A couple days went by as the cold winter set into Shisayama, and Azi had a few outings with Shizu. Kajima joked that they were getting along quite well, almost unnervingly so. In Shizu’s defense, she had agreed though she likened their relationship as if they were siblings.

Azi insisted that he was the older sibling, a point Shizu adamantly contested and was a point that Kajima found amusing. The daily spats Azi and Shizu would get like this, from the smallest of things their conversation would bleed out whenever they had meals together or when their sparring sessions became overly heated. Kajima was somewhat looking forward to seeing how they’d interact going forward. Youth had their moments, Good and Bad.

On one day of sparring, Shizu had gotten fed up with Azi’s overly defensive pattern in the past few sparring sessions.

“Will you stop hiding behind that shield, you gotta attack.” She gestured provocatively for him to strike. “Come on! Attack!”

“I’m trying!” Azi lunged with his practice sword reaching to jab her side. Shizu dodged, nimble and quick as ever, then delivered a hard smack to the side of his head.

“Ouch.” Rolling to the snow littered ground, Azi coughed up a ball of snow. “Puh! Ah! Oh come on, you’re not making this easy!”

“That’s the point. Now get up!” An irritation grew in Shizu’s eyes. “You have to strike, you can’t be idle and wait for your opponent to open up.”

“Like I said, I’m trying, but I don’t see an in. Every time you block or parry me, you’re relentless with how you counter. So sorry if I don’t wanna get beaten up.”

“Then man up, Kid!” Shizu barked, finding his excuses to be hollow. “The monsters in the forests are going to eat you alive if you don’t. Also, I can tell you’re holding back, you’re hesitating not because you’re scared, but because you’re set in your ways. You think you know how to fight, but you don’t, and I do. So fight!”

Azi sighed. “You.. You have a point.” He admitted, “But at least be gentle.” Pulling up his wooden shield in a ready position, Shizu charged without any prompting and mercilessly struck at him.

“Ah! What! Wait! Hey! Ow! Ow! Ow!”

Taken off guard, each blow Shizu made had Azi staggering, his arm feeling as if it would come off with a pop. Luckily, thanks to his recent time with Touma, a practitioner of Thaumaturgy, he had been able to get the hang of thaumaturgic body reinforcement.

“Gahhh!”

Though, not as effective as he wished he could’ve been. He howled in pain as Shizu knocked his shield away, leaving him open. In a swift flick of her wrists and a turn of her hips, she sent Azi flying and rolling across the ground.

“Ugh.”

With a persistent determination, Azi heaved and tried getting himself. The first attempt failed as he slumped to the snow, he hadn’t the energy to even get to his feet. Shizu scrutinized him with a hard look, she was both underwhelmed and unimpressed by his prowess with a weapon. He truly was weak even with his reinforcement magic, and he wasn’t even as powerful as he was when he was drunk. He was hesitant to even attack her.

At this rate, he won’t even pass my first test. She thought, striding towards Azi. She offered a hand up but he refused. Slapping the hand away, Azi pressed his wooden training into the snowy ground.

On still as weak and shaky legs as before, he tried to get into a fighting stance. Bold, Shizu thought, but she would no longer tolerate his bravado. With a brief kick to his undefended gut, she toppled Azi and he fell into her arms.

Azi gasped, his tone rasping from a lack of air. “Hold on.. I.. I can.. Can still.”

“Enough!” Shizu shouted, irritation spilling out onto her crumbling calm features. “We’re ending it here for today, get some rest.”

“B-But.. I can still.. Fight.. We have.. Time.. I.. I.. can.. try..”

“Azi!” Her voice rose. “Enough!”

Shizu wasn’t taking any refusals. She pulled the wooden sword out of his hand, broke it in half, and then tossed it away. With her lancing eyes she made Azi cower. His shoulder was slumping in dejection.

It was only the early afternoon. Usually, their sparring session would’ve lasted a couple hours more, except today was straining Shizu’s patience. She wasn’t going to have anymore of this farce. She was appalled by Azi’s poor performance and had indulged in letting him find his pace the couple days.

After these repetitive spars that seemed to always end in lackluster outcomes, she was itching for a real fight. Sending Azi away to get cleaned up, Shizu sat herself on the living room’s couch to contemplate. She was probing her own mind of how she could go about training or developing Azi’s skills as a warrior. He had it, at least. The spark of a warrior.

