As the sun began to set, Emilia began to wipe down the tables within the dining area.
Other than the listless man, the handsome gentleman, the beautiful woman, and the young Iscalvian lady, there were no other customers.
To Emilia's pleasure, the group had purchased more of the bakery's goods to accompany their conversation.
From time to time, the beautiful woman would even voice her compliments on the food's taste to Emilia.
Though she tried to remain humble, Emilia could not help but swell with pride at the compliments.
In the kitchen, Ernst was making preparations for the next day.
Covering uncooked dough with damp towels gave the yeast residing in each bowl an appropriate amount of time to feed on sugar. The young man began to thoroughly cream butter and sugar together, which were used in other desserts they had sold.
As he worked on this task that he had regularly completed, the young Iscalvian woman who was currently sitting in their dining area came to mind once more.
Iscalvia…To Ernst, the country that had fallen centuries ago was a fascinating topic.
He too agreed with the notion that the gods had likely abandoned their people, letting it slowly perish at the hands of invaders and monstrous beings.
Initially knowing a life of constant stress and betrayal, Ernst felt sympathy for the people who had potentially turned away from them.
The young man's mind continued to find similarities between himself and a fallen civilization, many of which he believed were an overexaggeration of his own experiences.
Upon finishing his preparation, Emilia entered the room, seeing if her brother needed any help.
"Looks like you're all done here."
"Yep. Just finished as you entered."
Recalling the empty display cases, Ernst had an inkling of the success they had that day.
The young man felt some satisfaction knowing what they had accomplished.
"I assume you've closed the store?" Ernst asked as he leaned his hips against a table.
"Just saw off the last few customers. It's not often we get visitors like them here," Emilia replied.
To the two siblings, the four customers were a strange bunch.
This was mainly due to them seemingly having a wealthy background.
Their clothing seemed fairly expensive through the fine fabric that composed it.
Within Bauner, only upper-middle-class citizens were able to afford such things. The individuals who had just left also carried themselves with a professionalism that no ordinary working member of society would have. These points screamed to the two siblings that they made much more than the average worker.
Although the Adler family was not particularly poor, ever since their parents' passing, the two siblings were not able to indulge in any activities of grandeur. Going out to see plays, trying new restaurants, and taking vacations out of the city were things that Ernst and Emilia had not experienced in a fairly long time.
It was Ernst's deepest hope that one day the two siblings would be able to indulge in those pleasantries once more—at least after they had repaid their family debt.
The young man continued to recall the events of the day, then came to a realization.
"Oh, right. Christopher seems to be doing well nowadays," Ernst said, bringing up yesterday's encounter.
"Oh, really? That's good to hear. It really has been quite some time since I last saw him… he really should visit the bakery when he gets the chance."
Ernst sighed. "Well, apparently he's too busy running his stall."
"Tsk, same old Mr. Christopher. It's good he hasn't changed much, though."
Observing her brother, Emilia spoke. "Just by your expression, he seems as expressive as ever."
"Yeah," her brother responded, laughing lightly.
In order to prevent any worry, Ernst decided to keep everything else he had learned and witnessed hidden away from Emilia. Should she learn aboutMrs.s Wagner's disappearance, he felt that his sister would go out of her way to visit Christopher herself.
As her brother, he would rather not have his sister visit such a dangerous area, even if they had done so numerous times as children.
Violence seems to only grow with time and people.
In order to prevent any chance of further suspicion, Ernst changed the topic of their conversation.
"Anything interesting with our special guests?" Out of the four who had just left, the young Ernst was most curious about the Iscalvian woman. During his studies as an undergraduate student, Iscalvian history was one of the few things that piqued his interest.
Ernst had done exceptionally well on tests and papers regarding the topic. However, part of him wished he had applied the same effort to other domains of his studies.
Emilia, who was tending the counter, had more or less watched over the entirety of their special customers' stay. Other than their refined appearances, the young lady did not see anything worth gossiping over.
The listless man remained asleep while hiding his face under his hat.
The beautiful woman elegantly chatted with the handsome man across from her.
The young Iscalvian woman quietly enjoyed her sweets as she chimed in on their group's conversation from time to time.
"No, not really," Emilia responded plainly. Although she was present for the majority of the time, she could not quite hear the conversation they were having.
The two siblings were especially drawn to things that stood out from their day-to-day life. Although they were each satisfied with the mundaneness of their routine-like daily life, something as small as a new customer would capture their attention without fail.
"How about you? Anything in particular that you found interesting about them?"
Although Ernst had briefly interacted with the four individuals, Emilia was not able to chat with him earlier due to the sudden burst of customers. The young man had also disappeared back into the kitchen to work on his own tasks before they were able to share their opinions.
Ernst crossed one leg over the other while thinking of what to say. "It's rare for us to see someone of Iscalvian descent up close…"
"You're right! Except for Dad sharing stories, I've only overheard people seeing them here and there," Emilia responded agreeingly.
Like Ernst, his father had a deep interest in Iscalvian culture and history.
Their father would tell stories of a great king who was worshipped and praised by his citizens like a god. The king accomplished many good deeds for his citizens, easing labour on those he led through his vast shared knowledge. King Isca had many tales rooted in slaying beasts and vanquishing demons that had invaded their lands. As children, these stories were the most entertaining to Ernst and Emilia.
