14.1. Traversing and socializing in a foreign society

"You should be more careful about starting altercations, son of a merchant or not. Next time, if you have concerns, find a guard first." The female guard’s tone softened slightly.

Heron remained with the guards as participants disbanded. As he returned to the bakery, the white-haired man's composure still puzzled him. Despite the harassment, despite being outnumbered, he had remained utterly controlled. Almost as if he had never been in any real danger at all.

He returned to the tavern carrying the bag with the cream rolls, but he’d been much less enthusiastic about giving them to Emilia. He was about to skip the whole idea when the voice surprised him from behind.

“Do I smell cream rolls?” It was Emilia with a joyful smile.

“Oh, yeah,” Heron turned to her, trying to fake a smile. “I thought I’d bring you some as a thank you for the help.”

“Thank you,” Emila said, grabbing the bag with no hesitation.

“What’s bothering you?” She suddenly changed her tone and posture.

“Nothing, really. What made you ask that?”

“Heron, I've been a tavern’s assistant for three cycles now. I can tell when a customer seems troubled or distressed. So tell me, what happened?”

Heron sighed, then shared the information about the event.

“I see. You are an idiot.” Emila replied flatly.

“Who are you calling an idiot?” Heron said, more surprised, she plain out said it.

“You, of course. I don’t see any other idiots around. You don’t play the hero unless it is your job! Get it?”

“I wasn’t raised just to stand by when someone is being strong-armed into giving money to his attackers.”

“Well, time for new education. Unless you have a badge, helping out, as you put it, is seen as a disturbance of the peace. Didn’t you mention Philip told you to stay out of trouble? Even Marcus mentioned not to seek it. And yet here you are, less than two hours into your first walk, and you get into trouble. You need a nanny to watch over you.”

Emilia gave Heron quite a rant, but then she calmed down. “I’ll be done with my shift in two hours. Then you can take me to lunch, and in return I’ll keep you out of trouble.”

“Why would I take you to lunch?” Heron asked confusedly.

“Well, you have to pay for my nanny services somehow. I do accept coins, too, if you're more comfortable with that.”

“I mean, why would I do any of that. I’m fine on my own.” Heron scoffed. How could I make the cut in party selections if I couldn’t even get by in the city by myself?

“Thank you for offering to go with me, but I should probably do it myself.”

“You know, being in an adventuring party does mean to rely on your comrades? No need to do everything yourself.”

It was Marcus who jumped into the conversation. He was behind the bar, eavesdropping on their conversation.

“Marcus?” Heron was surprised by the man’s voice.

“Listen to the girl, Heron. Let her take you around the city. And in turn buy her lunch. And also, it doesn’t hurt to make friends with her. Her being my assistant and knowing other customers can provide you with some necessary intel.” Marcus kept going, greasing up Heron to say yes to Emilia’s proposal.

“Well, it does make sense. I’m sorry, Emilia, I didn’t want to come off rude. I wasn’t in any mood for company, but once you get your shift done, and I get a little rest, I am sure my mood will be better, so if your offer still stands, I’d appreciate your help with traversing the city.”

“Deal!” Emilia mumbled as she stuffed a roll in her mouth before Heron finished his request.

Two hours had flown by for Heron. He was having a long shower, still replaying the scenes from the earlier confrontation.

I'm not even a real merchant's son. What was I thinking? A knock at his door pulled him from his thoughts.

"Ready?" Emilia stood in the doorway, having changed out of her work clothes into a simple green dress with a brown belt. Her braided hair was tied with a fresh ribbon. "I'm starving, and you're buying, so let's go before I change my mind about being your nanny."

“Sorry, please give me a minute,” Heron yelled as he was rushing out of the shower. He quickly dressed in his spare clothes, but his hair was still wet. Time to try the blower thingy, Emilia mentioned.

-.- .. .-.. .-.. / -- .

There was something that sounded like a breeze of wind in his mind that carried an audible sound as Heron turned on the blower.

“Are you alright in there?” came a muffled sound from Emilia. Heron was still hearing the same breeze. This was not coming from the blower.

“Hey, is everything ok? You don’t need to use it that much; you are dry.” Emilia told Heron as she shook him.

“Oh,” Heron almost yelled as he stepped back. “I didn’t realize you entered the room.”

“I've been outside the door for ten minutes. It is not nice to keep a girl waiting, you know,” she said, pouting.

“It was ten minutes? I’m really sorry. I seemed to have zoned out. I remember holding the dryer and pressing the switch, and next thing you know, you were talking with me.”

“Whoa, that's weird. Well, your hair is dry, but all messy. You should use a comb to fix it.”

“I don’t have any.” Heron shrugged.

“I think there is one in a drawer,” Emilia said, and went to the bathroom. “Here it is.”

“So just make it wet a bit and comb your hair.”

Heron did as asked, but after he was done, Emilia chuckled.

“What?” Heron asked, annoyed.

“Nothing, it’s just your bangs look funny when straightened. Let’s fix that.” She approached him, coming into his personal space, and then using her hand to mess his hair up a bit.

“There you go, much better.” She smiled, leaving Heron silent, beet red.

“Okay, we should go. Got only a few hours to spare, and places to visit.” Emila said, gesturing toward the door.

