Change Isn't a Bad Thing

She washed her face and hands with water from her canteen and changed into clothes that wouldn't stand out in the Royal Capital.

Like this, she just looked like an ordinary girl.

The Royal Capital woke early.

Moving from the residential area for nobles to the central plaza, she could hear voices and sounds of preparation.

Even though it was still dim, with the sun just starting to rise, people were already working.

Waking when the sun rose, sleeping when it set.

This was normal.

The pill's effects must have worn off, because her headache had gotten worse.

It was a side effect of getting by on only brief naps for several days, so she wouldn't recover without a long, deep sleep.

Since she had been living healthy days after moving into Yohane's house, the hardship probably felt even worse.

What would the Finn of old think seeing herself now?

That she'd gotten weak, maybe?

"How about some sweet, warm soy milk? Perfect for this cold time of day. One copper coin for a cup!"

Walking while grimacing from the headache, she spotted a girl calling out to customers loudly in an alley.

If she recalled correctly, the girl usually sold skewered meat and fruit.

Today she was selling drinks early in the morning.

Perhaps she sold different things depending on the time of day, selling whatever sold best at each hour?

If so, that enthusiasm was impressive.

The girl's energetic voice seemed to be drawing customers, as business looked fairly good.

Lured by the sweet smell, her stomach started growling.

She had only nibbled on bread and cheese while monitoring the princess quite a while ago, and she was quite hungry.

It might be good to put something in her stomach.

"I'll take a cup."

"Thank you! I'll lend you a cup, so please drink it here."

"I see, so that's how it works."

Ceramic and glass cups were lined up, and when a customer finished drinking, they were rinsed with prepared water.

That's why she was doing this by the water channel.

Small water magic stones were placed at the bottom of the bucket, replenishing the water as it was used.

When she handed over a copper coin, a glass cup filled to the brim with soy milk was handed to her.

She moved slightly to the side so as not to interfere with business and slowly took a sip.

"Hot!"

The soy milk wasn't just warm, but hot enough to burn.

But right now, that was welcome.

She felt her mind clear and her drowsiness fade.

The soy milk had fine grains in it, which seemed to be the source of the sweetness.

"Is it good, customer? I'm the one who makes it."

"Oh? You do. It's pretty good."

The other customers apparently drank it quickly before work as a pre-shift meal, gulping down the piping hot soy milk and leaving.

With no customers at the moment, the girl seemed to have free time, stirring the pot of soy milk while chatting with Finn, who was taking her time drinking.

A small fire magic stone was keeping the large pot warm.

Normally she would find this kind of thing annoying, but right now her curiosity won out.

"What are these grains? The leftover from pressing the beans?"

"No, I properly separate the pressed beans. Those sell as fertilizer! Those grains are finely chopped sugarcane."

"Sugarcane? Ah, that's why the soy milk is brownish in color. That's the raw material for sugar, right? You can eat that stuff?"

"You can! If you peel the outside and chew on the soft part, it's really sweet and delicious. I can't sell it for one copper coin if I use sugar, so I do it this way. It's popular for being sweet."

She puffed out her chest proudly.

Unfortunately, it was smaller than Finn's, but she was full of confidence.

"Want to try nibbling on some? It's just scraps, but… Put it in your mouth and chew."

What the girl handed her was a small piece of sugarcane.

She did as instructed and put it in her mouth.

Even if it were poison, it wouldn't work on Finn.

Sweet juice gushed out from the small piece.

There were some off-flavors, but it was so sweet she didn't care.

"Very sweet."

"Delicious, right? It's Luido sugarcane, after all. Until recently, you couldn't get it unless you went directly to buy it, but apparently some important person in Luido made a contract with a Kingdom wholesaler, so now it's cheap and easy to get! Thanks to that, this soy milk is selling really well, so it's a big help."

"I see. Good for you."

(That important person… could it be Yohane?)

