A Brilliant Idea

Kazusa-chan caught herself and slowly released the hand she'd been pressing against my bag.

"Sorry for yelling."

She bowed her head to me, then took an awkward sip from her cup.

I brought mine to my lips as well.

The tea that had been sitting inside had gone completely cold.

"Let me brew a fresh pot."

Kazusa-chan stood, gathered everyone's cups, and turned away as if fleeing.

An uncomfortable silence settled over us.

The only sound was spoons clinking against dishes, uncomfortably loud.

Without conversation, the meal ended with startling speed.

This wasn't how I'd wanted things to go.

I didn't know how to break the ice.

Kazusa-chan was my first real friend, so I had no idea what to do in a situation like this.

My gaze wandered.

Had I made her angry?

"Sis, let's eat these!"

"What?"

Kazusa-chan, who had been heating water, responded to Leo-kun with a slightly irritated edge.

"The sweets Azu-san gave me. They're really good. I saved some for you, see?"

His grin was practically begging to be praised.

Even Kazusa-chan couldn't stay upset in the face of that smile.

"Fine, fine, I get it. Here, I made refills, so let's have them together. You too, Azu."

"Okay."

The three of us shared the baked sweets.

I'd bought a decent amount, but we were all at that age where appetites were bottomless.

Despite having stuffed ourselves with stew and bread, we polished them off in no time.

"That might be the first sweet thing I've had in a while. Come to think of it, you gave me food last time too. I'm starting to feel like I'm being tamed."

"Tamed! That's not what I'm doing!"

"Poor choice of words. I meant it was good. Thanks."

Kazusa-chan's smile returned.

Saved by Leo-kun.

I sent him a wink to show my gratitude.

Leo-kun just looked at me quizzically. Apparently, he'd simply wanted sweets.

Well, fair enough.

I sipped the warm after-meal tea and let out a breath.

The mood had mostly recovered.

"Thanks for the meal. It was really good."

"You think? I've been the one cooking ever since it's just been the two of us, so I guess I've gotten pretty decent."

"I've been helping with the cooking lately, but I can't make anything this good."

"I'll teach you sometime, then."

"Yeah, please."

Elza-san was a solid teacher, but opportunities were inevitably limited.

The more chances I had to learn, the better.

I wanted to cook something for Master and have him tell me it was good.

Oh, I'd almost forgotten my task.

"Kazusa-chan, sorry to circle back, but…"

"Go ahead. Oh, Leo, if you're going to sleep, go to the back room."

"Okaaay."

Leo-kun rubbed his eyes and shuffled through the divider to another room.

That left the two of us.

Being alone with someone usually made me tense, but with Kazusa-chan as a friend, it wasn't so bad.

I kept an eye on Kazusa-chan's expression as I steered the conversation back, trying not to repeat what had happened earlier.

Reading people's faces was second nature to me.

I'd stopped doing it as much since coming under Master's care, but the habit lingered.

I remembered him telling me once that it made him uncomfortable, so I should knock it off.

"This money is your share, Kazusa-chan. I told you as much when we parted at the Hill of Lament."

"I know, but… If I'd been with you from the start, of course I would've taken it. That's how it was with the Wind Labyrinth."

"That feels like ages ago. Yeah, it was."

Back then, we'd recruited Kazusa-chan into the party with an even split from the outset.

We'd been through a lot, but we all made it back safe and divided the spoils.

"I'm a porter, so I don't contribute in a fight. That's exactly why I try to be strict about fair shares. When my party entered the Hill of Lament and I was the only one who survived… just being rescued was a miracle. The distribution itself was fine because it included what I'd been carrying, so I had no issue with that."

Kazusa-chan paused to take a drink from her cup, wetting her throat.

"That money alone was already a huge amount, enough to rent this place. I figured the Anti-Magic Orb was worth maybe ten gold coins at most. Five hundred gold coins… I'd feel too guilty toward the people in my party who died to accept that."

"I see."

I couldn't bring myself to say I understood how she felt.

But it seemed like I'd struck a sensitive chord with her.

She might be carrying guilt about being the only survivor.

If things stayed like this, my errand would be a failure. But forcing it on her didn't feel right either.

What would Master do?

He'd figure something out, I was sure. Especially when money was involved.

Ideally, something that benefited Kazusa-chan…

Ugh, I wished I'd studied harder.

Was I going to have to just bring it back?

Bring it back, huh. That's it. I had an idea.

"Then I'll hold onto it for you. That's fine, right? If you ever find yourself in real trouble and need money, just come to me and I'll hand it over."

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"It's not. If you decide you don't need it, Kazusa-chan, you just never come to pick it up."

I was kind of a genius, I thought.

I wanted to pat myself on the back.

Kazusa-chan didn't fire back an immediate objection. She was mulling it over.

"I guess that's true… is it?"

"I'll leave it at the shop I work with. Here's the location."

I pulled out a piece of parchment from my bag and sketched a rough map of Kassad.

I'd spent enough time there by now that I could draw it from memory.

"The shop is called Hanan. The owner there has been looking after me, so if I ask, he'd take care of something like this."

I was pretty sure that was the name.

I wasn't lying.

"'Looking after you,' huh? You sound pretty happy talking about this person."

"Huh? Do I?"

Apparently, that was how it came across to Kazusa-chan.

My heartbeat might have picked up just a little.

Before I could say anything, the bell at the entrance rang.

The smile that had been on Kazusa-chan's face hardened in an instant.

An unwelcome visitor, it seemed.