Colby whipped around and stared at his loving parents. Though judging from how mad they were, loving may be a thing of the past.

  They wore simple yellow shirts with a white apron tied over them. On his mother’s head was a red and white polka-dot handkerchief that tied her blonde hair into a ponytail, while his father had a blueish-green hood that was currently down, showing off his neat black hair.

  Colby had inherited his father’s hair color and thankfully none of his parents’ fashion sense. Instead of that questionable yellow color, he stuck with a plain brown shirt. It didn’t offend the eyes or make him stick out like a sore jaundiced thumb.

  Together, they both stared him down, though it was mostly his father doing the staring down since he and his mother were the same height.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” his mother, Pepper, asked.

  “And what do you think you’re doing?” his father, Jack, added, tag teaming him in what could only be described as the interrogation of the century.

  Colby’s mind was reeling. What should he do? What should he say? Darn it, all he wanted to do was to improve his [Cheesemaking] and make the ultimate cheese.

  “I love you?” Colby said, voice rising in pitch close to the end.

  “I love you too, honey,” his mom said in a stern tone. “But where are you going? You’re supposed to be looking after the shop.”

  “And where’s Brie? Don’t tell me you left your sister alone?” his father asked, growing madder by the second.

  This was exactly what he was hoping to avoid. Should he lie? No, they’d sniff it out of him before he got a second word out.

  “I’m sorry,” Colby said. “Ms. M was here and wanted some chèvre, but we ran out of Skate Goat milk, so I was about to run down to the General Store. I locked the bedroom door and gave Brie some mozzarella. I told her not to open it for anyone. I also locked the shop door and Ms. M’s inside, she said she didn’t mind waiting for her order,” Colby confessed.

  Both of his parents signed in unison. His father placed a hand on Colby’s shoulder, squeezing it tight as if to vent some of his stress.

  “You were making mozzarella using the Skate Goat milk, weren’t you? That’s why you ran out?”

  Colby averted his gaze, choosing to stare at his brown leather shoes. “Maybe.”

  This time, his mother spoke up, “I told you already, Colby. We’re okay if you want to experiment with cheese; that’s how you improve. That’s how me and your father improved our [Cheesemaking], but you need to remember that we’re running a cheese shop. We need to leave enough ingredients for the customers. Okay?”

  “Yes, Mom. Sorry, Mom.”

  “And don’t lock customers in the shop. Especially not someone as important as Ms. M,” his father added.

  “Yes, Dad. Sorry, Dad,” he repeated.

  “Now give mommy a big hug.”

  Pepper opened her arms wide, wrapping Colby in a tight hug. His father, Jack, more muscular than you’d expect a cheese maker to be, joined in. He squeezed them tight, choking the air out of him. His mother, on the other hand, enjoyed the embrace, leaning into her husband’s pecs with a happy sigh.

  “Me! Me! Me!” a voice called out from high above them. “Me want huggy!”

  The three of them looked up to find a small, blonde-haired girl falling.

  “Brie!” Colby shouted, watching as his sister plummeted to the ground.

  He immediately unstuck himself from the hug and brought his arms out. Shifting left and right, he tried his best to make sure she landed in his arms or, at worst, on him.

  A hand suddenly pulled him away. It was his mom.

  “Mom! But Brie!”

  “Don’t worry, Colbs,” his dad said. “I’ve got this.”

  Colby watched as his father closed his eyes, concentrating on his Core, and held both of his hands out. The next moment, white, soft, and gooey cheese expelled from his palms. A huge ball of mozzarella appeared right in front of him. More importantly, right below Brie.

  That was [Cheese Pillow]. A huge one and made entirely out of soft and squishy mozzarella.

  She hit the mozzarella, the huge lump squishing under her weight as she sank into its yumminess.

  “Yay! Again! Again!” she cheered.

  “Come here, my little cheese puff,” his dad said, scooping Brie up from the huge mozzarella. He lifted her high in the air and spun around in a circle.

  “Whee!” she squealed. “I’m flying.”

  Relief flooded his system. Brie was safe.

  ‘But right behind it came anger.

  What if Dad wasn’t here to catch her?

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  “Brie!” Colby shouted. He left his mother’s side and ran up to his father. “Are you okay?”

  He didn’t know how to feel. Two conflicting emotions tugged at him. So, he chose the option that would ultimately make sure that she would never do something this crazy again.

  “Yup!” she yelled, still having the time of her life being spun up in the air.

  “Why’d you jump out of the window?” Colby asked.

  “I saw you getting huggies. I wanted one too.”

  “That was dangerous, Brie! And I thought I told you to stay in the room.”

  “No, you saidy not to go out of the door. I went out the window,” she giggled.

  “That’s not the point! What if Mom and Dad weren’t here to save you?”

  “Now, now, Colby.” His mother placed a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t shout at your sister.”

  “What if she got hurt? She needs to be told not to do that again.”

  “We know, son,” his father said, finally lowering Brie down to the ground. “But, there are better ways to teach her than shouting.”

  Colby looked down at his sister. Tears were welling up around her eyes. She sniffed, hugging her father's pants.

  Curds! They were right.

  “I’m sorry, Brie,” Colby said.

  Brie sniffed, “Are you angry at me, Broby?”

