"Well?" Iris prompted again, this time iement. Yvlena gulped down the warm tea that burned pleasantly on the way down. She exhaled, feeling herself inte the taste of the spicy herbal mix of Spice Herb and Fox Tail.

  "Wow, Iris, this is amazing!" Yvlena said eagering sipping the hot liquid again. "I feel so refreshed!"

  [The tea soothes your soul, and reminds you of a warm home]

  The game told her,

  [+Temporary HP Boost

  +Temporary Increased resistao Fire]

  [Affinity with Iris Increased +1]

  Iris held back a smile that threateo split her fa a wide grin, she didn't want Yvlena to think her words had any effe her but the elven girl could see right through the charade. Iris, she kneas someone who took great pride in her work.

  'Those are some nice bes!' she stopped to recall if she had experienced any other bes from the different foods she had tried. 'I guess I wasn't paying much attention,'

  As she drank, she heard someone e through the door sniffing the air. He was a young NPC dressed like one of the usual members of the town. He she air and then sat dowo Yvlena on a chair he ter.

  "I'll have a cup of whatever smells so good please," the young man said.

  "ing right up," Iris said, serving him tea in another cup. She used a special teique and poured the tea in a gentle circur motion. The tea's liquid seemed to dan the cup impressing both Yvlena and the stranger.

  The man drank from his cup while Yvlena and Iris waited with bated breath for his review. Would he be as impressed as Yvlena was or would he storm out?

  "Amazing! I think I faintly recall being her once, with my parents maybe," the man said smiling brightly. Iris nodded.

  "You probably were here with them once, I've seen so many youngsters e through those doors with their families,"

  He paid for his drink and Iris almost couldn't believe the money in her hands, she pced it in her pocket delicately as if moving her hand too fast would cause the moo fade like a dream.

  "T-Thank you," Iris said softly.

  "No, thank you! I've got to tell my wife about this pce. Although you might want to spruce it up a little," The man said with a hearty ugh.

  "Don't worry the ime you e in, this pce will be different," Iris promised. The man bid them farewell and walked out of the Tea House leaving Yvlena and the woman together again.

  "What?" she hissed. Yvlena tio smirk.

  "Nothing just...I'm happy for you. Trying again, starting again is a tough decision after you've lost something. I would know," the elven girl said. Iris' eyes softened, she looked away and began drying more herbs.

  [Affinity with Iris Increased +2]

  "Why do the young age so fast now? You know you remind me of Twy."

  "Beatrice's daughter?"

  Iris nodded.

  "Always wanting to go off on her own, all on her own. Now she did, leaped through the miasma before it could close up and now we don't know where she is,"

  [Beatrice's Daughter 5.5% pletion]

  "She used to gather herbs for yht?" Yvlena asked.

  [Affinity with Iris Increased +1]

  "You're surprisingly perceptive," Iris said. "Yes, she did,"

  "Well, maybe I help you out for a bit, so long as you'll have me. Let's get this pce up and running again,"

  Yvlena said nothing as Iris' lip trembled and the old woman began to cry, she only gave her the silence she that moment. The tears of someone having to be strong by themselves for too long.

  "Thank you Yvlena," Iris said through her sniffles.

  ----------

  Yvlehe Tea House just in time to see the notification pop up that Soren was doh her bde.

  [Soren the bcksmith has upgraded your sword return to the Artisan District's Smithy]

  "Right!" Yvlena said running through the Floral district, one her way there, she passed a few friends all talking about the secluded Tea House, a smile crossed Yvlena's face.

  She hoped the best for Iris, she really did.

  "I've gotta hand it to the developers, I'm g over NPC tea," she said, shaking her head. "But I would rather do that than cry over a shitty job,"

  ----------

  Yvlena was once again at the Smithy, the g of ir through her head but it was worth it to see her sword upgraded, she wondered if the Adrir specs would work on it too.

  She already knew Soren was a master bcksmith by the way he was reended by both Laurent and Risel, now she just o know if her sword was raised from rare to something else.

  She stopped by the space she ko be Soren's fe and moved the thick bck tarp shielding the entrance aside.

  Soren's workshop was a hub of metal and wood, on the various shelves were ores of different shapes and sizes no doubt something Yvlena could have used to upgrade her starter sword if she had known about him the first time.

  The r fire made the fe's temperature incredibly warm, so much so that Yvlena almost took off her cloak.

