The Die Is Cast

We'd somehow managed to prepare the medicated candy drops in a single night.

The result of everyone working together. If even one person had been missing, the process would've bottlenecked and taken far longer.

Of everyone, I think Alexia worked the hardest.

She'd ended up spinning that bowl with magic nonstop, never taking a break.

The candy needed to be shaped while it was still hot, so there was no stopping, and nobody else could take over her role.

Having burned through her mana, she sat slumped on the floor, thoroughly spent.

For someone with as much pride as her, showing this level of exhaustion was rare.

I brought her a cold drink.

The room was still sweltering, and something cold would help her cool down.

"Good work. Sorry for putting you through all that."

"Indeed. I'm truly exhausted."

Alexia took the cup and drained it in one go, then let out a long breath.

I took the empty cup back and sat down beside her.

She glanced over but said nothing, accepting it.

The floor was a little cold, but right now that felt good.

"… Sorry for dragging you into this."

"It's my job, isn't it? Besides, I don't think the goal itself is a bad one. Nobody feels bad about being tired from helping people."

"True. If it goes well, that's exactly what it'll be."

"Worrying at this stage? That's not like you. You're usually far more sure of yourself."

"That's only because I've made my peace with the situation. That's all it is."

In adventuring work, where nothing is certain, thorough preparation and research still point you toward the likely outcome.

Things rarely go as planned, perhaps because of Azu's bad luck, but I believe that when the three of them combine their strength, they can overcome whatever comes.

That's why I normally send them off with confidence.

But this time, the mission came first.

I'd barely been able to prepare or investigate.

We'd groped our way here on the barest minimum of information.

Honestly, things had gone almost too smoothly so far.

Maybe that was exactly why I couldn't shake the doubt.

Alexia studied me for a moment, then wound up and slapped me hard on the back.

"Ow… hey, what are you—"

I turned to protest and found her staring at me with dead-serious eyes.

"Listen. You started this. If you're going to hang your head, save it for after we've failed. You'll drain the rest of us of our motivation."

"… I know. I'm just a little tired right now. That's all."

"Then I have no complaints. Looks like break time is over."

Alexia stood up first.

I was taller, but in that moment she seemed larger.

Maybe I'd been getting a little weak-spirited, I thought, grateful to Alexia as I got to my feet.

My body felt lighter than before.

It seemed she'd encouraged me despite myself.

The candy drops had cooled and hardened completely. We packed them into bags for transport.

Each piece was small and light on its own, but in quantity, they were bulky and heavy.

Packing too many into one bag would crush the ones at the bottom.

Six of us, six bags. We divided them evenly and loaded them into large sacks.

The bags themselves were fresh, clean cloth ones I'd brought from the shop.

Customers notice these things.

Once the candy was divided up, we were done.

The bags were hefty, but manageable even for me.

"Didn't expect it to go this smoothly～ Not bad for a team."

"Thank you."

I took Ramiza-san's words at face value and thanked her.

I felt the same way. Finn had a sharp tongue but no real malice behind it, and Alexia was far more cooperative than when we'd first met. Her serious nature meant she never slacked off, either.

Azu and Elza had never been a problem. Elza's occasional lack of enthusiasm notwithstanding.

If anything, it was Azu who'd become more proactive.

And beyond that, we had experience.

I could say with confidence that most things would work out.

"Don't just casually lump me in with your group."

"You're sticking around for a while anyway, aren't you? Then what's the harm?"

"Fine. Saves me on lodging, at least."

I was starting to get a read on Finn.

"Now then, everyone, eat up."

Ramiza-san produced a small plate.

On it sat six candy drops.

"As the ones who made these, we have to do our own poison-testing."

"Fair point."

I picked one up.

A jewel-like blue, perfectly translucent. Hard to believe it was made from nothing but sugar, water, and medicine.

Put it on a shop shelf and it would definitely sell on novelty alone.

Through the candy, I could see Azu's face on the other side.

Our eyes met.

Something about it struck me as funny. I let out a short laugh and popped the candy into my mouth.

Sweet, but clean. No off notes, the kind of sweetness you'd want to savor forever.

Splurging on the ingredients had been worth it.

Cheap, adulterated sugar could never produce a flavor like this.

One look at the others' faces told me everything.

Wanting to savor it as long as possible, I resisted the urge to chew and let it dissolve completely in my mouth.

I could have gone for another.

"Good flavor, good appearance, and no side effects. Yep. This gets my seal of approval."

Ramiza-san's stamp of endorsement.

Probably the most trustworthy standard in the entire kingdom.

"It was delicious."

"Exquisite, truly. Shall we make more at home?"

"I am not helping with the magic part ever again…"

Azu and the others seemed to like it, already scheming to make more.

If it went well, maybe I could even sell it at the shop.

I had Azu run back and bring the cart around.

The mules, perhaps because it had been a while since their last job, yawned widely and lounged about lazily.

We loaded the candy-filled bags into crates to prevent breakage during transport.

Then we stuffed padding into every gap. That should keep them from cracking even on a bumpy ride.

"Typical merchant. You really know how to handle cargo."

"It's the first thing you learn. Damage your goods in transit and you're looking at a huge loss."

"Your shop kids have never cracked any of my potions either. Impressive, impressive. Oh, and the candy's effects last about three days."

Ramiza-san's role ended here.

After packing in the candy, I thanked her and we parted ways.

From here, the first step was to report the completion to Jacob, and then head for Luido.

We'd assess the situation on the ground before distributing the candy.

… I didn't have much experience with street vending, but there was no choice.