SSS-Ranked Surgeon In Another World: The Healer Is Actually OP! - Chapter 398: The Secret Becomes Ours
Seeing so many frosted berry candy and chocolates being produced, Lily was so shocked that she gasped
It was the sound of a child who had walked into a place she had been eating the outputs of for years without ever understanding it existed, and was now, belatedly, understanding.
The finished produce which was the final form of the frosted berry chocolate and candies were being filled into a new packaging that was different from what Bruce had always bought; Jars
Some jars held frosted berry chocolates in dark rich rows , each piece hand-dipped, each one rimed with a fine pale dusting of sugar-frost that caught the light.
Other jars held the candies , small translucent jewels in deep reds and purples, each one a perfect bite of concentrated frosted fruit, the kind that cracked cold on the first bite and melted warm sweet on the second. Tins. Paper twists. Small lacquered boxes tied with string. A whole shelf devoted to the seasonal ones, the ones Bruce only ever brought home in autumn.
Lily’s hand tightened on his. Hard.
“Brother.”
“Mm?”
“Brother there’s , there’s so many,”
“I know.”
“You never brought the , the purple ones,”
“Those are new.”
“I want to try the purple ones,”
“Mm.”
The shopkeeper looked up from behind the counter , a small round man with grey at his temples and flour, inexplicably, on one sleeve , and his face broke into the slow warm recognition of someone greeting a long-time customer.
“Oh,” He said. “It’s you. I was starting to wonder.”
“Been busy,” Bruce said.
“Always busy. Never too busy for the frosted ones, though, are you.” His eyes dropped to Lily. Softened immediately. “Oh, now. And who’s this?”
“My sister.”
“Your sister!” The man came around the counter, wiping his hands on his apron, and crouched down to Lily’s height with the fluid practiced ease of a man who had spent a lifetime being kind to small children in his shop. “Well, hello, dear. I’ve been sending chocolates home with your brother for , oh, a long while now, Old me can’t remember how long, had it been for two winters?”
Lily’s eyes went even wider.
“Two winters?”
“At least.”
Lily turned her head slowly to look up at Bruce, she didn’t know how to tell the man that it has not been that long since Bruce started to buy. Frosted berry chocolate for her and Ash…
Bruce sighed thinking the man must’ve been mistaking him for another person, “I’m the guy with the dragon…”
The man’s eyes widened with surprise then recognition, “oh it’s you… Sorry for my bad memory I have way too many customers. They’ve increased by a lot as of recently…”
“It’s okay…”
“You seem to be a popular figure, someone random spread word that he’ve seem you visiting this shop and since then, more and more people have been visiting to buy frosted berry products… As you can see, I’ve been forced to produce the sweets in the shop…”
Bruce nodded,looking around, there have been indeed a lot of improvement since last time he came…
The shopkeeper laughed , a warm round chuckle that made Lily laugh too, startled her , and made her straightened up. “Well, little one, you can pick out whatever you like.” He gave Bruce a sidelong look. “Within reason, of course.”
“No reason today,” Bruce said easily.
Both the shopkeeper and Lily turned to look at him.
“What?” said Lily.
“What?” said the shopkeeper.
“Whatever she wants,” Bruce said. “Whole tins. Pick them all out.”
Lily made a sound that was not a word.
“Brother,”
“Go on.”
“All of them?”
“Within reason.”
“You just said there was no reason today,”
“I changed my mind, there’s no ash remember, no way you can finish everything yourself within a short period of time, it will be bad for your health.”
She looked at him for one more second with an expression that was equal parts disbelief and pure adoration, and then she launched herself at the nearest shelf with the focused intensity of a small child who had been given a serious adult responsibility and was going to discharge it properly.
Bruce leaned against the counter to watch.
She moved from jar to jar with the scientific care of a scholar examining relics. She pressed her nose to the glass of each one. She read the small hand-lettered labels, sounding out the longer words under her breath. She pointed to each one in turn and asked the shopkeeper , what’s in this one, what about this one, is this one spicy, is this one thesame with the one brother brings home? ,
and the shopkeeper answered each question patiently, crouched beside her, pointing with one flour-dusted finger while Lily pointed with a small flour-less one.
