"…"
"…"
"I understand what you meant when you said that her scoldings are the worst," I said, appearing uninterested as I sat on a bench outside the station.
"Right, at least I had it light, you were there reciting laws to her for a couple of hours," Sara said, trying to hide her smile.
"4 hours, 32 minutes, and 12 seconds," I said with unfocused eyes.
"You counted?" Sara was surprised.
"After the first walk-through, yes," I said, dropping my head down.
"Haha, now you at least know what not to do," Sara said sarcastically.
"Yeah, I don't want to go through that again," I muttered, sitting beside her.
"Anyways, did you get your equipment?" Sara asked, changing the subject.
"Yeah, I already sent it to my room," I said, sighing in relief.
"By sent. You mean teleporting?" Sara asked, looking worried at me.
"Yeah, of course."
"Where in your room did you teleport it to?" Sara asked hesitantly, already knowing the answer.
"Hmm, probably on my bed. Why?" I asked, tilting my head towards her.
"Ah, see. In that case, may the gods be with you." Sara expressed her condolences with a bow.
"What?" I was confused by her actions.
"Your maid is going to kill you." Sara simply replied, giving me another bow.
"Why?"
"You'll see. Anyway, what do you want to do next?" Sara stood up, unwilling to continue the conversation.
"I am uncertain, but what do you mean when you say that my maid is going to kill me?" I inquired, unwilling to receive an answer.
"You'll see. Oh, right, let's go to this restaurant. I know. You will love it."
"How do you know I will love it?"
"Because you love pudding."
"That might be true, but..."
"Haha, just trust me on this," Sara said, smiling brightly.
"I still have things to do, though," I muttered, still following Sara towards who knows where with our two pegasuses following behind us.
[40 minutes later]
"So, what do you think?" Sara asked, looking at the front sign of the restaurant with me next to her.
"Sara, I've never even tried their food." "How am I supposed to say I like it or not?" I asked, glaring at Sara as if she were a fool.
"Not that, I mean the sign," Sara said, pointing at it.
"It's a sign. What's appealing about it?" I shrugged at the neon light sign.
"It lights up. Isn't that cool?" Sara said, sounding like a small child.
"No, that's very common."
"No, it's not; there are only a few that have it," Sara said, surprising me a bit.
"If you say so," I said, not wanting to argue, walking into the restaurant.
"But it," Sara whined, following me.
"Good afternoon, customers. A table for two?"
"Yes, please," Sara said, grabbing my shoulders as if I would run away.
"Right away. Follow me, please."
"Thank you."
"Here you go, table for 2." The waiter said he was stepping aside so we could go past him.
"Thank you," I said, getting into the seat.
"Hmm, what will you have to drink?" The waiter inquires while pulling out a small notepad.
"Can we have two giant ground smoothies, please?" Sara placed an order for me, prompting me to raise an eyebrow.
"Right up."
"Huh? Did I hear that right? Ground?" I asked, looking at her even more confusedly.
"Yes and no, we won't be drinking literal ground." You will enjoy it, believe me."
"I'm not going to believe you until I have it," I stated, making her frown.
"Here you go, two ground smoothies." The waiter then proceeded to place two glasses filled with brown milkshake liquid on the table.
"That was too fast," I said, looking at the brown milkshake.
"Ground smoothies are trendy, so we have a few ready and waiting." The waiter said it in a proud tone.
"Huh, okay, thank you," I said, tapping the straw on the table.
"What will you ladies have to eat today?"
"Hmm, can you bring this and two of these for us?" Sara pointed at items on the menu.
"Alright, I will bring it as fast as possible." The waiter said he was taking his leave.
Seeing him go, I looked down at the milkshake in front of me and took a slow and wary sip.
"This is a coffee milkshake, Sara," I said, staring at her with an emotionless expression.
"No, it's a ground smoothie, not a coffee milkshake," Sara said, annoyed at what I said.
"Sigh, whatever," I said, sighing, not wanting to debate it.
'Though I do love my coffee.' I pondered as I tasted the delightful caffeine in the beverage.
"Well, while we wait, Where are we going after this?" Sara asked
"Please, merchant guild." I need to acquire the finest metals from your inventory. The blacksmith has already provided me with sufficient tools to prepare the necessary equipment for the large-scale construction. I explained with a giant smile on my face.
"Alright, that will do. But what sort of tools will you be making?"
"Well, industrial tools, of course. Like robots and some printers. I require a device that can transport everything with ease.
"Is that so?" Sara said, looking at me, not understanding me at all.
