For the next few days, Sucrose focused herself in improving her already known syntheses with everything she had gathered, and at the same time, in trying to fulfill Dori's current assignment: to make something from the minerals they had gathered in the cave. She wanted to save money to purchase reference books as fast as possible, because any new synthesis which she tried was based on trial and error grounded in her own experience. Nonetheless, she barely made any mistakes during her syntheses. Her new batch of sugar candies were of a significant improvement in contrast with her previous one. She also managed to improve the quality of the items she had already made, as well as synthesizing some new ones, like cloth, flour, or iron ingots for Dori's assignment, although these last ones proved to be more difficult than she had thought. Now, she was at one of her work desks, resting her head on her arms, gazing at her latest creation: some cookies.
She made them using alchemy, and using the flour which she had made previously as an ingredient. That was the first time she ever used alchemy to make actual food. They looked like cookies, and smelled like cookies; however, she didn't dare to try whether they tasted like cookies. She had used ingredients which would never be used in confectionery; thence, she was afraid that they turned out to be inedible and that she would spend the rest of the day in the restroom, in the best-case scenario.
"But I can't know how they've turned out if I don't taste them," she sighed. "What a dilemma…"
"What are you saying about lemons?" a voice from behind asked.
Sucrose's heart almost escaped her through her mouth because of the start. She turned around, resting her hands on the desk behind her. She was panting in short, shallow breaths.
"Dori! Please knock before coming in!"
"I did so, thrice, yet you didn't respond," Dori justified herself. "I was beginning to worry that something might have happened to you. Like the day before yesterday, when we all heard an explosion, and then you appeared all covered in soot."
Sucrose's first attempt to synthesize the ingots went wrong, resulting in a burst of black smoke which covered her and most of the atelier in soot. Fortunately, there had been no damage whatsoever, although a good, thorough cleaning was needed, and Dori was quite upset because of how scared she had been.
"At least you didn't blow my house up…" Dori finished. Then, she noticed the cookies. "Where did you get these from?"
"I made them myself."
"You can use alchemy to make something like this, too?" Dori said excitedly. "May I taste them?"
"Absolutely not!" Sucrose pushed Dori's hand aside before she grabbed one. "I don't know if they're edible! If they aren't and something happens to you, Shaghayeh will kill me!"
"Fine, then. But only because it isn't in my best interest to have you get killed," Dori teased, albeit grumblingly. "What do you intend to do with them, then?"
Sucrose's silence and indecisive expression spoke for themselves.
"I see. Quite a dilemma, eh?" Dori agreed, scratching her cheek. "Anyway, I came to bring you your money for the items you have made."
She pulled out a leather pouch and gave it to Sucrose. When Sucrose took it, she felt the weight of the money inside.
"How much is there in here?" she asked, surprised.
"Thirty thousand Mora. Your stuff has sold better than I anticipated."
Sucrose gawked at the pouch. If there were thirty thousand mora inside, and since that was half of the total earnings as they had agreed to, then that meant that Dori had sold her items, which were quite basic from her point of view, for a staggering sum of sixty thousand mora.
"No, just thirty thousand." Dori read her like an open book. "Since this is your first payment, I thought to give you everything, so that you may purchase those books you want without any worry. And besides, a debtor of mine has surprisingly advanced some of his installments, and now I'm in a good mood."
Sucrose didn't know how to feel, nor what to do with that much money; the only thing she knew was that trying to change Dori's mind was a lost cause. Therefore, she accepted the money without any more remarks.
"When will we be going to the city?" she asked. "Can it be today?"
"Today I have an important meeting with some other merchants, so I will be staying home for the day," Dori answered. "However, I had already guessed that you would want to go as soon as you had money, so I made some preparations beforehand."
"What preparations?"
"Just go outside. They're already waiting for you."
Sucrose, full of curiosity as to what was Dori referring to, exited the atelier without wasting any second. As soon as she came out, she found the answer in front of her, beside the garden's fountain:
"Collei!?"
Not only Collei, but Tighnari and Cyno were also there. They were chatting among themselves until Sucrose called Collei, then they turned towards her, and Collei waved at her energetically. Sucrose ran to them.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"We've come to escort you," Cyno replied.
