Chapter 45
The Sazandoll commercial district is divided into western and eastern districts by Central Street.
The western district, which is relatively close to the port, is crammed with all sorts of stalls and street vendors, while the eastern district has more upscale shops with a comparatively refined atmosphere.
Monica had been living in Sazandoll for nearly half a year, but she had never visited this street lined with upscale shops.
With so many high-end shops clustered together, it was difficult to approach them in overly casual clothing.
But now Monica had changed into a brand-new blouse and skirt, and Lana had redone her hair and applied a light touch of makeup.
Her hairstyle matched Lana's, with braids arranged like a headband. The hair at the back was left loose, flowing smoothly down her back.
"Let's start with the tableware shop. I have a place I always go to."
The shop Lana led her to was a tableware store in the eastern district.
When the two girls with matching hairstyles stepped inside, an elderly shopkeeper with a refined mustache came out to greet them with a gentle smile.
"Welcome. Why, if it isn't Miss Collet. Have you brought a friend today?"
"Yes, could you show us your teacups?"
"Certainly. Right this way."
Lana followed the shopkeeper with a confident air. Monica, fidgeting uneasily in the unfamiliar shop, hurried after her.
Several display shelves stood at the back of the shop. Even the shelves themselves had a luxurious air, made lavishly from highly transparent sheet glass and decorated with carved borders.
Lined up on those shelves were a multitude of beautiful teacups.
"...They're beautiful."
When Monica murmured the words, the shopkeeper smiled happily, wrinkles forming at the corners of his eyes.
"Yes, aren't they all beautiful?"
The teacups were each like works of art: some were decorated with wildflowers in pale colors, some had incredibly intricate designs despite being monochromatic, and others depicted exotic birds and plants.
Lana proudly puffed up as she explained each cup in turn.
"That's a new release from the Colminette Collection. The Colminette Collection is known for applying gold paint in raised layers. See? It's slightly raised. The vivid colors and gold paint give it such a wonderful luxurious look."
"Yeah, it's really colorful and dazzling."
"Right? And this cup with the incredibly fine design was made by transferring a copperplate engraving! The techniques have improved recently, so even the finest lines can be reproduced beautifully...!"
Lana was so animated while talking about teacups that she seemed almost more excited than usual.
...It might have been conceited of Monica to think so, but surely Lana was doing it to cheer her up.
(What should I do? I'm so happy.)
Monica wasn't as interested in fashion and shopping as Lana was.
Even so, the reason Monica found dressing up and shopping enjoyable was that she was happy Lana cared enough to cheer her up.
(...Maybe I should buy a teacup.)
The tea set Lana had given her contained six cups, and Monica had broken one of them.
There were still five left, so she didn't need to replace it right away, but for the first time in a long while, Monica felt like buying something for herself.
(This one with the tiny flowers is cute... and this blue one is pretty, too...)
After carefully examining the cups one by one, Monica's gaze stopped on a particular cup.
It was a set of cups delicately decorated with black cats frolicking among wildflowers.
"...It looks like Nero."
The words slipped out before she could stop them, and Lana looked at Monica with wide eyes.
"Nero? You mean that black cat I sometimes see at your house?"
"Huh? Oh, um... yes. It's my... well, my familiar..."
Monica stammered, her gaze darting about.
Only Monica and Isaac knew the true identity of the black cat currently hibernating.
Of course, ordinary cats didn't hibernate, so the basket Nero slept in was kept in the bedroom where guests couldn't see it.
Monica was afraid that if anyone pressed her about Nero, all sorts of things would come to light.
Fortunately, Lana didn't question her any further. She simply looked at the mug Monica had been examining and murmured, "You're right. It really does look just like him."
Monica took another careful look at the cups.
On closer inspection, each cup had a different cat design. Some cats were playing with flowers, some were chasing butterflies, and some were curled up asleep.
(...I want to show these cups to Nero and Ike, too.)
They weren't the sort of design one would use for guests, but they might be nice for everyday use.
Monica smiled faintly and asked the shopkeeper, "I'll take this set of cups, please."
＊ ＊ ＊
After asking for the purchased teacups to be delivered to her house, the two of them visited a variety of small-goods and shoe shops in turn. By the time they were done, they were starting to feel peckish, so they decided to head for the fried-pie shop that had been their original destination.
Lana's favorite fried-pie shop was apparently a stall in the western district.
"If we're going to the fried-pie shop, it's faster to take this route. But absolutely don't come here after dark. It's not a very safe area, and if you go one street farther in, you'll reach the back alleys."
In the first place, a noble young lady wandering around alone without an attendant was the sort of thing that would draw disapproving looks all by itself.
To say nothing of the fact that Sazandoll was hardly a safe city. A lively, bustling port town saw many people coming and going, and some of them were criminals.
That was why Lana seemed to know exactly which roads and times of day were safe for her to travel alone.
Lana glanced around, then lowered her voice slightly and whispered to Monica.
"Don't go deep into the western district under any circumstances. I've heard that merchants dealing in illicit drugs have been coming and going around there lately... If a foreigner talks to you in that area, run away immediately."
"O-okay."
