"Now that we've finished eating, are you just going to lie there?"
In the courtyard, Lucy teased Li Xing as he lay on a bench.
Hearing her teasing, Li Xing simply waved a hand without getting up.
"I'm exhausted, that's why! The way you all went at those pancakes, there was no way what I made could satisfy you."
Li Xing slowly raised a finger and murmured as though he had nothing left to live for.
"You know what, Lucy?
I only had one bite. One bite. Then you hurried me into putting the pancake down and going back to knead dough and cook more.
By the time I got back! I (?_?)... that bite of pancake was gone!"
Li Xing slowly pushed himself upright and looked at the embarrassed Lucy beside him.
"Lucy! Let me ask you something. Have none of you ever eaten pancakes before?
Did you have to go that far? You didn't even spare the pancake I'd already bitten into."
Standing beside him, Lucy guiltily listened to Li Xing complain to her.
There was only one reason!
Lucy was the one who had sneaked that last bite of pancake Li Xing had left.
It wasn't really Lucy's fault. No one in Hunter Town had ever seen scallion pancakes before, and even Lucy had never realized flour could be eaten this way.
"You don't have to be so angry, do you, Li Xing? If you want pancakes, you can make more later, can't you? Besides, everyone left you plenty of meat soup, so please stop being angry, all right?"
Lucy sat down beside Li Xing and hurried to comfort the somewhat indignant man before her.
"It's not that I...
All right! I am a little angry, but...
Do you think that's right? It's not!
I've never heard of anyone cooking for people and being left hungry himself!"
Hearing Li Xing rebuke their behavior with such sound reasoning, Lucy grew even more flustered.
Lucy didn't understand why Li Xing was so upset over a pancake someone had taken a bite of, especially one he had made himself. But only Li Xing understood!
For someone born and raised in the Divine Capital, having soup without a pancake was as awkward and unnatural as serving Imperial Capital roast duck without the accompaniments or making Demon Capital cuisine without sauce.
"All right, all right! Don't be angry with the children. It's perfectly normal for children to be greedy, after all." Lucy smoothly and naturally shifted the blame onto the children washing the dishes and scrubbing the pots.
"To thank you, you can make any request you like for the shoes you ordered from Aniekra! How about it?"
Li Xing was a little puzzled by Lucy's offer.
"Um, isn't that Aniekra's job? Can you really make that decision!?"
Lucy stood up, planted her hands on her hips, and introduced herself to Li Xing.
"I, Lucy, am the town's craftswoman. Whether it's the shoes you need, helmets, belts, or backpacks, even the scabbard in your hand, all of those are things I make here in town."
After Lucy introduced herself again, Li Xing came straight out with the question on his mind.
"Then where's your workshop? As a craftswoman, you must have a place to work, right?"
"Well..."
Lucy had little to say in response to Li Xing's doubts. Having spent so long caring for the children, she had never even considered getting a workshop for herself.
Lucy did most of her work at Aniekra's house, and her goods were sold there too.
Even if Lucy had a workshop of her own, she wouldn't be thinking about how to work more comfortably. She would be thinking about how to sell it for a good price to feed the children at home!
"Don't worry about that! Anyway, both Aniekra and Uncle Turner sell goods I made. Just leave it to me!"
Li Xing thought for a moment. "Then what about Aniekra...?"
"The shoes, belts, and other goods at Aniekra's place are all made by me. Besides, Aniekra is a weaver! She can make clothes and fabric well enough. Asking her to make boots and other things would be asking too much of her!"
After hearing Lucy's explanation, Li Xing finally understood how it all worked.
"Oh!~~~~ So that's how it is. Turns out a lot of the goods at Aniekra's place are yours!"
Li Xing took another look at Lucy, the woman before him who called herself a craftswoman.
Lucy, meanwhile, looked at Li Xing rather awkwardly, as though something were on her mind.
"Come on, miss! If you have something to say, just say it. You're giving me goosebumps!"
In her lovely voice, Lucy slowly said in a low voice, "Li Xing, could you help me look after the children tonight? I have to go help Aniekra!"
"What's wrong? Is Aniekra having trouble with something? Should I come help too?"
Seeing the serious expression that instantly appeared on Li Xing's face as he asked with concern, Lucy couldn't help liking him more and more!
"This isn't your field. You might be good at fighting and hunting, but I don't think you can help with this!"
Seeing Lucy shake her head with a wry smile, Li Xing hurriedly pressed her.
"Is it work? Why the rush? Does it have something to do with the traveling merchants coming soon?"
"Yes. The traveling merchants should be coming to town to do business sometime in the next week. It seems Aniekra doesn't have quite enough time to finish their orders, so she needs my help!
And Aniekra..."
Curious about Lucy's pause, Li Xing asked, "What about Aniekra?"
"What happened today must have been a huge shock to her.
As her friend and family, I know Aniekra. She's far less calm than she seems to us.
I'll probably need to comfort her and help her through it tonight~~~"
Seeing Li Xing watching her with a serious expression, Lucy smiled.
"It's all right. Once you've been through this sort of thing often enough, you naturally learn what to do. The children do too!
They're used to me being away from home like this, and they know what to do.
But I know that doesn't hide the loneliness in their hearts.
So please help me look after them tonight. All you need to do is keep them company.
Please!"
Hearing how sensible the children were, Li Xing felt much more at ease.
"Then go without worrying! Keep Aniekra company. You're right!
This must have been a huge shock to her. She might have quite a few nightmares tonight.
You should prepare yourself too.
I'll look after the children here. I promise I won't let them feel even a little lonely!"
Lucy smiled and called out to the children.
"Big Sister Aniekra needs me, so I can't stay with you tonight! Your Big Brother Li Xing will look after you instead! Remember, you must listen to him and don't cause trouble, understand?"
"Got it!" × N
After quickly tidying up and getting ready, Lucy took her luggage and left.
Li Xing began making up a bed for himself in the living room.
Li Xing took the bedding Lucy had prepared for him and put it on the dining table. As soon as he turned around, he saw the children gathered behind him, looking at him with aggrieved expressions.
One of the children slowly walked up to him and said in a low voice,
"Big Brother Li Xing, we really didn't sneak a bite of your pancake! Please don't be angry, okay?"
Li Xing, who had thought something serious had happened, instantly relaxed.
"You don't need to worry about Big Brother Li Xing being angry. Big Brother Li Xing already knows who sneaked that bite!"
As Li Xing explained, the children gradually forgot how unhappy he had looked earlier.
"Ah~~~~~choo!"
Outside Aniekra's house, Lucy rubbed her nose as she was about to knock.
"Could I have caught a chill after my bath too!?"