All I could feel waking up was the crushing pressure of a vice constricting my temples and hammers pounding at my eyes at the presence of any light.

"Ugh...." -Thomas

"Not feeling so well my friend?" Marco couldn't help but chuckle as he asked. It seems that last night had barely affected him despite him matching me drink for drink. I guess this is the difference in experience between myself and him. I had thought padding my stomach with food would help deal with the alcohol, but I apparently had missed a step. Him drinking water regularly throughout the night in between drinks suddenly made a lot more sense, I had just thought he was washing out his mouth with something other than alcohol.

I couldn't even muster up the willpower to let out a groan in response. A glass was pressed against my face, which prompted me to cautiously open my eyes and get an eyeful of some orangish and viscous liquid settled within.

"Here drink this, it's an old family hangover cure. Just down it in one though, trust me, you don't want to taste it longer than you have to." -Marco

Deciding to trust the man, I grabbed the glass hurriedly and poured it into my upturned throat, the oddly slimy and burning mixture went down like a glass of toxic slime and I had to do my best to repress a shudder of revulsion.

*cough cough* "What did you put in that Marco?" -Thomas

"Oh, you know, some eggs, pepper sauce, and tequila to help it go down." -Marco

"That was revolting." -Thomas

"Maybe, but it worked didn't it." -Marco

I couldn't refute the man, either because the cure was effective or I was so shocked and disgusted I didn't even remember that I should be hurting. That didn't mean I had to be happy about it, but it was hard to mope when you could smell something delicious being cooked in the kitchen only a room away.

It seems Esmerelda had gotten up early to prepare a simple but large meal. I could see diced potatoes being fried up with various spices, and after they had crisped up, she added blended tomatoes. Once that had begun to simmer and nearly boil, she broke eggs over the mixture and set it on the table to cook while she prepared another dish. This one required no cooking, as she peeled and diced various fruits to mix together in a fruit salad.

Alexis showed up freshly showered from her room just in time to sit down at the table as the fruit was served, and after Marco had finished praying over the food we all began to dig in. The potato dish was so savory and hearty but went so well with the refreshing fruit that it was hard not to eat all of the food myself. We didn't get mangoes or papaya in our city very often, so this was a special treat for Alexis and I.

She seemed to be enjoying the meal as much as I did, and it seemed she ate the most fruit out of all of us. I could guess why she might act like that since I was in a similar situation where fruit was a luxury we couldn't regularly afford. Fresh fruit was one of the few things we relied on farmers or traveling merchants for, and as a result, the price was much higher than most actual meals. Those of us who were relatively poor had to choose between a tasty snack or actual filling meals, the choice was fairly obvious when survival is on the table.

The meal was filling, and everyone seemed to be in a good mood after the exhausting fun we had yesterday, somehow I was the only person showing any signs of the alcohol drank last night. I didn't want to seem like a wimp, so I sucked it up and did my best to enjoy our breakfast.

It didn't hurt that the disgusting hangover cure actually seemed to work, and as a result, I was mostly back to normal after a bit of food in my belly. I could now confirm that heavy food was the way to go after a night of drinking, not that I would be repeating that anytime soon, at least not in that amount. Mira was right that moderation was in fact the best strategy for drinking if I didn't want to be left miserable the next day.

......

After the breakfast, Mira and I stayed behind with Marco and Esmerelda to talk while their children went out to play with the other kids. Deciding I should help keep an eye on them, I have Emett go with them and play. He's usually a stonefaced summon, forgive the pun, but he seemed especially fond of playing with the children. It was unexpected, but he had the time of his life making slides from the earth and playing tag with the children.

Once they were gone, we got served some coffee and begin chatting with the couple. I hoped to find out about their culture and lives, especially before the summoning era which I didn't really get to experience much of. The parts I did remember weren't particularly pleasant either, but that didn't mean that the Espinoza's didn't have fond memories of the time before all of this.

Judging by the age of their children, I could tell they had been married for a while before the summoning era, but that was about all I knew.

"How did both of you meet?" -Thomas

"We went to the same university together, and I had met Marco in my biology class." -Esmerelda

"The moment I saw her, I knew she was the one. After the class had ended, I went to introduce myself and somehow worked up the courage to ask her on a date." -Marco

"Poor Marco looked so nervous when he came up to me, I couldn't help but agree to go on a date with him." -Esmerelda

"It was the most nervous I've ever been, and I wasn't any better while on the date. I must have stuttered about every other sentence. But she stayed with me, and we've been together ever since." -Marco

"That's wonderful, and it seems like your family has stayed together through all this time. I imagine it wasn't easy getting through the beginning of the new era, but what I really want to know is what was your life like before all of this." -Alexis

"Well, I was a teacher after college and eventually taught Biology at the same university we both went to. Marco was a construction foreman and had his own little business before all of this, in fact our neighbors that you all met once belonged to his company. We treat them like family and stayed together to make sure we were all safe and cared for." -Esmerelda

"Now enough about us, what about you two? How long have you been together?" -Esmerelda

"Oh, we're not together right now. We've just been partners since the latest monster break, she was being attacked by a pack of orcs and I was nearby to help her out. After that, we started working together after realizing just how much safer it was to work in groups and have been ever since." -Thomas

"But what about when you two met? I heard you say that was when you became partners, but it seems like you both knew each other before that." -Esmerelda

"We first met each other at a colosseum tournament, and I ended up facing him in the finals. I ended up beating him after a close match between my bladed mantis and his shadow wolf." -Alexis

......

That ended up being the last of our conversation for the morning as the kids came back and it was time for Alexis and I to go out to make some money and train our new summons. Emett seemed to come back in a good mood, so I can only assume he had fun with the children.

Meeting this happy family ended up being a blessing as they offered to let us stay with them when we were in the city. We eventually took them up on their offer after a bit of coaxing, but Alexis and I both agreed that we would repay them in some way.