"Good morning." Rontress yawned as she stepped into the kitchen, she tilted her head. "You're cooking something?"

  "Yes, breakfast, I want to return what you did for me last night." Silence for a moment, and then, "I thought about what you said to me and I agree, I think I was being too mean yesterday. Sorry about that."

  "No, it's fine." Rontress should have felt happy, actually, if Ifira said this to her yesterday she would have been giddy. She's long since realized that she was also being petty though. "I think I was being a bit cold as well, I mean, how stupid of me to just ignore you right? I should have talked to you and made an effort sooner."

  "... If you say so."

  Rontress walked up to the counter, her nose caught the smell of onions earlier so Ifira must be cooking eggs? That's what she usually puts in them, she might be wrong so she decided to see for herself. "So what are you cooking?"

  "Eggs." Ah, so it's exactly what she thought it would be. Come to think of it, eggs are the only food Ifira is capable of making. Before she learned how to fry, she used to boil eggs and call it a meal.

  "It smells nice." Rontress dipped her head low and inhaled, onions really remove the fishy tastes eggs have. Ifira added another thing in it? "What else did you put in here?"

  "Milk."

  "No wonder the consistency looks so soggy." Rontress wanted to increase the heat but that'll be stepping deep into Ifira's personal space, which she didn't like doing. "Guess I'll be eating wet omelettes then."

  Maybe she was wrong? Or her expectations were wrong? When Ifira served her breakfast it wasn't as bad as Rontress thought it would be, it was the first time Ifira made something like this yet the meal was pretty good!

  'It does need something else though.' Rontress' taste couldn't help but think up different ways to improve the meal. 'But that's just the perks of [Delicacy Merchant] talking.'

  Getting such an odd sub class wasn't strange considering that she owns an ice cream shop with Ifira, it does suck that it makes her slightly hate the taste of regular food though. Thankfully, things made by Ifira aren't considered "regular" by the system, even if they're just fried eggs.

  "Thank you." Grabbing the dishes and placing them on the sink was the job of the one who didn't cook dinner, that was the deal. "Ifira? I'm just rinsing the dishes, I'll be with you in a little bit."

  "It's not that." Ifira shook her head. Rontress felt her get close so the hug was expected. "We don't have anything else to do today right? You're going to review the reports about the territory's economy tomorrow?"

  "Yeah? What do you want?" Is it weird that she thinks Ifira is being suspicious right now? "I wouldn't mind spending the entire day with you, if that's what you're asking."

  "Really?!" Oh, guess she was right to think that? Ifira loosened the hug. "I wanna spend the day together yes! How long has it been since we walked around without involving Uknave or mother? They're always with us."

  'It was by your request though...' But Rontress didn't have the courage to tell Ifira that she was the one who wanted someone to carry her things and do her bidding, thus necessitating the need for a butler to follow them around.

  "Yep, I agree, so, what do you wanna do?" Despite, quite literally, improving the scenery across Flotol and making it as entertaining as possible, Rontress didn't actually know what to do when it was her turn to navigate it with the thought of having fun.

  Maybe Ifira knows how to? Or is she just gonna get dragged along and follow the girl's whims for the rest of the day?

  Yes. The answer was yes.

  Why did she think that it would be anything but that? Of course Ifira also didn't have a plan, at the same time, Rontress also thought that maybe this was for the best? It would be pretty boring if they followed a rigid outline.

  Then again, eating food shortly after finishing breakfast feels pretty weird. "They taste pretty good right?"

  "Yeah. I like it." Rontress gave Ifira a thumbs up. She's feeling every crease and bump in the fat of this low grade meat but it didn't taste bad. It was just uncomfortable?

  Rontress wasn't sure what it's like for the rest of the kingdom, but here in Flotol, meat is easily accessible. She's made sure that there are at least four different barns providing for the citizens and visitors at all times, food is important, that's why she put so much effort into making it available.

  A waitress passed her by, the girl went to a neighbouring table and started wiping. Rontress looks away and focuses back on the meat in front of her, she picks up a skewer and takes three slices of pork, they slide off the stick as easily as rain water on leaves.

  "I've always wanted to go here, I can't help but look every time we pass by on the way to the orchard."

