Sunny-Side Up

"What kind of disgusting thing is that to say?"

Skadi took one look at Blow's face, twisted in open revulsion, and burst out laughing.

"I mean I didn't hate it!"

"I'm starting to like you a little less, as of just now."

"If I'm being precise, it's more of a feeling. Like... I didn't hate it, back then?"

"So this is an old story."

"Yeah. The kids hated you, sure, but come on. It's not like you went around bullying the commoner kids. You just liked your drink a bit too much."

Blow, who had been turning over his past with a fairly sharp regret, could only tilt his head at that.

"Out of nowhere?"

"People drink in class sometimes. These days I sneak it into my coffee too, you know?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. When I grabbed the History of Magic professor by the collar, I was stone sober."

"That was because that man... Never mind. You look uncomfortable, so I'd better stop."

"Good. You're scariest when you're being serious. Just drink."

Skadi, who had been staring straight at him, tipped her beer back and drained it in long gulps.

A few more glasses came and went. Then Skadi let out a thin sigh, glanced toward Hervena—already breathing the soft, even breath of sleep—and spoke.

"You know a lot of people came after Hervena while you were down, right?"

"I figured they would."

It was one of the things Blow had already expected. Connections were half the reason anyone from across the continent tried to reach the Imperial Capital or Caipol. Work hard at school in Caipol, the city of education, and you might build ties not only with the nobility but with the imperial family itself. The nobles were no different. Find even one brilliant mind, and you could make use of that person—and of the generation that followed.

In that light, Hervena was being called a talent the likes of which came once in an age. Every powerful house was surely already licking its lips.

"Julbert, Greig, all of them. The school's small. Sit still and the talk still finds you."

"And when have you ever sat still?"

"I was just going around drinking."

"Why aren't you interested in Hervena, Skadi? You're a daughter of House Hetaya, one of the great houses."

"My sister and brother handle the family anyway. All I have to do is not cause trouble."

"Right. They're both in the Imperial Capital now, aren't they?"

"Yeah. My brother's with the Imperial Palace knights, and my sister got into Serdia Magic University."

As she spoke of them, her eyes lowered, just slightly, for reasons he couldn't name.

"And I want to be Hervena's friend. I don't want to stand above her. That puts distance between people."

"...I've thought this for a while. I don't think there's anyone at this school harder to get a read on than you."

"Hearing that from you, of all people, feels weird, you know?"

Skadi let out a short laugh, and Blow answered with a shrug.

"Fair. I'm hardly in a position to talk about anyone else."

"Watching you these past few days—and today especially—I really do think you've gotten strange."

"Since when have you been watching me?"

"Since you dumped those potatoes on Hervena."

Remembering the sky at sunset the day before, Blow muttered, embarrassed.

"You watched for a long time."

"The old you would've beaten someone half to death over that and just walked off."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"It is. Which is why I'm saying this. I'd rather you didn't hand Hervena off to some other house."

Blow couldn't begin to follow her thinking. She was the one who had watched Hervena's every move from right beside her. By all rights she ought to have been doing everything she could to pull Hervena away from him.

"Why?"

"Her face looks the most natural when she's with you. School has to be hard on her. The teachers, the other students—everyone's staring only at her."

"So that hasn't changed, then or now?"

"One of the things that never does."

"I might not have changed as much for the better as you think."

"I don't know. I'm sure of it."

"How many times have you even seen me, Skadi? A few days, at most."

"One sip is enough, if the drink is good."

With that she emptied the last drop of the beer left in front of her. Blow was quiet for a moment, turning her words over, then spoke as he traced his chin with a finger.

"Then maybe I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shouldn't be the one. From Hervena's side, I mean."

"Why?"

"I wronged her before. And our house isn't in any position to invest in her the way it used to."

"That's true enough..."

"Once she reaches fifth year, real practical training starts, and that costs far more than it does now. So I'm going to let Hervena do as she likes."

Without quite noticing, the two of them had both turned to look at Hervena, folded over the table. Only the occasional breath stirred. She was plainly deep asleep.

"For someone who says that, you worked her awfully hard today. What, trying to send her off for good?"

"We're still bound by contract. If she says she's leaving, I won't be able to stop her. But I've been thinking about this ever since I woke up. Take the omniscient archmage's view of things, and our house is still only a baron's house."

"Even so, your family must have put a great deal into her..."

"Whoever means to take her will press a fortune into our hands to do it. It won't matter."

"Tsk. Well, if that's how you see it."

Skadi clicked her tongue and lifted her glass, only to find nothing left in it. Blow saw as much and rose.

"I'll get it."

"This'll be the last one tonight. I'll dump her at the dorm, more or less."

"I was going to ask. Thanks."

"The drink tastes good tonight! Will two gold cover it?"

