In the village inn, Will wakes up. He groggily looks around, still confused whether he is dreaming or not.

「Nnnhh… Morning already, huh…」

Will groans as he rubs his face and eyes, taking a peek at the window that's flooding the morning light into his room. His blanket slips off his scrawny body onto his lap as he sits up in his bed, and coughs once. He clears his throat, and takes a deep breath.

「Ahhh… Much better…」

Though he says so with relief, gloom casts a shadow on his face. A clear memory of Lian walking in front of him, unbothered by the rain, plays back in his mind. He clicks his tongue, and sighs.

《Can't believe Greaves is right… What kind of a man am I?》

Will thinks with mouth aslant, disappointed by himself. He looks at his skinny arms with no notable musculature, and his thin, featureless bare chest. He clenches his teeth in anger as another memory from yesterday pesters him.

《…I can't be like this forever. This is pathetic.》

He throws the blanket off himself and sits at the side. A certain mental picture of Lian from yesterday is particularly bothersome. She sits in a chair with her arms crossed, beside Will's bed as he lays in it. Her usual smug face, is instead staring down at him with mild concern in her almond-shaped eyes.

《I have to start now. No excuses.》

Will drops to the floor, placing his palms on the wood, and lifting himself just barely off the ground with his toes and and hands. With a grunt, he pushes himself up, fully extending his arms, then lowers himself with a strained exhale.

He continues the push-ups. The first 7 or so come without any larger difficulties, but Will's arms begin to shake when attempting the next one.

「Ee… Eeiiightt…」

Just barely managing to fully extend his arms, Will groans the count out loud. He gasps out a strained breath, and tries to slowly lower himself, but half-way down he plummets to the floor. Out of breath and out of energy, he waits a moment before another attempt.

Clack-crrrreak.

「Will, how are you feeli- Will? Did you fall over? Are you okay?」

Without a warning, the door swings open. Alicia asks, standing in the doorway and looking at the bed. Her brows rise a little when she finds it empty, and swings the door further open. Her brows furrow when she finds Will on the floor, with his head peeking past the foot-end of his bed.

「No! I'm fine!」

Will exclaims with a tight-lipped grimace towards the Alicia-colored blurry blob standing in the doorway.

「Then… What are you doing on the floor?」

「Nothing!」

Will proclaims, trying to adjust the glasses not on his face, and jumps up to his feet. He quickly looks around for his shirt, and slips it onto himself.

「Well, are you feeling better?」

Alicia tilts her head, gripping onto her wand.

「Yeah, a lot. Thanks.」

Will awkwardly shrugs his hands, and nods.

「That's good to hear… Greaves ordered food. Come join us when you're done with… Whatever.」

Alicia nods her head with a troubled grimace, backing out of the room.

「What?- But I'm not doing anything-」

Clack.

Alicia closes the door before Will can finish his sentence. He sighs heavily.

「…Great. Now she'll think I'm weird.」

Will mumbles under his breath as he places his palm on his face, then picks his glasses up off the nightstand. He sits down on the bed to prepare to leave, slipping his feet into his boots and tying them…

…

Back in the capital, in a suspicious warehouse…

Cycelia's eyes open. She sits up on the crates, pulling the blanket off of herself, and wipes her wet eyes.

「…Straf?」

She quietly calls out to Straf, kneeling on a nearby crate.

「Yeah?」

His eyes snap open, staring directly at Cycelia. The instant reaction appears almost uncanny.

「Nothing… I thought you maybe were asleep… Here.」

Cycelia says as she folds the blanket up, and holds it in front of Straf.

「I wish I could sleep, Lia. Since it'll be a while before Carrothead and the team gets here, want to go kill some time?」

Straf asks, throwing the blanket into his [Portable Storage].

「Huh? In what way?」

Cycelia fidgets with her medallion, dropping from the crates onto her feet.

「In the walk around and see if there's something interesting around way. Isn't this your hometown? Can't you show me some cool stuff?」

Straf shrugs his hands and shoulders.

「I could, but…」

「But?」

「But the people here could recognize me, and call the guards-」

「No they won't. Let's go… Unless you don't want to?」

He walks towards the blocked door, but Straf stops in his tracks for a second, looking over his shoulder as he asks Cycelia with his hands in his pockets.

「I do… I do want to.」

Cycelia sighs, looking at Straf with furrowed brows and worried eyes.

「Then let's go. Take me to the places you liked to visit.」

Thud!

The contents of the crates clatter as Straf clears the way out with ease, and the sound of the crates slamming on the floor echoes throughout the warehouse, bouncing off each wall multiple times. He steps out, and waits for Cycelia to leave just outside the door.