  Rontress turns her head to the entrance, which didn't have a door, just a giant open gap at the front of the building because technically, this place is open 24/7.

  "That would be whenever we go home, no?" Rontress scoured her memories to see if she does remember seeing this place during the night and sure enough, she does. "This place does seem lively when the sun sets."

  "Right?!" Ifira becomes excited, the skewer she's holding splashes a bit of sauce on the table. "I've always seen the men and women laughing here but never got the chance to actually experience it for myself, they seem to be having fun whenever I look though."

  "That's just the ale." Then again, isn't getting drunk and having fun the reason why people come here? "Which I guess is the point, but we can't get drunk from that and bringing our wine here would expose our true identities."

  "Unfortunate."

  "Not really. I wouldn't want to spend my night having to push away guys trying to hit on me. Besides having fun, getting drunk also makes people more open to that kind of stuff."

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  "Hm, then I guess I was wrong, I wouldn't want to come here at night."

  Rontress ignored the last thing Ifira said and looked around the store, this kind of hygiene is pretty rare back in the old Flotol, and she feels that this standard most likely isn't found in some stores within the Swampside District. With how close it is to their orchard, is it really that shocking to see the owners wanting to keep cleanliness?

  They would probably be weeping tears of relief once they realized that Rontress did pay them a visit and found their store hygienic. Or something like that.

  Once they finished eating, the two girls pulled on their hoods and walked out of the shop, their next destination was chosen by Ifira once more and Rontress was taken atop the walls surrounding Misery Swamp.

  "The lifeless pool is still not growing anything but giant aberrants."

  "Should we expand its size?" Rontress ignored Ifira's comment just now. "The demand for aberrants is getting bigger and I have a feeling that if the king sees this, they would ask for some themselves."

  "Why? No one in the royal family needs to level up right now." Her friend paused to think for a moment, was there actually a child on the way? "What's their gender?"

  "Who's gender?" The side glance Rontress gave Ifira was a strange one. "Anyway, the king would want it because we're currently at war, Oberlon isn't a stranger to using Aberrants as weapons you know?"

  "Reminds me of that creature the guards apprehended." Now that Ifira mentioned it, yeah, that aberrant must have been sent here by one of the Duchys. "I wonder what that was about? To willingly send a human aberrant would mean that they aren't afraid to be taken to court."

  "Ever since I saw that thing, I've always thought that only a Duchy would do something so bold, and I think that this is still the case." Unless they find proof that it came from something else, they're gonna suspect the other higher nobles. "But then again, there could be other possibilities."

  "Like what?"

  "Someone who got lost inside of Misery Swamp and eventually turned into that." Rontress didn't subscribe to this particular possibility however, as she knows that the creature was made artificially, it was way too symmetrical to be a natural aberrant. "But that's unlikely so I still believe that the other Duchies are responsible for doing it."

  "You think they'll send another one?"

  "I've told the guards to run away and inform Bylor once they see another human aberrant." Mitigating risks is part of her job so that command is necessary. "The original aberrant must have been sent to break the prison and cause chaos across Ghorise by releasing the criminals inside of the towers."

  "You think there's a chance they'll attack regular prisons next? Even if those criminals aren't powerful, they'll still be able to cause chaos."

  "Both are good suggestions." Did she think that there's gonna be another aberrant? This time in the prisons for normal criminals? Most definitely. "But I'm not gonna increase the security for the normal prisons."

  "Why not?"

  "Is there a need for it? I'm the one who's keeping an eye on them."

  "Now I understand." Ifira nodded and left the topic at that. "As for the question earlier, no, I don't think we should expand the size. Bylor has always complained about the aberrants staying for longer than necessary, I think he wants to have more opportunities to experiment on non-mutated animals."

  "Has that gotten results?" Bylor has been secluded ever since he got his tower so Rontress doesn't know what he's been up to. "He says he wants to figure out why crayfishes are more susceptible to corruption but I've never gotten a report about his research."

  "Doesn't that mean he still hasn't gotten an answer?"

  "I guess? It's been two years though." Rontress wanted to say she was concerned but eh, she'll let Bylor do his thing. "Makes me wonder what's taking him so long."

