"Ren?"
Miach's voice brought Ren back to reality.
"What's wrong?"
"Are you okay?"
"I'm good."
Ren smiled carefreely, his eyes glistening a golden hue. He gave off an unbound feeling, alien to the world.
Just then, they heard a flurry of footsteps approaching. The voices grew louder as heard snippets of the conversations.
"The church can't try to intervene now, can they?"
"Of course not. The only reason they could last time was because it was on their premises."
"The phenomenon this time is way smaller. What do you think happened?"
"Arent we all here to find out?"
Miach sighed as he rubbed his eyebrow. He knew there was nothing he could do this time.
"Stay upstairs. I'll see what I can do this time."
"Thanks."
Although Ren didn't care, he knew a lot of Familias would be interested in his skill.
After a while, Ren could hear Miach's discussion coming to an end. He looked drained as he walked into Ren's room.
"How did it go?"
"We've come to a compromise."
Miach looked at Ren with a little sympathy, which gave him a bad feeling.
"And that compromise is?"
"...You need to join me at the next Denatus."
Ren groaned as he heard this. Knowing how curious the Gods could get, this was actually a good compromise. It would keep them at bay for a while longer.
"I understand."
"I'm sorry you have to deal with this."
"It's okay. It was only a matter of time."
Ren knew the commotion the manifestation of his ability caused. The Gods had already been more than cordial enough by not storming his Familia home.
"Anyways, go eat. You'll help out with the shop after you're done."
"Yes, Miach-sama."
...
"I think you can take a break."
"Hmm?"
Ren looked at Miach in confusion.
"I figured we could close up shop earlier since I'm out for the night, and there's really not much to do."
"So what should I do?"
"Whatever you want."
Ren sighed as he packed the boxes away. Although he didn't say this out loud, he didn't have any hobbies.
'Hold on.'
Ren went upstairs and got changed. After grabbing some coins, he walked out of the store with purpose.
"Where are you headed?"
"Just to grab a few things."
Ren decided to surprise them. He headed to the market area instead of a local store. As Ren was walking, he noticed that quiet a few eyes were turned his way. Ren could easily guess the reason why, especially since the morning incident hadn't passed.
'This is getting annoying.'
"Ren?"
"Hmm?"
Ren looked up to see a familiar figure at a stall waving him over.
"Lucas, it's been a while."
"I didn't expect to see you around here. Old Man Noniz said we wouldn't see you again. What happened to you? And what happened to your hair?"
"It's a long story, but basically I've become an Adventurer."
"... I see."
Lucas knew a lot more than the average person and probably knew a lot about Old Man Noniz, so this response wasn't surprising.
"Are you sure this is what you want?"
"Positive."
"Alright then. I understand. Now then, is there anything I can help you with?"
Ren noticed that Lucas' tone seemed somewhat colder and sighed. To these experienced elders, Ren was probably throwing his life away.
"I'd like to wanna grab some things to bake with."
"Anything specific?"
"The usual batch for bread, and a few baking utensils."
Ren listed out the things he needed, and Lucas promptly prepared everything.
"Anything else?"
"No, that'll be all. Thanks."
After calculating the amount needed, Ren paid and gathered everything.
"Hey, Ren?"
"Yes?"
"Do you think you'll regret this?"
Ren looked into Lucas' eyes. The man genuinely couldn't understand why Ren would forsake everything had to become an Adventurer. Even Ren couldn't understand why.
"I won't."
"I see. Take care of yourself kid."
Lucas stopped paying attention to him, and Ren swiftly left. He had already died once, how could he have room left for regrets?
"What is all this?"
Miach watched as Ren walked into the pharmacy with fresh ingredients.
"I'm going to bake."
"You can bake?"
Miach was surprised, and even Naaza focused on their conversation.
"That's what I was doing before joining the Familia."
Ren walked into the kitchen, unaware of the change in Miach and Naaza's expressions. They followed after him after closing up the shop.
Naaza sat with her arms crossed, scepticism in her eyes. She didn't think Ren was capable.
"What are you gonna make?"
"Bread."
Miach leaned over the counter with interest, watching as Ren prepped the ingredients.
"Bread, huh? It's been a while since we've made that in this kitchen."
Ren ignored this completely, tossing the ingredients into a bowl and mixing them. This was the first time his Familia members had seen him so focused.
After the dough began to form, Ren transferred it to the countertop after dusting some flour on it and his hands. He then began to knead it with rhythmic pushes and pulls. It was slightly hypnotic, and Miach and Naaza slowly forgot about the time passing by.
When the dough was elastic and smooth, Ren placed it back into the bowl and covered it with a cloth. He placed it near the window, leaving it to rise.
"And now we wait."