I wake up early next morning. And yet, I'm barely in time to make a little room on the bed for Sour Cream who returns from her nightly prowl just then. I'm a little reluctant to get up at first. Snuggling up to Elzbieta a little longer would be nice. In the end I slip out of bed though, after scritching my feline companion behind the ears and placing a brief kiss on Elzbieta's cheek.

I'd love to sleep in a little, but I really can't afford to. I decided to start the day with a quick trip down to the temple. I really need to ask Wislawa to have a look at my new sandals and I don't really want to wait any longer than necessary. Afterwards I can have breakfast with Elzbieta before we head out to gather the flowers for the wreath she mentioned yesterday.

Hopefully Wislawa is in already. She always has been so far, whenever I visit the temple, but I might just be pushing my luck this time around. I give it a try anyway. At worst I might have to wait a little. Thus I'm off to the temple, wearing my old shoes, while bringing along the new and newly enchanted ones, wrapped in a piece of cloth.

Thankfully my worries are quickly proven unfounded, as the priestess welcomes me after I finish washing in the anteroom, just as I drop a few coins in the offering bowl. She sounds amused.

“Welcome Valeria. You are back early. In every sense of the word.”

My heart beats a little faster and I blush slightly as I nod.

“I am, ain't I?”

She lets out a chuckle, as she eyes me and the cloth wrapped bundle I hug close.

“Yes, you certainly are. What brings you to me this time?”

As she extends me a hand to guide me inside, I unwrap the bundle I brought, revealing the sandals in the process.

“I would like to ask you to have a look at those. I just finished enchanting them last night. And well … after my recent experience I thought it better to ask for a second opinion first before putting them on.”

She takes the sandals and sits down with them by the divine pool.

“Very well. This shouldn't take long.”

She focuses on the sandals and sings a short little prayer, calling upon both the Dawn Maiden and the Sun Mother.

“Dawn Maiden, guide my thoughts! Sun Mother, enlighten me!”

I'm starting to get a little fidgety as she stays focused on the sandals for quite a while. Finally she lets out an appreciative whistle.

“Well, well, well, aren't you full of surprises! Those are something else! They probably will go well with your grandmother's special dress, if I'm not mistaken.”

Of course she would know about the dress. Maybe grandma even brought it to get a second opinion on it from the priestess, just like I did with the sandals.

I blush a little and nod in confirmation, as she looks my way.

She flashes me a bright smile in return.

“No curse on these. They should be safe to wear. You might want to try them one before the dance though. Especially if you intend to wear them together with the rest of the set. You might need to get used to the effect. These might turn out to be a little more potent than anything else you have experienced so far.”

I help her up and accept the sandals back. Once I'm done wrapping them back up and before I can turn to leave, she pulls me into a surprise hug.

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“The best of luck to you! I'm looking forward to the midsummer night's dance this year.”

I blush once again and uncertainty tinges my voice as I reply.

“Thanks?”

The priestess just laughs and pats me on the shoulder, as she sees me back out.

This is one issue taken care of. It feels like a big weight off my heart. As a result there is a little extra spring to my steps, as I return back home to get Elzbieta.

She already is awake, but still in bed, petting Sour Cream who has curled up alongside her.

I flash her a beaming smile.

“Rise and shine! Time to hit the bath and get something to eat right after!”

Curiously enough the mention of food gets a rise out not only of her but the cat as well. I roll my eyes as Sour Cream is quick to jump out of bed, while Elzbieta takes a little while to untangle herself from the sheets.

The cat circles around my legs once, rubbing up against me and meowing softly, only to beeline right towards her bowl afterwards.

I don't need any further prompting. Her demands are easy enough to understand after all. I fill her bowl with her namesake treat and she tears into it right away, purring up a storm all the while. How she does that without choking is beyond me. It has to be a cat thing.

In the meantime Elzbieta gets ready to head out. I grab my bath supplies and a change of clothes as well. Then we are off. First to the bath and after washing and soaking for a little while to the inn to grab a bite to eat.

Today's morning meal is apple pie of all things. I don't even want to think about how long Maryla and Patryk, and possibly Krystina too, must already be up and about to have fresh apple pies for everyone ready this early in the morning. I really appreciate their effort though. The pie is just the right mix of sweet and sour, fluffy and crunchy. I decide to get two more to go, so we can have them later while we are out collecting flowers.

Before we leave I head over to Krystina at the guild counter with Elzbieta in tow. She greets us with a cheerful wave.

“The usual?”

I return the wave and flash her a smile.

“No, not today!”

That leaves both her and Elzbieta stumped for a moment, although the latter should really be able to guess that the usual mana mill quest won't do today, since we'll both be out of the shop.

I quickly elaborate.

“I'd rather place a request for a special item today. A Summer night's crown. If that is alright with you?”

Krystina blinks in surprise at first, but nods in the end.

“Sure.”

She consults her big guidebook for a moment while filling a quest form.

“That will be ten bronze crowns for the reward and four for the guild's fees. Is that alright with you?”

I nod, count the coins onto the counter and sign the quest paper while she enters our transaction into her ledger.

Elzbieta, who of course has caught on by now, follows her over to the quest board to snatch the quest the moment our local guild official puts it up.

With that taken care off we return to the shop once more, since we still have to get ready for our little trip.

On one hand we have to get some baskets for the flowers we intend to collect and the pies we bring along. On the other hand there is still my other issue that needs to be taken care of.

I don't have time to properly preserve the milk right away though this time around. It shouldn't be too much of an issue though. If I take care of it around noon, or maybe a little later, everything should still turn out fine. Thus I leave the bowl with milk on the counter, with another turned upside down on top of it to keep flies and the likes away.

Once that is taken care of, we head out. I let Elzbieta lead the way this time around, since she knows the surrounding area better than I do.

Together we follow the creek upstream for a little while. We even begin gathering flowers along its bank. I'm not quite sure if there is a system to it, or if we gather a little of everything, as long as it is in full bloom and likely to look good in a wreath. I guess I'll find out soon enough.