The routine we created over the last month was tiring, but it was all worth it. Each of us earned enough to pay for the basic needs of the house, so in addition to not experiencing difficulties, we started to save some money.
The house was in his name, so we didn't need to worry about that kind of expense. The money left over would be part of an emergency fund and, if no emergency happens, in a few months we will be able to buy resources so that I can advance to 3 stars.
When we talked about it Ocien seemed uncomfortable, only when I assured him that nothing would change between us several times did he agree.
With 4 Stars I would be able to get a job in one of the guilds. It would be internal work, nothing major, cleaning or serving the counters. These jobs are generally reserved for school graduates, but have a high turnover, as the remuneration is not enough to purchase resources.
But for us, a job like this would almost double our current income.
The sun didn't even appear in the sky, but it was time to get up. Ocien had to be at the warehouse at sunrise and I needed to get to the restaurant at the same time.
Even after a month of correcting his habits, it seemed like his body was refusing to gain weight. His sleep was restless and he rarely woke up before me.
I lifted my face to wake him with a kiss on the cheek, but changed my mind at the last second. We had been living together for a month and despite my fears, he seemed to be working hard to make things work out.
Instead of his cheek, I gave him a light kiss on the lips.
We talked a lot during dinner and before bed, neither of us knew exactly how to explain this very spontaneous relationship we were having.
He said he felt a huge impulse to protect me, while I felt he needed me.
My tragic past doesn't hold a candle to his, when my life really went down the drain he saved me without asking for anything in return. As soon as he said he was leaving I understood exactly what he was going to do and without thinking twice I forced him to stay with me.
As crazy as it is, we managed to move this devastating relationship forward and he seemed to no longer think about the bad parts of the past. At the same time, we were free to do whatever we wanted in our free time and from time to time we visited tourist attractions in the city and ate at street stalls while enjoying the landscape and each other's company.
This was the life I wanted for myself after failing in my adventurer dream.
Ocien woke up after a few seconds and returned the kiss.
"Good morning." – he whispered with a half smile.
I tucked my hair behind my ear as I admired him.
"Morning." – I replied, widening my smile.
As we are getting closer to winter and we usually come back from work sweaty and dirty, showering has become part of our evening routine. Hot summer nights called for a morning shower, but that's a problem we can handle with our savings.
Almage's network of wells is maintained by the city council, so even in periods of drought there is plenty of water in the city. From conversations with Ocien, larger cities do not depend on well systems as they have complex plumbing networks that take water directly to people's homes.
But keeping such a network functioning requires the creation of a reservoir on high ground and wizards dedicated to maintaining the level and health of the water.
The magic "Generate Water" is an enchantment from the third star of the first circle, something that graduates leave school knowing about, but still unattainable for us.
With the morning routine complete and our bellies full, we shared a goodbye kiss before everyone headed their way.
Galaila is the name of the restaurant I spent the last month working in, both the kitchen and the lounge employ only women. Most of us have a similar story, a poor family who had to sell their second year's resources to ensure food on the table at home. Julia, one of the cooks, is actually a Talent, but she always hated the idea of becoming an adventurer or joining the army, so she learned to cook and got a job here right after graduating.
A place full of women tends to be noisy, not that men don't talk all the time, but topics vary much more in a place like this than I imagine happening in the warehouse where Ocien works.
Topics range from gossip about clients' lives to hairy stories about neighbors. But when the subject comes to personal life I feel like hiding.
Not because I have a life story that embarrasses me, but because the only personal topics that are touched on are about my love life. Whether married or single, everyone talks about their daily lives, pillow talk, who they would like to have an intimate conversation with and finally, topics in bed.
Julia is one of the few single women, the oldest of them, as she is a Talent she continued meditating after graduating and fifteen years of meditation made her a seven-star magician. If she were an adventurer she could already lead a team of novices to go on missions, but she prefers to "give private lessons" to adventurers over six feet tall.
Oly, in turn, is the youngest of the married women, at just nineteen years old she married a childhood friend who became an adventurer. They have a good life, but as he sometimes needs to be out of town to carry out missions, she decided to get a job to pass the time.
And beyond these extremes we have me, the youngest employee, neither married nor single. Living outside the parents' house, but not living alone.