Chapter Sixty-Two: Breakfast

"You're awake? How are you feeling?" Early the next morning, before the sun had risen, Tina got up to start cleaning. Passing by the guest room, she saw Perrin already awake, sitting on the bed and combing her hair.

"I'm fully recovered," Perrin replied, her expression utterly blank.

"Huh! Why aren't you wearing your Town Guard uniform today?" Tina asked, puzzled. "That uniform looks so nice!"

Perrin was now dressed in a beast-hide outfit, crafted by Keen and left in the house for Tina as a spare.

"I was defeated in the duel and became Lord Keen's follower. The Town Guard does not tolerate failures; I no longer have the right to call myself a proud Town Guard," Perrin said, her gaze steady and devoid of emotion. It was as if she were recounting a trivial matter, yet her words carried a hint of regret.

"But you look quite good in this outfit!" Tina said. "Besides, I believe that one day you'll proudly declare yourself a follower of Lord Keen, and that title will be no less impressive than Town Guard!"

Perrin glanced at Tina, blinked, and gave no answer, continuing to comb her blue hair.

"I'll make breakfast soon. Would you like to help?" Tina asked, smiling.

Perrin shook her head. "I only know how to fight."

"Oh, okay," Tina said, giving up. She had hoped to use the opportunity to become friends with Perrin.

After Tina left, Perrin finished tying her hair and picked up the iron sword beside the bed. In the open space of the room, she performed over a hundred precise slashing motions, yet only a faint sheen of sweat appeared on her body.

"Breakfast's ready, Perrin!" Tina called from the hall.

"Coming," Perrin quietly sheathed her sword, stood before the mirror, and used a fiber towel to wipe the barely noticeable beads of sweat from her brow.

Lifting her head, she suddenly noticed the enormous city wall that now encircled the entire base—a feature absent the day before. She rubbed her eyes, thinking it a trick of the mind, but quickly realized it was real. In just one night, something so incredible had happened while she slept!

Entering the hall, she found Keen already awake, calmly seated at the table, using two peculiar wooden sticks to pick up food and bring it to his mouth. Perrin paused, looked at the sticks in his hand, then at the bowls and wooden forks set at other places.

"Chopsticks. Would you like to learn?" Keen looked up at Perrin, smiling as he picked up a strip of meat and waved it. "Shredded fish-flavored pork, my specialty! Eating it with chopsticks feels just like home."

Perrin shook her head and decisively took a wooden fork. Then she realized: "Lord Keen, you speak our language?"

"Until yesterday, I couldn't. But I was lucky enough to find a bottle of basic knowledge potion! After drinking it, I suddenly gained some knowledge of your country. It's just a little, though, so I still can't understand or speak much. But at least I can manage everyday conversation," Keen replied, smiling. "Why do you always keep such a stern face? Life is meant to be enjoyed. Give me a smile?"

"I can't," Perrin said blankly, shaking her head.

"Huh?" Keen was stunned. "You can't smile? Seriously? Then try crying!"

"I can't," Perrin repeated, shaking her head again.

"So you can't do this or that. What can you do?"

"Fight." Perrin put down the fork and drew her sword, raising it high.

"You're serious?" Keen waved his hand. "Put the weapon away first."

"Yes, sir!" Perrin obediently sheathed her sword and stood straight, awaiting Keen's instructions.

"Smile! Like this… heh heh!" Keen pulled the corners of his mouth upward. "Try it!"

Perrin, confused, used two fingers to gently pull up her lips, producing an expression as odd as could be.

"Are you serious or just pretending? I've never seen anyone who can't even smile," Keen said, perplexed. After all, smiling and crying are natural reactions—innate, not learned. He thought for a moment and asked, "Didn't you cry as a baby? Why can't you do it now?"

"Reporting, sir!" Perrin looked at Keen seriously. "According to the records of the old director who adopted me, when I was found as an infant, I couldn't cry. I was nearly mistaken for a stillborn and ignored. If not for the director's careful attention, I might not have survived. I have the physiological reaction of tears, but not the emotion of crying."

"Isn't that the same? So you're an orphan?" Keen hadn't expected that.

"Yes," Perrin nodded.

"Come to think of it, I'm an orphan in this world too," Keen said. "Kindred spirits, lost in a foreign land. Could this be some psychological condition? Maybe it can be cured with some potion or magic?"

"I don't know," Perrin shook her head. "It doesn't matter; I'm used to it."

"You can get used to something like that? Well, are you hungry? Let's have breakfast first."

"Yes, sir." Perrin sat down, picked up the fork, and tried a piece of shredded fish-flavored pork. She chewed expressionlessly.

Unable to tell whether she liked the food, Keen could only ask, "How does it taste?"

"Delicious," Perrin replied, though her face suggested otherwise.

A stoic beauty, Keen thought. Strange, but somehow charming.

"Keen, I delivered my breakfast to Amber's house," Tina said as she entered the dining room with her father, Borint, and her mother, Landis. "Then I brought my parents over for breakfast."

"Please, come in!" Keen hurriedly stood up, warmly inviting them. "Father-in-law, mother-in-law, please have a seat. It's simple fare—please don't mind."

"Huh! You can speak our language?" Borint reacted much as Tina had, since until yesterday, Keen had always been a silent foreigner in front of them, communicating only through gestures and strange words with their daughter.

Keen had no choice but to explain the basic knowledge potion again, glossing over its origins.

"It's our great honor that Lord Keen favors our Tina," Landis said with a bright smile. "Lord Keen possesses extraordinary powers, has a powerful werewolf follower, and has earned the loyalty of a kobold clan. You are destined for greatness! As her parents, we only wish for Tina's happiness. But with your abilities, you'll surely become a ruler someday, with more and more followers—especially women!"

As she spoke, she glanced at Perrin, then continued, "May we ask—do you truly wish to marry our Tina? If so, Borint and I would prefer to hold the wedding soon, to settle the matter. After all, you and Tina are already living together as husband and wife…"