Hero Of Harmony

"Hmm, is something the matter? I'm not somehow still naked, am I?" Questioned Alexander in confusion as he looked down, which only deepened his confusion when he found everything was fine.

"D-Did you Ichor?" Asked Lily slowly as she, Simba, and Marlin stared at Alexander in disbelief; although they didn't have the same skill as Lavender, they could still somewhat determine Alexander wasn't lying.

"Yes, [Heroes Ichor]; I don't know what Ichor actually is, though I'm pretty sure it's something unique." Replied Alexander with a nod as he reached into the pouch and grabbed his apron.

"Anyone hungry? I may not be that strong, but I'm confident in my culinary skills." Added Alexander with a prideful smirk as he puffed out his chest, accentuating his apron and causing the three to nearly laugh.

"Y-Yeah, I'd love something to eat." Said Simba greedily as he suppressed his chuckle while looking at Alexander's apron that read, "Master's little disciple".

Nodding my head at Simba, I opened the fridge and grabbed a whole bunch of ingredients, and although Lily nor Marlin had answered, I still intended to make them some food; besides, while it didn't seem like it, I was very anxious and irritable. I just needed something to keep me busy and my mind preoccupied for some time to sort everything out; I had to thank my traits once more, as without it, I felt like I'd be having a mental breakdown.

"Anyways, about your, [Heroes Ichor]; Ichor is the term used to describe Godly or Draconic blood. The only people possessing Ichor are Gods, Dragons, Demi-Gods, and Half Dragons. Yet, seeing how you're a human, that already eliminates 2/4, and while you could be a Demi-God or God in disguise, from the way you fought, excluding the fact that you could be hiding your true power, the way you fought was rather mediocre." Stated Marlin calmly while observing Alexander cooking, his words causing him to nearly make a mistake.

"Eh, well, to be fair, the only humanoid I've fought against is Master, and unlike you two, It was never in close-quarters combat, which I lean more towards." Remarked Alexander as he glanced at Marlin and Simba before focusing on his task.

"Haa, that's not what Marlin was getting at; he's merely stating how exceedingly rare and valuable your blood is and how dangerous it is for you to speak about it, especially to people you've only met an hour ago, not even taking into account the fact that we enemies for half that." Lily said with a sigh as she looked at Alexander while frowning, feeling he wasn't all that different from Simba.

"I appreciate the concern, guys, but there is no need to worry; I may be young, but I'm not stupid. I know where, when, and most importantly, who to speak to about things like this, and you three are definitely trustworthy; after all, you were a part of Master's party." Replied Alexander with a slight smile as he glanced at the three, only to be taken aback when he saw them as their hearts were suddenly filled with unbridled rage.

"Tch, well, that should've been the case." Muttered Simba quietly in anger as he closed his eyes and took deep breaths, a calming exercise Lavender taught him.

"Are you guys fine? What's the deal for the sudden anger?" Asked Alexander with a raised eyebrow and a frown as he used [Heroes Gaze] to glean deeper information about their emotions, though before he could, their hearts returned to normal.

'Hmm, weird.' Mused Alexander as he suspiciously eyed the three before shaking his head and continuing to cook, though he made sure not to forget.

"Just a heads up, but before any of you lie to me, I can see through lies, so they aren't effective against me; it's also why I can tell you three are trustworthy." Stated Alexander with a frown while cooking as his movements became slightly more aggressive.

My words had caused us to descend into silence for some time, as I'm sure they understood what I was referring to when I brought it up; after all, having lived with Master for sixteen, nearly seventeen years, I'd be stupid to have not pieced together the subtle hints Master would show whenever I ask her about her past, specifically in regards to her adventuring days. She'd always refrain from speaking about her party members, but from what I could tell, they seemed to be friendly with each other, not to mention I could tell they all deeply cared and respected Master; none of those things were hidden from my eyes.

Still, I could tell something was abnormally wrong with Master; lately, I've noticed her skin had been losing its vibrance while she, herself, has become much less energetic. She usually spends her time in her office, so Master was never active, to begin with, but for the last month or so, she's turned into a sloth with how little she moves; in fact, I've been carrying her around a lot of places, such as to the toilet, her office, the pond outside, and finally her or my bedroom.

