by Kiri Komori
This inn became my home when Dad brought me here, and Grandpa and Grandma accepted me. I couldn’t repay my debt to Grandma, but…I could save Grandpa!
“…Such an astounding amount of mana…” Sirius muttered, looking into the pot. “Your mana capacity is extraordinary, little lady.”
“Go, go, Tinaris!”
“I’m sure it’s almost ready! Keep going!”
“You can do it!”
The other three cheered for me too.
Grandpa…yesterday, when you patted my head before you fell sick… Was that your way of saying goodbye? If so, then I’m sorry…I’m not gonna give up on you yet!
♣♣♣
“I can’t believe it.”
Grandpa drank the gross green powder I presented him with a cup of water while he pressed his fingers against the corners of his eyes. He then swallowed and took a deep breath. He placed the cup back on its tray and used his free hand to pat me on the head before saying, “I can’t believe you actually…made the medicine…”
“Yes, it is shocking. Your granddaughter is quite the genius, mister,” Sirius remarked.
“Yes, there’s no doubting that…” Grandpa said, overcome with emotion. “You’re a genius, Tinaris…! I don’t worship any gods, but I still want to pray and offer my gratitude for this miracle. Oh gods, thank you for sending this angel to my side… Aaah, I still cannot believe it…I can breathe well again…”
“Grandpa… Thank goodness…” I murmured in relief.
“Tinaris? Are you all right?” Gina asked me.
I didn’t want to admit it, but I felt very sleepy. Maybe it was because I used too much mana. At least, that’s what Sirius said… I started to understand why professional alchemists used mana recovery techniques for long periods of time while making potions.
I guess that’s why they’re… professional…alchemi…sts…mmph…
“Ah, she fell asleep.”
“I can’t blame her. She was pouring out mana for over thirty minutes. Sir, where’s her room?”
“In the attic. Turn right in the corridor, and the stairs should be right ahead of you. That’s her room… Please, carry her there.”
“You got it!”
…It feels warm… Is someone carrying me?
Rocking and swaying… It felt nostalgic. Like when I was floating in a river, rocking in the cradle of my very own little chamber. That was the day I remembered everything…
Right… Maybe Sirius knows about it…
The Stone of Daybreak.
What does it mean? I should ask him when I wake up… Mm…
“There we go… Really, you’re one impressive girl. My heart goes out to you! But for now…get some sleep. You’ve earned it!”
♣♣♣
It was the morning of the fourth day since Dad left to bring a doctor. Apparently, I’d slept through the whole day.
U-Ugh… I can’t believe a whole day went by…!
“Good morning!” I greeted everyone as I headed downstairs.
“Good morning, Tinaris.”
“Morning!”
“Oh, you’re awake.”
“Good morning to you, little lady.”
The adventurer party greeted me, all of them gathered around the coffee corner. But then I heard something sizzling in the kitchen. And something smelled yummy, too…
“Good morning, Tinaris. Did you sleep well?” a voice I didn’t expect called out to me.
“Grandpa?! Are you sure you should be out of bed?” I peeked into the kitchen.
There Grandpa stood, a frying pan in his hands! And there were six plates ready on the table, loaded with food. Breakfast for six.
G-Grandpa’s cooking…?!
He’d hardly gone down to the first floor over the last few months, and now he was cooking? And his bacon and eggs smelled and looked better than Dad’s!
“Going down the stairs is still a bit hard on my legs, I’ll admit… But, as the owner of this inn, I can’t let my guests handle the cooking, can I? Now carry these plates over. Just be careful; they’re heavy.”
“Ah, o-okay!”
I put the plates on a tray and carried them out to the dining area, where Gina welcomed me with a grin… Was she that hungry? When I put the tray on the table, she patted me on the head.
Ugh, stop treating me like a kid…
“Thank you,” she said.
“Whoa, it looks great!” Mina exclaimed with a smile.
“Your Grandpa’s a better cook than the innkeeper!” Aaron said, his mouth already full.
