With nothing else to do, Taula collapsed onto the ground as if she had been sleepwalking, but it was already too late.
Klaus was not going to fall for the same trick twice.
"That doesn't work." He sighed as he walked over to her and looked at her open eyes. "That's not even how to play drunk. Now tell me, why are you really here?"
"Ah…" Taula rolled over and sat up with an embarrassed expression on her face. "Well, I thought you were really mad at me for doing that thing with the snake and endangering our lives, so I wanted to apologize but I didn't know how to, so… I came up with this plan."
Klaus sat down with her on the ground and let out a stressed breath.
"I doubt you're smart enough to come up with this scheme on your own. I'm guessing it's the Drunk Twins, right?" He asked, and immediately she took offense.
"Hey!" She jabbed her hand toward him accusingly, but then slumped her head in guilt. "Yes, it was them, b-but… We're friends, so I wanted to make sure I could say sorry properly. Grandma really did leave for the Capital, but I can go to an inn if you want me to."
Taula stood up and turned around, preparing to leave but Klaus placed his hand on his head instead and rubbed it tiredly while standing up.
"If you want… you can stay over. You'll be sleeping on the couch though. I'm not losing the comfort of my bed just because you're going to be staying here." He told her.
Instead of a complaint, Taula closed the distance and hugged him, her arms wrapped around his stomach.
He could smell the alcohol on her breath.
"Great then! What did you cook?" Taula let go and pumped her fist up enthusiastically. She was aware that he had bought items for cooking since she had stalked him all afternoon.
"I haven't actually cooked anything yet." Klaus admitted.
He'd bought the ingredients, but he didn't know how to properly cook the food in this world which was why he'd bought a recipe book but still… he didn't even have enough time to check that out, as he was busy cleaning and checking out his new stats.
"Oh? You must be very hungry then." Taula said while rolling up her sleeves. "I'm a very good cook if I do say so myself, so I can help out."
"You? A good cook?" Klaus raised an eyebrow skeptically.
She was definitely a good monster hunter, but did she even have the delicate ability to cut through an onion without destroying the entire kitchen? He really doubted it.
"Hey! I make food for Grandma all the time." Taula said defensively, and walked to the counter while he followed behind her. "So what are we going to make today? What kind of ingredients do you have?"
"Well…" Klaus opened one of the cabinets to reveal several loaves of bread that he had bought. "I have bread…"
He also opened another cabinet, revealing rows of wrapped meat that had been stored in transparent preservation containers.
"I have meat too." He opened one last cabinet which had several crates of eggs. "Eggs as well. That was all I was able to buy today, along with a few other ingredients like onions, sauce, and all that."
He didn't have time to fully stock up on everything today, so he planned to eventually buy more supplies when he was free.
There was no way he could buy everything and still carry armor too, his storage ring had limited space.
"You barely have anything good…" Taula noted, then looked back at Klaus with concern. "No wonder you looked like spaghetti before. You aren't eating properly at all, tomorrow before we do anything else, we'll go out and shop for good food that'll build muscles."
Klaus rolled his eyes.
"You're not my mom."
She turned around to face him with a hand on her waist.
"I may not be your mother, but I'm your only friend, so you don't need to worry. I'll make sure you eat properly every single day." Taula said while jabbing at his chest with her finger. "Don't joke around about nutrition. It's a very important part of our bodies."
With that declaration, Taula walked to the counter and pulled out different bowls and cooking utensils.
"Since you have a lot of bread and eggs, I can make us Egg Meat Sandwiches, but we have to get something better to eat in the morning." Taula said, and Klaus watched her as she began the preparation of the ingredients with the utmost focus.
He didn't really think that someone like her could look like this… she looked so concentrated and domestic, happy even. He didn't even notice when she finally jabbed a plate his way.
"Here, I'm done. You've been staring at me for the last ten minutes. Stop being weird and get your protein." She said, her voice turning serious.
He looked at the sandwiches.
The meat was crispy with the egg atop it and some onions too, while the bread covered them perfectly. There were five sandwiches on the plate, which was the same number as on hers.
