Act 1 Permission

“Princess Komiko-sama, I’ll be doing a ritual soon. Do I have your blessing to do it?” I was her servant I think and it wouldn’t be good to do things without permission. I've learned that lesson long ago.

“Ritual? What is it for?” It’s been a day since the werewolf problem and I thought I should prepare.

“It’s to condition my body. It'll last a few days, not more than 5 and not less than 2.” I said being honest with her.

She was curious? I wasn't sure, as her expressions barely changes when I talk to her or when she talks with my sister.

“Do you have everything you need?” Komiko asked as I now realized she was being thoughtful.

“I still need to find an old enough tree for its sap, a basket of a dozen kinds of fruits, vegetables and meats, a very heavy metal or rock and an open room or place that not many would disturb.” I told her everything the ritual would need, as I have only finished planning it and haven’t started collecting things yet.

The princess was quiet for a long time before she spoke.

“Flenna, show Shiro to the storage rooms, he’ll find most of what he needs there, and then after show him to the attic, Shiro you can use the attic for your ritual, and for other things you’ll need ask your sister, she knows this town more than I.” I gave princess Komiko a bow as thanks, and as I was about to leave with Flenna, she spoke again.

“When you're done preparing, come back to me so I can give you your dose of blood.” I was shocked as I almost forgot about that need.

“Thank you. . . my princess.” With that I left with Flenna.

“Fluga.” Flenna the small maid said, as she held my hand leading me towards the first storage room, I still had no idea what she was saying.

Act 2 Collecting

“I think that’s enough for the food I need.” I said to Flenna as she helped me carry the food I needed. I had a basket of different fruits, an apple, different kinds of berries, an orange, a pearl and slices of watermelon, papaya and a banana.

Flenna was carrying two baskets one filled with different kinds of vegetables and the other with different kinds of preserved meats.

We left the food on a table in the open spaced attic, and then went down again.

“Do you know where I can find a heavy piece of metal or rock? It needs to be as big as my palm.” I asked Flenna, as she seems to understand Nihonjin, but only the princess can speak it, and she seems to be speaking a groot language.

“Fluga!” She seemed to know something, as she held my hand again and led me towards her room, it wasn’t what I expected. . . it doesn’t look like a room at all, it doesn't even have a bed, just some kind of large mechanical charging system, I don’t recognize it.

“Fluga.” She said as she picked up a random looking small metal pipe and handed it to me. . . and quickly I let it go as it was very heavy. “Thunk!”

The pipe made a crack on the stone floor, as it fell.

“Thank you Flenna, please, can you take it to the attic? And then go back to Lady Komiko, I’ll look for my sister and look for the last materials myself.” I asked Flenna.

“Fluga.” She nodded and picked up the pipe and went to the attic as I left her room, and looked for my sister. . . What is Flenna? Is she a Frankenstein's monster? It would explain her ridiculous strength, and that machine.

I found sis vacuuming the dust off a corridor in the western part of the manor.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

“Sis!” I said as I gave her a hug.

“Shiro? What is it?” She asked as she turned off her vacuum.

“Lady Komiko asked me to collect the sap of an old tree, do you know anyone who would know where to start in town?” I asked her, sounding like this was an order from the princess.

“Hmm. . . you should go ask the forest ranger, her name is Sharmina. It's tuesday so you can probably see her, at her outpost it’s on the eastern side of the hill near the edge of town.” The princess was right, my sister does know people here.

“Thank you sis.” I said to her as I was about to go I felt her hand holding my shoulder, keeping me in place.

“Here Shiro, if you can just buy a jar of sweet sap in the market, do it rather than collecting it in the forest.” Nanami gave me a coin pouch in it was the currency of the country, five big silver coins with 500 on the front and a leaf in the back and three bills saying 1000 Toku and the image of an Ashigaru, wielding a naginata.

“I’ll be careful sis goodbye!” I said to her as I ran off.

Act 3 Friendly town

The market didn’t have what I needed, but I did find a store selling glass collecting jars and tree tapping equipment. The store owner even told me it was a town tradition to tree tap local maples during the winter, so I got the equipment cheaply, because it was still late spring.

I rode my sister’s bike towards the east part of town, and looked for signs saying forest ranger office, but I didn’t find it, in the end I saw a student wearing an old dark blue and white sailor school uniform with a red bow.

