Pamela was practically skipping down the streets as she thought of her interdimensional bag filled to the brim, garnering some strange looks from the people nearby. In such dire times, it was odd to see someone exuding happiness with every step they took. Some of those looks shifted towards Sayi, who had eye-catching fiery red hair and eyes, and she simply smirked at them, lifting her head high. Meanwhile, Chaeyar who was equally conspicuous only observed his surroundings quietly, seemingly emitting an aura of melancholy which Pamela and Sayi couldn’t sense.
“Groceries, groceries. I got my groceries~!”
“You’ve been singing the same song.”
“Groceries~!”
“For thirty fucking minutes.”
“I got all my groceries~!”
After watching the energetic Pamela for the past thirty minutes, the inexplicable sadness radiating from Chaeyar had slowly dissipated. He couldn’t help but let out a breathy chuckle at Pamela’s behaviour.
“What a spirited child. I have never seen anyone in this world becoming happy from purchasing ingredients.”
“There’s so many other drinks I’ll be able to make now, Chaeyar! I can’t wait to find more ingredients!” Pamela squealed happily, unable to hide her joy and continued humming the same melody as before. “Drinks~! Drinks~! Let’s make more drinks~!”
Sayi sighed in frustration, clutching at her head. Even though she could have simply used her Dragon’s Tongue to silence Pamela, she couldn’t find it in her to disrupt Pamela’s happy mood.
Why am I growing soft for an annoying brat like her?
She’s just a migraine pill I picked up on a whim.
Pamela continued singing quietly to herself, her smile remaining on her lips. “Where should we go now~?”
“Didn’t you want to make more drinks?” Sayi asked in resignation. “That merchant said that you’ll be getting the customers you wanted soon.”
“Yes, yes! I should go back and make more–drinks?”
At that moment, Chaeyar paused in his steps as they approached the entrance of the monastery and the other two came to a halt. Pamela tilted her head in confusion as Chaeyar pointed towards the direction of the residential area which is located in the monastery.
“Didn’t he tell us that his residence was here?” Chaeyar questioned.
“Ah, Mr. Prince!” Pamela gasped in realisation and dashed towards the entrance. “We should say our goodbyes to him!”
“She’s like a…” Chaeyar trailed off, trying to remember the appropriate word.
“Squirrel?” Sayi finished his words.
Chaeyar nodded in agreement as he looked at Sayi, and she only shrugged her shoulders with a frustrated expression.
***
“What did you say?”
“If you bring your newfound friends before the Regent, he said he would consider your request for healers.”
“Hah! After all this damn time…” Blyn scoffed, lowering his head as he gritted his teeth in anger.
Illian could feel the anger radiating from his brother’s broad back and he stood behind the stone bench with his younger sister, shielding her from the sight despite being the same height as her.
“I-I wanna see!”
“Shh, don’t look. It’s a bad guy.”
“That’s why I wanna stand beside him!”
“Sherry…”
Despite having a residential area in the monastery, the rooms were previously used as a prayer room. Hence, the space was extremely limited. The space which Illian was standing in with his younger sister was the makeshift living room combined with a kitchen. The furniture and furnishing were made out of stone, and the floor was covered in stone slabs. The other section of the house was the bedroom shared by the family of five, and it was separated by an open doorway.
“Get out of my sight.” Blyn spat out.
“...” The retainer of the Regent remained there with a friendly smile on his face. “You should know better than to send me away like this, Blyn. Do you truly wish to offend the Regent?”
“Offend? Hah!”
Blyn recalled the unpleasant memory of him grovelling before the Regent with tears streaming down his face. He begged, pleaded and implored until the skin on his knees tore, bleeding profusely. He could see the derisive yet gratified look on their faces as the Regent spoke the most insincere words.
“Please. All you have to do is find a healer from Mystanore. I’ll do anything for my parents.”
“My hands are tied.”
“Just this once–!”
“Your parents accepted the mission, and they knew of the consequences. There is nothing I can do.”
Blyn was angered. The Regent had more than enough connections in the Innerlands of Estcia. His eyes and ears could reach everywhere except the Outerlands. He was lying through his teeth about not being able to do anything! Alas, he couldn’t show anger towards Regent who could possibly save his parents at that moment.
He was the one who forced them on a hunting mission! How could my parents dare to say no and go against you?!
