Fish Soup

"Knock, knock, knock."

The sound from outside the door caught Alicia's attention. With a chime, the four-colored dial on the doorframe turned yellow.

That's the Imperial Capital's door, Alicia thought.

Cassifa didn't call out, but she probably already guessed who had returned.

The main door slowly opened. As expected, Shaya stood behind the door. He walked up the steps and looked around.

Compared to when he left in the morning, this place had completely changed. All the dust in the corners had been swept clean, there were no spiderwebs on the ceiling, and the messily arranged magic books were neatly stacked on the workbench.

Because a lot of garbage had been cleared, the entire space had also become much more spacious.

"Much more presentable," Shaya said.

"Just 'presentable'?" Cassifa, on the hearth, said weakly.

He pointed to the wall behind him, "Look, she even scrubbed the soot off the walls, and even painted them with new white paint."

Shaya seemed to want to say something more, then he smelled a faint fragrance.

"It smells so good, did you make something?" he asked.

Alicia raised her hand and opened the lid of the iron pot on the table. A rich aroma filled the room with the steam.

"Mrs. Foster from next door to Eagle's Horn Town gave me two sea fish. Her husband caught them today," Alicia said.

She paused, then added, "He's a good person."

Shaya approached the iron pot. It was full of fish soup, the broth thick and white. Just the aroma that entered his nostrils told him the taste must be incredibly delicious.

"You can cook?" Shaya said, somewhat surprised.

"She forced me to," Cassifa complained from the side. "This woman is too rough, Shaya."

"My mother taught me," Alicia completely ignored Cassifa and changed the subject. "She's from the East and has excellent cooking skills."

As she spoke, she noticed a strange child entering from where Shaya had come in. His orange-red medium-length hair emitted a faint glow under the light of Cassifa's flames.

He was staring intently at Cassifa, clearly very shocked by a ball of talking fire.

For some reason, Alicia felt that this child had something familiar about him, as if she had seen him somewhere before.

"This child's name is Arthur. Just now, he became an orphan," Shaya said. "He might be staying here for a while."

"I haven't agreed to that name yet," Arthur muttered in a low voice.

"Oh, what a pitiful child," Alicia said sympathetically. She had also lost loved ones, so she could completely empathize.

But then, she looked at Shaya suspiciously, "However, are you really that kind?"

Shaya smiled. "When did I ever give you the impression that I wasn't kind?"

He teased, "If I wasn't kind, I would have kicked you out last night when you came uninvited."

Alicia snorted twice but said nothing. She couldn't deny that.

Those girls whose hearts he had eaten couldn't stand up and testify.

But then, she heard Shaya talking to himself, "However, his relatives gave me a very large peninsula as compensation."

Looking at Alicia, who had a "just as I expected" look on her face, he said with a bit of amusement.

"Let's eat first."

He sat down in a chair by the dining table and gestured for Arthur to sit down too. He looked at the fish soup in front of him and said.

"Is this just fish soup?"

"I didn't know if you were coming back tonight," Alicia said. "Besides, can you expect a ninety-year-old lady who's been cleaning all day and is sore all over to make a whole table of dishes?"

"That makes sense," Shaya said.

"Don't eat too much tonight, it's not good for your stomach."

Alicia picked up a spoon from the side and served a spoonful of soup, along with some fish meat, to Shaya, Arthur, and herself.

Shaya lived far from the sea in the past, so he mostly ate freshwater fish. This was his first time eating sea fish.

Compared to freshwater fish, sea fish had no small bones in the flesh, making it easier to eat, and its muscle elasticity was much better than freshwater fish, with more tender and smooth meat. However, the difference was not that significant in reality.

But the absence of fish bones was something Shaya really liked.

The fish soup, as the essence, was even better. The fish itself had only been caught and put into the pot a few hours ago, so it was very fresh. It had also been stewed for a long time, turning into a thick white color, and the taste was incredibly delicious.

While Shaya was savoring it, Arthur, sitting opposite him, had already gulped down the fish soup, leaving nothing behind.

Because he drank too quickly, some gas was expelled, and he let out a "Hah!" at the end.

