Home Town Eats

Roze looked up high at the stone masonry that guarded the City of Dominique. Her last view of it was a parting glance backward as she aged out of the orphanage to find her own life. Several years prior, she had been left under the care of a close friend to her parents.

Her thoughts stopped there. Her face darkened. She didn’t need to dwell on where her parents had disappeared to. Her family had been on the run, but their pursuers had only known about the parents. Ignorance of her existence spared her.

“Papers, please.”

She eyed the guard, beckoning her forward with a hand. A small card was handed over, which he eyed the glowing emblem for a moment before handing it back to her.

“Enjoy your visit.”

It was fortunate that Roze had chosen a decent profession. Medical licenses had the benefit of the doubt, its holders known to travel all over to aid the sick. The magical emblem she carried was proof that she could be somewhat trusted in the kingdom. That was the case even for a mere apothecary, who was considered a midwife more so than a scholarly practitioner.

Roze didn’t have the money for proper schooling, so it was fortunate that a system existed for grading different sects of medical knowledge. Even if her position was considered to be the lowest rank, she would take what she could get.

Waiting for the guard to question Gideon, she stared only to find the guard simply shooing her forward. With a questioning turn, she suddenly realized that he had disappeared. But then, she spotted him past the gate already, hiding sheepishly behind a light post.

“Did you-”

“Stop time and walk right on past, ignoring all the rules? Why yes, that is exactly what I did.” And he seemed so proud of it too.

“How suspicious.”

“Sorry, I just happen to have a thing against local authorities. You don’t grow up in a country with trigger happy freaks and not feel a bit leery about who the protection is actually for.

“Why not build up a respectable reputation with your skills? I recall that you tried to be an adventurer.”

“With these threads? I’ve gone through enough times being laughed at by ‘proper adventurers’ and having to prove myself that it’s gotten a bit tiring. Besides, my fights bring more questions than I would care to explain. Rather…”

Gideon eyed Roze for a moment all around.

“… it would be better to turn you into a household name. That way, people would think twice before messing with you, even if they find out about your Time magic. I’d like to get in as few fights as possible, so we have more time to solve my dilemma.”

“It’s not like you are really trying to be thrifty with your power.”

Roze looked to the side, a pout on her face. Gideon had to look away due to how cute it was. She struck him in the arm and continued.

“It’s not like I enjoy fighting either. But I suppose I can’t simply disappear like you can. I don’t suppose you can carry me to safety if I get in trouble.”

Gideon crossed his arms immediately, like it was a terrible idea.

“Yeah, no. Not unless you want to experience whiplash. You won’t see the flow of time like I do if we’re touching. That would be too useful. No, you would simply blip with instantaneous movement from point A to B, which could possibly snap you into pieces and kill you if I move you far enough.”

“But didn’t you-”

“A meter or so is fine, but across the bridge might be a little much.”

“Wonderful.”

Roze’s tone was anything but that. She didn’t want to ask the obvious question, only to find out an answer she didn’t wish to know. The panic on his face was all too clear that he had tried something like it before. He seemed enough of a dummy to do it.

“I think it’s better if I go unnoticed. An accessory to your travels. Or maybe, a hidden knife to only be drawn in emergencies. Ooo, I like the sound of that. Going unnoticed until the key moment is my style. It doesn’t matter whether it’s this world or my own.”

Gideon had no trouble working in the background. He had spent nearly a year doing just that at his job. At the time, he was too new to understand that letting his more experienced coworkers take on the task of presenting meant that his role was undermined as a result. Since he wasn’t visible in front of the right people, all of the results that he gave others to talk about had their names attached to it instead of his own. The lion’s share of his accomplishments had been hijacked before he knew it.

He pushed himself from then on – to make an appearance when it mattered. His reclusive tendencies could be held off for that much.

Roze and Gideon continued into town where they did a bit of sightseeing along the main road. They were looking to find a traveling caravan of sorts to make good time to the next city.

“Tell me, Roze. You spent some time here. What are your favorite eats?”

“Since I was an orphan here, I hardly had the chance for such lavish desires. I suppose I’ve heard some rumors though. It’s harvest season now, so a bounty of fruits is likely to be abundant in the marketplace. There’s no doubt they could be used to sweeten yogurt left over in sheepskin bags used to transport fresh milk. It’s a rather popular treat that is gone once they run out, so none of us children could ever finish our chores early enough, much less have the coin to buy one.”

Roze pointed to some roadside booths where a marketplace had sprung up. Gideon’s eyes sparkled as he scanned the area.

“There are meat pies for sale, and sausage made from the scraps of what they don’t sell. Come to think of it, a peculiar herb is found in this area, its spice adding a warmth to the body when drank with teas and ciders. If you don’t mind, I’d like to acquire-”

Roze turned around to see Gideon with an armful of treats and a sausage stick held between his teeth. He bit the meat off and spit out the stick.

