"Ugh... my head..."
Saki woke to a splitting headache that made her entire face scrunch in pain.
"Saki-sama, are you awake?"
"...Ah, Aaru. Could you... give me some water...?"
Clutching her head, Saki struggled to sit up. A glass of water was immediately held out to her.
"Ah, thank you..."
She drained the glass in one long gulp, and the cool liquid made her feel slightly more human. Once she put on the glasses Aaru handed over, she realized the hand that had given her the water didn't actually belong to her automata.
"...Oh? Um..."
"Hehe, surprised? This is my home. My husband was the one who carried you back after you passed out drunk."
The woman smiling at her appeared to be in her late twenties or early thirties. Her dull blonde hair was tied back in a messy bundle, giving her a lively, practical air. Her eyes were a bright, clear light blue.
"Er... well..."
Saki tried to piece together the events of the previous night through the fog of her hangover.
"You drank two whole mugs of beer and went down like a light. The beer here is much stronger than what you find elsewhere, so I suppose it’s no wonder."
Apparently, because the local fishermen preferred a kick, the town stocked particularly potent brews. While normal beer usually sat around five percent alcohol, the local variety was over fifteen percent. Having downed two large mugs, Saki—who was never particularly sturdy when it came to alcohol—had been completely incapacitated.
"A girl coming to a place like this all alone to get plastered... I imagine you have your reasons."
Noticing Saki’s pale face, the woman handed her a small cup and told her to drink. Still not thinking clearly, Saki obediently accepted and downed it in one go—only to gag at the overwhelming bitterness.
"Hehehe, it’s bitter, but it works."
Hangover headaches are caused by the dilation and inflammation of blood vessels due to acetaldehyde and acetic acid, substances produced as alcohol breaks down. Caffeine is a common remedy, as it helps constrict those vessels.
"It's a very strong brew of te-e."
"...Thank you very much."
The headache hadn't vanished, but Saki’s mind was starting to clear enough to realize she was being a poor guest.
"My name is Saki. I’m sorry for being such a burden."
"Oh, aren't you polite? I'm Rosy."
After they introduced themselves, Rosy asked how her stomach felt. Saki admitted she was starting to feel a bit hungry, perhaps thanks to the bitter tea. Rosy smiled and told her to wait a moment before heading out of the room.
"...Aaru, what exactly happened last night?"
Left alone with her automata, Saki questioned her.
"Yes, Saki-sama..."
Aaru gave a concise account: how the intoxicated Saki had nearly been kidnapped by a pair of suspicious men, how Aaru had neutralized them, and how Rosy’s husband, August, had happened upon them and brought them both here.
"I see... Aaru, thank you for protecting me."
"No thanks are necessary. It is my duty."
The door opened again, and Rosy returned carrying a bowl of barley porridge.
"Here. Eat this. You should stick to something light for now."
The porridge had a gentle, comforting flavor. As Saki ate, she felt a genuine sense of warmth spreading through her chest.
＊ ＊ ＊
Since the Shrimp-Catcher Lamp Inn also functioned as a lodging house, Saki decided to stay there officially for a while.
Coming to a place like this with a maid automata in tow made it obvious she had some sort of complicated backstory. Because of that, while Rosy and August were concerned, they were kind enough not to pry.
"...I've already been here for three nights, huh..."
Saki found herself lingering, captivated by a landscape that differed so much from the familiar northern shore of Lake Tosmo. The lakeside here was a mix of sand and gravel, with massive rocks jutting out from the water, making for excellent fishing grounds.
"The gravel here is fascinating..."
Gradually, her professional curiosity as an alchemist began to stir. When she had Aaru dig down about a meter, she was stunned to find minerals shimmering with iridescent colors.
"Is this... opal?"
Opal, also known as protein stone, is a mineral formed of silicon dioxide (SiO2) and water of crystallization (nH2O).
"Let's see... the presence of opal means this side is likely igneous or thermal metamorphic rock."
Back at her family home on the northern shore, she could find fossils, which meant that area was sedimentary.
"So the geology is completely different between the two sides!"
