Kornacis, Lantern District, 32 Temptation Avenue.

The house smelled alive. Not with flowers or herbs, but with the honest heat of the hearth.

Ash clung to the stonework, glowing faintly as Aren stooped to check the roast.

The boar haunch, rubbed in mustard seed and salt, hissed where the fat dripped into the fire. Onions had slumped into caramel sweetness, while slices of orchard apple softened to a sticky glaze at the bottom of the pan.

Aren basted the meat with a ladle of dark ale, listening to the way it spat back at him like it resented the intrusion.

"Mmh~"

At the other table, Mira was doing the riverlord's trout, their silver scales catching the flicker of the fire.

She rinsed them in a wooden bowl, then filled their bellies with sprigs of rosemary and auburn leaf. A wedge of sweetberry was tucked inside for sharpness.

The pan sizzled when she laid them down. The skin crackled, curling slightly, releasing a perfume of herbs and butter. She turned them once, careful not to break the flesh, then left them to finish while she checked the bread.

By the time the hearth's shadows grew long, the house was heavy with the smoky richness of boar, the herb-sharp perfume of trout, and the golden sweetness of honeyed mooncrust bread.

Mira wiped her hands on her apron and set out plates on the dinner table.

It was done. The dinner was laid on the table. It smelled perfectly delicious, and everyone's stomachs rumbled in anticipation.

Following the scent of the dinner, Miss Agnes found her way to the dinner table, and with Mira's help, took her seat at the head of the table.

"Thanks for the dinner."

Aren and Agnes clapped their hands.

While Aren helped to put some food onto Agnes' plate, Mira dug into the riverlord trout and started stuffing her mouth with it.

Her cheeks turned round like a chipmunk's, and she let out a delighted giggle. That sound surprised both Aren and Agnes.

They looked at her surprisingly.

"…What?"

Mira turned back to her grumpy self and looked at the two with angry gazes.

"Giggle~ It's nothing, just enjoy your meal, Mira~"

Agnes said with a giggle, and then she also started enjoying both the fish and the wild boar while putting some butter over the warm mooncrust bread.

Aren used a knife and started cutting the meat into bite-sized pieces. He then stabbed his fork into a piece of wild boar and took a bite, savoring the delicious flavors.

'Sure, I am not some master chef, but it's delicious because the ingredients are already delicious enough. It was really hard to fuck up the dish.'

He let out a satisfied sigh and then took some of the mooncrust bread, which they warmed up, and spread some butter on it before taking a bite.

It was really disgusting.

Aren had never been the biggest fan of cold bread, but freshly made bread that was still warm and soft was a whole different experience.

Devouring the food, Mira was quick to empty her plate, and her taste buds tingled with delight.

She never had eaten something this delicious, but once back in the day, her mother ate some riverlord trout and mooncrust bread.

That day, her mother was slightly sick, so she didn't eat it all and instead tossed it all in the trash.

However, since she was pretty hungry, Mira took that from the trash and ate it instead. It was still fresh and delicious.

Ever since that day, it had been one of her favorite things to eat, and so was pudding. Her mother often bought pudding.

At least her mother allowed her to eat pudding, and it was one of the rare shows of kindness that her mother showed her.

After finishing her food, Mira started devouring the pudding with a huge smile on her face, and she already forgot that there were other people in the room with her.

While eating, Aren happened to look at her innocent, smiling face and felt a strange kind of satisfaction that he couldn't quite explain.

She was Rav'akari, the most evil race in the land, and yet she looked so pure right now that he couldn't help but feel conflicted.

'I don't really know what I will do with her. I purchased her purely out of instinct, and now I must decide her fate.'

Aren thought, then he took some pudding for himself, and before he could even dig his spoon into it, he noticed Mira's glare.

"What?"

Aren asked.

"…Mine!"

Mira pointed at the pudding.

"You already ate pudding, you greedy girl."

Aren said with a scoff.

"Not enough! Pudding is mine!"

Mira jumped to her feet and reached her hand to his plate, but he dodged her swipe of hand and backed away with the plate of pudding in hand.

"Give it to me!"

Mira launched over the table, swiping her hands at him, and Aren kept weaving in and out of her reach, laughing mischievously.

"Hehe~"

With a smile, Agnes shook her head at the bickering of the two that sounded like a brother and sister arguing over a toy.

"You are so annoying, Aren! Give it to me! You probably won't even like pudding, you thieving rat!"

Mira screamed as she chased after Aren, and he quickly ran upstairs while she stormed after him.

"Haha, you little glutton. I also like to try some pudding!"

Aren ran into a room, got backed into a corner, and Mira grabbed the pudding cup from his hand.

She opened her mouth wide, about to devour the pudding in one bite, but at that moment, Aren snatched it from her hand and laughed.

While laughing, Aren swallowed the pudding and gave a victorious grin.

"You…"

Mira's face turned red, and she stomped her feet on the floor angrily, throwing a tantrum like a child.

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! I hate you!"

Aren just chuckled and walked away, which made her just so much angrier, and she ran downstairs to steal food from his plate.

However, he anticipated that, so he had already eaten all of his food.

"I will kill you!"

Mira chased Aren all across the downstairs while Agnes listened with an amused smile, and since that threat seemed real, Aren used all of his evasive skills to stay out of Mira's reach.

The sky outside the windows turned dark, and the street lamps flickered on one by one as the Lantern Wardens started making their daily routine.

The families had their dinner. The workers were all heading home after a long day. The day was coming to an end.

The city settled in for a night.