You’re eating already?! Wait, is it really that good?
I had a feeling that was the case, but Dad really was average at best when it came to cooking… Honestly, he always cooked the same dishes too. It wasn’t his fault, given his arm, but it made me think that I ought to help him out with it once I got older. But then again, I also had my hands full with the laundry and cleaning.
Then again, considering the size of our inn, having just Dad and me as the only workers here felt wrong… Though we made do just fine because we didn’t get that many customers. Some days, we didn’t get any customers at all. We could live off the land, making money a non-issue, but what’s the point of running an inn then?
No, this isn’t good… We have to do something about it!
♣♣♣
“LITTLE lady, if I may make an offer?” Sirius approached me.
“Y-Yes?”
We didn’t usually eat breakfast with the guests, but Gina said, “Join us!” So Grandpa and I decided to eat together with the adventurers in the dining area that day. We took some bread and dipped it in the soup. It was then that Sirius lifted up his index finger and proposed that I learn the “mana restoration technique.”
“I’ll do it!”
“An immediate answer. Splendid! I should have a certain magician apprentice drink your bathwater.”
“I-I’ll throttle you, you old coot!” Mina glared daggers at him.
“But Sirius, don’t they teach this in the national colleges?” Grandpa asked with a frown. “We don’t have that kind of money…”
“Ahaha, you’ve nothing to worry about, Owner. Your granddaughter is a genius!” Sirius said merrily. “You should come to my homeland, the Elven Empire of Forestria! I would love to accept her as my son’s wife! And that much would be an investment!”
Everyone present glared at him with cold silence.
“…Mm?”
Gina drew her ax and aimed at his neck.
Ah, wh-what…? Did Sirius just drop a bizarre comment…?
“Sirius, you have a son?!” Aaron exclaimed.
“That’s the first I’ve heard of it!” Mina joined in, shocked.
“Forget that, you two!” Gina said furiously. “This creep just said that he wants to have Tinaris marry his son! We should beat the stuffing out of him!”
“Ah! Y-You’re right!” Mina said stiffly. “Trying to take such a money-mak…I mean, cute little girl for yourself is awful!”
“Hey Gina, I think Mina just called her a money-maker.”
“Miiiiiiiiina?”
“Eeek!”
Ooh… Chaos is brewing…
“Hmm…” I said awkwardly. “I’m sure your son has his own feelings too… I’m sorry, but…”
“Don’t worry, my son is still in his fifties. My wife is a high elf, so while he’s fifty, he’s still a thirty-year-old boy at heart. He should come into his own by the time you become an adult.”
“Okay, go out back, Sirius. I’m punching you,” Gina threatened, sticking her tongue out at him. And as adorable as that gesture was, her words oozed with danger.
In my past life, I never had a boyfriend… I was a plain, hard-working girl. It wasn’t like I was into weird niche hobbies or dressed differently, but my classmates did tell me my nickname was “emo girl” back in middle school.
I looked into the term and found it meant a gloomy girl who was doomed to be perpetually single. I d
idn’t think of myself as “gloomy.” At worst, I just liked reading and studied a lot, but that didn’t mean my personality was particularly anti-social. But my class was full of gaudy girls, so my personality just didn’t fit as a matter of course.
Given how shallow those girls were, they probably just heard the term “emo” somewhere and tossed it around without really knowing what it meant, and I didn’t let what they said get to me too much. It wasn’t like I would have to put up with their presence my whole life or anything.
But what I was trying to convey through that entire story was that… Jumping from never having had a boyfriend to being suddenly offered an arranged marriage felt like too much of a leap. Sorry, Sirius.
“Hmm, but it’s not often that one runs into such a bright girl. Do consider my offer seriously.” Sirius nodded sagely.
“Why did your stupid offer become the topic here? Weren’t we talking about mana recovery techniques?” Aaron cut in.
Nice, Aaron! Right! That’s the topic! But if he’s going to insist that I marry his son for him to teach me… I’ll just have to give up on it!
