Breakfast
"Mmmnngh...?"
My head felt foggy, my eyelids stubbornly refusing to open.
Still sleepy, but I need to get up for work.
If the weather is nice, I should do laundry before leaving. Ugh. Time to get up.
Half-asleep, I tried to get up from the bed… and fell.
THUD!
Crash-bang-clatter!
"What in tarnation?!"
Mr. Alke's panicked roar properly woke me.
"Good morning. I fell out of bed. I’m fine.”
Apparently I'd cried myself to sleep last night.
This must be Mr. Alke's bed—huge enough that sleep-addled me completely misjudged my current size.
Or maybe I'd forgotten I wasn't in Japan anymore.
Lying sprawled on the floor for my morning greetings, I noted the fall had been strangely graceful—embarrassing but painless.
Before I could move, Mr. Alke scooped me up and carried me to what looked like a living area.
"Reckon ye slept hard as a log after all that weepin'. I'll whip up a proper wee bed for ye today."
His drawl was leisurely, but his movements were brisk as he set me in a tall booster seat.
A blob of water suddenly enveloped my face—then vanished just as quick, leaving me sputtering while plates materialized on the table: bread, milk, slightly charred scrambled eggs, and sausages.
I gaped at the spread.
Mr. Alke beamed from behind his own mountainous portions, then frowned at my stunned expression.
"What's ailin' ye, tadpole? Hit yer noggin' after all? Feel poorly?"
(Actually I'm marveling at your water magic, this custom chair, and how much a bear-man can eat—but sure, let's go with head trauma.)
"Nuh-uh. It really didn’t hurt. I’m just surprised at the amount of food food. Smells yummy! Thankies~”
I chirped, digging in with exaggerated cheer.
We ate in companionable silence—Mr. Alke demolishing his heaping plates, me stealing glances at his gentle eyes.
"Ye look right peppy now! That's a relief. Now then—Violet, right? Like I said yestereve, I'm Alke, a bear beastman. Make furniture 'round these parts—beds, tables, whatnot. Lost my mate few winters back, and my boys are off adventurin', so this old den's too quiet. Be right nice havin' company."
His explanation made sense—the practiced way he handled kids, this perfect booster seat... Wait.
"Mr. Alke... did you make this chair yourslef? It’s very comfortable."
The curved back, smooth armrests, perfect stability—this was premium craftsmanship!
"Heh! Right pleased ye noticed! Wood magic's my specialty. Whippin' up small furnishings is child's play."
Mr. Alke explained joyfully, but what did I hear? Wood magic?!
Magic? Holy moly, magic! So that means, the real” wood magic”!?
So the morning water was household magic!
Uwah~! Doesn’t that mean magical girls☆ and stuff! This is THE isekai reincarnation!!
Memories flooded back—Mama drilling me on mana control, saying "No spells until you master the basics." So, I've never actually used magic myself.
In this world, it seems like most people can use basic life magic, and there are various other kinds of magic too, with people having their own strengths and weaknesses.
But she said that there are very few people who can use Holy or Dark attributes.
My mom seemed to be good at Holy magic, and when she was an adventurer, she mainly took on the role of healer.
It's hard to imagine her as an adventurer with her graceful image, but being an adventurer is one of those classic otherworld things, so I'm super curious about it.
What do you think about this chapter?
