Give You Half

"Rhode, time to drink your medicine!"

"Please, could you not use such a weird line? You're freaking me out."

Watching Serie hold the medicine bowl with a smile curling at the corners of her mouth, Rhode's brow twitched.

He was sitting right here, not even collapsed on the bed yet—how had things escalated to this plot point?

He had no idea what had suddenly inspired Serie to hit him with a line like that, completely throwing him off.

During the day, to kill that Dragon, Rhode had drained all his own magic, falling into a brief state of magic depletion. But it wasn't as severe as Serie's; he'd probably recover in a day or two.

That gave the petite elf before him the chance to seize the moment and brew him a bowl of Magic Recovery Potion.

And this bowl of green herbal soup could hardly even be called soup—it was as thick as porridge. It was easy to imagine just how many herbs Serie had dumped in to stew such a concentrated broth.

Was this her way of getting back at him?

Rhode had plenty of reason to suspect Serie, especially with that malicious grin plastered across her face.

Seriously.

He never expected his own Little Ancestor to hold such a grudge.

Rhode took the potion. It would taste bitter, sure, but at least it was a gesture of goodwill from her, and drinking it would indeed help him recover his magic faster.

But he was keeping a tally of this grudge!

For now, he'd endure. Later, he'd make this Little Ancestor taste the bitter fruit of her own doing!

Seeing Rhode gulp down the potion in big mouthfuls, Serie eagerly anticipated what expression this human would make. But to her surprise, even when the bowl was half empty, Rhode's face showed no change at all.

Impossible!

Serie could clearly recall the taste of those herbs—a bitterness so intense it would numb her tongue.

If it weren't for Rhode bringing her sweet fruits to ease the bitterness, she would never willingly drink that stuff.

"Why don't you find it bitter?" Serie voiced her confusion.

"Bitter? I think it's very sweet. No bitterness at all."

Rhode smiled, and his words left Serie skeptical.

Had he used magic to alter the taste of the herbs?

Since Rhode often surprised her with little tricks and knew many small spells she'd never seen before, it was reasonable for Serie to suspect that.

But that would require her to notice the sly glint in his eyes.

"Why don't you try some? I remember you used up quite a bit of magic today too."

Rhode handed over the bowl, and Serie took it.

Staring at the liquid in the bowl—greener than green—she still hesitated.

After all, she had actually tasted this stuff before and knew exactly how bitter it was, especially since this batch had double the dose.

But since Rhode was acting like it was nothing, it seemed he must have come up with some new magic.

Like a spell that turns bitterness into sweetness.

Convincing herself with that reasoning, Serie lifted the bowl to her lips and began to drink.

But the next second, she spat out all the potion in her mouth.

"Pfft—!"

Rhode had already dodged aside, ready for it. Norn, who was nearby preparing dinner, wasn't so lucky—the potion splattered onto his pant leg, leaving a large stain.

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

Norn let out a sigh.

At least he hadn't been standing too close, or it wouldn't have just been his pant leg that got dirty.

"Sorry, sorry." Rhode stepped forward and released a small cleaning spell. In the next second, the stain on Norn's pant leg vanished.

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

Serie wasn't stupid; she immediately realized Rhode had tricked her.

This sly, fleeting human!

"You—you lied to me!" Serie was so angry the tips of her ears turned red, and she raised her hand to splash the remaining potion at Rhode.

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

Serie lowered the bowl.

True. It was precious. Before they set out, they had packed a lot of luggage, but they only brought a small portion of this herb.

Even though Rhode knew Rapid Growth Magic, this herb was clearly different from plants like wild fruit; growing it quickly required far more magic.

Sometimes, the magic recovered was even less than what the Rapid Growth Magic consumed.

She really couldn't afford to waste it.

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

Rhode had no objections—after all, he'd drunk plenty of Chinese medicine in his past life, and this bitterness wasn't enough to make him spit it out.

But suddenly, another idea struck him.

So he carried the medicine bowl over to Serie: "How about we split it half and half? You used up quite a bit of mana today too."

Serie took a wary half-step back: "Trying to trick me again?"

"No, this time I mean it."

A faint glow flickered at his fingertips, and the green potion automatically divided itself in half. He pulled out another bowl and poured the second half into it.

Serie had also expended a lot of mana today, so she deserved a share of this medicine.

But he'd hidden a little selfish motive too.

Serie took the bowl. She wanted to refuse, but after a moment's thought, she really did need to restore her mana as quickly as possible.

When she saw Rhode's brow slightly furrow as he drank the potion, she finally believed that last time, this man had been forcing himself to bluff.

"Hmph, boring." Despite her words, she still raised the bowl and took small sips.

It showed that Serie didn't understand the principle of downing Chinese medicine in one gulp—sipping only made it more bitter.

But this time she didn't spit it out, though her brows were tightly knit.

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

Serie instinctively took the berries—it was a tacit understanding that had formed between them before. The sweet-and-sour juice washed away the bitterness in her mouth.

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

"...Here." The elf girl quietly watched Rhode, her golden eyes carrying a rare softness.

Rhode was stunned.

For some reason, his heart felt moved.

It gave him the gratified feeling of watching his own Hachimi grow up and learn to bring him mice from outside?

"Fine, don't eat then!" Seeing no reaction from him, Serie started to pull her hand back.

She didn't know why she'd shared the berries with this man—maybe it was because she'd seen him drink the bitter potion too.

"Of course I'll eat."

Rhode quickly took them. For some reason, both he and Serie fell silent, each eating their berries with heads down.

Nearby, Erik, who had been secretly watching, sidled up to Norn and whispered, "Don't you think those two have something going on?"

Norn looked up and glanced at the pair Erik was talking about: "They're just good partners."

"Then remember to split your soup with me later—we're partners too, aren't we!"

"In your dreams!"