The rage within Blyn was starting to boil over as he balled his fists up and his hands started to tremble. Blood dribbled down his palm, landing on the stone slab, and noticing this sight from his good-natured brother, Illian paled and crouched down together with his little sister, Sherry. He had never seen his brother so infuriated and so helpless.
“Fucking scums.”
“What did you just call me?”
“Even if I agreed to your request, you wouldn’t keep your word!” Blyn exclaimed, panting heavily as his voice trembled with anger. “My parents are already dying anyway! A healer from Mystanore would take too long! It’s too late!”
“You aren’t as reckless as I thought.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“If you had agreed to my request earlier, this wouldn’t have…wouldn’t have–!”
“Your parents have no one else to blame but themselves, Mr. Blyn. Don’t blame the Regent for their incompetence.”
Blyn couldn’t hold back the rage surging through him, his eyes welling up with tears as he threw his fist towards the retainer. The retainer widened his eyes in disbelief at the fearless Blyn, and before his face met Blyn’s fist, the retainer felt something hitting him on the back.
“...?!”
“...!”
The force on his back made him fly forward into the room and he kissed the stone slab. Lifting his head up in disbelief, there was a red mark on the retainer’s face as he glanced back. He was flabbergasted at the sight of a gorgeous fiery red-haired woman putting her leg down with an arrogant look on her flawless face.
“I told you to move aside.”
“...wh-who are you to–”
“Mr. Prince!” Pamela exclaimed, pushing past Sayi and rushing into the house as she accidentally stepped on the retainer’s left foot and left hand.
“Gaaah!”
“Ah, I’m sorry–and Mr. Prince!”
Blyn blinked rapidly in confusion, lowering his fist as Pamela rushed towards him. She excitedly grabbed his hands and bowed multiple times.
“Thank you! Thank you so much! I won’t have to worry about ingredients for a while because of you!”
“Wh-wha…”
“Blood! Oh my goodness, you are bleeding!” Pamela gasped.
“Ah, this is…don’t worry about it.” Blyn waved it off. “Miss Pamela, Miss Sayi and Mr. Chaeyar, I didn’t expect the three of you to arrive here so quickly.”
Chaeyar nodded in greeting as he walked past them all. He stopped right at the stone couch and lowered his height, he met two pairs of frightened and teary eyes. It belonged to Illian and his younger sister.
“Hello?” Chaeyar smiled kindly, greeting them.
The little girl immediately burst into tears, and watching his little sister cry in fright made Illian teary-eyed too. Chaeyar showed a rare expression of panic, looking at Sayi and Pamela. Meanwhile, Sayi only looked at the retainer with her face wrinkled in disgust.
“You reek of deceit.”
“Wh-what…”
“Tsk. Stop looking at me with those disgusting eyes,” Sayi said with a threatening growl, her eyes glowing. “Do you want them to be plucked out?”
The retainer could feel his skin crawling and the fear he felt for this beautiful red-haired woman made his mind blank. Somehow, he knew that the words the woman uttered were not a lie. She would definitely dig his eyes out in the most painful way possible if they lingered any longer.
Wait, these three…
They match the descriptions of the rumours. They are the ones the Regent is looking for, I should quickly bring them to–
Sayi grabbed the throat of the retainer roughly, making him widen his eyes as he began to choke on his breath. It was a miracle he could still even breathe.
“I have seen those greedy eyes before, human.”
Even before Sayi finished that sentence, the retainer fainted from the overwhelming sense of pressure from her and Sayi could only snort in response, loosening her hold on him. The retainer collapsed lifelessly to the ground. Unfortunately, this short exchange made the two children cry even harder in the background as they felt the suffocating atmosphere. Sayi grunted in annoyance, covering her ears. Meanwhile, Blyn witnessed his siblings crying their hearts out, distraught and glanced down at his own bloodied hands. He had clenched his fists so tight that his nails pierced his skin. He took a step towards them but hesitated, lowering his head in shame.
“They must have been so afraid from the start,” Blyn muttered out, clearly saddened. “They have suffered enough. I shouldn’t have…allowed them to see more of the ugly world of adults.”
Blyn watched helplessly as his siblings cried. Somehow, in this current situation, he found himself inadequate to be the one who brought them comfort. Chaeyar grew even more flustered and tried to comfort the two young children with gentle words. Alas, that did not solve the current situation.
“Your siblings need you right now, Blyn.” Chaeyar urged.
“Am I…am I deserving of that? If I had been more reliable, more dependable and…”
“Mr. Prince,” Pamela called out, placing her hand on his shoulder. “Here, take this.”
