The Festival of Lights

Eight Months Since Entering

Count Peter Benjamin scanned the field before him as Prince Lionel stood beside a white horse with the formation of the royal troops in his company. Although Crown Prince Lionel obviously had the highest authority here, Count Benjamin was the senior military officer present and had the most actual experience in battle. With them, they had a group of fifty armed men, all dedicated experienced soldiers, each one prepared to defend the Crown Prince to the last, if that became necessary.

The group had taken position inside a cluster of trees that gave them concealability, allowing them to observe the structure they had discovered the previous month, on territory that was supposed to be owned by a loyalist noble. However, it didn’t take them long to realize that not all was as it seemed; none of the normal movements of living could be observed. The mansion had been boarded up, and they had observed caravans of suspicious looking cargo coming in and out these past few weeks. At night, fires could be seen burning, and giving off black smoke, indicating that heavy forging was going on.

"Your Majesty, a word?" Count Benjamin asked Prince Lionel.

Lionel nodded as he turned his attention away from the house. Next to him, a pair of soldiers had been taking notes, counting each wagon they observed coming and going from the structure, attempting to establish the size of the opposition they were dealing with. The Count pulled the Prince to the corner of the camp; what he wanted to say needed discretion.

"Your Majesty, I need to repeat my strongest suggestion that we return to the palace. We've established that there is wrongdoing here, and our primary goal is to report this to the Crown," Count Benjamin urged. "The longer we stay, the greater the chance of our discovery."

Prince Lionel chaffed at his aide-de-camp's cautious attitude. When they first arrived, his initial instinct was to go straight in and arrest the perpetrators for violations against the Crown. The Count had tactfully reminded him that while there could be twenty men in the mansion, there could also be over 200 more in the surrounding hills for all they knew just waiting to surround the mansion, if any such action took place. As a compromise, they had pulled back and set up a surveillance camp. In the last few weeks, they had seen what appeared to be continuous activity that indicated the ongoing manufacture of equipment and weaponry. As time went on, Lionel pointed out that the longer this went on, the more weaponry they would be facing down the line. Benjamin countered that this was clearly not a small-time single-house action, but part of a larger operation, which called for a strategic response, not a rash one. As their leaders debated, the men of the platoon grew restless and worried; things never went well when discord threatened the leadership, and it was clear to the last man that they were in enemy territory. No one wanted to be the one to say it, but the platoon hadn't even done proper reconnaissance of the surrounding territory. Thus, they had no idea if the Count's fears were justified and no soldier enjoyed marching into harm's way with blinders on.

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"Ensign Sven and company," Rufus the butler introduced, as the four members of the Yamano officer corps were welcomed into the Bozes' capital mansion. Inside, Claus and Iris Bozes greeted the foursome warmly, having met them on many occasions during their frequent visits to Yamano County. Also in the room were their children and servants. Iris laid out a silver tray with a row of tempting pastries and cookies for her guests, that Gritt and Ilse were all too willing to partake.

"D-Delicious…!" Gritt exclaimed as she bit into her first bar of pastry. The bar had a sticky texture to her fingers, with a smoky sweet smell, with a rich complex flavor that balanced the slightly burnt caramel with a crunchy texture of hard-crack sugar layered over shortbread.

Ilse next to her wolfed her colorful cookie down with both hands like a hamster. It had a delicate crispy shell, then a chewy texture underneath that sandwiched a fragrant fruity gel. "So yummy..." she said between bites.

"Aren't they?" Iris agreed with a smile of pride. "They're a few of Michiko's specialties. The one you're eating is what she calls 'sticky toffee cookie crunch bars'. The other ones are 'rainbow macarons'. Honestly, you're lucky we even have any left... lately, they've been so hard to keep around," Iris said gaily, with a subtle glance to Beatrice, who looked down sheepishly.

"You should definitely sell these in a high-end bakery," Gritt declared. "Now I'm glad I didn't drag her across the table..." she then added sotto voce.

"What was that?" Iris asked with feigned innocence.

"Nothing!" Gritt backpedaled gaily.

On the other side of the table, Sven and Szep spoke with Claus. Sven handed the latter a list of papers. "This is everything our ruling council has been able to dig up on the Tomsen family that was left over when they were the previous rulers of the County. I know it's not much, but we're hoping that there might be something that might be useful."