But progress in drawing it out wasn’t faring well and the ideas she had were a tad too dangerous. Kajima was unlikely to accept her ideas because the nature of them were highly dangerous and extreme. Her uncle was a big softy on Azi, and was the bottleneck that allowed her passage to Azi. Somewhat lamenting the wasted time she had used on methods that had so far shown no results, she was starting to give up on the idea of having Azi as her apprentice. When he repaired her weapon, she’d remove him from the position. It would be a clean cut, no harm, no foul.

Was it rash? Was she being impatient? Maybe, but Shizu didn’t have years of available time or the drive to train Azi if he didn’t show his worth. She had duties to attend to, and the little time she had to spar with him was the only lens she could use to examine him. If he didn’t sparkle then she would move on.

It was going to be a pity if he couldn’t rise up to her expectations. Azi had a great deal of potential, but potential isn't enough. Guts, devotion, and heart. These three traits were what Shizu was looking for, and were scarce in Azi. He did have heart and devotion, except it was for academics and studies.

He’d be a good scholar for the country at least, and he might even be able to take all the boring paperwork off my shoulders. Plus, he’s huggable. Shizu grinned.

“A good paper pusher and a source of stress relief.” She said to herself, then sighed. “But what a let down.”

“What is?”

“Hmmm?”

Shizu tilted her head back over the couch and saw that it was Azi who asked. His soaked hair and fresh change of clothes were indicators that he had finally finished cleaning himself up, there was a good amount of muscle on him now, a good improvement from the stick thin stature when they first met.

He’s still too thin though.

For a moment, Shizu was about to comment on that thought while reiterating what she said before in a sly remark. Thinking better of herself, she wouldn’t demoralize him. Being harsh and joking was one thing, being crass was another.

“Nothing. Anyway, what’s your plan today?” She asked, “Do you have more work with Kajima or are you going to be held up in your room?”

“Nah, not today.” Azi said as he sat himself next to her. “I was thinking of going out again.”

“Oh? What’s it for this time?”

“I was thinking about visiting the market. You can always find something neat and new there.”

“Is that all?” Shizu side-eyed him incredulously. “What is up with you? You’re always so fascinated in the market, shouldn’t you be focusing on fixing my weapon?”

“I am, I am.” Azi said dismissively. “But I need to figure out a few things before I can start, or? Do you want a defective weapon?”

“Hmph!” Shizu frowned. “At least do a good job with it.”

“Then I guess I’m going to the market.”

Azi shot Shizu a victorious smile, to which she followed up with a round of full faced cheek pinching to get an entertaining rise out of him.

“Ow! Ow! Ow! Come on Shizu! This again!” Azi winced as a flash of pain went through him. Shizu was being violent yet again, but this time he countered and did the same to her.

“Grrr! Know your place pup!” Shizu retorted. “And you call that pinching! Talk about weak!”

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

Their back and forth began, and always so laughably confrontational. Meanwhile in the workshop, Kajima could hear it over the clang of his hammer against the anvil. He let out a breath of exasperation as he was reminded of how cats and dogs got along. They’d bat at each other, hissing and barking. For now he hoped they’d play nice, and wouldn’t really start treating each other as such, but he was worried about them biting each other. That could turn ugly.

As Kajima drowned out the clamor, Azi and Shizu continued in their deadlock. They butted heads with a thunk at the climatic finish, which seemed to bring them both back to the truly childish nature of their argument. Then they noticed, finally noticed how close they were to each other.

They locked eyes with one another and could hear each other’s faintest of breaths. The somewhat intimate distance that their lips were approaching caught their attention and they no longer pinched each other, but held each other, their hands framing their faces. Only a few inches of empty space was left before they crossed a boundary.

Rapid thoughts passed between them, a flurry of heat sparked their cheeks to a fever pitch the more and more they saw their reflection in the other’s eyes. A sudden rapt of attention then locked to the others lips.

The first to finally act was Shizu, who looked away and let her hands fall to her sides. The abrupt release had inadvertently caused Azi to lose his balance, and he toppled over onto her.

“Huh? Hey!”

Shizu startled, she hadn’t realized how much of his weight she was holding. At first she tried to push him away, except she was distracted, and gravity seemed to work its magic. Azi braced himself with his hands. Now, even closer than before, he was leaning over Shizu as she laid on the couch flat on her back.

Too flustered to say anything, Shizu tried to again glance away. Yet, she couldn’t resist the actions of her eyes as they wandered up and spotted the markley bewildered expressions running across Azi’s face. His lips were shut tight and he seemed to be wracking his brain for what to do next.