"You know, you might not be so bad after all." He told her, and they walked to the big couch where he had initially dumped her unconscious body earlier.
He took hold of one of the sandwiches then he glanced at her and she had already eaten one in two big chomps and burped loudly.
"Have some manners, at least." Klaus said.
He ate his own with one small bite and chewed. Taula turned over to him with a small smile on her face.
"Hehe~ You like it? I put all of my effort into these sandwiches." She asked, and he swallowed with a small nod.
"These are really good. I didn't believe you when you said you could cook before." Klaus replied honestly, and she bumped him with her shoulder playfully.
"Well, you better believe me now! I can cook, and I'll keep cooking for you till you drive me away." Taula said. He was her first friend… She wanted to keep him together with her forever if possible. "Now Klaus, can you tell me more about yourself?"
"More about myself?"
"Yes, like what you like and dislike… I'll tell you everything about myself too!" She perked up and her green eyes glimmered. "I want to be your friend for real."
'My friend, huh…?' Klaus thought. That wasn't his first time hearing it, but the way she looked so innocent while saying it made him chuckle.
"Alright then, so you see I like—"
…
From outside Klaus's house, a cloaked figure who was using a pair of binoculars… despite the house being directly opposite him finally let it down as all the lights in the house had shut off, which meant everybody was sleeping.
"Boss, are you absolutely sure that this is the place?" A person said from the right, and the man behind the cloak clicked his tongue.
"I came to deliver here myself… why wouldn't I know? The guy in this inn has a pouch full of silvers and golds." He said, and he could practically feel the glinting in the eyes of the one on the left side of him.
They were known as the Three Failed Thieves… As for why they were given such a ridiculous name, they had never actually managed to steal anything successfully.
All they brought was failure… almost every time they actually succeeded in a theft, something would happen that made them lose what they had stolen.
"Oho~ Then what are we waiting for?" The guy on the left asked eagerly.
"You're right. The guy is very scrawny like spaghetti… He was trying to convince me he was an adventurer, but I seriously doubt it. Adventurers don't look that thin." The leader in the middle replied as they walked forward toward the building. "I would have said that he was a noble, but he looks so small. Unless he's an abandoned noble that came here to lay low, but even his looks are bad. He probably won the lottery."
All of them collectively rolled their eyes.
The lottery was a cursed competition that originated from one of the great Empires and then spread everywhere. You would buy a number from a lottery ticket, and the sponsors would award you with silver and gold if you managed to win but the keyword was 'if'.
Nobody had been able to win ever since the Lottery came out and even if there were those who won, why would they announce it? Not everybody was an idiot that wanted to be robbed after all.
The Failed Thieves arrived at the barrier, and the one on the right extended her hand out.
"Dissolve, protect no more, barrier fall." The thief chanted, and the barrier was deactivated in a burst of dissipating magic. It would reactivate later, but for now… it was off.
"I'll head in there first. You all wait outside." The center one said, and walked to the door up the staircase quietly. He picked the lock with his lockpick as it clicked open and revealed a dark living room and kitchen area.
The thief slinked inside quietly and headed to the kitchen.
That was where most people hid their money, thinking that it would be the least suspicious place… A good thief such as himself knew that at the very least.
'So now… where do I check first?' He thought while blinking in the darkness. There were many cabinets and he decided to pull one open to check inside.
There were sandwiches on a plate which were good since the drawers usually had preservation magic on them to keep food fresh.
Regardless, the thief took one of the sandwiches and bit into it.
'Mmm… What a good sandwich.' He thought appreciatively, and pushed the drawer closed. Surely the owner wouldn't notice one missing sandwich, righ—
He didn't know why, but his legs suddenly locked up.
He looked backward and saw two eyes staring at him in the darkness though these eyes were not focused on him, but on the sandwich in his mouth.
"You… you… you… you ate one of the sandwiches I packed Klaus for breakfast?" Taula said, as the crimson glow in her eyes intensified.
At that moment, the Thief felt like he was staring at a devil.