Chapter 45: Chapter 45 - Anna, The Housekeeper
Theodore stared back at his teacher before averting his gaze a little, feeling somewhat guilty.
He then hastily tried to think of a topic to talk about to divert his teacher's attention.
"Teacher, I just want to ask if you have anything you want to have for dinner?" After Theodore finished saying, he felt so embarrassed that he wished he could bite his tongue or find a hole to bury himself in.
The topic that he had come up with a great effort in a short time turned out to be so awkward.
Theodore tried as much as he could to hide his embarrassment and tried to act naturally.
"..." Nathan felt that as long as he was not blind, he would notice that his disciple was acting unnaturally.
After being with him for so long, how could his disciple not know he did not need to eat? Most of the time, his apprentice took the lead to find the restaurant where they would dine, and he would accompany him.
Although it was weird, Nathan did not ponder over the topic much.
He guessed that Theodore was acting like this because he wanted to alleviate the situation between them. Therefore, after some consideration, he replied, "I can eat anything. What do you want to eat?"
There was another dead silence as a result.
Hearing Nathan's question, Theodore did not know how to respond to his teacher; he also did not have anything he especially wanted to eat as well.
'As expected, it was not a good topic to talk about. Regardless, I was fortunate to change the topic successfully, and the teacher did not doubt my previous behavior.' Theodore secretly heaved a big sigh of relief.
Nevertheless, he was not completely relaxed, and his mind was calculating rapidly. He needed to come up with something that would ensure that he was not too suspicious.
Theodore thought hard before recalling the existence of a particular formation's spirit, Anna.
He remembered her saying he could call her if he needed help in the mansion.
Theodore pondered for a moment before voicing out his thoughts to Nathan. "Teacher, how about asking sister Anna?"
After Theodore opened the conversation's topic, he revealed to his teacher some details of his previous discussion with Anna and his purpose.
The more Nathan listened to Theodore's explanation, the more brightened and sparking his eyes became that he could barely hide them, showing his apparent interest in the proposal.
Nathen listened until his disciple finished explaining before expressing his approval. "Interesting, then let's do it that way. Do you know how to call Anna out?"
Theodore recalled back to the conversation he previously had. From what Anna explicitly told him, he only needed to call her out?
Although Theodore was skeptical about the method, he decided to try it. He first explained what he knew to his teacher. "From what sister Anna had said, we only need to call her name in the mansion deliberately so she can sense it and come out."
Nathan also nodded in response to his student's explanation, signaling that Theodore could start contacting Anna, the formation's spirit, anytime.
"I will try calling now," Seeing Nathan's response, Theodore responsively replied.
He first thought of Anna before adjusting his mood to feel he needed her help.
"Sister Anna. Sister Anna, can you help me?" After judging that he was in the right mood, he started calling.
Theodore barely finished calling before Anna's voice sounded as a reply to him with concern, "Little Theodore, are you alright? What help do you need?"
Although the formation's spirit, Anna, did not show her figure as always, her voice still as if she was close to them and remained as ethereal as ever.
"Actually, it was a trivial matter. I want to ask if you can cook." Theodore asked with a shy expression. This time, it was his true feeling because he requested others for help on such an insignificant issue, no matter how interesting it seemed.
Anna also felt surprised by Theodore's request. She hesitantly asked him again for confirmation, "You call me to help with... cooking?"
Theodore nodded in response to Anna's question; his ears turned red from embarrassment.
Anna looked deeply at Theodore before shifting her gaze to Nathan, wondering whose idea it was. However, she was not concerned about the request and even felt somewhat happy.
If no one called her out, she would need to return to her deep slumber without the concept of time again. It was utterly dull, and it seemed to her that life was meaningless.
It was good that someone willingly called her out, even if it was trivial. Who would want to spend their life sleeping, waking to do the job, and then sleeping again?
"Don't worry, I can cook, and I can cook very well," With this thought, Anna affirmed with a more cheerful voice. She added, "You go wait with your teacher; leave the rest to me."
Theodore looked at the kitchen, feeling a little unsettled.
Meanwhile, Nathan observed Anna's actions attentively, hoping he could study her and understand the theory behind her function.
...
Regardless of what a pair of a teacher and an apprentice thought, Anna started her cooking session.
The kitchen equipment and utensils started moving as if they had their own thought.
When Anna lacked ingredients, the space gate would open, and the required material would come out on its initiative.
Anna brought these ingredients from frozen storage that stored food in the mansion so it would rot much slower than in the outside world.
It was the first time anyone had used these materials since long ago; if Theodore had not asked her to cook, she might even completely forget its existence.
Anna continued cooking with relish. She decided to cook any food she found fascinating; in any case, no one would use these ingredients except her.
Nathan and Theodore watched Anna finish one dish after another before serving them on the table, feeling perplexed.
It was alright at first; however, Anna continued to cook more without any intention to stop.
The two of them looked at each other, communicating with their eyes whether they should stop Anna, but no one went forward in the end.
Fortunately, it was as if the formation's spirit had calculated in advance; after the dish filled up the table that there was no space left, Anna also stopped.
...
Nathan and Theodore had a relatively happy and overfilled dinner as they talked with Anna and the two spiritual weapons.
After finishing the dinner, Nathan gave Theodore a medicine that helped digestion.
He did not need it; as a mana user of his level, he could instinctively eliminate any undesirable effect he had on his body, but his apprentice could not.
Theodore swallowed the medicine in one gulp before lightly frowning due to its bitterness.
No matter how long, whether the current him or the future him, he could never get used to the bitter taste.
After drinking water to eliminate the bitter taste, Theodore bid his farewell to his teacher.
He then returned to his room with the two spiritual weapons.
...
Theodore laid down, stretching out, on his bed with the Impending Doom on his left, the Misty Blade on his right, and his duck plushie in his hand.
He was thinking about his future.
He would start practicing again on the path of the mana user tomorrow.
Theodore dearly wished that he could prevent that horrible future from happening.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
SleepyCultivator
SleepyCultivator The first arc was complete. (>o<)
Although the story was somewhat (really) slower than expected, I managed to finish everything I wanted in the first part.
I also would like to apologize in advance, but I think I would stop updating for some time to stockpile the chapter and reorganize the story. I feel that every week was a rush to complete the chapter and that I did not plan that carefully before writing. I will try to plan better in the future.
See you again soon in arc 2. Thank you very much.
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