"To… escort me?" Sucrose hesitated. "Did Dori ask you?"
"Yes, she did," Tighnari nodded. "A while back, actually."
Tighnari told Sucrose what he and Collei had talked with Dori just after she had set off with the caravan. Dori had requested them if they could accompany Sucrose whenever she needed to go out of the palace, because after what had just transpired, she had no intention of letting her out for a long while. Tighnari accepted that Collei would take care of her once she began her vacation from her studies. He thought that it would do her good as Forest Ranger training. At first, Collei was somewhat unsure of it; however, from a certain day on, she was excitedly looking forward to it, to Tighnari's surprise and delight.
"And here we are," Collei finished. "And, since this is my first day, they will come along to see how I'm doing."
Sucrose looked at Tighnari, then at Cyno; both nodded at her. She already knew that the three of them were something close to a family; but still, she didn't feel quite comfortable around Cyno. She barely knew him and, given his position of General Mahamatra, she feared that he might arrest her for bothering Collei. Furthermore, she still remembered that embarrassing scene when they climbed towards the Sanctuary of Surasthana. She was anxious, she was breaking out in a cold sweat, and she couldn't avoid her gaze from him.
"Is something wrong, Sucrose?" Cyno asked, after seeing her staring at him.
"Huh? Uh… No, it's nothing…"
"By the way, I see that you're already wearing Sumerian clothes. Although they're a bit on the lighter side…"
"And you're the last person I want to hear that from!" Sucrose snapped at him blushingly.
"Well, well! Have you already put each other up to date?"
Dori, who had just arrived, interrupted their conversation. She was carrying a small purple bag tied with a cord in her hand. Collei looked at Tighnari and he nodded back with a smile. She gulped and approached Dori.
"Miss Dori, thank you very much for granting me this opportunity," she said, trying not to stutter.
"Thank you for accepting my request," Dori replied smilingly. "Here, a little snack for the road."
Dori extended her hand with the purple bag. Collei reached out to take it, but Tighnari stopped her.
"Hold on. She might charge a fortune for it," he warned.
"That offends me, young lad!" Dori protested. "Can't I have a generous gesture from time to time!?"
"Oh! In that case, please accept my apologies for the misunderstanding."
Tighnari scratched his head in embarrassment, to which Dori chuckled. She was obviously teasing him. Collei took the bag, opened it a little, and peeked inside. She smiled happily.
"I will take good care of Sucrose," she promised.
"I'm sure you will. Your payment will be ready when you come back," Dori said. "Now, before you leave, does anybody want to buy something from little old me?"
"No, thanks," Cyno refused. "We're fine."
Dori shrugged, then she bid Sucrose farewell. Sucrose promised her that she wouldn't disappoint her again and set off with the others. Dori stayed beside the fountain, watching them leave.
"Now this is a surprise," she mumbled to herself. "I think this is the first time I've ever seen Cyno being talked back. And by none other than Sucrose."
"So, where do you want to go?" Collei asked, soon after leaving the basin behind.
"To the city," Sucrose said. "I'd like to purchase some reference books for my alchemy."
"Reference books?" Cyno repeated. "In that case, you should go to the House of Daena first."
Sucrose didn't understand what Cyno meant; that was the first time she had heard that name. Tighnari told her that the House of Daena was, in short words, the Akademiya's library. Although only its members were allowed to borrow its books, everybody was free to read them there.
"This way you can look for whatever you want more calmly," Cyno continued. "Then, it will be just a matter of finding them in stores."
Sucrose thanked Cyno smilingly, to which Cyno avoided his gaze unconsciously. Still without looking her in the eyes, he changed the subject:
"Incidentally, I'm aware of why you're not allowed to go outside alone," he commented. "You know, your encounter with that Rishboland Tiger."
Sucrose was about to ask him how did he know that, but she soon realized why: Tighnari and Collei must have told him, just as he had told them about her before. She felt like she was the item of gossiping. Her head dropped and her ears drooped; she was feeling ashamed.
"Don't feel so down about it," Cyno comforted her. "We all here have been through that same situation at some point. You know, having our lives on the 'feline'."
