Chapter 65: Act 1 – The Burning City
There are probably very few people who would dislike a place with soft orange lighting, decent music, and delicious food.
It was a restaurant that, while not large, had a cozy and stable feel to it.
And since Yerna was also quite fond of such general tastes, she didn’t dislike the atmosphere at all.
In front of her lay a tomato pasta cooked in an elf style.
The aroma was quite nice, and when she ate it, it was not overly rich and had a clean taste that she really liked.
The ingredients seemed quite fresh; even though it was clearly cooked, it still had a crunchy texture from somewhere deep within.
“Delicious, this is a nice restaurant.”
“I’m glad to hear that. What do you think of the atmosphere here?”
“It’s really good. I think it could be useful later.”
“……I’m glad.”
Upon the implication that this was a date with someone else, Dayton let out a sigh.
In fact, he had been thinking for quite a long time about what it would be like to come here with Yerna.
Among elf-style restaurants, this one was rated quite highly and had received rave reviews from couples about the atmosphere, so he often wondered how wonderful it would be if it was just the two of them.
And now, that dream had come true.
In front of him was Yerna, whom he loved dearly, smiling at him, and genuinely happy.
‘I really like this, but……’
The problem was that he felt more miserable than he expected.
Wasn’t it just him thinking this was a date?
“Dayton, is something wrong? You don’t look so good.”
At Yerna’s worried expression, Dayton immediately forced a smile and shook his head.
“No, it’s nothing.”
“Really?”
Yerna tilted her head, looking at him strangely.
After a moment, she met his gaze with a foolish smile still on her face.
A knowing smile—Dayton couldn’t grasp the meaning behind it.
“Is the person you like an elf?”
“……! How did you know……?”
Could it be that she sensed it even before he said anything?
Calming his racing heart, Dayton waited for Yerna to speak.
“Isn’t it obvious?”
Yerna shrugged her shoulders as if to say it was silly and continued.
“This is an ‘elf-style specialty restaurant,’ right? Hehe, I understand why you wanted me to come along. So you wanted to ask an elf like me?”
“……Well, that’s true.”
He was doomed.
——
“Hmm, I guess everywhere is closed since it’s a holiday.”
The flower shop, which usually sold mana grass on his commute to and from school, had a sign on the entrance that said “Closed for the Day.”
The herbalist was also closed, leaving Luke with no choice but to trudge home.
Even so, he felt an unspecified sense of loneliness. The world felt quiet.
‘It feels rather empty.’
Was it because he couldn’t see the spirit that always followed him around?
Unbeknownst to him, he had adapted to Py’s noisy presence.
“Hmm.”
Luke stroked his chin.
“Well, he’ll be back soon enough.”
Py couldn’t always stay by his side.
He surely needed his own time, even if he had no concept of time since he was a spirit.
‘…….’
However, he couldn’t shake the feeling that a part of his life was missing.
Moreover, Yerna would be coming home late today.
Even if he went home right now, he would be alone, and all he’d do is roll around in the box.
To soothe his desolate heart, Luke thought of what he could do.
“Ah, maybe I shouldn’t go home right away and check out the market instead.”
He should buy some ingredients and cook something when he got home. That might lessen his sense of emptiness.
Being alone was something he was quite accustomed to.
After the death of his closest friend, Kail Propson, who was both a companion and a servant, and with Renie busy managing the chaotic nation post-war, he had spent quite a long time engulfed in the feeling of solitude.
It was boring, but he didn’t think it was necessarily a bad feeling.
So he took pride in being able to endure loneliness…….
Perhaps it was because every day had been so lively, but the unexpectedly visited feeling of ‘being alone’ shook Luke’s heart more than he anticipated.
Luke realized anew that since he had awakened in this body, he had been surprisingly devoted to others and had given them more attention and feelings than he had thought.
“Haha….”
What’s more, he was not exactly a child to be lonely over just this.
——
The Hutton Department Store, operated by the Hutrip Group owned by Serena, was a massive store that even opened until late on Sundays.
The department store he returned to was indeed as overwhelming in size as he remembered.
“Wow, it’s really huge again.”
At this size, it could certainly be compared to or even surpass a royal castle.
If an entire castle were turned into a store, would it feel like this? Just how many kinds of products could there be in this building?
Luke admired its grandeur once more and followed the signs.
Wouldn’t they sell mana grass here, too?
He quickly approached the attendant standing at the entrance.
“Excuse me.”
“Hmm? What is it, kid? Are your parents not with you? Did you get lost?”
“……I am not a lost child, but I called to ask you something.”
Having been treated like a lost child, Luke was starting to tire from correcting their titles and just grimaced a little before continuing.
The attendant just thought his reaction was cute.
Well, there’s no rule that a child can’t come to the department store alone.
Of course, there weren’t many young children like this, but it was fairly common for friends to come to the department store to play.
He thought it was probably that kind of case.
“Where can I find mana grass?”
“Sorry, we don’t carry mana grass or herbs. We have groceries, though.”
“Is that so? My apologies then. Thank you for your efforts.”
“Sure, have a nice shopping trip.”
‘It’s unfortunate that there isn’t any mana grass. Then I guess I should just buy some flour and milk.’
As he went a little deeper inside, he found carts and baskets lined up to assist shoppers. Luke pondered whether to take out a cart or carry a basket before deciding on a cart.
Since he hadn’t settled on exactly what to buy, it would be better to have one that could carry more.
