Another world, Celeste

Thirty Six, pt 3

In the forest right where the adventurers hold off the monster stampede is me sitting on my knees, both palms pressed on the soil and desperately wishing with sweats trickling down my forehead, "Just need one strand of mana."

How much time has passed, I don't know since I might lose focus on the spell. Amidst slowly exerting my mind to the limit, I regret thinking that this request I accepted from Chief would not be as tricky as dealing with the more problematic monster taming collar.

Going back to yesterday when I was finally released from Chief and come out of the mine vault, the sun is already high up in the sky. I say goodbye to the unmoving black bear on the ground. Hovel leads me and Erissa back to the Back Stall only to find all the stalls are closed until the lunch-hour rush and Syl is there waiting for us instead of Mint. Hovel leaves first as he has work to do.

"Archie became impatient when you didn't return," Syl says as she hands the pet carrier bag over to me.

"Thank you, Syl."

I unfasten the pet carrier bag at the nearest empty table and Archie immediately cries his complaint.

"Okay, okay. You can have extra brittle for missing your morning snack," I appease our youngest and give him four pieces of honey nut and seed brittles.

I think back to the conversation I had with Chief while looking at Archie enjoying his snack. "Archie, can you help me with something tomorrow?"

The red panda looks up at me with eyes saying, "What is it?"

Right then Mint comes back carrying two boxes of food and speaks with a triumphant smile. "Meat pies fresh from the oven!"

Erissa swiftly takes the box on top from Mint with a glint in her eyes and opens it. Just the smell of freshly baked pastry already stimulates my forgotten hunger.

Mint raise two fingers with her free hand and says, "Two pies per person. Don't take my share."

Erissa grabs a piece of pie for herself and savours every bite with a look of absolute delight. Mint goes to the closed stall where the ponytail tail girl works with the second box of food and returns to our table soon after. The box of pies changes to four cups of berry juice.

I lean over to Syl and tell her, "I've never seen Erissa make that face before."

Mint is the one who usually makes that kind of face when she's eating very delicious food.

"Look at the cover," says Syl as she takes a piece of the pie as well.

On the cover of the food box, there's a logo of the pie shop with a sentence stamped below it, 'Taste acknowledge by the Elves of Kirashira.'

Elves, plural.

"That's... bold," I express my amazement.