Sucrose's sad expression changed to a bewildered one in just an instant. She was positive that she hadn't misheard that, for Collei was frowning at Cyno, and Tighnari had raised a hand to his forehead.
"I'm sorry, Sucrose…" he sighed exasperatingly. "As you can see, our friend here has this habit of cracking… bad jokes."
Really bad ones, thought Sucrose. I think that one just emptied my pouches.
At that moment, everybody gawked at Sucrose. Sucrose, in turn, looked puzzlingly at them, wondering why she was being stared so intensely. Collei began to speak:
"Sucrose, you…"
"You don't mince words, do you?" Cyno finished.
"H-hold on… did I say that out loud!?" Sucrose ran away and hid behind a tree. "I'm so sorry! Please don't arrest me!"
"Why would I arrest you for that?" Cyno protested. "Besides, even if I wanted to, I don't have the authority."
But Sucrose wasn't listening; she just remained there, hiding sheepishly and constantly apologizing. Tighnari slowly approached her, trying not to make her any more anxious, and reached his hand out. Sucrose became quiet and looked at him. He gently explained to her that the Matra was only the authority regarding the Akademiya's internal affairs; the actual peace-keeping force in Sumeru was another one, known as the Corps of Thirty. The only exception in which the Matra acted outside of their jurisdiction was under a direct order from the Dendro Archon, just like when she had requested them to pick Sucrose up in Port Ormos. Therefore, the Matra was unable to arrest her, since she wasn't related to the Akademiya.
Sucrose was convinced by Tighnari's explanation; she took his hand and came out of her hiding spot. Both Collei and Cyno looked at them with a smile, the former also blushing a little bit. Tighnari certainly knew how to handle such situations, thanks to his past experiences with Collei. They resumed their way with Sucrose, however, still feeling guilty for her commentary.
The shortest path towards the city, which led to the northern gate, crossed a long and narrow suspension bridge which couldn't support the weight of a Stumper Beast; therefore, Dori's caravans always had to take the longer route and reach the southern gate. Sucrose was still feeling down about before, and wasn't paying attention to anything: her surroundings, what were Cyno, Tighnari or Collei talking about, or that they had stopped. She just continued onwards until Cyno stopped her by grabbing her shoulder, which startled her.
"I'm sorry for insulting you!" she apologized again.
"Are you still going on about that?" Cyno responded, then he pointed forwards. "Look ahead."
A few steps before them the vegetation changed colors in a complete, drastic way: it went from the vivid green from Sumeru's rainforest to dull, darkened brown all of a sudden. It seemed like that area, and only that area, had withered away.
"What happened over there?" Sucrose asked.
"That's a Withering," Cyno explained, looking dead serious. "Stay away; they're harmful to humans."
"But wasn't the incident supposed to be solved already?" Collei pointed out, frightened. "Why has this one appeared now?"
"Indeed, this is the first one I'm aware of since then," a worried Tighnari confirmed. "And not only that: don't you find this one odd? It doesn't have any tumors or monsters."
Soon after Tighnari had finished speaking, inside the Withering, a big fungus emerged from the thicket, floating by flapping its large fins, and alighted in the middle of the road, still inside that Withering. It was completely covered by a black substance. It stared at them; its eyes shone bright red.
"There's your monster," Cyno pointed out.
Without wasting a moment, the fungus roared. It pressed its fins against the ground, which was used as a means to propel itself and charge at high speed against the party; in particular, against Sucrose. Sucrose barely had time to summon her staff, but Cyno had been much faster. He hit the fungus straight with his spear before it reached Sucrose, sending it backwards. Cyno leapt on it with the intention of finishing it off with the large purple claws which had appeared on his hand, but the fungus took flight, evading him, and quickly dove against Sucrose again. It was too fast; Sucrose could only raise her staff forwards and close her eyes as a reflex. She could feel the fungus hitting against her staff, and the staff releasing a powerful Anemo burst. She heard a loud crash; then, her world became completely black.
In that pitch-dark world, Sucrose couldn't see anything, she couldn't hear anything, she couldn't feel anything. She could only sense like if something was speaking to her from within her own self:
My… it… of… to…
Sucrose could barely hear what it said. It was as if, whatever was speaking, were giving up its last breath. It didn't say anything else. Sucrose tried to talk to it, but no words came out of her mouth. In fact, she didn't feel like she had a mouth, or even body, to begin with. In that dark world, devoid of any kind of perception, only silence remained.