At that outrageous sum, a smile bloomed across Blow's face.

"...Want me to make more snacks?"

"Really?"

"Sure. How about boiled potatoes?"

"I think I've had enough potatoes!"

The voices were plainly close, and yet they reached her muffled, as if through water. Hervena, who had been watching the door through eyes opened only a sliver, let them slide shut at last.

"You think you'll be delayed about a day?"

Blow had pushed through the morning trade on sheer stubbornness, finished preparing for the evening service, and was now speaking with his mother from the communication post at school. Romang, Melo's mother, and Luce, his own, were on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠their way up to Caipol. They had been making good time until a carriage spoke bent, and now it seemed they would be a day late.

The stated reason for the journey was, of course, to take Melo back down with them. But Alfred the butler was with them as well, and Blow had a feeling they also meant to see just how he was getting on in Caipol.

"Yes. I'll see you at lunch tomorrow."

When the call ended, he returned to the inn. Cobwebs clung to the signboard, and the building itself looked ready to collapse at any moment. A deep sigh escaped him.

I should start thinking about where to move.

No matter how he turned it over, the Nyx Inn was no place to use for long. The hall and the washroom were far too cramped, and without a proper storeroom the beer and other ingredients he had scrambled to secure had to be stacked outside.

He set that problem aside for the moment and began laying out the day's plan for his staff.

"You're setting a limit on how many tables we take in a day?"

"Yeah. We'll sell only a set number of takeout potatoes, too."

"Then we won't have leftovers like yesterday."

"Better than everyone working themselves into the ground. Linne and Hervena both said they couldn't come today, anyway."

Beside them, Hans was rubbing at his stiff lower back, smiling with a trace of embarrassment.

"Young master, is that boy coming? Bedi, was it?"

"Yes. I stopped by the school and spoke with him before the call."

"That's wonderful news!"

"Once we're properly open, let's have a staff dinner."

"Yes, sir!"

"A staff dinner! What are we gonna eeeat?"

Melo clasped her hands and looked up at Blow with shining eyes. His expression, though, could only harden.

"You have to go back down, Melo."

"Whaaat...?"

"It's only been pushed back a day. When your carriage gets here tomorrow, you get on it and go straight back."

"......"

Melo's face fell. She dropped her head, all the strength gone out of her. It hurt him to see, but he couldn't let it show, so he put even more weight into his voice.

"Which is all the more reason to sell only a limited amount for now. Jane, Hans, and I all need to learn properly from you today."

"Yes."

"Yes. Understood."

Melo, who ought to have answered brighter than anyone, sat wilted and silent. Blow pretended not to see and turned the talk toward Jane.

"No hangover, I take it?"

"Uh—no!"

"I thought you wouldn't even be able to get up today. That's a relief. Hans, did you buy today's beer?"

"Yes. I left it outside."

"Then let's put a chill spell on it first."

Blow stretched, rose, and Hans and Jane followed him out. Sunlight poured into the kitchen, and Melo was left alone in it.

Tears welled in her eyes as she looked around. She scrubbed at them hard with her palms, then stared for a long time at the mayonnaise Blow had given her.

"The carriage should be fully repaired. We ought to be able to leave first thing tomorrow morning."

Alfred reported it to Luce in a courteous voice, and she nodded.

"Thank you, Alfred."

"Then I'll take my leave."

They were at a hotel in Eastpol, on the outskirts of Caipol. Luce sat on a terrace overlooking the city, drinking tea, while Megan and Romang, who attended her, were still unpacking her things.

"Thank you for coming with me, Megan. No one else wanted to go."

"I've wanted to see Caipol for a long time. It's quite all right."

"Well, you are friends with Hervena."

"Yes."

But Megan, neat in her bob, had volunteered to come less for her friend than out of curiosity about Blow. She wanted, badly, to know whether he had truly changed—and if he had, how much, and in what way. She pressed that question down and kept at the luggage, until Luce, watching Eastpol under the setting sun, spoke in a bright voice.

"Romang, what should we have for dinner?"

"Ah—I meant to ask you, my lady, and forgot. Shall I cook? I can ask the restaurant's leave."

"Don't. Let's find somewhere good nearby and eat together. The hotel is fine, too."

"Thank you for the kindness."

"Think of it as a holiday and relax. Come to think of it, this is my first time back in Caipol since I brought Blow here."

"It's a noisy place. And the air isn't very good."

"But it's more convenient than anywhere else."

Since the business with Melo, she had spoken with Blow about once every three days, and every time his voice had been worn thin with fatigue. It weighed on her. The thought of going to see him left her so uneasy she could hardly sleep.

It's his first venture. It must be harder than I can imagine.

