The City of Karnia (3)

Entering the bakery was like stepping into a different world, reminding Elian of a childhood experience he never had but always dreamt about. The shelves and counters were filled with freshly baked pastries, and he could taste them just by looking at them. Scanning with his eyes, he had already singled out some of them he wanted to try for sure, starting with the colorful donuts with different-colored glazes shining over them.

"Welcome! What can I get you? They are all fresh!"

Following the source of the laughing, kind voice, Elian saw a plump, literally fluffy young woman come out from the back. She had tiny horns at the top of her head, and her hair reminded Elian of sheep's wool. Maybe she was one; it was hard not to associate her with them after noticing the vertical pupils in her golden eyes.

"Go, buy what you want, and get me a cup of chocolate milk and a slice of Moonbite Pie!" Nika giggled, pressing a pouch into Elian's hand and leaving the shop. "I'm gonna go sit outside, claiming one of the tables before they are all gone. This is a popular place, you know!"

"Well..." Elian mumbled, looking at Sammy and Sakku with surprise, "If she says so..."

"I want one of those!" Sam pointed his finger at a group of tiny muffins named Pixie Pops within a glass showcase.

"Certainly!" the woman behind the counter exclaimed, already picking a handful of them out, smiling at the trio. "It was so long ago since a ryuin last came into my shop..." She added, her voice gentle but full of sorrow, making Sakku jump, landing on the top of Elian's head. "Let me get you something nice!"

"T-thank you... But we will pay for everything!" She stuttered in answer, not wanting to be a burden on anybody or take advantage of her kindness.

In the end, when Elian left the shop, he and Sammy were carrying a giant tray with so many goodies on it that anyone who saw them thought they had bought out the whole bakery.

"I know I said, get what you want... But this..." Nika mumbled, just as surprised, sighing and holding her forehead while they set it down on their table. "Haaah, whatever! But you eat all of it, or we will not get up from these chairs until you get sugar poisoning."

"Sorry, we got carried away because all of it looked just... juicy..." Sammy mumbled, embarrassed after being reminded of it, realizing he was caught up in the moment, wanting to taste everything he saw.

"Sit! And eat!" Nika grinned, looking a bit devious while doing so, raising her mug and taking a sip with a satisfied moan. "It goes best with Ushu's handmade pies. The choco and vanilla mix in your mouth is like an explosion of pleasure~! Mhhm... Hm...? What...?" She asked, seeing Elian look at her.

"N-nothing." He replied quickly, grabbing one of the Pixie Pops and throwing it into his mouth. When he bit down, he realized why they got the name. It was like a little explosion of sweetness on his tongue, mixed with little fizzy pops when it came in contact with his saliva. It was... incredible. "Woah!"

"This is... the best thing ever!" Sammy exclaimed, visibly in tears, as he held a Phoenix Cake in his hands, which, despite its bright reddish color, was actually orange-flavored.

The only one who wasn't talking was Sakku, whose body had transformed into that of a little girl to hold her cakes. Her tiny mouth was now open twice its size, filled with a handful of cake slices, too full to even try to utter a word.

"I was thinking." Elian broke the music of sweets being devoured after a few minutes, taking a long sip from his strawberry lemonade. "Why did nobody stop you while we were walking here? Aren't you like... You know, famous, being a Princess, a General, and as good as a Hero from what I can tell?"

"So you noticed it?" She smiled, not explaining the situation straightaway.

"Is it linked to why you made me pay for the breakfast? Or is that unrelated?"

"What do you think?" She shot back with her own questions, leaning back in her chair and sipping her cold drink.

"Hm..."

Elian didn't rush his answer, thinking and trying to remember all the little details his mind may have picked up. He was meticulously recalling and examining how they walked the streets, how people didn't even look at Nika, or how they felt as if they were unaware of her presence. Was she an illusion? Or a ghost? Or were people here so disciplined that they knew not to bother the literal leader of their kingdom? No. That couldn't be it, especially not after what happened on the day he berated her before thousands of locals.

There had to be something going on, and looking at Nika, sitting in the morning sunlight, he could discern something else shimmering faintly around her body. He turned his gaze towards the people going past the shop, at those who walked up to its front door, but Nobody even looked at them while doing so. For all purposes, they were as good as invisible guests.

"You are using something to make yourself invisible. Not literally, but your presence is masked before normal people." He stated after coming to a conclusion.

"Good." She nodded, picking up a handful of tiny muffins and slowly munching on them. "Go on."

"I can't tell what it is." Elian hummed, now openly scrutinizing her, looking everywhere, and this time, Nika didn't take offense to it. "There is something around you. It is like a mirage; I can almost see it, but not at the same time. I can't put it into words..."

"I am surprised you can notice it. You are very close to awakening your Aspect, or this would not be possible for your eyes. Yes, Elian, you are right; I have been using my powers to mask my presence. You know, Aspect-wielding people have a natural advantage over those who have yet to access their inner powers. Think of it as their minds deciding to ignore me because they perceive me as a threat. I learned to emit enough of my Aspect through my spores that it makes their consciousness nervous, causing them to start ignoring me as an escape mechanism. It is like an unavoidable hypnosis. Thankfully, I am a professional, so I can decide when to push it and towards whom... so you two won't be affected by it."

"Woah..." Sammy exhaled, looking at her with starstruck eyes, "Um, Commander, when will I be able to have my own Aspect? I want to learn that!"

"You are yet to reach your peak. So I can't tell, but it is not yet, that is for sure! Complaining about running is enough proof that you are not there, nor in body or mentally."

"Hauh... Sorry..." He mumbled, looking down, returning to eating his breakfast.

"Ahaha, don't feel too down!" Nika added with a laugh, "Nobody starts out perfect. Not unless you are a Hero." Elian did not miss her gaze, forcing himself not to react in any way, trying to see which of them would break first, finally revealing they both knew the other knew.

"So?" Elian asked, looking into her red eyes, "Do you know what my issue is? Because I'm stumped. Everyone is saying I am there, yet I couldn't manifest anything besides making strange faces."

"I have a few ideas, yes. My strongest point is that you are not mentally ready. Something had to go wrong..." she continued, looking at Sakku, who was unaware of her stare, being too preoccupied with devouring a croissant half the size of her hand. "There is a minute desynchronization between your body and your mind because the latter couldn't adjust to your body. Yet."

"So... should I meditate or something?"

"That... I don't know. My best idea was this." Nika replied to him with an honest shrug, pointing at their rapidly fading mound of pastries. "Have a day of relaxation. I don't expect one day alone to be helpful, but I will incorporate more into your training. Days when we do nothing, relax, and I walk you around the city, introducing you to Karnia and how we live here. As a hermit, I guess you have no experience with how life is here, yes?"

"Yeah, as a recluse, this is all a bit too new to me. It is like being dropped into a different world."

"I bet," she snorted with a laugh, "So, it is this easy. You walk with me while I show you the world. Maybe understanding it and slightly becoming part of it will help you realize yourself and break out of your shell, no matter how hard it is. What do you think?"

"That is a good idea!" Elian chuckled, finishing his lemonade. He watched as Sakku cleaned up the plates, eating everything that they couldn't touch anymore. "It is still like being in a weird dream, so perhaps making it more real for my mind is really what I am missing."

"Then!" Nika clapped, standing up and looking at the group. "Shall we continue? Now that you've eaten this much, a little walk is what we need before my Knight aspirants turn into rotund training dummies!"