Seren 36
Having Fun Our Way
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THANKS to Lord Viol encouraging me to pet the chicks that morning, I felt relaxed and soothed.
Last night, we got to enjoy that gorgeous sunset as well. And just being with Lord Viol, just us two, here at the inn… This trip has been so much fun since the first day.
I can’t possibly take a long vacation right after I became a High Mage… That’s what I thought. But now that we’re here, on this trip together, I’m really glad we came.
“You seem to be in a good mood.”
I felt a little embarrassed when Lord Viol pointed it out. Am I so easy to read?
“I’m in a good mood because I’m here, spending time with you, Lord Viol.”
I went for earnest, and Lord Viol responded with a happy smile. Even our little chats like this filled me with joy. And I’m in an especially good mood right now because we’re on our way to see the artisan Rote, just like we planned.
“Hmm? What is it?” Lord Viol caught me sneaking a look at the shining robe clasp on his chest.
“Ah, nothing… I was just thinking how lovely that piece is.”
It was the gift I’d given to Lord Viol to commemorate slaying my first magical beast. The clasp shining away on Lord Viol’s chest had an intricate design depicting the moon and stars inside a circle, with stars dangling on delicate chains from the main piece. It really was lovely. We both loved the piece so much that we asked Rote to make our wedding rings as well.
I smiled down at the silver ring shining away on my finger. The intricately carved fretwork depicted tiny flowers intertwined around the moon. It seemed to symbolize all the happiness that awaited us in the future.
“…Hmm? Oh, my clasp?” Lord Viol looked down at his clasp.
“Yes. I love how the stars sway back and forth with every step you take, Lord Viol. It makes me happy just to watch them.”
“I see. Then, should we ask for that again when we put our order in today?”
Just thinking of potential designs was so wonderful! And we would soon have even more matching items between us.
Thinking of Lord Viol’s black hair being tied back with a silver hair accessory with silver stars dangling from it… I couldn’t stop myself from getting all excited.
Even I could tell that my steps had grown light and bouncy.
“I see. So, Viol, you want a hair cuff, and Seren, you want a barrette. Both in matching designs with stars like the ones on that clasp,” Rote repeated our order.
“Exactly,” Lord Viol said.
“And, you want silver again this time, too?”
“Yep,” I said.
Our meeting with Rote was going swimmingly. It seems when someone is passionate about their craft, they have this knack of picking up exactly what their clients want, and they make sure to get all the little details just right. I notice the same trait when speaking to magical device engineers, too.
“And what about the design? Your wedding rings were all about moons and flowers, right?” Rote asked.
“Yes, we already made up our minds before coming. Both Seren and I love the design of our wedding rings. We want to continue along those lines.”
“Well, I’m delighted to hear that.” Rote looked up at us and grinned. Then he got up from his seat and returned carrying something from his workbench. “Since you both like my work, I was wondering… Would you like to take a look at this?”
“Wow…” Lord Viol said. “There’s no framing around it; it’s all open carving… It looks so delicate.”
“It does. It looks so light. I love this style,” I agreed.
“Aha, I thought you might like it.” Rote smiled, looking pleased. “I made this to see what it would look like without the frame, and it looks pretty good, don’t you think?”
When Viol and I nodded vigorously, Rote smoothly sketched a design. “Well then, how about something like this?”
The design had flowers and ivy around a crescent moon, in the same style as our wedding rings. But there was no outer frame around the flowers and the ivy, which made it look lighter and more modern somehow, a totally new design.
And, as requested, a star was dangling on a thin chain from the bottom of the crescent moon, making it look even more elegant. The design was so wonderful that Lord Viol and I both fell in love with it at first sight.
“Wonderful…” I said in awe.
“Agreed… It’s really nice,” Lord Viol agreed.
“I’m glad you like it.”
“You’re always trying out new designs, aren’t you, Rote?” Lord Viol’s voice was filled with admiration.
Rote chuckled. “Well, you know how it is. I get bored of making the same things over and over again. Being able to use a variety of techniques in my work broadens my catalog and pleases my customers like you.”
“I see. So you’re having fun and improving your craft at the same time. We’ll certainly continue to make orders from you for a long time. Right, Seren?” Lord Viol said, turning to me, and I nodded emphatically.
Rote beamed. I knew Lord Viol and I would always look forward to his new designs with anticipation.
“Okay then, I think I can deliver the finished design in about a month. If you want to see the progress along the way, just visit me again, and I’ll incorporate any small changes you might want me to make.”
