8: A Day in the City

“And this is how ya make cabbage stew! The ingredients r’all available here!” Olivia said, looking at the pot in her inn’s kitchen.

“I… wish I had learned to cook sooner. You’re genuinely impressive, Olivia,” Eliza said, looking at the pot. The smell wafting from the metal container made her mouth water desperately.

Looking at the corner of the kitchen, Lily and Mary were happy together, playing with their toys while they waited for food to be ready. Eliza smiled as she handed the two of them each a bowl.

“Well, my ‘usband’s ‘bout to come back from hunting! That neat ice trick o’ yours helped keep the meat from yesterday fresher than before! Thanks to that, we ‘ave more meat to sell in the inn an’ our profits are up!" Olivia said happily.

It had already been two days since Eliza had settled down at the Honeyed Bee inn. The first day there was spent getting used to the city, having Theodore introduce her to the market, and the second day she tried to make a dish that she commonly made on earth, pasta salad. However, Eliza quickly realized that without modern conveniences, she was utterly garbage at cooking.

So, Eliza was now taking cooking lessons from Olivia while Lily and Mary were acting out some sort of scene with their toys.

“This toy is my mama! She had yellow eyes, now she has blue!” Lily said, pointing at her doll.

Eliza smiled looking at the toy. It… definitely didn’t quite look like her. The hair was made out of thin ropes that had been colored white somehow, and the face had two holes for eyes and… nothing else. It was just a slightly humanoid-shaped doll.

“I have Lady Button!” Mary said, pulling out a stuffed plush. The plush had black buttons for eyes and looked like a small fuzzy blue blob. It was honestly adorable, in some strange way.

Olivia smiled, looking at her daughter playing with Lily.

“Lil Mary always seems so prim an’ proper compared to her mom. I always wonda what she’ll be in the future. She seems so smart an’ everythin! I wanna support her, but… It jus’ feels confusin’ tryin’ to think of ways to support someone who’s gonna be smarter than ya for sure.”

Eliza thought for a moment.

Lily was a destined swordsmaster, but…

‘Is being a swordsmaster what she even wants to do?’ Eliza wondered. ‘Lily is already smart enough to read words like “city” and know what they mean… Could she maybe even be a scholar in the future?’

Eliza looked at Lily, who was making the small Eliza doll hug ‘Lady Button.’ She grinned.

“I don’t know what Lily will be in the future, but I’m planning to support her in whatever way I can. I’m honestly expecting her to pick up a sword, like me, but if she wants to be something else, I’d support her.”

Olivia laughed, smiling after a moment.

“Hell, that sounds perfect fer Mary too, but my life ain’t as simple as yers. Mary’s got a ‘ell of an imagination, so I was thinkin of sendin her to that fancy ‘mage college’ when she’s 14 an’ all. Problem is all the money! Ya need money for everythin’ related to yer future here.”

“Mage's college?” Eliza asked, intrigued.

“Oh, that. Some fancy mages grouped up together to evaluate kids an’ adults to check if they ave what it takes to cast magic. Costs a major sum jus’ to get tested! Can’t send yer kids if they’re not old enough, though. They do ‘ave a ‘junior mage college’ for kids, though. Mite bit expensive, I’d say.”

Eliza sipped some soup, curious.

“How much is it? I’ll probably be resuming adventuring tomorrow, and if there’s any sort of school like that I could send Lily to when I’m out, that’d be great. I wouldn’t have to worry about her that way. Plus, I’d love for her to learn new things. Maybe she’d like those lessons?”

Olivia smiled.

“Ya really care about yer little one, huh Eliza? Nah, if yer worried ‘bout that, you could ‘ave lil Lily stay here with Mary an’ me when you’re out makin’ money. I ain’t even able to afford that one gold arrow per week they ask fer, so someone like you who’s savin’ for a house might have trouble with that.”

Eliza thought about it for a moment.

She honestly wanted to just send both of them to school. Lily’s first friend was obviously important to her, and she had the money.

In fact, she made enough per week to send them to that school and still somehow continue saving up for a house here.

Her current funds had somehow accumulated to around 2,000 silver flints over the three weeks she had been in this world. The system that paid her constantly was admittedly the only reason she felt confident to even think about paying for Mary and Lily to attend school together.

“I’ve been making an alright amount of money… How about I-” Eliza continued, but she was cut off as the door opened.

Olivia’s husband, Lucas, entered through the door. It was Eliza’s first time meeting the man, and he looked exactly like she had imagined. She had learned through gossipping with Olivia that the man was a lumberjack, chopping wood in the nearby forest. He also apparently had quite the knack for hunting game, as Eliza had seen earlier in the inn’s now frozen meat cellar.

“Oi!” Olivia shouted. “Lucas, c’mere and meet miss Eliza! I told you ‘bout her yesterday, remember!”

Lucas was a gruff man with a beard and greying hair with a stocky, muscular build. He wore dark green shirts and leather trousers, similar to most adventurers and the outfits they wore.

