“Right, you’re the one going to war,” Colby said. “So, who are you going to war against?”

  “No idea. It’s currently just rumors. Some say it's Endruma, others say Orenia. Do you know anything, Porter?” Elaine turned to the smiling little boy sitting on the sand, who waved his body with the dancing flames.

  Same as you,” he said. “Everyone’s pretty tense. Those closer to the border are moving inwards. A lot of bandits are popping up now, trying to take advantage of the chaos. I think that’s why they tried to rob Colby.”

  “Tried and failed,” he said. “Wait, isn’t everyone just overreacting? The war hasn't been confirmed yet, right? I mean, is there even a reason to go to war?”

  “More power. More resources. More land. More gold. Just throw a dart on the board. I’m pretty sure Paralos is doing the same.”

  “Seems pretty vague and a waste of time. Wait, why are they sending people in training to war? Shouldn’t they only send like, fully trained Knights or something?” Colby said.

  He collapsed onto the sand, feeling its softness, though it couldn’t compare to a [Cheese Pillow]. Boy, were his feet killing him after standing up for so long.

  “In a perfect world, you might be right.”

  “In a perfect world, we wouldn’t be talking about going to war.”

  “I guess you answered your own question then. This world isn’t perfect. They’ll most likely try to bring us recently appointed Knights-in-training up to speed as fast as possible, and ship us off to take part in the war effort.”

  “Oh,” Colby muttered. “Do you know when?”

  Elaine sighed, “We don’t even know when and if the war’s really happening. But I’ve got a week before training officially starts. So, I’m guessing sometime after that.”

  So, there really was a chance Elaine could go to war and… bad stuff might happen. He bit his lip.

  “Are you sure you want to go to war?”

  Elaine scoffed. “You think I want to go to war? I didn’t become a Knight to be some Dame of destruction. I just wanted to inspire people. To be a beacon of hope that everyone in Paralos can look up to in their darkest hour.”

  “You’re already a beacon of hope in my eyes,” said Porter, who continued to swing his body side to side as he listened to the conversation.

  “Thanks, Port.” She smiled.

  There were many things he had done in his short life; never did he think he would regret any one of them, not until today.

  Colby stared down at the sand, softly muttering, “I’m sorry, Elaine.”

  “What for? Scaring me by jumping off the roof,” she chuckled.

  “Elaine…”

  Colby looked up into her green eyes with a look of longing and regret on his face. It was in his hands, legs, and even his gut. Pretty much his entire body.

  The light in her eyes slowly faded away, only for them to suddenly be rekindled.

  “Colbs,” she said. “It’s not your fault.”

  “It is my fault. I was the one who convinced you to try and become a Knight.”

  “I made the decision to become a Knight. Not you. All you did was open my eyes to a world of possibilities. It’s one thing to light the way for just boats. What I want to do is light the way for everyone.”

  “I know, but—”

  “Can we just talk about something else, Colby? Please?” Elaine said, pleading with him using nothing but those emerald green eyes. Thankfully, the flailing lob-stir in her hand helped to stir away some of the tension of the moment.

  “Okay,” he said.

  They both looked at each other, expecting each other to come up with a new topic. Well, unless she wanted to talk about cheese, there wasn’t much else he knew to talk about.

  There wasn’t much social interaction when making cheese, unless you counted the Core Constructs. But since they were imbued with a part of himself, did that mean he was simply talking to himself?

  That sounded like a problem for a philosopher, not a cheesemaker.

  “So?” Elaine asked, obviously expecting him to lead the conversation.

  “I don’t really know what to talk about.” Colby shrugged.

  “You mean, you only know how to talk about cheese?” Elaine said.

  “There may be a slight possibility that that is the case, my dear, good friend.”

  Elaine sighed. “You really need to get out of the house more, Colbs.”

  He just shrugged. He was a cheese maker, not a conversation maker.

  “And here I thought it would be an easy thing to transition to.”

  Elaine pointed at the mark on the wall behind her. A wobbly circle carved into the rocky side with the initial E.C.P on it.

  “You all know what’s going on with me. Now, I want to hear from you guys, especially you, Port. Everyone still chasing their dreams? ”

  “Of course. I’m gonna make the bestest, yummiest cheese that the world’s ever seen. I’ll be crowned king of the world just from how delicious it is.”

  “And how’s it going?” Elaine asked.

  “It’s going somewhere,” he said. “It’s one thing to follow recipes, but who knew coming up with one all by yourself would be so hard?”

  “So, not that good. And what about you, Port?” Elaine said, looking down at her friend. The little Supply Runner continued to sway his body in the wind, as if he were a blade of grass in the breeze. “You’ve been awfully quiet.”