“This one’s hazelnut-frost. This one’s the winterberry , you’ll probably likes this one too. This one’s the new purple , that’s blackthorn, we only started doing it this year. Careful, it’s a bit tart. Not for everyone.”
“I’ll try it.”
“Good girl. How many?”
Lily turned and looked at Bruce.
“How many is within reason, brother?”
“I don’t know, lily. How many do you want?”
“Plenty.”
“It’s okay just take as much as you can from each of the flavour, we’ll keep for Ash too.”
She considered this with the gravity of a tax assessor.
“Six,” she said finally. “Six of the blackthorn. And ten of the winterberry. And , ” her eyes flicked to the chocolate shelf ” , and a whole tin of the frosted chocolates. A big tin.”
“The big tin’s thirty pieces, dear.”
“A big tin,” Lily repeated firmly, and Bruce had to look away to hide the grin.
The shopkeeper’s eyes were twinkling. “A big tin it is.”
Lily came back to Bruce’s side while the order was being assembled. She pressed herself against his hip and wrapped both arms around his leg and looked up at him with a face that had gone past delight and was now in the softer territory beyond it, the quiet full territory where small children went when they had been given something that was going to matter to them for a long time.
“Big brother,” she said.
“Mm?”
“This was your secret.”
“Mm.”
“This whole time.”
“Mm.”
She was quiet for a moment, thinking about it. Then:
“Is it still your secret if I know now?”
Bruce considered. “It’s ours now,” he said. “That alright?”
Her whole small face lit up.
“Yes.”
The shopkeeper came around with a small wrapped parcel , the candies in twists of wax paper, the big tin tied with blue string, the whole assembly balanced in a small wicker basket he pressed into Bruce’s hands with the practiced ease of a man who had done this exchange a hundred times.
“Here’s the pay…” Bruce gave him the valid pay for the products and the man took it with thanks
“Tell your mother hello, if you see her.” He said to Lily…
“I will.”
The shopkeeper bent again to Lily’s height. “And you, little one. You come back whenever you like. With your brother. Or , ” his eyes flicked up to Bruce, teasing ” , without him, if he’s busy.”
“Oh I’ll come back,” Lily said fervently. “I’ll come back so much.”
“Good girl.”
They stepped out of the shop into the bright morning square. The cold of the shop dissipated in three steps; by the fourth, the sun was warm on Bruce’s shoulders again and the ordinary noise of the market had reassembled around them. Lily was clutching the basket to her chest like it was a small living thing that might escape.
She was also, Bruce noticed, walking taller.
“Brother.”
“Mm?”
“Can we eat one now?”
“Which one?”
“The purple one.”
“Mm.”
He set the basket down on the edge of the fountain, sat on the stone rim, and patted the space next to him. Lily hopped up beside him, legs dangling, and accepted one of the small blackthorn candies from his fingers with the reverence of a very small priest accepting a very small sacrament.
She put it in her mouth.
Her face went through several expressions in quick succession. Surprise at the cold. Surprise at the sour. Surprise at the sweet that came in behind the sour a second later. Then , as the layers resolved and the flavor settled , a slow, spreading, unmistakable contentment, the kind only a child in full possession of a treat can wear on her face.
“Brother.”
“Mm?”
“It’s so good.”
“Mm.”
She chewed , or melted, the candy was doing most of the work , and swallowed, and turned to look up at him with the most serious expression she had worn all morning.
“You have to have one.”
“Do I.”
“*Brother. You have to. It’s the purple one. I’m sharing it with you.”
She produced a second candy from the twist in the basket and held it up to him with both small hands, ceremonial.
Bruce took it. Put it in his mouth. Let her watch him chew.
“Good?”
“Good.”
“Right?”
“Yes.”
“You sure?”
“Yes…”
