[20 — Flowers?]

After training, I grabbed a clean set of clothes and headed to the back of the training grounds. There was this little room hidden behind it.

The first time I stepped through that little door, I was shocked. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined a changing room in a medieval world.

But the excitement didn't last long, because what I found was nothing more than a dusty, moldy storage room.

Even if it was disappointing, I figured it could still be useful. And since it was 'abandoned,' I assumed there was no problem in making a few changes of my own. Every day after training, I used the chance to clear out some junk and free up space.

Whenever Ruru saw me carrying armfuls of random junk, she'd rush over with that mischievous grin of hers and check my forehead, asking if I was feeling okay or if I'd caught a cold.

Heh... So innocent… if only she knew the real reason I was putting in all that effort.

Then again, I couldn't really judge her. Outside of me, I doubted anyone in this world could recognize the treasure hidden in that room.

A few days back, while I was trying to find a window behind the cabinets, I noticed a strange bamboo spout sticking out of the wall at about head height. It caught my attention, so I tried to figure out how it worked.

That's when I followed the holes in the wall outside and found a surprisingly clever mechanism connected to the well. With the help of good old physics, it filled a wooden tank clumsily balanced on top of the shed.

And when I say 'clumsily,' I'm not exaggerating.

Just looking at the sag in the ceiling was enough to make me nervous. It looked like the whole thing could collapse and kill someone any second.

Still, I couldn't deny the idea was genius. It worked like a giant medieval water tank. And since it spent the entire day under the sun, the water running through the spout came out warm. Basically the closest thing to a shower I could ever hope to find here.

After a refreshing bath, I met Ruru at the exit of the training grounds. I asked if she wanted one too, but she said she hadn't brought any clothes to change into. So, we headed toward the inn.

"What was with you today, Ruru? You ambushed me right when I was about to reach enlightenment," I grumbled.

"Enlightenment, you say? I don't know what you're talking about, Destroyer-sama, but I'm sure you were nowhere close to that." She gave me another one of her mocking smiles.

…Just you wait, Ruru. I'll have my revenge.

"Tch…" I picked up the pace.

"Oi! Where are you going, Destroyer-sama? Aren't you going to help me with the shopping?"

"I'm not hungry!"

"Oh? That's too bad… Guess I'll just make curry for Sera and me."

"..."

I slowed down until she caught up.

"Hm? Destroyer-sama?"

"W-well… I guess it wouldn't hurt to help."

"Fufu."

*

As we walked through the streets, weaving between alleys, I tried to mentally map some landmarks I could visit later. The layout was so confusing that if someone told me Blessom had been designed as a labyrinth, I'd believe them. Still, after taking the same route every day, I was starting to get my bearings in this part of the city.

The real problem would come once I had to memorize the other districts and neighborhoods.

Since the damn system didn't even give me a map, I was at risk of getting lost in this copy-paste dev nightmare. Which is why I had the brilliant idea: along with giving the training dummy a new face, I'd also draw myself a map once I got back to the inn.

I'm no cartographer, but if I put in the effort, I'm sure it's not that hard.

"Come on, son! Drop those rocks! You'll drag mud into the church!" A lady in a long dress scolded a kid while brushing dirt off his clothes. She held a book in her hand.

From the details on the cover, I assumed it was a Bible.

"Hm…"

During my earlier info-gathering, I'd already heard about this so-called church. Not that I go snooping, but I'd caught some locals talking about it.

The church stood right in the center of the city, which said a lot about its role in society. It was striking how closely it matched the sort of medieval topics I used to read about.

Even if I couldn't pin it down exactly, I could at least situate this world by comparing it to Earth's timeline. Could be wrong, sure, but the keywords and the people's behavior helped me build some hypotheses.

First, there was the 'inquisition.'

I couldn't remember the exact year it started, but I knew it was around the 13th century. If that was all I had to go on, it would've been easy enough to place myself in history. But then came the second keyword:

The plague.

Aside from Ruru, I hadn't heard any mention of it in Blessom, and yet, considering how casually she talked about it, I couldn't dismiss it.