Claus nodded and looked over the papers. They were a list of financial and real estate records that the family had kept. Evidently, the Tomsen family had been engaging in under-the-table embezzlement and bribery schemes with crooked merchants for quite some time, which explained how they were able to acquire lands outside normal means without attracting attention. He recalled Mitsuha telling him that it was one of the first things she put a stop to once she took over the lands*. They had quite a shell game going with the taxes they were supposed to be paying to the Crown that ended up getting redirected here , he realized. Ironically, if Michiko had some time to learn our tax laws, it might be worthwhile to have her go over these records and do a mathematical breakdown and find where the money was going, but we have bigger problems over the horizon.

*see Manga Chp39 /LN Chp16

"In addition to the Tomsen family, we have reason to believe Count Larsen and Baron Turck are at the center of the plot, at least in terms of the money," Szep added. "But there's at least one other major player involved."

Gritt swallowed her last cookie, then turned serious. "While we were spying on the Turck mansion, Ilse and I spotted an unknown warrior who looked like he was coordinating the transfer of the muskets between houses. Since that time, we've been following him for the past month, going from various locations. We don't know much about him, but he moves like someone who's been in the mercenary field before."

Count Bozes looked puzzled. "What do you mean by that?"

"He was careful about watching for a tail," Ilse explained. "We were forced to break contact with him on several occasions to avoid being spotted and he never dropped the same name twice when visiting taverns and bars. When he was visiting with Turck, he more than once stopped the Baron from calling him by his name, as if he was afraid someone might hear his identity."

"The couple times I did get close to him, I saw scars on him that suggest he's been in battle, possibly even a war," Gritt continued. "And there was something about his face... his eyes... he wasn't just taking money for a job. This guy was motivated. If I was a betting woman, I'd say this guy's either the Count's front man, or he's the mastermind behind it all."

Count Bozes took all the information in. "He sounds like a very dangerous man. And you say you don't recognize him? So not one of the nobles of the major houses or their heirs?"

"Positive," Gritt confirmed. "Between our work during our time in the Mercenary Guild, and since our time working as Lady Mitsuha's Ensigns, we've made it our responsibility to learn names and faces of every major noble house and the royal family members and many of their aides. This guy wasn't anyone from that list."

"Something about his speech was off too," Ilse said quietly. "We couldn't quite place it, but we're almost sure he's not native to Zegleus."

Count Bozes face went pale as the pieces slowly came into place in his mind. A former soldier... a foreigner... someone with the skills and means to act as an agent provocateur to stir up underlying discontentment and fan those embers into a burning flame... and would have had every reason to hate the Lightning ArchPriestess with a burning passion... He turned to Iris. "Where is Michiko?"

"She left this morning," Iris said with some concern, as she noted Claus' expression. "Princess Sabine invited her to spend the day with her for the Festival."

Claus wanted to object, but he knew Michiko could hardly turn down a request from the Princess. "Did she at least have an escort?"

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In the Palace, the mood was somber as the King awaited word for news from Prince Lionel. He had instructed his eldest son to return once he found out what was going on with the forged reports that Sabine had brought him, but he was now weeks overdue. Lionel, my foolish son... couldn't you just rein in your need to prove yourself, just this once , the King sighed to himself. The Kingdom was facing dire times; now wasn't the time for bravado.

All around the Palace great hall, preparations were being made for the Festival, including feasts and celebratory toasts. In years past, this was a time of great cheerfulness, with the best of foods and beautiful decorations being placed across the halls creating a delightful atmosphere that brought out the best in everyone. This year however, a somber pale was cast across the hall; everyone felt it. The food tasted pedestrian; the decorations felt mundane. Throughout the courtyards, soldiers were marching in drills, much more than normal. Fear took the joy out of what should have been a time for fellowship. Oh, what dire times we face, the King pondered as he shook his head. How did things fall apart so badly...?

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Michiko took the offered meat stick from the street food vendor stand as she entered the town square amid the throngs of people. She was in awe of the sights, sounds and smells of the metropolis around her. This was her first real chance to walk the common part of the city outside the noble district, other than Mitsuha's General Store, which she rarely stepped outside a few months ago. Back then, she didn't know the language nor the ways of the people enough to really appreciate what was going on around her; now things made much more sense. It really was a vibrant culture; if I just gave it a chance, this really could be a nice place to live after all, she thought. In the buildings with upper floors, workmen were setting up lanterns in anticipation to be used later in that evening.

