☀️ Arselia and Akonia

- Sometimes, listening to you, it seems like you even have the makings of a priest or a wise leader. In the truest sense of the word, not just someone who hits you on the head with a hammer. You're so capable of providing moral support at the right moment that it doesn't quite fit your image. Thank you, EdgeLord-kun," she said, nodding and finishing her breakfast. "Gochisousama."
Getting up, she rummages through the boxes:
- If there's any suitable tea here, I'll brew it in the Japanese style. I think that would be fair.

- Koto, just so you know, I threw that away a while ago, okay? So don't think anything of it...

- And never mind. I just hope some kids don't find it, or they might learn something bad.

You might not guess it, but I can cook quite well. You know what the teacher used to say? "We are what we eat, and therefore eating well is the duty of any self-respecting person!" I never liked his obsession with cooking and healthy eating, although it sometimes helped me run the cafe, but now I feel grateful for those lessons.

- Yes, that's what he said. In general, he's right, although I had a slight disagreement with him. Food isn't what completely shapes a person, but it strengthens the core of their being, which remains unchanged, regardless of external factors. Unless it's initially cracked, of course... - she paused for a few seconds to consider this philosophical-metaphorical concept. - Or maybe he's one of those who doesn't believe in the soul and divine entities? Although that would be strange in an enlightened society. Never mind. The most important thing is that you learned something useful from it, because there are people who, once freed from the supervision of a "warden," whether it's a parent, a school teacher, or a temple head who hits you with a stick, relax and continue to live for decades as they would have lived in childhood, not realizing that the point of discipline was to forge an independent being out of a person.
She finally found everything she needed in the boxes and started the necessary tea-making processes:
- Let's skip the formalities; we'll use whatever's on hand.

Oh, and by the way, regarding the Temple - would you mind if I helped with its construction? I mean, not with money, although I can do that if necessary, but with my own efforts - I'll lay bricks and do other things.

- Planks. That would help, but right now, the Margel builders are taking care of it, so... unless you really have nothing else to do... Don't sacrifice your time at the expense of your own project - that's what I'm saying. But to be honest, even though it hasn't been that long since the foundation was laid, it feels like a decade has passed. Sometimes I have the feeling that by the time it's finished, ten other temples will have been built, haha.