“Miss Veronica, are you just eating bread?” Hilmes asked.
“Y-Yeah. But even without anything in it, it’s surprisingly good!”
“On the other hand, I think you put too much in, Hilmes…”
“Whaaat? But it’s really good, you know!” Hilmes’s sandwich, which was filled with every type of meat, was even larger than Mirandalette’s. The meat’s juices soaked into the wrapper, staining it. Just looking at it gave Leticiel indigestion.
After finishing their sandwiches, the group walked around the town while doing some shopping.
Leticiel spotted a crowd in front of a particularly large building. “What is that?” she asked.
“The Royal Lunes Theatre. They’re putting on a play for children today, so there are a lot of parents here with their children.”
“A play?! What kind of play? Is it an interesting one?” Hilmes asked excitedly.
“It’s for children? It still sounds intriguing, though. Can we see it?”
The group of five suddenly decided to watch the play at Mirandalette’s request. Theatre had been around for over a thousand years, but Leticiel was interested to see what it was like in this day and age so she hadn’t said no.
The play being shown was called The Wizard’s Apprentices Mill and Reg. As the name suggested, a girl named Mill and a boy named Reg were apprentices of a wizard, and the two used their magic to defeat enemies while improving their skills. Naturally, they weren’t actually casting the magic they used in the play, but Leticiel was surprised how real the effects looked. She sometimes thought to herself that magic couldn’t cause such amazing phenomena, but she was able to enjoy watching it until the end. She thought it was interesting that there were more decorations and props on the stage compared to a thousand years ago.
“We walked quite a bit.”
“Yeah. There’s a nice café nearby, so let’s rest there.”
The streets were crowded with people. Weaving through the crowd, Leticiel and Zeke managed to reach the café they’d been looking for. Leticiel followed Zeke inside and a staff member quickly came over to escort the group to their seats.
After sitting down, Leticiel looked around the café. It was a small shop with a stylish and calming interior. There was a large show window next to the entrance. Apparently, it was a coffee shop that also sold baked goods.
“Welcome! What can I get for you?” the staff asked, coming over with a pen and paper not long after they’d sat down.
“You can choose from this menu,” Zeke said, passing the menu that was on one end of the table to the others. The menu was covered in the names and pictures of various confectioneries. All of the sweets looked delicious and Leticiel would rather order them all than have to choose. But since she wanted to save her money for other shops, she pushed down the urge.
Mirandalette and the others seemed nervous about making their first order, but Leticiel quickly ordered a set of seasonal scones as if she were an old hand. She had often snuck into restaurants in the castle town in her previous life, so she was used to ordering.
“Three seasonal scone sets, one slice of block cake, one extra-large fancy madeleine, and straight tea for the sets. Is that all correct? Please wait a moment!” After finishing taking their orders, the staff member jogged toward the back of the shop. Hilmes had ordered the block cake, and the large fancy madeleine was Mirandalette’s order.
“If you’ll excuse me for a second,” Hilmes said, standing up. He ran past the show window to the other side of the shop, likely heading to the restroom.
“All of this is so new. My family is poor, so I thought we’d quickly get used to living like commoners, but I was completely wrong.”
“Those from noble families don’t know much about commoners’ lives because of their social status.”
“But this is fun,” Veronica said. Cheeks flushed, she took a sip of the water that had been brought to them when they sat down.
“Thanks for waiting! Which guests had the seasonal scones and straight tea?”
“These three.”
Perhaps because it was after noon and the lunch rush had already ended, leaving the café somewhat empty, their sweets were delivered quickly.
“W-Wow, it’s huge,” Mirandalette said of the giant madeleine that was placed before her. Veronica’s jaw dropped when she saw it. Apparently, the flavor changed depending on which part you were eating. “It looks good, right? I decided on it the instant I saw it!”
Leticiel decided not to comment when she saw the happy grin Mirandalette was sporting. Since Mirandalette had a sweet tooth, surely, she could finish it.
“Um, pardon me. Did you say…you want all of these to go?”
“Yes, please.”
Leticiel was drinking her water and gazing toward the show window at the front of the store when she heard the flustered staff member’s voice. She wasn’t particularly loud and her conversation with the customers blended in with the hustle and bustle of the café, so no one else was paying them any attention, but Leticiel observed the exchange.
Two women stood in front of the show window, discussing something with the waitress. A woman with a honey-blonde bob, the ends of her hair curling outward, and a woman with chestnut-colored hair in a ponytail were attempting to purchase an insane amount of sweets.
“Also, two of these, please,” the woman with the ponytail said. “Hmm? What?” She bent to hear the other girl better. “Okay, okay. Then we’ll get another.”
Leticiel could hear the woman with the ponytail pretty well, but the other girl was mumbling, her words unintelligible.
“That’s an incredible number of sweets. What will they use them for?”
“A party, perhaps?” Veronica suggested.
“Heeey, Lulu! I’m back!”
The women had finished shopping and were paying at the counter. At the same time, Hilmes returned from the other side of the show window. Without checking his surroundings properly, he made a beeline straight for Mirandalette.
“Wait! Watch out! Just stop—”
“Huh? Whoa!”
“Wah!”
Hilmes ran head-on into the woman with the ponytail, who had finished paying and was turning to leave the shop. They both fell on their rears from the force of their collision, the bag with the pastries the woman had been holding falling to the ground as well.