Chapter 677: Day Out Together

The next morning, Kael found the nameless man waiting outside the dining room.

He was wearing the same dark shirt he had chosen the day before, holding the dented cup in one hand, and seemed to be trying to decide whether he should go inside or remain in the corridor. When he saw Kael, he straightened his posture.

"Good morning."

"Good morning. Are you waiting for someone?"

"Seraphine said she’d come get me."

Kael looked at the open dining room door.

"You can go in before she gets here."

"I know. I just wasn’t sure if I should."

"We’re having breakfast, not holding a meeting."

The man seemed to consider the difference. Then he went inside and chose a chair near the window. Kael sat across from him and began helping himself to some bread as Sylphie arrived with a small cloth bag and a straw hat he had never seen her wear.

Kael looked at the hat.

"Is it going to be that sunny?"

"I don’t know. That’s why I’m bringing it."

"Reasonable answer."

"Thank you."

Seraphine appeared a few minutes later. She wore a simple blue dress chosen from the clothes Amelia had set aside for her and carried a small bag containing a book, a bottle of water, and the map she had studied with the man the previous night. When she sat down, he seemed to relax.

"Are we really going into the city?" he asked.

"We are," Sylphie replied. "Have you changed your mind?"

"No. I just wanted to confirm."

Kael finished chewing before speaking.

"If you get tired or don’t like somewhere, let us know. We can come back before lunch."

The man nodded but didn’t answer immediately. Then he took his list of experiences from his pocket and added a word. Kael tried to read it, but the paper was facing the other way.

"Something else you don’t like?"

"No. I wrote ’outing.’"

"But we haven’t gone yet."

"I want to remember that I chose to go."

Kael nodded and returned to his breakfast.

Before they left, he stopped by Amelia’s office. She was sitting in front of a pile of documents and talking to Irelia through a communication crystal. Kael waited until they finished discussing an access authorization in Valgrin.

"I need a favor."

Amelia looked up.

"That usually gets expensive."

"I want to arrange a monthly allowance for the man from Obrin’s personal expenses while he decides what he wants to do."

She set aside the document she’d been reading.

"I’ve already allocated funds for that."

Kael blinked.

"Already?"

"Room, clothes, food, and money for small expenses. Seraphine will have access to her own allowance as well. There’s no reason they should have to ask permission every time they want to buy something."

"Great."

"But I haven’t given it to him yet. I wanted to discuss the best way to explain it first."

Kael looked toward the corridor.

"We’re going out shortly. I can give him part of it today and leave the conversation about the rest for later."

Amelia opened a drawer and took out a coin purse. She separated a smaller amount and placed it on the table.

"That’s enough for an outing. The rest will be arranged with him, not for him."

"That’s what I intended."

"I know. I’m putting it on record so you don’t show up tomorrow saying you’ve decided to buy him a house."

Kael picked up the purse.

"That wasn’t in the plans."

"Good."

He was already near the door when Amelia added:

"Have fun."

Kael looked back.

"Are you excusing me from work for another day?"

"I am."

"I’m going to start thinking you want my position."

"I don’t want your responsibilities. I just want you to stop trying to take over mine."

Kael raised a hand in farewell and returned to the dining room.

He handed the coin purse to the man without making a special presentation of it. The man accepted it with both hands, untied the cord, and examined the contents.

"Is this for today?"

"For today and whatever’s left afterward."

"Can I save it?"

"It’s yours."

"Even if I don’t buy anything?"

"Especially if you don’t buy anything. The idea isn’t to make you spend it."

The man closed the purse and put it in his pocket. He touched the fabric once to make sure it was safely tucked away, then stood up with the others.

...

The city was busier than it had been on their previous outing. A caravan had arrived during the night, and part of the main square was occupied by carts unloading fabrics, tools, and food brought from other regions. Sylphie slowed down to look at a seed stall but didn’t stop.

"We’ll come back here later. The bakery first."

The nameless man nodded immediately.

"I remember the way."

Seraphine opened the map out of habit.

He pointed toward the street on the right.

"We pass the fountain, then keep going until the small square."

"Exactly," she replied, putting the paper away.

Kael followed the two of them a few steps behind. Sylphie walked beside the man, answering his questions about the stalls and the kinds of goods they sold. Umbra remained in his shadow, but every now and then she appeared near a wall or beneath an awning to examine something that interested her.