Although it had been years ago, Ernst and Emilia felt that only a little time had passed. The tales about a hero who had saved his people time and time again served as heavy influences on Ernst's developing morality at the time.
While reminiscing, Ernst unknowingly let out a smile.
Unfortunately, his sister had sorely misunderstood the cause of his frivolous facial expression.
"So that's what you fancy…"
Ernst's smile slowly faded into a frown.
The young man locked eyes with his sister as she displayed a false look of disdain.
Ernst began to make his way to his sister. However, upon realizing the danger she was in, the endangered lady recoiled while covering her cheeks with both hands.
Mischievously, she grinned. "Not this time!"
To Ernst, the young lady had too much energy for someone her age. Most women her age were out with their friends chatting over tea. Regardless of her quirks, he felt that this was one of her charming points.
Recalling one of the men from earlier, Ernst thought of a way to retaliate against his sister's verbal attack.
"How about that man from earlier? You seemed awfully curious about him as well. When I came out of the kitchen, you seemed to be entranced by him."
Emilia was not aware of how much he had been staring at the tall gentleman who had first entered the bakery.
Unbeknownst to Ernst, his sister had less interesting reasons for being drawn to him.
"I was thinking about how we could make more money," Emilia said shamelessly.
Throughout her life, Emilia had no interest in romance. This was not only due to the early responsibilities she needed to uphold, but also the upbringing of their parents. Like any father or mother, providing one's daughter with extra care and protection was a must. Regardless, despite being sheltered by her parents, Emilia had grown up with a strong and mischievous personality.
Hearing his sister's brutally honest declaration made Ernst frown once more.
Even though he understood their financial circumstances, he never thought his sister was that obsessed with money itself.
How are you going to find a husband…
The Adler siblings continued to chat until they were ready to go to bed.
…
In a dimly lit room, the young Ernst sat at his desk reading a visibly aged book.
The pocket knife that Christopher gave him remained neatly placed at his side.
"As King Isca approached the eastern border, a dark horde appeared on the horizon in front of him. Although the man was a great distance away from the lurking danger, rather than retreating, he moved forward with his sword in hand—"
This really brings me back… this was one of Father's favourite stories. Christopher would also tell Emilia and me similar stories…
"The creatures of black encircled the silver-haired man, shouting profanities and curses at him. However, he was not fazed by their pathetic attempts at intimidation. The king coldly glanced around him with his argent pupils. He slowly raised his sword to his side and slashed cleanly from left to right. The air around him became silent as hideous bodies began to collapse one after the other."
"King Isca continued to march forward as deceased demonic creatures cowered backward. The circle that he had been surrounded by began to enlarge."
"Now, in front of him stood a creature quite different from the ones he had just slain. A tall shadow loomed over the apathetic-looking king. Its face was shrouded in black mist, and it wore blackened armour. Standing over ten feet tall, it dragged sharpened steel behind it as it slowly approached Isca."
Ernst continued to read on about a former king who had single-handedly wiped out an army of demonic creatures. From time to time, he would subtly stand up from his chair as he indulged in his growing nostalgia.
Although centuries had passed, the epics of a fallen king continued to inspire many youths of Fervian, Gaudnarian, and Eidenshiran descent.
Perhaps one day I'll be as unyielding as he, Ernst thought humorously.
If King Isca still existed today, Ernst would not hesitate to use any opportunity to see him. As he grew up, with the exception of his father, the former king of Iscalvia served as a role model.
A strong man who took on any challenge in front of him—no matter how impossible the odds might seem—this scenario heavily captivated a younger Ernst. However, upon initially hearing about his abrupt demise in the stories, he could not help but feel a bit disappointed.
As he grew older, Ernst often wondered how one man was able to fend off multiple enemies and inhuman species. While some stories mentioned King Isca acquiring sacred weapons, other tales did not mention their use while facing adversity. As usual, most answers pointed to otherworldly powers.
It's getting late… the young man thought, looking up at his clock.
Putting down his book, the young man walked over to his bed and lay down, preparing to sleep.
Ernst had recently decided to change his habit of sleeping in. In order to become a fully functioning member of society, he believed that he needed to begin waking up early. Tomorrow, he had also planned to begin job searching.
Looking up at his ceiling, a scene of him locking eyes with the Iscalvian woman appeared in his head.
Why is an Iscalvian here in the first place? What business could she and her colleagues possibly have in these humble parts of Bauner? Perhaps they're detectives on their way to solving a case? Maybe descendants of rich nobles from Eidenshire who are simply sightseeing?
Proposing a variety of scenarios, Ernst hoped to come up with a satisfying narrative.
The young man truly could not help but wonder why a descendant of a fallen nation was roaming around Bauner. It was already surprising enough that she had been dressed in expensive attire while travelling with similarly uniformed colleagues.
While the upper-middle-class and rich members of society often travelled through their district to reach work, many of them would not even consider dining in their modest bakery. This fact also added to Ernst's frivolous wonder.
Regardless of her reasons for exploring their bakery, he felt a subtle gratitude toward the young lady. If she had not visited, Ernst felt that he would not have thought of indulging in one of his favourite stories once more.
As he closed his eyes, the young man allowed himself to be consumed by these minor changes to his everyday life.