After the warm, hearty meal in the rambunctious restaurant, the Lorehs exited the establishment and took a tight entrance on the side of the building to a narrow hallway with steep stairs. They climbed up three flights to the fourth floor, where it opened up to a large landing that contained countless washtubs and buckets. Aida's mother pulled open an iron gate and opened the door inside, ushering Aida in. "Your belongings were delivered to your room earlier this afternoon."

  Aida entered the Loreh residence, feeling slightly claustrophobic at the low ceilings. It was dark inside, forcing Aida to squint. Ah, good. Mana crystals.

  Injecting some mana into the various crystals embedded in the ceiling, Aida lit up the room.

  "Ah, it's so nice to have you home," Ray sighed. He set down the book of matches he had picked up in order to light the candles that were placed right next to the door. "I need to go to the kitchen to put away our dinner, since the Heslias so graciously fed us..."

  He bustled past Aida into the cramped living space, where she saw two small bowls of cold rice, vegetables, and beans on a low coffee table, surrounded by crates of cleaning solutions and rags. He picked them up and carried them carefully to the kitchen, his footsteps familiar with the tight layout, easily finding the rare open areas.

  "You should go wash up," Meg said to Aida, shifting some things around in the living room to make the path to the other three doors a bit more easily traversable. "Your father and I already washed before dinner."

  "Okay." Aida picked her way through the room to the closed bedroom door in the corner next to what was clearly the bathroom, where a small, bubble-lettered sign was taped onto the door, proudly declaring 'Aida's Room!'

  Thank you for your guidance, Aida.

  She shut the door behind her, exhaling. She made it through first contact. She did well—with Sue's help—in seeding the idea that she was different from how everybody remembered her. And the Lorehs, despite their less-than-comfortable living conditions, seemed to be like good people in general.

  Maybe this cycle won’t be so bad.

  Aida surveyed her tiny room. It was slightly smaller than her room back home, with just enough for a single twin bed along one wall, and a desk and chair crammed against the other wall, leaving her room to walk down the length of the room to the desk. At least it's an efficient use of space.

  Aida's luggage from Maglica was stacked neatly on the trunk at the foot of her bed, right beside her.

  It's probably not worth unpacking everything, Aida mused as she began digging through her bags to find her sleepwear. After all, she was leaving at the end of this star cycle. The bedframe creaked as Aida put her items on it, making Aida aware just how old and battered the furniture in this room was.

  Maybe Aida was spoiled, but she missed her large, luxurious room with high ceilings, large and airy windows, and space to spin in the middle of the room back at school. She hoped her lodgings in Burston City would be more roomy than this.

  Aida washed up without running into any trouble, though she gave up on trying to get the hot and cold water to mix properly. It was easier to just have the faucet pour hot water into the wash basin, and then create cold water to mix to her preferred temperature. On the other side of the bathroom walls, she could hear her parents talking to each other as they moved about, getting ready for bed even though it was still relatively early in the evening.

  They confirmed as much when Aida finally stepped out of the bathroom.

  "We're so glad you're home, Aida," Meg said, grasping Aida's hands in her own. Aida could feel the rough, dried skin on her young mother's fingers. "But we need to wake up early tomorrow to finish up some jobs—let's get lunch tomorrow? Whenever you wake up, so we can catch up."

  Aida nodded as Meg gave her a watery smile and kiss, and Ray reached out to her for a tight, one-armed hug.

  "Goodnight, Aida," he said gruffly as he shut the door to their room. "Don't forget to snuff the mana crystals when you go to bed."

  "Of course."

  Waiting until the creaks and activity in her parents' room stilled, Aida began picking carefully around the room, committing to memory all the items and details of what her "childhood" must have been like.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  The Lorehs really didn't have much. They had four worn-out cushions on the floor around the low table, which seemed to serve as a multi-purpose surface. Every available free space was taken up with cleaning supplies: brooms, mops, scrub brushes, gloves, aprons...

  The kitchenette itself was tiny, with one corner stashed with kindling and wood fuel, a small hearth, and a tiny icebox that only went up to her waist. The contents of the icebox were sparse: the two bowls of unfinished dinner Ray had put away, a couple small packages wrapped in paper, and blocks of ice. If Aida had to guess, the Lorehs didn't have time to cook their own meals, and would instead buy takeout and stretch the meal as long as they could.

  Aida shut the icebox, her stomach clenching. Caleb's family had seemed poor, behind the shiny veneer of their public-facing bathhouse. But the Lorehs were indisputably worse off.

