VII - The Importance of Food

The roads widened, and the passing carts and wagons grew more frequent until the walls of Garend finally came into view.

A broad grin spread across Pan’s face.

“We’re back!”

She looked down at her hands with quiet satisfaction.

This adventure had been a success in more ways than one.

“So, have you finally come around to the idea?” Haku asked casually as they approached the city gates.

“...The idea?” Pan echoed, puzzled.

“That you’re not nearly as useless as you claimed,” Haku replied with a smile.

A blush crept across Pan’s cheeks, and she clasped her hands behind her back.

“I-I’m merely considering the possibility based on logical deduction, mm!” she said hurriedly. “After all, it’s an undeniable fact that I knocked that stinky Mustel flat on its back, isn’t it?”

Haku nodded.

“You did. And me as well.”

Pan narrowed her eyes.

“Oh, drop the act, would you? I know perfectly well you let me hit you on purpose just to prove your point. That’s what happened, wasn’t it, mm?”

A nervous chuckle escaped Haku as she felt Pan’s suspicious gaze fixed on her.

“I-I have no idea what you’re talking about. Heh... heh...”

Pan let the matter drop.

Instead, she strode proudly through the city, chest puffed out as she met the curious stares of passersby.

“Anyway, let’s collect our reward first, and then stuff ourselves! I’m absolutely starving!”

Haku didn’t object, though the faintly uneasy look on her face spoke volumes.

A short while later, coins clinked across the counter at the Adventurers’ Guild after the clerk accepted the headdress as evidence.

“Hang on a second,” Pan exclaimed after counting the coins. “There’s only ten guilders here!” She pulled out the quest note and jabbed a finger at it. “The reward was supposed to be one hundred!”

“My apologies. However, the remainder can only be paid out once our client has verified that the quest has indeed been completed.”

He gave an apologetic shrug.

“It’s simply a routine precaution. Unfortunately, we’ve had quite a few cases involving... quest fraudsters lately.”

His gaze lingered on Pan for just a moment as he uttered the last words.

A low growl escaped her throat.

“Are you implying we might be...?“

But before she could go on, Haku spoke up.

“We understand,” she said with a slight bow. “About how long will the verification take?”

“Usually three to four days.”

“Very well. We’ll come back in three days, then. Thank you.”

As Haku stepped away from the counter, Pan lingered for a brief moment before hurrying after her.

“I’m telling you, they just do that because we’re foreigners!“

Haku considered it for a moment.

“Well... it’s not really that bad.”

Pan looked up in surprise.

“What do you mean?“

“While we’re waiting for the reward, we can restock our supplies and look for a map of the region. That would also help me learn more about this world’s geography...”

Pan’s ears perked up.

“Oh! And we could visit the food market!”

Her eyes sparkled.

“They sell honey apples there! And deep-fried cheese skewers! Oh, and I’m pretty sure I saw candied nuts too, mm!”

As Pan enthusiastically continued listing one delicious treat after another, Haku’s gaze drifted toward the small pouch containing their ten guilders.

Then, with studied casualness, she reached out.

Snatch.

Pan continued talking without noticing.

“...and roasted chestnuts! I wonder if they might also have...”

She fell silent.

Her eyes slowly shifted to the pouch.

Then back to Haku.

“Did you just...?”

Haku nodded with complete seriousness.

“Budgetary reasons.”

Pan stared at her in disbelief before she let out an outraged gasp.

“Do you seriously think I’d spend all our money on food, mm?!”

Haku tilted her head.

“Wouldn’t you?”

“I-I would never!”

Pan opened her mouth...

...then quietly closed it again.

“Well... not all of it...”

The smile on Haku’s face widened.

“That’s what I thought.”

Pan didn’t argue.

***

Not long afterward, they wandered through Garend’s bustling streets.

A warm summer breeze billowed the canvas awnings of the market stalls and swept through their hair.

“Y’know, it’s all well and good that you left your helmet and weapons back at the inn...” Pan began after a while, giving her companion a once-over. “...but don’t you have anything else to wear?”

Her gaze passed over Haku’s armor, or, more accurately, the considerable amount it failed to cover.

Haku merely looked at her in confusion before glancing down at herself.

“What’s wrong with my armor?”

Pan offered an awkward smile.

Five worlds... and nobody has ever pointed it out to her?