He already knew how to use it since he had seen Yerna using it before.
‘Right, if I insert the coin here….’
Click, the sound of the unlocking mechanism chimed pleasantly, and the chain that connected it to other carts came free, allowing him to use it.
Previously, Yerna had always held onto the cart, and even when he offered to help, she had just smiled and said it wasn’t necessary, so he had never had the chance to push it.
Maybe if he had said he wanted to push it, she might have let him, but in the end, he hadn’t asked, so this was the first time he was pushing a cart.
‘Oh, this rolls surprisingly smoothly.’
Luke quite liked the smooth sensation of pushing the cart.
It was incomparably smoother than the handcart he used to use.
He chose to ignore the feeling that other people were watching him. It seemed like it was quite a spectacle for a young child to come alone.
——-
As expected, there were no mana grass or any medicinal herbs that could serve a similar purpose, just as the attendant had said.
There were plenty of simple vegetables and fruits, though.
Nonetheless, he was able to find some plants that could serve as substitutes for mana grass, so he decided to be satisfied with that.
In particular, the noticeable and low-toxic Droness Grass was relatively often used in cooking due to its unique aroma and texture.
While moving along, suddenly, a fruit caught Luke’s eye.
It had a thick green skin with a net-like white stripe wrapping around it.
It was a melon.
Luke picked up the melon as if enchanted and began to imagine.
Having thought of it once before, what if real melon was put inside a melon bread?
Would the taste of the melon really match?
‘For the sake of the name, I should try putting it in.’
Thinking about it didn’t seem like a bad idea, so Luke put that into the cart right away.
‘Oh. Fish too’, he added that to the cart as well. Seeing the frozen fish that was solidly frozen in ice magic reminded him of the taste of the fish he had grilled on the boat while sailing for Kraken hunting long ago.
He had quite a bit of money saved up. Since the money he earned from the last performance was still untouched, it seemed alright to impulsively buy a few things. However, it wasn’t infinite money, so Luke decided to refrain from buying more.
‘Alright, if I buy any more than this, I’ll run low on funds.’
With that thought, when he turned back, he was immediately drawn to a delicious scent, causing him to change direction.
‘Sausages? Hmm, the smell is abominably good.’
Even knowing it was a marketing tactic to entice buyers with the scent, Luke felt a bit disappointed in himself for being drawn in by it.
Well, it wouldn’t hurt to buy a few sausages, but he had carefully calculated the items he selected to fit his budget.
To include sausages, he would need to take some items out of the cart.
‘What should I remove? If I do, would it be the fish, or maybe the melon? It’s a dilemma…….’
While Luke was enviously swallowing saliva as he stared at the sausages being grilled, he heard a voice calling him.
“Hey, kid.”
“…Are you calling me?”
“Yeah, who else is there but you?”
That’s true.
Looking around, he couldn’t see any other children his age.
Even if there were, they were with adults who looked like parents.
Luke wasn’t denying that he looked like a child, so he resigned himself and looked at the man.
Then, the man pierced a sausage cut into a bite-sized piece onto a toothpick and offered it to Luke, saying, “If you want to eat, you can try one.”
“…Really?”
“Of course.”
Luke took it tentatively, looking suspiciously at the little sausage skewer and then back at the man.
It seemed a bit suspicious.
It felt odd that a staff member would suddenly hand him something just as if they could read his mind.
Surely, it wouldn’t be free.
“Um, if I eat this, do I have to buy one or something……. Is that it?”
The man, seeing Luke’s doubtful expression, burst into laughter and waved his hands.
“Don’t worry! It’s just a sample. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to buy anything!”
“……Well then, I’ll take it without refusing……”
Luke carefully blew on the still-hot sausage, cooling it down a bit before cautiously biting into it with his front teeth.
The sensation of heat transmitted through his teeth made him exclaim involuntarily, but still, the taste was genuinely good.
“Yummy, it’s tasty, though a bit hot.”
“Really? Want to try another one?”
“W-Would that be okay?”
“Do whatever you want.”
“Are you serious?”
“Of course.”
“Well then, I’d like to have one more!”
—–
“Another one!”
To the boisterous shout of “another one!” coming from the child, the man cut off another perfectly cooked sausage piece and handed it over.
That child had already consumed more than a pack’s worth of sausages.
He ate much more than he had expected. While it was expected that children would like sausages, he had never seen a child eat so many.
But it wasn’t entirely displeasing.
The sight of the child joyfully shouting “another one!” while enjoying the sausages was beyond comparison.
Every time the child ate a sausage, the platinum tail that peeped out from under her skirt twisted like a snake. Whether it was hot or not, she was diligently blowing on the skewer yet unable to hold back as she put it in her mouth while still hot, making a whistling sound in her mouth.
Customers passing by couldn’t help but comment.
“I’ll have a pack of these.”
Thinking of that strategy as soon as he saw the child was worthy of applause.
It was rare to see a distinctive-looking child like her with such a great reaction, making her the perfect bait.
‘This is a win-win situation.’
Thinking this, when he looked at the girl, she had just managed to swallow the sausage in her mouth and, with a slightly embarrassed expression, averted her gaze from him.
“Hmm, I’m starting to feel a bit guilty. Maybe I should stop now.”
“No, you don’t have to feel guilty at all. Want to eat more?”
“Well, can I have one more?”
“Of course, of course.”
‘You can keep eating until all the sausages here are sold out.’
