Hello Dana, this is Lacey writing. It’s been a while.
You said that you were going back to the orphanage in your hometown. How have you been since then?
As for me, I’m sorry that I took so long to tell you: I’ve moved out of the capital and am currently in a place called Plume Village.
The people here are all kind and wonderful. I have a bird too. Also, I started a new business. I’m sure you must be busy, but if you ever have time, feel free to come visit.
I’ll be waiting.
“‘I’ll be waiting,’ eh?” Dana reread the letter from Lacey.
Scorching sunlight was beating down from above. The first thing she spotted upon reaching the village was a huge tree. She placed a hand to her mouth, giggled, and playfully rushed over to sit in its shade.
Lacey must have rewritten the letter multiple times. They’d only spent one year on their quest together.
Dana couldn’t say that she knew everything about Lacey, but they had slept and eaten together for a year. There was a lot she did know. The girl was always reserved. Despite being able to cast more powerful magic than anyone else, she had very little self-confidence and barely even spoke. If anyone approached her, she would hurriedly retreat. That was the kind of girl Lacey had been. Yet she’d done her best to write this letter to Dana, despite not being used to it. Dana sensed a peculiar warmth from the words “I’ll be waiting.”
Although the part about “I have a bird too” confused her.
“I’m sure some wonderful change happened to her. In any case, I bet Wayne knew about this.” Dana’s brows involuntarily furrowed. Just watching whatever Lacey and Wayne had going on made her feel agitated, but since it would be impolite for a third party to mention it, she’d been pretending not to notice.
“Hmm... It’s been two months since I got her letter, but it should be fine, right? I doubt she’s moved away already.”
Dana had been curious about what Lacey had been up to, but she was in no position to go see. If only it had been possible, she would’ve jumped out the door as soon as she’d received Lacey’s letter.
Just thinking about it weighed Dana down more. It was like a curse. Dana exhaled in pain and rubbed her shoulder. Her body was heavy. She sat in the shade of the tree and quietly breathed in and out a few times. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the wind. The heat was making her sweat, but as she breathed in lungfuls of the murmuring wind passing through, she gradually settled down.
“I’m hungry.”
Then she heard the low rumblings of her stomach. Growl. Groooooowl.
Come to think of it, she’d forgotten to eat lunch. She’d just run out of the preserved food she’d packed as well. She had planned to immediately start looking for Lacey’s house, but it seemed she would need to satisfy her hunger first.
Dana slowly got to her feet and entered the village.
∗ ∗ ∗
“Let’s see here. Is there even a place where I can get a bite to eat?”
Dana’s hometown was far enough away from Plume Village that it would take forever to go between them by coach. Dana was permitted to use teleportation shrines around the capital, so she’d taken advantage of that. After that, she had taken a coach until it reached a stopping point midway, then walked the rest of the way.
She was a woman traveling on her own. In theory, she should have taken the coach all the way to the village and hired an escort, but for certain reasons, Dana refused to do this. Of course, as a member of the disbanded hero’s party, she was also confident that she could hold her own against most robbers and monsters she might encounter.
Along the way, she’d been picking up hearsay on what kind of place Plume Village was. It had once dealt in golden cockatrice feathers to the point where it had changed its name to the feather-decoration village, but now it was a peaceful place. There were no rumors about the Dawn Witch living there, but knowing Lacey, she was probably making herself inconspicuous.
Portraits of the party were available to buy in the capital. Dana didn’t know how many people in Plume Village knew what she looked like, but she decided there would be no harm in veiling herself. She pulled the brim of her hat back down over her face. Just as her title of “Saint” suggested, she had a gracious appearance. She was less “cute” and more like “gorgeous.”
As she carefully surveyed the village, she felt that it seemed a little different from the stories she’d heard around the capital. About the only people who traveled from the capital all the way out to Plume Village were merchants, so only they could say what it was like these days. Even so, the village seemed more lively than she’d been led to believe.
“‘We have to-go lunches’...?”
As she walked down the dirt road, she saw a banner waving in the wind. “‘We have to-go lunches’?” She once again read the incredibly bizarre phrase out loud.
