There was a kind of strange, indescribable situation happening between Emery and Klea at the moment. They were currently living together in a small house out in foreign snowy land. It was a small cozy place with a wooden interior warmed by the small indoor fireplace. An experience that was truly one of a kind.
Ever since Klea drank that questionable potion, which proceeded to make her body suddenly shutting down itself, she spent most of the time in bed, asleep due to the extreme weakness.
Not only so, it also looked like she was having dreams - the never-ending kind. Many times, Emery would catch her whispering something while sleeping, as if she was doing some kind of quest.
When she was awake, Klea would discover she was too weak to stand and, in a few minutes, she would fall into the dream's embrace again. Her complexion was truly something that caused Emery unable to leave her side at all.
This was already the third day, Emery had prepared her some hot soup to eat. He never really cooked before, but her condition made him push himself to try and venture into uncharted territory..
At first, Emery's confidence was at an all-time sky-high due to his own substantial experiences in apothecary. However, reality soon sent him a beatdown as he found out cooking was a different matter altogether.
The minute differences between sugar and salt would always be successful in fooling him. The two appeared the same to his eyes!
Moreover, what exactly did the recipes mean when they said 'put salt and pepper liberally'?
Was that even a general unit of measurements?
Anyway, Emery certainly had the time of his life as he adventured through the realm of cooking.
After three days, and a few failed attempts in the art of cooking, Emery finally braved himself to give the result of his hard work to the half-asleep Egyptian Queen.
With her feeble body, Klea took one spoonful of the soup presented before her, Emery could instantly see her face turn alive with bulging eyes the moment the spoon entered her mouth.
'This is a good sign, right!? She's getting better!' Emery thought to himself.
With all the remaining strength in her body, Klea opened her mouth. "D-Did you cook this, Emery?"
Apparent nervousness was seen on Emery's face as he nodded his head. "Yes, I am actaully… So, how was it?"
Shaking her head slowly, she answered, "This is the worst soup I ever tasted."
Emery was stunned speechless by the directness of her reply, but what Klea did next surprised him more. She grabbed the bowl and poured its content into her mouth, finishing the soup he made in one go before she once more laid her body on the bed.
"Thank you, Emery… I like it."
Emery, of course, realized the meaning behind it. Since that day, he decided to quit trying to be a cook altogether and ask for some food from the castle instead.
While Klea returned to her dream, Emery continued on with his [Nature Grasp] spell.
After three days of cultivating, he only managed to increase his spirit force by two points, and it even took him five days to gain the third one.
[Spirit force 538]
The current progress that Emery showed was actually much better when compared to the previous him, but this was still not enough. He needed a lot more spirit force to gain before the next recall came.
Emery counted the remaining days and realized two years had passed since his return to Earth, which meant there was only one year left. This was truly bad news, because he still had 462 spirit forces to gain.
Emery really needed to return to the Khaos Space as soon as possible. Otherwise, he would be damned when the recall came.
Fortunately, on the sixth day, Klea finally was able to get up from her bed and spoke clearly.
At the moment, Klea was looking at Emery with both a happy and embarrassed expression, as she realized the latter had been patiently waiting and taking care of her the last few days.
"Thank you, Emery." Klea's eyes stared directly at him, while a smile blossomed on her lips. Even though her complexion was still a bit pale, it was the most heartwarming smile Emery had ever seen from her.
Looking into her beautiful eyes, Emery felt his heartbeat at a quickening pace; unfortunately, King Fjolnir came through the door and broke the moment between them.
The man immediately decided to visit Klea when he heard the news of her recovery; Klea told the former about the dreams she experienced. A surprised expression gradually appeared on his face as he listened to Klea narrate her experience.
When asked as to why he was surprised, Fjolnir coughed and said, "It seems she has managed to unlock an extraordinary animal spirit."
Unfortunately, according to Fjolnir, the ritual and dream were only the first steps of the process. She would still need more time to finally be able to summon the said spirit.
Emery, who listened to the two's conversation, became curious and asked, "And how long would it take, Elder?"
"Normal spirit animals would usually take days or weeks the longest, while a special one like what Klea experienced in her dream will probably take months"
Unfortunately, Klea will need the animal totem and the help of a shaman to guide her, especially with the special animal spirit she got in contact with. Hence, the king recommends not leave this place for a period of time.
Emery's face showed a complicated look when he heard Fjolnir's explanation.
Klea saw his expression and was astute enough to know he had other important things to do than accompanying her. It was just, she was having one of the best times of her life in this place, just with the two of them.
It took her a few more fun days, before she was finally willing to let him go.
"When my summon is ready, I can quickly find you, Emery. You should go with your training now. Don't worry about me." Klea said with a smile.
With it Emery made another stone formation mark at the place. He knew he would come to visit this place again in the future, just like all the previous places he had marked.
Afterwards, he took a horse and made his journey west, toward a town called Bergen, which was located just across the Briton Sea.
"I'll see you later, Klea," Emery said before his figure disappeared into the western horizon.