'She really needs to learn not to push herself.' Lucian thought to himself, whilst looking down at an exhausted Fei in his arms. 'Although… I like this.'
He felt his heart jolt when he kept his eyes fixated. Fei had her arms around his neck as she kept her flushed face forward. He had a vague idea of how long she would take to recover when the cracks appeared on her skin— a day would need to pass for her to mostly recover.
Inside their home, Fei's panicked breathing slowed. However, her face was still as red as ever, and the twitching amidst her ears worsened.
At this time, her defiance about being carried ceased, and her acceptance was begrudgingly forced.
"There you go." Lucian muttered as he set Fei onto their bed.
"T-th T-thank thank you…" Fei blubbered whilst her hands clenched the bedsheet underneath. She tried her best to hide her face, only her eyes peeked out from under the sheets.
"Mhm, you feeling hungry?"
"N-No…"
As soon as Lucian let out a sigh, then a smile, Fei turned to her side. Subconsciously she started scratching her hands, which went unnoticed to Lucian.
"Get some rest." Lucian said, grabbing the blanket just next to her. A sinister feeling entered his heart as he set the blanket over her body. "Y'know, you're cute with that blushing."
"..."
With a satisfied huff, Lucian snaked out of the room, leaving Fei hiding underneath the blanket.
'That was faster than usual.' Lucian noted to himself, as they had walked inside their home, he set her staff by the front door. His gaze was fixated upon it as the events flashed in his mind.
It happened so fast, in less than fifteen minutes. Fei was as lively as she could, moreso, as afraid as usual. On average, she could use spells for nearly an hour. A curiosity came to his mind, but had to delay.
With a glance around their home, there was much to do. Dust was building up on their counters; the bucket next to their sink had mud build up from the day before.
"No rest for the wicked huh.."
Just after stretching, he rolled up his sleeves. A broom in hand, goal in mind, he cleared off the counters— setting the basket from the request and the bucket on the floor. Dust was forced over as he whipped across the counter.
Once they settled on the ground, he flung his door open and swatted it all out.
When his next task came, he cursed under his breath. "This'll have to wait…. Crap." He set the bucket down with a facepalm. "How did I forget that…?"
Their only source of water was rather unique. A picture of Fei popped in his mind, then he meandered into their room.
As quiet as he could be, he tip-toed to the bed. Leaning in, Fei's eyes were snapped shut— plus her breathing had quieted. Her ears were flattened, the bandages on her hands were starting to fall off.
'Let her rest, Lucian. Let's just get to that place…'
After a quick change, he left their home— leaving the door locked whilst keeping their keys in his pocket.
********************
'I should've asked beforehand….' Lucian thought as he raised his head. A familiar anvil sign entered his eyes, he felt a grim feeling enter his heart. 'No use waiting over it.'
Sucked teeth, and tense muscles, he gripped the handles and pushed. The same sight from the day before entered, but a lesser amount of equipment was set out.
"Oh, it's you kid. Your next payment is in six days, you're here early?" The shopkeeper called out to Lucian. "I know your financial situation isn't great, so I won't be accepting an early payment."
"I'm not here for that…" Lucian said whilst strolling towards the front counter.
"Then what are you here for, kid? Trying to hide something from your demi-human girlfriend?"
Lucian shook his head, leaned on the counter and rested his chin before making a response. "Do staffs use more mana? Fei tried to practice with her staff, and she seemed tired fast."
The shopkeeper brought his hand to his chin, seemingly deep in thought. He kept this pose whilst his gaze lingered on Lucian. A curious thought was brought to his mind.
"Has that girl never used a mana catalyst before?"
"Hm? No she hasn't."
"Kid, you should've had her practice with a mana catalyst at the adventurer's guild. And to see what her element of control is."
Lucian glanced at him, whilst a thought ran into his mind. 'It costs one silver to do that…'
"Eh, forget it."
"She can use ice magic, and what do you mean by us testing with mana catalyst?"
"If her mana output is extremely high, the crystal will take that much." The shopkeeper copied Lucian's movement and continued. "It's the only way to use magic, your girlfriend's output must be extremely high."
Lucian let out a groan, and covered his face. It all clicked inside his head, Fei rarely used her mana. Eighty percent of the time she does, it's to give him a cold awakening.
The other times, it nearly resulted in the same. Deep cracks going up her neck, and her collapsing or falling into a coma.
"It's not something unavoidable. If she keeps practicing with her staff she'll get her output lower."
"Got it, thank you."
As Lucian stood straight up, the shopkeeper yanked him back. With a loud "eh?" He glared at him.
"I have a question for you, kid."
"What is it? I need to get back."
The shopkeeper shrugged his massive shoulders then asked, "that girlfriend of yours is special, right? When you were holding that staff, she mentioned something about being able to use magic, right?"
"She can, she's a demi-human…"
"Yes, yes I know that." The shopkeeper waved his hand and snorted. "But she said she doesn't need that staff."
"What're you trying to get at?"
"Kid, this place has been open for years ya know?" The shopkeeper claimed.
Lucian furrowed his eyebrows at this. "And?"
"I've heard rumors about a demi-human who can use magic without a staff— a lot of my fellow shopkeepers had her come in and try to get a job. When they asked for a skillset she used her magic."
Lucian felt his blood run cold, and the color of his skin paled.
"And y'know kid, it's common knowledge monsters can only use magic without a mana catalyst."
"Fei needs a ma-"
"It's not my business that she can or not, I'm giving you a warning; protect her at all costs, that's a rarity she can." The shopkeeper let his arm go, and crossed his arms. Lucian's face had his mouth agape, and his breathing quickened. "I don't know her condition, but seeing you come in for that information, it's serious no?"
"..."
Eventually, Lucian kept his mouth sealed, nodding as if to respond. The shopkeeper muttered a few words, with a curse in the middle. Lastly, he waved Lucian off.
'I forgot about that… crap…'
He hung his head as he wandered home.