The younger woman set the container down, then turned immediately, her voice low.
"Can he really use water magic?"
The old woman shook her head slightly. "I am not sure, but he said it himself—he can use water magic. And they didn't seem concerned about the water they were wasting."
Her brows drew together. "Then it doesn't make sense. For a water magician, working for five gold is too low. Even filling containers alone would cost more than that. And he is willing to water the whole field."
She let the thought trail off.
The old woman exhaled softly. "He might not know."
"Not know?"
"A magician like him, who is definitely from a good background," she said, "doesn't have to think about value. Maybe for him, it's just about playing. When he gets bored, he'd probably go back."
The younger woman didn't look convinced.
"Even so," she said quietly, "this still feels wrong."
The old woman's gaze lowered slightly.
"If we paid what it's actually worth…" she murmured, "we wouldn't last the month."
The younger woman didn't argue further, but the hesitation remained in her expression.
---
While they were talking, outside, Adrian stood still, his gaze fixed on the half-open door.
The voices inside were too low to make out clearly, but the tone was enough.
He frowned slightly.
Something about this still didn't sit right; there was even a fleeting thought of just running away.
Beside him, Elena remained composed, though her attention had shifted subtly toward the house.
After a short time, both women stepped out, their expressions composed—almost too composed.
"If you're still willing," the older woman said, "you can start with filling the containers we have in the backyard."
Adrian didn't answer immediately. He was already thinking about how to politely reject them; the uneasy feeling had only grown stronger. But before he could respond, the younger woman stepped forward.
She reached out and took his hand lightly, her grip warm and lingering. Her touch felt deliberately intimate, almost inviting, as if she were pulling him closer without moving. Her eyes lifted to meet his, soft and grateful, with something deeper simmering beneath.
"Thank you," she said, her voice soft and breathy. "We really needed the help… we didn't know how we were going to manage."
Adrian stilled at the contact, the warmth of her palm seeping into him, stirring an involuntary awareness of how close she stood, how her body angled subtly toward his.
Before he could be distracted by her gentleness, Elena stepped in sharply.
Her hand moved with possessive speed and freed his hand from the woman's grasp, yanking him back a half-step toward her side. Her grip was tight, protective, her body shifting to place herself slightly in front of him like a shield.
"It's fine," she said calmly, though her voice carried a sharp edge, her eyes narrowing at the younger woman. "He will be just helping."
The woman blinked once, then withdrew her hand without protest, though a faint, knowing smile tugged at the corner of her lips for the briefest moment before it vanished.
There was a brief, tense pause.
Elena's gaze shifted slightly, still locked on the younger woman. "Do you have any other family nearby?"
The younger woman's expression faltered, just for a moment, her cheeks flushing faintly as if the interruption had caught her off guard.
Before she could answer—
"No," the old woman said from the side.
Both of them turned.
Her voice remained steady, though quiet with old grief.
"My husband… my son… both died when the town was attacked by those penguins."
A brief silence followed.
Adrian blinked once, as if trying to make sense of what he was hearing.
Elena's grip on his hand didn't loosen, though her gaze sharpened just a little.
The word penguins lingered in their minds.
Either they had misheard… or "penguins" in this world was not a cute animal, but something else entirely.
Even if he was confused, he didn't question it. Instead, he decided to change the subject.
"Should we start filling the containers?" he asked instead.
The old woman gave a small nod, then led them around the side of the house.
Behind it, several large containers were arranged in a shaded area—wide-mouthed clay vessels, reinforced with rough bindings and partially buried in the ground to keep them cool.
Even without being told, the care was obvious.
Water wasn't just stored here. It was preserved.
The old woman stepped forward and loosened one of the coverings before lifting the lid aside.
Adrian moved closer, peering inside.
It was deeper than he expected.
The container extended well below ground level; it looked like it could take forever just to fill manually.
For a moment, his earlier doubts faded—after all, this wasn't an easy job.
"Do you think you can fill it?" the woman asked.
Adrian hesitated slightly, still looking down into it. "It might take some time."
Both women seemed to relax at that.
"That's fine," the old woman said. "Take your time."
Adrian straightened, then formed a small sphere of water in front of him. Without overthinking it, he flicked it into the container.
Only after two seconds did a faint splash echo from below.
After that, he created another sphere. Another thrown inside.
This time, he didn't stop.
One after another, small spheres formed and dropped into the container in a steady rhythm.
The sound of water striking the bottom began to repeat, soft but consistent.
The old woman watched in silence.
The younger woman's expression shifted slightly, something between surprise and quiet disbelief.
Off to the side, Elena had already stepped closer to them, her tone casual as she spoke.
"We didn't get your name," she said lightly.
The younger woman glanced at her, still half-distracted by the sound behind them. "It's Lina."
Elena nodded. "I'm Elena," she said. "And he's Adrian."
Lina gave a small nod in return, though her attention flicked back toward the container almost immediately.
"May I ask your name?" Elena asked.
The old woman paused briefly before answering.
"Mara."
There was a short pause after that.
Mara's gaze shifted between the two of them, lingering slightly longer on Adrian before returning to Elena.
"And you?" she asked. "What is your relation to him?"
Elena didn't hesitate.
"We're lovers."
Mara gave a slow nod, accepting it without question.
Ahead them Adrian's hand paused mid-motion then continue again.
He kept his movements steady, refusing to look back. While thinking 'Since when did they become lovers can't she just say we are friends.
Authors note : I guess we have to really decide theme of the story technically there would be no issue completing the first volume with the 15 chapters around 60000 words but from the result I do not see anyone being interested since there is no from hook feel like if it was a anime people would have giving the very low score.