Morning in Exiastgardsun began with an odd sense of peace. Odd, because peace never lasted.
A soft breeze danced across the emerald meadow outside the elf forest, birds chirped with suspicious cheer, and the mana tree basked lazily beneath the morning sun. Lucretia, sitting cross-legged on a floating leaf just above the grass, squinted into the distance while sipping tea from a flower-shaped cup. Behind her, chaos was already fermenting.
In the kitchen, Orchid was deep in her latest culinary experiment. The air was thick with an unnatural chocolatey scent, one that seemed to hum ominously at the edge of perception. Orchid stirred her mixture with a wooden spoon, eyes sparkling with hope, oblivious to the quiet horror slowly bubbling in the pot.
The "food", if it could be called that, gurgled. It was chocolate-based in theory, but the resulting mass twitched with unnatural life. Occasionally, it let out a faint, whimpering wheeze, like a tiny soul begging for release. The color oscillated between muddy brown and toxic violet, and sparkles from mana residue fizzled angrily on its surface.
"Ohhh! It's moving! That means it's done!" Orchid clapped cheerfully.
From the far corner, Yuuna peeked into the kitchen, expression blank. "It looks like it's in pain."
"That means it's emotionally complex!" Orchid beamed.
"It just tried to crawl off the table."
"Advanced plating technique," Orchid replied proudly, grabbing a ladle.
The food let out a soft, chocolate-scented scream.
Yuuna scribbled something into her notebook. "Note: Cooking status, critical. Risk level, red. Recommend sealing in another dimension."
Orchid hummed to herself, preparing a tray of glittering utensils. "I think I'll call it... 'Molten Heart of the Abyssal Delight.'"
Yuuna: "I'm calling it 'Emergency Ration Class Zeta'."
In the training field, Adiw and Jessica were engaged in a surprisingly civil sparring match. Their wooden weapons clashed with practiced rhythm. Adiw's heavy two-handed sword met Jessica's swift katana. Both were holding back, of course, which meant neither of them died that morning.
"Draw," Jessica said, stepping back, sweat on her brow.
"Tch. I was just warming up," Adiw replied, though a grin tugged at the corner of his lips.
Elsewhere, Sinryo and Yetsan sat at the lake. Sinryo stared intently at the still surface, his eyes narrowed in what could only be described as demonic focus.
"You know," Yetsan said dryly, casting his line again, "the fish aren't going to get scared, even if you stare like a demon lord planning world domination."
Sinryo didn't blink. "I'm willing to test that."
"You're going to traumatize the lake."
Sinryo huffed and adjusted his line. "Then it'll know respect."
Gaby, enjoying the quiet, wandered into the forest with a flower basket, humming to herself. She spotted a horned rabbit and drew her bow. One shot. Miss.
The rabbit blinked at her, then hopped away slowly, smugly.
Gaby pouted. "I let you go. Obviously."
Near the center of the clearing, Lucretia floated above the grass as Fuhiken stood before her with arms crossed.
"Fuhiken," Lucretia said with all the regal grace of a half-sleepy goddess, "what would you name that white cow over there?"
The cow, radiantly white, gently rounded like a cloud stuffed with moonlight, grazed serenely beneath the mana tree, as if sculpted by a sleepy dreamer with a fondness for plush toys.
Fuhiken followed her gaze to the nearby cow grazing peacefully by the tree.
He gave it a long look. "Holy cow."
Lucretia blinked. Spilled some tea.
"That's not a name! That's an exclamation!"
"No, really. It looks holy. Its fur glows."
The cow mooed angelically. Lucretia facepalmed.
"You're lucky you're handsome."
Fuhiken shrugged. "Thanks, I think?"
With a sigh, Lucretia descended to the ground. "Alright, enough holy cows. I have real work to do. Elf Forest Management Department needs a goddess-slash-secretary. I'll be busy this week helping Wildan with the new elf toddlers."
Fuhiken raised a brow. "So... I'm in charge?"
"You're in charge of morale. And by that, I mean fun." She handed him a scroll. "Organize a sibling event. Get creative."
He unrolled the scroll. It read: "Operation: Region Naming."
Fuhiken blinked. Then smiled faintly. "...Kyle's going to love this."
As Lucretia floated away, muttering about elf birth registration paperwork and mana cradle schedules, Fuhiken turned to the grazing cow. It looked back at him.
"Holy cow," he said again.
It winked.
---