“Erm… But if I don’t marry into your family, you won’t teach me?”
“Indeed. So do consider it carefully.”
Really? Seriously?
He did say “Consider it carefully,” but I didn’t even know what kind of person his son was…
“I-I can’t! I don’t even know what kind of person he is!”
“Right you are! Then I’ll send my son a letter, telling him to visit you… Though it’s hard to say when he’ll get here.”
“H-Huuuuuuh?”
I get the feeling an elf’s sense of time was a bit different from a human’s… And Sirius did say elves have longer lifespans, so if I marry an elf, I’ll probably die before he does…
Wait, I’m actually considering it seriously! No, it’s not like some part of me was actually thinking I might get my first boyfriend here! Really! I’m four; he’s fifty! That’s a no-go! A deal-breaker! He might look young because he’s an elf, but that’s morally wrong!
“Then, what will you do? Will you meet my son?”
“I, er, if it’s just meeting him…”
“Very well! Then I’ll teach you the mana restoration technique. Now, a fair warning, almost only one person in every country can actually work and do other things while performing this technique. Do be prepared for that, Little Lady Tinaris.”
“…Ah, yes! I’ll do my best!”
If learning that means I can make Grandpa’s medicine without passing out, then I’ll do it! Just you watch!
♣♣♣
THE next day, Dad returned home. Rob, the family doctor, came with him and gave me a lot of vaccine shots while he was here. I understood they were important too. But Doctor Rob only gave Grandpa several months’ supply of medicine and firmly warned him to come for a checkup in his clinic in Fei Lu before the prescription ran out.
Seeing Grandpa shrink at the doctor’s admonishments was a bit sad to watch, but…it was kind of cute too.
And the next day…
“I’ll be going back to Fei Lu today. Adventurers, I appreciate you escorting me home,” Doctor Rob said.
“No problem, doc!”
“It was a long stay, but it was fun! Take care, Tinaris! We’ll come to visit again sometime!”
“Yeah, stay safe! We’ll definitely drop by again.”
“Yes, you all take care too. Thank you for everything,” I thanked the adventurers.
They were all a great help to me, but especially Sirius, who taught me the mana recovery technique. It involved focusing on the Air in the area and taking it in. I tried doing it, and indeed, the Air seemed to be constantly all around us. Taking it in was simple, but doing it while performing alchemy really was difficult. I could understand why it took so much practice.
“Owner, Master, I have something to ask you two,” Sirius spoke to Dad and Grandpa.
“What is it?”
“I hear the Rofola region is home to some ancient ruins. Do you happen to know where they might be?”
“Ruins…?” Dad rubbed his chin. “I haven’t heard anything about any ruins around here… Do you know something, Pops?”
“I hear there’s an old well at the peak of Mount Rofola… Maybe that’s what you mean?” Grandpa suggested. “Some people did come to investigate it before, but all they said is that it’s just ‘an old, dry well.’”
“All they discovered was one dry well?” Sirius asked.
“That’s what they said. Apparently, long ago, a Mythical Creature grew enraged, lifting up a slab of earth and forming it into this mountain,” Dad said. “I’ve tried using this as a rumor to attract more customers to the inn, but I don’t really know if it worked.”
“But you’re in the business of investigating things like that, yes?” Grandpa asked. “If you don’t believe other people’s assessments, maybe you ought to check it for yourself. I should warn you that Mount Rofola is quite precipitous, and the climb is quite difficult. If you intend to make it, you should prepare.”
“Thank you for your advice, Owner.”
“C’mon, Sirius.” Aaron waved at Sirius from the door.
I walked out to the terrace as well to see them off. I didn’t quite hear what Sirius was talking about with Dad and Grandpa, but I could hear it was something about Mount Rofola…
“Now then, little lady, don’t neglect your training. And I hope you will greet my son auspiciously when the time comes!”
“…R-Right…”
That’s what you have to say before you leave?! Sirius, why do you have to be like…that, all the time?!
