Another world, Celeste

Chapter Five, pt 3

At the house's front garden, the roses are blooming and taking up too much space for the other flowers that have yet to bloom. I pick up two baskets and hand one over to Jilko.

"Follow me, please."

I walk towards where the red roses are growing with Jilko towing behind.

"Can you help me pluck the petals out of the red roses until the basket is full?"

Jilko nods her head for a quick response. We pluck the petals in awkward silence. Once the baskets are full, I lead Jilko through the door and pass the hallway leading to the adjoining living room and dining table. Jilko observes every inch of the house in amazement. At every corner, there are potted plants and herbs and the floors are decorated with large carpets and huge cushions. I bring her to the kitchen and place our baskets on the counter.

"Let's start by washing these petals first," I say.

We rinse the dirt off the petals. I take a medium-size pot then fill it with an equal amount of water, crystal sugar and petals and let it simmer on the stove. Once the liquid thickens, Jilko helps me pours the pot over a clean cloth to strain the petals and pour the syrup into a glass container. We repeat the process until there are no more petals left. On the kitchen counter, there are four containers of rose syrup.

"Nom nom."

"It's for a drink."

I tell Jilko to wait at the dining room while I prepare our drinks with the rose syrup. I just need to pour some syrup into two tall glasses and add water. After I place the glass in front of Jilko, she observes the translucent colour then bring it closer to her face and smell it. When she finally drinks it, the big smile on her face is worthwhile the effort. When I taste mine, it's sweet but not overwhelming for the taste bud. Jilko finishes her drink and I pour some more syrup into her glass, this time with milk. The colour in the glass turns pink. Jilko exclaim in amazement.

"You seem to be enjoying it," I note her reaction.

"Nom nom."

"I'm glad you like it."

"Nom nom."

"I'm not a healer. I'm only helping around the house. What do you do, Jilko?"

Jilko looks down and says in a quiet tone. "Nom nom."

"Oh, you're helping out your father while you're learning. That's great. Did you help with the design on the nibs?"

She happily nods.

When I ask her questions about what kind of things she wants to create, Jilko chatters non-stop while making complicated gestures with her hands. It takes some time to get used to gnome language and Jilko is nice enough to convey her wordings slowly. As I listen, I notice that the tone of the phrase 'nom nom' differ depending on the meaning. She doesn't have a specific goal or thing she's particularly interested in devoting her time with. She does a bit of everything that catches her curiosity then moves on to the next one which is not necessarily odd but uncommon. Her father said it is a stage young gnomes go through and it will soon pass but it's been hard for her to find something to set her focus.

"Even if you don't find that one thing, isn't it find to stay the way you are?"

Jilko looks at me in confusion.

I smile fondly at Jilko and tells her my honest impression.

"When you were telling me all those things you've made, I don't understand most of it but your face looks very happy and full of satisfaction. Your curiosity helps you see the way things work differently than others. To me, it sounds like you already found what you're good at."

Jilko blinks.

I let her be and pour another drink into my glass.

There are existing tools and devices powered by mana stones that are similar to modern appliances that I'm used to, but there are also small things like a ballpoint pen or shower heads that haven't been made yet.

"It would be nice if there's a ballpoint pen," I mutter after thinking about it.

Jilko catches my muttering. She has sharp ears. I explain to her about putting the ink in a cylinder container, sealing one end with wax or something similar and attach the other end with the pen's tip. I even show her the pencil I recreated by carving the shape of thin wood in half to fit the charcoal in between and bind them together.

"The problem is how to stop the ink from spilling the moment it touches the paper." I ponder.

"Nom nom."

"Really? You can try?"

Jill's eyes change and now brimming in excitement. She takes out a worn-out notebook, flips through an empty page and starts sketching. I resume watching Jilko in her most joyful state and try not to disturb her concentration. If only there's an instant camera, her expression right now is good for a candid shot. Then, she can see how she looks and might find the answer she has been asking herself.

I left Jilko in the dining room to make lunch. When Jilko realise I'm no longer in the room, she enters the kitchen looking embarrassed for her behaviour. I tell her to not mind it and she offers to help me cook.

"Can you help me with the minced meat? I already seasoned them, all that's left is to shape the patty."

I show Jilko how to make the patty and she catches on quick. While she does that, I prepare the potato wedges, mushroom and the sauce. When I'm done, Jilko already made twenty patties.

"This is great, Jilko. Now, let's cook them."

I cook two patties and the rest are put in the fridge. Jilko watches me from behind. When the patties are done, I place it on two plates and glazed them with the sauce. Jilko help me bring the plates to the dining room.

"Nom nom!" Jilko compliments the food.

"Ha, ha! Slow down or else you'll choke yourself."

After lunch, we decide to return to the main village. We stop by Jill's stall to see if Po has already returned but he's not there, therefore I accompany Jilko to the reception building in case he might still be there. It has only been a few hours since the earlier incident, but Jilko couldn't help but be worried about her father. I reassure her that nothing would happen since weapons are prohibited in the village and there are guards everywhere to make sure of the public safety, When we walk inside the reception building, the atmosphere is oddly quiet, like a bomb is about to go off.