  “Sorry, Elaine. I thought that you and Colby were having a moment. I didn’t want to interrupt.”

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “We weren’t having a moment. Even if we were, you’re always free to interrupt.”

  “Oh, okay. As long as it’s no biggie.“

  “It’s not and never will be. Right, Colbs?”

  He nodded. “Even if I’m making cheese, you can always interrupt me.”

  “See?”

  “Thanks, guys. Well, if you want to know. I recently got my Core up to Tier 1 and learnt a new spell that’ll help me run away from danger even better.”

  “Is that the one where you dashed in the air?” Colby asked.

  “Yup. It’s called [Air Dash].”

  “How on the nose.”

  “Colbs, shush, “Elaine scolded him. “Please continue, Port.”

  “I’m slowly being tasked with bigger and bigger jobs. I still have a long road ahead, but I’m sure I can do it. I’ll be the best Supply Runner in the world. That way, everyone will always have food and water no matter where they might be.”

  “That’s great to hear, Port. And looks like you’re catching up with me at least in terms of Core Tiers. Now, I’m slowly working on getting to a Tier 2 Core.”

  “Wow, Elaine! That’s amazing.”

  “Thanks, Port. Now, I wonder if a certain someone has anything to report on their Core.”

  Elaine turned to face Colby. Porter joined her a second later.

  Colby, ever the optimist, turned around, hoping that there was someone there besides him who had to answer that question. He still had a Tier 0 Core for cheese sake. Unfortunately, the only thing behind him was the sand, wind, and the rocky cove.

  “Well, Colbs?”

  He had to say something.

  “It’s not about the Tier of the Core. It’s how you use it.”

  “What? I mean, you’re technically right, but a larger Core definitely makes things easier. Then again, I’m not sure if that really applies to cheese. I mean, how much space do you need just to make cheese?”

  Darn. He needed another distraction. Another topic to mess with her train of thought.

  “So, um. You need help with preparing dinner?” he asked.

  “I know that you’re trying to change the subject, Colbs. Fine, I won’t ask if you don’t want to tell. And it’s alright. This is my way of celebrating. I got this.”

  “I can help!” Porter said.

  “Thanks, Port. Could you just keep stirring the stew while I prepare this lob-stir?”

  Crisis averted. But Elaine said she didn’t need help, only to immediately accept when Porter offered. It was like a verbal slap to his face.

  “Hey, I could do that, too.”

  “Sure, Colbs, sure. Last time you made soup, you added melted cheese to it.”

  “It was going to taste good! I heard about a regional soup that adds a layer of melted cheese to the top of the soup. I thought we could try it.”

  “Yeah, well, you added way too much cheese. It became cheese with soup instead of soup topped with a bit of cheese.”

  “Cheese is the best food. It’s only natural that we add a lot of it.”

  “No, Colbs. No.” Elaine shook her head.

  “But you like my cheese. What about earlier? You said it was really fluffy and yummy.”

  “That’s different. On its own, it's amazing. It was like eating a really savory cloud. But if you throw that into the stew, it's gonna taste like a wet blanket soaked in sewer water.”

  “How would you know that unless we try it out? Therefore, I suggest we—”

  “No, Colby Tyro. We won’t. Now, unless you want to eat nothing but cheese for dinner, I suggest you keep quiet.”

  “I mean…that doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”

  “Colby!”

  “Okay. Okay.” He raised his hands above his head. “I’ll keep quiet.”

  Elaine and Porter continued to work on dinner. Porter stirred the stew with Elaine’s sword, while the red-haired girl quietly put the lob-stir out of its misery. Not long after, dinner was served.

  A pot of lobster stew and a freshly boiled lob-stir.

  Looking down at the food, Colby said, “You know. I kinda prefer cheese. Maybe some mozzarella.”

  Elaine, using the handle of her sword, thumped him on the head.

  “Ouch,” he said. Though it didn’t actually hurt. Some people might’ve said it was because he was thickheaded. In reality, Elaine had used just enough force—which was barely any—to drive the point straight through his head.

  “I mean, thank you for the food, Elaine.”

  “That’s better.”

  “So, um. What about bowls?”

  “I got it!” Porter said. He opened up his Inventory, pulling out three wooden bowls. Two looked pristine as if they hadn't been used before, the other had a chip at the rim, and a rough patch of foreign wood where a hole had been patched up.

  “Pass it to me. I’ll rinse it off,” Elaine said.

  She grabbed the bowls from Porter and pointed a finger at them. A gush of water shot out of it, drenching the bowl. After that, she shook it dry, the sand below her turning dark from the moisture.

  “There, that should do it.”

