“Hmmm~! This is amazing Eon~.” Lifting her small plate, she shouted in her cheerful voice.
“Yes…” I blankly answered and looked up at the other side of the room.
An armored skeleton was serving everyone present with different dishes while sitting on its white bone horse.
This was a sight that wasn’t even possible to imagine some time ago.
Still looking at this skeleton, I used my skill.
‘Appraisal.’
============
Race: Night Dullahan (Purified)
Strength: 122
Dexterity: 131
Stamina: 99
Magic Power: 134
Intelligence: 79
[Skills: Mana Body, Undead Flames, Charge, Earthquake, Dark Berserk, Knight’s Oath, Final thanks.]
============
These were some amazing numbers and those skills might have been very dangerous if used against a group of weaker beasts, but…
She walked out with white smoke oozing out of her body.
It was pure white and as soon as she spotted the eery undead; the pressure intensified, and the smoke shot forward at the undead.
I knew at that moment… she was anything but weak.
Suddenly surrounded by the white smoke, the undead tried its best to resist, destroying the small cliff in the process.
But… it calmed down soon.
After that, the eery sticky thing vanished, and the undead returned to the real undead being.
According to Gaar, that sticky thing was corruption.
It was still incomplete and still in its starting phase.
So, Fern just used her ability to erase the undead’s negative emotions, and the being was able to return to normal.
Corruption was something that occurred because of extreme negative emotions and Fern was the biggest enemy of these things.
After that, a very dramatic situation unfolded, and the undead got on his knee, thanked her, and swore his eternal alliance to her.
Which… she just ignored as an everyday occurrence.
She was only focused on the food at that moment.
After the cleanup, everything backed to normal, and the undead, with a short lifespan, became a part of her family.
Her full focus all this time was on the gorgeous-looking food that gathered the attention of many outsider beasts.
The pressure and concentrated surge of emotions that shot out of her in a form of a white cloud were exceptional as well as enough for them to forget even getting closer.
I knew she was strong, but seeing that power firsthand was something different in itself. 𝐞𝗻𝐨𝘃𝗹.𝐜𝐨𝗺
Just the power of positive emotions, so powerful that it can turn the corrupting demonic energy into normal.
Just witnessing that was enough to remind me how lucky I was to have her as a friend.
“Eon~. Why aren’t you eating~?” She asked, holding a small plate just like her.
She filled it with small burgers and fries and there was a fruit salad in a small wooden bowl.
Looking at her with a sigh, I accepted her generous offer.
My eyes turned the other way and again spotted the ‘dangerous’ skeleton rider who was still holding his bright green flames in one hand.
“Huu…” A sad sigh escaped my mouth as I enjoyed my delicious small burger.
They were as small as my first and I didn’t know why I was eating the small ones when there were bigger ones just before me.
But, I enjoyed them.
They might be my last good meal anyway, so I didn’t know how to react to this thing.
From almost dying to chibi ninjas meeting the young deer to meeting Fern and being her friend.
This all was an experience that I will cherish all my life.
If the so-called fate allows it, I would love to meet them again.
“Hm? Hay! When will I get that icey thing?” She asked as she knew I was feeling down.
It was sad, but we both knew what we had to do right now.
Looking at her, I just stared at that red mouth, which was painted with tomato ketchup.
“Heh…” A small chuckle escaped my mouth and the small bread almost fell from my mouth.
Blankly staring at me with her big, green eyes, she asked, [ “Ice crame…?” ]
It was even more refreshing to see her expression.
Putting down my plate, I walked beside her and started tickling her soft neck.
[ “Oy? O-o-oi!? Ah~, Nah, no! I’m eating, daaamn it~!” ]
She had lived much more than me, but she was still a cute big squirrel in the end.
[[ Hehe… ]]
Even Celes can’t hold back her laughter whenever she heard her weird, ‘happy voices’.
Leaving her in that somewhat aroused state, I brought a big bowl filled with different flavors of natural ice cream.
Never in my life had I thought that I would eat ice cream in a forbidden forest and, on top of that, with a friend.
Why was ‘fate’ so cruel?
Taking a spoonful of ‘chocolate’ flavor, which took the longest time to process, I shoved the spoon in her still smiling mouth.
“This is called chocolate, and it’s my favorite flavor,” I said as I too set down.
With the ingredients and time, we managed to make six different flavors that would be more than enough for everyone.
There were merry voices around me, and this scene was still unbelievable.
‘Imagin an ant, spider, or snake eating ice cream.’ This place was a sight to behold for every magician that specialized in energy beasts.
Though I was the one to do a lot of work, I wasn’t the only one that made all of this.
Perry the hippo and Ailji the Ent were the main reason this ice cream was so good~.
Their skills were amazing, and seeing him summon that intermediate-ranked spirit was a sight to experience again.
My short time here would end now and… I didn’t know what would happen from tomorrow.
[ “Thin ish awekum Eon~!” ] Fern shouted in an attempt to cheer me up.
Unlike every other creature that was just a beast, she was a lot more than a simple animal.
My departure was inevitable and though she could just trap me here, she was understanding enough to let go of her only friend.
She was definitely my friend.
Her mouth was full of ice cream, just like those normal squirrels.
“Khu, haha…” I didn’t want to, but the laughter just escaped my mouth. This one knew how to make me smile.
A glad expression appeared on her face as she triumphantly ate more of the ice cream.
Gaar came up and told us how glad everyone was with the special cooking and… it made me happy.
I loved cooking and if there was someone who liked what I made, then there was no greater joy for me than that.
***
The night passed, and it was almost time for the sunrise.
After the special dinner party, everyone was tired, and many were fast asleep, including the three elders.
“Looks like this is it,” I mumbled under my breath as I walked out of the open area of three trees.
[ “See you soon, Eon~.” ] Fern said her goodbyes with tear-filled eyes as she stood at the entrance of her home.
She didn’t say goodbye as we knew this might not be the end.
I wasn’t going to die out there and if I had a chance, I will make sure to come back.
“Until ‘fate’ allows it…” Repeating her past words, I started running.
Being here was something special, but now things would be totally different and I could feel that I will face more difficulty than I have in my time in this hell.
The lake was on the other side, and I had to reach the willow tree first. After that… there was a dark forest awaiting me.