A Meal Worth the Tears
Silver hair veiled the sleeping mind beneath. Her questions were about the cult I'd been in. Why I was there, how I ended up there, how many people were in it, what they did to me, and so on... I answered everything I knew as honestly as I could. But... that day, the mysterious voice that spoke to me... I couldn't mention that.
"I see... So even you don't know exactly what happened to you with them..."
"Sorry."
Vivian gently stroked my head.
"You don't need to apologize. It must've been hard to even recall those memories... Thank you for telling me."
Her voice was a bit subdued, but her touch was surprisingly tender.
"Carlos, what do you think?"
"They were probably trying to summon a demon through a ritual. Considering the scale of the ritual and the number of victims... it wasn't an ordinary demon."
"How extraordinary are we talking?"
"Likely one of the Seven Deadly Sins or something on that level—a top-tier demon."
Vivian's expression grew heavier.
"What's the chance the demon was actually summoned?"
"I checked multiple times, but I couldn't sense any demonic energy indicating a successful summoning."
"So... the ritual failed, and they self-destructed? Is that the read?"
"...I've reported it to the Church, so they'll conduct a full investigation."
"I see..."
Vivian let out a quiet sigh and fell deep into thought. After a moment of silence, she scratched her head and spoke up.
"Let's leave it at that for now."
"Yeah~ We've dragged out the heavy talk long enough. I'm starving—let's go grab some food."
"That sounds like a good idea."
They rose from their seats, preparing to head out again. I stared at them blankly, and Reina tilted her head at me.
"What're you doing? Get up."
"...Am I going too?"
"You not hungry?"
"No, I..."
Vivian cut me off.
"Of course she's hungry. I don't know when she last ate, but we brought her here last night... and now it's lunchtime the next day. She's gone at least half a day without food."
"What? Then she must be starving!"
And right on cue—my stomach let out a loud grrrrowl.
"See?"
I had no choice but to nod faintly in agreement.
"But... I don't have any money."
"Money?"
"You need money to eat at a place like this."
Reina burst out laughing, nearly collapsing on the spot.
"Puhahaha! It's fine~ It's fine~ Vivian'll cover it."
"Why does it end up like that?"
"We got info out of her, so we gotta pay up, right?"
"That's why I'm asking—why is it automatically you paying?"
"But we're broke too."
"Why say that like it's something to brag about?"
Carlos stepped in instead.
"My apologies."
"So you won't buy it?"
Vivian pressed a hand to her forehead with an exasperated sigh.
"Haa... Fine."
She slowly turned her gaze to me.
"Come on. I'll buy you a meal."
"But..."
"When an adult offers to treat you, you just say, 'Oh, yes, thank you~ I'll dig in~' and follow along. Or class it up and say you'll wait here elegantly while they bring the food to the room... something like that?"
I shook my head desperately and scrambled out of bed.
"But... before that, let's get a bath first. And some new clothes."
"Clothes?"
I slowly looked over the rags I was wearing. What might've once been white was now torn in places, stained with blood that had darkened to a rusty crimson, and the hem that dragged below my knees was caked with dust and ash I hadn't shaken off.
"I can't walk around the village looking like this."
"...Uh, yeah."
...
They took me to the hot springs to wash up, then stopped by a nearby clothing shop where they tried all sorts of things on me before buying some proper outfits and helping me into them. After that, we headed to a restaurant.
The savory aromas teased my hunger, while lively chatter and the cheerful clink of cutlery filled the air.
We sat at a table guided by a server, and a menu was promptly placed in front of us.
"..."
Letters I'd never seen before... I scanned them carefully, hoping something might look familiar, but I couldn't read a single word.
"What do you want? Anything look good?"
"...Uh, um..."
I debated confessing I couldn't read, but I worried it'd make them explain every item and annoy them.
"Haven't decided yet?"
Just then, I noticed the food at the next table over. A generous pile of ribs simmered in a rich brown sauce filled the bowl, steam rising from the broth that looked mouthwatering on sight alone.
I hesitantly pointed at it.
"That one..."
Vivian turned to look.