At the bakery, the man spent several minutes in front of the counter.

There were round loaves, long loaves, filled breads, sweet and savory breads, as well as honey cakes and small pies. He recognized the cakes they had brought back to the mansion, but he looked at the others as though every choice required a justification.

The attendant waited patiently.

"Would you like a recommendation?"

He looked at Seraphine, who simply made an encouraging gesture.

"I liked that honey one."

"Then you can have another. We also have one with walnuts."

"Is it similar?"

"Crunchier and less sweet."

The man examined the two options.

"I want to try the walnut one."

"One?"

He hesitated.

"Two. One for Seraphine."

She smiled.

The attendant wrapped the cakes and told him the price. The man opened his coin purse, counted slowly, and handed over the amount. He received his change, checked the coins, and put them away. When they left the bakery, he seemed more pleased with the purchase than with the pastry itself.

Kael noticed.

"Was that your first time buying something?"

"As far as I can remember as myself, yes."

"You paid the right amount."

"I checked."

"I saw."

The man took one of the cakes from the wrapper and handed it to Seraphine. She thanked him and took her first bite as they walked.

Sylphie pointed toward a nearby square.

"We can sit down before going to the bookstore."

"I’m not tired," the man replied.

"I know. But I want to eat my bread."

Kael looked at the package she was carrying.

"You bought more bread?"

"Yes."

"We already had breakfast."

"That doesn’t stop anyone from liking bread."

Umbra appeared beside him.

"I agree with her."

Kael decided not to continue the discussion.

They sat on a bench beneath a tree. The man tried his cake and began describing its flavor to Seraphine, trying to find words other than "good" and "bad." She suggested "sweet," "dry," and "crunchy." He tried each term, agreed with two, and disagreed with one.

Kael ate in silence while watching a child try to convince his father to buy a small wooden toy. The man refused twice, then offered to exchange the toy for a task the child had yet to complete. Kael couldn’t hear the rest, but the negotiation seemed to end without a purchase.

"You’ve been watching that family for a while," Sylphie said.

"I’m observing the negotiation."

"It’s not your negotiation."

"That’s why it’s interesting."

Seraphine laughed quietly and finished her cake.

...

The bookstore stood on a side street, between a fabric shop and a workshop that repaired clocks. It was small, with narrow shelves and a wooden staircase leading to a second floor. The owner, a tall man with graying hair, recognized Kael before all four of them had fully entered.

"Lord Scarlet."

Kael paused for a moment.

"Good morning."

The bookseller seemed to notice his simple clothes and the absence of official attendants.

"Are you looking for anything in particular?"

"Today, she’s the one looking," Kael replied, indicating Seraphine.

The man turned toward her without asking any further questions.

Seraphine explained that she wanted to find travel stories, books about regional customs, and perhaps a personal account that hadn’t been written as a historical document. The bookseller showed her two shelves and asked whether she preferred recent or older accounts.

"Recent," she replied.

Kael understood why without needing to ask.

Seraphine spent almost twenty minutes examining titles. The nameless man accompanied her for part of that time but then wandered off to look at illustrated books. He found a volume about animals from the mountainous regions, with drawings of deer, bears, foxes, and birds of prey.

He called Kael over.

"Does this animal really exist?"

Kael looked at the illustration of a goat with very long horns standing on a narrow rock formation.

"It does."

"How does it not fall?"

"It has hooves adapted to support its weight on small ledges."

The man studied the illustration carefully.

"Have you ever seen one?"

"Yes."

"Did it fall?"

"No."

"Then is the drawing reliable?"

Kael thought for a moment.

"For showing what it looks like, probably. I wouldn’t use a drawing alone to decide how they behave."

The man nodded, apparently satisfied, and went back to leafing through the book.

By the time he reached the counter, Seraphine had chosen two volumes. The man placed the animal book beside them but didn’t hand it to the bookseller immediately.

"Can I buy this?"

Kael looked at the pocket where he’d put the coin purse.

"You have money."

"I know. I’m just not sure I want to spend almost all of it."

Seraphine approached.

"Would you like to keep reading it after we get back?"

"Yes."

"Then perhaps it’s worth it."

He reflected for a few seconds and placed the book on the counter. He paid, put away the little money he had left, and received the volume wrapped in paper. On their way out, he held the package under his arm, protecting it from anyone who passed too close.

