Ch.56Chapter 56 – Jerenna Territory (1)

By the time we arrived at the inn, it was late at night.

The distance between the magic tower and the inn was greater than I had expected, and I’d wasted time looking for open shops, wondering if I should buy something to bring back.

But I couldn’t buy any food from the stores.

To be clear, it wasn’t because the shops were closed.

Taverns typically stay open until quite late at night.

It was simply because there were too many people.

‘What special day is it today?’

I was hungry too, and had planned to buy some takeout food as an apology to those waiting for me.

But I hadn’t expected every tavern to be completely packed.

I even checked inns that doubled as restaurants or taverns at night, but they were equally crowded.

In the end, I gave up after wasting unnecessary time and headed back.

‘At least Sera should be awake.’

I’d noticed in the past that whenever I went out at night, the light in Sera’s room would still be on late into the night.

She had mentioned that she usually studied her grandmother’s journals or worked on her own alchemy research, so she was probably doing that tonight as well.

So I opened the door to the inn.

“…Excuse me.”

This inn has a restaurant, but since it only serves guests, there was nobody there.

It was quiet.

I was planning to carefully go upstairs to find Sera.

That would have been the plan if I hadn’t noticed the light on in the restaurant.

‘What’s this?’

Another guest perhaps?

I was about to ignore it, but I was quite hungry.

I was also curious about the faint aroma wafting from there.

‘Maybe I’ll just take a peek.’

I walked carefully and gently opened the door.

“Ah.”

Sera was standing inside wearing an apron.

And she wasn’t alone.

For some reason, Eve and Christina were also seated in the restaurant.

“Kei!”

“Benefactor!”

Sera and Christina approached me.

“Where have you been wandering around until now? We were worried!”

“That’s right, staying out all night is bad!”

“I’m, sorry…?”

Their energy was impressive.

As they continued their loud scolding, I instinctively looked at Eve, seeking an escape from reality.

Eve just smiled and waved her hand.

Indeed, someone with experience has composure.

As I was thinking this, I noticed something odd about Eve’s lip movements and looked more closely.

-“You and I will talk later.”

‘Looks like I’ll be getting another scolding.’

I quietly emptied my mind and stopped thinking. With a mind like stone, I began meditating with my eyes open, using their scolding as background noise.

+

“…I’ll stop here.”

Sera and Christina finally exhaled, seemingly having vented enough of their frustration.

‘Is it over now?’

Human emotions don’t last forever.

I guess talking it out helped calm them down.

“You were really worried, huh.”

“Of course.”

“Ludger stirred up the entire town looking for you.”

Well, that old man did witness me being kidnapped right before his eyes.

“Until yesterday, everyone was out searching for you.”

“That must have been tough.”

Since I was being held in a magic tower that couldn’t be entered by normal means, their search efforts were bound to fail.

Wait a minute.

“Until yesterday?”

“This morning, Madam Lavencha suddenly told us that the benefactor would return tonight.”

“Since we didn’t have any better options, we decided to pause the search for Kei and think of other approaches. Today we only searched in the morning and then took a break.”

At those words, I looked at Eve, who quietly nodded.

She must have foreseen my return today.

“Until yesterday, the person who was most worried and searched hardest for the benefactor suddenly changed her attitude…”

“More importantly, are you hungry?”

Eve interrupted Christina and joined the conversation.

“I had a feeling you’d be looking for food first, saying you were hungry, so we were preparing.”

With a slight wink, I gathered that in the future she had seen, I must have complained about being hungry.

“It’s almost ready. Would you like to wait? Or take a bath? Or…”

“…I should wash up first before eating while dirty.”

Eve nodded at my words.

As I was about to leave the restaurant, I noticed Sera heading to the kitchen while Eve and Christina were moving tables.

After quickly washing up at the well inside the inn, I returned to find the table filled with food.

“It’s nice to buy food elsewhere, but Seraphina said she’s confident in her cooking, so we borrowed the kitchen and waited until now.”

Eve spoke up as if she had prepared everything herself.

Though Sera, who was just taking off her apron, had clearly done all the cooking, Eve spoke quite boldly.

“Madam provided the ingredients. Chris helped with the preparation.”

“I haven’t really eaten meat much, so I mostly helped with preparing vegetables and mushrooms…”

It seems the three of them had divided the tasks and prepared the meal while I was washing up.