She peeks her head out of the doorway, looks both ways, then skittishly steps out. Straf nods his head towards the busy, bustling street, and they merge into the crowd…

…

Straf and Cycelia continue through the wide streets packed with people. While Straf and Cycelia don't really stand out of the crowd in any appreciable way, aside from their matching attractiveness far above the average person, Cycelia hides her face from the people passing by them, and the people they pass by.

Doooonnnnnngggg… Gonnnnnnnnggggg… Donnnnnnnnggg… Gonnnnnnngggg…

Straf, and a few other people glance at the bell tower in the distance. Its massive bell swings back and forth, sending a heavy ring resonating through the air, and echoing across the streets. Despite the distance, a young girl sheltering from the sun beneath a parasol, up by the heaving bell, stares directly at Straf.

「What's up with the bell?」

Straf asks, glancing at Lia with his fists on his hips as he stops to look at the structure.

「It's 9 in the morning, Straf… That tower rings its bell three times a day, starting from 9. It's a public service to let everyone know the time…」

Cycelia answers, standing close to Straf with her head hanging down, almost hugged into him.

「Big Ben's disowned little brother, huh… Why are you looking down so much, Lia?」

Straf takes his eyes off the tower to look downwards at Cycelia's chestnut hair right in front of him.

「I don't want anyone to recognize me, Straf… Could we go there? There's a place…」

She points behind Straf, towards a door to one of the establishments.

「Hm? Yeah, sure, let's go.」

Straf turns around, and cuts through the crowd with Cycelia in tow. Cycelia pushes the door open, keeping her face hidden behind her hair.

Ring ring.

「What's this? Looks like a cozy little coffee shop.」

A little bell hanging above the door chimes as they enter. Straf looks around. The interior is dim, but not entirely unlit. The design is surprisingly modern, dark oak tables with leather booth seating line the window-side of the shop, and stretch towards the darker interior.

Cycelia rushes out ahead and takes a seat at one of the booths, out of the way and fairly deep into the building. Straf follows her, and she takes a sigh of relief as he takes a seat at the booth as well.

「It is a coffee shop. The owner doesn't even know who I am. I liked to come here when I wanted a break from being a noble, and just wanted a tasty snack.」

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Cycelia takes a quick peek at the menu, then sets it down. Straf takes it in hand, and his brows rise when he sees just how decorative it is.

「No need to sail halfway across the globe for coffee, huh?…」

Straf comments as he looks around the coffee shop further. A long, narrow counter with tall chairs separates the service area from the customers. A tall, gaunt, aging man with grayed hair peeks his head out from a doorway in the service area, and sees Straf and Cycelia sitting at a booth.

「…Globe?」

Cycelia asks in a hushed tone, barely audible.

「Boy… You're going to be really surprised soon enough, Lia. Or I will be, if there's a fuckin' turtle beneath it all.」

「Huh?-」

She tilts her head at Straf, then glances at the old man approaching them.

「Hello again, it's been a while.」

The man nods his head with a smile towards Cycelia, and glances at Straf while at it.

「Yes… I couldn't find the time to visit…」

She nods back, looking down at the table while nervously tapping her fingers together beneath it.

「I see. Well, I'm glad to see you're back. What would you like?」

The man asks with a warm, quiet voice.

「The usual… And coffee jelly.」

Cycelia replies, still looking down at the table.

「I see. And how about you, sir?」

The old man turns his smiling face to Straf. Straf ominously grins back.

「I'll have a double latte macchiato, make it giant, a bunch of raw sugar, berries, nutmeg, vanilla, all the syrups you can possibly fit into it. No water, with ice. And no foam. Extra whip.」

Straf stares into the old man's steel blue eyes as he babbles nonsense. The man patiently listens, but the confusion on his face grows bigger and bigger the longer he does. He glances at Cycelia for possible answers, but she is staring at Straf in similar confusion as well.

「…I'm sorry, what?」

The old man's warm smile turns into a mildly troubled, albeit amused grin. Straf snaps his fingers.

「…And that is the appropriate response. Do you have fresh milk?」

Straf replies, satisfied, and his grin disappears. He asks the old man a normal question, with a normal expression.

「…Yes, I do.」

The old man nods his head, still mildly confused and blinking at Straf with gently narrowed eyes.

「Then just make me a regular coffee and put that in there. Are your snacks a gold coin each?」

Straf asks another question, with a sly smirk.

「No, most of them are priced at one silver.」

「…You've got a cookie?」

Straf inquisitively spreads his hands.

「Will oatmeal do?」

The man asks, Straf snaps his fingers again.

「Yes, perfect! Give me 8, I want to eat an entire sword's worth.」

He points his finger at the old man, and he bows lightly at their table.

「Understood. I will be right back.」

The man announces with a calm, soothing voice, then disappears behind the counter into the backroom.

