"I've only heard good things about her. I wish I could meet her someday."
"We had the honor of talking to her a few times when she visited this village. This was when she was still active. She doesn't come anymore now that she's planning to have her daughter inherit her legacy."
There was a small pause and he continued.
"Back to our topic. In this part of the world, having eyes of two different colors is seen as a bad omen. People possessing them are said to bring misfortune to others. That's why they often end up being shunned by society."
He looked at his daughter sadly, to which she responded in kind.
"It's still mostly fine with other bunnies since we're very united but the way outsiders look at her is always terrible. Can you imagine? She's a bunny and has eyes of different colors at the same time. Even other bunnies are sometimes a bit uncomfortable around her, even though they've known her since she was a baby."
He couldn't help releasing a long sigh. I tried to reassure him.
"I see. You don't need to worry about that with me. There was no such culture in my region."
I gave a big grin to Kuini, which bewildered her. She nodded slightly before avoiding my eyes once again. I could see she was blushing a little, though, so I believed I handled this correctly.
"You're such a breath of fresh air, Tila. If only everyone could think like you."
We chatted for a few more minutes until the house door opened with force. Two small bunnies entered, half running in our direction.
"I'm hungry!"
"Super hungry!"
Waja immediately answered them.
"It's going to be ready soon. We have a guest today. You two should greet him."
They turned to me with a lot of curiosity but also a bit of apprehension.
"Hello?"
I tried to smile with reassurance.
"Hello. I'm Tila. I'm a merchant."
They instantly lost their anxiety and came closer.
"I'm Zoke!"
"I'm Tilen!"
I couldn't help flinching for a second due to their appearance. Bunnies were already endearing due to their size. These two boys were even smaller than the rest of the family and looked totally adorable. Their innocent black eyes contrasted with their pure white fur, and I could have mistaken them for large plushies if I didn't know any better. I had to hold myself not to pet their heads on the spot. Of course, I was aware that boys of this age didn't want to hear anything about them being cute.
"I saw you working in the fields. You were so strong and impressive. You were doing an amazing job!"
Their grins transformed into pure happiness at the praise.
"Really?"
"Really! How old are you?'
"I'm eleven!"
"I'm ten!"
"Wow. I was far from being as great as you when I was your age."
To be exact, I was receiving training so severe that working in the fields would have been considered a vacation, but they didn't need to know about that. It wasn't like they were doing badly either. The two were already well on their way to their first rank-up, which was quite impressive for their age in the outer world.
The timing was just right and I faked taking stuff from my bag again. My hands now held two sets of wooden toys I had bought in Geola.
"This is a present for you two."
"Wow!"
They took the toys, joy filling their expression. They began examining them from all angles straight away before being interrupted by Zay.
"What do you say, you two?"
"Thank you!"
That was a direct hit to my heart. These guys were just too much for me. I became convinced I had to avoid checking how babies of their species looked like if I wanted to maintain my sanity.
"You're welcome."
I stood up to avoid watching them any further. Fortunately, I had one last thing to do. I made my way to the last member of their family while taking out a brooch decorated with beautiful red stones.
"And this is for you."
Kuini took a step back at my approach while checking what I was handing to her. She hesitated for a second, made eye contact for a split moment, and grasped my gift. She blushed a little again and stared at the ground as she answered.
"Thank you very much."
"You're welcome."
We stayed in place for a few heartbeats, not knowing what to say.
"Food's ready! Let's eat."
Waja saved us from this slightly uncomfortable situation. I sat back at the table, next to Zay. The boys had to be scolded a little before they stopped playing with their new toys and came to eat, even though they claimed to be hungry.
We were served a vegetable and meat stew in large bowls. The family members quickly started engulfing their food without any unnecessary preamble and I soon followed their example. The rich taste of newly harvested vegetables from the fields filled my mouth. The taste was indeed better than what I tried in Geola's market. The flavor was more intense while the ingredients felt fresher. Adding to that definitive cooking skills, and I had no choice but to immerse myself in the meal, just like my table neighbors.
Everyone had seconds. Fortunately, the prepared quantity seemed to anticipate this and we managed to be all satisfied by the end of the meal. I marveled at how these small bunnies managed to eat even more than me even though they were half my size. Where did all this food even go?
"Thank you for the meal. It was absolutely delicious, ma'am, Kuini."
"I'm glad you liked it."
Kuini only nodded shyly, looking away as soon as her eyes met mine.
Zay patted his belly, rotating his body to face me once again.
"Let's finish our talk now."
"Yes. I have one question. Can any of you cast "preservation" on the harvested crop?"
The three men were sorcerers while the two women were mages, all of earth affinity. The two parents were rank 4 while the daughter was rank 1. Even though I asked Zay, this question was mostly directed at the women.
"Of course. It was the second spell Waja learned after earth's blessing."
Preservation was a spell that preserved food, allowing for a much greater shelf life. Earth's blessing increases soil fertility and soil nutrients.
"You didn't learn earth shield first?"
It was common sense in my world that the first spell should always be a defensive one. The reasoning was simple. Greater defense allowed for better survival, and as such, more time to rank up and learn other spells.
The couple looked at one another embarrassingly.
"Well, we're bunnies, so…"
They gave me some weird smiles as if this was enough explanation. I wondered if it was because they didn't like to fight like the merchant told me. Still, there was a difference between fighting and defending oneself. Their way of doing things felt quite suicidal from my point of view.
I had no right to criticize a culture I didn't know much about, though, and chose to move the conversation forward instead.