The streets were busier now, the midday crowd filling the cobblestones. Emilia navigated the flow with ease, occasionally glancing back to make sure Heron hadn't stopped to gawk at something. He did, frequently.

“Would you stop already? People keep staring at me, dragging you along.” Emilia complained.

“Sorry, it is the first day I’m actually seeing all things properly. Novelty will wear off, I promise.” Heron laughed off her response.

A thought crossed Heron’s mind. Since Haugstad burned down and his time at Draksvik, he couldn’t count on his fingers the times he had fun. And maybe it was because he felt safe walking with Emilia, but he realized he was enjoying this casual walk.

They turned down a narrower street where the buildings pressed closer together, their upper floors nearly touching overhead. The smell of cooking meat and spices grew stronger.

"Here," Emilia said, stopping in front of a small establishment with faded blue shutters. A painted sign showed a steaming bowl and the words Mira's Kitchen in neat script. "Best lamb stew in this part of the city. And more importantly, they won’t clean out your pouch with pricing."

Inside, the space was cramped but clean. A handful of wooden tables filled the room, most occupied by workers on their lunch break. Behind a counter, a heavyset woman with flour-dusted hands looked up and smiled.

"Emilia! Haven't seen you in a few days." The woman replied with a warm voice. "Your usual?"

"Please. And another bowl for my friend here." Emilia slid onto a bench by the window. "He's new to the city. Needs some proper food. He praised my cooking as if it were a royal feast. Can’t wait to hear what he’ll say about yours."

"Your cooking is great! I’m still upset Marcus snatched you for his place," the woman laughed. "But my stew is second to none. Sit, sit. I'll bring it out."

“Can’t wait to see your reaction to Mira’s cooking,” Emilia grinned. They went to find a table to sit at. Heron settled across from Emilia, the bench creaking under his weight. He looked out of a small window at people just passing by.

"You know it’s rude," Emilia said.

"What is?"

"Looking away. You know, even though I’m your nanny, there would be quite a few guys who would be happy to be in my company."

Heron's face flushed as he turned back to face her. "I wasn't—I mean, I am happy. To be in your company, I mean." He fumbled with his words, making it worse.

Emilia chuckled. “Relax. I am just joking. Have you never gone out to a meal with a girl?”

“I have not,” Heron replied, feeling ashamed.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean it as a bad thing.” Emilia tried to play down her tease.

Luckily for her, Mira came with two steaming bowls. The stew was thick, chunks of lamb and vegetables in a dark broth that smelled of herbs Heron couldn't name.

"Have a good meal," the woman said, smiling at Heron. "And I want your honest feedback. I know you have stews in the villages too, but spices for this come from the lands of Tuska. So exotic tastes you won’t find here."

Emilia was already eating, using a piece of bread to soak up the broth. Heron took his first bite and had to stop himself from making an embarrassing sound.

"Good, right?" Emilia grinned. "Told you."

They ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes. The stew was easily the best thing Heron had tasted since arriving in Jamtara, better even than the tavern breakfast. The meat was tender, the vegetables soft but not mushy, and the broth had a richness that spoke of hours of slow cooking. But also, he was reminded a bit of Martina’s cooking.

"So," Emilia said after a few more bites, “I've been meaning to ask you since you talked about your encounter with city bullies, but where did you get the pendant?”

“My father left it in my care,” Heron said. “Before he ran away, he said to keep it as a means to get citizens to see me as an equal. Guess today’s event proved his point. However, it is a good thing that the guard didn’t ask for my papers. That would have been the end. It didn’t occur to me at the time, so I didn’t start panicking.”

Emilia laughed. “I was right calling you an idiot.”

“Hey, I’m not an idiot. I told you, there are some things you can’t just do nothing about. Though I did learn my lesson about choosing my battles.”

“Well, I’m glad you made it out safe. Also, if your father was a citizen, why didn’t you go and live in the city?”

“It’s a bit of a long story.” Heron sighed. “But I can tell you if you want to hear about it.”

“Sure, but let’s do it another time. I see you are getting bummed thinking about it, and I wanted us to have a good time. So once we wrap up, how about we head over to the Cathedral of Creation?”

“Can we visit that place?”

“Sure, it is the temple of Creators. Citizen or villager, all worship the same gods, so the church welcomes all who wish to say their prayers… And take a coin out of your pocket for an entry fee.” She chuckled at that last remark.

“Yeah, let’s visit it then,” Heron said with a smile.

They finished off their meal.

“Bye, Mira,” they said their goodbyes to their host as they headed out to the cathedral.

The Cathedral of Creation dominated the skyline as they approached. White stone spires reached toward the barrier of crosses above, their carved surfaces catching the afternoon light.

Heron stopped walking, staring upward.

"And we're back to gawking. And you were doing so well, keeping up with me," Emilia said, but her tone was fond. "Come on. The inside's even better."

She started up the broad stone steps. Heron followed, trying not to look out of place, as clergy in white robes and well-dressed citizens moved past them through the massive bronze doors.

"Try to look less terrified," Emilia added over her shoulder. "It's just a building."

"A massive building," Heron muttered.

"Fair point."