Once she oriented herself, Michiko headed to the town center square, where she was supposed to meet Princess Sabine, taking a bite of her meat-on-a-stick. The chef in her instinctively went to work... not beef, chicken, pork, duck or any seafood or wild game I've ever tried before. Underneath all this salt and spice they've coated it with, it's kind of chewy and gamey... She paused and continued to chew, then made an unpleasant face. OK, really gamey... no wonder they tried to hide it in all that salt. Umami's off the chart though... super intense flavor... like some over-aged, preserved game meat. This really needs a spice blend and a bright sauce... a rémoulade or chimichurri... or maybe a good curry...something to hide this gaminess but take advantage of this powerful umami.

By the time she had reached the town center, Michiko had managed another bite of the meat stick before her stomach cried for mercy, so she saved the rest for later. All around her, families and friends were meeting up; this was a popular place to rendezvous as it was the most recognized and well-known landmark of the city, outside of the palace. However, the arrival of the Princess drew instant attention, as the required retinue of guards couldn't be made subtle.

"Michiko-oneesan, I'm glad you could make it!" Sabine said, as the guards did their best to be discreet, while still maintaining their vigilance.

"Hime-sama," Michiko curtsied, "I was so happy to receive your invitation."

Sabine blushed and smiled. She then looked at the stick Michiko was holding. "Um... what are you doing with that?"

"One of the vendors was selling it, why?"

Sabine got a mischievous smile. "You... got that outside of restaurant row, didn't you?"

Michiko looked confused. "I didn't know there was a restaurant row."

"The main square is further in," Sabine explained. "During the day and up until the evening, the main attraction is restaurant row, and farmers market, where the produce makers and the best places all set up mini versions of their shops like little booths to showcase their foods, and even premier any new demonstrations, products or menu items for testing. If an item does well, you might even see it at a favorite restaurant next season. Of course, if it does really well, you might see it in other restaurants too..." The food and restaurant business was every bit as cutthroat and competitive here as it was back on Earth, she tacitly acknowledged.

"So... what does that mean?" Michiko asked. She held up her meat stick. "If this didn't come from a restaurant, then what is this?"

"You... don't want to know what that is," Sabine said with a wicked smile.

"Y-You're scaring me right now, Hime-sama," Michiko said nervously.

"It's... edible..." Sabine reassured ambivalently. "It's just... well... let's just say... even poor people need something to eat... and besides... didn't you say a real chef could turn any ingredient into good food or something like that?"

"Y-you actually understood that...?" Michiko recalled sheepishly. Wow... that was a long time ago... I thought for sure that it was just me indulging in a little private monologuing... now I have to share my cringe moment with her... she thought with embarrassment.

"Well, not every word," Sabine admitted. "But I got the gist of it. It's OK though... it brought us closer together."

"I guess it did," Michiko nodded in agreement and smiled. "So, show me this Festival of yours!"

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Jerome watched as Daniel got dressed and ready to head out. Truthfully, he hated the Zegleus Festival of Lights; to him, it was everything about this country's opulence thrown into his face. As a Aldar ex-pat, it seethed at him that this apparent luxury was in the hands of what he considered a lesser nation and not his homelands, or even better yet, lands that he once ruled as a noble Count. Nonetheless, he hid his feelings beneath a mask of fatherly sincerity. "So, are you going to be meeting up with this... Michiko?"

"She said she got an invitation from the third Princess of the Crown, so of course she couldn't turn that down," Daniel explained. "But she did send a message saying we could maybe meet for the evening toasting ceremony, then once the floors are cleared, we could have a dance," he added with hope.

The third Princess... Jerome's thoughts lit up. OK, any plot to kidnap Michiko just got a whole lot more complicated, but also potentially far more rewarding. For starters, having the Princess there automatically meant her Royal protective detail would be around as well. Under normal circumstances, that meant the plan was off; trying to kidnap her with a Royal guard group around both girls would have been folly. But these weren't normal circumstances , he reminded himself. The Festival was going on; they were in the Common district, not the Noble district. The Square and streets were packed with people and unlike the Noble neighborhood, the Common areas were littered with alleyways, dead-end hideaways, narrow corridors that led to the city slums, cheap multi-floor apartments and warehouses, all of which could be prepared in advance with men waiting to spirit the girl away. Or even better... both girls away . Jerome shook his head... don't get greedy, he reminded himself. The translator was the priority. Don't risk the operation trying for an impossible target. If the guards were just too prepared, then the Princess stays. But... dare we hope... if the guards were too distracted by the panicking mob... if they were caught looking away at the wrong moment... he couldn't help but smile, which Daniel noticed.

