Finihiya gripped the Wooden Skewer in her hand, stabbing it into the fruit several times as if she wanted to pick it up to eat, but her desire for satiety convinced her otherwise.
She gazed, troubled, at the remaining third of her fruit yogurt.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
In response to Darlian’s question, she shook her head slightly and didn’t speak.
But Darlian seemed to see through her troubles at a glance.
“Can’t finish it, right? I told you there was a chance you wouldn’t be able to eat it all.”
Noticing Finihiya still picking up the Wooden Skewer, wanting to shove another piece of fruit into her mouth, Darlian’s expression instantly turned subtle.
“If you can’t eat anymore, just throw it away. There’s no need to force yourself like this.”
“But…” Finihiya glanced again at the still plentiful fruit yogurt. Her clear eyes, bright as glass, revealed her distress. “If I throw away so much, my conscience will be condemned…”
Hearing this, Darlian sighed softly, a hint of helplessness in her tone.
“You really are something.”
“Hmm? What are you—”
While Finihiya was still fretting over the wooden cup in front of her, Darlian suddenly reached out, took the cup, and, under Finihiya’s blank stare, speared a piece of fruit with the Wooden Skewer and popped it into her mouth.
“There’s still a bit of room in my stomach.”
The faint sound of boots stepping on the bluestone floor was drowned out by the festive din. Darlian speared a grape with the Wooden Skewer and ate it.
After chewing for a while, it didn’t take long before she finished off the leftover fruit yogurt in the cup.
“If you can’t finish it, just don’t—hm?”
After tossing the wooden cup into the rubbish pile, Darlian turned her head to say a few words to Finihiya, only to suddenly realize she was no longer there.
“Finihiya?”
The noisy voices of passing pedestrians continued to fill her ears.
“This puppet looks really interesting…”
Standing in front of the stall, Finihiya’s delicate cheeks showed a hint of interest as she watched the vendor manipulate the puppet show with ten fingers.
She casually chatted with Darlian, asking what she thought of the puppet play, but suddenly realized Darlian wasn’t standing next to her.
Tilting her body slightly, she moved her gaze, searching the bustling throng for any sign of Darlian.
“Darlian…”
When Finihiya softly called out into the crowd, someone suddenly bumped into her left shoulder.
The heavy, solid impact made her fall to the ground instantly.
“Ouch…”
Pain from her limbs and body made Finihiya let out a stifled groan, her beautiful crescent brows twisting in agony.
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t looking—Miss, are you alright?”
Looking up, she saw a tall, burly beastkin standing there at a loss.
Finihiya forced a stiff, dry smile and reassured him, “It’s alright, I’m fine.”
As she moved her hands to prop herself up and stand, a sudden sharp, piercing pain shot through her ankle, causing her brows to knit even tighter.
“Did you get hurt? How about I take you to see a doctor nearby?”
“No, no, no…” At his words, Finihiya quickly raised both hands in front of her chest, waving vigorously to refuse. “I’m really fine, sir.”
After firmly explaining to the man that he didn’t need to be responsible or compensate her, the man finally turned away with a slightly guilty, uneasy expression.
Watching the man’s burly back leave, Finihiya felt a wave of relief wash over her. Looking around, she limped slowly toward the edge of the plaza.
She spotted some steps at the edge of the plaza and sat down, lowering her head to carefully examine her injured ankle.
The dim glow of the streetlamp mingled with the faint moonlight, casting a gentle sheen.
Her ankle was a bit red and swollen, but it didn’t look too serious.
“Haa—”
A helpless sigh slipped from Finihiya’s lips, rosy as cherries, and she furrowed her brows to check again.
“With the sky as my gift, with peace as crystal, with divinity as my path—let pain fade with time, let wounds vanish in the light, may your body and soul be healed and restored…”
She softly chanted a magic incantation, and a gentle, jade-like radiance shimmered from Finihiya’s fair, small hands.
The warm, soft glow lightly enveloped Finihiya’s wound, healing the slightly swollen area.
“Mmm.”
After a short while, Finihiya let out another helpless sigh.
Even after casting healing magic twice, the slight swelling of her wound hadn’t subsided or improved.
As expected, healing magic had no effect on internal injuries.
She’d known this bit of common sense for a very long time, but every time she got hurt, she always tried anyway.
***
The moonlight deepened with the night.
A cool breeze drifted by, stirring Finihiya’s golden hair.
Perhaps it was because her emotions had calmed, or perhaps her body was only now fully sensing it—the pain in her ankle gradually intensified.
Now, even a slight movement of her right foot made sweat bead on her forehead from the pain in her ankle.
“Hey, look at that girl.”
“She’s really beautiful. What happened to her?”
“Not sure.”
Finihiya’s cheeks wore a hint of forlornness.
As she pursed her lips, pondering what to do next, she heard a rustling of commotion in her ears.
She looked up in that direction.
At some point, quite a few demonfolk citizens had gathered around her.
Being stared at like this made a timid, shrinking fear well up in Finihiya’s heart. She wanted to stand up and leave, but the sharp pain in her ankle forced her to sit back down.
After biting her lips a couple of times, Finihiya hugged her uninjured left leg, burying her head deep in her arms.
“This child… is she human?”
“Maybe. She doesn’t really feel like a demonfolk.”
“Should we go ask if she’s alright?”
The constant murmuring around her made her unease spread like hellish vines.
(“Your hand! If you don’t hold my hand, you’ll get swept away by the crowd again.”)
Just as she was feeling so timid, shrinking and anxious, Darlian’s delicate, clear face inexplicably floated up from the depths of her mind.
Darlian…
“Really now, I told you to hold my hand.”
The sudden familiar voice in her ear made Finihiya look up in surprise.
Right now, Finihiya’s face bore an expression that was difficult to describe—a mixture of astonishment, relief, and something transparent and indescribable.