Monica obediently nodded at Lana's warning.
Monica was, after all, one of the Seven Sages, among the country's highest-ranking people, and a practitioner of silent magic. She had even shot down a flock of wyverns in an instant.
Even so, she was happy that Lana cared enough to worry about her as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
Just as Monica was about to say, Thank you for worrying about me, a young man's shout rang out behind them.
"Thieeeef!"
Monica and Lana stopped and turned at the rough, booming voice.
A middle-aged man was running toward them from directly behind. He held a knife in his right hand and a large travel bag in his left. He was presumably the thief.
Chasing the middle-aged man who appeared to be a thief was a black-haired young man who looked like a traveler. However, quite a distance had opened between them, so it would be difficult to catch him if he escaped down a side street.
"Out of the way, out of the waaay!"
The thief approached them, wildly swinging the knife in his right hand.
Lana turned pale and grabbed Monica by the arm.
"Monica, look out!"
Lana tried to pull Monica toward the edge of the road. But Monica did not move, instead staring straight at the thief.
The expression vanished from her youthful face.
"...I'm fine."
Monica silently cast a defensive barrier directly in front of the thief.
The thief failed to notice the transparent wall that had suddenly appeared and crashed into it. "Gah!?" he cried as he fell on his backside.
"What is this...? What did I just run into...?"
As the thief groaned and held his injured nose, a thick arm suddenly reached out from behind him. It belonged to the young man who had been chasing him.
"──Hmph!"
The young man's thick arm clamped around the thief's neck. His muscular upper arm bulged so prominently that it was visible even through his clothes, restraining the thief like an iron shackle.
The thief thrashed his arms and legs for a while, but eventually rolled his eyes back, convulsed, and went limp.
The black-haired young man rolled the thief onto the ground, then wiped the sweat from his brow with a sigh.
Up close, he was a very large man with an intimidating face. His short black hair was slicked back, and he had a beard on his chin. He looked to be in his late twenties.
The man looked back and forth between Monica and Lana, then spoke.
"Ladies! Are either of you hurt!?"
His voice was absurdly loud—so loud that Monica wanted to ask whether he really needed to shout at such close range.
Startled by the booming voice, Monica stiffened, her shoulders trembling, while Lana stepped forward with a wry smile.
"No, we're unhurt, Mister. Is that bag yours?"
"No—not exactly. It belongs to my younger brother..."
He had only gotten that far when he turned around and shouted angrily.
"Theodore! Why are you dawdling!?"
In the direction of his gaze, a young man was walking toward them at a leisurely pace.
He was a slender young man with soft-looking, fluffy black hair. His eyes drooped slightly, giving him the vague appearance of smiling. He looked to be around twenty.
The young man stopped beside Monica and Lana, looked up at the large man, and spoke in a mild tone.
"Thank you for getting my bag back, Brother Antony."
"Honestly, you... You get targeted by thieves because you're always so slow and dreamy."
"But there was a cute puppy. I got so caught up talking to it."
Judging from the conversation, the two men appeared to be brothers. Other than their hair color, they looked nothing alike.
The mild-mannered Theodore sadly stroked the bag with its broken handle, then raised his head and looked between Monica and Lana.
"Hey, Brother Antony, who are those girls?"
"Oh, right. They got caught up in this commotion. It was lucky the thief happened to trip, but..."
The thief had collided with Monica's barrier and fallen, but to Antony, it must have looked as though he had simply tripped.
Antony straightened up and turned toward Monica and Lana.
"Ladies, I'm terribly sorry for involving you in this. If you don't mind, could I make it up to you? Specifically, perhaps we could have some tea nearby?"
"I'm sorry, Mister. We have plans afterward."
Lana swiftly cut Antony off, pressed a hand gently to Monica's back, and started walking.
When Antony protested with a 'But...', Lana gave him a bright, friendly smile.
"For repairs, I recommend 'Marc's Shop' on Fifth Street. Well, goodbye!"
After saying this quickly, Lana urged Monica along and left the scene.
"U-um, Lana..."
As Monica anxiously followed, Lana whispered to her while walking briskly.
"Those two had an accent. They're probably not from this country... Well, even if they were, I have no intention of accepting an invitation from a man I've just met... Especially lately, there have apparently been people luring young girls into secret salons dealing in illegal drugs, so you absolutely must never follow a stranger anywhere!"
"O-okay, I understand..."
＊ ＊ ＊
...I got rejected.
Antony, the large bearded man who had been rejected by the two girls, looked deeply saddened.
Theodore took a sturdy cord out of the broken bag and tied the fallen thief's hands behind his back as he looked up at his brother.
"You shouldn't, Brother Antony. We're working."
"Those ladies seemed familiar with the area. If they could serve as informants and help with the mission, they'd be a great help."
"You just wanted an excuse to get close to a girl, didn't you?"
At Theodore's words, Antony sank to one knee, clenched his fist, and groaned with heartfelt regret.
"...How vexing."
"No, you can't. You have to work hard. You wanted to finish this by the next holiday if possible, didn't you?"
"Ah, that's right. For the sake of our vacation, let's work hard."