“G-get off.” Shizu muttered, “Or are you a beast? You.. You.. You little pup.”

It was a weak tease, a poor attempt to scold him.

“I.. I uh., Yeah.” Azi replied softly, he suddenly flushed. “No! Wait.. I’m not a beast.. But.. Umm.. Umm..” Dashing himself away from her, he righted his posture as he scooted to his side of the couch. Ducking his head, he hid his shame from her. “S-Sorry about that.”

“You better be.” Shizu scowled, though it didn’t help that she was blushing. She stood up and pulled Azi off the couch. “Come on, you said you wanted to go to the market, if we go now it shouldn’t be as crowded.” Again, she tried to sound angry, but to her it came off reluctantly embarrassed.

Still, Azi only nodded, like an obedient little chick.

Getting their things in order, they then headed to the northern part of Shisayama. The thoughts of what could’ve happened lingered in the back of their heads. Cooling off in the winter breeze helped and they arrived an hour later to the village.

Stalls bustled with business and the afternoon chatter drowned the air. They were in a particular market where you could find an assortment of shops that sold trinkets, tools, luxury goods, and high-quality services. Small as Shisayama was, and how it was only considered a village, it had enough room to house thousands, so comparing it to a rural town was the better scale of how crowded it could get.

Shizu, keeping a comfortable distance, observed Azi like usual, though right now her mind was wandering about in itself on what just happened. She had calmed at least. But.. that level of intimacy they had shared earlier had stirred a persisting and pestering emotion. This had never happened to her before. Agitation, yes, but this? Never.

There was nothing she could draw upon for advice or experience on what or how to go about handling if that ever happened again, or if it even was going to happen again.

Shizu had the urge to scold Azi, punish him in some way to feel better. But how? And did she even want to? Was it right? Had Azi done anything wrong? No, nothing, there was only that intimate moment she was trying to forget.

That.. that was nothing, nothing at all. She had reminded herself as she fought the red creeping back into her cheeks.

Azi, taking the chance to explore the market as he too contemplated the events, mulled things over in his own way. The event had frazzled him and he hoped he hadn’t made the wrong impression on Shizu.

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It was an accident. Nevertheless the possibilities going forward of that intimate moment hadn’t been lost on him, but he wasn’t one to jump to conclusions.

A guilt weighted at him, he had been impudent. That wasn’t how you treated a noble, you didn’t pinch their cheeks or argue with them like that. Azi had to remind himself that, while Shizu was a noble and that they both acted friendly towards each other, and argued openly like equals, this was only because Shizu allowed it. It was her right, not his. So when she had told him to stop, he should’ve.

Except.. he didn’t. It had felt like he had certain rights, that he was allowed to, that he was special. The thought that he even believed that made him sick of himself.

A jitter ran through him, he next focused his attention on the wares for sale. He took it in, letting new lines of thinking take him away.

The northern village market was compact, maybe about the size of a few city blocks. Azi had no inkling of where that scale of size came from, though it felt right. In the last few days, he had never been to this part of the village before so there was an assortment of new oddities and items that excited his inquisitive mind.

Of note, as his mind raced, there was a clear difference in price for the goods that could be found here compared to other places. His mind deduced that the prices were so high because they must have come from distant lands. It was evident in the quality he could ascertain and the scents. There were hints of sea salt, or a muggy tinge that was foreign to the usual smells of Shisayama’s winter agriculture freshness.

The vibrant colors of the fabrics and dyes lining the shop's shelves and stalls stood out. Some sold linens and others sold jewelry that had a level of craftsmanship that would put other local vendors to shame. While not as impressive as the carved crystals from his memories of his forgotten past, the wares were still beautiful in a class of their own.

As Azi got into a conversation with a clerk manning a stall selling novel books, Shizu noticed a familiar face passing by. A reminiscent smile played on her lips and she excitedly called out.

"Saki! Hey, how have you been?"

"Oh! Shizu?!” The person in question seemed pleasantly surprised to find Shizu here. “It's so good to see you again.”

Saki made her way over to join Shizu. She was, as Shizu remembered, a tall girl like herself. Saki who had a full chest, long brown hair, and a slender face. They were almost sisters except Saki didn’t have the regal look like Shizu had, or that’s what Shizu believed made them different.

If Shizu would put it clearer, Saki was like a sister from another mother, except Shizu smugly knew she was the prettier one, a notion Saki would comment as typical of her friend’s noble pride.

