“……Phew.”
Rewinding time just a little.
On the evening of October 7th, Saki Eschenbach was walking along the shores of Lake Tosmo.
She was not on the side where her family home stood, but on the side closest to the capital, Loizart.
She had traveled to her family home alone via a Warp Gate before taking a ferry to this side of the lake. She had done so because she felt she would likely run into familiar faces if she stayed too close to home.
She had a decent amount of money on her person. Living on Hourai Island left her with practically no opportunities to spend any.
Her only companion was Aaru, a servant automata created for her by Jin and Reinhard. The girl—or rather, the machine—had an androgynous appearance and was currently dressed in a maid’s uniform.
“Hmm, I know I’m being pathetic,” Saki muttered to herself. Aaru listened in silence.
The catalyst for this trip was her father, Toa, announcing his intention to marry his friend and fellow magi craftman, Stearena.
“I don’t think he needs to stay single forever, and I know she’s a good person.”
Aaru offered no reply. Even so, Saki continued to speak.
“They say my mother died when I was only two, so it’s only natural that I don’t remember her.”
Saki let out a long sigh before opening her mouth once more.
“But, still…… I wonder what this feeling is.”
Looking up at the sky, three or four early stars were already beginning to twinkle. The breeze blowing across the lake was growing quite cold.
“……Setting this feeling aside for now, I need to find a place to stay. Good grief, humans are such troublesome creatures.”
Ending her monologue there, Saki left the lakeshore and began walking toward the town.
This was the town of Torom. It was a fishing community centered around the bounty of Lake Tosmo.
“It’s still a bit early, but I should probably grab something to eat.”
Saki had skipped lunch. Until recently, she hadn’t minded such an irregular lifestyle, but because she had been living so systematically lately, skipping even a single meal felt difficult to bear.
“Since it’s my first time in this town, I have no idea where to go.”
Left with no other leads, she stepped through the entrance of the first place that caught her eye: a casual diner called the Shrimp-Catcher Lamp Inn.
“Welcome!”
Because it was still early, the place was only a little over half full, and there were plenty of seats to spare.
Saki sat in a corner at the back.
Unlike high-end restaurants, common sense dictated that one shouldn't bring golems or automata into the cramped interior of a casual diner. Consequently, Aaru remained on standby outside the shop.
“The daily special…… and a beer.”
Saki didn’t usually drink much, but for some reason, she felt like indulging a little tonight.
“Right, here you go.”
A tanned, middle-aged woman set down a wooden beer mug and a meager snack. The set meal would arrive a bit later.
“Hmm. Since I’m thirsty, this tastes wonderful.”
Saki drained about half of the nearly one-liter mug in a single go, then nibbled on the dried meat served as a snack.
Because she was drinking on an empty stomach, the intoxication hit her immediately. With eyes growing blurry, she gazed out the window and saw the lights of the shrimp-catching boats swaying on the darkening surface of Lake Tosmo.
“Daily special, thanks for waiting!”
A tray with a large grilled fish, barley porridge, bean soup, and a small vegetable salad was placed before Saki.
“Oh, this looks delicious.”
Saki, who generally wasn't a picky eater, started with the grilled fish.
“Yeah. It’s a bit salty, but the flavor is good.”
The heavy seasoning was likely for the benefit of the many laborers who frequented the place. Finishing the rest of her beer, Saki took a bite of the barley porridge.
“……Ah. Jin’s cooking is several levels above this……”
As she whispered the words in a small voice, tears suddenly welled up.
“……Wh-what? Why am I crying?”
Wiping her eyes with her sleeve, Saki gulped down the soup in one go. It was a bit hot, but she shoved the vegetable salad into her mouth to hide her expression.
“Was I really this weak?”
While slowly picking at the remains of the grilled fish and bringing them to her mouth, Saki was filled with self-loathing.
“In the first place, why did I feel lonely just because Father is getting married?”
Her mind, now thoroughly intoxicated, was in no state to organize her thoughts.
“……Excuse me, another beer.”
Her incoherent thoughts sought further chaos and demanded more alcohol.
The tray from her finished meal was taken away in exchange for the new mug.
“……Phew.”
Saki, having finished half of the second mug, rested her chin on her hand at the table and sighed.
“Ah, I don’t care anymore……”
To begin with, Saki did not have a high tolerance for alcohol. In fact, she was an absolute lightweight. A single glass of wine was usually enough to make her pleasantly tipsy.
“Hey, little lady, don't you think you've had enough?”
A man sat down in front of Saki, who had become completely wasted after a mug and a half of beer. He was a tanned man in his late thirties, likely a fisherman.
“Drinking beer all by yourself and getting this drunk…… Your family must be worried, yeah?”
But Saki only answered with a giggle.
“Hehe, that’s a low blow. But unfortunately, this is exactly how I want to be right now.”
“I don’t know what happened, but you’re too young to be drowning your sorrows in booze, little lady. Save that for when you're middle-aged.”
“Hmph. Is there a law against getting drunk while you’re young?”
As she said that, she drained the rest of the beer in one gulp.
“Whoa, don’t push it.”
“I’m not…… pushing…… anything……”
Saki, whose speech had become entirely slurred, finally slumped over onto the table.
“Hey, little lady……”
Another voice spoke from above the worried fisherman's head.
“Ah, sorry about my companion.”
When the man looked up, he saw a reasonably well-dressed man around thirty years old standing there.
“She ran out of the house over some trivial unpleasantness. To think she was drinking in a place like this.”
As he spoke, he pulled the limp Saki upright.
“I see, so she’s with you. Don’t take your eyes off her again, alright?”
“Yes, my apologies.”
The man supporting Saki paid for her meal and left the shop. Saki seemed to have lost consciousness already, merely mumbling something incoherent.
The man walked toward the shadows while supporting Saki’s weight. Another slightly pudgy man was waiting there.
“Boss, looks like it went well.”
“Heh heh, she’s a real fine prize.”
The two laughed together, their voices thick with malice.
“As always, your eye for this is amazing, Boss.”
“I can tell when a woman is mentally unstable by her scent. It’s all in the scent.”
Exchanging such words, the two tried to drag Saki further into the deserted shadows……
“Please wait.”
They were stopped by a voice.
“What is it?”
The two men looked toward the sound and saw a slender maid standing there.
“Hey, look. Another pigeon has come flying our way.”
“Heh. Can I have that one, Boss?”
“Yeah, do as you like.”
The pudgy man licked his lips and reached out toward the slender maid……
“Wha—?!”
In an instant, he was slammed into the ground.
“Wh-what? What the hell did you do?”
Even though Aaru looked delicate, she was an automata built by Jin and Reinhard. Having been tuned on Hourai Island, she could easily produce the strength of five adult men. Her reaction speed was over ten times that of a human, and because she possessed a tactile sense, she could adjust her strength with absolute precision.
“Return the young lady.”
Aaru delivered a kick to the solar plexus of the pudgy man lying on the ground, completely knocking him out, then turned to face the man called Boss.
“Don’t mess with me!”
The man pulled a knife from his coat and hurled it at Aaru’s face. Dodging it by simply tilting her head, Aaru took a large step forward.
With that single step, Aaru closed the distance. She thrust her left fist toward the man’s jaw.
It was a clean hit. The man called Boss fell straight back and lost consciousness on the spot.
“My lady.”
Just as Aaru picked up the unconscious Saki from the ground, another man arrived.
“Ah—I figured it would turn out like this.”
It was the fisherman who had sat in front of Saki at the diner.