At the Academy, Monsters Are Common Sense (1)
There had been commotion of one kind and another, but sales did not lie.
From the very first day they had burned through a full ninety percent of the stock prepared in advance—and that was afternoon business alone. Brunok and I laid in still more inventory to keep the momentum from breaking. He had already scraped together every last drop of lager he owned, and even then he fretted, hauling in several extra casks of ale for good measure. Faced with the biggest windfall of his life, the man turned sentimental.
"I had a dream once, too, Jinwoo."
"Where is this coming from? Are you drunk?"
"Me, I wanted to be the greatest brewer in the whole tribe. I crossed over into the Empire, and life got so tight I never could give the brewing my all, but still."
"Aigo. I can't get through to you."
"How beautiful is the back of a man who knows, clear as day, when the time has come to go! I think this job might let me graduate. Jinwoo. It's all thanks to you."
"Pull yourself together. We aren't finished yet."
The greatest brewer in the tribe? So he hadn't been an imperial to begin with?
The question rose, but I didn't dig. Until a man offered something like that himself, it was an awkward thing to ask.
As if to answer Brunok's soaring spirits, business boomed the next day, and the day after that. The generous stock even let us run the night stall—the real objective—and word of mouth spread wider still. Once the experience booths closed, the festival grounds usually emptied, but the customers seeking out our shop kept a sizable crowd in the streets well into the night. That spillover, the whole market strip coming back to life, had the other merchants cheerfully opening for night trade as well. The result was a night that any other time would have belonged to drunks stumbling about, and yet all sorts of people were still out enjoying food.
"Cold beer on a summer night, and chicken skewers. If this isn't sex, then what is!"
"Hm... sorry, but this is gastronomy, not intercourse. Have you never actually done it?"
"You bastard. You looking for a fight?"
Of course there were ordinary drunks among them.
"Mmm, Father always forbade it—said it was commoners' food—and I feel as if I've wasted half my life...!"
"You're so right. I never dreamed skewers could taste like this..."
There were noble young ladies as well, dressed down and savoring every bite. People-watching had a flavor of its own, and with the food flying off the grill there wasn't a dull moment to be had.
"You're still going to see the magic show, aren't you? Magic from the Empire's greatest mage isn't something you come across every day."
"Of course. Finish this and get up, and we ought to make it in time."
Overhearing the customers, I hurriedly checked the time. Eight in the evening. The show began at nine—barely an hour left. Today was the last day of that grand affair, and a finale worthy of it had been prepared: a spectacular magic show, the students of the magic department performing alongside Ermia. I was not about to miss the beauty that would embroider Belegrad's night sky just because I was working a stall. We would be able to see something of it from here, but that felt like a shame.
"Jerry, you managing all right on the skewers?"
"Yes! This is more fun than waiting tables."
"Mind if I leave them with you a while? I'll pay you extra."
"Please do, boss. I'm begging you."
I caught Jerry at the grill in a lull between turns on the floor. I had been handing him little shifts like this off and on for days, and by now he turned the skewers with real skill. At this rate I could leave them in his hands and go with an easy mind.
"Ailenna, let's get ready!"
"Ah—okay! Hehe."
Ailenna, who had once lived in Nuardel. This was not Silbaerin; coming all the way to the imperial capital was no small journey for her. Which meant a chance like this could not be allowed to slip past. The two of us decided to clock out a little early and go see the show. We took off our aprons and took turns changing in the break room, and before we left the shop I gave Brunok a word.
"As we discussed, we're stepping out for a bit. That's all right?"
"Obviously. This whole situation feels more like magic to me than any show."
"You do have a way with words. See you in a little while!"
"Yeah, yeah. Off you go."
Brunok was too busy pouring beer in an endless stream to spare us more than that. I took Ailenna's hand and stepped outside.
"Sorry. We've been so busy I couldn't make the time until now."
"Mm, it's okay. This is plenty for me!"
Her face was so fresh and bright it was hard to believe she had been working until a moment ago. We weren't doing the same work, but we worked the same shop—was this the difference between races? She perked her ears, delighted, and smiled bright as anything, and at the sight my own heart swelled for no good reason.
Step by step we walked toward the main street, and sure enough the crowds were thick. Maybe it only felt that way because I had been stuck in the shop for the whole of the festival.
"Whoa... so many people. And even this is almost the last of it."
"Tell me about it. Where did the time go?"
"It was fun. Really... deciding to follow you, Jinwoo, was the best choice I ever made."
She said it and laced her fingers tighter through mine. Just as she said, more than a month had flown past. If anything, it was hard to believe so much had happened in so short a span. We had signed the hardtack contract, and somehow I had ended up running a stall and selling in front of the school besides. I had picked up a new beer recipe, and now I was making chicken skewers and selling those too.
Do whatever you want, Jinwoo.
Looking at it this way, I really had been doing exactly what I wanted. Enjoying the work was one thing; I was tired all the same. Next time I would have to rein it in a little.