“Thank you, really.”

“It’s nothing. Please try some.”

Sera grabbed my hand and pulled me along, so I relaxed and let her lead me.

Soon, the four of us were seated around the table.

“There’s quite a variety.”

Grilled meat and cheese dishes, fragrant warm soup.

They had pushed two tables together to make space, and the tables were completely filled with dishes.

“With such good ingredients, I couldn’t help but put in extra effort.”

“You didn’t break anything, did you?”

With Sera’s strength, destroying a kitchen would be nothing.

Naturally, I got a smack on the back for that nonsense.

“Here, try some.”

“Alright.”

After removing my helmet and setting it down, I started with the soup.

“Oh.”

“Is it good?”

“Yes.”

Sera, Eve, and Christina all smiled.

“Well then, shall we eat?”

“Did you all wait without having dinner until now?”

“Madam insisted we eat together when you arrived, so we waited.”

I nodded at Sera’s answer and began eating.

“Ah, right.”

After another spoonful of soup, I remembered something.

“Thank you for worrying about me.”

Soon, all three of them started smiling.

+

It was delicious.

Those two words were all that was needed—it was an excellent meal.

“Seraphina is truly a skilled cook.”

“Is it because she’s an alchemist? She measures everything so precisely.”

Eve quietly wiped her mouth with a napkin while Christina mimicked measuring with a cup.

“That might be part of it, but I think it’s because I lived alone for a long time.”

“I see.”

“I learned cooking from my grandmother. I often prepared meals before she passed away.”

Sera’s eyes reddened slightly, perhaps remembering her grandmother.

“Since coming to the capital, except for Kei, I haven’t had many people to eat with, so I’ve rarely eaten with this many people.”

“…It would be nice to eat together more often.”

Fortunately, there are people who would come if invited.

Like Christina who cried after eating meat.

Or Christina who always talks about gruel.

Or Christina who’s secretly scraping the bottom of her soup bowl with a spoon right now.

“That, that would be nice. Really.”

Christina agreed while sucking on her spoon.

Her eyes suggested she was simply entranced by the food, but I decided not to point it out.

“This feels like a stroke of luck now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Actually, I felt awkward coming empty-handed, so I was thinking of stopping by another tavern to buy something.”

At my words, Eve let out a small “Ah” in exclamation.

“There were a lot of people, right?”

“Yes.”

Eve nodded and began speaking.

“Kei probably doesn’t know. What day it is today. Since you’ve been gone for several days, you wouldn’t know.”

Eve said with a smile.

“Today is the Harvest Festival. It’s a day for eating, drinking, and resting, unless there’s something absolutely necessary to do.”

“Here in the city, it’s just a day off. In the countryside, it’s a complete festival atmosphere.”

“I see.”

That makes me feel a bit regretful.

Just my luck to be kidnapped by Beatrice and only get a brief taste of the first festival I’ve experienced since coming to this world.

“How long does it last in the countryside?”

“Sometimes the entire month. It’s when food is most abundant.”

Sera, who was from the countryside, answered Christina’s question, who despite her poverty was originally from the capital.

“Actually, outside of large cities like the capital, the festival atmosphere continues for weeks. Just beyond the capital, things are quite lively.”

“I see.”

It seemed like a significant holiday, but it didn’t particularly resonate with me.

I don’t recall ever having a festival that lasted for weeks in my memories.

At most, we probably had a few days off.

‘Wait…’

A memory began to surface in my mind.

A superior who claimed not to interfere as long as work was done, but then gathered all colleagues for ancestral rites in one corner of the building, made everyone clean the surroundings afterward, and when we thought we could rest, ordered us to beat and air out mattresses.

‘…What the fuck?’

Why am I getting angry?

Thinking about it, this memory seemed related to when I had previously compared Sera’s bag to full military gear.

It seems I spent part of my life in such circumstances, and it must have been so difficult that even with my fragmented memories, it remains in my mind.

It felt like looking into an abyss I shouldn’t see.

“Kei, why are you suddenly hitting your head?”

“I feel like I’m trying to remember something I shouldn’t, so I’m trying to forget it.”

Sera tilted her head, not understanding my answer.

Well, it’s natural she wouldn’t understand.

“Kei, are you not interested in festivals?”

“That’s not it. I like resting. But I don’t have experience spending long periods celebrating festivals.”

