Shopping and Desserts

Shinshi Era, year 27

Rienta and his companions arrived in the trading city of Baalum.

After renting rooms at an inn, the three went shopping together.

As a trading city, Baalum was bustling. The sights, sounds, smells, and countless goods all mingled together, leaving them dazzled.

After the three had wandered along the main street for a while, Frieren suddenly remembered something. Looking a little awkward, she said to her two disciples:

"Let's split up from here."

"We need to restock our travel supplies."

Fern glanced helplessly at the shopping list in her hand. Wasn't shopping the reason the three had come out in the first place?

In the past, whenever Frieren suggested splitting up to shop, Fern had ended up doing it all alone.

Fern thought for a moment, then said, "Rienta, come with me."

"I'll need your storage space to carry the supplies."

"Then what are you going to buy, Lady Frieren?"

Frieren's gaze wandered, and she didn't dare meet Fern's rather sharp stare as she said:

"Grimoires or herbs, I suppose..."

Seeing this, Rienta spoke up before Fern could say anything:

"Then it's settled."

"Lady Frieren, I'll take Fern shopping."

"See you back at the inn later."

With that, he took Fern by the hand and left.

Frieren breathed a sigh of relief. Watching the two leave, she felt somewhat reflective.

"Fern really is getting smarter and smarter."

"But Rienta has become dependable too."

Fern looked at Rienta in confusion and asked:

"Rienta, one look at Lady Frieren's face was enough to tell she was hiding something from us."

"And if the past is anything to go by, Lady Frieren will definitely buy a whole bunch of things we'll never use."

Rienta didn't particularly care what Frieren was going to do. He said casually:

"Fern, Lady Frieren needs some personal space once in a while too."

"Besides, aren't you holding on to all our travel funds?"

Fern stared at Rienta in shock, momentarily speechless.

"What's with that look, Fern?"

Rienta felt that Fern's gaze was a little disrespectful.

"Ahem," Fern cleared her throat, her gaze wandering as she said:

"It's nothing. Come on, let's go buy the supplies."

"That's exactly the same expression Lady Frieren had just now, Fern!"

Rienta remarked helplessly, then followed after Fern.

The two finished their shopping quickly. Once they were done, Rienta told Fern to return to the inn first.

He headed for the blacksmith's shop they had passed earlier.

He wanted to ask how much it would cost to forge a sword.

A short while later, Rienta left the blacksmith's shop, somewhat shocked.

He hadn't expected a blade made to his liking to cost five Schutral silver coins.

According to the owner, though, that was because his demands were too high.

Ordinary blades only needed to be sturdy and sharp enough.

But Rienta had drawn two rather abstract pictures.

One was based on his memory of a Tang horizontal saber, roughly a long, straight, single-edged blade.

The other was the sword of a cultivator as he imagined it, with a slender blade, a simple hilt, and a tassel hanging from it.

What? You wanted to know why a sword immortal would have a Tang saber forged?

Swords and sabers were practically family, my friend. Who said a sword immortal couldn't use a saber?

Rienta opened his nearly empty purse and looked inside. There were only a few copper coins.

That was the pocket money Fern had given him.

With no other choice, Rienta returned to the inn.

After lying on his bed for a while, Rienta felt that his dream of becoming a sword immortal couldn't and shouldn't be stopped at the first step by a lack of money.

He waved a hand to open the portal to his personal space, intending to find a magical solution to the problem.

After placing a magical mark on the door that would vanish if anyone knocked, Rienta entered his personal space.

With Frieren around, there was no shortage of grimoires in Rienta's personal space.

But after leafing through them for a long time, he couldn't find a solution at all.

Instead, he only tired himself out from reading.

Rienta lay down among the piles of books and placed a thick grimoire over his face.

How can I hire someone to forge a sword when I have no money?

No, wait.

Why do I have to hire someone else? I can do it myself.

Rienta sprang upright from the pile of books and began carefully considering whether it was feasible.

One thing was certain: magic in this world was highly dependent on the mind.

As long as you could imagine something and had a certain amount of relevant knowledge, there was a chance you could create magic.

People always said humans couldn't imagine things they had never seen.

But he wasn't just himself.

A figure suddenly appeared in Rienta's mind.

His greatest feat was fighting his way through the Holy Grail War in a single night for his sister.

Unlimited Blade Works.

It was a perfect fit for his current situation.

And combined with the Gate of Babylon belonging to a certain king who liked standing on streetlamps...

Wasn't that the solution right there?

Rienta hurriedly took out his notebook and wrote down each part of his idea.

Though lotuses blooming with every step was out of the question, flower field magic could be used for this.

After all, both involved analyzing and copying.

Using flower field magic as the framework...

After writing down all his ideas so far, Rienta looked at the notes in his hand, feeling somewhat excited.

"There's light at the end of the tunnel!"

Just then, the magical mark Rienta had left was triggered.

His sudden inspiration had already been put into words, so he didn't have to worry about forgetting it later.

Rienta put his notes away with satisfaction and left his personal space.

He opened the door and found Frieren and Fern outside.

He asked, "Lady Frieren, Fern, is something the matter?"

Fern nodded and said, "Lady Frieren is taking us out for dessert."

Hearing that, Rienta looked at Frieren with some concern and said, "Lady Frieren, our travel funds..."

After all, he had just experienced the embarrassment of being short on money at the blacksmith's, and he knew something of the party's current financial situation.

"Hehe~" A hint of pride showed on Frieren's face as she said:

"It's all right, Rienta. I have my own secret savings."

"Come on, I just heard about a really good dessert shop."

With that, Frieren turned and walked away, and Rienta and Fern hurried after her.

Going out for dessert was something of a luxury for the three of them.

Rienta gave Fern a meaningful look:

See? Lady Frieren didn't buy anything frivolous this time, and she's even treating us to dessert.

But Fern didn't seem to understand what Rienta meant and simply followed Frieren.

Rienta, however, felt certain that Fern had understood.

After walking for quite a while, the three arrived on the second floor of a seaside dessert shop.

The setting sun painted the sea and sky orange-red, and time seemed to slow at that moment.

Frieren chose a seat by the railing and sat down. Looking out at the rare, beautiful view, she said:

"It lives up to their recommendation. What a lovely view."

Fern sat down across from Frieren, looking a little ill at ease, and said:

"I'm very sorry. I was just doubting you, Lady Frieren."

Frieren looked at Fern in puzzlement. "What are you talking about?"

Rienta had just brought over a chair. Seeing this, he hurriedly said, "It's nothing, nothing."

Frieren didn't press the matter. She picked up the menu on the table, handed it to Fern, and said:

"Order whatever you like."

Fern took the menu and looked it over, then asked, "What would you like, Lady Frieren?"

Frieren pondered for a moment, then replied, "Hmm, judging by how I feel today..."

"Mercury pudding, right?" Fern interrupted Frieren with a smile.

Frieren stared at Fern in surprise. Fern's words were so much like what Himmel had once said.

Rienta looked at Fern with some anticipation too. "Fern, what about me? What about me?"

"Is there anything you don't like to eat, Rienta?" Fern looked at him curiously.

"I guess you have a point." Rienta thought back and realized he didn't seem to have any foods he particularly liked or disliked.

Fern ordered a Mercury pudding for Frieren and a strawberry cream muffin for herself, then handed the menu to Rienta.

Rienta studied it for a while and ordered a mimic-shaped tiramisu for himself.

The desserts arrived quickly, and Rienta and Fern were ready to dig in.

But Frieren was no longer as happy as she had been when they arrived. Looking a little dejected, she said:

"Fern, Rienta, I'm sorry."