「…2 gold coins for a year of life, huh? Lia, do you think there might be an economic crisis in your kingdom?」

Straf sarcastically asks, lightly grinning as he looks across the table at Cycelia.

「…Are you referring to the prices, Straf?」

She looks at him with a serious face.

「What else? You can either buy a sword, or you can buy a bunch of cookies at a coffee shop. You don't think that's kind of silly?」

Straf shrugs, leaning onto the table.

「The prices in the capital have always been high, Straf. It's a very prestigious place to live. The people here are the very definition of exceptional, not average.」

Cycelia shrugs her shoulders, glancing at the counter every now and then.

「So you're saying if I scattered a bunch of gold coins everywhere, no one would care to bend their back?」

Straf incredulously raises his brows.

「What?- Straf, I am saying everyone who can afford to live in the capital is better off, and can afford luxuries. The gold from a shop like this mostly ends up in the peasants' hands sooner or later.」

She points her hand at the counter, for the emphasis.

「No it doesn't, Lia. If rivers were like wealth, everyone would be wondering where the oceans went. A rising tide floats all boats, but some boats float better if you don't drill a massive tax hole into them.」

Straf scoffs, and shrugs as they wait for their order. The unmistakable smell of coffee fills the air.

「What? But… But I read about it, as a part of my economy tutoring! The money goes from the buyer to the producer!」

Cycelia argues. Not quite shouting, yet not quite indoor-voiced, unwilling to concede.

「That makes perfect sense, Lia. Until you realize the producer is being taxed by the buyer, and ripped off at every step of the production chain. Let's take your coffee… Do you think the land peasants grow it on isn't taxed? Do you think the customs duties they have to pay aren't ripping them off? I bet you have a sales tax too!」

Straf chuckles as he spreads his hands in the booth.

「Well… That is…」

「Here's your coffee and jelly, miss.」

Cycelia's expression becomes troubled as it dawns on her how heavy the tax burden is on the underclasses. The old man disrupts her serious thoughts with a fragrant cup of coffee, and a black jiggling frustum in an elevated glass half-cup. In addition to it all, he sets a small silverware spoon on the table near Cycelia.

「Ah, thank you…」

She nods at the man as he warmly smiles at her. He returns to the counter, and brings Straf's order as well. 8 cookies, neatly laid in a circle around a small plate, partially stacked on one another.

「Here. If it's not enough, there is definitely an economic crisis.」

Straf smugly says as he holds up 2 gold coins for the elderly man, leaning onto the table with his elbow.

「It is way too much, sir. I'll return with your change-」

「Keep it, but never serve more than milk and sugar with coffee.」

The old man takes the coins with a faint clink, and starts walking towards the service area. He stops after a single step after Straf calls out to him.

「Well… I don't know if I can promise that, sir, but I have a strong distaste for sins against a good coffee.」

The old man says, and bows at Straf as he clutches the golden coins into his hand. After pocketing them, he walks behind his counter and starts cleaning white ceramic mugs of their stains with a small rag.

「…Anyhow. There's a reason why places like these attract smelly bearded NEETs, Lia. Oh!」

Straf's eyes widen as he snaps his fingers, and points one at Cycelia as she's about to dig into her coffee jelly.

「Huh?」

She glances up from her treat, moments away from enjoying it.

「Lia, don't write books about anything I told you today, and especially not in a coffee shop. It'll end badly.」

Straf nods his head for added emphasis, cautioning Cycelia.

「…Why?」

「Because I say so, Lia. Just don't-」

「No, I mean, why will it end badly?」

She shakes her head, taking a chunk of the jiggling dark jelly onto her tiny spoon.

「…Just trust me on this one. Whatever you'll come up with in a coffee shop, doesn't work. Only losers come up with new ideas in a coffee shop.」

Straf shrugs, and takes a small sip of his coffee.

「…Okay? Om.」

Cycelia blinks, very much so confused. She slowly nods, and chomps down onto her spoon with the jelly on it. A gleeful smile appears on her face, and her other hand hovers over its side. After a moment, her smile disappears, turning into a sullen frown. She blinks rapidly, looking at the treat in front of her.

「What's wrong, Lia? Does it taste gross?」

Straf asks as he crunches his eye-wateringly expensive cookie. Cycelia gently shakes her head in response, her frown slowly shifts into a pained smile.

「It's good… I really missed being able to just relax like this…」

Her wet emerald eyes look into Straf's. Cycelia keeps blinking, spacing them out barely enough to keep tears from flowing.

Crunch.

「Hmmh. Well, it better be for that price. Give it a few days, and you'll be able to relax wherever you want.」

Straf bites into, and shrugs with his expensive oatmeal cookie, sending crumbs flying all over the table. Still rapidly blinking, Cycelia silently nods and takes a sip of her bitter coffee, before resuming devouring her bittersweet treat…