Exchanging pleasantries, Saki leaned herself against the wall inside a shop.

“Man, it's been so long.” She said, “I’ve been meaning to write to you but I’ve been busy these days. You wouldn’t believe how little sleep I get here in Shisayama. The number of wounded has increased from all the monster attacks and my teacher has been putting me through hell since I have to help during the long nights.”

Saki sighed as wearily as a soldier would. “I finally got a day off since we got more help from the King. How about you? And umm?” She hadn’t missed how Shizu’s eyes had sometimes gone trailing to a boy in particular. Her guess was that they knew each other, but maybe not. “Who is that small boy you’re looking at? Is he a potential thief? He’s being all nosy with the shopkeeper.”

“Oh! Him?”

Shizu laughed at the mention of how Azi’s childish curiosity was making him out to be a lowly thief. She wiped a tear from her eye. "Aha Ha Ha, don’t worry about him. And I’m doing fine, in fact, I found an apprentice.. For now that is."

"Apprentice! Really?” The shock in Saki’s voice was evident. “This isn’t a joke right?"

"It's funny you ask that. It might seem like a joke at first, but that boy you see ogling the shop is my new apprentice.”

Saki recovered her composure and gave Shizu a deadpan look after eyeing up her so-called claim.

"Yeah right.” She rolled her eyes. “Enough with the jokes Shizu. Now spill, who is your apprentice? And who's the weird kid? You seem like you know him."

"It's no lie.” Shizu said with a laugh, “That “weird kid” is my apprentice."

Saki was again taken aback by a second affirmation. She stared at the boy who was running around from shelf to shelf as he looked fervently at the goods that were on display. His aspirations and interests range widely and strangely. She found him comparing loincloths and undergarments.

Creepy. She thought. But at least he’s not touching the women's clothing, so he’s at least not a pervert.

Thinking that Shizu might still be messing with her in a long game, she wanted to admonish her for messing with her to this extent. That idea changed when Saki saw how smug Shizu was, her friend was getting a kick out of this, and it wasn’t from Saki’s skepticism, it was the kid. Saki began to probe.

"That’s surprising, didn't you say that you would only accept apprentices who were strong enough to be your equal?” She asked, teasing for a few details. “I find it hard to believe that that boy is as strong as you."

"Yeah, he’s weak.” Shizu nodded as she crossed her arms, “I can't deny that his appearance makes him seem that way, and my recent spars with him have been a let down. But don't let his appearance trick you. That kid can use magic, and has actually beaten me once, and get this.” She came close and whispered into Saki’s ear. “He’s apparently 27, older than us, can you believe it.”

"Ok, yeah right, that all has to be a lie.” Saki gave another exaggerated roll of the eyes. “I’ve played your game, now stop messing with me. A kid that small? Beating you? Using Magic? And he’s 27? You sure you’re not sick or something?”

"If you don't trust me, why don't you ask him yourself.”

Shizu gestured to Azi and called out, switching to a formal tone. “Azi! I need you for a moment."

Over hearing his name, Azi came over, somewhat absent mindedly focused on taking notes into his brown notebook. Saki’s impression of him was that he was an oddity, like the academics, they all seemed the same to her.

"Is there something you need from me?” Azi asked, glancing up from time to time.

“No, but my friend wants to meet you.” Shizu patted Saki forward and Azi looked up from his notebook. He could feel Saki’s probing stare stick to his face. It was uncomfortably judging.

"This is my friend, Saki.” Shizu said, getting the conversation started. “She and I were classmates in the academy at the empire’s capital. While I trained in combat classes, Saki here took up classes as an apothecary. By the way, just to confirm it again, how old are you?"

"Again?” Azi tried not to groan or send Shizu a dirty look, he had already proved his maturity. “How many times do I have to tell you, I am 27 years old. Alright?”

"See!” Shizu rounded on Saki as if having an I told you so moment. “He says he’s 27, like I said.”

“Hmmm.” Saki hummed, peering deeply at Azi. This apparent apprentice was trying to not make direct eye contact. “I see.” She said, taking their words at face value. Neither of them seemed to have a motive to lie, not even Azi, and Shizu was too straightforward at most times. "I guess you weren't kidding, sorry about that. Anyway, it’s nice to meet you, Azi.

“Same here, nice to meet you too.” While exchanging a handshake, Azi noticed the teasing expression on her lips. Growing hesitant, he nevertheless continued to introduce himself, and on the side made a note to be wary of her. She had the same vibe as Shizu. To put words to it, Saki was the formerly reserved version of Shizu in appearance only.

