Chapter 364: Morning Routine
The morning light was the same as always, unchanged by the arrival of the southern mage delegation yesterday.
The renowned Southern Sage had left the capital of Ersten shamefully before dawn, driven by soldiers. It was said the order came directly from the Emperor himself.
Since the Southern Unified Empire had performed an on-the-spot disintegration, the Kingdom of Ersten had once again become the most prestigious and powerful nation among humans.
Especially during the great war against the demons a few years ago, it had led all human armies as the absolute leader.
What happened at the banquet naturally reached Legate's ears quickly.
He showed no politeness toward someone like Hess, issuing the same order: from now on, Hess was forbidden from stepping into the capital.
Thus, Hess left the capital overnight.
Rhodes and Serie didn't know about this, and even if they did, they wouldn't care.
When the first ray of sunlight spilled into the room through the crystal window, Rhodes was already awake.
He lay on his side, his arm still around the person next to him, his gaze resting on Serie's face.
The elf lady's sleeping posture wasn't exactly peaceful.
Sometimes she would curl up like a cat; sometimes she would unconsciously throw a leg over him, hugging him tightly like a koala.
But at this moment, she was lying peacefully on her side facing him. Her golden hair, like the spilled sunlight, covered the pillow beneath her and half the bed.
The soft sunlight reflected a beautiful halo on her small face. Her long eyelashes cast tiny shadows on her fair cheeks. Her mouth wasn't slightly open with drool like before, but closed with a slight curve.
As if she were dreaming of something, or perhaps simply feeling secure due to the familiar presence beside her.
Rhodes had once asked the elf lady if she dreamed.
He remembered she initially said no, but over time, Rhodes discovered she actually did dream, and as frequently as he did.
Unfortunately, he couldn't create magic to invade others' dreams, or perhaps he could see what she dreamed of.
Rhodes didn't move, just watched quietly.
Over a thousand years, there had been countless mornings like this, but every time he gazed at her, he still harvested a full sense of happiness from this exquisite little face.
That defenseless, completely relaxed posture, that expression of peace visible only to him—all were his most precious treasures.
Time had endowed the elf lady with wisdom and power accumulated over ages, yet strangely hadn't erased this softness when she slept.
Of course, it might also be because he was right beside her.
About an hour later, as the sunlight grew brighter, Serie's brow furrowed. She made a muffled nasal sound, then slowly, reluctantly opened her eyes.
Her golden-brown eyes were hazy upon waking, clearly not yet recovered from her dream.
She blinked blankly first, her vision unfocused. Then, instinctively, she burrowed deeper into Rhodes's arms—a small habit developed over years of sleeping together.
Her cheek rubbed against his chest, and she let out a satisfied hum, seeming to want to fall asleep again.
Seeing this, Rhodes tightened his arm slightly, pulling her closer, and whispered, "Morning."
"Mmph..." Serie responded vaguely, closing her eyes again. But her arm circled his waist from beneath him, hugging him tightly, almost embedding herself in his embrace. "...Morning..."
Her voice carried the laziness of just waking up, soft and sticky, unlike the cold, unapproachable Elven Saint she usually was.
Although the Holy Right Sword Athos hadn't been by her side for a long time, the title of Elven Saint was somewhat in name only.
But no one besides Rhodes and Serie knew this.
Moreover, over the years, the elven race had tacitly accepted the fact that their ancestral Holy Sword belonged to Serie. After all, they were all elves; what did it matter who used it?
It was precisely with this mindset that the Elven Kingdom had completely given up on reclaiming Athos from Serie hundreds of years ago.
"The sun is going to tan Miss Elf's ears," Rhodes said with a smile, his fingertips gently flicking the tip of her ear exposed outside her hair.
Honestly, the ears of the elves in this world were the longest Rhodes had ever seen, giving them quite the flavor of orthodox elves.
As for those elves with short ears who only lived a few thousand years? Put in this world, they'd probably be called half-elves.
"Mmph..." Serie's ears twitched reflexively. She finally woke up a bit more, raising her hand in dissatisfaction to swat away his teasing hand.
But she didn't leave his embrace. Instead, she buried her face deeper, complaining muffledly, "...Too noisy! Let me sleep a bit longer... that guy gave me a headache yesterday, and last night..." She didn't finish, but the roots of her ears turned slightly red.
Rhodes chuckled low. He remembered that after returning last night, her anger hadn't fully dissipated—or perhaps she was resentful about spending too little time with him recently—and she clung to him for quite a while before they fell asleep in each other's arms late at night.
"Alright, I won't disturb you."
Rhodes compromised, stopping his teasing of her ears. He simply stroked her long hair intermittently, like soothing a temperamental cat.
Serie lay quietly in his arms for a while, her breathing steadying, seemingly about to fall asleep again.
But a moment later, she moved again. This time she lifted her face from his chest, looking up at him, her gaze much clearer than before.
"How long have you been awake?" she asked, her voice gradually regaining its coolness.
"Not long." Rhodes lowered his head and kissed her smooth forehead.
"Liar." Serie pouted. "You definitely woke up ages ago and were secretly watching me again."
Being together for so long, she knew some of Rhodes's habits like the back of her hand.
In her view, if he wanted to look at her, he could just do it openly. She wouldn't stop him. Why did he always have to stare at her while she slept? Was this some little fetish between human couples?
"How can looking at my own wife be called 'secretly'?" Rhodes retorted righteously. "That is called open appreciation. Who asked my elf lady to be so beautiful!"
Serie snorted lightly but didn't refute. She just rested her head back on his shoulder, enjoying the morning quiet.
