“Hey there, Anna! We got some real tasty gems in today’s shipment. Wanna try one?”
“Thank you! My, what lovely vegetables!”
“Why thank you! Here’s another one on the house!”
“Say, have you already made your plans for dinner, miss? Why don’t you eat at my restaurant tonight—what do you say?”
“I’m planning on eating with my father after we get back tonight.”
“Is that so? Well, you’re welcome any time!”
Just as the sun was setting, Watt was making his way back home with Anna after work. The city was filled with the appetizing aroma of cooking dinner, launching a direct onslaught on the stomachs of the workers making their ways home from the job. There were all sorts heading back: Some quickly scurried back home with groceries in their arms, while others yet followed their stomachs, funneling inside the city’s restaurants. Back when Watt had been living on his own, he’d always patronized the restaurants. Now that he lived together with his daughter, though, his day-to-day life had begun to change immensely.
“Look how much I wound up with,” Anna said. “Could you hold some, father?”
“S-Sure thing.”
Merely walking down the street alongside Anna was enough to summon voices calling out to them from every direction. The storekeeps had urged them to buy fresh vegetables and meat and such, but then they’d gotten free bonuses to boot. And when Anna smiled back at them, they all just nodded, brimming with satisfaction.
Just when did she get this popular? Watt didn’t know if he should be pleasantly surprised or appalled, so instead, he devoted himself to carrying around the goods with an ambiguous look on his face.
Being Cullinagemia’s daughter also made Anna a member of the royal family. She should’ve lived a life free of chores or labor, but there she was, going about life with far more resilience than the likes of Watt could muster—right before his very eyes.
“All of these ingredients look delicious, father! Let’s make dinner when we get back!” Anna said.
“Mmm... Kind of a pain though, don’t you think? Why don’t we just pop in somewhere to eat and then head back?”
“Getting sloppy like that’s a surefire way to chip away at your health,” Anna said. “You’re not getting any younger—don’t you think it’s about time to reconsider your eating habits?”
It was a wonderfully sharp-edged observation that tore clean through Watt’s chest. Wow. It hadn’t even been a week since Anna had started living with him, but he already couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d never win against her for the rest of his days.
So this is what it feels like to be father and daughter, huh? Watt, however, didn’t have time to wallow in such profound emotions.
“Oh! On your way back, master? What a coincidence!”
“You were waiting for me right smack in the middle of my way back—I don’t think ‘coincidence’ is the word you’re looking for.”
Meddié Socom had been standing right there in the middle of the road with her chest puffed out. Just what is she trying to pull?
Watt was at a loss, but Anna wasted no time in addressing her. “Are you on your way back too, Meddié? We’re about to have dinner ourselves. Care to join us?”
“Huh? Really? Can’t say no to that, then!” Meddié replied. “Not with a proper invitation like that! Hee hee hee!”
“Ah, h-hold on just a sec, Anna! Just hold on now!” Watt stuttered.
“It’s fine, right, father?” Anna said. “The more the merrier, right?” She paused for a moment. “And besides, I really want a friend around my age.”
No. One look from his daughter was all it took to send the word flying far off into the distance. Meddié was the daughter of Watt’s boss-slash-lord of the land, but it would all be completely fine. Everything would be just fine. And it was true that Anna would be better off having a friend her age. Watt didn’t know how long she’d be in the city, but it’d be far too cruel to ask her to focus on her work the whole time.
In light of all that, their stroll home had taken a rather colorful turn of events. It was a day-and-night difference from all those times the old man had made his way home all alone. And with two teenage girls together, the conversation continued boundlessly without an end in sight. While it was more Meddié talking and Anna listening if he had to say one way or another, the fact that they kept up an uninterrupted stream of chatter was quite impressive.
“Well, how do you like it here?” Meddié asked. “Yeah, maybe it’s a bit far from the capital, but it’s not half bad, right?”
“It’s great! There’s not a bad soul in sight—and everyone’s so nice! And it’s such a new experience to do my best at the job they give me and then head back home together with my father...”
Anna’s jade-colored eyes squinted happily. Just what sort of life had she lived back in the Centre—back in the capital? Watt had left it behind seventeen years ago. The years had done a fine job dulling his imagination to envision what it might be like now.
“Not to mention that I got to make friends with you, Meddié!” Anna went on. “I’m having a marvelous time every day!”
Meddié chuckled. “Is that so? You just tell me if you ever run into any problems, you hear? After all, I can make anything happen in this city!”
“Hold on, what are you even talking about, miss?” Watt interjected.
“Well, in that case, could you tell me what my father’s been doing here in the city? I hadn’t seen him in so long, so...”
“Hold on, what are you even asking, Anna?”
“You want answers, I’ve got ’em!” Meddié replied. “After all, master here is the finest Steelrider in the city! And there’s loads of stories about him!”
“No, listen—I’m just a station worker,” Watt objected. “And don’t you think the whole ‘finest Steelrider’ business is giving me too much credit?”
“You think?” Meddié asked. “Well, for starters, the city’s at the far edge of the kingdom! The forest around it’s called the ‘Forest of No Return,’ and it’s just brimming with monsters! So unless you’re in a Mechsteel, you’re not getting in!”
“Well, now!” Anna replied. “I guess that explains why there are so many Steelriders here, doesn’t it?”
“Yup, but even then, every now and again, a monster that slipped past the hunters makes its way to the city! We had a throng of scorchscales advance on the city one time, and master here swept ’em all up!”
“What was I supposed to do?” Watt said. “My workplace got caught right in the middle of it all!”
“And he’s the first one to go looking whenever a hunter doesn’t come back from the forest!”
“Well, that’s just...because I looked after a lot of them on the job when they were just starting out. I couldn’t sleep at night if I just left them!”
“And that’s exactly why pops tells him he should quit at the station to be a Steelrider!”
“Yup, that’s plenty! The topic’s closed for discussion now. That’s more than enough about this old man, so you two can talk about yourselves instead.”
“Whaaa?” Meddié whined. “C’mon, no harm in telling her!”
“I wanted to hear more about you, though, father...”
In the end, Meddié wound up accompanying Watt and Anna back home, joining them for a hearty dinner before returning home herself. The dinner that Anna prepared was delicious. Meddié was tremendously fond of the meal and made sure to emphasize over and over again that she’d be coming back.
Watt’s life now was a far cry from what it had been only a week ago. Whether that was a change for the better or worse, Watt had no way of saying. But even then, there was no denying that he found himself enjoying the ride.
✦ ✦ ✦
The Trailmarcher had come right on schedule today, same as always.
There were few lines that arrived in or departed from Front-Edge City. After all, this was the terminus of the Kingdom’s Trail, and with nearly all of the Trailmarchers used for hauling freight, there were only so many passengers.
In the mix, a pair of unusual passengers had gotten off at the station.
One of them coughed. “Could this city get any more dusty? And just why did we have to come all the way down to the frontier like this again...?”
“Because it’s an official order, Centurion.”
“I know that! No way in hell I’m gonna get through this sober.”
They were both men. They were wearing plain clothes, but the guarded manner in which they carried themselves bespoke the fact that they were of considerable standing.
The first thing the man saw as he and his companion made their way out of the station was a crowd of Mechsteels carrying freight and nothing more. It was as tranquil as a painting—and enough to make him even more sick of the place whether he liked it or not.
“We’re going to find our target right away and leave this city in the dust where it belongs.”
The man snatched a sketch on a piece of paper from his coat pocket. There, drawn on the paper, was a young girl with unmistakable rich, red hair and jade-colored eyes.