  She crept out of the house—if she walked too fast, everything would creak—and out onto the landing, performing a similar survey.

  Levi had informed her that Aida and Sue lived in the same building—or more accurately, Sue's family had managed to buy the building quite early on, due to Sue's mother having done very well for herself as the most popular dancer of her time.

  Ma Heslia, or Rhia, had been smart with her baen. She bought the building so she could have her own stage and shows on the first floor, while she lived on the second with her family and rented out the third and fourth floors. Eventually, Mia and her parents decided it made good business sense to serve food, so the audience members who came to watch Rhia dance could leave with both their souls and bellies satisfied at the end of the night—and also so that they could utilize the space during the daytime, when Rhia wasn't dancing.

  That was how Rhia met Kenny, a strapping young man passionate about cooking and experimenting with flavors, having come to Buddington Town from the south of Wyndia to taste test the region. Sue's grandparents hired Kenny to work dinner shift, and in a tale as old as time, he fell in love with Rhia as he watched her dance.

  As soon as Rhia and Kenny married and got pregnant, Sue's grandparents insisted they move up to the third floor and leave the second and ground floor to Sue's parents.

  As for the fourth floor...there was an uneasy reputation associated with living on the fourth floor, no matter how cheap the rent was. It was only when Kenny and Rhia decided to outsource the cleaning so that Rhia's parents could retire from the restaurant business and help take care of baby Suelina that they were finally able to find a long-term occupant for the rooftop house. Ray had showed up at the restaurant one day, humbly asking Kenny if he had any odd jobs he needed help with. After hearing that Ray had a wife and an infant daughter, Kenny’s heart broke.

  Being generally warmhearted and kind individuals, they worked out an arrangement with the Lorehs that was impossible to reject. In exchange for doing the cleaning and other odd jobs for the restaurant, they could live on the fourth floor for free. Sue's grandparents also offered to watch Aida for them while they worked, since the girls were the same age and it just made sense to raise them together.

  In addition to the living quarters and large landing that doubled as a laundry space, they also had access to the rooftop, which Aida could see had clotheslines strung up everywhere.

  It was this rooftop that Aida was now standing on, surveying the bustling nightlife below.

  Sue and Aida's home was on a main street, crowded with businesses. Even now, she could see a few other restaurant workers bringing bags of dirty linens to the side of their building, depositing them in a waiting area for Aida's parents to pick up for the next day.

  "Aha! I knew you would be here." Aida turned at the chirp, smiling as Sue climbed up the stairs to join her.

  "Nowhere else to go."

  Sue giggled. "That's true. I saw your parents' lights were out, but I knew you wouldn't be asleep yet. By the way, my grands want to see you tomorrow. They don't believe me when I told them you finally came into your own!"

  "Oh," Aida blanched. "Um...my mom said they wanted to get lunch with me tomorrow. I'll drop by when we come back?"

  "That works," Sue nodded. "I'll probably be back home then, too. Drop by the restaurant first!"

  "Will do."

  They stood in silence, looking out at the bustling nightlife.

  "I can't believe I won't be seeing you every day anymore," Sue finally said.

  "Things change so quickly," Aida agreed noncommittally. She leaned her shoulder against Sue's, trying to redirect the melancholy. "But hey! You're a Gullbeak now. How cool is that?"

  Sue laughed, wrapping her arms around Aida. "I never thought in my wildest dreams that it would happen like this!" Her voice dropped longingly. "It would be peak perfection if you were there, too."

  Aida patted Sue's back comfortingly. "You and Caleb are good, right?"

  "Oh, for sure!" Sue pulled back, stretching. "He signed his part-time contract with the Gullbeaks, and Kuri had mentioned Kawa was going to meet with them once Caleb was back to talk about how they can partner together."

  "They like the hot spring that much?" Aida asked, amused. Sue giggled, rubbing her hands together with relish.

  "They do! I'm looking forward to reaping the benefits. But yeah, they saw the potential of the bathhouse to be a great hub of information—health benefits of all the services aside. So they're going to negotiate details, see how they can help offset the costs of running the bath so they can bring the prices down to a more affordable price, allowing them to expand their clientele and gather information at the same time."

  Aida raised her brow appreciatively. Talk about investing back into the community.

  "Hey, but...what was Levi saying about meditation training?"

  Aida sighed heavily, already anticipating Sue's excitement at learning how close Aida would get to seeing carnivorous plants. "You're going to love this. So it turns out there's a Master in the Grasslands..."