“Oh, no, we trust your vision,” Lord Viol said. “I can’t wait to wear it.”
“Thank you. Ah, Viol, you’re good at giving compliments, aren’t you?” Rote said.
“You’re the first person to say that.” Lord Viol looked like he didn’t understand how that could be, but I was in total agreement with Rote. Lord Viol is earnest and generous with his compliments when genuinely impressed by something.
“Well, I’ll do my best to meet your expectations,” Rote promised.
“We look forward to it.”
“Thank you very much!” I said.
With those words, we left Rote’s workshop. In just one month, we’d be taking ownership of some beautiful hair accessories, far more gorgeous than even the initial designs had indicated.
“The consultation ended sooner than I thought it would,” Lord Viol said.
“Yes, it really did. It’s odd, isn’t it? People who are passionate about their work, like Rote, never waste time with lengthy consultations, yet the finished products are always so impressive.”
“Indeed. But what should we do with this extra time we have?” Lord Viol chewed his lip thoughtfully. Mincallan wasn’t the biggest of villages, so we might not have all that many choices.
I’d be fine just sitting side by side like we did yesterday, taking in the lakeside scenery. But perhaps Lord Viol would find that boring.
After thinking for a moment, I spoke up. “We could visit the shops and workshops… Or maybe we could take a walk in the forest near the inn.”
“In the… forest?”
“Yes… You’re curious about what’s in there, right, Lord Viol?” I turned to Lord Viol, whose eyes were shining with curiosity. “You said something about wondering if monsters from the forest ever came into the village… And then we heard that there was a barrier around the inn. Don’t you want to know more about that barrier…?”
The people at the inn had told us there was some kind of barrier in place to protect the inn, although they didn’t know much about it. Lord Viol seemed to have been silently pondering that barrier for a while. No doubt, he’d love to find out more for himself.
“…Can we go and… take a look?” he asked.
“Of course! You and I haven’t gone forest-venturing for a while! I’d love to!” I gave him a big smile to reassure him.
Our original plan had been to kick back, take it easy, and not follow any kind of fixed itinerary. Except for ordering hair accessories from Rote, of course. But now, Lord Viol and I had free time on our hands. Why not follow a whim and see where it leads us? After all, we were on vacation.
“And it’s not like we have any other plans in place. Why not go where the mood takes us?” When I said that, Lord Viol smiled softly at me.
“Right. You’re exactly right, Seren.”
“Incidentally, since we have the cart and all, I thought it might be fun to ride it to another town a little farther afield and go around its confectionery shops!”
I made it sound like it was just a passing thought, but I’d been training hard at my flying even before we set out and thinking about a confectionery tour since yesterday when we flew over the forest. Lord Viol and I ought to enjoy ourselves. After all, this was our honeymoon.
“That sounds wonderful to me…! And you know, a lot of traveling merchants are staying in this village. We could ask them what kinds of sweets are only available in this region,” Lord Viol suggested.
“Oh, yes! We might get some tasty info that way!”
“Today, we have plenty of time to take a stroll through the forest and then gather information from the merchants at the inn at night.”
“Let’s do that! …Oh, but is there anywhere else you’d like to go to, Lord Viol?”
“Yes, there’s one more place. That is, if you’d be interested, Seren.”
“Well, where is it?”
“Apparently, Borden’s lands are not far from this village. He told me he has a huge library in his mansion, with quite a few rare books on magic. I thought you might like to see them, so I had Borden write me a letter of introduction.”
“Magic books…?! I’d love to go!” I exclaimed.
“Good. I was wondering what kind of thing would please you… But I’m not the best at this sort of thing, and the books were all I could come up with. If you’re pleased, though, that’s all I could ever hope for.”
Just knowing that Lord Viol had thought of me made me incredibly happy, and I couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across my face.
“Hehehe. Looks like we won’t be getting bored on this trip!”
“Oh! I forgot. One of our main objectives was to take things easy.”
“No, no, let’s go. It would be a waste otherwise! Anyway, we took it easy yesterday. I feel mentally refreshed. I’m dying to sample some regional sweets and pore over magical tomes!”
“Me too.”
“By the way, I can’t wait to see your reaction when we have those sweets and when we see those magic books.”
“Wait, that’s my line.”
Chuckling together, we returned to the inn. We would eat lunch, then hop on the cart and head out to explore the forest. That was the plan we came up with.