"Father... are you... well?" Daniel asked with concern.

"What? Oh no, I was... musing... perhaps thinking of better times.... Go my son... enjoy this night. May you have good fortune with your lady. Perhaps, with the right words... you could even have her home with you tonight... " he added coyly, though with mixed irony.

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"Michiko! Hime-sama!" Anel called out from the Paradise Diner booth, waving his hands.

Michiko and Sabine turned around and waved back, working their way towards the welcoming sight. Anel and Aleena smiled despite the busy activity around their booth, as it was good to see familiar faces among the throng of strangers.

"Hey there," Michiko waved. "How is business so far?" Maybe now, we'll get some decent food. She had ditched the mystery-meat when Sabine again refused to tell her what it was, and then it finally dawned on her... this was a land that had ogres, goblins and dragons... oh my lord... that meat was probably some creature right out of one of Tsuyoshi-sempai's table-top RPGs... might have had eight legs, a poisonous bite and gave 800xp when you killed it...! Sabine's wicked smile practically confirmed it.

"Couldn't be better," Anel replied. "I've been promoted to sous chef, and Aleena is now officially a line chef."

Michiko brightened. "That's wonderful! You've worked so hard to earn that!"

Anel offered back, "We owe a lot to Mitsuha for saving the restaurant for making that happen... and actually you've been a big help too! We've put your chicken fried steak on as a weekly special and it sells out every time!"

Aleena added. "And your toffee cookie crunch bars... those sell out as soon as the tray leaves the oven. We can't keep them in stock long enough to even start a bakery. Bernd says adding desserts has been a huge money-maker for us."

Michiko nodded and smiled. On Earth, the biggest money-makers for restaurants were appetizers, desserts and alcohol. Most restaurants usually only break even or slightly above on entrees, so it makes sense that desserts would help their bottom line.

"Oh, Marcel sends his regards," Anel said. "He told me he took your toffee bars and exchanged the toppings for strawberry and blueberry jams."

Michiko nodded. "Those sound like great ideas. Chefs should try new concepts just like that. I would also try lemon curd, or maybe sweet cream cheese."

Anel nodded and immediately filed those ideas away. He met with Marcel on a regular basis and the chef in him knew right away those would be great. He would need Marcel though to get the details right. "Any other ideas you have for our restaurant you want to share?"

Michiko thought long and hard. "This being a festival, it's a shame I haven't seen anyone selling anything like a pizza... I guess no one's thought of that yet." She added sotto voce, "Something else I guess I'll never be seeing again..."

"Eh...? Why can't you make that right now?" Anel asked.

"Well, you'd need a poolish* from yesterday for starters," Michiko explained. "Then once you mixed the dough, we'd need to let the doughballs rest and rise for about an hour before we could even start stretching them out. Without those steps, all we'd have would be a flat tasteless piece of cooked flour with no real texture." She thought some more. "Though if you don't have time for all that, I guess you could just settle for making tortillas instead and sell wraps."

*A preferment high fluid dough used as a starter to improve texture and flavor of the final product of many baked goods

"Does that take a lot of steps or time like pizza?" Aleena asked.

"Not really," Michiko shrugged. "Flour, lard, salt, water... mix it, flatten it, cook on a flattop and you're done. You have a versatile piece of starch that can be used to wrap anything you want like an edible sheet of paper; meat, vegetables, melted cheese, a little sauce for moisture, some spices for flavor, and you have an entree ready to serve. You can even carry it around at a fair like here and eat it on the go."

Anel and Aleena looked at each other slightly stunned. We wouldn't even need to seat our guests... we could just sell them these wraps to go...? That would free up table space in the restaurant and sell even more tickets...?

Michiko then noticed that Sabine had been strangely quiet. "Hime-sama, are you OK? You don't seem very festive right now?"

"What...?" Sabine looked up. "Oh... well... I guess... Father wasn't that festive when we left this morning, and I guess part of that was on my mind. Lionel-sama had still not reported back... and the Royal Court is getting worried something might have gone wrong. And with all the talk about noble houses turning against us... it's just... " she sighed and trailed off. "With all the world crumbling around us... it happens that... I just turned eleven."

"Oh my... " Michiko said as she knelt down. "I know that must be a big deal for you."

"I know it sounds like such a little thing... but I really was hoping that... Mitsuha-neesama was going to be here... when it happened..." Sabine said sadly.

