Cellestra had initially giggled at the comment but after making our way back, and slaying a Firag, which I dragged back behind us (minus its head as that had been severed) I could see in her eyes that she was lost in thought.

“Kea?” She finally asked with her soft voice.

“Hm?”

“You said you hated pumpkins. May I ask if it has to do with your previous life?”

“Of course,” I nodded. “And yes, it does have to do with it. Unfortunately, I’ve had too much of it, to the point where I don’t think I’ll ever enjoy it again. In fact, I never enjoyed it.”

I felt my mood sour just thinking about it. I hid it as best I could and remained calm, but I was sure Cellestra had noticed my change in demeanor.

“Sounds like you had an awful time back there.”

I sighed, deeply.

“Well, you know the story. I wish I could forget more than I already have, but it’s whatever at this point.”

She nodded and we didn’t speak another word until we’d reached the entrance and exited the dungeon. I still had the strange, steel object in my hand, my attention not leaving it.

When I knocked on the door, I was more than glad to see Felmar appear with his clipboard in hand, as usual.

“Glad to see the two of you are doing okay,” He said as he started scribbling as he muttered: “One fully intact Firag.”

He then resumed in his normal voice.

“Seems you didn’t get out of that unscathed. Congratulations on defeating the floor boss, though.”

“Well, we are unscathed. I just couldn’t avoid getting messy.” I then held up the object we found. “I have the feeling you know more about this than me. Mind sharing some wisdom?”

“It’s a key,” He stated matter-of-factly. “And you’re quite lucky to find that. It allows access to the fourth floor of the dungeon without having to kill the boss on the third floor.”

“Lucky to find it? Is it rare? And what did you say about not having to kill the boss? Is this item not necessary to continue?”

My barrage of questions had the clerk smiling slightly as he finished writing.

“About one in ten kills will yield one. One could call that rare. To answer your other question, no, you don't need this to advance. When the boss dies, some time passes, and the way to the next floor will be opened. If you have the key, you can see the way forward and choose to ignore the boss.”

“Huh, that’s interesting to know. Thanks a lot.”

“Glad to be of help. I’m sure you’ll be delighted to hear your pelt is ready as well.”

“Very much so,” I said with a smile.

“Alright. I’ll get that and your payment.”

I nodded and watched him disappear inside before my eyes traveled back to the rod.

“A key, huh? I mean, it makes sense.”

“It does,” Cellestra replied. “But it’s not the typical type of key, that’s for sure.”

“Yeah, no kidding. Like, there has to be some kind of magic in here, right? Well, I’ve been staring at it ever since I got it, and I still cannot figure it out. I don’t see or sense anything.”

Cellestra shrugged and smiled.

“Hey, as long as it works, right?”

I chuckled and finally handed the object over so she could stash it away. In return, she gave me the now-empty pouch we used to store our money.

“Should we try to fill this one up a bit more tomorrow?” I asked. “I’ll be honest, it feels awkward to be broke. Good thing it doesn’t last long.”

“Perhaps. Could be a good opportunity for the little ones to acquire more abilities as well.”

“It kind of sucks to not know how much time we have before things get out of hand in the south. We should probably ask Soranir for an update sometime soon, but I don’t think enough time has passed for things to be that evolved yet.”

“Okay, Kea,” Cellestra said with a straight face before taking a pause and a deep breath. “I feel like you’re putting too much on your plate. I get that you want to exploit your blessing as much as you possibly can, but don’t feel like you’re solely responsible for this, nor think you’re the one that has to fix it. You’ve heard the mayor, there are going to be many people involved in this. We should accept things as they are and learn to rely on them.”

“You’re right,” I said with a deep sigh. “And I know that, too.”

“I get your worries. I’m worried too, but we simply can’t move the world. We’re doing as much as we can as it is.”

I nodded in agreement.

“True. There’s very little we can do at the moment except what we have been doing all this time. The only thing I can imagine is to donate more money, but I’d like to talk with Soranir about that, maybe give it to him directly.”

“Just make sure you keep enough for yourself, okay? I know you don’t care too much, but it’s important to spend some on yourself too.”

“I get it, I get it,” I said as Felmar returned. I didn’t like talking about this topic, but it did help a bit to calm my nerves. The mayor had talked about an operation of unprecedented scale earlier, after all. He deserved my confidence.

The clerk held out a neatly folded Firag pelt in front of him with four gold coins on top of it. Just the sight of it made me almost forget about what we’d just talked about, and I soon ran my fingers through the soft, warm hairs. I just knew my mother would love this.

“It’s even better than I expected. Thank you so much,” I said as I took the coins and then the fur coat.

“And I thank you for your service to the guild, as usual. Have a great rest of the day.”

“Thanks, Felmar. Take care.”

I couldn’t resist running my hands through the fur and then compare it to my own, the sight of which made Cellestra giggle.

“We’re definitely going to get some more of this,” I said. “Somehow they made it even softer than it was before.”

“Can I feel it?”

“Sure. Just don’t get it dirty.”

I gave her the items and smiled as I watched her do the exact same thing while making my way back to the farm.

“You know, I do wonder how things are going with my parents, whether the spiderlings are able to work the fields now.”

“I’m certain they are,” Cellestra replied. “They are very quick learners, after all.”

“True.”

When we got there, however, the fields were unmanned, and those in charge were just relaxing at the table, drinking tea, while Shayla was running around, Elira on her back, followed closely by Faerith.

The sight was as cute as always.

Just as cute was Elle, who was the first to notice me and sprinted towards me to take me in for a hug. When she did, she caught my mother’s attention, whose eyes immediately fell on my orange-smeared abdomen.

“It’s fine,” I said as I approached. “It’s just pumpkin.”

That wiped the worried look off of her face, as well as my dad’s.

“Yes, we fought a giant pumpkin monster. I know it’s hard to believe, but that’s what happened. Took some collateral damage in the process.”

“Pumpkin…” My father started.

“Monster?” My mother finished his sentence.

I nodded.

“Told you it’s hard to believe. I’ll take a nice bath later to clean it. How are things here? I thought you were going to work the field?”

“Already done,” My father said with a grimace, which only intensified when he saw me look at him with large eyes, and not the ones below my waist. “It only took a few minutes to teach your spiders what a weed was. After that, it was child’s play. Having so many eyes, arms and legs certainly speeds things up.”

“Told you,” Cellestra said, smiling from ear to ear as she jumped off my back.

“Sis!” Elira shouted as she ran up to me. “You’re orange! What happened?”

“Would you believe me if I said we fought a giant pumpkin monster that exploded when it died?”

“Woah! A pumpkin monster? That sounds scary!”

“It was for a moment, but we took it down in the end. Did I ever tell you I hate pumpkins?”

“You do? So do I! Mom made some a while ago and it was just… yuck!”

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud, and even louder when I looked at my mother’s quizzical expression. I’d have to explain later that it had nothing to do with her cooking skills. Goddess knows they were the best I knew.

The little girl took me in for a hug and I patted her as I let out a sigh at her carefree and infectious wonder.

Part of me hoped I was exactly like her when I was young.