"Akame, this should be Tatsumi's village, right?" Chelsea asked uncertainly, looking at the map in her hands.
"Yes. If the location on the map is right, this should be it." Akame nodded calmly.
"But didn't Tatsumi say his village was really poor?" Chelsea stared in disbelief at the village before them, which looked more like a small town.
"We can just ask a local!" Akame rolled her eyes at her fussing companion.
"Right, good idea!" Chelsea snapped her fingers and popped a lollipop into her mouth. Then, as though remembering something, she took out another. "Want one, Akame?"
Akame looked at Chelsea, then at the lollipop. "Yes!"
With that, she took it into her mouth and began smacking her lips as she ate.
"Hey, mister over there!" Chelsea called to a villager in the distance who had finished his farm work and was about to head home.
"Hmm? Are you calling me, young lady?"
"Yes, mister. Could you tell me if this is Tata Village?" Chelsea asked with a smile.
"You're not from around here, are you?" the man asked curiously.
"That's right. We were passing by and thought we'd visit our friend's hometown, then take some news back to him," Chelsea answered readily.
"Who's your friend? I know everyone in the village," the man asked warmly.
"Tatsumi. Do you know him?"
"No way! You're friends with that little rascal? He's been away in the Imperial Capital all this time without sending even one letter home. Everyone in the village has been worrying about him." The man looked indignant, but Chelsea clearly caught the flash of delight in his eyes.
"Tatsumi's doing important things in the Imperial Capital, mister. He's very busy," Chelsea explained awkwardly.
"Come on, don't just stand here. Come sit at my house!" the villager hurriedly invited