On the fourth day of our expedition, we finished early enough to make it back to town while the sun was still high in the sky. Of course, our walking pace was still slow, and we had taken plenty of breaks. But knowing exactly where to go made a huge difference. Not having to hesitate was just so much easier. On top of that, Liluetta and Yune had started getting used to the mountain trails. Compared to yesterday or the day before, we made much better time overall.
As we passed through the town gates, I adjusted my pack basket filled to the brim with purple flowers. The mustached soldier at the gate raised a hand in greeting, and I waved back.
What a relief. Another successful day. No problems, no injuries, just a smooth return. I’d been worried about forming a party, but things were going well. I was starting to feel proud of what we’d accomplished.
As long as I was in a party with these two, I would make sure they always returned safely. I felt that sense of determination in my heart once again.
“H-Hey, Kiri. You mean to tell me you’re perfectly fine after climbing a mountain three days in a row?” Liluetta complained.
I was startled by how far away her voice sounded and spun around. Liluetta and Yune were both lagging far behind me, and I realized I’d sped up to my usual, faster pace without trying to. The ground here was flat and easy to walk on, and I was just so happy we were safely back in town that I’d gotten a little careless.
It’s not dangerous here, but I shouldn’t leave them behind. I need to match their pace again.
“Sorry. I’m tired too, but I’m used to a lot of walking,” I explained.
My village was surrounded by mountains, and I had to walk a long way every day just to fetch water. I was also used to bad roads. And when I played with other kids, we were always out in the fields and hills. I had thought that was normal. But in this town, it wasn’t.
Of course, I was tired too. Sherzon Mountain wasn’t that tall as far as mountains went, and I’d gotten used to the path after a few trips. But a mountain was still a mountain. I could feel the exhaustion from climbing every day piling up.
Liluetta and Yune were at their limit. That was only natural, especially since they’d worked so hard to keep up all this time. After passing through the town gates and feeling safe and relieved, they were probably ready to drop.
“Kiri-o, you’re amazing,” said Yune.
Liluetta sniffed. “He’s just a country bumpkin.”
Well, she’s not wrong. I am a country bumpkin. Anyway, what should I do now? Should I slow down and walk at their pace? Or, since it’s still early, should we sit down somewhere and take a break? Resting would be fine, since it’s not dangerous here in town.
That seemed like a good plan, except I didn’t really know of any good places to sit and rest around here. Once I got to this part of town after a gathering trip, I always headed straight for the adventurer’s guild. Would it be okay to just pick a spot for taking a break, as long as we weren’t in anyone’s way?
“Hey, Kiri, since we’re here, why don’t we take a break over there?”
“Huh?”
Liluetta pointed to a stall at the edge of the main street.
✦ ✦ ✦
The vendor took a yellow fruit I’d never seen before and cut it in half, revealing its juicy flesh. So much juice flowed out when they squeezed the fruit that it only took those two halves to fill a wooden cup to the brim.
I accepted the cup of juice and paid for it. It was just a drink, but it cost almost as much as my entire breakfast this morning. I did have some money to spare thanks to the purple flowers, but it still seemed a little pricey.
“I’ve always wanted to try this,” Liluetta said.
Since we would need to return the cups, I set my basket down on the ground and sat on a nearby bench to drink. Liluetta placed a handkerchief on the other end of the bench before taking a seat. Yune hesitated for a moment, then settled in between us.
The bench felt a little cramped with the three of us sitting side by side. Yune’s wide sleeves brushed against me a few times, which tickled a little bit.
Liluetta took a sip and smiled. “Oh, this is quite good.”
It seemed like the juice really won her over. Her water flask had been empty for a while, so she was probably extra thirsty.
“My lady, eating and drinking by the roadside like this...” Yune paused. “Some might say it’s improper.”
Liluetta shook her head. “Yune, that’s such an outdated way of thinking. This stall is designed for people to drink freshly squeezed juice right here, and that’s why they’ve provided benches. That means drinking it here is proper.”
“You sure know how to spin things your way.” Yune looked uneasy. From the way she held her cup in both hands and sat hunched forward a little bit, like she was trying to make herself smaller, she seemed to have some reservations about eating and drinking outside.
Liluetta, on the other hand, looked thrilled. From what she’d said earlier, this had to be her first time drinking juice from a street stall. Her face was practically glowing with excitement. I got the feeling she was doing something that was normally off-limits to her on purpose, just for the fun of it.
“Hey, why is drinking outside such a bad thing?” I asked.
“Huh?”
“Excuse me?”
Both of them looked at me in surprise. Huh? Why?
“I figured adventurers wouldn’t care about things like this, but you really don’t even know? Well, I suppose that makes sense,” said Liluetta. “A countryside village wouldn’t have customs like these.”
Yune nodded. “Being around Kiri-o leads to all sorts of discoveries.”
I wasn’t sure what to make of that. Were they from a different world than me? I knew they weren’t exactly ordinary, but... Then again, most of the townspeople I knew were adventurers, so maybe Liluetta and Yune were actually the normal ones.
“This might not be a familiar custom for you,” Liluetta explained, “but eating street food like this is considered improper behavior for ladies. We were raised not to do it.”
“Huh? But I’ve seen plenty of female adventurers eating like this.”
“Adventurers might not care about such matters, but there are plenty of people who do. If you’re part of the upper class, and you eat or drink on the street, you would get some serious disapproving looks. Even among regular townsfolk, a lot of women would feel self-conscious about it.”
So that’s how it is. My village didn’t have any street vendors, so I never even thought about stuff like this. But now that Liluetta had mentioned it, I realized that I didn’t often see women buying food from street stalls here in town.
“And if you’ve spent time in a sanctuary like Yune has,” Liluetta continued, “you have to follow some really strict rules about manners.”