"Mmmmhhh~~!

Nom nom nom~"

I'm chomping away happily, cheeks puffed out like a little squirrel, as I sink my teeth into a giant, juicy hunk of meat!

Today, Eris and the catgirl maids went all out and cooked up an absolute mountain of food, just for me!

Filoan legs!

Grilled snow boar belly!

Wyvern eggs!

And not just that—

There it is.

Right in the center of the table, stealing the spotlight:

A gigantic roasted wyvern leg, twice my size, laid out like some legendary beast offering its blessing to the dinner gods. The crispy golden skin crackles when I poke it with my fork, and the scent—gods, the scent!—smoky, buttery, a little wild.

My mouth's already watering just looking at it.

But wait! There's more!

At the far end of the table sits an entire castle made of cake and ice cream! Yes, an actual castle! Complete with frosty towers, whipped cream battlements, chocolate windows, and jellybean guards. The whole thing sparkles like something straight out of a fairytale dream.

Hehehe…

Hehehehehehehe!!

Can I eat it all?

Of course I can!

I have a Devouring Core, after all!

I'm gonna devour all the food in this world!

…

"Muehehehehe…~"

But just as I'm about to dig into the next dish, with one big, glorious bite away from the wyvern leg of my dreams, a voice slices right through my perfect fantasy.

"Felicia, wake up. It's time to train."

Ughhh…

I groan, waving my hand lazily in the air like I'm swatting away a mosquito. My eyes stay firmly shut.

"Aaahhhh~ just five more minutes… I'm eating wyvern legs right now…"

"Alright," the voice responds.

The dream world returns.

The blissful silence returns.

Just me, and the glorious mountain of food before me.

Perfect.

But suddenly…

SPLASH!

A freezing shock jolts through every nerve in my body.

My eyes fly open in pure panic—

Blurb—blurb—blurb!

WHAT THE HELL?!

WATER?!

I'M IN WATER?!

I flail instinctively, arms splashing wildly, until my feet finally hit the bottom of the pool, and I manage to push myself up!

"PWAHHH!!"

I burst out of the water, gasping, coughing, hair dripping and clinging to my face.

I look up, and there she is!

Eris!

She's standing smugly at the edge of the pool, arms crossed, grinning like the mischievous devil she is.

"WOOOOAAAHHH! ERISSS!!"

I can't believe it.

She actually did it.

She threw me into the pool to wake me up!

"Grrrrrrr…!"

Furious now, I glare at her with all the wrath of a drenched cat. My soaked dress sticks to my body, and my wet hair clinging to my face.

"HEY! What was that for?!"

Eris just stretches casually, bending forward like she's doing some light warm-ups before a jog.

"Well, didn't you say I could throw you into the pool if you refused to wake up?"

...

Oh no.

Oh shit.

She's right.

I did say that.

Aaaaaaah!! Damn it!!

Now I can't even be properly mad at her!

"B-but still! That was way too heartless!" I shout, flailing in the water. "How could you do that to meee?!"

And then—

SPLASH!

Eris dives smoothly into the pool, cutting through the water like a mermaid. She swims over with ease, her dark hair fanning behind her, and wraps her arms around me in a sudden warm embrace.

"Wha—?! H-hey!!" I squirm, pushing at her chest with both hands. "Urrrrghhh! D-don't think you can just get away with this with one tiny little hug!"

(Though… I was kinda hoping for a kiss…)

But before I can complain more—

"Hehe. Alright," Eris says with a sly grin. "If you forgive me now… I'll give you a wyvern leg for breakfast."

My ears perk up like a cat who just heard a can open.

"REALLY?!"

Holy shit! I can't believe it.

I just dreamed about eating wyvern leg…

She's offering me the real thing?!

Ohohohoho! The universe does love me!

I let Eris hug me, and she leans in and plants a soft kiss on my forehead, melting the last tiny bit of indignation in me.

"Though it'll need some cooking time," she adds, brushing wet strands of hair out of my face. "Wyvern meat is super tough. And besides, you shouldn't eat too much before training. So how about we save it for lunch?"

"Nn!" I nod enthusiastically.

A little disappointed I can't devour it now, but lunch is close enough!

"Then how about a small meat sandwich for breakfast?" Eris suggests. "And maybe a quarter of a wyvern egg?"

"Yeah! That works!"

And just like that—it's settled!

I get out of the pool, towel off quickly, throw on some light training clothes, and head to the dining room for a quick but hearty breakfast. A delicious little sandwich, a quarter of that mana-rich wyvern egg omelette style, and a warm cup of sanguinebloom flavored milk to wake up the body.

After I finish eating, I give myself a few minutes to digest.

And then, when the clock hits 7:00 a.m. sharp, training begins.

______________________

I'm warming up now. Just some light movements, the staple warm up exercises.

Arm circles.

Hip rotations.

Shoulder stretches.

Neck rolls.

Leg swings.

Toe touches.

Jumping jacks.

Knee lifts.

Ankles and wrists, rolled and loosened.

Since I'm going to train seriously today, I want to warm up properly, to avoid injury and get my blood flowing.

A gentle breeze brushes against my skin, cooling me down between movements. My hair is tied into a small ponytail, swaying with every stretch. Even my tail seems excited, flicking slightly as I move.

Eris stands beside me, quill in hand—one of those fancy enchanted ones that doesn't even need ink—and a piece of parchment ready to record results.

"First, let me retest your physical abilities!" Eris says cheerfully. "Do you still remember the last results you got from the Mistvale Adventurer's Guild test?"

"Oh, I do…"

That test… how could I forget?

The result was so bad, it's been burned into my memory! An utter embarrassment!

Strength: 0.3

Speed: 2.0

Stamina: 0.4

Overall Physical Rating:

(0.45 × Strength) + (0.15 × Speed) + (0.4 × Stamina) = 0.6

That's not even high enough to qualify for an F-rank adventurer!

I still shudder just thinking about it...