"
"I'm- fine-."
She turned her back to her. Facing the wall.
Her arms hugging her chest.
Hikari put her ladle into her mouth.
The sound of her jaws moving.
"Hikari-, I-"
She was blushing, averting Hikari's eyes.
"My lady."
"I-. I quite enjoy your company like this."
She finally managed a sentence. It sounded rather businesslike; she'd spent the day hearing such phrases.
"Me too."
Ria stole a glance at Hikari scratching her cheeks.
She was looking up at the wall.
That aloof look that gives her the charm that shadows her usual murderous aura.
"I-. I-. I guess we could do more of these? Now that we are living next to each other?"
"Yes."
Hikari nods.
Ria smiles.
"Ahem! So, I'll start getting your weapons and armor in order. There's plenty to do in the aftermath. I need to train for the academy. And you, well, you are always training, aren't you."
"Yes, my lady."
"Now that I've got all of that pesky paperwork out of the way. I guess I'll see you first thing tomorrow morning?"
"Yes, my lady."
"Ah… I'm beat."
Ria sat down and leaned against the wall.
The cauldron was still warm.
Hikari nudged herself closer, her large body trapping the heat.
"My lady."
"Yes, Hikari?"
Hikari scratched her cheeks.
Ria leaned back and watched.
"Shoe."
"Ummm!"
Ria flinched.
"Don't tell anyone about this."
Ria raised her voice.
Blood rushed to her head.
She was blushing hard.
"Yes, my lady."
Hikari leaned over her lady.
Ria was twitching where she sat.
Her tiny heart was beating rapidly.
"Hikari-…"
"Yes, my lady?"
"The dress…"
"Dress?'
"You look beautiful in them…"
Ria rubs her arms.
She was shivering.
"I-."
Hikari got up and leaped to her wardrobe.
Ria was stunned by the giantess moving faster than her eyes could follow.
Black silk pieces whirled in the air around her, settling on her body.
Clack! She put on her heels.
Click! Clack! She walks.