“So Azi, are you really Shizu’s apprentice?” Saki asked.

Azi nodded. "I just so happen to fall into that position recently.” He tried to push the conversation on, making sure not to comment how he’d be forced into this apprentice business. “By the way, did Shizu say that you trained as an apothecary?" He asked.

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Could you help teach me the basics? Like how to wrap a medical salve, or the detoxing of plants?"

Saki grimaced, internally admitting her shortcomings on how far her abilities went. "I don't think I would be able to teach you. I am still in the middle of my practical training but I can introduce you to my teacher. Would that help?"

"Fine with me.” Azi said and turned to Shizu, “Do you want to come along, or is there another place you need to go today?"

Shizu paused for a moment, she did have work related to Shisayama’s current monster situation. Making the rounds was part of her plan today and her time was freed up recently.

"Sure, there is not much work for me to do today and if there is I can just do it tomorrow. So I have time."

"Then it’s agreed." Said Saki, "Follow me."

The pair nodded and their group of three began trekking their way around parts of the northern market. Along the way, Saki asked about how Azi had met Shizu, sharing her own events with Shizu as well. Azi had a chance to explain how he had amnesia, a point that worried her especially since Azi talked about how he could not remember his family or friends well enough.

A second of heaviness pulled at the atmosphere. To lighten the mood Saki rounded the conversation back to his first encounter with Shizu, teasing them both about their first momentous interaction.

Azi and Shizu laughed awkwardly at the retelling as it was not the best of memories, it was a rough and rocky experience. Azi still recalled the feeling of how his face got punched by her, and Shizu had to remember just how out of control she was when she did.

They both could have probably started out on a better foot than a violent event.

An hour later, after getting side tracked by Azi’s usual fascination, the trio finally arrive. Saki was leading them to the door of a shop with a green four-leaf clover symbol embossed on the entrance’s wooden sliding door. She went up and knocked, calling out to get the occupants attention.

"Teacher! Are you in? There are some people who want to see you."

After a few moments the door opened. A mature and sultry woman clad in a black robe came out while smoking a pipe. The appearance she gave off suddenly sparked the word witch in Azi’s head.

"Ah Saki, just who have you brought today?” The woman asked as she took a puff of her pipe. “I am not sure I can fit them into the schedule. We’re closed right now and the rooms are occupied."

"I know that teacher, but I met Lady Shizu and her apprentice on my day off. It seems Shizu's apprentice would like to learn a bit about being an apothecary. Surely we can make time for them of all people."

"Oh my.” The mature women’s eyes glanced between their group. “Lady Shizu!? Oh of course, I can help you right away. Your father has been good to me in my younger years, it would be an honor."

"Thank you Elder Sung." Shizu did a small bow, "I leave my apprentice in your hands. He’s a bright one, so you don't have to hold back when teaching him. So hit him with your best shot, and don’t pull any punches.”

Azi frowned, Shizu sounded like she wanted him to actually get hurt somehow.

"Thanks for the compliment, but don’t play me up that much.” He said curtly, “I can’t learn anything if I'm not taught correctly.” Letting his shoulder untense he sighed. “In any case, Elder?.. Sung? Was it? Wait a minute? Shizu!? Isn’t it rude to call her Elder? She doesn’t look that old?”

“Oh!” Elder Sung cooed, “What a nice boy you are.” She giggled as Saki stepped in to explain.

“My teacher here is a special case like you, Azi. Even though she looks young, she is actually.. huh?”

Before Saki could say anything else, she suddenly felt a chill in her stomach and shut her mouth. She could already feel that knowing glare from her teacher without even seeing it, and she did not want to suffer her teacher's wrath, not ever again.

With an icy cold voice, Elder Sung put a hand on Saki’s shoulder. "Saki? Please be a dear and go inside and be good. I’ll need your help later today.”

“B-But my.. My day.. Off?” Saki spluttered to get the words out, to which Elder Sung shook her head. With that one gesture, Saki was resigned to her fate. She went inside and slumped as she had just lost out on enjoying her time off. Elder Sung then stepped aside to welcome Azi and Shizu inside.

“Come in, come in. Let’s see what I can do for you."

Azi and Shizu complied, though it felt as if they had just entered the den of a formidable foe. The smile on Elder Sung’s sultry face was foreboding and the smoking pipe smelled of an enchanting scent.

Settling down at the front counter, Elder Sung served tea to each of them and began to answer Azi's questions.

