Chương 43: Scolding

Morning came and I woke up in Luna's embrace. There was a pleasant lavender scent. I carefully extracted myself without waking her up and headed to the bathroom.

"Did I really fall asleep like this…?" I looked like a complete mess. I felt a little bad cause I must've ruined Luna's blanket and sheets—Why didn't she mention that I was dirty? My knees and palms were still stained with dirt as were my skirt and calves. I thought about taking a shower, but I didn't even have clothes to wear. Luna's would fit me, but I wasn't exactly about to raid her closet without her permission. I cleaned up the best I could with the sink water before heading to the kitchen.

As I prepared to make breakfast I thought about last night. More specifically, that nightmare. If there wasn't a forfeit option… Would that have happened to me? Probably. I sighed before shaking my head. Dreaming about death isn't particular pleasant. If Luna wasn't there I'd have probably not been able to fall back asleep. That's just one more thing to be thankful for, I guess. Soon, the smell of bacon and eggs started to fill the air. At least food can wash away my problems if only temporarily.

A few minutes later, Luna came out of the room. I glanced over as she started to speak,"Good morning." She smiled.

"Good morning." I smiled in return.

"I'll be back out in a moment." She said before entering the bathroom. While she did her business, I plated the food and set the table. Sneaking a few nibbles of bacon, I waited for Luna to come and eat. It didn't take long before she was sitting next to me.

"Thank you for breakfast as always." Luna said, eying the food like a hawk.

"Of course." I replied and picked up a piece of bacon. That was all the 'go ahead' she needed before starting to feast. Just a little later and both plates of food were emptied into our stomachs. I noticed it before, but Luna is quite the glutton. Her cheeks were starting to get a little rounder nowadays.

"That was delicious." She said before heading to the sink. …

"So, are you feeling better?" Luna asked as we sat in the living room.

"Mm." I nodded, "Thanks to you." I said with a smile before getting serious, "Really…thank you."

"Ahem," Luna cleared her throat, "Don't mention it." I could see her cheeks getting a little red. This wasn't right? Why was she the one feeling embarrassed!?

"I'll mention it forever and ever! Hehe!" I giggled.

"No…don't…Ahem," She cleared her throat again, "So, you're feeling better, right?" She asked for confirmation. Did she want to hear more praise or something? With a tilted head, I replied directly, If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Yes, I'm feeling better now."

"Good…" Luna got up and moved directly in front of me. Why is my danger sense tingling?

"Stella…" She muttered with a low tone, causing my hairs to stand on end, "Just what were you thinking!?" Ah… I'm getting an earful. … Only after half an hour was the scolding over. As Luna got more and more passionate, I could only bow my head and silently nod along. Everything she said was absolutely correct. I was arrogant and thought of the tower as a game. I didn't research the basic functions of the tower. I couldn't defend myself without potions. And that was just the beginning.

I couldn't even tune out her words cause every time I tried, she'd notice and extend the scolding.

"So…Promise me, you won't do something so stupid again." Luna asked, she matched my level and looked me directly in the eye. I stared back for a moment and took in her words. She was saying this for both me and herself. I think just as Luna is a really precious person to me, I've become just as precious to her.

"I promise." I said.

"Thank you…And, thank you again for being safe." She replied before embracing me.

"Mm…" …

"Are you sure you don't want to stay longer?" Luna asked as we approached my apartment.

"You don't need to feel as if you're imposing or anything, I'm really happy when you stay over—you can just think of my place as your second home."

"Thank you, but I want to brew some potions and I need to tend to my plants." I replied with a smile.

"Okay…" She looked a little disappointed, "If you ever need me, don't hesitate to call or text and I'll come running over."

"Hehe, got it, thank you." She parked in front of the building and leaned over the console.

"Really, I'm serious." She said as we hugged.

"Understood, I'll call you if I see a roach in my apartment." I joked.

"Hah, that's okay too, I guess." She scoffed.

"See you later." I said.

"See you." I waved as I closed the door and headed inside, once I was in the building did start driving away. Just a little later I was in my apartment.

"Haah…" I let out a deep breath. There's a lot of things to do. So first, let's wash this grime off me. … In the bath, I finally remembered something important.

"Ah…The gallery." After posting my last 'goodbye' message, I hadn't visited since. It was way too hectic to remember at the time.

"… I screwed up." I'm realizing that this seems to be a pattern by now. I sent death flags to Luna and didn't follow up before, and now, I practically announced my death to the gallery and hadn't followed up. Well, you can't really blame me this time. I really thought I was going to die. I gulped as I opened the gallery. [PLAESE HPEL IM GIONING TO DIE] Mm… Not a single post since then. Even the usual post about slime hadn't been posted.