Blyn looked at Pamela who offered him two glass cups that contained frothy pink-white liquid and at the top of the cup, there was a stark white foam decorated with red-coloured chips. He blinked in confusion, staring at Pamela as if awaiting some sort of explanation.
“...?”
“I made this earlier out of nostalgia, but I’m glad I can offer it to you now.” Pamela smiled. “For your siblings, two cups of strawberry milkshake.”
“Strawberry?”
Pamela recalled a fond memory of her childhood days. She ruined a customer’s order whose day had already gone bad. Seeing the upset look on the customer’s face as they reluctantly trudged away with the wrong order, the young Pamela burst into tears. She was barely eleven years old.
She didn’t learn to make drinks just to make people unhappy.
“Pamela, sweetie. Have a sip of this.”
“Bu-but I-I…”
“Shh. Mistakes are just a part of our long life. Now, it’s time to enjoy the sweetness of life.
After recovering from her nostalgia, Pamela showed Blyn a wide grin and she pushed the two cups towards him once more.
“Your siblings should enjoy the sweetness of life,” Pamela repeated the words from her memory. “And so should you.”
“The sweetness…of life?”
“A sweetness that only you can bring to them right now.” Pamela answered.
Blyn accepted the drinks gratefully, hesitating before walking towards his two siblings and crouched down. He offered them the strawberry milkshakes with an apologetic smile on his face.
“Br-brother…”
“I-I am not crying because I’m scared, I’m crying because…because…”
“We are crying because you are hiding your pain like always!”
“...so, you were just…” Blyn said as they took his drinks, and he lifted his hand, patting their heads. “Thank you, but that’s not for you to worry about. I am your older brother, so I hope you can depend on me.”
“Don’t say that!”
“You are always reliable and dependable!”
His siblings tugged on the sleeves of his worn out clothes with teary eyes.
“So, brother, share your pain with us too.”
Blyn widened his eyes in disbelief and he exposed his blooded palms before them, grinning. “Okay, I promise.”
The blessing of Pamela Laifecois is upon you.
You will be protected by the warm memories of your loved ones.
Remaining Time: 30 minutes
The two children drank a few sips of the drink, their faces brightening as they cuddled with their older brother. Seeing such a sight, Pamela couldn’t help but smile happily. Whether it was then or now, she had never forgotten her goal in making drinks.
“Why are you so eager to learn, Pamela?”
“Because I want to make people happy with my drinks!”
“I see, my dear granddaughter. With just a sip, you want to make them smile.”
“Yes!”
Pamela couldn't stop herself from grinning as she watched the three siblings bond over tears and smiles. She met Chaeyar’s eyes and he gave her a silent applause, his heterochromia eyes gleaming in approval.
“It’s better than seeing those disgusting greedy eyes.” Sayi spoke as she sat down on a chair, resting her chin on her palm with a slight smile.
At that moment, the retainer had woken up from his fainting spell and while they were distracted by the heartwarming atmosphere, the retainer wielded a bow made out of magic in his hand, a glowing arrow aiming straight at the two children.
“...?!” Blyn gasped in disbelief. “Ho-how are you using transmuting magic here?”
“You can convince your friends to come along, Blyn.”
“I’m not doing anything for you, fucking scum!” Blyn barked out, shielding his siblings. “The Regent must have bribed those stuck-up assholes from Horologium to give you something to bypass the anti-magic field.”
“Hm. You won’t need a healer for your parents now, but surely your siblings do.”
In an instant, the retainer released his arrow that was aimed straight at Illian who peeked his head out.
***
Featured Drinks
Strawberry Milkshake
strawberry smoothie Strawberry, Smoothie, Smoothie, Yogurt, Strawberry, Milkshake Strawberry Smoothie Stock Photo [https://media.istockphoto.com/id/576740204/photo/strawberry-smoothie.jpg?s=1024x1024&w=is&k=20&c=ppX-FYK0evjs8y8ISGX6H6RarJo-0QafIwzOfNNli0c=]
Milk Tip of the Day
There are many different ways people incorporate milk products into their drinks. It ranges from fresh milk, plant-based milk, creamer or condensed milk. There are also other kinds like cold foam (frothed milk) or evaporated milk (unsweetened condensed milk). Fresh milk or plant-based milk usually results in thinner consistency in drinks. Whereas, creamer and condensed milk usually results in thicker consistency. At the end of the day, it is all about experimenting with your drinks and finding out which suits your taste!