Neither spoke again, leaving only the sound of their breathing.
After lying there for about another quarter of an hour, Serie's sleepiness vanished completely, and she regained her vitality.
She stretched lazily, the curves of her body fully revealed under the thin nightgown, then sat up abruptly.
"Not sleeping anymore, not sleeping anymore," she rubbed her eyes, her golden hair draped somewhat messily over her shoulders. "There is a pile of things to do today. Although that Hess or whatever was kicked out, we have to guard against the people he brought. Need to have someone watch them closely."
As she spoke, she made to get out of bed.
Rhodes reached out, pulling her back into his arms. He hugged her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder.
"No need to rush. It just got light, and we haven't had breakfast yet."
held by him, Serie struggled symbolically then gave up, relaxing her body against him.
"You want to slack off again and throw everything to me and Flamme," she accused, though her tone lacked force.
"I am the signboard of the Association. It wouldn't make sense for the signboard to do the work personally," Rhodes said without changing his expression, tightening his arms. "Besides, I will prepare breakfast today."
"You?" Serie turned her head in surprise, looking at his face close to hers. "How many years has it been since you cooked?"
Serie couldn't remember the last time Rhodes cooked either. It seemed that ever since they left the forest where they lived in seclusion, Rhodes rarely cooked personally.
The Association had dedicated chefs, and especially after she picked up Flamme, the girl took charge of their three meals a day, developing excellent culinary skills.
"Shouldn't be that long, right?" Rhodes said uncertainly. He let go of her, got out of bed first, walked to the coat rack, and put on a shirt. "Want to try?"
Serie looked at his serious face, her eyes lighting up instantly. She jumped off the bed too. "Okay! Then I want grilled mushroom skewers!"
"Pick something else! Eating grilled skewers first thing in the morning is weird," Rhodes said, laughing and crying at the same time.
"Fine." Serie didn't insist. As long as this man made it, she would like it.
Of course, provided it didn't taste bad.
After a simple wash up, the two went to the small room connected to the bedroom. There was a small stove here, rarely used but well-maintained.
Rhodes rolled up his sleeves and began selecting ingredients from the storage cabinet enchanted with ice magic.
There wasn't much inside, just a few items. After all, neither Rhodes nor Serie cooked here often. Flamme probably stocked it just for situations like today.
Thinking of his disciple, Rhodes felt a burst of gratification.
Simultaneously, he wondered if Frieren had given that magic to Flamme yet.
On the other side, Serie didn't help. She sat on a nearby chair, hugging her knees, watching with great interest.
She watched somewhat entranced.
She remembered long ago, the scene of Rhodes standing before a crudely built stove preparing dinner for her.
An indescribable sense of happiness quietly emerged.
Unrelated to long life or legendary experiences, just this ordinary moment made her feel that every day of these thousand years was worth it.
"Done." Rhodes's voice interrupted her thoughts.
He walked over carrying a tray with two exquisite porcelain plates.
On the plates was fluffy bread he had baked personally, spread with a layer of pale purple jam, accompanied by several side dishes, and two cups of flower tea emitting a sweet fragrance.
A simple combination, but it looked appealing.
"Not many ingredients, let's just eat simply." Rhodes placed the tray in front of Serie.
Serie picked up the bread, put it in her mouth with the jam, and tasted the other side dishes.
"How is it?" Rhodes asked.
Serie deliberately chewed slowly, not answering immediately. Seeing Rhodes's brow starting to furrow, she couldn't help laughing. "Very delicious! But feels inferior to grilled skewers!"
Rhodes laughed. "I will make them for you next time."
"Mn!" Serie cut another small piece of bread, dipped it fully in jam, and put it in her mouth with satisfaction, narrowing her eyes like a cat tasting a delicious dried fish. "I didn't expect you could bake bread. Why didn't you show this off before?"
"Before..." Rhodes took a sip of flower tea, his tone casual, "I hadn't researched Baking Magic, so naturally I couldn't do it."
Baking bread required a specialized oven. Expecting such equipment in his room was a bit too demanding.
"I see. Then I want to eat this every day!"
"That depends on my mood," Rhodes teased. "After all, this magic takes quite a bit of time."
"Stingy," Serie muttered, ignoring him.
After breakfast, Serie cleaned all the tableware with a small cleaning spell.
Rhodes walked over, showing no intention of returning to the laboratory. Instead, he picked up a magic book from the bookshelf nearby, sat on the sofa opposite her, and flipped through it casually.
Serie was handling some simple daily affairs. When she finished and put down her pen, she met Rhodes's gaze as he looked up from the book.
"Finished?" Rhodes asked.
"Mn. Just some basic things; there are more to handle later." Serie stood up and rolled her shoulders. "What about you? Not going to the laboratory today?"
"This afternoon." Rhodes closed the book, stood up, and walked to her side. "Want to take a walk in the Association's courtyard garden? I heard Ela brought back several cold-resistant magical plants from the North a few days ago and transplanted them there. We can go take a look."
"I heard about that too. That child always likes collecting these strange and beautiful things." She extended her hand naturally.
Rhodes took her hand, interlacing their fingers.
Hand in hand, the two left the top floor, walking down the spiral staircase.
No teleportation magic used, just walking all the way like the most ordinary couple.
❃❃❃
⤑ Show your support with Power Stones!
⤑ Unlock a Bonus Chapter every time we hit 200 Power Stones!
❃❃❃
♕ Get early access to 20+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
🔗 https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to open the link!)
💬 Enjoying the story? Drop a review!
Your support really helps the series grow—thank you