For Shani, today had been a day of relaxation, laughter, and happiness she had not enjoyed in a long time.
An open-minded young man, a straightforward and amusing young woman, along with delicious red wine beef stew, buttery brioche, and onion soup flavored with bay leaves and thyme—she felt she could not have asked for more.
But fate clearly had more surprises in store for her. "Oh my god! Basic Principles of Pathological Morphology and Forensic Medicine... How do you have these two books here!?"
The simple explanation was that he had bought them from the banker out of a modest personal interest in anatomy.
Accommodating her request, the host gave the doctor a comfortable armchair for reading in the alchemy room, along with a pot of rose tea. Then he picked up a notebook himself and began studying.
Night—Vizima, Temple District—
Before coming to visit, Shani had never imagined she would remain at Victor's home until it was nearly curfew, much less trouble the young man into escorting her home.
A crescent moon hung in the sky. Walking at an unhurried pace, Shani swept the red hair hanging before her eyes aside. "Was I too much of a disturbance today? Usually, afternoons are when you go out to work, aren't they?"
The evening breeze drifted past as Victor calmly tightened the hook at the side of his leather armor. "It's fine. The tools I commissioned from the blacksmith haven't arrived yet. Even if we went out of the city, we'd only be going to the lakeside so that girl could practice swimming."
"Ha, the relationship between you two is really interesting. She's obviously older, but the way you actually get along feels completely reversed. You're practically like her father.
"I can't really understand it, but don't be