Chapter 22: Horned Rabbit Hot Pot

"W-Woah, she's eating way too fast!" said Annabelle.

"She was hungry, it seems…" said Frank, as Ruby had just recently finished eating, just after ten minutes, and was now swallowing large amounts of water to refresh her throat.

"Gyau~," she said in satisfaction, resting in the ground.

"Good girl," said Frank as he caressed Ruby's belly.

"Annabelle, come here. She's quite docile, if you pet her tummy now, she will trust you in the future" said Frank, as Annabelle walked slowly towards Ruby and moved her tiny hands over her exposed stomach.

"Ah… so soft!" said Annabelle in surprise.

"That's because she doesn't have scales in her stomach if she lets you pet her stomach, which is her weak point, it means that it trusts you," said Frank.

"I see! Do you like to be petted, girl?" asked Annabelle while waving her fluffy fox tail around.

"Grawr!" said Ruby happily.

After having spent an hour with Ruby and Annabelle, Frank and Annabelle were called by Gwendolyn to go back home, leaving Ruby sitting right beside the door, she seemed to have received her daily dose of affection and was not sad over them leaving any longer, deciding to sleep for the rest of the night as she felt quite sleepy after eating.

Frank walked inside the house as Gwendolyn asked him if he had taken the Mana Cores out of the Horned Rabbits.

"Ah! I did, I think that Ruby ended up eating one by accident… But she seems to be fine" said Frank.

"She ate one?! Well… if you say that she is fine… I have read somewhere that Monsters can raise their strength by devouring the Mana Cores of other monsters or… well, humans and demi-humans. So it could be that," said Gwendolyn.

"I see! It must be exactly that, miss" said Frank.

"So what are you planning to do with these nine cores? I can buy them for you for one copper coin, they are F-Grade so do not expect a fortune in the guild. And you can't trade there, to begin with, if you are not registered nor a citizen," said Gwendolyn.

"I would like to keep them if they're so little in value, it's better to feed them to Ruby so she can grow stronger and help me more," said Frank.

"I see… Very well then, I said that these are yours, you hunted them after all" said Gwendolyn, giving back the Mana Cores to Frank as he quickly saved them inside his Inventory.

"We are preparing a nice rabbit hotpot, it should be done in a few minutes, so go to the bathroom to take a bath and get yourself well cleaned," said Gwendolyn, as Cathyl had just finished taking a bath and was cutting down vegetables for dinner.

"Alright then, miss, thanks a lot for your hospitality," said Frank, walking towards the bathroom.

Even in what seemed to be a medieval setting of the world of Terra, technology had advanced in some areas through Magic, especially in bathrooms, as there was a special potty that seemed to be connected with a magic artifact that sent any waste through a special pipe underground the farm… it seems that Gwendolyn used this method to both nourish the ground and get rid of waste with ease. The soil of the farm was always rich in nutrients due to such an invention.

There was also a modern-looking shower, which ended up surprising Frank, even more, the water that came from it was from the wheel, and through another magic artifact, it came warm and was perfect for his sore muscles. There was also a large sponge and liquid soap with an aromatic scent, which he made sure to only use a tiny bit, as it seemed expensive.

The bathroom of the house was not very spacious, as it was a rectangular room of no more than five meters, so everything was quite tightly packed. But even then, it seemed rather welcoming and Frank was able to relax there for a bit, coming out refreshed to be greeted by the delicious smell of horned rabbit hotpot alongside fresh vegetables.

"You took your time there, I will discount the water you used from your pay, now come sit here ad enjoy a meal with us," said Gwendolyn

"Eh? Even that…? (I will make sure to not use this bathroom that much then…)" asked Frank as he sat down between Annabelle and Gwendolyn, and enjoyed the delicious hotpot, such as the tender and juicy rabbit meat, the delicious broth, the boiled potatoes added to it, and even some mushrooms here and there.

