Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons novel Chapter 261

The kitchen's heat had eased now that dinner service was ending. Freshly washed pots gleamed in the dim light, and the lingering aroma of spices hung in the air.

Fern Patinders untied her apron with a relieved sigh as her husband, Reed Patinder, stored the last knives in their rack. Her hands, weathered by decades of culinary work, moved with practiced efficiency.

Reed's fingers, marked with the occasional scar from ancient cuts, also displayed the precision and grace that only years of experience could bestow.

"Everything ready?" Fern asked, tucking a strand of grayish hair back under her cap. Though lately, she'd noticed a few small strands seemingly regaining their color, just like they had eleven years ago.

Reed nodded as he wiped down the work surface one final time.

"Perfectly clean, as it should be," he replied with a tired but satisfied smile.

The restaurant owner entered the kitchen while counting the day's earnings, crystals clinking softly between his fingers.

"Another exceptional day, thanks to you two," he remarked, looking up from his counting. "That new sweet root stew recipe was a complete success."

"It's Ren's favorite, so we wanted to improve it," Fern said, her voice carrying a blend of pride and longing. "I thought customers might enjoy trying the enhanced version too."

"You were right," the owner replied, separating out one hundred crystals and handing them to Reed. "Here's today's bonus for the new culinary experience, as agreed."

Reed accepted the crystals, adding them to the small pouch he kept in his pocket.

"Thank you," he said with a slight bow. "See you tomorrow."

"Until tomorrow. Rest well," the owner replied, returning to his accounts.

The couple exited through the restaurant's back door. The twilight sky stretched above them in shades of orange and purple, while the twelve moons began to peek shyly from behind scattered clouds.

"That makes two hundred now," Reed commented as they walked through the streets of the outer district, where homes gradually became more modest. The cobblestones gave way to packed dirt beneath their feet. "Enough to replace what we've already used."

Fern nodded, gently squeezing her husband's hand.

"Mr. Cirrus's Roc beast predicted clear skies tomorrow," Reed said. "He passed along the forecast as usual, though my knees already told me, they haven't been aching. We can process them together at dawn, before work."

They walked in comfortable silence for a stretch, each lost in their own thoughts. Their "mature" Iron-rank plants hung from their heads, only a few discrete leaves and vines peeking out from beneath their humble hats.

"Do you think Ren is doing alright?" Fern finally asked, worry seeping into her voice.

Reed squeezed her hand more firmly.

"I'm sure he is. He's a clever boy, and he always listened to our advice. He must be learning so much."

"It's been almost six months," Fern murmured, her voice dropping to a whisper. "When we're not working... the house feels so empty without him."

No more words were needed to open the daily wound. They both felt their son's absence like a physical pressure… a hollow space that nothing could fill.

As they rounded the corner, their former owned home appeared before them. The rental cottage was still their life, the familiar sight of its tilted roof and worn door brought a measure of comfort. Reed fumbled with the key, the old lock sticking as it always did.

Once inside, Reed lit a lamp while Fern removed the newly acquired crystals and placed them carefully in a small black box alongside others of similar size.

"We have enough now, so we won't run out of what Ren left us," she observed, studying the collection with bittersweet pride.

Reed approached, peering over her shoulder. The crystals' soft luminescence reflected in his tired eyes.

"Remember how he gave us all those instructions before leaving?" he asked with a nostalgic smile. "So serious, like a little professor... Though his inventions are becoming increasingly elaborate. I had to write down the steps or I would have forgotten them."

"A thousand-day cultivation method," Fern replied, laughing softly. The sound filled the small room like music. "Such an imagination... As if weak plants needed more cultivation time than legendary Platinum-rank tamers beasts."

They both vividly recalled that day, shortly before Ren departed for the academy. Their son, with those luminescent mushrooms in his hair, explaining with absolute conviction a ritual that would supposedly elevate their mature plants to the power of a Bronze-2 rank beast.

They'd taken it as a childish fantasy, a comfort that Ren had invented to cope with the disappointment of receiving the weakest beast. But they had promised to follow the ritual, day after day, without fail.

And so far, they had kept that promise.

"For a little white lie," Reed admitted as he sank into a chair with a tired sigh, "it's been surprisingly useful. Gives me something to look forward to each morning."

Fern nodded, preparing an herbal infusion for them both. The kettle whistled softly on the small stove, releasing a cloud of fragrant steam.

They looked at each other in silence, an unspoken question hanging between them like morning mist. _{freēwebnovel.com}