"Don't worry about it. You will see in a few days what I meant," I said, laughing at her expression.
"Uh huh, can't wait to see it," Sara said, nodding while drinking her coffee milkshake.
"You don't sound very convinced," I said with a chuckle.
"Well, I don't understand why you needed a smithy," Sara said, looking at me.
"How else am I going to melt the metal?"
"Uh, that's true. Wait, but can't you use your sword?"
"What? No, that's not going to work properly. I need something that can regulate it to perfection. Though I will start the fire with my sword every time." I clarified, rhythmically tapping my sword against my back.
"Hmm, I guess that makes sense."
"Well…"
[45 minutes later]
"Man, I am full," Sara said, patting her stomach and leaving the restaurant.
"Yeah, that wasn't so bad after all," I said with a satisfied expression.
"I told you you would like that."
"I said it wasn't that bad, meaning I had better."
Sara laughed and jumped on her pegasus, saying, "Pffft, don't hold yourself back too much, okay?"
"What?" I hummed, confused, as I climbed onto my Pegasus.
"To the merchant guild," Sara said, pointing to the west.
"Alright."
"The wrong way," Sarsa said, embarrassed, going in the opposite direction.
"Are you sure it's this way?"
"hundred percent certain."
"If you say so."
"Yes, it isn't far away anyway." Let's run."
"Okay," I said before we started running with the pegasus.
I replied, "Well, you weren't spouting bullshit," as I observed her halt in front of a building adorned with a Merchant Guild sign.
"What, you actually thought-!"
"Yeah, of course. Who walked past the blacksmith before?" I said, teasing her.
"You are so mean, sister," Sara said, whining, beginning to walk to the front door, not dismounting from her pegasus,
"Hmm," she said, humming. I raised an eyebrow at her before shaking the weird thought out of my head.
"P-Princess, how can we help you today?"
"Here you go," I said, giving him a list.
"Uhm, princess, these are all ores." The man uttered these words, his gaze fixed on Sara. Despite Sara's continued use of her pegasus, the man remained unfazed by the unusual situation.
"Well, that's what we are looking for," Sara said, annoyed.
"I see, young lady. Might I know your name?" The man said this, realizing I might be more important than he thought.
"Don't call me that. "After you get everything on the list, I might give you my name." I gestured towards the sheet of paper.
"Will do, Milady." The man nodded as he walked toward the receptionist.
"Hey, why are we not getting off?" I said this, looking at Mr. White.
"There is no need." That was all Sara said while smiling.
"Sigh, whatever."
"Here you go, princess, Milady." The man from before said he was holding a bag up to me.
"What?" I was confused by his gesture.
"Everything on the list is in here." The man said this while handing me the bag.
"…. Sara?"
"It's a storage bag. Everything will be in there. Don't worry, sister, they won't lie." Sara said, gesturing at the bag.
"But so fast," I said, taking the bag hesitantly.
"Haha, we pride ourselves on our servicing speed."
"I see. Well, my name is Ren."
"Princess Ren. She is a new addition to the family."
"Don't say it like that. It sounds weird. My adoption took place a few weeks ago. I looked away, feeling embarrassed for some reason.
"Ah, I see. It's my pleasure to meet you, Princess Ren." The man said, bowing down, respectively.
"Thank you for everything. Let's go, sis." Sara replied, turning around.
"Thank you," I said, nodding at the man following behind Sara.
"Where to next?" Sara asked, waiting for me to catch up.
"The hunters guild?"
"Why?"
"I might need beast or monster bodies in the future," I explained thoughtfully.
"Hmm, but you don't need it right now, right?"
"No."
"Then it's not necessary to go there."
"Don't I need a permit to buy bodies?" I posed this question, tilting my head towards her.
"No, not at all."
"Princess privileges, I guess," I said with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, royal and noble privileges." Sara nodded with a smirk.
"Ah, I see. Then we are done."
"Well, let's go back home then."
"Yeah, let me start with the tests."
"Tests?"
"Yeah, I need to find out the best metal to use on certain things. That's why I didn't buy that much yet."
"You mean spending over 20,000 gold is not enough to even start?" Sara said, baffled.
„Huh, no, no, I can at least start with the generators, but not more," I shook my head.
"Uh, right. Why did I think it would be that simple? If you buy it in bulk, let one of the servants go buy it for you next time."
"I'll wait for our sister to arrive before I start building it. I did promise Lena, after all." I explained that I was thinking about my plans already.
"Yeah, good luck with that," Sara said, shivering.