At my words, the three women looked at each other.

Soon, Christina spoke up.

“That’s a shame. That you’ve never enjoyed a festival for a long time.”

“But thinking about it, I probably just lounged around inside during those periods.”

I think I was like that before coming here too.

On days off, I probably just rolled around in bed.

To be clear, it’s not because I had no friends. It’s because outside the blanket was dangerous.

“Well, since you can’t drink alcohol, you probably don’t have friends to spend holidays with.”

“Did you really have to say that?”

I know there’s no malice, but that’s a bit harsh.

Just then, Sera asked as if she’d just remembered something.

“By the way, where exactly were you kidnapped from?”

“…It’s a long story.”

I explained what had happened at the magic tower in response to Sera’s question.

The reactions varied—surprise, calmness, prayer.

‘She must have already heard what I was going to say.’

That was my thought as I looked at the calm Eve.

“…From the magic tower.”

“Come to think of it, don’t we have business at the magic tower? Through Ludger…”

Indeed, we needed to visit the magic tower to analyze the jewel recovered from the columbarium.

At the time, I was happy about finally establishing a connection with the magic tower, but now it feels like a burden.

“I think it will be fine. The tower masters themselves have guaranteed your safety.”

Eve said.

“If any problems arise, it would be a huge embarrassment for the tower masters, so they’ll prevent any such incidents at all costs.”

“Still, we should be careful…”

True, there’s no telling what Beatrice might do.

“Worrying about it here won’t change anything.”

“That’s right. We’ll be going with you, and so will Ludger. I think you’ll be safe.”

It didn’t seem necessary to suddenly cancel our original plans.

It wouldn’t make sense to forget my original purpose and avoid the place just because that crazy woman Faye is there.

“Well, shall we clean up? I’ll do the dishes.”

“Ah, I’ll help you, benefactor.”

“Then I’ll leave it to you two.”

Sera smiled gratefully, and Christina and I gathered the dishes and headed to the kitchen.

We washed the dishes with a special solution made through alchemy, then rinsed them with water.

-Clatter, clatter.

We did the dishes to the rhythm of the sounds they made.

“I’m angry at those magic tower people.”

“Why?”

“If it weren’t for them, you and Seraphina could have enjoyed the festival together today, right?”

“That’s true.”

What’s done is done.

I just focused on scrubbing the plates.

“At least you returned safely, that’s what matters.”

“I still find it regrettable. Don’t you think it’s a shame?”

Put that way, I do feel a bit disappointed.

“True, it would be nice to rest a bit.”

Come to think of it, I was kidnapped right after resolving the columbarium incident.

I can’t say I’ve had sufficient rest.

“A festival, huh.”

I did feel somewhat regretful.

But for now, I don’t have the luxury to rest.

By then, we had finished washing the dishes.

Looking at Sera and Eve sitting in the restaurant, I said:

“Well, let’s call it a night and go to bed.”

“Just a moment, Kei.”

Eve stood up.

“Actually, I have a request for you.”

“A request?”

Eve smiled as I showed interest.

I get the feeling she’s planning something.

“I need to go somewhere tomorrow or the day after.”

“Home?”

“No. A business contact.”

Eve said with a smile.

“It’s a place called Zerenna Estate, a bit away from the capital, famous for its grapes and wine.”

“I see.”

Does this mean we won’t see Eve for a while?

Wait a minute.

“You mentioned a request?”

“An escort request.”

“So suddenly?”

I welcome requests since they mean earning money.

‘But this is too abrupt.’

I was getting curious about what she was planning.

“I was originally planning to go earlier, but you disappeared.”

“I see.”

“The request is to escort me until the business is concluded and we return.”

Similar to the request in the New Kingdom.

Eve smiled slightly.

“By the way, they might still be celebrating the Harvest Festival when we arrive. I think we might be able to enjoy the festival atmosphere for a day or so.”

Suddenly talking about the festival? Did she overhear our conversation while we were doing dishes?

The timing is too perfect.

‘Or perhaps…’

Could this be something else Eve had foreseen?

Looking at her face, she seemed to know everything already.

“It’s strictly business, but there will be time to rest and enjoy the festival.”

In other words, I can earn money and get some rest.

It’s tempting.

As if reading my thoughts, Eve smiles.

“Would you like to come along?”

Eve extended her hand with a smile.