I never bothered to ask why Master wanted me to carry her around as I simply enjoyed assisting her, and I'd gladly do it without question, though the main reason was that I had a strong feeling she'd ignore my question. Master can't lie to me, and if she wanted me to know, she'd have told me on her own accord, and since she didn't, that could only mean one thing: she didn't want me to know. Which was worrying and out-of-character for Master; sure, she has things she'd like to keep secret from me, but if that's the case, she'd just tell me I shouldn't know while making a funny quip.

Nevertheless, I think the most out-of-character thing for Master is that she's been spending far more time with me, again, something I'm glad about; however, she hasn't been inside her office for long periods of time in the last few weeks, and I know how passionate she is about alchemy. Add all those problems together, and you get a terrible foreboding feeling, just like the one I've been having for several days.

"Master." Muttered Alexander quietly while tightly gripping the pan, causing the handle to deform underneath his powerful strength, and just before he could lash out in anger, a somewhat high-pitched chirp sounded throughout the house.

"Alex, Alex! I-I need to tell you something!" Yelled Talis in worry as she flew through the kitchen window, landing on the counter while shaking his arm with her talons, unknowingly succeeding in calming Alexander.

"Heh, just the bird I've been wanting to see; where've you been? You've missed a lot of important stuff." Said Alexander with a soft smile as he stroked Talis's smooth feathers, though she wasn't in the mood for such things.

"Now isn't the time, Alex! I just saw three very dangerous people who looked similar to you and Miss Lavender!" Declared Talis anxiously, her body shivering in slight fear when she remembered the Marlin's eyes.

"Aww, It's the cute little bird from before." Said Lily as she stood up and swiftly approached Talis, who suddenly looked in her direction, noticing Simba, Lily, and finally Marlin.

"Eh, that would've been helpful several minutes ago, Talis, but you're kind of late now. Let's get you caught up." Remarked Alexander with a raised eyebrow as he shook his head and recounted the last hour's events while Talis, much to her annoyance, was within Lily's embrace listening to him.

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"So that's why they are here; they are Miss Lavender's friends." Muttered Talis as she looked at Lily, who was still hugging her, Simba, and Marlin, though they could only hear cute little chirps.

"Yes, though, what I want to know is, why did you arrive so late? With your speed, you should've returned home within 30 seconds after your first encounter with them, yet it's been nearly an hour." Questioned Alexander as he separated the food into five plates while suspiciously eyeing Talis, who looked away in embarrassment.

"I flew far away and ended up getting lost." Replied Talis in embarrassment, refusing to elaborate further on her story.

Talis was obviously not telling the whole story, but since she was present, I didn't bother to force her to tell me, not like she would, so given her stubborn nature, I'd have a better chance of winning against Lily, Simba or Marlin before I manage to bypass her stubbornness.

'Well, maybe I'm exaggerating a little.' Mused Alexander with a shake of his head as he carried two plates and floated the remaining three with his wind mana while walking toward the table.

"I didn't have anything prepared, so I just made plain old rice with Runebear steak; hopefully, you all enjoy it." Said Alexander with a smile as he set the plates down before sitting in the last open chair while Talis was finally allowed freedom from Lily.

"Well, I expect it to be delicious as Lavy had spoken well of your food." Remarked Lily with a slight smirk as she grabbed a fork and knife, cut up a piece of steak, and consumed it, only for her eyes to widen.

"This is amazing!" Stated Simba loudly with a smile as he forwent any utensils and started eating with his hands, which was much quicker.

"Delicious." Said Marlin with a nod, and unlike Simba, he had proper etiquette.

"It's not the best food we've ever had, but for you to have only been cooking for almost seven years, this is incredible! I'm starting to get really jealous of Lavy; why does she get such an amazing disciple? Not only is he strong for his age and handsome, he's a great cook too." Declared Lily with a smile before frowning in envy as she looked at Alexander, who wryly smiled in response.