Sylphie watched him.

"Did you like the bookstore?"

"Yes."

"We can come back another day."

He smiled.

"I’d like that."

Kael was pleased that they had chosen only three stops so far. There were enough people in the streets to make walking tiring, and the man had spent much of the morning making choices he’d never had the opportunity to make before. When they reached the main square again, Kael asked whether he’d prefer to return to the mansion or have lunch in the city.

The man looked at Seraphine.

"I’d like to have lunch here."

"Then let’s go," Kael replied.

They chose a small inn on a quieter street. The tables stood beneath a wooden awning, and the day’s menu had only three options: meat stew, grilled fish, and vegetables with rice. Seraphine chose fish. Sylphie ordered vegetables. Kael went with the stew.

The man took a little longer.

"Can I order the same thing as Kael?"

"You can," the attendant replied.

When she walked away, he explained:

"I recognize the smell. I want to find out whether it tastes the way I remember."

Kael nodded.

"Tell me afterward."

The food arrived shortly after. The man tasted the stew and remained still for a few seconds, spoon in hand.

Seraphine leaned forward slightly.

"Is everything all right?"

"Yes. It’s just different."

"From the memory?"

"Yes."

He tried another spoonful.

"But I like it."

They continued eating. Sylphie told Seraphine about the seeds she intended to buy for the mansion’s garden and asked whether she’d like to help plant them. Seraphine agreed, provided she didn’t need to know all their names before they started. Kael informed her that wouldn’t be a problem because, until a few days earlier, he hadn’t known the name of a single flower in the garden either.

Sylphie pointed her spoon at him.

"You still don’t."

"I know a few."

"Which ones?"

Kael took a moment.

Umbra appeared in the shadow beneath the table.

"Red flowers."

Seraphine started laughing, and Kael decided to concentrate on his stew.

...

On the way back, Sylphie finally stopped at the seed stall. She bought three small packets and spent several minutes asking about a type of flower that, according to the vendor, grew best in moist soil and received little direct sunlight.

Kael waited beside the man, who was examining his animal book as they stood near the entrance to the square.

"Are you tired?" Kael asked.

"A little."

"We can go back as soon as she’s finished."

"I want to go back."

"All right."

The man closed the book.

"Today was good."

Kael looked at him.

"It was."

"I was afraid I wouldn’t know what to do when we got here."

"And did you?"

"Not always. But I asked."

"That worked."

The man nodded, put his book away, and looked toward the square.

"I want to see more places. Just not today."

"We don’t have to see them all at once."

He seemed to like the answer.

When Sylphie returned with the seeds, Kael told her they would head back to the mansion. She didn’t argue. Seraphine agreed as well, and the four of them began the return journey at a slower pace.

When they arrived, they found Amelia leaving a meeting with two staff members. She noticed the packages, the books, and the tired expression on the nameless man’s face.

"How was it?"

"We bought bread, books, and seeds," Kael replied.

"So no disasters."

"None."

Amelia looked at the man.

"And you?"

He raised the package he was carrying.

"I bought my first book."

She smiled.

"Good choice."

"I want to save the money I have left, too."

"You can save it. Later, we’ll talk about a regular allowance for your expenses, if you’d like."

He nodded.

"I would." ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Kael added nothing. Amelia had already begun explaining how personal expenses would work and that he didn’t need to decide right then whether he wanted to work, study, or remain at the mansion. Seraphine stayed with him to listen to the conversation.

Sylphie gently tugged Kael’s arm.

"Let’s put the shopping away."

He accompanied her to the garden. The elf arranged the seed packets on a bench and began considering where she could plant each species. Kael sat beside her, still with the taste of the stew in his mouth and the memory of the busy bookstore.

"Did you like it?" Sylphie asked.

"What?"

"The outing."

"I did."

She looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

Kael noticed.

"I mean it."

"I know."

Sylphie rested her shoulder against his, avoiding the area that was still sensitive.

"We can do this again."

"We can."

On the other side of the garden, Umbra appeared with the paper-wrapped package Kael had bought for her at the bakery.

He looked at the package.

"You kept that all day?"

"I saved half."

"Why?"

"Because it’s mine."

Kael nodded and settled more comfortably on the bench.

Sylphie began explaining where she would plant the seeds. This time, he paid enough attention to remember the name of at least one of the flowers.