"Oh, hey! Hero of Arcadia Village!"
"Huh? Uncle Tangle?"
"Not even Uncle Nuts—what's this Uncle Tangle nonsense? Anyway, you off to the magic show?"
"Yes. Just the two of us got off early."
"Heh. Must be nice, being young."
We were drawing fairly close to the main street when the man who sold nuts beside the toast stall called out to us. I stopped for a moment to talk.
"What are you selling, sir? Walnuts?"
"It's a festival, so I put in a little effort to match. Nut brittle! I'll give you one each—eat them while you watch."
"Oh, thank you."
"Ehehe, thank you! They look delicious."
True enough, give plain nuts the slightest touch and they made a fine snack. With something like walnuts—nuts with a good large kernel—you didn't crush them. You roasted them crisp, tossed them in honey or sugar syrup, and let the whole thing set, and what you had was nut brittle, the crunch and the sweetness both beyond reproach. Heat the syrup on purpose until it caramelized, and that depth married the nuts' toasted savor into something genuinely refined. To think this man could make a thing like that. It wasn't a difficult food, but it surprised me.
Crunch, crunch—Ailenna nibbled her walnut brittle like a squirrel. I took mine gladly and popped it straight into my mouth.
"Oh, you judged it just right. That's some real skill."
"Heh heh. When it comes to nuts, I'm untouchable. If the square's too packed, try the west hill. Outsiders flood in every year to see the magic show, so the locals all go watch from up there."
"Ha. A tip on top of the candy. Next time I'll make you a toast. You have to come by."
"Then I'll take you up on it. Have yourselves a good time! All right—Tangle Brittle! Fresh batch, finally cracked open! Try one, folks, one each!"
That hawker's line of his never changed.
Ailenna and I followed the tip toward the west hill. Just as the man had said, it was quieter here than the central square—relatively speaking. It was hardly empty. Still, there was room enough for the two of us to plant ourselves. We dropped onto the gentle grassy slope with a soft thump, and the cool green smell of the grass cleared the head.
"Sitting like this... it's so nice. It feels like it's only the two of us."
"Th-there are people sitting right in front of us."
"Dummy. That's not what I meant. Sometimes it really seems like all you know is cooking. Honestly."
She clicked her tongue, teasing. I wasn't entirely without a sense for these things; I understood her well enough. But her reactions were just too delicious. That was why I wanted to tease her even more.
Ailenna wrapped both arms around her knees and gazed blankly at the lights of the central square. I opened my arms and drew her in hard against me. At the sudden closeness her ears fluttered, and she startled.
"Wh-what? You scared me..."
"Why? Embarrassed?"
"No. Last time you said there were too many eyes, and not to do this outside..."
"Just because. This is a special moment, so I figured it would be all right."
The body of someone you loved always came to you with a particular tenderness. You loved it, first of all—and because it was finite, the feel of it ached all the more. Her frame, slender and soft, came through to me with perfect clarity. Maybe because I was holding her half against my chest, I seemed to hear both our heartbeats, distinct and close. We stayed like that a long while, saying nothing, only feeling each other's warmth.
Then—thump, boom.
"Whoa, the magic show's starting!"
"Another summer winding down. It was too hot."
"Lady Ermia really is something. How does she even control magic on that scale...?"
From the sky over the central square, clusters of light climbed. Red as flame, blue-green as ice, colors bright and many-hued embroidered the night. Broad fire magic met cold magic and flashed to vapor in an instant, raising a thick fog. A wind from who knew where came carrying fine grains of sand, and met the flame. A rattling crackle—and then fireworks on a massive scale unfolded across the sky. Ermia might look like a bit of a ditz, but she was impressive when it counted. Controlling every path and every beat of the magic like that, and all the while taking care that none of it harmed the spectators—wasn't that exactly what she was doing?
"Haaa... it's beautiful..."
Rapture filled Ailenna's blue eyes. Anyone looking on a sight like this would wear that expression, I thought. Even I, who had seen grand fireworks back in the modern world, was this astonished.
"Wooooah!!"
"Wow!! That's incredible!"
"Kyaaaaaaaah!!!!"
See? Cheers like that were rising from the square as well.
"Waaaah... waaaaaah!!!"
"E-eeek!! What is that?"
"A m-monster!!"
Right. A magic show so magnificent it might as well be a monster...
"What? A monster?"
"J-Jinwoo. Something looks wrong. Look over there."
The cheers we were hearing curdled, little by little, into screams. I was not the only one who sensed something off; Ailenna pointed, flustered, and I followed her finger.
"Kieeeeeek!!! Krrgk!!"
"Kwoooooor!!"
The direction she indicated was the central square. From the place where the people were packed tightest came cries that stirred an instinctive terror. A low rumble rolled through the ground—and with it, pitch-black smoke and flame that were plainly no part of the magic show.