Chapter 102 - Tough Times

My mind still felt tired, so I didn't pay attention to how Ned cooked. I simply helped along when my assistance was needed, but was out of it for the most part.

When we finished, it felt surprising to me, almost like a flash. It was as though my mind was somewhere else while my body robotically finished the task in front of me.

As we walked over to the table, my eyelids began to flutter. For some reason, the fatigue was coming in waves, battering my mind like the high tide. I hoped they would settle down soon. After all, there was still a spell to memorize.

My mind was still in a blur by the time we reached the dinner table. I sat down and when my vision cleared up, a large amount of food was spread out before me.

I recoiled my head back and blinked a few times.

"Ah, there's a lot here."

Ned laughed and slapped his knee.

"Well, of course! Don't you remember I said we would make some extra for you? You were even carrying part of your extra portion!"

My head tilted to the side in confusion.

"Eh? I was?"

Alyx rolled her eyes before holding up the side of her face with her hand.

"You must be joking. How could you even miss what is right in front of you?"

Erin giggled and swayed her head back and forth.

"I do that sometimes too! Hehe..."

A bitter smile appeared on my face.

"Haha, I guess it's because working on that farm really tired me out too much."

Ned already stuffed his face with some meat, then talked with his hand blocking his mouth.

"How much farmland did you have to work on?"

I took a few bites of the food and talked as Ned did, with one hand covering my face.

"Mm... it's about the size of the courtyard. Definitely not as small as I would have liked."

Alyx raised an eyebrow and tapped her chin with her index finger.

"Ah, what are you required to do?"

My shoulders shrugged.

"Tend to the land, water, and harvest the crops. Since it was the first day, I hoed the land and planted seeds. That took quite a bit out of me, but thankfully there was no need to water."

Alyx chuckled. She smiled cheekily.

"Yes, there definitely wasn't. I still remember how you looked at the palace entrance. The rain watered both the crops and you."

A bitter smile emerged on my face.

"Hey! All living things should be treated fairly. That means the rain was just serving this principle!"

Alyx rolled her eyes and laid back in her seat.

"Oh, really?"

I swallowed the food in my mouth and pointed at her accusingly.

"Yeah, that means you should go out in the rain too! It's only fair!"

Alyx laughed while picking up her fork. Then, she pointed towards the courtyard.

"Too late~"

She smirked.

"The rain has already stopped."

My eyes followed Alyx's fork towards the place outside. As she said, it stopped raining. I clicked my tongue.

"Damn... you got away this time."

Alyx brushed back her hair and chucked.

"And I will next time too."

Erin giggled with the tips of her fingers above her lips.

"What if I sabotage you?"

Ned laid his elbow on the top of his chair and pointed his fork towards Alyx as well.

"And I do as well?"

Alyx crossed her arms and smiled confidently.

"Then that means Jay cheated! Outside forces means instant disqualification!"

I raised an eyebrow as the corner of my lip turned up.

"Since when was that part of the rules?"

Alyx raised a finger into the air with a sarcastic, stern expression on her face.

"Since now!"

Like that, we spent the rest of our time joking around and eating. Although I wasn't feeling hungry, it wasn't too hard for me to stomach the extra portion I was eating. After a bit of cleanup, it was time to memorize some spells.

...Or at least, that was my plan.

"Oh come on Jay, is it really that important to be memorizing spells?"

Ned waved his hand dismissively. He let out a soft sigh.

"The world is at peace, so we won't have to fight a demon king or anything. We aren't even attending magic school in the first place!"

Alyx rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Who was the one that said they were going to laze around because they were talentless?"

Erin raised her hand with a small smile on her face.

"It was Jay!"

I let out a small sigh and held out my hand in front of me.

"Look, I won't spend all day on it, ok! I'll come to help later."

Alyx furrowed her brows and tilted her head to the side.

"Seriously though, why do you even care about memorizing that spell. Even if you weren't talentless, the amount of dedication you put in is abnormal."

My mouth dried up. I licked my lips with a bit of trepidation.

"Well... it's just something I want to do."

Alyx gave me a long look, then sighed.

"I suppose... Don't take too long."

A small smile appeared on my face.

"Haha, alright, alright."

My heart felt a little warm knowing that Alyx seemed to care so much. It seems Alyx is kinda like Erin, in a way.

While Erin is irrevocably shy to strangers, she immediately becomes so cheerful once she knows you. Almost like a caterpillar breaking out of a cocoon and becoming a butterfly. 

As for Alyx, she put on a cold front to seem strong and hardened. Yet, she was actually a gentle person, empathetic to the people she knew. Alyx was kinda like a durian, hard on the outside, but soft on the inside.

...I guess the time we spent together was too short those other times. Before we had time to even begin forming bonds, I either died or left for the forest.

Honestly speaking, Alyx almost convinced me to give up on practicing magic and just have some fun. But I remembered the reason I wanted to learn this magic in the first place.

So that we could have fun for as long as we wanted.

It was a little strange that the change in weather hadn't happened for so long now. But even if there really was a way to stop the snow from coming, that wouldn't shake my conviction.

I still remembered Everett and the toxic city he lived in.

The city of Evermore.

A place where the people cheered for blood, for murder, and savagery. A place where the farmers work so hard just to stay alive. There was a lurking sense of insanity buried within the city despite the fact it appeared so orderly.

And that was just one place. How many were there out there? Were they in more pain, or less?

...Then there were also the slaves. It honestly wasn't something I wanted to think about, but it was the truth. I couldn't help but recall Mildred fiercely complaining about the nobles buying slaves despite being against it on the outside.

Even without the snow, this problem would continue to persist. As such, I imagined many more would as well.

And so, I pulled out the seat and looked down at the spell named Controlled Vines.

My mind went to work.

...Well, that was my intention, at least.

My eyes followed the various paths that connected the spells together, but my mind kept flaring up in pain. It was as though someone lit a fire from within my skull.

Even just refreshing myself on what I already memorized was tedious and painful. I tried to force myself to stare at the paper with eyes that were probably bloodshot.

...But after just a few moments, the pain became piercing, sapping away all of my attention.

My eyes closed while my hand clutched the side of my head. I stopped looking before the pain flared up any further.

"...Damn."

My breathing got a little heavier.

"How am I supposed to continue like this?"

A small sigh escaped me.

"...Maybe I should've agreed with Alyx and just played around."

Though I could go back to ask, I would be way too embarrassed to. Plus, I still wanted to memorize the spell despite the difficulty I was facing.

With a bit too much force, I rubbed my knuckle against my temple. Subdue the pain... there has to be a way.

I closed my eyes and slowly took in a breath. My mind gradually cleared while the pain eased.

After the majority of the pain numbed, my eyes flashed open once again, then studied the diagram closely.

Unfortunately, the pain flared up just as quickly as it left. Still, I used the little time I had to memorize what I could.

Before I reached the limit, I would pull away. After relaxing for a few moments, I would be back at it.

My efficiency had dropped by countless times, and my heart hurt knowing this fact.

...But something like this wasn't new to me.

When I first traversed the forest, I did so with injuries and hardly any stamina.

I knew that when you sailed a ship out to sea, the journey would only get harder with every passing moment. There would be more breaches in the hull and the food would dwindle, either by consumption or by spoiling.

Still.... it kinda hurt.