Chapter 9: To Protect ii

“Seems good to me. At least now I know where to look.”

It was an hour later after Cerise chose what she wanted from the selection Isbeth provided. As expected, Cerise chose the black shirt and pants and donned them after being cleaned by Isbeth. Roy decided to drop by and visit the two during the afternoon after he finished his own work at the smithy.

“It is isn’t it? The black goes well with her skin and eyes after all, as expected of my tastes.”

“Didn’t you buy this at grandpa Warten’s retirement sale?”

“Yes, yes I did. Though, I had to choose it out of nearly a hundred other sets of clothing here,”

Isbeth waves her hand over the multitude of stacked boxes near her own closet.

“and in fact, I even had to dig through the shoes bin to find a pair of boots that’d fit her.”

Isbeth pointed towards a box with pairs of footwear spilling out and scattered on the floor randomly.

“I suppose you’re right. No need to inflate your own ego that much,”

Roy had let out a soft sigh before placing his attention back onto the girl.

“so, what are you going to do with her now? I’d bet that some big fishes would want a beauty like her regardless of the law.”

The now clothed Cerise looked rather stunning to say the least. Her black hair had grown slightly over the past two weeks and was long enough to reach her shoulders, though Isbeth decided to trim and clean it after seeing the filthy state it was in, reducing its length by a bit to reach the base of her neck. Her white skin practically shined in the dark and the various bright reds in her scarlet eyes seemed to shimmer whenever they moved. Her pink lips were obscured by the collar of the black sleeveless shirt while her rather modest form for a young girl fit the outfit perfectly. She’d be sure to grow up into a true beauty if given time but such a thing would probably cause more problems than not.

Isbeth looked at Cerise who now stood clothed looking out the window, attracting the attention of many due to her doll-like appearance.

“Well, we’ll get to that problem later. For now, food. Roy, mind covering for me?”

This time, Roy let out an especially long sigh in response to Isbeth’s rhetorical question.

“I suppose I’ll have to huh?”

“If you want, I can sever the connection between our businesses.”

“Fine.”

Roy went outside the shop and started shooing the viewers away, of course, Roy didn’t point them in some random direction, he released his merchant’s grin and helped ‘guide’ them to his own smithy down the street.

Meanwhile, Isbeth dragged Cerise to the second floor of her shop which served as her own living space for the time being. The room was sparsely furnished as she mainly operated downstairs, the only notable objects were the bed she slept on and the desk with mountains of papers and books piling around it. She let go of Cerise’s hand and walked towards the desk before sifting through the stacks of paperwork before she found a small slip of parchment between two papers.

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“Found it, lucky me! This coupon’s still valid!”

Isbeth pumped the fist holding the slip in the air before turning around and grabbing Cerise once again. She dragged the poor girl who, in her grasp, had a placid expression throughout the trip.

They arrived at a nearby building with the pleasant aroma of meat wafting through the gaps in the door. At the smell of meat, Cerise’s attention focused back to reality allowing her to analyze the smell. It didn’t smell bad to be honest, but it didn’t smell that good either. Though, within her two week of life, not counting the short years before, she’d never smelled something so good. Her eyes went wide and her mouth began to salivate just as Isbeth opened the door to the bustling tavern known as the Ram’s Horn.

Not many looked up from their meals or their talks with others, but the ones who did stopped what they were doing entirely. What they saw was the oddball [Alchemist] dragging an extremely pretty child alongside her, whose expression seemed to be pleading for help from the witnesses, though, her salivating mouth was hidden underneath her collar. Isbeth strode up to the counter to the Tavern keeper’s dismay and handed her a piece of paper.

The Innkeeper, Veronica read the paper which added to her own sense of confusion.

“Um. Ma’am? What is this?”

Veronica held up the slip, written in legible but crude handwriting.

“What is it? Obviously a ticket for a good meal.”

“But, we don’t have coupons here. Whoever gave this to you must have scamme-”

Isbeth snatched the paper back gave it a closer inspection. Now that she paid closer attention, the handwriting seemed oddly familiar. She slapped her palm against her forehead as she realized where she saw it before. It appeared as if Roy decided to play a little prank on her when she gave the fake coupon to her a few weeks prior to her finding Cerise.

Veronica wasn’t in the mood to play with the Halfling though, she had business and she needed to deal with the line gradually forming behind the two girls.

“So, if you aren’t paying them could you kindly get out?”

“Ah sorry, I’ve got it. One lunch set and a kiddie meal please.”

Isbeth opened a pouch and handed the tavern keeper four silvers and two copper pieces. The tavern keeper confirmed the amount and wrote down some letters on a paper and handed it to one of the waitresses.

“You can sit anywhere you’d like, though I advise to stay away from that group over there in the corner. Your meals will arrive in a few minutes so you can wai-“

“Meat.”

The girl behind the Halfling spoke for the first time since the two arrived. Her voice rung clear and cold throughout the tavern, instantly hushing the rowdy atmosphere.

“I want meat.”

Cerise spoke again, misunderstanding that her first statement wasn’t heard. She simply wanted some meat to eat so why was everyone so silent? She tilted her head in obvious puzzlement when a couple stood up and left the tavern after coughing at Isbeth.

“Did I do something wrong?”

Her clear voice rung through the building again for the third time. The tavern keeper herself was one of the first to break away from her daze, directing her attention away from the Halfling and towards the child.

“No, you haven’t done anything wrong, but could you please inform me about whether you’ve been held against your will or forced to do anything conside-“

“Wait a moment!”

Isbeth responded fiercely to Veronica.

“It’s just a misunderstanding, right Cerise?”

The girl in question simply tilted her head back in the other direction, her confusion more evident than before. The smell from the kitchen door captivated her, her thoughts were nothing more than to bite into such a delicious smelling meal.

At Cerise’s silence, some men watching the scene burst out into laughter, serving as a spark for several more to. In an instant, the rowdy atmosphere had restored itself in just a few moments. The cheers of men could be heard from down the street and the women were trying their best not to laugh at the [Alchemist]’s expense.

Veronica kept glancing between the two, her worries of business already faded with the return of the bustling atmosphere fit for a tavern. But she still had one doubt within her mind.

“Are you sure it’s just a misunderstanding?”

Isbeth’s face was flushed with embarrassment, but she still stood firm, or at least, as firm as a Halfling could, for herself.

“Absolutely.”