Chapter 5

With great reluctance, Ayisa followed the girl into a building off the eastern road. It had pink walls, a pink ceiling, pink torches with pink flames, pink furniture, and pink-colored menus. Even the food and drinks were mostly pink. Such a dizzying amount of pink. Do people love pink that much?

“I have a feeling I have never seen you before,” the girl said, pushing up her glasses. “And it seems that I'm correct.”

“Is that how you start a conversation?” Ayisa asked.

A staff member dressed in pink came over carrying the menu. The girl glanced at it and pointed at something. The staff member wrote her order. The girl handed the menu to Ayisa.

Ayisa’s strength left her body when she saw the prices. The cheapest bread cost fifty of whatever currency they used.

“What do you want? My treat.”

She flipped through the pages, looking at the names one by one, but there was nothing called ‘my treat’.

“Where is it?”

“Where is what?”

“I can’t find anything called…” Ayisa trailed off.

The girl raised an eyebrow. “My treat, as in I’m paying?”

“... Oh.”

Ayisa used the book to cover her face. If only her mind had realized what she meant before Ayisa spoke.

“I’ll… go with water.”

Even water costs twenty-five here. At least the bakery had it for ten.

“... You can’t drink tea?”

Ayisa let out a shallow nod. “I can. Tha- That’s… That’s not the problem.”

The girl narrowed her eyes. Was drinking water something suspicious? Shouldn’t her memory tell her something about that? Besides, if drinking water is bad, why did she do so in the forest? Why did the animals and monsters do so? Shouldn’t they be staying away from it?

… Wait… water isn’t the problem… is it?

Would it be rude to mention the prices in front of the staff? The man from the weapons shop didn’t seem to mind. Still, the girl is paying. Ayisa couldn’t afford anything herself, and she didn’t want to trouble the girl. She didn’t want to ask for anything expensive, which is all of the menu.

The girl sighed. “Get her the same as mine.”

“Right away.”

The staff returned to the kitchen with their order. The girl rested her hands on the table, her fingers intertwined. She stared at Ayisa.

“Who are you?”

“U- Um… I’m Ayisa.”

“... Just Ayisa? Where are you from? Which family do you come from?”

“I- I don’t know?”

“A commoner?" The girl seemed taken aback. “How did you get here?”

Ayisa shivered, rubbing her hands under the table. “I- I’m sorry-”

“I didn’t ask for an apology.” She scratched her cheeks, then sighed. “My name is Layis. Layis Dammar.”

“Laris… Dammar?”

“Layis, with a Y. And you don’t put a space in between the two words. Layis Dammar. Not Layis… Dammar.”

“I- I see. Are you a noble?”

“My father’s one.”

Their food arrived. It took much less time than expected. Ayisa had never been to a restaurant like this before, but she figured cooking takes more time? She certainly needed it when cooking her hunt.

Maybe they had some kind of special magic cooking item. The food was very expensive, so it made sense if they prioritized service and put some of that money into their equipment.

“... This is… Isn’t this expensive?” Ayisa asked when she saw the plate. A pink cake with white frosting on top of it, decorated with numerous strawberries.

“I told you it’s my treat, didn’t I?”

“Y- Yes.”

“So just eat. You’re really weird. Anyone ever told you that?”

Ayisa couldn’t remember, not that she interacted with anyone other than Iris recently. Maybe someone did, far in the distant past that she had forgotten. If anything, someone most likely did. She couldn’t imagine any of the people she had met before she went into the forest not thinking of her as a weird person.

“Why… did you call out to me?”

“Don’t know. There’s just something different about you.”

Layis gently cut the cake and used her fork to eat. She looked like a mature lady enjoying breakfast with tea. Ayisa picked up her fork. She observed the way Layis’ fork cut through the cake, then mimicked it… Except things went wrong very quickly.

She sliced the cake diagonally, her hands shaking, the fork hitting a strawberry as it slid off. Ayisa panicked as she tried to catch the tumbling strawberry in time, before it landed on the plate, only for her elbow to bump against the white ceramic. She lost her grip on the fork, sending it into the frosting. Now the entire left part of the fork was covered. A mess before she could have a single bite.

“You can’t even eat properly.”

“I- I’m sorry… And it’s such a beautiful cake as well.”

“No matter, I guess, as long as it fills you up.” She took another bite.

Despite her calm expression, her eyes lit up as she chewed, although they went back to normal when she finished.

“But yes, seeing you run around town is… intriguing, to say the least. It’s not fit for a noblewoman, yet you didn’t seem like some random commoner, either.”

Ayisa tried eating the small pieces of cake, but she struggled. She always used her hands in the wild, after all, and Iris only taught her how to use a spoon. One of the staff members felt bad seeing her and rushed over to give her a spoon. Ayisa thanked her, trying to hide the embarrassment from leaking out of her voice.

“... I see…” Ayisa replied, unsure how to respond.

She took a bite. Her eyes opened wide when the cake landed on her tongue. It was sweet. Sweeter than anything she had eaten before. The softness of the cake, the sweetness of the strawberry, and the creamy taste that tied it all together. It all tasted so delicious.

“This is awesome…” she murmured as she chewed, trying to burn the taste into her memory.

“I know. That’s why I brought you here,” Layis said, finishing her cake. She drank the tea that accompanied it.

Ayisa tried the tea. It tasted different from the one Iris made for her. This one was far greener and a bit bitter. It still tasted refreshing, though.

“Who are you, and why are you here? Frankly, I'm interested in you.”

“Me?” Ayisa pointed toward herself. “I’m… just someone Miss Iris brought from the forest…”

“Which forest?”

“The one by Niat Lake.”

“Oh, were you involved in the wyron incident?”

“Yes… I didn’t do anything worth mentioning, though.”

“I made the correct choice in finding you, then.”

Ayisa tilted her head. “Correct… choice?”

How could getting into contact with her be the correct choice? Wouldn’t that be the opposite?

“Let’s get to the important part. I invite you to a duel.”

“A- A duel?”

“If you win, I will reward you with another meal. If you lose, then you don’t need to fear any consequences.”

“Bu- But… what’s in it for you?”

“Straight to the point, I like it. I’ve been trying to understand how far I have come in terms of magic abilities. You look like someone unusual and powerful.”

Ayisa frantically shook her head. She was the farthest thing from powerful. Layis continued before she could say anything.

“Regardless of whether you defeat me or not, the reward for me is being able to study more about myself and the extent of my own capabilities. So, what do you think? Interested?”

Ayisa glanced around the room. There was nothing particularly interesting about the place, other than its insistence on the color pink. Yet she couldn’t help but feel pretending to be lost in thought was a better option than answering Layis. She didn’t know. She had never fought another person before.

“I look forward to your answer.” Layis drank the remainder of her tea, then went to pay.

Unsure what she was supposed to do, Ayisa finished everything in front of her and rushed to catch up to Layis. She stopped herself from gasping when she saw the total Layis paid.

“Another good meal waiting for you.” Layis patted Ayisa’s shoulder as she left.