Chapter 23: Have you prepared a gift too?

But what does “beloved friend” mean? Surely the shop owner can’t think Hilvia and I are… involved romantically?

Forget it, forget it. The owner’s already said and done so much; it wouldn’t be right for me to spoil the mood now.

“Child, why don’t you find a seat inside the shop and rest for a bit? I’ll go to the kitchen and make you a cream cake.”

“Mm… okay!” This time, Sairi’s response was much more enthusiastic, filled with happiness and anticipation.

Sairi found a spot by the glass window to sit and rest.

Through the glass, she could still see people and carriages outside, watching people help each other out of various shops and taverns, and families carrying their already sleeping children as they headed home.

Soon, the sound of rummaging came from the kitchen. After a while, the shop owner dragged out a large plate, upon which rested a very delicate cream cake.

“Not bad at all. The bread was baked fresh today, the cream whipped nicely, and I sprinkled some sugar flowers on top. She should really like it. Now I’ll pack it up for you.”

Right.

“All set!”

Surprisingly, the cake was ready quickly—she hadn’t had to wait long at all.

The shop owner was efficient, swiftly placing the cake and tray into a gift box, then tying it with a blue ribbon.

“Looks just like a gift for someone, but I didn’t expect it to be so formal.”

Sairi felt a little like refusing; after all, such formality might cause Hilvia to misunderstand. But the shop owner disagreed.

“Nonsense. This is your heartfelt intention. She used to come alone, like a lonely hero, but now she’s not.”

“Now she’s not?”

Sairi caught the hidden meaning in the owner’s words—it had to mean her own presence.

“Looks like a little angel has appeared by her side to ease her worries and share her burdens. Now this little angel is preparing a cake to bring a second surprise to that lonely person.”

Now it was clear the shop owner was referring to her. But why did it feel like these people all spoke in riddles? Was this just a trait of this other world?

Half-spoken words that leave much to the imagination.

Best not to dwell on it. The cake was ready and in hand—now to hurry back and surprise Hilvia. She must have been waiting a long time, maybe even so bored she’d fallen asleep.

What Sairi didn’t know was that Hilvia had been following her all along. Even now, Hilvia was watching from a street corner not far away. So for Hilvia, this might no longer be much of a surprise.

“All packed up for you, little one. Here, take it and be careful not to jostle it too much on the way.”

“Oh, okay, okay, thank you, sister!”

Sairi took the cake at the counter. It was bigger than she expected. Considering the remoteness and scarcity of supplies here, paying one silver coin was actually worth it.

“Alright, take it home and share it with your friend! She’ll definitely be very happy.”

How could the owner be so sure? What if Hilvia didn’t like it?

“Ahahaha, what if my friend doesn’t like this? That’d be so disappointing…”

“That won’t happen.”

“Huh?”

Was the owner really that confident? So certain?

“First, she often buys cakes and sweets here, usually for herself; second, she used to be lonely, coming and going alone. But now it’s different. This cake holds special meaning—it’s a gift from someone close to her. It contains your feelings and friendship.”

“Ah, so deep! I see now.”

Seems the people here are masters of feelings. In my previous life, I’d sometimes help my grandmother buy things to gift neighbors, mostly during holidays to express thanks.

But I mostly just followed my grandmother’s lead.

***

Today, I bought this cake to thank Hilvia for all her help these past few days. I never really thought about feelings and friendship like the shop owner mentioned.

“Well then, it’s getting late. You should take your gift and head home. Watch your step.”

“Okay, okay, goodbye! Thanks again!”

“You’re welcome.”

After saying goodbye, Sairi picked up the cake and set off along the remote path back to the Travelers’ Inn.

Hilvia, having seen through Sairi’s purpose, felt a bloom of happiness inside but hurried back ahead to the inn to play her part in the little performance.

At the inn, Hilvia had already returned to her room and sat down at the small dining table.

But the imagined moment when Sairi would burst in never came—she was moving awfully slowly.

The old clock on the wall ticked away steadily—“tick-tock, tick-tock”—as time slipped past.

Bored, Hilvia decided to use magic to wash and dry both their clothes. That way, at least she’d save some money.

With no delay, Hilvia entered the bath area, soaked their clothes, and activated magic to spin them like a washing drum.

Soon the clothes were cleaned. Not satisfied, she added some of the inn’s detergent and spun them again.

Then she used magic to quickly dry the clothes, folded them neatly, and placed them by the bed.

Hilvia returned to the table and watched the clock. As it got later, unease crept up inside her. She picked up Sairi’s Five-pointed Star Hairclip, twirling it between her fingers and holding it up to catch the light.

Each “tick” of the clock was a second gone. She decided she’d wait just thirty more seconds.

If Sairi didn’t come back by then, she would go out to find her, even if it meant unleashing the power of the Hero to scan a wide area.

Time ticked down: twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight…

Finally, at the twenty-ninth tick, a sound came from the door.

“Hilvia Sister, I’m back~”

“You finally came back…”

Hilvia let out a long breath and put down the hairclip, feeling a heavy weight lift from her heart.

Sairi approached and mysteriously placed the gift box on the table.

“Hehe, Hilvia Sister, guess what this is?”

Sigh. Even though Hilvia already knew what Sairi was hinting at, it was a kind gesture. It felt cruel to spoil the surprise, so she’d play along—Sairi’s happiness was what mattered most.

Strangely, why did I suddenly care so much about someone else’s feelings? Before, I would have bluntly shattered this little facade without hesitation, but now… I can’t.

Thinking of how disappointed Sairi would look if I told the truth makes me feel bad inside.

When did I become so influenced? In just two days, I’ve changed this much? Hilvia couldn’t understand.

Seeing Hilvia daydreaming, Sairi felt puzzled.

“Oi, Hilvia Sister, what’re you thinking about? Why are you spacing out like a wooden chicken? Guess what this is?”

“Ah… this? I guess it’s Little Soup Dumplings.”

Hilvia was snapped back to reality. In a pinch, she blurted out the first thing she thought of: the dumplings she bought for Sairi earlier.

“No, no! It’s something Hilvia will definitely like!”

That made Hilvia smile. She already knew what it was, and seeing Sairi take her role so seriously was amusing.

Hilvia decided not to answer the question but to turn the tables.

She picked up the big bag of Little Soup Dumplings she bought from the night market. She’d been heating them with magic so they were still piping hot when Sairi returned.

“Well, Sairi, guess what these are?”

“Eh, aren’t these the midnight snacks you bought when we left the food street after dinner?”

Sairi was confused. Why wasn’t Hilvia answering her question and instead asking her one?

“Nope, guess again! It’s something Sairi will definitely like~”

“Ah, uh…”

This scene felt strangely familiar, like it had just happened a few seconds ago.

“Forget it, let’s reveal the answer together!”

“Okay, get ready.”

Both placed their hands on their gifts and shouted:

“One, two, three—open!”

Sairi opened the gift box just as Hilvia untied the package.

“Cream cake?”

“Little Soup Dumplings?”