Shopping

Today was my first free day in quite some time. I wondered how I should spend it. I stretched, and went over to the window. It was a bright, sunny day, and wherever I looked, I could see people wandering about. It was a great day for going outside.

"Hmmmnnhhh?" A questioning noise came from Nela, and I turned around.

"Do you have anything to do today?" I asked her.

"Nnno..."

"Then, should we go into the town?"

"Mmmmmokay..."

"I'll wait for you." I smiled at her, half-hidden under the pillows. Nela shifted, and got up.

"No need," she yawned, "I'm almost awake."

"Take your time." I gave her a quick kiss.

I had plenty of things to occupy myself with until she was ready. I went over to the three glass enclosures at the side of her room. As always, I had difficulties to spot the Gespenstschrecke as it hid between the leaves and sticks. What a strange insect, looking itself like a stick. And even stranger that Nela kept one, if it always hid like that. But I also knew that she could spend hours pouring over the care of these little bugs, and sometimes, she even took them out of their enclosures. But up until now, I had refused any of her offers to put an insect on my hand. I shuddered at the thought.

In the enclosure next to the stick bug, I could see the round, flashy Leuchtkäfer bugs well enough. They were glowing with different colors, as if they set off tiny fireworks with each movement. They were my favorite bugs of hers. Small. Round. Cute. And you always knew where they were. One of them had fallen asleep in a flower, for its body was one solid color, mirroring the petals. I smiled. Yes, it was a weird hobby, but I could appreciate at least some aspects of it.

I just really didn't like her Goldwyrm. That thing had too many legs, that were entirely too thick. Also, it clicked its mandibles at me whenever I got too close. And those were big enough that it surely could take out a chunk of my flesh, if not an entire finger. No, thank you.

"I'm done!"

Now, Nela sounded really awake.

"Oh, were you looking at the bugs?"

"Yeah."

"They're so cute, right?" She cooed at the Goldwyrm, which hissed back at her. "Awww."

"Right..."

Still, seeing her happy made me smile as well. We didn't have to agree on everything, but there was one thing that was crystal clear to me: she was the cutest.

She waved hello to the creatures, before she turned around to me. "Shall we go, then?"

I grinned back at her. "Hey, I was waiting for you."

*~*

The market was full. Full of people, full of noises, full of colors and scents and music. It was both exiting and overwhelming.

I didn't know where I wanted to look. Every stall had something new to show off: mouth-watering food, beautiful flower arrangements, fresh or pickled vegetables, fine fabrics and jewelry. I idly browsed the booths, while Nela had gone ahead and vanished into one of her favorite stalls.

It was nice to look at the things. After all, there were so many things I didn't know. And while it was tempting to get something, since I currently didn't have—or make—any money, I was content with looking at the stalls but not interacting further with them.

I should get a job soon, I thought. I can't rely on Nela for everything.

But what kind of job would accept me here? It wasn't like back home, where I helped stack the supermarket. Maybe a fisherman? No, that would take too much time away from my learning. But what else...?

Suddenly, something golden caught my eye. The stall showed off many different things—light catchers and fabrics, little self-driving machines, magic circles I couldn't understand. But among the plethora of things, one stood out to me:

It was a golden ring, with inlaid gemstones, sitting between others of its kind. But more importantly, it looked like a beautiful beetle. Now that I understood the number system (and really, it was quite similar to the one I knew, aside from the fact that when speaking, I still mixed up the order of numbers) I could tell the ring was significantly cheaper than the rest.

"Has something caught your eye, Otherworldler?"

I looked up. The man smiled at me. For a moment, I hesitated. Really, I hated that nickname. Otherworldler. Sure, I was from another world, but that shouldn't define me. At least, his smile seemed genuine.

"I'm Leo," I corrected him with a smile of my own.

"I'm sorry, Leo. I'm Seppe, by the way." the man said. "So, do you want to buy anything? I have only the finest wares."

"I can see that. A great selection."

"And you are someone with a great eye for the fine things. So, what will it be?"

For a moment, I hesitated. I really wanted that ring as a gift for Nela. She will be so happy if I-

Wait.

Scenes flashed in front of my eyes. A woman, crying happy tears, with her hand clasped over her face. A man, down on one knee, sliding a ring on her finger.

Right. An engagement ring!

Finally. There had been no talk about engagement jewelry—and so I was pretty sure it wasn't a thing here. I could surprise her with the ring on the day of the engagement party. My face lit up.

"I want that ring," I said, with full confidence.

"Hm? Alright, alright," Seppe replied. "That will be 125 Kronen."

"Ah..."

I glanced around. Thankfully, Nela wasn't there. I couldn't ask her for money for her own gift.

"I'm sorry," I said. "Is there any way for me to work for you, so I can pay it off? I don't need it right away."

"Work, hm?" The merchant tilted his head. "You're an odd one, oth... Leo."

"I know." I sighed. "But I really want that ring. If there is no way, then..."

Then I have to think of something else, I thought.

"Could you hide it from Princess Nela, at least?"

"The princess? You truly are odd. Are you sure a princess like her would like this gift?"

I smiled at him. "Who knows?"

Apparently, her love for bugs was not as well-known as I had thought.

He huffed. "Well, I might be able to find something for you. How many hours a day can you spare?”

I thought for a moment. “One or two, at least, and maybe more on the weekends,” I finally said. “If you need more, then…”

“Hmmm. You could help me out with the booth, then. Do you know math?"

"I do. Why do you ask?"

Seppe slid a piece of paper over to me. "Here. What's wrong with these numbers?"

I looked over them. Even though the symbols still looked strange to me, and the person who wrote them obviously wasn’t confident in writing them, I could translate them in my head just fine.

"Here." I pointed out. "Someone mixed up the second and third number."

"Right." He seemed pleased enough. "Balte!"

Suddenly, a small boy appeared. Seppe looked at him with fatherly strictness.

"This young man," he threw an arm over my shoulder, "Will help you with your math homework. He'll check your equations and report back to me. Understand?"

The boy nodded. I looked at him, and for a moment, I saw myself in him, just a little bit. I crouched down to him.

"Hi there, Balte," I said. "I'm Leo. I don't know much yet, but I can do math. I'm sure we can be great together."

The boy looked at me, and pointed at my ears. "You're strange."

I laughed. "That's right."

I parted my hair, so he could see my ear better. He giggled, and reached out to touch it.

"Ah! Don't pinch!"

When I looked at him again, I felt like he had warmed up to me.

"Math isn't scary," I said. "I'm sure we can find a way for you to like it."

"Good." Seppe crossed his arms. "You help my boy with his math homework, and once a day, you’ll man the booth for an hour. Do we have a deal?"

I got up, and nodded. "We do. Please keep the ring safe until I've paid it off."

"Will do," the merchant chuckled. "If anything, this will be a great story."

I smiled at him. Even though it meant more work for me, it felt good to have something else to work towards to, other than the engagement party itself. And working with little Balte really didn't seem so bad.

"Leo! There you are!" Nela rushed over to me. "What were you doing?"

I grinned at her. "I got a job!"