The next day, Sylutia went to the Alchemist Guild and bought a Guide to Herb Identification. The shopkeeper thoughtfully included a recipe for hemostatic medicine, too. The Gardener Guild, on the other hand, was far more bare-bones. Scorched Stone City wasn't particularly prosperous, and few people cared about flowers or gardening. The guild sold only common flower seeds, with no cornflowers, and its gardening books were rather thin.
Sylutia set a wooden chair in the little yard behind the house, sat down, and opened the Guide to Herb Identification across her lap.
The courtyard was especially quiet that afternoon. A little sunlight fell into it, landing on the empty ground by her feet, bright but not glaring.
The yellowed pages held clearly printed text and illustrations of medicinal herbs. When she opened the book, a faint scent of ink rose from it, making its high price seem somewhat justified.
For nearly ten days since arriving in this world, Sylutia had encountered new things almost every day, stepping into one strange and unfamiliar place after another. Only now could she relax a little, lean back in her chair, and spend a thoroughly peaceful afternoon.
The sunlight in the courtyard slowly shifted. At first it didn't reach her, but gradually it fell across Sylutia's calves, bringing a gentle warmth.
Her slender fingertips glided lightly across the page as she turned it. After reading the introduction to another chapter, Sylutia looked up at the little courtyard bathed in sunlight. A faint, carefree happiness welled up inside her, and she felt like taking a nap on that breezy afternoon.
She marked her place in the book and set it on the little table beside her. Then she drew her legs back slightly, resting her feet on the crossbar beneath the chair, leaned her head against one side of the backrest, and closed her eyes.
In such a quiet, relaxing moment, a few strands of hair swayed gently beside her cheek without disturbing her nap. Her brows were smooth, and the gentle features of her face looked especially sweet and youthful in the afternoon glow.
Insects still chirped in the trees. Beneath the tender green and pale yellow leaves, the girl slept soundly as time slipped by.
Several hours later, the sound of a key turning and a door opening came from inside the house. A lively figure bounced in, looked around the rooms, and finally found Sylutia napping in the back courtyard.
"Tia~ I'm back." Talia came over to the sleeping Sylutia, rested both hands on the wooden chair's armrests, and curiously studied the girl.
Sylutia didn't look as clever asleep as she did when she was awake, but she had a different kind of cuteness. The thought suddenly crossed Talia's mind.
Just then, the girl beneath her opened her eyes, gave her head and hair a little shake, and sat up.
"Talia, you're back." Her gentle voice held a hint of sleepiness and sounded especially soft, as though that were how it was meant to sound.
"Mm-hmm, you're up, Tia~" Talia helped Sylutia sit up properly, then dashed to the living room and returned carrying a pale green melon about the size of a watermelon in Sylutia's memory.
"Uncle Hook gave it to me. I helped him out this morning~" Hook used to live in Linden Village. Now he sold fruit in Scorched Stone City and ran a few other small businesses.
"I thought of you right away, Tia, so I brought it back for us to share." Talia declared that she was a good friend, after all, and would never forget Tia.
"Thank you, Talia." The girl smiled. Talia's exuberant enthusiasm helped dispel the nervousness and unease she'd felt since arriving in this strange world.
"Let's cut it open. It won't taste good if we leave it too long," Talia said, unable to wait.
"Okay." Sylutia thought for a moment, then found a kitchen knife in a cabinet. The two of them rinsed the melon rind with some stored water and cut it open.
The melon's flesh was tender yellow, dotted with plenty of white seeds. They each picked up a wedge and went to eat in the back courtyard. There was no one else around, so they didn't need to be fussy.
When Sylutia bit into the flesh, its sweet juice filled her mouth, perking her up and clearing away much of her sleepiness.
It was delicious. It wasn't as sweet as a watermelon, but it had a pleasant woody fragrance and mellow sweetness that lingered.
"What kind of melon is this?" she couldn't help asking.
"It's a velvet leaf melon. People grow them on sunny hillsides around Scorched Stone City and bring them into town to sell, but they spoil easily, so they're hard to find elsewhere." Talia knew Tia would be interested, so she'd made sure to ask Uncle Hook before leaving.
"Oh?" Tia tilted her head slightly at Talia's quick answer, then soon understood why.
She must have prepared the answer in advance.
"Thank you," she replied, tucking a lock of hair in front of her shoulder. A gentle warmth flowed through her heart.
"Hehe." Talia proudly patted her chest, showing that she could be useful too.
"Come on, there's still a lot left. Uncle Hook said it won't keep for long, so we should finish it today." The two returned to the kitchen to cut up more melon.
"But I don't think I can eat any more."
"No, we have to finish it." Talia pushed the reluctant Sylutia onward.
In the end, they still couldn't finish it, so they decided to save some for that evening.
At dusk, the two went to Winnie's house again. Winnie had seen them coming and prepared a lavish dinner.
As they ate, Ancher told them what he'd learned at the merchant association that day.
"The association has a job for a courier. You'd spend your days delivering letters, packages, and notices around the city. The pay is only 2.4 silver coins, but the work is relatively easy."
"Ah, I like the sound of that!" Talia raised her hand.
Winnie and Ancher weren't surprised at all. They'd known Talia would like that kind of job.
"Then there's Scholar Edson. Unfortunately, he said he couldn't spare the time to teach. But I did hear something else: Scholar Edson's teacher, Mr. Heide, who retired some time ago, will probably start teaching again next month and take on a group of students."
"Ah, Mr. Heide is teaching again?" Winnie covered her mouth in surprise.
"When I graduated, my teacher said he planned to enjoy his retirement and wouldn't teach anymore. Why did he change his mind?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe something else came up."
"If Scholar Heide is teaching again, then this should be the best opportunity for Miss Tia. He's the most learned person in Scorched Stone City. There couldn't be a better mentor."
"Since he won't start until next month, I can ask my teacher whether there are any restrictions on enrollment this time." Winnie thought it over.
"In the meantime, I can help Miss Tia review the fundamentals."
Sylutia had received an education in her previous life, but she was still unfamiliar with this world, so she readily agreed.
"All right, then starting tomorrow, both of you come here to study every morning." Winnie held up a finger.
"Ah, do I have to come too? My brother-in-law said he'd found me a job." Talia protested.
"He did, but you still have a few days before you start. Don't think you can spend them lazing around." Winnie put on the authority of an older sister.
"Uh, I haven't been lazing around. I helped Uncle Hook yesterday, too," Talia protested.
"Yes, but you know you can't keep acting like a child and doing whatever you want."
"All right." Knowing her sister only wanted what was best for her, Talia could only lower her head and agree.
Sylutia found it both amusing and heartwarming to see Talia repeatedly lose arguments with Winnie. It reminded her of the friends she'd grown up with.
Were they living well now, too?
Before you continue