Michiko paused for a moment, sighed and nodded. We both looked forward to the day she returned. Oh, how many troubles that would solve... both for ourselves and the Kingdom...but as I once realized... dreams are for children... and we have to live in the real world. "You know... I'm not a great hero who can save the Kingdom like Mitsuha. But if you give me an hour or so... maybe I can help solve at least one small problem for you," she promised with a smile.

Sabine brightened as Michiko stood back up and turned to Anel and Aleena. "Could I borrow some of your equipment and buy some supplies off of you?" Michiko asked. "I'd like to do something special for Hime-sama."

Anel paused for a moment, then smiled. "Tell you what... show us your tortillas and wraps... and you can use the kitchen. You also let us copy whatever you make for her Highness for the restaurant."

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"Bandits!" a sentry called out.

Count Peter Benjamin ran forward and grabbed his weapon as the men closest to him all stood and matched his movements. He looked into the fields surrounding the trees they had concealed themselves in... apparently not well enough , he cursed. But then again, we were pushing our luck by staying too long. I told you we should have left! He silently seethed, but he couldn't say such a thing to the Prince so directly, and he had stated his case as best he could.

"To arms, to arms!" Prince Lionel called from behind him, getting the rest of the platoon in line. "If they are mere bandits, then we shall scatter them!" he added with confidence.

Benjamin watched the approaching opposition coming and immediately knew better. These 'bandits' were indeed dressed in rags, but they wore matching leather boots that were in far too good condition than what bandits should be wearing, and their weaponry looked properly maintained. Furthermore, they were almost subconsciously marching forward in formation, despite their attempts to disguise it. These were no mere bandits, he realized; these were trained men, attempting to hide their nature. They looked to be about forty; right about the size of a platoon in the Zegleus army.

"Watch for a flanking attack!" Benjamin warned. "If they know our position, they likely know our numbers! They wouldn't be making this attack without knowing that. Secure the Prince; prepare for exfiltration!"

"What? They are mere bandits!" Lionel exclaimed.

Damn it all...! Benjamin almost blurted out, but managed to hold in. "My primary orders above all else from His Majesty himself is your protection!"

His next words were interrupted by the loud crack of a weapon he heard only once before, over a year ago, back during the Capital City siege; the sound of the feared "Lightning Wand". It was far fainter than the ones used for that battle, but the same signature couldn't be mistaken. The rest of the soldiers around him also heard it and froze; the fact that that same weapon would take twenty to thirty seconds to reload its next shot by a stationary soldier was unknown to them.

"M-mi' lord...!" one soldier cried out. "They have the Lightning Wands!" as a second shot fired and the sounds of a musket ball could be heard whizzing past them in the trees.

"Damn it...!" Benjamin watched the men of his platoon lose their discipline and break ranks. Fear had taken over and any attempt at an orderly withdrawal was in jeopardy. Just then, he saw another group of men cresting the hill to their rear flank and his heart sank. We're outnumbered and now outflanked. Our options have truly dropped to near zero.

"C-Count Benjamin, what do we do?" Prince Lionel asked, his bravado slipping as the gravity of the situation finally dawned on him.

Benjamin readied his weapon and stood by his Prince. "We pray..." as the first wave of attackers surged into melee range.

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Anel and Aleena watched with some awe as Michiko assembled a chocolate cake batter, though they showed curiosity as she included coffee and rum. Just you wait , Michiko silently answered their queries with a smile. This recipe helped sell so many bottles of rum for Bar Micchan over the years, with people all desperately trying to copy it. Of course, it also got me banned from the under-20 baking competitions in our town when all the other parent groups decided they were tired of seeing my name on the top of the scoreboards year after year, but it's still one people ask for every holiday get together.

Once the batter was done, Michiko put the prepared layers into the oven. She kept the layers small, so the baking and cooling times would be relatively short. As promised, she then started on a masa dough, detailing the ratios to Anel and Aleena. Luckily, they had a couple of temporary contract cooks in the kitchen to help; once the dough was done and rolled into balls, the task of flattening them and cooking them was simple enough. A few minutes later, jagged round tortillas were presented for sampling.

"It's got a spongy, tangy flavor," Aleena said with delight. "And it's so flexible... it's like a sheet of paper, just like you said."

"And you say this will withstand holding meats, vegetables and sauce?" Anel asked.

