Jade’s face turned bright red as she stirred with the spatula. On the pan, something yellow, red, and green was mixed haphazardly, its shape too distorted to recognize.

Axel seized the spatula, moved it a few times, then passed judgment on the food-like substance.

“Throw it away.”

“No! These are eggs Ollie gave me!”

Jade shuddered as if to say ‘How can you say that?’ and began spouting about the origin of the eggs.

“It’s from a very old hen that hadn’t laid eggs for a long time after being injured by an owl. So Ollie always watched over its sleeping place and put a warm brazier nearby, and after several months it finally laid eggs again for the first time. That’s how precious these eggs are! She said she doesn’t give them to just anyone!”

“And you’re the one who ruined such precious eggs.”

The old woman always said those words when giving eggs, so Axel was neither moved nor concerned. Only Jade would fall for such words anyway.

But even at his look that seemed to say ‘Why are you making a fuss at me?’, Jade didn’t back down.

“No, this is edible. It just became a bit ugly. Anyway, it all mixes together when you chew it.”

“Fine. Then you eat it.”

Axel poured the greasy something mixed with eggs and vegetables onto a plate with an indifferent face. His movements were neat and cold.

Jade looked at the plate with a strange gaze – it doesn’t look tasty… – then moved it to the table and watched the magical scene unfolding from the man’s fingertips.

The large hands moved only efficiently. Cracking an egg with a tap, dropping it onto the heated pan, and stirring it into a fluffy shape as it sizzled.

“Wow.”

Exclamations of admiration kept bursting from Jade’s mouth as she watched with round eyes.

A savory aroma filled the whole house. When she cooked, it was full of burning smells, but this was a mouthwatering scent strong enough to cover that.

The man skillfully trimmed vegetables and tossed them into the pan. He heated them quickly just enough to wilt them slightly before placing them on a plate.

It was astonishing how he handled the huge cast iron pan like a toy with one hand. Jade could barely move it a bit while struggling with both hands.

Jade marveled at how the man’s arm muscles bulged and cracked as he moved.

“Isn’t it heavy?”

Axel replied flatly without even looking at her.

“That’s why I don’t give you an axe.”

“I can handle small ones now, you know?”

“You probably can. Though I don’t know what use those twigs would be.”

Jade grumbled.

“All fires start small.”

“There’s no need to start again since you never put it out. Bring some bowls.”

The meal preparation was finished with pouring in a stew with various leftover ingredients.

On the table were dry but savory bread, eggs with roasted vegetables, and steaming hot stew.

It was very modest compared to what she ate at the castle. But back then, she always lacked appetite even with all kinds of food, while now her stomach was churning just from the smell, almost to the point of pain.

Moreover, Axel no longer said she ate like bird feed as he watched her eat. Probably because the amount she ate had actually increased a lot.

“Looks delicious! You put a lot in the stew.”

When Jade spoke excitedly, Axel narrowed his eyes. Her smiling face didn’t seem fake.

“…Did you starve outside the forest?”

“No way? The table was full of dishes every day.”

“Then you find this bread tasty?”

Axel poked distastefully at the bread studded with black grains. Compared to white bread, it does taste quite rough at first, but…

“It gets nuttier the more you chew it.”

“……”

Axel, with an ambiguous expression, pushed over a wooden bowl. It was full of thinly sliced dark bread. Jade said brightly:

“Oh! Can I eat a lot? Didn’t you say the merchant might be late? Is there enough bread?”

“…Don’t worry and eat plenty.”

Watching her excitedly pick up the bread, Axel became a bit serious. He was starting to genuinely worry about this seemingly clueless mage.

Saying this bread was delicious, someone must have been embezzling the money allocated for her food ingredients. The first time he ate such black bread, he was so surprised by the taste like chewing wood that he spat it out as soon as he bit into it.

“From what I see, you falling here doesn’t seem to be an accident. When you go back, look carefully for those who dislike you. It could be a scheme.”

Jade chuckled.

“Of course. There are so many people who dislike me. It is strange that a teleportation mage suddenly made a mistake. I’m really lucky to be alive. Right?”

The man tilted his head crookedly at her cheerful voice that didn’t seem surprised by that speculation.

“You say there are many people who dislike you?”

“Yeah, many. Wow, this is delicious.”

Axel rested his chin on his hand and took a fresh look at the woman sitting across from him, munching away.

The woman, who was particularly sensitive to heat, always had a rosy flush on her cheeks, and somehow the reddish tinge below her slightly drooping eyes gave the impression of a young girl.

So, objectively, very objectively speaking, she seemed to have an innocent and pure impression that would be hard to dislike.

