There she sat, deep in the forest surrounding the house, said forest being surrounded by a tall stone wall.
'I wonder. Should I sleep out here or should I go back to that hospital-like room to sleep? Staying here would increase my productivity though but staying in that room would make people less stressed since they would see me more often.'
As she was thinking these things, she had been slowly sharpening a stick.
'It's still crude work.'
She criticised her own work before throwing the stick away and climbing a nearby tree.
Finding another good-looking branch, she tore it off and started working on sharpening it with her 'homemade' stone knife.
After two or so strokes of the knife, her stomach grumbled.
'... Staying in the house it is I guess. Can't go without breakfast.'
Stopping her work, she hid all her failed sticks beneath a few tree roots while hiding her stone knife in a different location, that being a bird's nest inside of another nearby tree.
Thanks to all the 'homemade' or rather 'wilderness-made' items she had crafted through sweat, sweat and more sweat, she had gained a Skill.
{Preparatory Item Creation Level 1}
{Active Ability}
{In Preparation to a predictable event, the user may activate this Skill and with its help, create an Item that may prove useful in the predicted situation. Item quality and effect vary on Materials and Skill Level.}
As Kumi quietly left the forest while taking multiple sudden turns and roundabout routes, she soon made it to the chairs and table where Hilde had taken her previously.
'I've been in the forest for quite a while.'
She thought as she started walking down the road toward the house.
Suddenly, a red glow entered her sights from her left.
Stopping in her tracks, she could see an extremely bright red glow eminating from behind a tree.
Looking at it for a few moments, not knowing what to do, the glow slowly faded away.
As it faded, Kumi walked to the house just as before, seemingly unbothered.
In her head however... multiple swears were being thrown around as she panicked.
As she reached the house, she took a final glance back at where she came from.
She could see nothing.
'At this rate, I'll have a phobia of the colour red.
I don't know if that was some test to see if I could spot someone or if it was just a literal assassin sent to kill me.'
Infront of the doors, two guards in grey stood.
As Kumi neared the house, the two opened the doors and politely showed her inside.
Kumi couldn't really handle going back the way she came so she worked up a bit of courage and spoke to the guards.
"uhm. there was someone there. by the path who wanted to hurt me..."
Kumi slowly and quietly spoke while pointing her finger down the path that lead through the huge garden.
The guards suddenly entered high alert, one of them crouched down and asked Kumi to repeat while the other ran inside to report.
As Kumi repeated what she said, the guard that was crouched down on one knee nodded before reassuring her and pointing her toward the kitchen and patting her head while smiling, telling her that she is definitely hungry and should go and eat before going out to play again.
Kumi nodded slowly as she walked inside and toward the way the nice guard had shown her.
As she walked toward the kitchen, she heard a small scuttle outside, hopping a bit and peeking her head above the windowsill to see outside, she could see a bunch of guards and a few other people running down the path.
'I guess I'm rather important for that type of response. I hope they catch whoever showed their killing intent or whatever they did for the System to alert me of the danger.'
Resuming her way to the kitchen, she soon neared a rather big door that was opened by two other guards in grey that stood in the hallway.
As she entered the place, one of the guards spoke.
"The chef should be behind that door, you can go and ask him for some food. He'll be sure to treat you well."
Kumi thanked them and followed where they pointed at.
'I guess these guys are pretty trustworthy. It's nice not to have a bunch of suspicious thoughts all the time.'
Kumi thought as she opened the door and peeked inside.
There was a chef that was violently yelling at a bunch of other chefs who were running around the kitchen while preparing ingrediants that Kumi had never seen before.
The screaming man who seemed to be the head chef, stopped his yelling and went back to cutting the vegetables infront of him.
As he skinned another red cucumber looking thing, and threw it to one of the other chefs behind him, he lightly mumbled something before he finally noticed Kumi peeking inside the kitchen.
He turned deafly quiet for a moment, the other chefs around who were used to hearing their boss scream at them for every wasted moment were confused by the silence and absence of the boss' periodic and loud comments.
Slowly and one by one, they turned their attention to the head chef, their boss.
And following his gaze, their's also landed on the small head covered in lush and slightly messy pink hair behind the large white door.
Then, before any could react, Kumi reacted first.
A childish, cute and bell-like voice sounded out.
"Ah. Excuse me."
And she quietly shut the door.
After a small and silent moment, the head chef turned his head back to the other chefs who were still looking at the door.
The same periotic yell pierced their ears and shocked them back to work as the head chef yelled.
"Get back to work you ingrates!"
He then loudly stomped to the door while yelling.
"Another moment of you not working and you all are losing two fingers as well as your right to ever again cook on this continent!"
The head chef yelled with the other chefs having cold sweat run down their back.
The work in the kitchen sped up dramatically.
The head chef scoffed and then gently opened the door.
Entering the dining area, he quietly and gently closed the door behind him.
Looking at the multiple tables around the large room, he could see Kumi sitting and quietly waiting at the nearest one.
Nearing the little girl, the head chef spoke as if it were any other customer, showing no sign of favoritism.
"What would you like to order?"
He asked as he stood next to Kumi with a blank stare.
Kumi stared at him for a moment before turning her gaze down.
'What? She can't talk suddenly? I have work to do?'
'I don't even have a menu. I don't even barely look the age of 3. What do you want from me?'
Were the thoughts of the two.
Kumi sighed. (in her head)
'Just act like a kid. Most people like kids.'
Kumi pressed her fingers together acting like she didn't know what to do or say.
The head chef let out a loud sigh.
As he did, Kumi looked up at him. Her fingers still pressed together and her mouth slightly opened.
Her eyes pierced the head chef as if she was looking at glass.
The head chef conceided and left toward the kitchen.
Coming back a second later, he pulled a chair out and sat next to Kumi.
He then started slowly going through the menu he had brought along.
After each dish, he explained what it had and at the end of the menu he gave his recommendation before asking.
"Do you want to see the menu again next time?"
Without a single change in his expression.
Kumi shook her head.
Seeing this, the chef closed the menu, pushed the chair he was using away and stood next to her.
"So. What will you order?"
The head chef asked.
Kumi then quietly and politely replied.
"recommendation. please."
Without raising her head to look at the chefs face, she couldn't see the gentle smile he had on his face.
'A nice child. Would definitely make a good chef.'
Silently, the head chef approved of her. Nodding his head, he said that it would take a minute and left for the kitchen.
When he entered, he saw all the chefs around working diligently and preparing ingrediants.
"How much have you lot done while I was gone?!"
"More than half, chef!"
The group all answered.
"Good! That's enough for today! Now prepare me a Number 15 from the Main and Number 8 from the Drinks! Prepare it now! We have a special guest!"
The head chef yelled, the entire kitchen went quiet for a split second.
The words spoken by the head chef had slightly stunned them.
Stopping the ingrediant prepwork and going on to make a single dish for a 'special guest' was all too sudden to the group who were completely used to this routine.
Before the head chef could say anything more, the group started their work on preparing the meal.
Some similar thoughts ran through their minds.
One of the chefs, the one with the most amount of talent out of most others there had a particularly long thought.
'The Chef has rarely ever said that we have a Special Guest. At most he informs us when one of the Locks or the Boss come to dine by simply stating that A Lock or The Boss is here and that we have to hurry it up a bit. I've never heard him say Special Guest. I guess it was that kid? I wonder just how important they are to even have the Chef call them Special?
Or maybe the Chef just took a liking to them?
...Nah, that's more rare than a Dragon.'
He ended his thoughts and went back to work.