His main questions concerned burn remedies. Elder Sung went on and suggested the use of numerous herbs that could be found in the nearby forest. Azi believed that these burn medications were going to be essential for when he began working the forge to repair Shizu’s weapon.

Mistakes were bound to happen so Azi was planning ahead.

He went on to ask another question he had thought up in his time here in Shisayama. This one in particular was about magical plants, and he cited some literature he had read to help Elder Sung contextualize her answer.

Unfortunately to Azi’s disappointment, Elder Sung had to explain that there were no such magical plants. Magic was wholly an invisible force, and had no records of taking root in plants.

This was sobering for Azi. As prevalent as magic was in the world, it didn’t mean the world was like a fairy tale. Things in real life weren’t like the stories he read, likely when he was a child. This fact did detract from how fantastical the world seemed.

He continued his exchange with Elder Sung, who was obliged to answer the young man’s exuded exuberance. Shizu and Saki chatted at the side, gossiping and having little fun as they poked at how Azi was acting like a diligent student.

Done with questions, Azi took a tour, looking for what he needed from the shop to get accustomed to apothecary work. He was truly amassing a large number of hobbies, mainly since he was speculative of these professions, there was an urge inside him to discover and experience it himself.

Like with Touma, he was offered an apprenticeship from Elder Sung. Azi had to refuse since he got a somewhat creepy vibe from her. He made sure not to voice that reason in particular.

"What are you looking for now, Azi?" Shizu asked.

"I just need the basics.” Azi replied off-handedly. His focus was locked to the shelves, comparing prices and the size of the tools of the trade. “I’ll need a mortar and pestle, measuring cups, glass bottles, and a pouch to hold them in."

Overhearing, Elder Sung rummaged through the front counter's drawers, pulling out a few items as if she knew where they were by heart.

"I think these will do, and I'll give you a discount if you buy it as a set."

She set down a black mortar and pestle, metal measuring cups, a set of 10 glass bottles of about 3 inches in height and 1 inch in diameter, and finally 2 crimson red leather bags with a black four-leaf clover on its flap. These were all second hand by how they had scuffs on them. This was a good sign, it was affordable and within Azi’s budget.

"Oh, this will work.” Azi picked up the mortar and pestle, making sure there weren’t any cracks in it. “Still in working condition as well, just how much does it cost?"

“Let’s see.”

With a practiced hand Elder Sung pulled out a wooden abacus and began calculating the cost. Strangely this triggered Azi to remember a memory of his parents, again he had been recalling more and more of his past everyday. Not extensively though, it wasn’t a sudden deluge of information, it was more of a trickle, bits and bites of truth.

A few flashes went by of his parents, who did a lot of paperwork and arithmetic for their profession. Their names or faces eluded him, but a sense of nostalgia rose as he watched Elder Sung at work.

Elder Sung clicked and slid one of the wooden beads on the abacus, then nodded in satisfaction. "Alright, this should do.” She said, “Usually these all cost about 4000 Minos, but since you are Shizu's apprentice I'll sell them for 3000 Minos."

Azi nodded, satisfied by the price. "You got yourself a deal."

Just as he grabbed one of the leather bags to start putting everything away, Elder Sung suddenly clapped her hands together to get his attention.

"Now now Azi, while I am giving you a good deal, would you like to get an even better one? I may even make it for free.” A new smile creeped onto Elder Sung’s. “What do you say?" She asked.

Azi, trying not to flinch, gestured for her to go on, albeit reluctantly. "Alright, what do you propose? I know there's no such thing as a free meal."

Sung’s grin widened from ear to ear. Everyone felt a sudden chill down their spines, except Saki. She was cool as a cucumber. She hiddenly snickering at Azi and Shizu.

Unbeknownst to them, Saki knew what was going to happen. It was her teacher's usual antics of pulling pranks on customers, especially those in pairs, and specifically couples as she saw them.

Elder Sung picked up the pestle on the counter and neatly organized it with the other wares she was offering. Grabbing her pipe, she gestured it at Azi and Shizu as she said, "Well! While I do believe that you are Shizu's apprentice, I don't think you’ve really gotten to know each other. A knight’s apprenticeship should be taken seriously, but for you two? You both seem at odds, somewhat.. distant. That’s troubling, so as a concerned citizen I want to ask if you two can show me your solidarity. As a sign of loyalty and respect, I want you both to offer a kiss of fealty to each other."

Azi blinked and then thought.

Uh? What?!