It wasn’t just her impression. Her actual behavior was also simple. Though he hadn’t observed her for long, she clearly wasn’t the type to smile while hiding gloomy intentions behind it.

Then for what reason?

Unaware that Axel was quietly examining her, Jade continued her meal.

Dipping bread in the warm stew and eating it tasted even better than what she ate at the castle. Of course, the quality of the wheat must be worse, but that was the feeling.

Is it because I’ve been moving around a lot? Chewing the bread diligently while coming up with a plausible guess.

The first thing she learned here was that physical exhaustion improves appetite, while mental exhaustion rather decreases it.

Glancing at Axel sitting across from her, he was eating neatly without spilling a single drop.

Come to think of it, he ate about three times as much as her, but because he ate so cleanly, it just looked like he ate well and was pleasant to watch.

But there were parts that couldn’t be hidden; he was definitely observing proper dining etiquette. He must have certainly belonged to some family outside the forest.

Could he have been a second son of a decent family? Did he lose interest in everything after fighting over inheritance? Was his ability not recognized and everything decided just by birth order?

Or maybe he received a knighthood from a small family. Perhaps there was a mage in that family who insisted on pairing with him and tormented him? Given how he dislikes mages, that could be the case. And Axel left because he hated it.

Well, if I had such a stalwart person nearby, I might have considered them as a pair knight too.

Feeling the staring gaze, Axel’s light-colored eyes turned to her. Their eyes met before she could look away.

Jade brazenly stared at his handsome eyes before naturally shifting her gaze to the bowl.

“What.”

“What what?”

“What are you looking at.”

“You look especially handsome today, so I’m just admiring.”

Axel frowned, but Jade just stirred her plate with her fork. Having eaten her fill of bread and stew, it was now time to eat her own cooking. That is, if it could be called cooking.

She cut a small piece of the oily egg, which clearly showed traces of being burnt and dried up.

It’s a bit too greasy, but well, it’s all delicious things mixed together, so it should be fine!

Unaware that Axel was watching her with renewed interest, Jade popped the food into her mouth and immediately scrunched up her entire face.

Ugh, it’s greasy.

But it also tasted burnt.

“How’s the dish made with those precious eggs?”

“……”

“Using plenty of that precious oil too.”

“……”

“Next time, heat the pan properly before putting things in. You’re doing the dishes too.”

“Tch……”

Jade forced the food down with water. She didn’t want to throw it away since she’d received it after helping Ollie diligently.

Meanwhile, the vegetables were undercooked and had a strange fishy smell, while the edges were burnt black, which was utterly inexplicable. It was neither here nor there.

Seeing this, Axel reached out once to take a bite, then sighed and switched plates with her.

“No, I’ll…”

“This is better than watching you eat with that dying expression.”

Jade politely refused a couple of times before quickly starting to eat Axel’s cooking. Mmm, now this is cooking.

“I put in the same oil and spices, why can’t I do this?”

“The same?”

“…Anyway! You weren’t good at cooking at first either, right? When did you get better? Is there hope for me too?”

Axel snorted and said:

“I was good from the start.”

“Don’t lie. Ollie said she used to sigh every time she saw you. You might act all smug now, but it was very, very serious!”

He regretted not being able to stop Ollie’s mouth, but it was too late now. Jade’s purple eyes were sparkling with interest.

“She said you were worse than me!”

That was too much to bear, even if it were true.

“It wasn’t that bad. Besides, I was good at chopping wood from the start.”

“That’s funny. She said you couldn’t cook.”

“I’m sure I was better than this.”

As Axel lifted a half-burnt vegetable end with his fork, Jade immediately switched to a humble expression.

“Umm…”

“Don’t get cheeky.”

“Okay! So when did you start getting better?”

He chuckled and scooped all the remaining stew for Jade.

“I got better after about three seasons passed.”

“Oh, that’s surprising. I thought you’d deny it to the end.”

“So it’s best not to expect you to improve.”

At those words, Jade suddenly became aware of her situation.

Ah, right. It’s just before winter now, and the merchant would come before spring arrives.

One season.

Just as she was getting used to that crooked smile, why did those sudden words feel so disconcerting? Somehow, it felt like she’d been hit on the head.

Why?

Jade didn’t show her confused emotions and just grumbled.

“No. I’ll get better faster.”

“We’ll see.”

“I want to try once more tomorrow.”

Axel tilted his head and said:

“It’s what you earned, so it’s up to you. Yeah, you might improve before the season changes.”

Jade thought she’d like that. If there’s a set end, it’s better if the finish is in a complete form, after all.