  "Probably all the tests, like how most elf inhumans do everything and make a contingency for every variable whenever they're doing tests for magic or even their hobbies actually." The two girls shared a strained frown, with Ifira directing her gaze to Rontress. "Long lived beings do that most of the time, it makes me curious if you'll start doing the same as well."

  "Hopefully not." Rontress shook her head and shuddered, of all the things Ifira could have said it just had to be a reminder to her immortality huh? "On that note, when are you gonna become immortal?"

  "Dragons are rare nowadays, how am I supposed to become a Dragon-kin if I can't find one? And shouldn't you be helping me search for one?"

  "... We still haven't left this territory yet, maybe once we start exploring the rest of Oberlon? No, once we're in Light Academy we can start working on it." Guilt consumed Rontress' conscience as she deflected Ifira's request. She did know where to find a Dragon, multiple of them even, but she's scared of what Ifira might become after her transformation.

  "Light Academy huh? Only a year left and we'll leave this place, you think our parents will be fine managing it?"

  "They'll start stressing out about all the reports in the first few weeks but I'm sure they'll get the hang of it, that or they give everything to Bylor..."

  Ifira didn't say a word in response and a strange kind of peace came upon them when their conversation ended. Rontress focused on the swamp, mainly at the lifeless pool in front of her.

  She still remembers how this place looked four years ago, way before she grew the walls that allowed the villagers to control how much the aberrants grow both in their numbers or power.

  Dead trees, which once populated the land directly outside of the lifeless pool, have all been felled and replaced with giant boulders that people use to escape the giant crayfish. Hunting aberrants has been made easier thanks to this, still, no one is stupid enough to risk their lives to kill an aberrant themselves when they can just buy it from local stores.

  Right now, the only ones who actively hunt aberrants are those who sell and process the meat, like Igant and Jagal, or passing adventurers who wanted to experience the thrill and danger of fighting the oversized crustaceans.

  The lifeless pool is the same as ever, though unlike before, it's mostly populated by the spawn of Misery Crayfish, increasing the size, quality, danger, and value of the aberrants as a whole.

  Regular crayfish that mutate into aberrants are stored in another part of the swamp and sold to nobles or merchants. Their spawn are also sometimes used to teach the kids at the education center, as they are much safer compared to the aberrants in the lifeless pool.

  A spawning area and dedicated nursery to both types of aberrants also exists in the swamp, and once the juveniles get big enough, they are transferred to the main pools, which get cleaned of adults.

  The constant cycle of raising, killing, and harvesting aberrants have become Flotol's main export and has earned the Haromago's territory more gold than the tourist spots.

  Rontress once got a suggestion from Euthiel to simply just dedicate the local land to raising aberrants but she shut it down, raising concerns for the fact that they are trying to contain pseudo-monsters and farming them isn't a good idea, even the current system relies on letting the damn things live freely in a controlled environment.

  Shackling them and placing them in tanks to be farmed will only make the aberrants— or god forbid, Misery Crayfish mad. And no one wants to stand in front of an angry monster, not even Rontress.

  Creating an army of them is just not a good idea.

  An exhale breaks the silence and Rontress turns to her friend, the villainess is peacefully looking at the distant tower, her thoughts a complete mystery.

  "Bylor is a Dragonkin."

  "A drake, technically." Rontress quickly clamped her mouth, they've been through this argument several times already and she's not getting another repeat of it. "I think I'm done here, should we go? I'm feeling hungry again."

  "We just finished eating though?" Her friend denied it almost immediately. "You are gonna get fat—" that is impossible, Rontress wanted to argue but couldn't open her mouth in time. "— and also, I'm not hungry, maybe you can pick up some street food on the way to the Alfenheim Theatre?"

  "No, we're not going there immediately." Rontress also voiced her own denial, how dare Ifira suggest going to the theatre when it's still morning?! Doesn't she know it's much better if they go there during the night? Freshly showered? Where the cold air constantly grazes them?

  "Fair enough, what do you want to do then?"

  "We can go to the Swampside District and just explore it?" Rontress knew that Ifira didn't like that suggestion, on account that she's silent. "... Wanna go to the lifeless pool and start killing aberrants?"

  "We should do that, yes, it's been a while since we killed those things." With a smile, Ifira hopped down the wall, not towards the safer parts of the swamp, but into aberrant territory.