  Elaine dug the three bowls into the pot of stew, using them as scoops. She handed the two new bowls to him and Porter and kept the dinged one for herself.

  Whoever patched up the hole in the bowl didn’t do a very good job. Stew—as mushy as it was—leaked out of it, forcing her to eat over the pot.

  “Elaine! I can have that bowl,” Porter said. “It’s actually mine. You can have the new one.”

  “Relax, Port. It’s fine.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t want you to—”

  “It’s fine. Now, eat up before the food gets cold.”

  Porter slurped up the stew, gulping it down in seconds.

  “It’s really good!” he said. “Can I have seconds?”

  “Sure, thing,” she said, grabbing his bowl and scooping up more lobster stew for him. “And what about you, Colbs? How is it?”

  He hadn’t taken a sip yet, staring at the concoction he held in his hand. It was a murky gray, with bits of white, floating about.

  Colby brought the bowl to his lips. Here goes nothing.

  It was thick and slimy. He wanted to gag, but through the corner of his eyes, he could see Elaine staring at him, with a huge anticipatory smile on her face. He could also see the sword attached to her hip.

  In a herculean effort, Colby managed to swallow every last bit of stew without it coming back out.

  “Yum,” he forced himself to say.

  “Really? Thanks.” Elaine smiled. “You want more?”

  “No thanks,” he said, patting his belly. “I ate too much cheese earlier.”

  “More for me and Port.”

  “Right!”

  Colby watched the two of them scarf down the stew, each clutching a claw from the lob-stir. He wanted to gag, but couldn’t—at least not with Elaine around. How could they even call that food? It was barely edible. Worse of all, there wasn’t a single ounce of cheese in it. Blasphemy!

  Eventually, they finished their disgusting meal. Elaine rinsed off the pot and the bowls using [Spray], while Colby just sat around, feeling his tummy rumble in disagreement from the small portion of stew.

  “Thanks guys for this very weird celebration,” Elaine said.

  “It’s no biggie. The food was delicious. It was the best way to celebrate. We should celebrate this way more often.”

  “See, Colbs. I told you I could cook.”

  “Yes, you can one hundred percent cook.” He just left out the part about her cooking being awful.

  “I’m going to completely ignore your sarcasm. Thank you, Colbs. And especially for earlier.”

  “No problem. But, um, I see you have a pot situation. Want me to return it for you?”

  “Thanks, but it’s alright. I’m just gonna take the pot. I’ll just consider it a reward for becoming a Knight-in-Training.”

  “No, it’s not. Don’t you worry, Laine. I’ll whip you up a delicious reward. Just give me some time, though.”

  “Thanks, Colbs. I’m looking forward to it. Do you need any help going home? You know, because of some bad apples.”

  “I can do it,” Porter said.

  “Yup, he can do it. Don’t underestimate the power of the Porter Delivery System.”

  Colby hopped onto Porter’s back, and the small boy’s knees nearly buckled from the weight. Soon after, Colby felt himself grow lighter as Porter cast [Lighten] on him.

  “Bye, Laine,” Colby said.

  “Bye-bye.” Porter waved.

  They zoomed off back through the streets. And in no time at all, he was back at the cheeseshop. No wonder Porter won first place during the race. He was a speed demon—speed angel in his case.

  “Thanks, Port,” Colby said.

  “It’s no biggie,” he said.

  “Want to stay for the night?”

  “Can’t. I’ve got an overnight delivery.”

  “Oh, well, if that’s the case. I’ll ask my parents if I can pass you some cheese for the trip. Do you have anything in mind?”

  Colby turned around only to find Porter gone.

  Guess he didn’t want cheese. Though Colby knew it was because of another reason. Porter, you really need to learn how to take, sometimes, not always give.

  The moment he entered the shop, his tummy rumbled.

  “Hey, Colby,” his father said. “Did you enjoy yourself?”

  “No time to talk, Dad! Emergency!”

  Colby rushed through the employee-only door, up the stairs, and into the thankfully unoccupied bathroom. It was a battle for his life as he fought against whatever poison Elaine had added to the stew.

  After many grunts and embarrassingly high-pitched screams, the battle concluded. Drenched in even more sweat than when he raced across Brinebrook, Colby took a quick dip in the bath.

  Now with a truly empty stomach, there was only one way to curb his hunger: cheese. Specifically, cheese mixed with Shell Ginger.

  Even better, he was going to work on that gift for Elaine he had promised. It was going to be an improved version of the cheese that he had given to her in an attempt to cheer her up after confronting hr parents. Colby was going to incorporate Ms. M's candied ginger into his cheese, making it all the more better.

  Two birds, one cheese.