  Whilst fanning herself from the heat, something caught her eye. In the light of the fe, a pink ore stood out amongst the shelves. It was shaped almost like a rose where the petals would have been were rough cuts of crystal taking the loose shape of flower petals.

  Before Yvlena could stop to exami, Soren's booming voice called for her.

  "Yvlena!" He greeted. "I have fihe bde!" He thrust the on at her, causing Yvlena to instinctively dodge as if she were in battle. The girl nded in a crouch, gring up at Soren.

  "Soren! That was dangerous," Yvlena said.

  The man sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and gave a nervous ugh.

  "Perhaps I was a bit too excited."

  "Just be a little careful from now on okay?" Yvlena said patiently, she held out her hands for the on. The bde was thinner now, possessing an elegance much like Rabbit Knight's rapier.

  She faced away from Soren and thrust the bde forward, sshing upward and then downwards. The sword was light and elegant in her hands, cutting through the air with a speed it didn't previously possess.

  "The shape of the bde was not its true form for you. I made sure to temper the steel the way it was intended,"

  "But how did you know?"

  "Oh Yv," he said, calling her a niame she hadn't been given by anyone in the game so far. "Every bde tells a story, especially one from a fallen kingdom,"

  "Do you know what happeo Gliresea?" Yvlena asked. Soren shrugged.

  "I know a little, a small colle of kingdoms of rabbits and mice, swept away by something too big for them, it is the tragedy of the war of the gods," Soren said sadly.

  Yvlena equipped her Adiri sped looked at the description of the bde. As she suspected something had ged.

  [Carrot Sword II

  ***

  Type: on

  Rarity: Rare+

  Imbued with the Strength of the a Rabbit Lords, this bde was once bestowed upon the best fighters of Gliresea.

  Made from a special type of steel, the bde is meant to grow with the wielder, as such it ays one shape for long.

  be upgraded with Gliresea ores of any kind to suit the skillset of the wielder.

  +20 STR]

  "Wow," Yvlena gasped, her strength had gotten a whole five point increase just from the upgrade.

  "Thank you, Soren," Yvlena said genuinely.

  "You're wele," The gentle giant said. He stretched out his hand and Yvlena already knew he was asking for payment. She nodded and paid the smithing fees.

  "Pleasure doing business with you, if you need any more upgrades, you know where to find me,"

  "I do!" Yvlena said, running out of the smithy.

  ----------

  Aya stopped pying just in time for her arm to go off, she silehe timer before it could attract the attention of anyone who would possibly be watg her apartment.

  After using the bathroom, her stomach rumbled loudly f her to decide on having lunch. She opehe fridge, peering into the space to see what ingredients she had and if she would o go grocery shopping.

  For the most part, all she had were a few odd things around her fridge, but she had enough to make a nice sandwich.

  "I didn't even know I had this sandwich spread," Aya mumbled, after cheg the expiry date and making sure no redient was a biohazard, she had a chi sandwich sitting in her hands ready to eat.

  Aya bit into it with relish.

  "Might not give any stat boosts but hey I'll take it," she said. Cheg her phone she could see it was already past three iernoon. Her whole day ent gaming!

  "That's right, I have the sed low grade grass stoo put on the au house,"

  She took out her phone and opehe Moon Valley panion app to set the grass stone quickly for au, using her on sense she surmised a grass stone would be much rarer than a fire stone ahe price to 25 gold.

  "There, I should really root through my iory some more. I think I still have some things I haven't paid attention to from the Rabbit Queen Boss,"

  She sipped some water from the few bottles she had in the fridge and begaask of ing the apartment. Being home a lot more now just meant her space was getting more messy.

  "I'm not a slob, so I don't even know how this happens!" she said, wiping her faming table with a rag.

  She took a spray bottle and a rag and then quickly began wiping down the gss wheiced a bck spot. Aya squinted, looking closer to find it was a car parked outside the apartment plex.

  The car was a reflective bck vehicle with tinted windows rolled all the , Aya could see little fshes ing from the bck gss which meant someone i robably taking pictures.

  Aya gasped, dropping the rag and diving to the side so the person in the car wouldn't see her. She looked again, the car remaiationary for a few moments with no oing or entering the vehicle.

  Then after what seemed like fifteen mihe car drove back the way it supposedly came.

  Aya tried to calm her beati, at this point, the car could have e for ahin the plex.

  "Shady," she said, pig up her rag and tinuing to . "This is all too shady,"

  Annou Hi guys, chapter 48 is now on Patreon! I've also added a tier where you read a week ahead if you so choose. Thank you so much for reading!