And of course, we had today’s banquet before any of that, so I had to suppress my elation and focus on doing my job without any mistakes.
Closing time finally rolled around.
We’d had a bit less food prepared than usual, so we sold out of everything well before when we normally finished at around the second hour.
Then, as if it had been waiting for that very moment, a totos wagon approached from the north. A boy with flaxen hair, reddish-brown eyes and an expression that made him look wise beyond his years stepped down from the driver’s seat—Kamyua Yoshu’s apprentice, Leito.
“So you’re already wrapping things up here? It looks like I was right to head out a little early,” he said.
“Thanks for coming, Leito,” I replied. “I hope you didn’t have too much trouble getting a wagon for today.”
“We didn’t have any trouble at all. There’s a shop where you can rent totos wagons in the castle town,” Leito replied as several other people descended from inside: Kamyua Yoshu, Zasshuma, Bozl, Shilly Rou, and Roy.
“Hey there. We brought the chefs with us, as promised. It’s okay if we just take them to the forest’s edge in our wagon, yeah?” Kamyua Yoshu asked.
“Of course. Thanks. I’m glad to see you all looking well.”
The three chefs all gave polite greetings in response. Aside from Roy and Kamyua Yoshu, everyone among them, bodyguards and chefs alike, were already acquainted, and they all seemed to be getting along okay.
“Well then, shall we get going? Everyone else should be gathering at The Kimyuus’s Tail,” I said.
After we finished cleaning up, we headed over to the inn, with all of us from the forest walking next to the totos wagon Kamyua Yoshu and the others were riding in. We ended up saying hi to Dora when we passed his place along the way as well.
“Hello there. Is Tara already at The Kimyuus’s Tail?”
“Yes. Yumi passed by a little while ago, so I asked her to take Tara with her. Please do take good care of them.”
Dora was going to have to work in his fields early tomorrow morning, so he wasn’t able to attend. This would be Tara’s third time visiting the forest’s edge on her own, though, so he didn’t look concerned.
“We’ll make sure Tara gets home safely for sure. It’s okay if we bring her back tomorrow at the same time we did before, right?”
“Of course. And please give my regards to everyone in the Ruu clan.”
After saying farewell to Dora, we got back on our way. When we arrived at The Kimyuus’s Tail, we first greeted Milano Mas, who by this point had fully recovered from the injuries he had received last month. He looked at us sternly as he replied.
“Telia and the others should all be waiting by the storehouse in the back. I gave her the key, so you can return the stalls to her. Just don’t forget to have her give it back to me before you head to the forest’s edge.”
“Of course. And sorry for the inconvenience.”
“Forget about it. I’m the one always inconveniencing you. Give my regards to the folks in the Ruu clan, okay?”
Milano Mas didn’t know the meaning of the phrase “day off,” so he still hadn’t ever come to the settlement at the forest’s edge. I pondered ways that we could create an opportunity for him to visit us eventually as we circled around to the back of the inn, where there was a small herd of young people talking excitedly as they waited for us. The group included Telia Mas, Yumi, Tara, and three young guys who would be visiting the forest’s edge for the first time.
“Hey there, Asuta! You’re already done with the stalls? That was quick!” Yumi energetically called out before anyone else.
For some reason, Telia Mas hid behind her friend’s back when she noticed us approaching.
“What’re you hiding for?” Yumi asked her. “We’re gonna spend the whole night together, so what point is there in not letting them see now?”
“Th-That doesn’t make me any less embarrassed!”
I could see Telia Mas’s face over Yumi’s shoulder, and noticed right away that it was unusually red. When I spotted the beautiful shining accessory in her hair, though, I immediately understood why. “Ah, did you borrow a banquet outfit from Yumi?”
“Yup! Since we’re allowed to dress up, it’d be a waste not to, right?” Yumi replied. She was wearing more accessories than usual herself, and had a transparent shawl draped over her shoulders. Tara was standing next to her with a smile on her face and a flower in her dark brown hair. Neither the people of the forest’s edge nor our guests had gone to the trouble of dressing nicely at the last friendship banquet, but after having seen the showy outfits everyone had worn at Granny Jiba’s birthday celebration, Yumi had proposed doing so this time around. And apparently, she had also pressured Telia Mas into borrowing some banquet attire from her, even though her friend had dressed plainly for the birthday celebration. “Are you gonna hide behind my back for the whole event? You know Asuta pretty well anyway, so what’re you getting all embarrassed for?”
“Th-The fact that we know each other makes it more embarassing!”
“Hmm? Well, now that we’ve come this far, you’ve just gotta accept your fate,” Yumi said as she smoothly hopped to the side.
Having suddenly lost her shield, Telia Mas shrieked, “Aah!” and shrank back in on herself, but there was no way for her to hide now.
She was wearing the sort of clothing that Yumi liked that was similar to the attire worn at the forest’s edge, which people in the post town referred to as Sym-style fashion. There was a single piece of cloth wrapped around her chest, leaving her shoulders and midriff exposed, and though her long skirt covered from her hips down to her ankles, it had a deep slit in it that revealed one of her legs. She also had a number of wooden and metal accessories on her neck and arms, and her medium length hair was done up in a cute way with accessories too. Telia Mas’s appearance wasn’t as naturally flashy as Yumi’s, but the outfit really didn’t look bad on her.
“Pretty good, right? If you dressed like that normally, you’d probably get more customers at your inn.”
“A-A little girl like me dressing like this just looks awkward!”
“A little girl? You’re older than me, aren’t you? Do you think I look awkward?”
“W-Well, you look more mature than me, so it fits you, Yumi. People always think I’m younger than I actually am.”
✦ ✦ ✦
