Chef in the Apocalypse

Jayce sat back, feeling a wave of exhaustion overcome his body. While the fight itself was not hard, the constant use of his mana had put a strain on his mind, not to mention the torturous pain that using Empath on Leah had brought him.

He used the opportunity while the sisters were having their proper reunion to rest up a bit. Despite all of the tears, he could truly see that Lianna was genuinely happy, as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

Leah had first tried to play the cool sister, but she crumbled soon enough, her own tears and cries mixing in with her sisters.

After a few minutes, their tears came to an end and all that was left was happiness. Leah smiled brightly, before she suddenly remembered that there was another person in the vicinity.

"Lianna, you haven’t introduced your boyfriend to me yet." She said with a teasing smile before looking Jayce up and down as if she was judging her sisters taste.

"A-Ah, this is Jayce." Lianna blushed a little and then clarified in a small voice, "and he’s not my boyfriend."

Seeing the rosy cheeks of her sister, a smile played against her lips. "Oh? Why, don’t you want him? If that’s the case can I have him?"

Lianna’s face fell and she panicked, quickly stammering "N-No!"

A moment of silence passed, before Leah broke out into laughter. "Ah! You’re teasing me!" Lianna squealed, puffing her cheeks out like a cute hamster.

"Hahaha! I missed you sis." Leah said, poking her tongue out cheekily. Like Lianna, she had lost any hope of finding her sister after the Apocalypse descended onto Earth. All her hard work to save up for a plane ticket back home was all for naught.

So despite the circumstances, her wish had come true. After 8 long years of being apart, they had finally reunited, filling her with joy.

Jayce kind of awkwardly sat there, recuperating. Seeing the way that Leah teased Lianna reminded him of the way her and Jackie interacted. ’I guess those two are also kind of like sisters.’ He mused inwardly.

"Jayce. Thank you for saving me, even though I attacked you." Leah said, getting up to her knees and kowtowing towards him.

"Ah, it’s fine you don’t need to be so formal." Jayce said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. He suddenly felt guilty about his original decision to prioritize killing the Dryad over saving her life. Thankfully it had all worked out in the end.

She raised her head, her expression turning serious. "Don’t think that this alone means I’ll approve of your relationship with my sister." Leah said in a neutral tone, watching his reaction.

Jayce raised his eyebrow, feeling a headache coming on. Had he just added an overprotective sister into his newly budding relationship?

Yet before he could respond, Leah burst out into laughter once more, "Haha! You should have seen your face." She began to hold her sides, giggling away.

Lianna looked at Jayce apologetically, yet there was some amusement hidden in her eyes. Jayce let out an exasperated sigh, just what kind of person was Lianna’s sister?

When she finally calmed down, there was the sound of footsteps that rang out within the room, drawing everyone’s attention over.

"L-Leader, are you okay?" Tony asked hesitantly, looking around at the destruction within the once beautiful ecosystem.

Leah turned to look at the bearded man, a soft smile appearing on her face. "Tony! I’m fine, everything is fine."

Tony was still a little hesitant, yet came closer. He didn’t exactly seem relieved to see that she was well, in fact his gaze seemed very complicated as he looked between the three of them.

Seeing the hesitance in his eyes, Leah suddenly felt guilt well up from within her. Tony had been with her since the beginning of the Apocalypse and had taken care of her well.

Jayce caught onto the weird atmosphere and had a few guesses as to what the issue was, therefore he spoke up, "Your Leader was possessed by a Dryad. But we have killed it, bringing her back to normal."

The bearded man blinked a few times before turning his gaze to Leah with a look of disbelief. "I-Is it true? You’re back to normal?" His eyes beginning to moisten.

Leah merely nodded, trying to keep her emotions in check. "Yep, I’m sorry for everything Tony..." she bit her lip, her face looking pitiful.

Tony let out a sigh of relief, his look of worry turning into a smile, "Thank the gods... No, thank you Jayce." He bowed seriously, feeling his eyes blur as he stared at the ground.

"Okay okay, that’s enough with all the formalities. I think it’s time that you explain what happened." Jayce said, waving off the bearded man.

"Mmm." Leah nodded. "Maybe we should go find somewhere more comfortable." She said, looking around at the state of the once pristine room.

With that, the four people left the room and traveled further into the large tree, eventually coming into something like a receiving room for guests. Much like the table and chairs within the previous room, they were attached to the tree itself.

Jayce was a little surprised when he saw that Leah could control these at will, gesturing for them to take a seat around the table. ’So it’s her druid powers that allow her to control nature?’ he mused inwardly. He was worried that it was the Dryad who controlled everything within the town, but thankfully that was not the case.

They all took a seat around the table in silence for a few moments, waiting for Leah to start.

Leah closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, as if she was preparing herself for what was to come.

"I guess I should start from the beginning." She said, throwing a smile towards Lianna who was sitting patiently next to her. Lianna nodded, gripping her hand tightly just like they did when they were kids.