His eyes lit up, and he handed the bowl in his hand to Alicia.

"I want another bowl."

"Okay, okay." Alicia seemed very pleased that her cooking was being affirmed. She picked up the ladle and served Arthur another bowl.

Arthur took the bowl and continued to wolf it down with his spoon. Alicia patted his head.

"Eat slowly, eating too fast is bad for your stomach. Were you often hungry where you used to live?"

"It's not as tasty as yours," Arthur said.

Alicia smiled. For some reason, she always felt a strange sense of familiarity with this child.

"If it's tasty, eat more. I cooked a lot."

Arthur was silent for a moment. He stopped drinking the fish soup, raised his head, and looked at Alicia.

She was smiling at him, her eyes crinkled into smiling slits. The wrinkles time had left on her face were thus more apparent, making her look very kind.

Arthur was stunned. Snapping back to reality, he sniffled and quickly turned his head back to continue eating the fish.

The table was very clean, having been tidied by Alicia, and a white tablecloth was spread on it.

Alicia, who had been watching Arthur, noticed two small water stains appear on the tablecloth. He wasn't drinking the fish soup.

She looked closely at his face in the lamplight and saw that his eyes were slightly red, with some almost imperceptible tear tracks on his face.

He said nothing, just quietly eating the fish.

"Why are you crying?" Alicia asked with concern. "Are you not feeling well?"

"Obviously, it's so delicious it made him cry," Cassifa said with a grin from the side.

"I'm fine."

Arthur tried to raise his hand to wipe the tears from the corner of his eyes when a tissue was handed to him.

He looked up, glanced at Shaya, who was handing him the tissue, silently took it, and with a choked voice, wiped his tears.

"Thank you."

"Holding back tears is very difficult," Shaya watched him quietly. "It's not something you should have to learn at your age."

"I'm not like others!"

Arthur looked up at Shaya, his slightly red eyes sparking, his face flushed, his lower lip trembling slightly, like a ruffled stray cat.

"I am never weak."

Shaya didn't seem to mind. He smiled and asked, "Do you think crying signifies weakness?"

"Doesn't it?" Arthur retorted.

Shaya shook his head. "Everyone has cried before. Whether it's a hero who fears no death on the battlefield or a high and mighty emperor, they all cry.

It's just that they've learned to hide it, to shed their tears at the appropriate time.

While it doesn't represent strength, it also doesn't represent weakness.

Everyone has the right to express their sorrow. If you never cry, it doesn't mean you are strong; it only means you've become numb.

True strength is in being brave even after crying, in moving forward with tears still in your eyes."

Seeing Arthur fall silent, Shaya continued with a smile.

"Weakness isn't in your tears, but in your heart.

Only by facing your weakness can you overcome it, and crying is precisely that process.

Your unwillingness to cry only shows that you fear weakness."

Arthur didn't respond. He just lowered his head, silent. The water stains on the table grew, some even dripping into the fish soup.

His thin body trembled slightly, but even so, he made no sound.

Alicia gently patted his back, comforting him, and murmured softly.

"It must have been very difficult in the past, right?"

Alicia's gentle words were the final straw that broke the camel's back.

Arthur looked up and burst into tears, sobbing loudly. His tears soaked his collar, and Alicia stood by, constantly wiping his eyes with tissues.

After an unknown amount of time, and having finally released his emotions, Arthur's feelings gradually calmed down.

After wiping his tears with a tissue, he slowly spoke.

"You look a lot like someone I used to know."

Alicia raised her eyebrows slightly in surprise.

"The matron at the orphanage where I lived," Arthur murmured softly. "But she died last year. She was the only person in this world who was good to me."

Alicia quietly watched the side of Arthur's bowed head, then suddenly smiled.

"Now, there's a second person in this world who is good to you."

Arthur's eyes widened slightly. He turned to look at Alicia. She was smiling at him gently. Although her teeth were sparse and her face was full of wrinkles, she wasn't exactly beautiful.

But Arthur felt a warm current flowing through his heart.

His nose twitched again. He turned his head, responded in a low voice, wiped his tears with his sleeve, and continued eating the fish soup, into which many tears had now dripped.