“I’m terribly sorry, but I'm a bit lost, can I ask you for directions?” I asked the girl, she was older than I was, probably in high school while Shiro was still in middle school.

“How polite, you must be new in town, where do you want to go boy-kun?” I smiled as I was right that being really polite was the culture of this country.

“I’m looking for the forest ranger office, my sister told me I need to find Forest ranger Sharmina-sama.” The older girl gave it a few moments of thought before she pointed back to town.

“You missed the office, it’s on the second floor of a red painted building two blocks that way, the first floor is a flower shop.” I looked towards where she was pointing at and I could see the edge of the red flower shop she was talking about.

I unmounted my sister’s bike and gave the girl a thankful bow.

“Thank you Nee-san, I’ll be going now.” She smiled and waved me off.

“Don’t stay out too late boy-kun!” She yelled at my back as I left.

“Wow, people here are nice, it’s odd Shiro wasn’t able to find his sister in such a helpful town.” I said out loud as I arrived at the store front of the flower shop.

I saw there was a side stairway towards the second floor, I looked at the sign and it said “Fiona’s flower shop.” There wasn’t anything saying there was a ranger's office on the second floor.

I must have looked odd standing there looking at the flower shop’s sign for so long, as the store clerk came out and greeted me.

“Hello there young man, can I help you?” The woman was much older than me, She had light brown hair, pale skin and a bottom heavy slim figure, she was wearing a floral dress and apron.

“Sorry for loitering ma’am, but I was looking for Forest ranger Sharmina-sama, my sister asked me to pick up some maple sap and I was hoping I could tap some after Sharmina-sama tells me where I can go.” I told her honestly as I bowed to her in greeting.

“I was expecting for you to be trouble, but you're a polite young man, sorry to tell you but Sharmina-san isn’t here now. She left this morning to do some surveys.” I probably looked pitiful as I gave a tired sigh as I went for my bike.

“Don’t leave yet young man, if you're looking for sweet maple syrup I can just sell you some.” I turned quickly around excitedly.

“Here, follow me, I’m Fionna, and as you can tell I’m Britannian, good to meet you.” She said to me as she opened her wood and glass door.

“I’m Yukari Shiro, Fiona-sama, thank you for helping me.” I told her clearly as we entered her shop.

And it really was a flower shop. Most of the flowers were outside but there were some flowers and cacti near the front window inside the store.

The middle had what looks like a reading area, and in the other walls had books about flowers and tea, and at the counter there was a display of seeds, with their names and pictures of the herbs or flowers they will grow into.

“You have a lovely store, Fionna-sama, I would love to hang here with friends.” I praised how pretty her store was, and I would love to spend an afternoon drinking tea and reading here.

“You’d be surprised how many students come here just to talk and drink tea. . .I was actually planning to expand my store and make it a cafe.” She said as she looked over a cabinet.

“Fiona-sama if you have maple sap from an old maple, my sister says they make the best tasting cookies when baked.” I told her as she grabbed a jar of sap, looking like honey.

“She would be right, this is from one the oldest maple tree in the maple orchard, she’s around 160 years old I think.” She pointed at the jar.

“Let’s see this is around 500 ml, is that enough Yukari-kun?” I thought about the ritual and I actually just need a 100 ml, so it's fine.

“It is Fionna-sama, and you can call me Shiro, Fionna-sama.” I answered her, and tried to be more personal.

“How much for the maple?” after giving her minute to read her labels.

“This isn’t my best stock, so I’ll give it to you for 250 toku.” She doesn’t have a fixed price? Well I did hear bartering earlier in the market as I was passing by.

“Because I’m so cute, why not 200 toku?” I told her and that made her chuckle.

“Alright because you're cute, I’ll sell it for 200 toku and here, have a few packs of tea leaves on me.” I paid her and she packed everything using some twine and some Furoshiki cloth.

“Thank you Fiona-sama.” I said to her as I bowed and left.

- - - - - Pov Fiona.

As Shiro left the store and biked away, Fiona gave a soft sigh, as her ears became longer and pointed while her teeth sharpened turning carnivorously sharp.

“What a cute boy, if he stayed any longer I would have gobble him up.” She said to herself as the flowers started swaying indoors without wind, and she started playing a small violin as she sat down behind her glass counter.