Cera squeals excitedly, and he climbs up in the empty chair next to me. Really?
He could have sat next to his own princess. Kara looks confused as well, and I stifle my laughter. This seems like a good opportunity to tease Ilina. I direct a thought message at her and Klaus.
[Ohh, Ilina, you see that? He picked a human over his own princess…are you in the habit of scaring children?] (Mizuki)
Klaus begins chuckling, and Ilina's eyes narrow at me dangerously. Oh yeah, I'm going to pay for that one later, but it will have been worth it.
After a few more minutes looking at the menu, we place our orders with Kara, and she leaves the room. I didn't explain why, but I ordered two meals – one is for Kara, who I'm hoping will take a break and eat with us.
I look down at Cera to see how he's doing, and I notice him staring at me intently. Uhm…what's that about? He doesn't make me wonder long.
"Do your ears hurt?" (Cera)
Klaus and Ilina burst out laughing, and I can't help but smile as well. I shake my head at Cera.
"No, this is normal for humans. Do your ears hurt?" (Mizuki)
Cera seems to give this some thought, then shrugs.
"No, I guess not. Can I touch your ears?" (Cera)
Ilina and Klaus break out in a fresh fit of laughter, but I have a soft spot for kids. I just smile at him and nod, then lean my head over so he can reach my ears.
"Sure, dude, knock yourself out." (Mizuki)
Cera grabs my ear and rubs it briefly.
"Wooahhh…they're so round and soft. Can you hear people when they talk?" (Cera)
"What do you think?" (Mizuki)
While all of us stifle our laughter, Cera once again contemplates my question, then he nods confidently.
"Yeah, I think so, you knew what Mom was saying even when you weren't looking." (Cera)
This kid is definitely going places. I nod at him approvingly, and he beams with pride. He's a good kid…I wonder what happened to his dad.
"Cera, you don't have to tell me, but I was wondering…do you know what happened to your dad?" (Mizuki)
Ilina shoots me a bewildered look, but Cera just nods.
"Yeah…he really liked helping people, so sometimes he would travel to do that. This time, he said he was going to help some wolf children. A few days ago, Mom told me that he died trying to save them. She says she heard it from a woman that was traveling with him." (Cera)
I feel myself go stiff…that sounds like he was part of the same outreach trip as Alto. Did she know him?
That detail doesn't really matter, but I can't help but wonder. Either way, I know exactly what she would want us to do. I turn to Klaus and Ilina, who are staring at me in surprise.
"Klaus, how much does it cost for two Avalon commoners to live?" (Mizuki)
"Uhm…if they already own a house in good condition, they'd need about one silver per month for basic supplies. I'd guess that a job like this pays maybe two silver per month at most." (Klaus)
So, just enough to get by while saving for emergency expenses, which is why she can't afford to have anyone look after Cera.
"Cera, I'm sorry about your dad. It sounds like he was a good guy, and I'm sure you and your mom miss him. Do you guys have your own house, by chance?" (Mizuki)
Cera nods sadly at first, but he perks up when he hears my question about the house.
"Yeah! Mom bought it right after dad left, and she was so happy!" (Cera)
I sigh in relief…that's good to hear. So, Kara's salary is sustaining them. As I think about this, Kara returns with our food and drinks and begins setting them on the table for us.
"Alright, can I get anything else for you all? Cera, please make sure you show proper manners around Princess Ilina while you eat." (Kara)
"Yes, actually. If you don't mind, could you sit and eat with us? I assume that if you are our personal waitress that your boss could spare you, and I'm willing to pay extra to cover any inconvenience. I got this second order of food for you, and there was something I wanted to discuss. You can consider it paying me back for earlier if that helps." (Mizuki)
Kara looks conflicted until I mention paying me back, then she nods dejectedly. I feel a little bad, but not enough to backtrack on my request. I smile gratefully.
"Great! Thank you, Kara. Cera, would you mind swapping seats with me so I can sit next to your mom? I wanted to talk with her about something." (Mizuki)
Cera looks confused, so I lean over and whisper in his ear quickly.
"It's a surprise, and I think it would make her happy, like your house." (Mizuki)
Hearing this, Cera breaks out in a smile and starts nodding furiously. We quickly swap our plates and drinks, and I move over next to the empty seat on our side of the table.
I move Kara's food to that spot on the table, then gesture at her to take a seat next to me. She moves to the table hesitantly, and she smiles nervously as she sits in the chair next to me.
We begin eating in earnest, and I let her settle in without bothering her at first. Cera has moved on to asking Klaus about being a royal guard, and about his sword, and the atmosphere at the table slowly begins to relax.
After quite some time, I feel Kara tug on my sleeve nervously. I turn towards her, and the others don't seem to notice. She looks apprehensive, and whispers to me.
