“All right.”
“Bell, check out this smoked meat,” Percival proclaimed, waving around some bacon.
“All right... Wait a minute, why are you all checking with me over every little thing?”
“I mean, looking after the party’s wallet is your job.”
“Oh, I see... Wait, is it?” Are we still keeping that up? Belgrieve wondered, cocking his head. Never mind that he was quite certain that Kasim and Percival had their own savings. Well, whatever...
As Belgrieve was checking to see how much was still in his own wallet, another wagon pulled up to the square.
“Hey, Mr. Belgrieve,” the driver called out, waving to him. It was the blue-haired peddler who had by now become quite a familiar face to Belgrieve. She parked the wagon and hopped down before racing over to him. “Long time no see. You seem well.”
“Yes, it has been a while. It must be hard to make the long trek every year.”
The peddler smiled and bowed her head. “Oh no, I’m quite fond of Turnera. It’s no trouble compared to farming, at least.”
When you put it that way... “Come to think of it, have you seen my daughter Angeline lately?”
“Ms. Angeline? No, not recently. Lately, I’ve been traveling around Elvgren to the west... Oh, but I do hear tales of her exploits.”
“I see... Well, she did say she’d be back in time for the autumn festival, so I thought she might be with you.”
“Hmm, I guess the timing didn’t really work out... But if Ms. Angeline said she was coming, I’m sure she’ll be here soon.” The blue-haired peddler had allowed Angeline to ride with her several times before, and it seemed she had a decent grasp of her personality.
Percival chuckled. “You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone easier to understand than that girl.”
“Well, we haven’t seen her in a while. I’d imagine Bell is getting lonely,” Kasim said, grinning.
Satie nodded. “That’s right. I mean, Bell here has been pretty restless since summer ended. He keeps saying no news is good news, but I’m sure he’d like to hear something.”
Belgrieve awkwardly scratched his cheek. With friends like these...
In any case, Angeline seemed to be doing well for herself. The peddler told Belgrieve she hadn’t heard of any particular trouble around Orphen, so she should arrive right on time, presumably.
Belgrieve smiled wryly. I can never just stop worrying about her, can I? He’d seen her in action at the Earth Navel and the capital, and he knew she was far stronger and more reliable than he was. Yet, troublingly enough, he would still end up worrying about her nonetheless.
Satie put away the cheese and bacon in her basket before closing her eyes to think. “Hmm... What should we do for dinner, Bell? Anything you want to eat?”
“No, whatever you want. But we should really do something about the dried vegetables. Some of them are getting old.”
“I see. Well, we finished off the stew for lunch. I’ll have to make some more...”
“The dough is kneaded already though,” Byaku said, reminding Satie that she already had something else lined up.
Satie opened her eyes. “Oh, right—did I ask you to do that?”
“Yeah, while you were busy doing something else.”
“Hmm, I tend to forget things when I’m multitasking. Sorry, sorry... Then let’s make stuffed bread with a filling of dried veggies, bacon, and cheese.”
“Mom, I’ll help out!” Charlotte declared, grabbing Satie’s hand.
“Ha ha! Thanks. All right, let’s head back, then. The laundry is out drying and... Kids, c’mon.”
Satie took the kids and returned home, leaving Belgrieve with the other men to continue buying and selling. The day wore on, and their shadows gradually stretched out behind them. But this was the time of day when the folks who worked through the afternoon tended to do their shopping, so the square was still as busy as ever.
Kasim was already sampling the liquor and in high spirits. “Already fall, huh? Time flies.”
“It sure does,” Percival mused before turning to Belgrieve. “So, Bell... Am I right in thinking you’ve pretty much decided on where the dungeon’s going to be?”
“Yeah. Apparently, we need to use that orb to slowly form a dungeon around the area. Since you already helped to expend its mana once, it shouldn’t cause any sudden changes.”
Percival nodded. “I see. Well, whatever it is, I doubt we’ll have many visitors in the winter. This might be just the right time to do it.” He then snatched away Kasim’s bottle and took a swig of spirits.
Even if the roads had been overhauled, that didn’t mean they would suddenly have an influx of people. Belgrieve was still fumbling around to have the dungeon and the guild take shape. If everything became chaotic from the very start, it would be far too much for him to handle. He was quite grateful to have more time for preparations before things really took off. The prospect of his life suddenly changing from farming and foraging in the shadows of the mountain to something else entirely was something Belgrieve could never have expected. “Can I do it...?” he muttered.
Belgrieve had learned during his recent journeys and all the combat along the way that he was stronger than he had ever given himself credit for, but a lifetime of negative self-image didn’t go away just like that. He still lacked confidence, and in anything he did, he couldn’t be satisfied unless he worked out every small detail to make sure it was perfect. On the other hand, it was exactly this cautiousness that had earned him the high regard of those who knew him best.
“Percy... What are you going to do?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I heard you’re going to go on a journey one of these days... Do you know when?”
“No clue. I’ll head out once things settle down here. It’s too soon to tell.”
“I see... Kasim?”
“Oh, what to do, what to do? Well, we’re pretty much here to make sure the dungeon doesn’t go out of control and to wrangle the adventurers coming to Turnera, right? Once that gets sorted, I don’t see anything else to do here. I wouldn’t want to take work away from the young ones.”
“You have a woman, don’t you? Don’t keep her waiting.”
Kasim seemed to shrivel up a bit. “Well, that’s... That’s true, but...”
Percival frowned. “What, drunk already?”
“Of course not, stupid. I’m being forced to choose between two things that are important to me and I don’t know what to do. Take a hint,” Kasim said, smacking Percival on the shoulder.
“Hmph, you sure are a pain. When were you ever this delicate?”
“Shut it. I’m a fragile guy...deep down.”
Belgrieve watched the two grown men glaring and shoving, and could only chuckle at their rowdiness. So much time had passed since they were young, but this all felt very familiar. It wasn’t the same, but it was good enough for him—better, in some ways. All they needed now was for Angeline and her friends to arrive and add their boisterousness to the mix.
The sun kissed the western mountains; the town square was getting dark. I should go back and start preparing for tonight’s work, Belgrieve thought.
○
Angeline’s anticipation grew with every day on the road. In every town along the way, she and her friends enjoyed delicious meals or the comforts of saunas, fondly reminiscing over times gone by all the while.
The farther north they traveled, the colder the wind seemed to get, but the days were still warm. There was a curious span of time that went from not being chilly enough to warrant a jacket to being unbearable to go without one. The change was so gradual and subtle that none of them even realized when it happened.
They were now putting Bordeaux behind them; it was only a little longer to go now. Unfortunately, the stagecoaches only went as far as Bordeaux. No one had ever arranged public transport that went all the way to Turnera. Anybody continuing north would have to arrange transportation for herself. It was a sure bet that there would be peddlers or merchant caravans making their way past Bordeaux for the fall festival, so Angeline had planned to take a job guarding one of them the rest of the way. It was a surprising turn of events for her to now be sitting in a carriage across from Lady Helvetica Bordeaux.