Elza's Homemade Soup

Everyone in the room was fast asleep.

Morning had come and gone, afternoon had passed, and only then did Elza finally stir.

"Oh my."

Confirming she was the first one up, she gave a wry smile.

She drew the window curtains open, and the strong midday light streamed in.

The weather was pleasant and clear.

The room was considerably brighter now, but no one showed any sign of waking.

Elza stripped off her underclothes and, standing naked, performed a purification miracle on herself.

The somewhat unpleasant feeling of stale sweat vanished, so she pulled out a laundered set of underclothes and dressed.

She'd been so exhausted last night that she'd forgotten purification was even an option. She should have just done this from the start.

She slipped into her priest robe.

She'd made various small alterations to pass it off as a Creator King garment.

From the outside, the changes were invisible, but wearing it unmodified had felt wrong.

The same went for her rosary.

The Church of the Creator King had all but withered away. Its standing was abysmally low.

Not that she harbored any ambitions of revival.

She'd told Azu, at least, but there were no other clergy of the Creator King left.

As for believers, aside from beings like the Ash King, there might be a handful at best.

She hadn't given the orphanage children she'd cared for before becoming a slave a Creator King baptism.

That was how difficult it was to call yourself a follower of the Creator King these days.

She wondered how those children were doing.

She'd taught them the skills to survive, so she could only hope they were managing.

A sigh escaped her.

She felt so powerless.

To shake off the mood, she checked on each sleeper's face.

Alexia slept with remarkably good posture. The former noblewoman in her showing, no doubt.

She was probably the most well-adjusted person in this group.

Azu and Orleans shared a bed. Orleans' restless sleeping had knocked the blanket onto the floor.

Azu had curled up against the cold, her breathing soft and quiet.

She was at the age where "girl" was the only fitting word. Nothing about her appearance suggested she was an active adventurer.

A bouquet of flowers would have suited her far better than a sword.

(What a remarkable child. Born without any innate gifts, yet she's pushed through regardless.)

Elza slowly reached out and touched Azu's hair, stroking it.

The long silver strands caught the sunlight and gleamed.

"Mm… Master?"

She seemed to have woken, but no, it was just sleep talk.

Before long, the sound of soft breathing returned, so Elza left her be.

Checking on Orleans, the Fire Elemental was, as always, clinging close by.

It was probably keeping her warm so she wouldn't get cold. She looked perfectly comfortable.

But at this rate, Azu would catch a chill.

Elza picked up the fallen blanket and draped it over Azu.

Yohane, likely mindful that he was the only man present, had taken the bed farthest to the edge.

Yet the fact that he didn't bother getting a separate room said something about his character.

When Elza approached, his body gave the faintest twitch of reaction.

He had sharp instincts.

And yet, despite that wariness, he'd given his slaves this much freedom. Remarkable, really.

A master who could delegate work to others would go far.

That Azu was so devoted to him was, in a way, only natural.

The reaction lasted no more than an instant, and he didn't wake.

His sleeping posture was a little sloppy. His expression somewhat strained.

Stress, maybe.

He certainly had plenty to think about.

He might even be having a bad dream.

"Good work out there."

She murmured it softly and used a mind-soothing miracle. His expression relaxed considerably.

It would be a while before he woke, from the look of things, but they needed to visit the duke's residence before the day was out.

Elza took the pouch of communal silver coins and headed out of the room toward the market.

The market had fruits, mutton, and even fish. River fish, by the look of it, but still impressive.

Magic was probably being used to keep them fresh.

She browsed the market for a while, buying ingredients and water with the silver coins.

She ended up with about as much as she could carry in both arms.

The vendor had thrown in extras, so it couldn't be helped.

She was well aware of her own good looks. Times like these, it paid off.

Not wanting to soil her priest robe, she borrowed an apron.

It had a cat embroidered on it, which was a nice touch.

She borrowed the kitchen and filled a large pot with the water she'd bought.

The fire was already going; she added firewood to it.

(Sure would be easier if Alexia-chan were awake…)

The firewood was included in the room rate up to a set amount, so no worries there.

She chopped the vegetables finely and added them to the pot along with the fish and some fish sauce.

The water turned cloudy, and she skimmed the scum that rose to the surface.

She let it simmer, repeating the process until everything had gone soft.

She killed the fire, added herbs as a finishing touch, and took a taste.

Maybe because of all the sweating, it tasted a little undersalted, so she added more. The result was a soup that looked unappetizing but was packed with nutrition.

She returned the apron and went back to the room.

Azu appeared to have just woken up, stretching her body with a big yawn.

"G'mornin…"

"Still sleepy, huh. Here, drink this and wake up."

She poured a cup of soup and handed it over.

Azu took it and sipped slowly.

"Oh, this is good. Thick and salty."

"Right?"

Elza puffed out her chest.

It tasted just fine.

She just didn't care about presentation like their master did.

She woke everyone up and served soup all around.

Anyone who tried to go back to sleep was shaken awake without mercy.

"We slept quite a while."

"We did. My body aches, though."

They still needed to bathe before visiting the duke's residence.

Elza clapped her hands and herded everyone along.

Even Yohane, realizing he'd overslept, hurriedly drained his soup, changed, and headed out to find a public bathhouse.

The ancient Marked Empire, which had once unified the continent, had left behind a legacy of public baths in its major cities.

That empire had collapsed when the emperor's sons carved up the territory among themselves, but much of its culture endured.