What Is That?
"You mean you only need the morning?"
It was the morning after a night in Alaska. Pele had a collar around my neck when she went to find Queen Knight and stated her business.
"Yeah. We came all the way to Alaska, so I at least want to look around the village. We didn't have time yesterday. After the operation we were out of our minds."
Beaming, Pele gave the rope of fire a tug, and I was dragged along behind her, pitiful as could be.
"This one needs a little discipline, too."
For an instant, pity flickered through Queen Knight's eyes. I put on the most wretched face I could manage and sent her a signal.
Save me!
But yesterday's karma ran deeper than I had expected. In a flash Queen Knight was her usual cold, severe self again.
"You are welcome to remain not merely for the morning, but for several days. It occurs to me that we failed to account for your fatigue. After a major operation, we ourselves grant our people a week or two of rest."
"Will the Prophet be all right? She's a precious child, isn't she?"
"The goddess of Hawaii said she would be fine, so I have set that worry aside. And if she were going to wake, would she not have woken already?"
Queen Knight seemed far more at ease than she had yesterday. Pele's firm word had clearly done its work.
"So please rest easy, and enjoy yourselves. This branch looks shabby from the outside, but its amusements and the rest of its welfare facilities are fitted out to the latest standard. There is plenty to eat. Choose whatever you like."
Pele's eyes spun so fast they blurred. Anyone could see the offer had hooked her.
"Pel—Pele! You said the pet only got the morning!"
"An animal, talking like a person?"
She dropped onto my back where I crouched on all fours. My face burned. Ah. So this was shame.
"Hmm..."
Pele stroked her chin. Sweat dripped through a long, grinding wait. At last she smiled wryly and shook her head.
"Forget it. Play through the morning, and that's enough. Stay any longer and our kids will worry."
"Understood. Then I will have a plane for headquarters ready around two."
Queen Knight respected Pele's decision.
"This card grants unlimited use of the branch. Everything is free, so enjoy yourselves at your ease."
"Thanks."
Pele pocketed the card and patted my thigh with her foot.
"Hyah! Hyah! Come on, we're out of time! We have to look around, fast!"
"Pele... Could you at least let me walk on two feet?"
"You only stand on two feet when I allow it. Quit whining and crawl!"
"Ghk—!"
Tears in my eyes, I scrambled forward on hands and knees. As I made for the entryway, San-gun, who had been rolling around the living room, caught sight of me and twitched his nose.
"Krung. Krung."
Walk straight, rookie! That is not how you go on all fours!
Reduced to being insulted by a common beast!
"Don't lock eyes with someone who didn't do anything! Out, now!"
"Y-yes, ma'am!"
Pele yanked my hair as if she meant to tear it all out, and I took my first step into a street full of stares—as a pet.
The Terra Alaska Branch.
A place where TERA staff came to rest—after injuries, after missions, on leave. There was the not-quite-a-drawback of having to take on a role as one of the villagers while you recovered, but when you rested here, you truly rested. It was one of Terra's welfare systems.
"What is that?"
"I don't know either."
The agent playing the bar's owner felt the corner of his eye twitch at the girl and the young man who had planted themselves at a table as if they owned it.
A bronze-skinned girl had charged into the bar astride a young man whose face refused to stick in the memory. Bright as morning, she had thrust out a card and declared:
"Bring out every dish and every drink in this place!"
Proud as a general returning in triumph, radiating a pressure no one could quite refuse, she demanded a spread of food that hardly suited her looks. The agent took the card. The moment he recognized it as a special card reserved for guests, he served liquor and dishes without limit.
Roughly thirty minutes later, the scene before them had come to this.
"How are we supposed to clear that away..."
The agent working the floor let his worry show.
The bronze-skinned girl grinned from ear to ear and poured liquor down without a care. She tipped bottle after bottle straight at the ceiling, and not a single drop escaped the corner of her mouth. Beside her, the young man—his face black as death—poured a glass and sipped. More than ten empty bottles rolled at his feet.
Cheeks flushed red with drink, the girl rubbed her face against his.
"Aigoo, my baby. Why are you so hopeless at drinking? How are you going to do a man's duty anywhere, like that?"
"Pele...! I've already finished five bottles by myself! And day-drinking, in broad daylight! What kind of shameless behavior is this!"
"It's breakfast! Breakfast! You've got to fill your belly before you play, don't you?!"
