Dana definitely felt that she’d made a bad choice and had some regrets about it, but she decided to just sit down on the soft grass growing in the shade and eat her meal. After gently setting down the cup so that it wouldn’t spill and taking off her hat so it wouldn’t get in the way, she placed the to-go lunch on her lap. It was chilly.
She took out a spoon and fork from her travel bag. She was well-prepared for these kinds of situations. The main clientele of these restaurants were locals, so it was presumed they would have their own forks.
“I suppose I got swept away by impulse...”
Just staring at the lid wouldn’t do her any good. She apprehensively pulled off the band that kept the lid in place and opened the larger box. She had known that there was pasta inside, but...
“Huh?”
The pasta, which was separated into small rolls to make it easier to eat, was garnished with halved cherry tomatoes and mint. The red and green looked appetizing. Dana had been skeptical about chilled pasta, but the rumblings of her stomach and the pretty presentation shoved her doubts aside. She stabbed her fork in and took a bite.
“Mmmmm!!!”
She couldn’t help but slurp it right up. It was both light and refreshing.
“Ahhh...this is great.”
Dana was reminded of how wonderful it was to eat cold foods in the summer. The white of the hard-boiled egg on the side was smooth and appealing. What made it all the more maddening was that it wasn’t just cut in half; it was cut into a decorative flower shape. The crunchy cucumber next to it looked as if it had been sliced just moments ago.
“What gives?! It’s cute, cheap, and delicious!”
The taste was important, but the price mattered just as much. She washed it down with the water, which was blissfully chilly. She quenched her thirst with gusto.
“But how?!”
She was always delighted to get such a good deal, but it made her apprehensive to not know why it was so cheap. Dana had been burned many times before and had realized one simple truth: there was an appropriate price for everything.
“These to-go boxes don’t look special. Which means...that box they were in is what makes the difference? Come to think of it, it didn’t seem like an ordinary wooden box. It was shut tighter, like it was preventing cold air from leaking out... So was it a miniaturized cooling chamber? I don’t know who came up with it, but that’s a great idea.”
Dana started to add up a theory in her head, just as she did when she was doing her hallmark calculations. “The unit price must be low because it takes less time to make. Judging by the size of that shop, it must have two, or maybe only one employee, which would leave it understaffed at lunchtime. It felt like there were intentionally only a few tables too. The low ratio of employees to customers is solved by offering to-go lunches! This keeps well, so by cooking large batches in the morning, fewer man-hours are required.”
Plus, if the food was made with locally grown vegetables, that would explain why it was cheaper than in the capital.
“I see now! That’s a load off my mind!”
It would drive her mad to leave a money-related mystery unsolved, so this set her mind at ease. Now that that was out of the way, Dana turned her focus to the thing from which she’d been intentionally averting her gaze: the other, smaller box she’d received from the proprietor.
This was probably what he had called “dessert.” Dana set aside the finished, empty to-go box and picked up the somewhat smaller box, examining it. It was even cooler than the previous one.
“Let’s have a look!” She opened the lid with a motivational shout and found raspberries stuffed inside. They were as bright and shiny as gemstones. However...
“R-Raspberries in a to-go lunch?!”
These berries were in season in the summer, but they were sensitive to sunlight and would easily bruise. Still shocked, Dana calmly pulled out a spoon, carefully stuck it in, and brought it to her mouth.
“H-Hmgh?!” The sweet-and-sour taste she was used to linked arms and danced with an unfamiliar, tender mouthfeel. “Th-This is des-dessert?!”
Dana was bewildered. She couldn’t stop stuffing her cheeks and ate up all the raspberries in a frenzy. She looked at the pair of to-go boxes which had been emptied in no time flat, exhaled, and then leaned against the trunk of the tree. The rustling leaves sounded so gentle when she closed her eyes. An instant later, Dana opened her eyes resolutely and sprang to her feet. She picked up the to-go boxes, cup, and her luggage, then ran back to the restaurant at full speed.
When she entered, the customers who had been there before were gone. There was only the proprietor, who saluted her with another lackadaisical greeting. “Welcome back. That was quick.”
“I’m here! To return! The cup!!!”
“Much appreciated.”
“What should I do with the boxes?!”
“I can take those for you.”
“Here you go!” Dana returned everything, then looked around restlessly. She just realized that in her haste, she’d forgotten to put her hat back on, but thankfully, the proprietor hadn’t reacted. Anyway... She patted her cheeks and let her eyes wander around. Soon enough, she put her hands on the counter and leaned over.