"…rose! Sucrose!"
Sucrose could hear some distant voices calling out for her. Those voices were becoming louder. She began to feel her ground beneath her body, her mouth dry, and her eyelids heavy. With difficulty she opened her eyes. Everything was blurry, including the three silhouettes before her..
"W-wh…?"
She tried to speak, but she couldn't find the strength to do so. She just stared at the silhouettes, which became clearer over time: Collei, Cyno and Tighnari were around her, staring at her with clear worried expressions. She was lying face up in the middle of the road. She tried to get up, but as soon as she leant on her arms, they gave away and she fell back onto the ground.
"Wait, just take it easy," Cyno said. "You should get some rest first."
Cyno took her in her arms, just like that other time, only that Sucrose was now too disoriented to pay it any mind. He took her to a nearby tree and sat her onto the ground, leaning her back against the tree trunk. Tighnari approached her and examined her.
"It doesn't seem like you have anything," he concluded. "Collei, do you have that bag Dori gave you?"
Collei pulled out the purple bag and gave it to Tighnari. Tighnari opened it and peeked inside; then, he reached into it and took out a cookie. He offered it to Sucrose.
"Here, eat some," he suggested. "You should eat something to regain your strength."
Slowly and difficulty, Sucrose took the cookie from Tighnari's hand, put it in her mouth, and gave it a tiny bite. She chewed sluggishly and without any energy. After she had swallowed, it seemed like color returned to her somewhat. She gave the cookie a second, bigger bite, and chewed it more vigorously. The third bite was the rest of the cookie, which was more than half thereof, and she ate it in good spirits.
"It's delicious!" she exclaimed. "I feel like life has returned to me!"
The other three stared at each other, perplexed by the sudden and drastic change in Sucrose. Tighnari gave Sucrose another cookie, and she ate it with pleasure while her ears wiggled gleefully.
"Amazing…" Tighnari commented. "Where did Dori get these cookies from?"
"It seems that really anything is possible with enough money," Cyno asserted.
"I want to try them!" Collei asked.
"Yes, please, try them," Sucrose begged. "I don't want to be the only one who gets to taste them. I'm already feeling better, honestly."
Hesitating, Tighnari and Cyno took each one a cookie; Collei didn't waste any time in grabbing hers. They gave the last one to Sucrose. Each one of them took a bite at the same time, and at the same time, their faces lit up when they savored them.
"It really is delicious!" Collei was delighted.
"It sure is," Cyno agreed. "I think I've never tasted a cookie this good."
"We should thank Dori properly next time," Tighnari added.
Everybody happily finished eating their cookies sitting by the tree, as if they were having a picnic. Then, Collei asked Sucrose:
"How are you feeling, Sucrose?"
"I'm fine now, thank you," Sucrose smiled. "Can you tell me what happened to me?"
"When you hit the fungus with your weapon, you were both thrown out," Tighnari explained. "The fungus vanished, and the Withering along with it. You remained completely still on the ground, unresponsive to anything. We were fearing the worst."
"I'm sorry for worrying you… How long have I been unconscious?"
"A few minutes," Cyno answered. "Are you sure you're okay now?"
"Yes, absolutely. These cookies were miraculous," Sucrose nodded firmly. "Can we continue towards the city?"
"If it were up to me, I'd take you back home," Tighnari said. "But the decision lies with Collei today."
With all eyes on her, Collei was becoming nervous. She had never made a decision under such responsibility before. Trying as much as she could not to stutter, she expressed her opinion:
"I think we can go to the city. If she feels ill again, she can be checked in the Bimarstan."
"That's a sound argument to me, Tighnari," Cyno agreed. "And besides, we're actually closer to the city than to the palace right now."
"Then you won't hear any objections from me," Tighnari said, looking at Sucrose. "But if you begin to feel unwell again, let us know as soon as possible, okay?"
Sucrose nodded, then stood up without any apparent issue. The rest followed suit and together they resumed their journey towards the city. They didn't suffer any further setbacks throughout the rest of the journey.
