Deren advised her, "We're in Theramore anyway, so let him slowly learn to be independent. You can watch from the side, help him come up with ideas, and let him make his own choices."
Only then did the young ranger nod. "You're right. Honestly, we have a whole pile of problems ourselves."
She glanced at Deren and said in a low voice, "For example, I actually failed to protect Arator."
As they were speaking, that Yanis came over carrying a tray.
"Please, you two, have a taste!" She set all kinds of delicious things on the table—crystal-clear honey cakes, berry tarts wrapped in frosting, and pancakes drizzled with maple syrup.
Not long after Yanis withdrew, she brought over another bottle of some unknown drink, fine beads of moisture condensed all over it.
She set it in front of Deren and smiled. "Lord Deren, please try this new drink I developed. It's flavored with many kinds of fruit."
Deren looked up at her and found that her appearance seemed to have changed a little. She had switched to an apron that showed off her waist more, and her hair bun had been redone. Compared with when she had taken their order earlier, she almost looked like a different person.
It looked like she had just gone off to put on makeup and dress herself up again.
When she set the drink down, she bent over in an exaggerated way. As she drew very close to his head, a faint, elusive fragrance drifted over.
Deren had no choice but to turn his head aside to avoid bumping into some kind of soft tissue, only then averting an awkward situation.
"Oh—this is really good." Deren took a sip of the elven drink. The flavor was sweet and sour in just the right balance,