“Well... for one thing, it looks a little... impractical.”

“Impractical? But it protects my most vulnerable parts without restricting my mobility...”

“And for another...” Pan continued, pointing toward a group of men openly staring after Haku with flushed faces and slack jaws, “...it attracts just a little too much attention.”

Haku scratched the back of her head as though the world had suddenly stopped making sense.

“Isn’t it normal for men to look at you like that?”

“NO, IT IS NOT!” Pan snapped immediately.

How can anyone be this oblivious?

Haku thought hard for a moment.

“None of the Great Heroes I traveled with ever mentioned it...” she murmured.

In the end, though, she simply shrugged and turned back to Pan.

“But if it bothers you that much, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to try wearing something different.”

As though she’d been waiting for exactly those words, Pan grabbed Haku by the wrist and started dragging her away.

“That’s more like it! Let’s get you some proper clothes, mm!”

They wandered through the market until Pan stopped before a small clothing shop.

“How about this shop?”

“S-sure...”

A little bell chimed as they stepped inside, and a short while later, Haku disappeared behind a curtain carrying a set of clothes.

Pan waited expectantly until the curtain was pulled aside.

Haku stepped out.

She wore a simple white blouse, loose linen trousers, leather boots, and a light traveler’s coat.

“So... is this better?” Haku asked uncertainly.

Pan blinked.

For a moment, she was genuinely at a loss for words.

Without the armor she looks like a completely different person.

A small smile spread across Pan’s face.

“That depends. Do you feel better, mm?”

Haku studied herself in the mirror, turning once before running a hand over the fabric.

“It feels a little... unfamiliar.”

Pan stepped up beside her.

“That doesn’t have to be a bad thing.”

Haku met her gaze in the mirror.

“No...”

A faint smile touched her lips.

“...Actually, it feels... kind of nice.”

Pan blinked.

“That’s a good sign, mm!”

When they left the shop a little later, Pan noticed something.

Most people simply walked past them now. The few who glanced their way quickly looked elsewhere.

Haku slowed her pace.

“This is... strangely pleasant.”

Pan nodded with satisfaction.

Maybe she finally realized that sometimes it’s nice to be just another traveler.

For the first time since entering Garend, the two of them walked through the streets, almost unnoticed.

***

They could hear the food market long before they reached it.

But more importantly, they could smell it.

The aroma of grilled meat, freshly baked bread, and sweet pastries drifted through the streets, filling the air.

They had taken only a few steps into the street before Pan was holding a spiral-cut fried potato in one hand and a chocolate-coated apple in the other.

“Mmm... so good,” she murmured happily between bites.

Suddenly, Haku stopped.

“Hm?”

Pan turned around.

Haku was standing motionless in front of one of the stalls.

Lined up on the counter were several cream puffs, their golden-brown pastry bursting with cream.

Haku didn’t say a word.

She simply stared at them.

“Cream puffs? Do you want one?” Pan asked.

After several seconds, Haku slowly shook her head.

“N-no...”

She said nothing more and was already turning away.

Pan frowned.

“Why don’t you treat yourself for once? I can tell by the look in your eyes that you really want one!”

“We should save the money for more important things.”

Pan rolled her eyes.

“Food is important!”

She grabbed Haku by the sleeve.

“But...”

“No arguments, mm.”

A little later, Haku stood there somewhat awkwardly holding a small paper bag as she looked down at the cream puff for a moment.

Then she carefully took a bite.

The cream melted on her tongue.

For a brief moment, it felt as though the world around her had fallen completely silent.

Something shimmered in her eyes.

“It tastes... exactly the same...”

Her voice was barely more than a whisper.

“The same...?” Pan asked curiously.

Haku gave the slightest nod.

“Frinna... the last Great Hero I accompanied. They had them in her world too...”

She smiled.

But it vanished as quickly as it had come.

“She was the first one who kept encouraging me to...”

She trailed off.

“To...?” Pan prompted gently.

Haku slowly shook her head.

“Nothing.”

She carefully folded the paper bag containing the rest of the cream puff and pressed it into Pan’s hands.

“Let’s keep going.”

She put her usual calm smile back on her face and walked on as though nothing had happened.

Pan remained where she was for another moment, watching her go.

How do you teach someone to value her own happiness when she’s spent hundreds of years believing she doesn’t matter?

She sighed, then quietly hurried after her.