“Ya’ alright, dear? Didn’t find any demons in the forest this week?” Olivia asked her husband.

“Nope. The forest has been quiet recently.” He said calmly. “It’s nice to meet you, miss Eliza.”

Eliza nodded respectfully.

“It’s nice to meet you too. But… Demons?” She asked, curiously. “I’ve seen monsters, like orcs and goblins, but I’ve never heard of demons before.”

Olivia looked a bit apprehensive, but she spoke up.

“Well, they’re jus’ rumors that the nearby adventurers speak ‘bout. People say there’s monsters that look like a mix of animals and humans. They’re scary strong, too, from what I heard.”

Eliza looked at her curiously.

“Do they mean… demi humans? Like, humans with cat ears and tails and stuff?” she asked, having heard rumors of their existence in The Shelf. She would have been excited and sought demi-humans out if she had no responsibilities, but Lily was her number one priority, no matter what.

“Demons are real. They’re not demi humans.” Lucas said calmly, not responding with much else.

Olivia shook her head at Eliza’s question.

“No. This’s somethin else entirely, I’d say. Not jus’ demi humans, Lucas has seen one o’ those before. Demons are s’posed to be so strong they can set the world aflame just by breathin.”

Eliza was confused.

“Then… what’s the difference between a demon and a monster?” Eliza asked.

“I dunno! Yer an adventurer, right? Why not go to the adventurer’s guild and find out, Eliza? I can watch yer lil one, no worries ‘bout that.” Olivia said.

Lucas looked a little down, but he spoke up too.

“Don’t seek them out. Adventurers, hunters, and lumberjacks all have been disappearing in that forest recently. It’s demons. Check the adventurer’s guild. They’ll show you what they know.”

Eliza nodded. Lucas was a bit curt, but he was kind at heart.

After thinking about it for a moment, she decided to go ahead and make that her goal for today.

“Alright, I’ll be heading out there then. Thank you for taking care of Lily, Olivia.” She said, nodding towards her.

“Oh, don’t mention it, yer’ a friend of my gramps and yer’ a friend of mine too.”

Eliza exited the inn, looking back for a short moment to think of what Lily might want.

“I wonder if I should get anything while I’m out…” She said, but then she remembered her special helper… The system.

‘Oh system~’ Eliza sang in her head. ‘Mind telling me if there’s anything special I should find now that I’m in the city?’

[Advice: Continue to ensure that Lily eats foods that can support her stat growth at least once a week, such as the stems of the Roam and Yelse flowers as before. Alternatively, try finding Harpdrop bulbs, though they are much rarer, but with stronger effects.]

‘Wait… what? Supports stat growth?’ Eliza asked. ‘That wasn’t even what I asked… Why should I do that?’

[Answer: When fed to a child, those foods support higher than average growth of the body, as well as ensuring proper nutrition. These would ensure Lily grows up healthy and strong.]

Eliza was stunned.

‘Have I been feeding Lily elixirs every day for weeks…? Would they have more of those at the market, then?’ Eliza asked.

But she ended up not getting an answer this time.

‘Perhaps they would have them at an alchemist's shop, then? It’s probably worth checking…’ she thought.

She turned around, heading towards the market street… But, when she got there, she saw something peculiar.

A large, overly decorated carriage with gold trimming, jewels, and two large white horses pulling it, traveling through the market street. It had tinted windows and was moving rather slowly.

Eliza looked around, seeing people gossiping.

“What’s this about?” She asked a nearby woman who seemed excited to share.

“Oh, darling, part of the kingdom was captured by the empire! The lord of the territory decided to flee here, from what I’ve heard! But… Do you want to know who the lord of the territory really was?”

Eliza had only just met this woman, yet was already wishing gossips like her would just get to the point.

“Who is it?” She eventually had to ask.

The woman broadly smiled, then inched closer.

“Get this, get this!” She said, inching towards Eliza, before whispering in her ear.

Eliza let her get closer, leaning into the woman’s personal space. She felt uncomfortable, but… She really wanted to know.

“It’s supposedly the fourth prince of the kingdom! The one that’s only five years old! The king supposedly claimed he was a failure for not defending his territory properly, and kicked him out of the kingdom when he begged for forgiveness!” 

Eliza’s stomach sank. 

The kingdom was already her enemy. Having a prince from the kingdom here… If it was anything at all to her, it could only be a bad thing.

“The- the fourth prince of the kingdom? Out of all of the places in the world, why would he come here?” She asked… But she already knew this might be one of the only places in the world he could come.

And to Eliza, any connection with the kingdom was a bad thing.

The woman smiled.

“Well, this is the largest city in the union. Here, anyone can live freely. Where else would he go? The empire?” she said, grinning.

Eliza looked at the carriage, feeling as if her eyesight and senses were in overdrive due to the tense feeling she had. She could somehow see inside the carriage, despite its tinted windows.

And inside the carriage, she somehow saw it. A woman, with a boy on her lap.

And somehow, looking at the woman and the boy, she was reminded of herself and Lily.