The road ended in a junction. The wooden signpost beside it indicated that Bayda Harbor was to the right, and Sumeru City to the left. After crossing another long, yet wide and solid suspension bridge, they reached another junction. The right path was a narrow trail which went deep into the forest, whereas to the left the main road from Bayda Harbor to Sumeru City continued. This road crossed yet another bridge, this one built upon huge tree roots, and reached Sumeru City's northern gate.
This was the second time Sucrose visited the capital in the month she had been living in Sumeru, and the northern part was new to her. The small houses there were made of wood, with thatched roofs, and every one had its own vegetable garden. The streets were mostly empty; quite the opposite from the hustle and bustle in the southern part. At a certain point, to their right there was a yard with many beds, all of them under the shade of umbrellas. Tighnari told Sucrose that that was the Bimarstan, the city's hospital and the place she had been told to go previously. As they walked towards downtown, the small wooden houses were replaced by larger ones made of bricks, and on the streets there were more and more people. Sucrose was beginning to feel overwhelmed amidst the crowd, and she saw that Collei was more or less the same.
It was time to climb up the steep ramps again. Sucrose didn't feel any tired this time, but the sight of the Akademiya before her, as well as the main lobby, were as imposing as the first time. This time, however, she was actually going to see more than just the lobby, which made her all the more excited.
The next room had a set of stairs descending to a lower level at each side of a walkway which crossed over it. That lower level was full of doors, and the walkway above it led to a two-way door at the other side.
"I'll be leaving now," Cyno announced suddenly. "I have to inform the sages of the Akademiya about that Withering of before."
"Let me go with you," Tighnari asked. "We'll do it faster, being the two of us. Besides, I want to investigate this issue in depth."
"Uhm… Forgive my ignorance, but…" Sucrose spoke blushingly. "Is this problem really that serious?"
"Very," Cyno answered. "We never had any Withering of that type. Not even when they were getting out of hand."
"I'm also worried about that monster's behavior," Tighnari added. "It was very unnatural."
"Yeah, I noticed, too," Collei agreed. "It only attacked Sucrose."
Tighnari nodded. Sucrose was troubled. ¿Was that odd monster aiming at her? But she couldn't think of a reason why. She tried to think about their battle against that black fungus, but her memories about that succession of events were somewhat fuzzy. She was becoming anxious.
"Let's not jump to conclusions, though; maybe it was all just a coincidence," Tighnari suggested. "Still, I think we should stay on the safer side."
"I agree. And we should be on our way," Cyno proposed. "Sorry, Collei, but Sucrose's care is all up to you now."
"I'll be fine," Collei smiled. "If I depended too much on you two today, I'd do the same next time."
"Well said," Tighnari nodded proudly. "See you back home."
"Alright, Master. Don't be late."
"The alchemy books are in the Elementalism section, third space counting from your left," Cyno told Sucrose.
"Thank you for telling me," Sucrose replied. "But how do you know it?"
"Elementary. I studied in that Darshan."
Both Sucrose and Collei made a wry face while Tighnari scowled at Cyno.
"Did you get it? For being the Darshan of…"
"Yeah, Cyno, we got it," Tighnari interrupted. "Come on, let's get going already."
With that said, both left through one of the lower level doors. Sucrose and Collei crossed the walkway towards the two-way door. On the other side was the House of Daena.
What lay on the other side left Sucrose breathless. Just after the door there was a wide hallway with bookshelves full of books at each side in its entirety. The hallway led to a vast octagonal room; its ceiling being so high up that Sucrose needed to bend backwards in order to see it. The room received plenty of natural light from its four windows, almost as tall as its walls, and from the stained glass in the ceiling. One of the octagon's corners was the hallway; the other seven, spaces replete with bookshelves, with more of them at each side. Each section was dedicated to each one of the six Darshan; except for the seventh, which had content related to none of them. Near each section there were tables and chairs for everybody to sit at for reading or taking notes. In the center of the room there was an elevated platform, on which a smaller room stood. A large pillar raised from said room's roof all the way to the ceiling. Even the walls of that platform had been used to place more bookshelves on them.