"Mizuki…I appreciate this, but…I'm a little nervous about what you want to discuss. Could you tell me?" (Kara)
"Oh, I'm sorry, Kara! That didn't even occur to me. Of course, let me explain." (Mizuki)
I activate my item box spell secretly under the table, and I retrieve my coin purse. I've made a habit of always keeping at least 50 gold coins in it, since I got this spell. I pull a cloth napkin off the table, then count out twenty-one gold coins and wrap them in the napkin as Kara watches.
I discreetly set the money in Kara's lap, and her eyes go wide in surprise. Before she can respond, I whisper to her.
"Klaus says this is roughly twenty years' worth of your salary. I don't care how you spend the money, so long as it improves your lives and makes you happier. You can quit your job and live comfortably with Cera until he's grown, or you can hire someone to watch him for you while you keep working. I've also thrown in an extra gold coin, so that you and Cera can get nice clothes and attend the royal announcement at the palace, if you'd like." (Mizuki)
Kara's face is suspended in complete disbelief.
"Mizuki…I…can't accept this. You already saved Cera's life, and now you want to give us a small fortune? This is absurd! Plus, with all due respect, I can't be indebted to someone this much…especially a strange man that I don't know." (Kara)
"Fufufu…well, as I said, you don't owe me, and I'm never going to ask you for anything in return. My only ulterior motive is this…I need you to accept this money, like you needed to treat us to dinner. I've accepted that I'm strange, and it's fair to say you don't know me. So, if you need to know me better, then ask me as many questions as you want." (Mizuki)
Kara is glaring at me, bewildered, but she also seems curious.
"Okay…let's start with why you need to give me this money. You knew my reasoning for the dinner, so I'd like to know yours for this." (Kara)
"Essentially, I believe your husband was killed by human slavers trying to prevent the elven women and wolf-kin children from being kidnapped, while he was on an outreach trip to the wolf-kin village. You see, I'm the one who later freed everyone they kidnapped, and one of the elves asked to join me on my travels. She's a very dear friend to me now, and I know we'd both want to help the families of people like your husband." (Mizuki)
Kara's eyes go wide in shock.
"That…that was you? The young woman who told me about my husband said that a strange human freed them, and that he told them they owed him nothing and was kind enough to take them home. When I asked more about it, she said she wasn't allowed to discuss anything else." (Kara)
"Yes, that was me. Fufufu…I'm glad to hear that she thought I was kind, because some of the elves were very wary of me. Is she settling back into her life? Do you know if she needs anything?" (Mizuki)
Kara stares at me like I've grown a third eye, then shakes her head in exasperation.
"As far as I know, she's reunited with her family, happy, and healthy. Mizuki…why would you do these things? Freeing those kidnapped people, dropping a small fortune in my lap…those aren't trivial actions, and it's hard to believe you'd want nothing in return. Honestly, I thought you were just hoping that I'd feel indebted enough to sleep with you." (Kara)
Now my jaw is the one hanging open. How much of a sleazeball do I come off as!? Eventually, I recover enough to respond, and I direct a very serious gaze at her.
"Uhm…well, that never crossed my mind. Still, I understand your concern, I guess. Your question, though…the answer is simple. I acted in both cases because it was the right thing to do, and it was within my power. I didn't ask for anything in return because that would be like me agreeing that ignoring such injustice is the natural thing to do. That's not the world I want, one where ignoring injustice is normal." (Mizuki)
Kara looks at me, partly exasperated and partly skeptical.
"You can't be serious? That's really it?" (Kara)
I make direct eye contact with her, and don't flinch.
"That's it. So, will you accept the money now? It'd really make me happy, and I'm sure it'd make my friend happy, too." (Mizuki)
Kara studies my expression for several more moments, then closes her eyes and sighs heavily. When she looks at me again, she's smiling.
"Yes, we'll accept the money. Thank you, Mizuki, from the bottom of my heart." (Kara)
I smile back at her broadly, then produce one more gold coin and hand it to her.
"That makes me very happy, thank you. Here, this gold coin is for all the food today. Please tell your boss that the extra is for your wonderful service and us taking all your spare time." (Mizuki)
Kara rolls her eyes at me, but she accepts the gold. After that, we share a smile and then go back to enjoying our meals. I look across the table at everyone else, and I notice Ilina smiling at me. She seems to be happy for me, so I guess she gathered some of our conversation. I smile back at her affectionately.
I glance down at Cera, and he stares up at me questioningly. I grin and give him a thumbs up, like 'mission accomplished', and he breaks out in an excited smile. Yeah…despite the animosity I've received from elves in the past, this afternoon alone makes it all worth it.