Luido's management had been half-pushed onto him by the princess, and she remembered him agonizing over how to monetize it.

Sugarcane should have been part of that.

It was impressive to think that what he was doing had this kind of effect on daily life.

"Can I have another cup?"

"Of course! Thank you!"

She handed over a copper coin and got a refill.

As she cooled the steaming soy milk by blowing on it, a skin formed on the surface.

Just that little thing was somehow amusing.

She no longer needed to live blending into the night.

From now on, this would be her daily life.

Her mood improved, and somehow her headache had faded before she knew it.

The sunlight was getting brighter too; it was time to go.

She returned the empty cup and left the Royal Capital while listening to the girl's thanks.

In her assassin days, she had avoided using portals so as not to leave her name on record, but now she didn't need to worry about such things.

Looking back, it had been an inconvenient life, she laughed bitterly.

She arrived in Kassad via portal.

From here, Yohane's shop was just a little further.

Her heart felt a bit fluttery.

When she arrived at the shop, it was covered with sheets along with a sign saying they were open for business.

Apparently, they had started renovations while she was away.

Going around to the back, she found Yohane with two mules.

A large number of tools were spread out at his feet.

The mules weren't the usual two, but seemed to be new ones.

They looked a bit weak, and their gait was strange.

Looking at their feet, their hooves had grown too long, making it difficult for them to walk properly.

"Oh, Finn, welcome back."

"I'm back… What are you doing?"

"I bought new mules. Just picked them up a moment ago."

"I can see that, but…"

It would be impossible to have these mules pull a cart.

With their most important feet in this state, they couldn't do anything.

Finn somehow found herself comparing these two mules to herself, who was no longer an assassin.

Did she have any value now that she was no longer an assassin?

Her mind must still be tired. Wallowing in such pointless sentiment was unthinkable.

"What are you going to do with these mules? You're not planning to eat them, are you?"

When the hare dies, the hound is cooked.

Mules that had become useless were only good for meat.

What would happen to Finn if she became useless?

But Yohane laughed heartily for some reason.

She felt a bit annoyed by that.

"Well, mules are sometimes slaughtered for meat, but… I bought these cheaply because they hadn't been cared for, but that's because I can handle it. Working them is better for both parties than turning them into meat, right?"

"They don't look like they can even walk properly."

"Just watch."

Yohane tied the mule's leg to a fence and used a billhook to cut off most of the overgrown hoof.

It looked painful to watch, but the mule seemed unbothered, looking quite relaxed.

"I brought the horseshoes. Oh, Finn-san, welcome back."

"Thanks, Azu."

"Is that…"

What Azu brought were horseshoes that attach to horses' hooves.

Yohane then pressed a heated iron rod against the hoof.

It smoked considerably, but the mule showed no sign of pain.

A strange sight. She decided to watch from the side along with Azu.

Then he scraped the hoof with a sickle.

The dirty, grimy hoof was pared away, revealing clean white underneath.

Yohane made fine adjustments, fitted the horseshoe, and hammered in nails to secure it.

In no time, the hooves that had made even walking difficult became impressive.

"How?"

Various thoughts swirling in her mind couldn't quite come together, and that abstract word came out.

Yohane seemed to think she was asking how he could do such work.

"This is called farriery. Actually, we used to have a horse when I was young. It died from a broken leg, but while taking care of it, I learned from a craftsman. You know, that blacksmith."

"The person who often helps with my sword. Master can do this kind of thing too. That's amazing."

"I'm a bit embarrassed when you put it that way. Having someone do it costs quite a bit, so past experience came in handy."

The two mules, under Yohane's care, had all their hooves properly trimmed and could now walk nimbly.

Hard to believe this was the same sight as before, when just walking seemed painful.

"There we go, you two must be happy too."

"… Not bad."

"Right? And it was cheap too."

The mules now walking powerfully would surely make full use of their strength from now on.

Thinking that somehow made her happy.