It was only right for me to correct my wrongs and dispel the somber mood that the gallery found itself in. [I'm Sorry] Author: BinLover I'm alive. I'm sorry for the lack of follow-ups and suddenly dropping that last post. I'll explain what happened… (Omitted) And that's basically it. I'm really sorry for dropping the mood and worrying you all. I hope this somber mood disappear. → [CauldronBro: Phew… Thank goodness you're alive. Don't worry about it, based on the situation we could tell you were in a panic. As long as you're alive than it's fine.] → [Juxtaps: Wow, I really thought the gallery would be depressed for a couple days, glad you're okay.] → [SlimeLube: Slime!] → [Love Fusion Mix Hands: Glad you're alive, cutie. Would've hated to see such a talented young one go.] → [ObsidianTier: First, I'm glad you're safe and second, I hope you learned something from this. An alchemist should never be caught unprepared.] → [Meditation Is Medicine: Meditation will help you.] → [HomunculusTheBest: I would've hated to see you go before teaching you about homunculus!] → [✪Potions Are Easy: As everyone said, we're glad you're safe. Don't worry about the mood, it'll fix itself.] → [BinLover: Thank you, everyone. I'll be off of the gallery for a few days to rest and recoup my mind.] → [EfficiencyLord: Did you really not research the tower beforehand? Are you-] Nope! I turned the gallery off immediately. I wasn't about to listen to another scolding! That's a good thing about the gallery.

If I don't like something, I'll just turn it off! Hehe, what're they gonna do? Cross over to my dimension and scold me? With that done, it felt like a small burden was lifted off my heart. Little by little, I'll return to my bubbly self. I looked at the ceiling and soaked deeper into the water. … After my bath, I headed to my garden. Everything seemed to be doing well, so, shortly after, I headed to the kitchen. The next thing I wanted to do was thank the Grandma next door.

But, rather than simply thanking her with words, I thought it'd be nice to cook her something. So, I brought out the ingredients. I was going to make a cake—a chocolate cake. … A few hours later, I was standing in front of my neighbor's door. I had spoken to her a few times before I awakened but it was just casual hallway chat. We didn't get to know each other. I knocked on the door a few times before stepping back. In my hands was a small double-chocolate chocolate cake.

I didn't know what she liked or preferred, so I just made something that anyone would like… Everybody likes chocolate cake, right? There's definitely no personal motifs in making this very likable cake. None at all. A few moments later, the door slowly opened. Grandma checked to see who it was before noticing it was me and quickly opening the door. The curious look in her eyes were replaced with gentleness and a smile appeared on her face.

"Are you feeling better now?" She asked.

"Yes!" I nodded, "I wanted to thank you, Grandma, so I brought you a cake I made." She looked at the box of cake in my hands,"Did you make this yourself, darling?"

"Mm!" I nodded.

"Thank you." She smiled. She looked at me for a moment and seemed to realize something, "I can't eat too much sweets due to my age, so, why don't you come in and eat it with me?" She asked. My eyes widened at the proposition. Yes! This is exactly what I wanted! No-I mean, I just wanted to thank her with a cake, but I'm happy she'd offer to eat it with me. There's no reason to refuse her kindness.

'Are you sure?'

"Yes! ~" My words and thoughts mixed up.

"Haha." Grandma chuckled and I headed inside. The layout was the same as my apartment but the furniture was vastly different. Grandma's furniture was old-timey and retro, like something you'd see in the 1980's. I placed the cake on the table and politely sat down.

"Do you want any water, darling?"

"If that's okay with you." She nodded and brought me a glass of water. She also sat two plates and two sets of cutlery on the table. Then, she sat opposite of me.

"Speaking of, why don't we introduce ourselves first?" She said. Ah…Right, we hadn't even done the basics and I wanted to dig into cake.

"Ahem, of course!" I said, "I'm Stella!"

"Stella? A beautiful name. My name's Helena, but you can continue calling me 'Grandma' or 'Grandmother'." She said with a smile.

"Mm! Nice to meet you, Grandma!"

"Nice to meet you too." She paused before continuing to speak, "You look similar to that boy who used to live there, are you related?" She asked. I flinched.

"Mm…" I waited for a moment to gather my thoughts before continuing, "That's my brother. I'm living at his place now."

"I see," She nodded, "I haven't seen him in a while." She commented.

"He's overseas at the moment." I nonchalantly said.

"Well, let's not waste anymore time." Grandma said before slicing the cake, she put some on both our plates before continuing, "Let's dig in." I nodded and immediately cut off a small piece to eat. And-"Mm!! ~" I involuntarily let out as the flavor exploded in my mouth. I really love chocolate. Especially chocolate cake! I should make some for Luna later.

"This is delicious, darling." Grandma said with a smile, "You could be a professional pâtissier."

"Hehe, thank you." I giggled at the compliment. A minute later the cake on my plate was devoured. I wanted to grab more, but this was Grandma's cake not mine.

"Oh, you're done? Let me get you another slice." She said.

"R-Really? Are you sure?"

"Of course, eat as much as you'd like." She said with a gentle voice and placed another slice of cake on my plate.

"Mm, thank you!" I happily dug into the new slice of cake.