Sucrose looked everywhere, trying her best to conceal her excitement and not to stand out. For a person with so much curiosity like her, that place was some sort of sanctuary. She felt like she could satisfy her thirst for knowledge there, whichever it might be. She was burning with desire to matriculate in the Akademiya so that she could fully enjoy the facilities it had to offer and study alchemy in the best possible method. She was excitedly imagining what she would do when she had such means at her disposal. She was, however, brought back to reality when somebody bumped against her back. She heard the sound of several things falling to the ground.
"Oh! I'm sorry!" Sucrose apologized. "I wasn't paying attention!"
"No, no! I'm the one at fault!" The other girl apologized as well. "I wasn't looking where I was going!"
Sucrose and Collei helped the girl pick up her fallen books. Once she had everything back, she thanked them and left in a hurry. Sucrose didn't get to know who she was, only that she had long blue hair and that she wore a hood of that same color. She asked Collei if she knew who she was, to which Collei just shook her head.
"Though I'm worried about her health," she added. "Did you see the bags under her eye?"
Sucrose hadn't had time to notice, and now it was too late to follow her. They searched for the section Cyno had mentioned: third one counting from their left. On their way there, Sucrose looked at the many students which were there: some were sitting at the tables, reading, taking notes, or raising their hands to their heads; others, talking about themselves about different subjects out of Sucrose's area of expertise, although she heard the word 'thesis' many times.
They finally arrived at the third section on the left, the Spantamad, the Darshan of Elementalism. Only in that section there must already be thousands of books. Sucrose began to feel overwhelmed.
"Finding what I'm looking for may take hours…" she puffed.
At that moment, a young woman approached them. She was wearing the characteristic uniform of the Akademiya: a long-sleeved green vest over a white robe. Collei knew her by face: she was one of the librarians.
"May I help you?" she said.
Sucrose, trying not to get nervous, wanted to make sure first. "Is it true that we can read these books, even if we aren't members of the Akademiya?"
"Most of them, yes," the librarian nodded. "By Lesser Lord Kusanali's order, no door shall be closed to those desiring to learn. You may not, however, borrow any one of them if you aren't members."
"Thank you," Sucrose said, trying not to sound relieved. "In that case, could you tell me where the books related to alchemy are?"
"Of course. They are on the shelf to your left."
"Thank you very much."
The librarian left and then Sucrose breathed out that sigh of relief she had been suppressing. Even though she had handled herself without any issue, she was still feeling uneasy. She approached the aforementioned bookshelf. There were still plenty of books only there, although it seemed nothing compared to the entire section.
"I should probably begin my search now so… Oh!" She patted her head. "You messed up, Sucrose!"
"What's wrong?" Collei asked.
"I don't have anything to write down the titles of the books!"
Collei pulled out a small notebook and a pencil. She turned its pages until she found one in blank, then she lent them to Sucrose.
"You can give them back to me later."
"Thank you, Collei," Sucrose smiled. "Do you want to help me in my search?"
"I'd like to, but I don't think I'd be of much help," Collei refused politely. "I don't know anything about alchemy."
"You have a point…" Sucrose realized blushingly. "Okay, I'll try to be quick so you don't get bored."
Sucrose turned towards the bookshelf and began to look at the titles on the books' spines. Sometimes, she just kept looking; others, she took out a book, skimmed through it a little, and put it back; and others, she wrote down the titles directly in the notebook. In the meanwhile, Collei just looked around the House of Daena from her position while trying not to stand out too much.
A long while later, Sucrose and Collei left the Akademiya in search of as many books written down by Sucrose as possible. Collei guided Sucrose through the many stores widespread throughout the city. The streets were bustling, which was overwhelming for both of them. They walked close to each other, trying not to get separated by the crowd. Sucrose could observe that Collei was having a much harder time than her.
They ended the tour at the southern gate, where Sucrose had met Cyno for the first time. Even though they found nothing in most stores, the search was productive: Sucrose had crossed out more than half of her list, and her bags weighed with so many books.
"Have we checked every store?" Sucrose asked.
"Yes. Only the Grand Bazaar is left, but no books are sold there," Collei confirmed.
"In that case, should we go home or is there something you want to do?"
