The next day, just before midday, Anima and Myuke stood in the doorway. They had already eaten lunch and were ready to depart. Behind them, Luina and the girls were there to see them off.
“Be careful around fire and knives,” Luina advised them. “Don’t hurt yourselves.”
“Don’t worry; we’ll be very careful. You should take it easy today. I’ll bring in the laundry after I get home, so just rest and play with the girls.”
“Hope you’re looking forward to our awesome new cooking skills!”
“I can’t wait to eat your cooking again, m’kay?”
“Daddy! Up!” Marie pestered Anima, reluctant to say goodbye. He did as he was told right away, and she rubbed her squishy cheek against his. “Come home ’fore night-night! I want bath with you and Myukey!”
“Don’t worry; we won’t stay too late. When exactly we get home will depend on what we’ll be making, but we should definitely be back before dinner.”
“We’ll draw something together once we get home, okay? You can play with Bram while we’re gone. Bram, please keep an eye on her.”
“Got it! Marie, do you want to finish yesterday’s drawing? Daddy still needs a body, m’kay?”
Reminded of her unfinished drawing, Marie hopped down from Anima’s arms and grabbed Bram’s hand.
“All right, we’re off,” Anima announced.
“See you later!”
After saying goodbye, the two headed for Garaat. Once there, they followed the main road for a bit, but quickly took a turn down a quiet, almost deserted side street.
“Umm, where are we going?” Myuke asked soon after they took the turn. “Isn’t the doctor’s house right behind the Hunters’ Guild?”
Sure enough, the route they were taking was not the route to the Guild, and Anima was more than aware of that. It had been six months since he’d married Luina, and they’d walked the streets of Garaat together countless times. He didn’t know every nook and cranny of the town, but he knew more than enough of it to not get lost on his way to the Guild.
“I was thinking of popping into a shop with you. We still have time before our lesson starts.”
“What are we looking for?”
Anima turned to her and answered with a broad smile.
“Your very own knife.”
Myuke’s face lit up. Unable to contain her excitement, she pressed Anima further.
“Are you really gonna get one for me?! I mean, we have knives at home.”
“We only have two knives at home. That’s not enough if all three of us are going to be cooking.”
“Not everyone needs a knife if we split up the work the right way. Are you sure you want to get one anyway?”
“I’m sure. Besides, wouldn’t it be more fun to have your own knife?”
“Oh, it definitely would! Gives me another reason to get good at cooking!”
The promise of her very own knife had Myuke overjoyed. She skipped all the way until they arrived at the trusted, long-established general store. Having stood in Garaat for decades, the snug little store run by a kind older gentleman had a certain charm to it, and sold anything and everything a household might need. Pots, plates, cutting boards, cups, cutlery, and even potted plants were all available for purchase. It was a cornucopia of useful items.
“Let’s see, the knives are...”
“Ah, look! There they are!” Myuke gestured toward a shelf full of kitchen knives, her eyes sparkling as though she’d found ancient treasure that had been buried for thousands of years. She was so excited that she was practically squealing. “There’s so many! Ahhh, I don’t know which one to choose! Daddy, how much time do we have?!”
“Don’t worry about it; take as much time as you need. Make sure you get a feel for the knife you pick.”
“Help me choose!”
Together, they browsed the vast selection of knives.
“A big knife would be difficult to handle, so I think you should look for something that’s fairly small. How about this one?”
“That’s a fillet knife. I can’t cut vegetables with that.”
“Oh, they each have their own uses? How about this one, then?”
“That’s for slicing meat. What I want is an all-purpose knife like what we’ve got at home. They’re not as good at each individual task as these specialized knives are, but you can do pretty much anything with them!” An all-purpose knife would be perfect for Myuke, who wanted to cook all sorts of different dishes. “The question is, which all-purpose knife should I—”
She stared straight ahead of herself, completely silent. Following her gaze, Anima saw that she had found a very unique knife from among the bunch. In terms of size and shape, it was quite bland, but there was something special about that knife in particular. The blade was engraved with carvings of cute animals, which put the knife on the more expensive side, but also made it impossible to mistake it for either of the other two they had back at home.
“This one! I want this one!”
Anima’s intuition was right; Myuke had fallen in love with that knife the moment she saw it. He picked it up, took it to the counter, and paid for it. Once the elderly shop owner had put it in a case, the transaction was complete.
“I’m happy you found a nice knife.”
“Me too! I’ll learn how to handle it like a master chef and then make you something super mouthwatering!”
“I can’t wait.”
Myuke happily skipped alongside Anima as they were talking on the quiet street, but before long, she noticed something.
“Umm, Daddy? This still isn’t the way to the Guild.”
“I know. We have one more place to stop first.”
“Where are we going?” she asked with a bright smile, excited to see what awaited her.
“To the magic stone shop.”
“The magic stone shop?!” Myuke stopped in her tracks. Her mouth left hanging open, she wore an expression that combined both thorough confusion and overwhelming joy. “Umm, you do know it’s not my birthday yet, right?”
“I do, but did you forget? I promised to get you a fire rabbit stone.”
“Y-You did, but are you sure? Getting me this knife was already more than enough. Buying a magic stone on top of that is...”
“Don’t be shy. You need these to cook, so let’s go. We want to get there before they sell out.”
“R-Right! Let’s go!”