  “No, it’s not that. It’s just… I was just worried. I’m sorry, Brie.”

  His mother moved closer to Brie, going down on one knee.

  “Brie, dear,” she said softly. “Jumping out of windows is very dangerous. Your big brother was just making sure you’re safe. Promise me that you won’t do something like that again?”

  She nodded and sniffed, using her father’s pant leg to wipe the snot leaking out of her nostrils.

  “Good girl,” his mother said, pulling her into a hug. “Now, go say sorry to your brother.”

  Brie nodded once more. She let go of her father’s leg and slowly walked over to Colby. In response, he bent down, waiting for her to come closer.

  “I’m sowwy, Broby,” she sniffed. “I love you, Broby.”

  “I love you too,” Colby said, spreading his arms.

  Brie rushed forward, throwing herself into his embrace.

  “Do you forgive me, Broby?”

  “Of course, Brie. Of course.”

  She sniffed one last time, rubbing her face back and forth against his brown shirt that was now stained with snot. Gross. But if it meant a sister who’d stop jumping out of windows, it was a small price to pay.

  “Come, cheese puff,” his father said, grabbing her small hand. “Your brother needs to run down to the General Store to buy some ingredients.”

  “Okay, daddy. Bye, Broby.”

  “Don’t worry about the [Cheese Pillow], we’ll clean it up. Oh, and we’ll handle Ms. M. But remember not to take too long.”

  “And Colby, honey,” his mother said.

  “Yes, Mom?”

  “This is coming out of your allowance.”

  Colby sighed. He had already expected it, but it still sucked.

  “Okay, Mom.”

  His parents unlocked the shop. While his father carried Brie back inside, his mother stayed behind to deal with the [Cheese Pillow].

  As the name of the spell implied, it was a cheese crafted with the intent to be as soft and fluffy as a pillow. Using different cheeses would modify the effectiveness of the spell. Something soft and squishy like mozzarella would make the perfect cushion. While something hard like Parmigiano Reggiano would make you wish you had hit the floor instead.

  His mom placed her palms over the huge, soft pillow. The surface rippled, and in an instant, the large lump of cheese was sliced into many tiny pieces. Without lowering her hands, the squares of cheese in the air folded in on themselves, compressing into innumerable small balls. When that was done, a screen appeared beside her, and she sent the clean floating balls of mozzarella into her Inventory.

  The rest of the cheese—the parts that had touched the ground—didn’t receive such special treatment. Instead of entering her Inventory, they hovered around her. She pointed at a nearby trash can, and like obedient little cheese soldiers, they floated towards it, plopping inside.

  When would he be able to manipulate cheese like that? Oh, even more experiments were filling his mind. Ideas beyond simply replacing the Daisy Cow milk in mozzarella with Skate Goat milk.

  Finished cleaning up, her mom dusted off her hands, satisfied with a job well done. That was when she noticed that Colby was still here, watching.

  “What are you doing, Colby?” she asked.

  “Sorry, Mom. I was just watching. I’ll be going now.”

  Colby ran off, down the streets of Brinebrook. As he passed by the cobbled roads, lined with equally cobbled houses, he took in the sights and sounds of the mid-sized town of the kingdom of Paralos.

  The street he ran down was one filled with shophouses, much like the cheese shop his parents ran. It was a really convenient design with an equally convenient name. It was a shop which also doubled as a house.

  Colby was familiar with the shops down this street. There were smithies, bookshops, hair salons, restaurants, and more. He ran past a shop selling flowers. Outside were various lovely smelling flowers, though none could compare to the rich, mouthwatering aroma of his cheese.

  A lady stood outside tending to the plants, humming softly as she watered them. Instead of a watering can, she used magic. Water sprinkled out of her fingers as she moved from plant to plant. Some were given a generous sprinkle while others a single drop.

  Colby sighed. It was times like these when he wished he could use other types of spells.

  The present left by his sister Brie could've easily been washed away with a simple cast of [Spray]. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't even shape his Mana to perform such a simple spell without it blowing up in his face and sending him to a world of hurt.

  Colby took a turn down the next street. The once quiet road had turned into a bustling horde. People filled the space shoulder to shoulder. The culprit was the Adventurer’s Guild in the middle of the road.

  Adventurers—especially those high-ranked ones—earned a pretty penny. Imagine all of the milk he could buy with that kind of money. What about even higher-quality milk to make even higher-quality cheese? Oh, that would be a true dream come true.

  But Colby shook those thoughts out of his head. Depending on one's luck, this street was either the safest one in the whole of Brinebrook for a civilian or the most dangerous. Men and women, boys and girls, all of them armed to the teeth with various weapons and armor. Swords, daggers, bows, staves, and more.

  The sooner he got out of here, the better.

  Colby took another turn down a small alleyway.

  That might've been a mistake.

  Some not-so-discreet adventurers chased after him. Two men with dull swords and a lady with a pair of rusted daggers.

  In his defense, he wasn't testing luck by going through a small alleyway; this was just the usual route he took to get to the General Store. To strengthen his defense even further, it was the exact route his parents taught him.

  It's a good thing he learnt more than just his way around Brinebrook from his parents. He also had a spell that would help him slide out of this pickle in a jiffy.