Dumplings and Steamed Buns
"Could you spread the word to your friends?"
With a beaming grin, the store owner made an awkward little request to Ceria as she was about to leave.
What do I do? I don't have any friends….
But since she couldn't bring herself to say so, Ceria could only duck her head in a small bow.
And the moment she stepped out of the store, a group of cadets blocked her path.
"Hey."
"Uh, um, yes?"
Three female cadets, radiating aristocratic refinement from every pore. Faces she'd crossed paths with a handful of times since enrolling at the Academy — every last one of them the daughter of a noble house.
"You just came out of there, didn't you?"
"…I did, but, um, why do you ask?"
"What did you buy?"
"I didn't buy anything…. I just had lunch and came out…."
"Hmph. Commoners really do eat lowly things, I suppose."
Ceria couldn't understand it.
What crime had she possibly committed to deserve such vicious words?
No — perhaps her commoner origins themselves were simply a thorn in their eyes. It must have grated on them terribly that someone born so obviously beneath them enjoyed the privilege of attending the Academy on the strength of her talent alone.
"You know, now that I think of it, you certainly answer back for a commoner, don't you?"
One of the noble girls stepped forward and jabbed Ceria's shoulder with distasteful little pokes.
"Hey. Are your eyes too good to lower?"
Ceria pressed her lips shut and simply kept her head bowed. It was a familiar ritual for her. When a commoner mixed among the children of nobles, this sort of thing was par for the course.
And in those moments, the best policy was always to do as she was told.
"Haha, but she does at least know her place."
"If she knew her place, she should never have had the gall to enroll here in the first place."
There was no one in this place on her side.
The Academy's rules declared that students would not be discriminated against by station, but not a single cadet observed them. Even the faculty quietly condoned the climate — naturally enough, since they too were nobility by birth.
Yet even so, Ceria refused to be cowed. She knew all too well the sacrifices her commoner parents had made to send their precious daughter to the Academy.
And so, as always, she resolved to endure it in silence.
"From now on, whenever you see us, don't you dare meet our eyes."
"Right. Keep your head down like the criminal you are. Being a commoner is a crime in itself, after all."
"Pffhah. I like that one."
She was hollowly enduring their tirade when it happened.
Saaaah….
…Huh?
Ceria suddenly felt a chill sweep through her entire body.
"Wh-what is this?"
"Is it just me, or is it suddenly freezing?"
It wasn't only her — the noble girls had begun to feel the abrupt cold as well.
"Oh no."
The color drained from their faces in an instant.
"Ekaterina!"
They all shrieked the name at once, staring at the same spot. When Ceria turned her head out of curiosity, a beautiful girl with hair as white as fresh snow stood there, unmoving.
"What?"
Ekaterina asked in a voice cold as frost, her gaze fixed on the noble girls.
"N-nothing."
"Tch. Let's go!"
They had called her name as she happened to pass by, and she had merely asked why. Yet the girls scattered like villains promising to settle the score another day.
…What was that about.
Ekaterina, having no idea what had just transpired, could only find it baffling. And when the pink-haired girl folded into a deep bow before her — "Th-thank you!" — she found herself all the more mystified.
Ekaterina von Winterbaut.
By bloodline, she hailed from a house second to none save the imperial family itself — for she was not merely the daughter of some ordinary duchy, but the only child of the Grand Duke of the North. It went without saying that even other nobles could not treat her lightly.
'?'
Yet lately, someone had been catching her eye more and more — a small girl with pink hair, like some timid little animal.
During class, during breaks, the girl simply could not take her eyes off Ekaterina. Presumably ever since Ekaterina had received her thanks a few days prior.
…I didn't even do anything.
She was curious, but she had no intention of asking. She had never been particularly gifted with words to begin with.
Frankly, attracting the attention of others was nothing new to Ekaterina. What was remarkable was how thoroughly she ignored attention in return — it was simply her nature.
A wolf, one might say. It was the defining trait of those with Northern blood: utter, biting indifference toward anyone outside the pack — anyone not of their house, their kin, their own.
And so while Ceria's presence did catch her eye, it never once irritated her. It was precisely the sort of situation that would have made any other noble fly into a rage… but to a Northerner, who prized courage above every value in the world, questions of birth hardly mattered at all.
Perhaps that was why, when Ceria mustered the courage to speak to her, Ekaterina was genuinely taken aback.
"E-Ekaterina?"
It was as if a squirrel had addressed a wolf. At the thought, a flicker of interest stirred in her. What, she wondered, would this small creature say?
The answer was truly the last thing she expected.
"Won't you come to the convenience store with me…?"