Also, there was a delicious and fresh green veggie salad, which had been poured with yogurt, which was delicious and refreshing compared to the hotpot. And lastly, a large bread that was cut into many pieces was in the middle of the table, everyone took a piece to dip it into the flavorful broth of the hotpot, Frank included. To accompany it all, there was either milk or orange juice, while Gwendolyn and Cathyl drank a bit of red wine.

It was an overall quite complete meal and after eating it all, Frank felt stuffed and ready to go to sleep and finish the day. However, Gwendolyn had spoken about a new witch that was coming in a few days to pass the summer with them.

"A witch?" asked Frank.

"Yep, I do not want to ruin the surprise so I will not say her name nor any more info, but she will teach you and Annabelle magic… She is an old friend of mine. I saved her life in the war and now she owns me big, I was planning to call her whenever Annabelle was a bit older, but things got hastier when you came here, and because your talent needs to be nurtured as fast as possible, she will teach you whenever she arrives" said Gwendolyn.

"I see… Thanks a lot for such consideration, I will make sure to repay your generosity in the future, miss" said Frank while bowing his head.

"It's fine, it's fine, it's all being discounted in your pay~," said Gwendolyn.

"Geh…" muttered Frank, he had begun to think that Gwendolyn was planning in making him indebted to her for his entire life.

"Damn you are so lucky, Frank! I wish I had been taught magic when I was younger, now my Mana Core is atrophied at this point because I never awakened it. At least I got these muscles to help me out" said Cathyl with a smile.

"Atrophied? What do you mean, Cathyl-san?" asked Frank.

"It's hard to explain…" muttered Cathyl.

"Ah, you see, when you don't develop nor awaken your Mana Core after reaching a certain age, it will atrophy and will… well, dry out. You will be stuck in your current cultivation level, the lowest one. Cathyl could be said to be a mortal due to not possessing any kind of magic, but her race is strong, so she is still stronger than most mortals or even Rank 1 Magus" said Gwendolyn.

"Yeah! Minotaur is good with our bodies anyways!" said Cathyl while showing the muscles of her arms to Frank, which were thick and firm.

"So that's what might happen… Is there a way for her to regain magic talent?" asked Frank.

"There are methods, yes. But they are costly and might even fail and backfire," said Gwendolyn with a slight pity in her eyes.

"Ah, don't worry about me, Frank! I am not into fighting anyway, I would simply like to live peacefully with my kids, you will see them tomorrow! You'll love the pair!" said Cathyl.

"You have children?! Ah, it seems that things will get louder starting tomorrow…" said Frank while chuckling.

"Yeah! Don't worry though, they're good kids deep down, they'll help me on the farm too, so they'll gain their bread" said Cathyl.

"Huh? Is that fine?" asked Frank.

"I tried to convince her multiple times that it was not necessary, but she insisted. So we concluded on leaving them help as long as they were willing, and not to make them overwork" said Gwendolyn.

"I see… well, it is better to not, they're little children after all," said Frank.

"Little Minotaur kids are fearsome, missy! You will understand when you see them! Hahaha!" laughed Cathyl with a vibrant smile, her personality brought a lot of harmony and enthusiasm to the table.

"Can they become my friends?" asked Annabelle.

"Of course, little Annabelle-chan! You can be their nee-chan," said Cathyl.

"Really?! I've always wanted to have siblings!" said Annabelle.

The night continued like this until later on, where Frank was presented his little room upstairs in the house, where a small bed awaited his tired body. Before sleeping though, he went to visit Ruby again, talking with her for a bit, hugging her, and then kissing her on her forehead.

"Phew… I am beat… Should I go back to Earth now? Everyone is sleeping, so it is the best time now," thought Frank, taking out his phone from his inventory and then going inside the World's Gate and selecting Earth, being instantly teleported back to his room, just atop his bed, where he decided to finally sleep for once, leaving the Mana Core absorption for tomorrow.

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Author's Note: If you like the story please give any powerstone you could spare, if we reach a nice number there will be bonus chapters at the end of the week, it all depends on you!

Thank you very much for reading!