“Excuse me, what’s this to-go lunch?”
“It’s chilled pasta.”
“Oh, so that’s what you call it...that’s not what I meant though! This is the first time I’ve had it. Is it an ordinary local specialty?”
This was such a novel invention that Dana couldn’t resist asking. Despite appearances, she regularly dealt with nobles in her position as the Saint. The nobles wouldn’t have ignored something so new and fresh. That was why this mysterious invention that could only be found in a tiny village was both wonderful and strange at the same time.
“Hm? No, I only started offering to-go lunches recently.”
“Really? Then who came up with the idea? You mentioned an insulated bag earlier, yes? Is it different than that box down below?”
“Insulated bags are just sacks. Whatever you put in it will stay cold for a long time even if you don’t eat it right away. As for the box, it’s the same thing, just enlarged so I can keep it in the restaurant. Or so I’m told.”
“So you’re told? It wasn’t your idea?”
“Well, no.”
When Dana asked further, the proprietor was strangely tight-lipped and faced away from her. There was likely some reason he didn’t want to tell her.
This is practically an interrogation, Dana thought to herself. Given how groundbreaking this technology was, it would likely spread throughout the country soon enough. As she often dealt with nobles, Dana wished she’d known about this earlier, but shook her head. Oh well.
“By the way, do you know if a girl named Lacey lives around here? She has black hair, and she’s short and rather cute. I’m here to visit her. Have you heard of ‘Starseeking’?”
“Of course I know.” The moment Lacey’s name had come up, the proprietor’s stiff expression had softened. What was that all about? “So you’re a friend of Miss Lacey? She’s the one who made the insulated bag.”
Dana’s large eyes opened even wider. She couldn’t hold back her shock. “Lacey did...?” she whispered.
∗ ∗ ∗
After that, the proprietor told her where Lacey’s mansion was. Dana thanked him and was about to exit the restaurant before changing her mind and turning back around.
She started down the road, insulated bag in hand. Supposedly, the proper name for it was an insulated thermal bag. She’d been given a choice of several different designs, so Dana had chosen the model with embroidered flowers. Just looking at it cheered her up. Besides the flowers, there were also scattered small embroidered stars. The same kind of pattern was on the letter she had received from Lacey. Dana then recalled one other thing.
Just as she’d parsed it little by little, her body suddenly refused to move. Dana crouched down on the side of the road and pulled herself along. She took a short break, caught her breath, and slowly walked forward. Her body shook with pain.
Dana groaned out loud. It’s almost like a curse.
“These episodes are getting more frequent,” she lamented to herself as she finally reached the top of the hill. There stood a large mansion. It almost looked fit for nobility, except for the lack of any ostentatious decoration. It had a certain simplicity to it.
The sign out front said Anything Shop, Starseeking.
“It really is her.” It gave her a very queer feeling. The look on the face of the girl Dana had known said that she didn’t care about her own welfare. She’d acted that way too. It was like she was only staying alive so that she could eventually die—although if Dana had said this to her, she probably would have denied it.
And now look at where that girl was.
Dana took a deep breath and calmly lifted the door knocker. Knock knock. It made a solemn sound.
∗ ∗ ∗
“What in the world is going on here?”
“Nnnkwee-ee...”
Lacey groaned as she looked up toward the dazzling sun. At her feet, Tee responded with a gentle ruffle of its feathers.
The sunlight shining on Lacey wasn’t as intense as usual. She knew the reason. Overhead, leaves rustled. At the top of a fat trunk, there were a number of large, hard, brown fruits growing. A bunch of them, in fact.
Lacey narrowed her eyes languidly. “This definitely wasn’t here before, right?”
“Kwee kwee.” Tee nodded its fluffy head in agreement.
“Yeah.” Lacey tilted her head.
She was looking up at a coconut tree.
There had been a variety of trees growing behind the mansion when she’d first got there, but she was definitely sure that there hadn’t been a coconut tree. As far as she could tell, it had just suddenly popped up out of the ground one day.
The coconut tree wasn’t the only odd thing. Taking a look around, there were lots of plants she didn’t recognize growing everywhere. Although this was plenty strange, Lacey had some idea of the underlying cause. It was her mana.
Lacey had cultivated the high-quality medicinal herbs that she’d received from Wayne into an even more superb variety by infusing her mana into the garden. Doing this might have influenced more soil nearby.