The thing is, as far as I remembered, the plague wasn't a 13th century event, it was mid-14th century. I knew that for sure, mostly because I always loved those plague doctor bird masks. (They were useless, but they looked badass.)

So far, the logic lined up: the Inquisition was still around during the plague, meaning the game world should be set somewhere around that period. But then… that red book in Markus's hand—

"What are you doing, Destroyer-sama? Aren't you coming in?"

"Ah… yeah."

Ruru and I stepped into the usual shop.

"Welcome—oh? It's you two again?"

"Good morning, Nana-san!" Ruru greeted the black-haired attendant with a smile.

"What'll it be today?"

Since we'd arrived in town, Ruru had only been buying ingredients from this shop. I didn't see much difference compared to the others, but she insisted these were special and that the owner and her daughter were really kind.

"Hm… I was thinking of getting some veggies and a bit of meat… uh…" Ruru glanced around. "Is obaachan here?"

"She is. Just a second, I'll call her."

Nana-san set down a basket of goods on the counter, lifted the little door flap, and shouted:

"Mom! Ruru-san and Destroyer-kun are here!"

"..."

Her voice was pretty high-pitched.

I peeked at the basket on the counter. Inside were yellowed papers, wooden trinkets, cloth, nails, and other tools. Basically, a whole assortment of stuff.

"Sorry, Ruru-san. My mom's cleaning up the back of the shop, but she's coming… Hm? What is it, Destroyer-kun?"

I jumped back when she called me. Without realizing, I'd been poking through the basket.

"A-ah. My apologies, Nana-san." I scratched my head.

"Haha, no problem. Everything's for sale anyway. Find something you like?"

I reached in and pulled out a wooden stick. Its shape reminded me of a pen.

"Any idea what this is?"

Nana-san stepped over to my side.

"That's…" She took my hand, lightly brushing against it as she guided the object, her expression puzzled.

So it was strange even for the locals.

"Ah, right. It's something that just came in recently, it's a—"

"W-wow, that's a cool pen, Destroyer-sama." Ruru yanked the stick from our hands. "Never seen a wooden one before. Nana-san, could you help me pick out the veggies? I'll take this pen too."

Tch… that greedy Ruru. I can't believe she's taking the only one they had.

…Well, not like I can complain. She's the one paying.

"Who'd you say was—oh? The couple came shopping together?" A new voice chimed in. It was a bit rough, but not unpleasant.

"Mom! Don't say stuff like that." Nana-san clamped a hand over the obaachan's mouth. "They're not a couple."

"Hoho! Young folks these days."

The obaachan let out a slow laugh as she stepped closer.

"Already picked out what you want?"

"Yes, obaachan. Along with these veggies, I'd also like some meat. Could you prepare it the usual way?" Ruru handed over the carrots and potatoes she'd chosen.

"Of course."

The old woman lifted the counter flap and disappeared to the back. She returned with a few cuts of meat in a straw basket.

"Here you go."

We stepped up to the counter to pay... or rather, Ruru did. I was just there to pick up the goods and carry them. Gotta contribute somehow.

"Hm?" Ruru glanced at the floor behind the counter. "Are those…?"

"Oh, you've got sharp eyes, young lady. Those lilies just arrived. Haven't had time to put them out front yet. Beautiful, aren't they?"

The obaachan pulled up the basket and set it on the counter.

"Y-yes… they're beautiful." Ruru's expression softened.

Meanwhile, I was trying to piece together combinations I'd seen online, but no luck. I couldn't remember a single curry recipe that used flowers.

"Flowers?" I muttered, louder than intended.

"Yes, flowers, Destroyer-sama."

"Ugh, I know they're flowers, Ruru. I was just wondering because… ah, forget it."

I lost interest halfway through.

"Haha… I'm just teasing. They're white lilies. I thought I'd take some for Sera."

"For… Sera?"

I definitely couldn't imagine Sera holding flowers, but I kept my mouth shut. Probably just part of Ruru's brainwashing project.