"That?"
I nodded, and she raised a hand to call the server.
"Ready to order?"
"Yes. Then... bison rib stew, four—no, three. Mushroom soup, one. And one bison rib stew extra spicy."
Once the order was in, the server confirmed it and headed to the kitchen.
"Just one serving each? Sigh, we should've ordered more..."
"Yours is extra spicy, so be happy with that. Or do you plan to bankrupt me too?"
Reina grumbled, but Vivian shut her down firmly.
Soon, our food arrived on trays, and the bison rib stew was set before me. Thick chunks of rib peeked out from the dark broth.
Gulp—saliva pooled in my mouth, but I wondered if I could really eat this...
'What if they want me to pay it back... with my body or something later?'
While I eyed it nervously, the others had already started eating. I stared at my stew again, mustered my courage, scooped some onto my spoon, and shoved a big bite into my mouth.
"!!"
In that instant, tender juices and deep spice flavors flooded my mouth. The more I chewed, the sweeter the meat grew. The broth was rich yet not heavy. The warmth of the steam sliding down my throat for the first time in my life made something twinge deep in my chest.
It was the first proper meal of this life.
'...It's delicious.'
And in that moment... the emotions I'd held back exploded, and plip—a tear dropped from my eye.
"Teresa!?"
Reina yelped mid-bite, startled.
"What's wrong!? You okay!?"
"Carlos!"
"Yes, right away!"
As Carlos stood to come over, I frantically shook my head.
"...N-no... I'm f-fine..."
"Then why are you crying?"
My words came out choked through sobs, but I explained as best I could.
"...I-it's... so... delicious."
"Delicious?"
"Y-yeah... Never had anything this good."
"..."
"It's so good... it made me cry... u-uwah..."
...
After the meal, we wandered the village, shopping here and there and sightseeing the small streets. It was a short outing, but by the time we returned to the inn, I was exhausted and dozing on Reina's back.
Reina carefully laid me on the bed and tucked me in. Gazing down at my sleeping face for a moment... an inexplicable emotion washed over her.
Without realizing it, Reina brushed back my silver hair, and suddenly... the image of the little sister she couldn't protect as a child flashed in her mind.
"Teresa..."
She wondered if naming me after her deceased little sister had been a mistake.
As Reina stepped out of the room, Vivian and Carlos were already waiting outside, deep in conversation.
"...We can't be sure everyone connected to the cult has been dealt with."
"We need more investigation."
"I agree."
Reina slipped naturally into the talk.
"The urgent thing is the facility Teresa mentioned that supplied kids to the cult."
"Hm."
"It might be part of the cult itself, or at least hold info on them. And they could still be abusing kids or selling them off somewhere."
Vivian nodded in response.
"They wouldn't have brought kids from too far away. Focusing on nearby orphanages should pinpoint it quickly. I'll request the Adventurer's Guild to look into it."
"Yeah. Thanks."
A brief silence fell, then Carlos spoke calmly.
"That aside, we should decide what to do with Teresa soon."
"...Uh, um... Does it have to be right now?"
Reina frowned awkwardly, but Vivian shook her head firmly.
"Then how long are you planning to put it off? Whether we decide or not, finding a suitable orphanage to take her in—that's the best we can do."
"W-wait! Teresa went through hell at an orphanage! And you're saying send her to another one!?"
"What else? We don't have some perfect spot lined up. I'm not saying the exact same one—not all orphanages abuse kids."
"You don't know that!"
Reina's voice rose with emotion, and silence fell again. Carlos quietly interjected.
"I agree with Vivian."
"Carlos!"
"Hero, we have our mission. Our journey isn't suited for a powerless child to tag along."
"But...!"
As Reina started to protest, Carlos continued steadily.
"How about this?"
"...?"
"Not far west of here is an old city called Dublin. There's a monastery there where I grew up. Since it's my home, I can vouch for its trustworthiness."
He spoke with firm conviction.
"We'll leave her there."
"..."
"Hero?"
Reina clenched and unclenched her fists in silence. She needed a little time to sort her feelings.
A moment later, she finally nodded.