Cezanne, who had been pointed to by Sophia, responded in a pitiful tone.
“Hey, why do you seem so disappointed? The more the merrier! Isn’t that right, Able?”
As he said this, he wrapped his arm around the shoulders of the docile looking man seated next to him. It was Able, who happened to be a knight who was recruited at the same time as Elaine and Cezanne. He smiled awkwardly.
“Haha…”
The story went like this. While Sophia and Elaine were on their way downtown, they had passed Cezanne and Able. When Cezanne had learned of their destination, he followed them. This led to the current situation where he was asking to join them as well.
Now, instead of two, there were four people sitting at the bar table.
“How is this even fun? Elaine promised me first!”
Sophia glared at Cezanne. He just shrugged his shoulders lightly.
“Not necessarily. If you think about it, I was the one who she made a promise with first. If you don’t believe me, you can ask her.”
The tension between the two was high. Elaine rolled her eyes as she watched them with a troubled expression. It was true that she had planned to go to the festival with him and the others as Cezanne had said. Before the festival had begun, she remembered making a promise to Cezanne, this had occurred right after she had returned from her vacation she had used to search for the Saturan. Although she hadn’t meant to, it was her mission that had prevented her form keeping her promise. Of course, this promise and the promise to Sophia were different, but…
“Come now, let’s all stop fighting and play nicely with each other.”
Cezanne clapped his hands together and spoke in a carefree manner. Sophia laughed, shocked at his shameless appearance.
“Do whatever you want.”
In the end, she turned her head as she spoke in a harsh tone. Then she looked at Elaine shyly, completely different from how she was looking at Cezanne.
“Anyways, Elaine, want something to eat? Here’s the menu, you can choose whatever you want.”
Cezanne looked at Sophia confused, but she just ignored him. After they had decided what to order together, she ordered each person a beer, several bottles of vodka, baked potatoes and a few dishes which included bruschetta with vegetables and olive oil on a baguette.
Soon the food was served at the table and Elaine, who was taking a sip of her beer, noticed Cezanne’s strange behavior.
“What are you doing?”
He was currently pouring beer and vodka into a cup at the same time. He grinned playfully at her question.
“Games are essential when drinking with friends. Whoever loses gets to drink a penalty shot, how about it?”
In the blink of an eye, a penalty shot concocted by Cezanne was being swirled together in his hand.
“Just so you know, I’m quite skilled. If you aren’t confident, you don’t have to play.”
“Sounds good.”
Surprisingly, it was Sophia who agreed first. She had been provoked by his words and rolled up her sleeves as she coolly muttered.
“I’ve wanted to take him down a peg for quite a while now.”
Sophia and Cezanne’s gazes clashed fiercely. Meanwhile, Elaine and Able smiled awkwardly.
Soon after, the game began. The two who were the most competitive were, of course, Cezanne and Sophia, though Elaine and Able participated actively as well.
They then lost track of time.
“Know what? My luck is seriously… terrible.”
“What can I say…”
“I’m sleepy…”
Sophia and Cezanne, both laying on the table, and Able who was resting his head on the table were all muttering to themselves.
After the game had started, Cezanne and Sophia, who were the first to begin, as well as Able, all had red faces and clearly looked intoxicated.
On the other hand, Elaine looked fine even though she had drunk the same amount of penalty shots as the others had. Seeing Elaine like that, the three people sighed. Then, tongues loosened by alcohol, they began to talk nonsense.
“I’ve been friends with her for a long time, I wanted to spend time with her, but you… Don’t pretend to be so close to Elaine.”
“Really, didn’t you know, I was the one to become friends with Elaine first? At that time, whenever you picked a fight with Elaine…”
“Well, that’s… It’s not like that anymore!”
“I want to eat a homemade meal…”
Elaine looked at the three drunk people one after the other as they slurred their words. With a soft sigh, she realized it was about time to hurry and bring these three drunkards’ home.
“Ugh…”
Able, who had been resting his head on the table, suddenly stood up shakily.
“Able? What’s wrong?”
“I don’t feel well. I need to get some fresh air for a moment.”
As he said that, he stumbled a bit. Elaine quickly supported him.
“Lean on me. I’ll help you.”
“Thank you.”
She put Able’s arm around her neck and began to walk.
Before they knew it, it had turned dark outside. The cool night air brushed lightly against their skin. She looked around to see if there was a bench nearby where she could place Able. There was nothing so she was about to walk a bit further with him.
“Dame Elaine?”
A low voice could be heard through the night air. Elain immediately recognized the voice and turned toward the sound.
“Your Grace?”
The first thing that caught her eye was Ash, then she saw Lowell standing next to him.
