“They were all saying something about Aster.”
“It means ‘star.’ There’s a star mark subtly placed on all of Miss Lacey’s artifacts as her personal brand. Everyone’s looking to buy Aster products.”
“I knew that she was amazing, but I don’t think I fully understood until now.”
“I’m just so excited to see what she’ll come up with next. Popcorn, coconut oil, foot baths... I’m scrambling to come up with a sales strategy for them. I’m so busy, I can hardly juggle it all.” Lanze’s expression softened. He was putting all his effort into doing what only he could do.
In comparison, I’m just... Allen’s spirits sank. In fact, he was so frustrated that he couldn’t bear it. He was immensely disappointed with himself. However, expressing this out loud would be even more unbearable, so Allen just stared at his hands as he sat in the driver’s seat.
Lanze didn’t glance at Allen at all and simply held on to the reins. The wheels rattled as they spun. The evening sun quietly set.
“That’s why,” Lanze continued, “when Kargo told me that you would assist me, I was very thankful. I don’t even tell my name to anyone I don’t trust. I’ll be depending on you.”
The merchant had given him his name not as Ryugé, not as Manson, but as Lanze. Allen belatedly contemplated this and then nodded heartily. “Okay!”
∗ ∗ ∗
“And that’s what transpired.”
Lanze, wearing his usual sort of colorful clothes, proudly told the story to Lacey.
As she received the profits minus the service fee from him, Lacey could only make a vague, unreadable expression.
“I didn’t pry, you understand? It seemed that Allen wanted to assist you in some way, Miss Lacey. Oh dear! I’m such a loose-lipped person, so if I appreciate something, my thoughts just slip right out of my mouth!”
“They slip out...?” Lacey wasn’t sure if that was a praiseworthy trait or not, but if he hadn’t told her, she might not have realized. She had heard that Allen was going out to sell goods, but she regretted that she hadn’t given any thought to why he was doing so.
If he was doing this out of goodwill toward her, she wanted to thank him. But if Allen was acting surreptitiously so that she wouldn’t find out, she would have to pretend that she didn’t know anything.
Lacey vowed that she would return the favor one day in some form, but at the very least, she could say something to the person standing before her right now. She straightened out her posture and made eye contact...but she was ultimately too nervous and ended up looking down right away.
“Um, Mr. Lanze, thank you! I should’ve said it before. You’ve always delivered my merchandise with care...”
It made Lacey happy to have the artifacts she’d made go to a good home. She didn’t want all the effort that the villagers had contributed to go to waste either. Lanze was a very essential, very important individual.
“Also, I know it’s much too late, but I didn’t know your name until now. I’m so sorry!”
This was in spite of the fact that she’d met and done business transactions with him many times before. Sometimes Lacey felt embarrassed and ashamed at how she couldn’t accomplish basic things.
But she couldn’t stay embarrassed forever. She clenched her fists and lifted her face with determination. The hat on her head shook.
“I’m glad to make your acquaintance! My name is Lacey! I run an anything shop!”
“Yes, I’m glad to know you. I’m Lanze, just a humble merchant.”
They each gave their names and bowed. Lacey didn’t lift her head back up afterward and kept it down, though, so Lanze couldn’t help but laugh.
“Really, it’s quite all right, Miss Lacey. Even if you had asked, I likely wouldn’t have told you. I only tell my name to people I can trust. Besides, I hardly know how to react when the renowned Dawn Witch is bowing to me.”
Lacey jerked her head up. She was so stunned that she couldn’t make a sound.
Lanze had the same smile as ever upon seeing her reaction. “There were five members of the hero’s party that vanquished the Demon King. Wayne, the hero, remained in the capital. The Steel Warrior Brooks returned to his hometown and founded a new school of martial arts, and the Saint of Light Dana is currently busy running her newly established medical center. There was reportedly another one, an elf, but you know how elves are. They’re rarely seen in human territory. And not much is known about their kind. When you’re in this trade long enough, you hear all sorts of rumors.”
Lanze, his eyes still narrowed, tapped his finger to his ear. Lacey was still shocked that he knew who she was and could only stare up at the young man.
“As for the Dawn Witch, I hear she dissolved her ties to the nation and is currently in hiding somewhere...”
“Huh? In hiding?!” Lacey blurted out. As always, Lacey was uninformed on the latest gossip, so she had no idea what they were saying about her after she left the capital, nor had she given it any thought.
Lanze opened his eyes ever so slightly. “Oh dear, is that not the case?” He tilted his head, not expecting this reaction, but he quickly caught on. “It’s true that you aren’t using an alias, nor do you seem to be disguising who you are. Your appearance differs from the rumors, so few people would think twice about it unless you proclaimed your identity outright. I was dubious as well at first. I had heard tell that there was a short, black-haired girl hanging around the hero’s party. I wouldn’t have imagined that was you, Miss Lacey.”
He was right. Lacey had thought that she didn’t care if anyone found out. Of course, she would prefer it if she could keep quiet about it, but in theory, it wouldn’t be any major inconvenience if people found out.
But right now, her mouth was clamped painfully shut and all she could do was nod her head.
The closer she got to people, the more afraid she was of them learning who she was. Lacey had honed her magic for the sole objective of defeating the Demon King, but her skills could also hurt humans. She was like a wild beast hiding her sharp, pointy fangs. She didn’t want the people of Plume Village to find out. Imagining the smiles of Allen and everyone else crumbling apart scared her to no end.
“I know I’m asking for too much. But please, don’t tell them.”
“They won’t hear a word out of my mouth. Yes, yes, I’m famous for being tight-lipped!” Lanze thumped his chest.
Lacey wasn’t able to point out that this was the exact opposite of what he’d said earlier, but tried to put a smile on her face. It was a very strained smile.
The fox-like man simply told her “It’ll be all right.” She wasn’t sure what he meant by that.
Their conversation left off there. Tee and Noi, who had been guarding the field, had just come crashing in.
“Kwee kwee kwee!”
“Grr-oink-oink-oink-oink-oink-oink!”
“Eek! There are two of them now?! W-Well, I’ll be on my way nooow!”
Lanze and Tee got along very badly. Tee had already had its revenge, so there was little to worry about, but the terror that it had instilled hadn’t faded from Lanze’s memory.
This was Tee and Noi’s idea of a welcoming reception, but from the shrieking Lanze’s perspective, it was something else entirely.
Tee and Noi chased after him as he retreated, getting gradually farther away. Lacey cracked up laughing a little. Still, she could feel the chilly wind whistling by.
Her happiness and fear were like two sides of a coin. One might easily flip over into the other.
Another chilly gust blew past.