Collei's stomach made a suggestion. Collei blushed, while Sucrose chortled a little.
"Yeah, I'm a bit hungry, too," Sucrose admitted. "Should we go somewhere to eat?"
Sucrose's stomach supported her owner's proposition, and now they both laughed. Collei knew a place to which she usually went when she was accompanying Tighnari: it was a tavern located at the other end of the street. Sucrose accepted Collei's suggestions and both went on their way. When they were halfway there, a man carrying a large brown back coming towards them stopped them.
"Hey, Collei! Fancy running into you here!" he greeted joyfully. He pulled out a white envelope from the bag and gave it to Collei. "Now I don't need to go to Gandharva Ville!"
He left after bidding Collei farewell. Sucrose was puzzled and full of curiosity.
"Who was he?" she pried.
"The mailman," Collei replied, while putting the envelope in her bag. "And I have a letter! I can't wait to be back home so Master…! So I read it all by myself!"
Collei's slip-up didn't go unnoticed. Sucrose was quite curious as to what Collei was about to say at first. Be that as it may, she didn't know how to address that subject without badgering Collei; therefore, she decided to just let it go for the time being.
At the end of the street there was a small square with a great view of the harbor. At its opposite end lay the aforementioned tavern: Lambad's Tavern. Sucrose had misread it at first as Lambda's Tavern. The ambience on the tavern's terrace was too noisy for both of them, being close to a crowded street; thus, they tried inside first.
Just beside the entrance, decorative dishware was exposed on wooden counters. The interior of the tavern was divided into numerous small squared spaces, each one with a table on a carpet of a different color. They all were delimited by pillars supporting the upper floor, to which access was through a set of stairs to the left from the entrance, and restricted.
"Do you know what's up there, Collei?" Sucrose asked.
Collei shook her head. "I've never been there. It only opens at nighttime."
Sucrose wondered what that floor could be, if it opened at nighttime only, although it reminded her of Mondstadt's taverns, of which peak time was precisely at night. Thinking about Mondstadt made her feel a little homesick.
They sat down at an empty table on a blue carpet and by a window. They remained silent while they waited for the meal they had ordered, until Collei began to gaze nervously at Sucrose.
"What's wrong, Collei?" Sucrose wondered.
"Nothing, I just…" Collei hesitated. "I just don't know what to talk about right now."
"Yeah, I'm more or less the same, too," Sucrose confessed, looking away while blushing a little. "Hey, if we both can't think of anything to talk about, how about we… just don't? We don't have to force a conversation if we're not up to it; we can just… enjoy our food together."
Collei agreed to Sucrose's idea, albeit with a little hesitation. Despite that, that silence was now less awkward for Collei than it had been before, and she stopped being nervous. When their meal came, that silence, however, broke when they began to comment about their dishes. Sucrose had ordered a Sabz Meat Stew; Collei, Scented Meat Balls; and two Shawarma Wraps for share. They even tasted each other's dishes. Without realizing, they were now having a lively conversation, which had come in the most natural way.
With their stomachs full, and with nothing else to do in the city, they decided that it was time to go back to the palace. There was, however, one issue which bothered Collei:
"You didn't have to treat me."
"No, I didn't have to. I did it because I wanted to," Sucrose responded with a satisfied smile. "It's my way to thank you for staying with me."
"But it's my job! And I get paid for it!" Collei argued. "If you treat me on top of that, it's an abuse!"
"If it were an abuse, then I wouldn't have treated you," Sucrose teased. Then, she raised her eyebrows and immediately frowned. "Rats. I'm beginning to sound like Dori."
"B-but―!"
"Listen," Sucrose interrupted, "if you feel so bad about this, then you treat me to one of your delicious Pita Pockets another day and we're even."
Collei blinked perplexedly a few times. Then, a smile peeked from her lips, which little by little turned wider and, eventually, led to an uncontrollable laughter from her.
"All right. Then it's a deal," she nodded.
When they left Sumeru City behind, there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. However, as they walked their way back, the sky began to fill with clouds. Thunder could be heard in the distance. They quickened their step. When they crossed the long and narrow suspension bridge, the sky was now murky. They reached the garden of the Palace of Alcazarzaray just when the first raindrops began to fall.