Alicia stood up and gave a bow to show her gratitude before thanking the man.
"Thank you so much for your help, sir! And as a token of appreciation, I'll make the dinner. Please show me around your kitchen, if possible?"
The village chief shook his head with a chuckle.
"There's no need to go so far. I know you are tired after your journey, so I will prepare something myself. Although if you really insist... I don't mind if you help me a little."
"I insist! I wouldn't feel good letting you handle everything after being so kind to us," Alicia insisted, determined to show her appreciation towards him.
After that, she turned toward Nova with a smile. "My love, you go ahead and make yourself comfortable. I'll call you when the food is ready."
Nova nodded in response to her words while standing up himself.
"Very well. I guess I'll be resting for now." He said, stretching his arms while walking up the stairs to take a look at their temporary accommodation.
It was a simple room with a window facing outside as well as a single bed covered by a blanket that was placed at the corner of it.
A wooden nightstand stood next to the bed, containing a candle holder and a small basin that looked like it could be used to keep water in.
Other than that, there wasn't really much else in it.
It looked very plain compared to what Nova used to have back home, but then again, this wasn't their world anymore.
After taking a look around the place, he became invisible and went back to the ground floor.
'I have to keep an eye out on Gregory, just in case,' he thought, not feeling right letting Alicia be alone with that old man.
He may have been their host and seemed trustworthy enough, but that didn't change the fact that he was still a stranger, so Nova wanted to make sure nothing would happen to Alicia.
Meanwhile, Gregory took Alicia to the kitchen and showed her around while discussing the meals they were going to prepare.
"So, what kinds of dishes do you two like? I have some meat and vegetables here that are ready to be cooked. If you like fish, I can buy some from the villagers' market. What do you think?" The old man asked as he started putting everything necessary out in front of Alicia so she could decide what they would make.
Alicia hummed while checking over the ingredients before giving Gregory a smile.
"Thank you so much. We are fine with meat dishes. You don't have to go out of your way for anything else. Ah, let me wash my hands first before preparing anything."
She headed over to the sink and began to scrub her hands using some bar soap.
It was different from the one she was used to from Earth, but Alicia didn't mind it as long as it did the job.
"Haha! You are being too reserved, lady! As a guest, you should enjoy yourself more. It's not like I am poor or anything." Gregory said as he watched Alicia wash her hands.
The sink was a little lower, so when Alicia bent over to scrub her hands, her round butt was sticking out towards him.
Naturally, Gregory's eyes landed on it and lingered there. He couldn't help but admire her fine assets for quite some time.
When Alicia turned around while drying her hands, she noticed the man's eyes were lower than before.
She knew why but didn't make any comments about it or act like how she would have if it was a couple of days ago.
Instead, she just smiled at Gregory and thanked him again before helping him prepare dinner.
Both of them talked about various topics as they cooked.
Alicia asked questions about the village and the surrounding lands as well as about common knowledge of this world.
Gregory, being a chief, was able to provide a lot of information on all those topics since he had lived here his whole life and knew more than most people within its walls.
His answers helped to create a clearer picture of how things worked here inside this new world where they found themselves.
"So you mean there are different races other than humans living in the world as well? Such as elves or dwarves?" Alicia asked, showing interest while cutting up some carrots for the stew she was making.
The old man nodded his head with a chuckle. "Yes, I hear that they exist in the east. There are also beastmen, who are basically half-human and half-beast. I'm not really familiar with what they look like or their behavior since they live in the distant kingdoms and not in these parts of the lands."
"Oh my, you certainly know a lot, don't you?" Alicia said, expressing her admiration for him with an interested tone.
"Hahahaha! Of course, I do!" Gregory exclaimed proudly as he finished slicing the chicken meat. "Well, to be honest, I've traveled many places before coming back here. So I've picked up a lot of things along the way! Though, the adventurer life wasn't something for me. That's why I settled down in my birthplace."
"Adventurer?" Alicia questioned, her interest piqued even further.
Seeing her reaction, the old man couldn't help but ask. "You don't seem like you have experienced many things in life. Did you stay inside your home for your entire life?"
Alicia laughed softly in response, "I did live most of my life staying inside my village. It was secluded and had limited contact with others. So no, I don't have many experiences in life. That's why I am quite interested in what you tell me. Would you tell me more?"
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