Caipol was a city of commerce, and therefore a ruthless one. Even nobles who started a business without proper preparation often fled without recovering so much as their principal. It happened all the time. On the day Blow left for Caipol she had watched in secret from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠inside the manor, and she had regretted ever since that she had not at least taken his hand at the end.

"I wonder if he's managing..."

"Still, when you spoke with him, didn't the young master say nothing was wrong?"

"He says so little that it only worries me more."

"They do say no news is good news."

"Yes, you're right, I suppose. I wonder if Melo is well. That child, really..."

Luce sipped the black tea—well steeped, soft in its fragrance—and went on with a faint smile.

"Do you remember? That night the two of us watched Melo cooking in secret."

"Ah. About four years ago."

"I nearly fainted."

"Melo was so cute back then, wasn't she? She still is."

Luce, finished with her tea, was taking in the view outside. Romang, her work done, had fallen into thought.

She understood the daughter who took after her. There had been a time when she, too, had wanted to escape stifling Blanya and go out into a city. But climbing secretly into a carriage because she was curious about Caipol had gone too far. Everything had its time, and its rules, and its proper order.

The day Melo vanished, the people of the whole domain had walked Blanya searching for her. Her lady, who adored the girl, most of all—she had not slept, and for days and nights she had cut across the fields at Romang's side. If Baron and Baroness Deblique had not thought well of her and of Melo, it would not have been strange for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the two of them to be driven from the domain on the spot.

I can't burden my lady any further.

Romang's heart was hardening around that resolve.

Evening at the Nyx Inn in Caipol was quieter than the night before.

Word that Blow would sell only a limited quantity drew complaints from a great many customers, but when he kept bowing at the waist, their anger somehow eased at once. His infamy was still useful, in its way.

Jane, finished with the day's accounts, yawned and spoke.

"Sales are definitely way down from yesterday."

"On the other hand, we could breathe today."

"Right. You need a little room if you're going to think about what comes next. This is that time."

"Are you going to keep selling potatoes?"

"We'll have to, won't we? What we brought up from Blanya is almost gone already."

"At first you said you were going to open a potion shop."

"As soon as we've built up some capital and found our footing, I will. You know the potion shops around here are a mess, right?"

"...Are they?"

Jane tilted her head, not understanding. From Blow's point of view, though, the reaction was perfectly normal. She had never set foot in an Olive Young or a Daiso.

The potion shops nearby were classic, if one were being kind. If one weren't, they were musty, damp, and filthy—witches in perpetually grimy clothes, greeting you with rotten teeth. Blow had always hated the sight of them, and used to send Hervena or Jane on the errands in his place.

"You'll see, later."

"But haven't we already found our footing? The potatoes are selling this well."

"Hard to say. It might just be the rush of a new opening. And Melo goes back tomorrow."

"Honestly, I want to get out of here as soon as I can."

"Because of the bugs?"

"Well... not only that..."

Jane trailed off. Lately, she said, she could hardly sleep at all. The moment she tried, bugs came crawling out and the sleep fled entirely. The innkeeper had rented them the whole place and gone off traveling, so dealing with the bugs had fallen entirely to Hans.

Poor Hans.

Since it had come to mind, Blow decided to tell her what he was planning.

"First we rent two adjoining buildings, bigger than this. In one of them we run a restaurant on the first floor, and give out private rooms upstairs, the way we do now."

"And the one next door becomes the potion shop?"

"That's right."

"Will that work? What if we used all three floors as a restaurant instead?"

"You can't run a restaurant out of one narrow three-story building. Are you going to do the serving?"

"If Hervena just floated the dishes over and served them... I'm sorry."

Perhaps realizing, even as she said it, that the idea made no sense, the tips of Jane's ears flushed red.

"That's the plan, for now. Before any of it we'll need food worth selling in the morning, more snacks for the drinks, more beer brought in."

"Those are more urgent than the potion shop, yes."

"Romang's coming tomorrow, so let's try to get some recipes from her."

"It feels overwhelming."

Whatever else she could do, Jane had never been confident in a kitchen, and an unavoidable burden sat on her face.

"You just do your best with what's in front of you."

"I didn't know you could say things like that."

"Of course, if we fail, I'll blame you immediately."

"That doesn't seem quite right."

They looked at each other and broke into helpless laughter. Jane, who had grown much more at ease around Blow without quite noticing when, gazed at him for a moment, then shook her head.

"I still don't know why you pawned Drenor like that..."

She was murmuring it when Hans came thumping down the stairs and spoke in a rush.

"Young master. I have something I must tell you."

"What is it?"

"It's Melo. She doesn't seem well at all."

"Oh no. She's been pushing herself these past few days."

Jane worried at once. Blow, by contrast, let out a heavy sigh, and his brow drew tight.