Half for You

"Rhode, time to take your medicine!"

"Could you please not say something so strange? It's kind of scary."

Rhode's brow twitched as he looked at Serie, who was holding a bowl of medicine with a smile on her lips.

He was clearly sitting here, nowhere near collapsing into bed, so how had things developed into this kind of scene?

Who knew what sudden whim had prompted Serie to say that? It completely threw him off.

During the day, Rhode had exhausted his own magic power to kill that Dragon, falling into a brief state of magical depletion. However, it was nowhere near as serious as Serie's condition. He would probably recover in a day or two.

That gave the petite elf before him the opportunity to make him a bowl of Magic Recovery Potion.

This bowl of green herbal liquid could barely even be called soup. It was as thick as porridge. One could only imagine how many herbs Serie had put into it to stew such a concentrated brew.

This girl was getting back at him, wasn't she?

Rhode had every reason to suspect Serie, especially with that malicious smile still hanging on her face.

Seriously.

He had not expected his Little Ancestor to hold such a grudge.

Rhode took the potion. It would be bitter, but it was still a gesture of goodwill from her. Drinking it would indeed help his magic power recover faster.

But he would remember this grudge!

He would endure it for now, then let this Little Ancestor taste the consequences later!

Seeing Rhode gulp down the potion, Serie eagerly waited to see what expression the human would make. Yet to her surprise, even after the bowl was half empty, Rhode's face had not changed at all.

Impossible!

Serie clearly remembered the taste of those herbs. They were bitter enough to numb her tongue.

If Rhode had not brought her sweet fruit to ease the bitterness, she would never have been willing to drink this stuff.

"Why don't you think it's bitter?" Serie voiced the doubt in her heart.

"Bitter? I think it's very sweet. There isn't any bitterness at all."

Rhode smiled. His words left Serie half-believing, half-doubting.

Could he have used magic to change the taste of the herbs?

Rhode always brought her little surprises and knew many small spells she had never seen before, so it was perfectly reasonable for Serie to suspect that.

But that was only if she noticed the sly look in Rhode's eyes.

"Why not have a taste? I remember you used up quite a bit of magic power today too."

Rhode held out the bowl, and Serie took it.

Looking at the greener-than-green medicinal liquid in the bowl, she still hesitated.

After all, she had really tasted this stuff before and knew just how bitter it was. Not to mention that this batch was made with double the dosage.

But since Rhode looked completely unaffected, it seemed he had developed some new magic again.

Perhaps magic that could turn bitterness into sweetness.

Having convinced herself with that reasoning, Serie began drinking from the edge of the bowl.

However, the very next second, she sprayed all the medicine in her mouth out.

"Pfft—!"

Rhode had been prepared and dodged aside, but Norn, who was preparing dinner some distance away, was unlucky. The medicine splashed directly onto the hem of his pants, leaving a large stain.

"Sigh, this stuff is quite precious. Please don't waste it, you two."

Norn sighed.

Fortunately, he had not been standing too close, or it would have been more than just the hem of his pants getting dirty.

"Sorry, sorry." Rhode walked over and cast a small cleaning spell. The next moment, the stain on Norn's pant leg vanished.

Across from him, Serie's little face scrunched up into a ball. "So bitter!" She glared at Rhode furiously.

Serie was not stupid. She immediately realized that Rhode had tricked her.

That short-lived, cunning human!

"Y-you tricked me!" Serie was so angry that even the tips of her ears turned red. She raised her hand, about to splash the remaining medicine at Rhode.

Rhode hurriedly stopped her. "Wait! Didn't you hear Norn? This stuff is very precious."

Serie lowered the medicine bowl.

It really was precious. Before setting out, they had carried a great deal of luggage, but only a small amount of these herbs.

Although Rhode knew Rapid Growth Magic, these herbs were clearly different from wild fruits and similar plants. Making them grow rapidly required far more magic power.

Sometimes, the magic power recovered was not even as much as the magic power Rapid Growth Magic consumed.

They really could not waste it.

"Then drink all of it!" Serie gritted her teeth and shoved the bowl back into his hands.

Rhode had no objections. He had drunk plenty of traditional medicine in his past life, so this level of bitterness was nowhere near enough to make him spit it out.

But another idea suddenly came to him.

So, carrying the bowl, he walked over to Serie. "Then let's have half each. You used up quite a bit of magic power today too."

Serie warily took half a step back. "Trying to trick me again?"

"No. This time, I mean it."

A faint glow appeared at his fingertips. The green medicine automatically split in half, and he took out another bowl and poured one half into it.

Serie had used up quite a bit of magic power today as well. She deserved a share of the potion.

Though he had a tiny selfish motive too.

Serie accepted the bowl. She had wanted to refuse, but after thinking it over, she really did need to restore her magic power as quickly as possible.

Only when she saw Rhode's slight frown as he drank the medicine did she become certain that he had been forcing himself to endure it just to trick her earlier.

"Hmph, boring." Though she said that, she still held the bowl and drank in small sips.

Serie clearly did not understand that traditional medicine had to be downed in one gulp. Sipping it would only make it taste more bitter.

Still, this time she did not spit it out. Her brows merely knitted tightly together.

Seeing this, Rhode pulled several bright red berries from his pocket.

Serie instinctively accepted the berries. It was a tacit understanding the two had developed before; the sweet-and-sour juice washed away the bitterness in her mouth.

But she suddenly realized something. Looking down at the remaining berries in her hand, she held several back out to him.

". Here, for you." The elf girl quietly looked at Rhode, an unusual softness appearing in her golden eyes.

Rhode froze.

For some reason, he felt a little touched.

It was rather like the gratification of seeing his Hachimi grow up and learn to bring home mice it had caught outside?

"If you're not eating them, forget it!" Seeing no response from him, Serie prepared to pull her hand back.

She did not know why she had shared the berries with this man. Perhaps it was because she had seen him drink the bitter medicine too.

"Of course I'll eat them."

Rhode hurriedly took them. For some reason, neither he nor Serie spoke after that. They both lowered their heads and ate their berries.

Beside them, Erik, who had been watching in secret, leaned close to Norn and whispered, "Don't you think there's something strange about those two?"

Norn looked up and glanced at the pair Erik meant. "They're just close companions."

"Then remember to give me half your soup later. We're companions too, after all!"

"Dream on!"