Ekaterina couldn't grasp the meaning of the offer. But one thing was certain — Ceria was, at the very least, a girl who knew how to repay a kindness. Even with a thin purse, she could manage some small token of gratitude.
*
"Hmm…."
As I stood watch over the store where the flies were the only customers today, a question occurred to me.
At this point, did the Headmistress secretly issue a ban on my store or something?
No, really — you can have zero customers, but this is ridiculous. There was no way I'd have anything to show for myself within the one-month deadline at this rate. I was seriously contemplating whether I needed to go outside and hawk my wares like a street vendor.
And she said she'd bring friends, but not a peep since….
Had she been lying when she said she could eat my food every day and never tire of it?
Hmm. No, that's not it.
Her reaction when she ate the kimbap had been genuine. The truth-gap between her eyebrows had proven it.
"Haaah…."
I was in the middle of yet another sigh when —
Ding-a-ling.
The door of a store I'd believed would never open swung wide, and the bell chimed.
"Welcome in—"
I shot up from my seat to greet the customer — and promptly froze on the spot.
It wasn't Pinky coming back for round two. It was the sheer, staggering beauty of the girl accompanying her.
What is she, a doll?
The white-haired girl had something of a frosty air about her, but her beauty was beyond description. Porcelain-pale skin that seemed to glow — and a figure so slender she made Pinky look like a child.
The sudden appearance of a second stunning beauty had rather deflated me, but I quickly remembered my duties and asked in my most cheerful voice,
"So you brought a friend, huh?"
At my casual tone, Pinky just grinned sheepishly instead of answering.
"Hehe…."
Good girl. She kept her promise after all! Honestly, with how timid she was, I hadn't held out much hope!
Wait, why is it suddenly so cold in here?
I snuck a glance at the refrigerated display case — no problems there. Which meant the culprit was probably that girl over there…. In fact, despite the weather being anything but chilly outside, Pinky had been shivering ever since she stepped through the door. The white-haired girl, meanwhile, wore an expression best described as placidly indifferent.
Did I really need to think hard about it? I just wrote her off as some ice-attribute ability user.
Anyway.
"Kimbap again today?"
"Ah…. I'm not sure."
"Sure, sure. How about your friend — anything she wants?"
At my question, Whitey stared at me, unblinking.
What's with the look? You're making this awkward.
I scratched my cheek without quite knowing why.
"Nothing in particular."
Oh really?
Then why did you come.
I swallowed the question with great effort.
"Shall I make a recommendation, then?"
In lieu of an answer, Whitey turned her head and looked at Pinky — as if to say, you brought me here, so deal with it.
But that wasn't about to produce an answer either.
"I-I'm sorry. Actually, this is only my second time here too…."
Realizing that it fell to me after all, I stepped out from behind the counter.
It's a bit early in the season for this, but….
I gestured for the two girls to follow me.
"Manjjindu-bbang…?"
The girls read the sign and spoke at the same time.
"Dumplings and steamed buns. It's a filling wrapped in dough made from wheat flour — vegetables, meat, or sweet red bean paste, depending on the kind."
The moment I saw Whitey, this was the food that had sprung to mind. Nothing beats dumplings and steamed buns when it's cold out.
Normally they'd be sitting in the steamer ready to eat, but since the season hadn't quite arrived yet, I'd been keeping them in storage — so I pulled them out to show the girls.
"Well? Think you'll go with these?"
Once again, Whitey deferred to Pinky.
"Y-yes! We'll take those, please!"
Attaboy.
"Dumpling or steamed bun? Which would you like?"
"One of each, please…!"
"Coming right up. You know how to work a microwave, right?"
"…I'm allowed to do it myself?"
"Of course you are."
Convenience stores are self-serve by nature.
"Just peel the bag open a tiny bit and heat it for the time on the instructions. Simple, right?"
I'd been ready to help if she got lost, but Pinky managed just fine. Then again, no machine on Earth is more intuitive than a microwave.
Wheeeeeee.
While the microwave hummed away, I watched the two girls settle at the table. Whitey remained stony-faced throughout, while Pinky kept fidgeting with her fingers.
Are they not that close…?
Well, closeness doesn't require constant chatter, I suppose.
At last —
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The microwave chimed to announce it had finished. When Pinky shot me a look asking if she could take them out, I gave her a nod.
"Wow, look at all that steam…!"
"Careful, they're hot."
Not long after I warned them not to burn their mouths, the moment arrived — Whitey and Pinky each took their first bite of dumpling and steamed bun.
"Oh waaah! It's so soft and fluffy!"
That came, of course, from Pinky, whose reactions had always been top-notch —
"……!"
but at the same moment, I witnessed something for the very first time since she'd started visiting my store: the icy face of Whitey, for the first time, reacted.