Chapter 18: A Helping Hand

A sunbeam and the happy chirping of small birds outside his window awoke Vito. He slowly pushed himself up and stretched his aching back. “Good morning, Vito!” Greye called from the other side of the door to wake him up.

“Good morning,” Vito called back.

He rejoined his friends in the dining room and sat beside Iris to eat breakfast. Levia served the party with truly delicious food. It was clear that she put in extra effort and ingredients to thank them for ridding her village of a terrible elder dragon. Seasoned meat, eggs, and steaming vegetables filled their plates. There were bowls of fruit waiting to add sweetness to their meal. Freshly squeezed juice was poured into their cups last.

“Well? Did I deliver the best food you’ve ever had?” Levia proudly stood beside their table.

“My compliments to the chef,” Vito said.

“It’s delicious,” Iris agreed.

“It’s better than anything we can find in Kyrenia,” Greye added.

“Thank you!” Levia offered a small bow and took her leave so they could enjoy their meal.

Vito used Scan on her. His skill leveled up enough for him to check titles. She was a Master Chef and Master Innkeeper. He was not surprised; she seemed to be the only employee working at the inn.

“Where do the status menus come from, anyway?” Vito wondered aloud.

Iris looked up from her empty plate to answer. “Ivalis herself has granted us the ability to see ourselves as she sees us. Everyone is blessed with this gift, even outcasts. It’s proof that she has not abandoned or condemned anyone at birth,” she explained. “Why do you ask?”

Vito turned to her. “I used Scan on her. She worked here long enough to earn Master-level titles. I’m told it takes extreme training and effort to earn those. She wouldn’t earn them if she had a team working with her.”

Iris sadly looked at the banquet before her. A look of determination overtook her face. “We should help her!”

Vito looked confused. “You want to work here? What about the church?”

Iris shook her head. “I’m not suggesting that we live here, but surely we can help clean and fix the inn for a while. I could use my water magic to restore the plants and bring new life here.”

“Need I remind you that we’re on a quest, and not a vacation?” Parsifal stated. “A second dragon is potentially on the loose. We need to find it before it burns this village to ash.”

Vito thought a moment before helping Iris. “It’ll take us a while to restock our supplies and ready the carriages for our trip to the abandoned guard tower. That’ll give us plenty of time to help around the inn.”

Iris beamed. “Yes! That should be fine, right?”

Parsifal sighed in defeat. “Two hours, that’s all. Not a minute longer.” Iris quietly yet efficiently gathered her used dishes and sped away from the table. Parsifal shook his head and turned to Vito. “Are you truly interested in ‘helping around the inn’? Surely there are more important matters.”

Vito shrugged and finished his drink. “It makes her happy, and I like seeing her smile.” He rose from the table and followed after Iris.

Iris was happily talking to a very confused Levia in the kitchen. “You…want a job here?” the innkeeper asked.

“No. You don’t have to pay us. We simply want to help you for a while,” Iris corrected her.

“I…see. I appreciate the offer, but I can handle my business just fine.”

“We’re not saying you can’t, Ms. Levia,” Vito interjected with a smile as he set his dishes on a counter. “Iris will tend the plants in and around the inn to make it more inviting while I repair some damage and write down some recipes that I guarantee no one else has.”

“In that case, I’ll just have to accept.” A look of resigned happiness spread across Levia’s cute features.

Vito retrieved Levia’s tools and materials from a storage room to perform minor repairs around the inn. He repainted and fixed up the sign that displayed Lorafiel’s Rest’s name. Iris’s magic rejuvenated the grass and enchanted the seeds to bloom into beautiful flowers nearby.

Levia read Vito’s recipes with great curiosity and interest. “I’ve never heard of any of these.”

“And neither have your customers,” Vito assured her. He borrowed her kitchen and some ingredients to make a traditional pasta dish. He prepared the dough ahead of time and left it to rest while he performed repairs. It was simple spaghetti, sauce, and seasoning. Levia took one bite and was immediately delighted. “You’ll have no shortage of customers if you make these dishes.”

Vito prepared a few different types of pasta dishes and brought them out to his friends. “I still can’t believe he cooks…” Delwyn commented.

“This is delicious!” Iris cheered as she hungrily devoured her food. Vito prepared extra for her so she could recuperate after performing her self-imposed tasks.

“You’re going to give Maren some competition as the guild’s head chef,” Greye praised him. Vito merely sat down with them to eat and reminisced about the times he shared meals with his family in Sicily.

Levia collected their dishes while refusing further help from Iris. “I heard what you said about a second dragon. Please go deal with that before taking one of my aprons, Ms. Iris.”

“Another voice of reason,” Parsifal remarked. “The carriages are ready, and our supplies are restocked.”

“Before the clock ticks past the second hour, please. Parsifal is scary when he’s mad,” Kaelyn added, earning a dull look from the mage in question.

Vito chuckled and stood up. “It’s time to go. We still need to get Delwyn that title, right?”

“That’s right. I can’t walk around and show that other title off,” Delwyn spat.

“There is nothing wrong with helping a poor creature,” Iris told her while standing from the table. Delwyn scoffed and walked away.

Village guardsmen approached their carriages as they rode out of Orinis. “Elder Reinfar extends his gratitude to you for continuing this quest,” an older guard began. “The area around the guard tower is dangerous. Feral animals, monsters, and bandits call it home.”

“We’re hopeful that they all left when the dragon first appeared, but we haven’t sent a scouting party out in a while,” another guard added.

“Thanks for the warning. We’ll be careful.” Greye stepped off the carriage and shook hands with them.

“I can’t wait to meet our fearless friends,” Vito commented from inside his carriage.

“Remember, we talk to them first,” Iris told him.

Vito gave her a serious expression. “We’ll see how it goes,” he replied. “Not everyone can be convinced with a simple conversation, and I’ll make those people fall before I watch them hurt you or anyone else I care about.”

Iris nodded in agreement, even if she didn’t like the idea of hurting other people.