“Even Sir Lowell is present… What are you doing here? Are you out having a drink as well?”
“No, we have some business to take care of nearby.”
Ash slowly shook his head as he continued to speak.
“And you…”
He shifted his gaze toward Able.
“Did you come together?”
“Sophia and Cezanne came as well. Able said he wasn’t feeling well, so I am helping him out for a bit.”
Ash’s gaze remained on Able, even as she answered. They stood very close together as she supported him, who was standing unsteady. Ash’s brow twitched slightly as he witnessed this.
It was strange. His mood, which had been fine a moment ago, suddenly plummeted.
“Uh… Your Grace?”
At that time, Able, who had a dazed look on his face, looked up. He recognized Ash and laughed absently.
“Wow, what a coincidence! What are you doing here…”
“Do I have to report my actions to you?”
“Huh? No, I was just…”
Ash responded coldly to his question. Able, confused, looked up at Elaine.
“I think I’ve had enough air.”
“It doesn’t look like your sober yet though, right?”
Actually, she was right, he really wasn’t sober yet. For some reason though, his instincts were telling him not to admit it.
“Oh no, I’m completely fine now!”
“Then you should be able to walk on your own.”
Ash spoke, his tone still cold.
“Yes?”
Able, still confused, made eye contact wish Ash and quickly supported himself. He couldn’t figure out why he felt so uneasy at the moment.
As Able took a step away from her, Ash’s gaze followed him. Then, looking back at Elaine he spoke again.
“The night air is cold, you should go in soon too.”
“Yes, Sir. You should get somewhere warm as well.”
He nodded briefly and began to leave.
“Let’s go Lowell.”
“Ah! Yes!”
Lowell, who had been standing there in a confused daze just like Able, quickly followed after him.
“Able, let’s go back too.”
“Yes…!”
Elaine then turned in the direction her group was and walked away. As Able stood there watching Ash and Elaine walk in opposite directions, he became even more confused.
***
After a few days, the time to meet Nathan had finally arrived. At this moment, another letter came from him. It said that he would arrive in Killiard sometime that day and gave a time to meet. Elaine put on her hood as she headed toward their meeting place.
‘This is where we agreed to meet.’
The eastern gate. Nathan didn’t know the area very well so he had chosen a place that was easy to find.
Arriving at the castle gate, Elaine looked around. The area nearby was densely packed. Carts and people came and went through the large gate and a small market was opening with street vendors on both sides of the cleanly paved road.
It may have been crowded but the area was open so it was still reasonably easy to find someone.
‘Nathan… I don’t see him yet.’
It seemed that he had not arrived yet, as he could not be spotted even as she searched the area.
‘It’s past the meeting time now…’
Did he get lost on the way? Or, were there other circumstances that delayed his arrival?
‘I’ll wait nearby for now.’
When Nathan still didn’t arrive, even after she had waited a while, Elaine eventually walked away. To kill time while she waited, she planned to look around for a place that had a good view of the gate so she could keep an eye out for Nathan.
She approached the bustling market.
“Wow, is that really true?”
“Yes! Would we lie to our customers?”
Voices that sounded somewhat close by caught her attention. One of the voices that she heard sounded familiar. Turning her head in their direction, she saw two merchants surrounding a man dressed in a robe.
One of the merchants spoke as he rubbed his hands together.
‘You are really lucky. You would never be able to find it at this price anywhere else, this deal is just for you! I’ll give it to you at half price!”
“We just happened to have some of our stock left over, and we like you so much! You’ve left a good impression!”
“No, to offer it at such a low price… These days, there are still such kind hearted people left in the world…”
The man in the robe spoke in an emotional voice. He was uttering such cliché lines, but he was familiar to her.
Nathan and the merchants seemed to be in a good mood. From what they were saying, it sounded like he was trying to buy something. Elaine slowly walked toward them and glanced at the goods the merchants were carrying.
‘Huh? That…’
Elaine looked at the object in confusion.
‘That’s a blue thorn fruit, isn’t it?’
The merchant continued to speak.
“As you know sir, just one of these costs a fortune but I’m giving it to you at such a good price.”
“It’s an opportunity that will never come again, don’t miss out! If you don’t buy it today, you’ll definitely regret it.”
“Then I’ll buy it! How much is it?”
“Haha, don’t be surprised, it’s only…”
When Elaine heard the price quoted by the merchant, her eyes widened in shock.
Who would charge that much? That’s half price?
‘That’s ridiculous. It’s not a discount, it’s a slap in the face.’
The fruit that the merchant had offered to cut the price in half for, as a gesture of generosity, had recently plummeted in value.
