I stepped out of my room, wincing as the morning light entered my eyes. The village, usually bustling with energy, was practically a ghost town currently. A loud, pathetic groan echoed from the kitchen area.

I walked over to find Korin slumped over a wooden table. He was clutching his head like it might detach from his neck and roll away. It looked kinda funny.

"If you’re going to laugh, just kill me now, human," Korin mumbled without even looking up.

"I wouldn’t dream of it," I said, walking past him towards the pantry. "Though, for a guy who was challenging everyone for a drinking competition, you look kinda pathetic now."

Korin just groaned.

Despite the world being advanced, one where you could just a potion to cure your hangover, the demon village was still very old fashioned.

I grabbed a handful of dried herbs, some ginger roots, and a pot, filling it with water from the barrel. I set the pot on the cold iron stove and started the fire. The water began to boil in seconds.

I tossed the ingredients in, letting the spicy, pungent aroma fill the air. A few minutes later, I slammed a steaming bowl down right next to Korin’s head.

Korin cracked one eye open, eyeing the bowl with deep suspicion and pointed a finger at me. "Is this poison? It smells like poison. Have you no honor as a warrior? How dare you try to poison me."

"It’s a detox broth not poison," I said, "Drink it, it will help with hangover and stop whining."

He glared at me for a bit and picked up the bowl and downed it in two gulps. His face instantly turned bright red. He coughed, slamming his fist against his chest, tears appearing in his eyes.

"Gods! What is in that?!" he wheezed.

"Heavenly elixir," I replied mockingly.

"Ren?"

I turned, Lyra was standing at the kitchen entrance door. She was wearing her usual work clothes, her hair tied up in a messy bun. The moment our eyes met, the memory of last night, the music, my hand on her back, the way she had leaned in, and us nearly kissing crashed down on both of us.

A faint pink hue dusted her cheeks. She quickly looked away, suddenly she seemed very interested in a smudge of ash on the wooden counter.

"Morning," I said, trying to keep my voice casual, "You’re up early today?"

"There’s... a lot to clean up," she said, her voice a little higher than usual. She cleared her throat. "The crates used for the star calling needs to be broken down, and the banners..."

"Are you guys gonna kiss today?"

Lyra jumped nearly a foot in the air, a small shriek escaping her lips. Mira had materialized out of nowhere. She looked between me and her mother, a wide, mischievous grin on her face.

"Mira!" Lyra gasped. "W-what... w-we are n-not like that.".

I chuckled, walking over to Mira and flicking her lightly on the forehead. "Don’t you have some magical bugs to catch or something, squirt?"

"Only if you buy me a candy stick later," she negotiated, rubbing her forehead but still grinning.

"You already learned the art of extortion?" I sighed. "Fine. But go bother Korin for a while. Your mom and I have to clean up things."

I worked alongside Lyra, carrying the heavy wooden crates that had held the mana-fireworks toward the storage sheds. At first, the silence between us was awkward. But as we worked, the familiar, dynamic we had built over the past few days naturally took over.

Lyra reached for a particularly large crate at the same time I did. Our hands touched slightly. She pulled back, but I just grabbed the handles of the crate and hoisted it up on my own.

"I can get that," she protested, crossing her arms. "You don’t have to prove your strength to me, hmph."

"I’m not flaunting my strength ," I rolled my eyes, "I just know if I let you do it, you’ll end up carrying three at a time and pull a muscle. And I don’t know any healing magic to help with that."

"I do not get hurt easily," she huffed. I set the crate down with a heavy thud, dusting off my hands. "I meant what I said last night, Lyra. You need to let other people carry the weight sometimes. You don’t need to do everything alone."

She leaned against the wooden frame of the shed, looking at me. "You’re being very stubborn, you know that?"

"It’s one of my best qualities." I replied. Before she could reply, a half-eaten apple bounced off my shoulder. I spun around.

The old demon woman from last night, the one with the deadly meatloaf aim, was sitting on a nearby porchShe pointed her knife at me.

"Less talking, more lifting, human!" she cackled. "You drank half our ale last night, you can carry a few more boxes!"

"Your grandmother is a menace," I said to Lyra.

"She’s not my grandmother," Lyra smiled, "She’s just... everyone’s grandmother. And she likes you, if she didn’t, that would have been a rock."

"I see." I just shook my head.

By noon, the sun was beating down, and the village was mostly back to normal. The physical labor was nothing draining to me. I found Lyra sitting on a bench, wiping her brow with a cloth. She looked dead on her feet.

"Alright, that’s it," I said, walking up and plucking the cloth from her hand.

She blinked up at me in confusion. "What’s it?"

"Your shift is over. Go home, and get some rest."

"But the tents still ne—..."

"Korin and the other demons are taking them down," I interrupted. "You are going to go to your home, lie down, and not move for at least four hours."

"And Mira?" she asked, a maternal worry automatically creeping into her eyes. "If I sleep, who would keep an eye on that little disaster."

"I’ve got her," I said.

Lyra raised an eyebrow. "You? You’re going to watch a hyperactive demon child for an entire afternoon?"

"How hard can it be?" I shrugged. "I’ll take her down to the stream. Teach her how to catch fish. I promise I will return her to you in one piece, slightly muddy, but thoroughly exhausted."

"Okay," she breathed out softly. "Thank you, Ren."

"Don’t thank me yet. If she pushes me in the river, I’m billing you for new clothes."

She laughed, pushing herself up from the bench. "Good luck. You will definitely need it." I watched her walk back toward her house, her shoulders noticeably less tense than before.

"Hey, Ren!" Mira’s voice echoed. I turned to see her running toward me, holding a bucket and a very large, very ugly toad. "Look what I found! Can we make it explode?"

I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose. "No, Mira, we are not making the toad explode. Take it back to where you found it."

"Then what will I do?" She slightly tilted her head.

I looked at her and smiled. It’s time to show her what the great Ren Valecrest can do. "Get ready. We are going fishing."