"Up to a point," Michiko cautioned. "Don't overload it; just like how you wouldn't overload a cart. Here..." She took one of the Hamburg steaks they had been serving and sliced it into strips, added their local cooked vegetables and chopped into rough pieces, slathered the surface of a second tortilla with a compound mayonnaise, sprinkled salt, pepper, and dried chilies and folded the contents into a roll, with one end closed. "Just one example. There's no limit to what you could do... chicken, pork, add some cheese, use your imagination..." Just don't use whatever that nasty mystery meat the outside vendors were selling...

Anel took a bite. "A-amazing... it's like eating our Hamburg entree... but without needing any utensils or plates... and the tortilla adds a nice toasty, tangy flavor to tie it all together!" He held it in his hand and moved it around. "And it's so convenient... I can see how you could eat it on the go... even wrap it in a paper bag and save some for later."

Aleena beamed. "This is such an incredible idea... and you can put anything in it?"

"Well, not anything..." Michiko admitted. "Obviously not soups... noodle dishes would be really awkward. You need something that's relatively solid, but preferably cut into small pieces or shredded so each bite comes apart neatly or tender enough so that it can come apart when someone bites into it, but leave a little texture, so each bite is satisfying. You also want reasonably even distribution so that the flavors are good throughout the entire wrap."

While Aleena and the contract cooks got to work rolling out Hamburg wraps, Michiko started the rest of the components of her intended dessert; tempering chocolate ganache into a mirror smooth glaze, boiling down macerated cherries then letting them cool, whipping a vanilla Chantilly cream, pulling melted sugar into a caramel thread sculpture and baking small thin round black sesame Tuiels. Anel watched her like a hawk, doing his best to memorize every step, though he was beginning to get lost. Ack... no way we're going to be serving this in Paradise Diner... he lamented. The cake alone, maybe, with a simple buttercream perhaps, but all this...? Michiko was clearly operating at another level right now, and not one that could be mass-produced on a day-to-day basis.

As Michiko pulled the cakes from the ovens to cool, she selected the three best layers and allowed Anel and Aleena to experiment with the rest. Whenever Michiko made cakes for competition, she always made spares in case some didn't come out right and to give herself some options on picking out the ones that came out the best. Baking was a science as much as an art, especially with these medieval ovens that heated so unevenly... oh how I missed modern convection ovens.

Up front, customers were beginning to queue up for the new menu item. The momentum was building up; at first, people seemed confused... what do you mean, no plates or bowls... no utensils... where are we supposed to eat this...? Aleena had to explain it to them more than once... "On the go... as you walk... even if you ride a horse, you can still be eating, just like eating a carrot, but better!" Slowly but surely, the idea begins to catch on, and the wraps began selling faster and faster.

"D-delicious!"

"S-so creative...! How did no one think of this before?"

"Yamano Cuisine...! It tastes just like Yamano Cuisine... but so convenient!"

"All hail Yamano Cuisine...!" several voices began calling out.

Michiko shook her head and smiled at the irony. Gone for nearly nine months and she still gets credit... She sighed as she got ready to finish her cake... It's just not fair...

With wraps well under way, Michiko put her hand just above the cake to check its temperature... that's about right... With her attention focused, she was unaware that Anel, Sabine and a slowly growing audience was watching her; it wasn't every day one got to watch a master pâtissiere at work. She poured the dark chocolate ganache over each layer, then carefully stacked them in order of size, creating a shiny dark pyramid of chocolatey goodness. Using an improvised piping bag, she carefully trimmed white vanilla Chantilly cream around the edges of each layer, then added florets. Next, she dolloped the macerated cherries along the top, allowing the thick syrup to drip down to create a contrasting color effect. Lastly, she carefully balanced the Tuiels into the thick layers of cream, then the light-brown sugar sculpture on top.

The crowd was silent, and Anel was amazed by the final product. The cake looked like it belonged to an art museum. It was almost too beautiful to eat, except the intoxicating smells demanded otherwise. Sabine stared at it in awe; beyond just the aesthetics, she could feel all the trials and pains the two of them had shared together to come to this point, and how Michiko had put her all into making this just for her.

Michiko smiled again. "Like I said, I'm not a hero who can save a Kingdom... but maybe I can take one of your problems away... if only for just a little while..." before she bowed. "お誕生日おめでとうございます*, O-Hime-sama."

*O-tanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu / Happy Birthday

There was a moment of quiet as Sabine continued to stare at the cake, then took Michiko's hand, pulling her closer to her. "Sabine..." she said in a quiet voice, with a tear in her eye. "Please call me Sabine."