♣♣♣
AND so my long period of watching over the inn ended, and I started practicing the mana restoration technique while mixing tonics in the pot. Doing both at once really was a little too hard on me, though…
“Well, whack me over the head and call me an ukoke, you really did make a tonic…” Dad muttered.
The pot flashed, signaling the process was complete, and I started pouring the faint pink tonic into bottles. Dad picked one up and said that while rubbing his chin. He examined it from a few different angles and then shook the liquid inside it.
“Appraisal…” he said, activating his magic. “Hm. It’s definitely a tonic, and its quality is good… On the market, something like this would cost 230 colts…”
“You can tell that much, Dad?!”
Sirius used appraisal magic, but apparently, Dad could use it too, despite claiming he was terrible with magic.
“Well, I was a knight once. I couldn’t afford to waste money on counterfeits, you know? Hm, but wait… This purity… I can see why that old guy recommended I send you to Saikeorea.”
“R-Really?”
Even Dad seemed to think I had talent. And I was interested too… Studying in the land of scholars. But it was so far away. I couldn’t go there when we needed to run the inn.
“Maybe we should close up the inn and move to Saikeorea?” Grandpa suggested.
“Pops?! H-Hey, isn’t that a bit…” Dad’s eyes widened in shock.
“W-We can’t do that!” I stammered.
Grandpa and Grandma tamed the woods around here to make the Rofola Lodge! We couldn’t just close this place on a whim. True, we didn’t get a lot of customers, but Grandma’s grave was here!
“Ahaha, well, we’re hardly getting any customers, given the location… I’d much rather see my smart little granddaughter grow up to become a distinguished alchemist in Saikeorea.”
“I can’t…”
It wasn’t that I wanted to become an alchemist in particular…! Though, admittedly, being told I had talent made me happy. And capitalizing on that talent sounded terrific.
But I…
This blue lake. The field with its green leaves. The winding forest. The lush hills and mountains. Travelers who waved goodbye, promising they’d come again. And the graves on the other side of the lake. One f
or Grandma, and one I didn’t know.
We were gonna cast all of this away and move to a different country? Just for me?
“W-We can’t!” I exclaimed.
“Oh my…” Grandpa said.
“Grandpa, I can study anywhere! I love living here, so I can just practice here!”
“Tina…” Dad said.
Could Dad find a job in a country of scholars with just one arm? And Grandpa had his respiratory disease. Living in a pretty, pastoral land like this one would be much better for his health.
I decided to return the favor for everything they did for me. To them, and to that Mythical Beast who saved me… I’d decided I’d go looking for him when I got older. But that’s only when I got bigger—until then, I’d repay all the debts of gratitude I could. That was my motto!
“If we’re not getting any customers, let’s call them here!”
“Are you serious? Tina, we can’t just call people…” Dad explained.
“The low-cal ish a bit off the bitten path,” I said, slurring my words in my attempt to appear serious and smart. “But maybe we can come up with something…like a sign!”
“A sign… Now that you mention it, we don’t really have any signs to show the way here from the highway. Newcomers can get lost on the way here… But if we get more customers, we won’t have enough hands to run this place.”
“Ugh…”
He was right. That was definitely an issue. Dad had a prosthetic arm, Grandpa’s body wasn’t well enough to work, and I was a kid.
“Mm…Marcus, maybe you should teach Tina how to use magic,” Grandpa suggested. “You can use some magic, so I think she might be able to do it too.”
“Teach her magic?!” Dad furrowed his brows. “Magic, eh…? But it’s dangerous if it fails. Even a simple spell can cause an explosion and hurt other people.”
“There’s no telling how it’ll go until she tries. Tinaris made an advanced alchemy recipe…and I think we can have faith in her talents.”
“Pops…”
Magic… Magic! I wanna learn magic!
“Dad! I want to learn magic!”
Dad fell into silence, after which he said, “…Fine. I’ll teach you some simple magic. But I’m more trained in combat magic. There’s a lot of spells I can’t teach you. And if you don’t understand something or feel like you’re in danger, I want you to quit at once.”