She laughed, big and hearty, and tore into a chicken leg with rough hands.
"How long has it been! We've only got a little while, so it's got to be short and thick—and an empty stomach kills the mood!"
"The mood already died the moment you paraded me down the main street on your back! What else is left to kill?!"
"Oh, come on. Since when have you cared what people think? Just ignore them and play with me~."
The girl hung roughly from the young man's neck. He wrapped both arms around her so she wouldn't fall.
"All right, belly's full. Time to play!"
Tipsy, she flung an arm toward the door. The young man stuffed what food remained into his mouth and got to his feet.
"Let's go!"
"Haa."
He gathered the girl up in his arms, then turned to the server, who was pulling a sour face.
"Where's the best place around here to have some fun?"
"A place to have fun..."
"Out back there's a hiking trail and a soccer field. Farther in, an internet café, a billiard hall, that sort of thing."
The owner answered in the server's place.
"There's a hiking trail?"
"Yes. A trail climbs the mountain behind us. The path is rough, but it's perfect for a workout. Reach the top, and you'll have a magnificent view."
"Let's go there! A mountain. A mountain! A mountain I cannot refuse!"
She kicked and flailed like a child throwing a tantrum. Steadying the swaying Pele, the young man bowed his head to server and owner alike.
"Thank you. Sorry for the trouble."
"Have a pleasant day."
Soothing the squawking girl, he went out.
The server scratched his head.
"She's not actually a little kid, right?"
"Where would you find a little kid in a place like this? Some kind of special ability user, probably."
The owner rolled up his sleeves.
"Let's just clean it up. It's an eyesore."
"Yes, sir."
Server and owner scrubbed hard at the place the two guests had left, working the mops until the floor shone. For all the racket of their meal, they had left things surprisingly clean, and the work was quickly done.
A bell chimed.
"Welco—?"
At the sound of the bell on the door, the server turned on reflex.
"Uh... uh...?"
"What are you—?"
The owner was puzzled by the server's daze, and a moment later he understood why.
A beautiful woman had come in with a white tiger in attendance. Sacred and noble suited her better than merely beautiful. Her red hair seemed to hold the light of sunset, and the proud line of her closed lips let one guess at rank and station. Even two agents tempered by long mental discipline could not keep their wits about them, and neither spoke until she opened her mouth.
"Are you the proprietor?"
"Yes? Yes! I'm the owner."
The owner snapped to attention as rigidly as he had in his rookie days.
"The card. Once you have confirmed it, your finest wine and steak."
From a wide sleeve she drew a card. The owner looked it over. It was the same card the earlier guests had carried.
"C-confirmed. One moment, please."
He hurried off in a fluster to pass along the order. The woman sat in the window seat where the sunlight fell best, and crossed her legs.
The server swallowed hard and brought a handkerchief and water on trembling legs.
"I-if you need anything else, just raise your hand."
"Understood."
His task was done, yet he did not step away. He could not. He had seen dozens of beauties in TERA, and had even been granted a brief interview with Queen Knight, the pinnacle among them. It was a somewhat rude thing to think, but beside this woman even Queen Knight came up several moves short. The server wavered between his station and his desire.
Should I try saying something? I'm not exactly ugly...
"You."
"Yes?"
She lifted a languid gaze and looked up at him. He learned, for the first time, that his heart could beat so fast.
"A few minutes ago, did a girl and a young man not stop in here?"
"Th-they did."
"Then I would like to hear what they did in this place."
Th-this is my chance!
He wet his lips and brought every flourish of his eloquence to bear. His gift for turning thirty minutes of sitting, eating, and drinking into a grand historical epic was, admittedly, remarkable. The veteran touch of slipping in a few words on his own behalf—and a little flattery for the woman—came at no extra charge.
"I see... They went to the mountain?"
When she had heard it all, she drained a glass of water and rose.
"The food is ou—? Guest?"
The owner, arriving with the dishes at just that moment, called after the woman already brushing past.
"The food...?"
"Ah. Give that to the clerk. It is the price of the story. I have somewhere I must be, and quickly."
"What?"
Before anyone could stop her, she vanished with the tiger as suddenly as she had come.
Clerk and owner stared at each other through a long, awkward silence.
"...Should we close up early?"
"Quit the nonsense and eat this. Hah... Two nightmares before noon."
The owner dumped the food on the clerk. The clerk let his shoulders slump and opened the expensive wine. It tasted as lonely as his heart.