“Leah.” Veirya stood in the centre of the street and looked at the street ahead. She looked at Leah, who was next to her. Veirya was holding her hand tightly. She continued, “Leah, what do. Normal girls. Like?”
Because Veirya gripped her left hand tightly, she would have to amputate her left arm or there was no way she was going to escape. Consequently, Leah’s expression looked no different to that of a dead person. To put it into perspective, it was the same expression Veirya had. If one were to look closely, they’d think that the two look the same as mother and daughter.
Leah looked up at Veirya with despair. Veirya very patiently awaited Leah’s answer. If Leah didn’t answer, they’d stay standing there for an entire day, so Leah had no choice but to give an answer. She sighed, “Normal girls… clothes and food, I guess.”
Honestly, Leah doesn’t quite know what girls would be fond of. Leah considered herself an ordinary girl compared to Veirya, though. As such, she answered in accordance to her personal preferences. Veirya nodded then checked both sides of the streets. While merchants relying on warehouses and stores have yet to arrive here, lots of merchants had already set up tents on the sides of the streets to sell simple goods. Although there were no clothes, there was a fair amount of food. The delicious food attracted a good number of townsfolk to pull out their wallets for some.
Verya led Leah along the street by the hand while looking at the small tents on both sides of the street with a variety of foods collected together, which made Leah, who hadn’t much today, start to feel hungry. Veirya looked back and forth between the food stalls, and then stopped in front of a small tent. The specific tent sold grilled fish. The owner was also a chef, himself. He looked at Veirya and with a smile, “Lord Veirya, it is rare to see you here. Did you want to check out my grilled fish here? These fish were caught right after the ice melted this spring.”
Leah stood to one side. She struggled to get up on her toes to check out the grilled fish on wooden skewers. She looked at the fish meat exploding out of the crispy skin. The scent of the grilled meat rushed into Leah’s nose in waves, causing her to gulp her saliva every now and then. She looked at the grilled meat with her puppy eyes. Veirya stood in front. She, too, looked at the grilled fish. She then glanced at Leah next to her before looking back at the owner. She nodded, “All right. Give me one serve.”
“Sure.”
The owner nodded. He then nimbly wrapped up a grilled fish he had just finished and handed it to Veirya. Veirya nodded, and then looked at Leah, who was looking at her with her puppy eyes. She hesitated for a second then handed it to Leah. Leah looked at Veirya with a tinge of surprise. Under normal circumstances, Veirya wouldn’t share her food. Veirya could share other stuff with Leah, but was very unlikely to share food food. Veirya had never made a compromise for Leah when fighting for food, yet she handed Leah good on her own accord this time. That caught Leah with surprise.
Leah also noticed that Veirya’s eyes had been on the grilled fish the entire time, so she could discern that Veirya very much so wanted to eat the fish. It was obvious from how her hand trembled when she passed Leah the fish. Perhaps Veirya was wrestling with herself inside at the moment. As a result, Leah didn’t dare to take it. She might stay safe if she doesn’t eat it, but Veirya regrets it after she ate it, Leah had no means of chucking it back up.
Leah was now faced with a big life choice.
‘Should I choose the food in front of me or my hope for survival…?’
However, after some hesitation, she reached out to take the grilled fish in the end. She carefully blew it, and then turned it to its side in a hasty manner. She then carefully took a bit of its side.
Veirya stared intensely at Leah. Leah’s face lit up when she tasted the deliciousness. Leah, who had been craving meat all this time, finally felt the greatness of good meat. The tasty grilled fish washed away all of the grumpiness from this morning. Leah chewed and chewed. The crispy fish made Leah’s entire body disperse brightness akin to a flower. Seeing Leah’s amazingly cheerful expression led to Veirya gradually gulping her saliva, too.
She stood up and looked at the grilled fish in front of her. She said, “Give me one more serve.”
“Sure.”
Veira accepted the fish; then she turned to leave. The owner, now behind her, hesitated to call out to her. He wanted to, but then stopped himself after a moment of hesitation. He sighed under his breath then continued working on his fish. Someone then approached his stall again. With a smile, she said, “Sorry, I’ll pay for those two. Give me one serve, as well, while you’re at it.”
“Ah, sure. Thank you, thank you! Thank you. I-It’s not a good idea to ask our lord for money, after all, is it?”
The owner reacted as if given amnesty. He swiftly looked up to be surprised and widened his eyes. His customer wasn’t a human. She had long ears that were twitching next to her pretty face. She looked at the owner with her lively, green eyes. She wore a very standard tight suit for hunting. She was an elf. She tossed a few coins down then nimbly picked up a skewer before giving chase.
Leah actually noticed that Veirya apparently didn’t pay. She looked at Veirya, albeit hesitantly. Veirya didn’t seem to realise it. She just leisurely ate her grilled fish. While she maintained expressionless, she was likely very happy. Nevertheless, the thought of paying money never crossed her mind. It was as if she hadn’t had to pay for anything up until now in life. The conjecture makes sense, since she’s never needed to buy anything when she grew up in the military. Veirya’s life was as simple as that of a monk. She had no need to think about money.
Leah didn’t dare to explain it to Veirya.
‘Maybe I’ll just tell Papa tonight and have him send the owner the money… ‘
Initially, Leah had never bought anything herself. However, after going out with her father, she came to understand the concept of paying for things. She sympathetically turned around to look at the owner, only to see a familiar silhouette agilely running toward them.
Surprised, she widened her eyes and exclaimed, “Miss Lucia?!”
“Oh! Leah, we meet again!”
Lucia dexterously jumped in between them. She looked at the two with a smile. Veirya coldly looked at Lucia, “Lucilia.”
Lucia looked at Veirya with a smile and responded, “Veirya, long-time no see. You still buying things without paying?”
“… So we have to pay money? I don’t have money, though.”
Veirya stopped in her tracks then turned around to look in the direction of the stall. She went through her pockets. She went through her pockets for a long time before taking out a glistening gold coin. She asked, “Is this, money?”
“You’ll be beaten to death by an owner one day if you do this. Who pays for grilled fish with gold coins? I’ve paid for you, so you don’t have to worry.”
Lucia cheerfully looked at her good friend. Veirya nodded, “Do you have business?”
“Not this time. I just came to see my good friend. I wonder how everybody we fought alongside is doing.”
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