Dana understood what a “to-go lunch” was. Though she was treated as a saint these days, she was also the church orphanage caretaker, and often used to go on picnics with the children. If you lived in the capital or were a powerful noble, glacial stones were easy to come by. But in Dana’s mind, to-go lunches consisted of crusty rye bread in the summertime and cold soup in the winter.
Plume Village was only two days’ coach travel from the capital, but it likely had similar circumstances. The shops were probably selling rye bread. In spite of that, the banner was awfully grandiose. When Dana approached to get a better idea of what was going on, she noticed a sign out front.
Today’s to-go lunch is a two-course pick of the daily special. Three silver coins.
“Not bread, but a two-course lunch? And for three silver coins?!”
That was far too cheap. The word “lunch” suggested that it was a typical selection of food. That couldn’t possibly be right. Dana had lived long enough to know that when prices were too cheap, there was a catch. That was why she couldn’t let herself be dazzled by the low prices...but in her mind, she started calculating her remaining travel funds.
She was getting sick of tasteless preserved foods, but dining out made her wallet hurt. Dana was more concerned about money than most people. The more she had, the happier she was; the more she received, the more appreciative she was. She had been motivated to join the mission to defeat the Demon King because of the hefty cash reward. The reason she hadn’t traveled by coach all the way between the capital and Plume Village was simply because she was skimping on expenses.
She was known as the Saint of Light, Dana, but surprisingly few people knew that the light that illuminated her was the dazzling glint of gold coins.
If she were asked whether she was a miser, she would wholeheartedly embrace the title of “extreme miser.” However, she didn’t want to restrict her expenses to an absolute minimum. In addition to stamina, traveling wore away at one’s psyche as well. Instead of just staying at bare-bones lodgings all the time, she knew that it was ultimately more efficient to occasionally splurge on luxury inns and restore her energy. Applying this principle, now was the time to splurge on delicious food.
The moment she came to that decision, Dana entered the restaurant. Even inside, she kept her hat tilted low and covered her face. The surly proprietor threw her a slightly suspicious look, but still murmured a “Welcome” at her.
It seemed that dining in was an option as well. There were two tables, each with four chairs. It was still much too early for lunchtime, so customers were sparse.
“Are you from out of town? That’s rare.”
“Yes, I am. Um, I was wondering about the banner that mentions ‘to-go lunch.’ Is it still available?”
“Of course. Just one for you?”
Dana nodded and handed silver coins to the proprietor.
“Um, what’s the daily special?”
“It’s pasta today. It’s got freshly picked tomatoes in it.”
“That sounds delicious...er, well...”
That wasn’t what she’d wanted to ask. What she was really curious about was whether it was packed to-go. Did it really include a full lunch like the kind that would be served in the restaurant? But before she could get clarification, the proprietor turned his back to her and opened up a box underneath the counter. He pulled something out of it and then pulled something else out of a separate box.
What?! He’s taking the food from there?
Under the counter was shady and easily accessible, which made it convenient, but it definitely wasn’t an appropriate place for storing food. It was a little late for it, but Dana was starting to get nervous. She was second-guessing the whole thing. If she couldn’t get a refund, then so be it. Sometimes you had to pay to learn. This was the cost of getting an important life lesson.
“I’m sorry, sir, I’ve changed my—”
“Here you go. Water’s on the house. Dessert’s included too.”
“Oh, thank you.”
He’d handed over the stuff, so Dana automatically took it. No, no, she shook her head, then was startled by the sensation in her palms. It was cold.
She had been handed two boxes, one small and one large, stacked on top of each other.
They must have been made out of a sturdy paper. The lids of the disposable paperboard boxes were closed tight, and they were cold. Before she knew it, the proprietor had brought out water as well.
“I can give you an insulated bag too if you want. That would be four silver coins.”
“In-su-lated...? No thank you, that’s more than I’d like to pay.”
“Then you’ll be eating immediately? If you’re eating outside, then you can come back later to return the water cup.”
“I...see.”
She hadn’t given a clear yes or no, but the proprietor seemed satisfied and left. In the end, Dana picked up the to-go lunch and cup of water, calmly exited the restaurant, and returned to the shade of the tree where she’d been before.
∗ ∗ ∗