“What? I’m listening.”

Roze raised an accusatory finger up at him, but Gideon shrugged.

“Before you act all prim and proper, I did leave money on the counter when I helped myself. Here, I even got something for you.”

He handed over a little ceramic jar sealed with tanned skin. Roze peeled off the makeshift lid and saw a glistening arrangement of berries atop a creamy surface. Her eyes went wide.

Honey syrup coated the berries, helping to preserve them and enhance the flavor. Only the most expensive patisseries served something this decadent. And only a few were made in a day.

“I overheard some rich-looking housewives mention a limited-time dessert for sale. It lined up with that yogurt thing you brought up, so I figured you’d want one. Besides, I’ve always been a sucker for those kinds of things, even if I know it’s all a marketing scheme. Call it silly, but with how little time I have each cycle, it feels like a waste not to indulge a bit.”

“But why so much?”

“Ah, all this? Sorry, I come from a place where portion sizes are large, and comfort food is a remedy for depression.”

“But you don’t seem depressed at all.”

“It must be working then.”

Roze shook her head. But with the expensive treat in her hand, likely worth a few weeks of selling remedies, she found it hard to not to be distracted by it. Gideon handing her a wooden spoon was the last straw as she dug into the treat.

It was heaven in her mouth. The sweetness tingled all the way to her temples and sent shivers down her spine. After her curiosity had been indulged and the euphoria passed, she could finally think straight again.

“How are you able to afford all this anyways?” she said, digging into another bite.

“Quests from the adventurer’s guild.”

“You jest. Not long ago, you told me that you avoid drawing attention to yourself. For you to afford these luxuries, you would’ve had to take on risky requests reserved for high-ranking adventurers. Ranks high enough that would draw attention if you suddenly tackled such a level.”

Roze felt proud of herself. It seemed like she was starting to read between Gideon’s statements. He had likely pilfered the money somewhere, trying not to look dishonest to earn her trust. Feeding her such a prized treat had tipped her off to his cunning.

Gideon shot her a blank look. He seemed unperturbed by her analysis.

“You’re right. I didn’t have access to the quests myself, but entry-level requests paid virtually nothing, and I didn’t want to waste time doing a bunch of them to rank up and grind and repeat. I’d lose months just dealing with the upgrade system itself before getting the money for our journey.”

“So then you-”

“I tailed the strongest adventurer I could find, beat up the monster ahead of time and let him take back the defeated beast’s remains to the guild. When he turned it over, I froze time, walked over, and took my cut without anyone ever seeing me.”

Roze’s sense of logic crumbled at that explanation. Gideon was either super smart or incredibly simple minded. She opted for the latter for sanity’s sake. She took another bite of her fruit yogurt. It really did seem to be a remedy for depression.

Soon after they had finished their snack, they ran into a large group of caravans clustered around the other gate of the city. One look at the travelers and it was obvious something was amiss.

“Excuse me, did something happen?” Roze grabbed the attention of the most amiable person she could find.

“Well, miss. I hope you don’t plan on traveling to the capital. The road isn’t safe from all the reports of late. Monsters have invaded the roads, and help from the capital won’t show up for another week at least.”

Roze looked over to Gideon, wondering if he had encountered such a thing in his travels. He whispered to her ear.

“I went through there on the way to find you. If it was just me traveling alone, I could just walk around them without wasting too much time. But an escort mission is different. Even in other cycles, it was faster to resolve the problem than wait around for someone to take care of it.”

“You sound like you know exactly what to do. Well, don’t leave me in the dark.”

“The monster infestation came from a migration of beasts around this season. Normally, they’d be culled by the nearby hunting tribe that roam the forests along the pathway. However, something happened between them and the young lord of this city. Until he gives up and surrenders, they have decided to let the monsters cause trouble instead of reining them in.”

“What could he have possibly done to invoke the ire of an entire tribe?”

“He ran away and barricaded himself at home after denying one of their traditions. Left some poor girl at the mercy of tribal laws.”

Roze didn’t know whether to be angry at the young lord or suspect the reason of his cold feet. Either way, pursuing that answer wouldn’t resolve the current issue.

“What is our next move?”

Gideon pondered for a bit, his face looking troubled. It was the same expression she received when patients were given a bitter potion to swallow.

“I can clear a path forward, but that won’t help us in the long run. The further north we go, the denser the monster population will be. Beating them all down will waste a good bit of my time, so getting in the good graces of the hunting tribe and recruiting one as a scout for our party is advantageous.”

“A smart plan, but why do you not sound convinced?”

Roze could clearly see his knees shaking. Could such a task be so daunting?

“It’s faster if you see for yourself.”

She did not like it when he left things on that note.