Thrilled by this discovery, Saki spent the next two days using the town of Torom as her base while she surveyed the geological makeup of the Lake Tosmo coast.
"Hmm, what's this?"
During her survey, she found a strange mineral she had never encountered before. It felt like a mix of soil and rock, and it was filled with tiny, bean-like grains.
"Hourai Island... If I showed this to Jin, I bet he’d know what it is immediately."
Saki murmured to herself, rolling the mineral around in her palm.
"...What should I do?"
＊ ＊ ＊
Ultimately, without reaching a clear conclusion about her life, Saki ended up staying for yet another night. This made it seven nights in total.
By this point, Rosy and August were genuinely worried. To them, Saki looked like she was on the verge of an emotional collapse. Since the couple had no children of their own, they found themselves unable to let her just drift away.
"Listen, Saki-chan. I don't know what happened, but don't you think it's time you headed home?"
"She's right. Your folks must be worried sick."
For the first time, Saki spoke her true feelings.
"...My mother is gone, and my father is probably busy being happy with his new partner. It doesn't matter if I'm there or not," she said with a lonely smile.
Hearing that, August looked like the pieces had finally clicked into place.
"I see. So you're just sulking."
"Sulking...? No, I—"
August gave her a firm, affectionate smack on the head.
"Don't be a brat. You've been hanging around here all this time just waiting for someone to come looking for you, haven't you? That's just plain selfish."
That wasn't quite it, but the couple seemed convinced.
"Now that I know the truth, I can't let you stay here anymore. It's late, so you can have one last night, but you're going home tomorrow."
"Eh? Um..."
"That's right. Starting tomorrow, we won't take your money even if you try to stay."
"..."
The conversation moved forward at a blistering pace, completely ignoring Saki's protests.
There were other inns in Torom, but Saki could only manage a wry smile at the couple’s forceful kindness. Her eyes began to sting with tears. In truth, she had run away in a fit of silence and then found herself unable to figure out how to go back. She had been searching for a reason to return.
"...Yeah. Thank you. Rosy-san, August-san."
"Good. Glad you've got your head on straight. Well then, I'm going to cook up something special tonight!"
August let out a relieved laugh at her honest nod and clapped her on the shoulder.
The diner at the Shrimp-Catcher Lamp Inn finished its business at 8:00 PM. Saki’s farewell dinner began shortly after.
"To Saki-chan's future!"
They raised their glasses. August had his heavy mug, while Rosy and Saki held smaller cups. Saki hadn't touched a drop of alcohol since her first night.
"Thank you so much. Rosy-san, August-san... you really saved me."
Now that she had decided to go back, her heart felt light, and her gratitude was sincere.
"I don't even know why I was being so stubborn. You've really opened my eyes."
Looking back, it was so simple. She realized her behavior had been rooted in a childish desire to make Toa worry.
Reinhard, the man she’d cared for, had chosen Berche as his bride, and her father Toa had found a new partner as well. She felt ashamed of herself for running away like a petulant child just to make someone notice her loneliness. Saki had recovered enough to look back on her actions and realize she hadn't been in her right mind.
"I wonder what Jin and the others will say when they see this opal and the strange mineral?"
She found herself smiling at the thought, genuinely looking forward to seeing them again.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Thank you for everything..."
"Be well."
"Come see us again!"
With a heart full of emotion, Saki boarded the ferry after that brief exchange.
The breeze crossing Lake Tosmo in the morning was brisk. As the shore receded, Rosy and August remained there, waving until they were nothing but specks in the distance. Saki kept waving back until they vanished from sight.
Once she reached Sagina on the opposite shore, Saki had lunch at a diner near the harbor before heading toward her home on foot along the lakeside road. She wanted to double-check the geology of the northern shore.
If she brought back a new discovery, she could use it as an excuse for being out of touch for so long.
After confirming that the northern shore was indeed sedimentary rock, Saki finally reached her house. To her surprise, it was completely empty.
"...Maybe he went to Reinhard's?"
She could have checked by contacting Hourai Island, but she wasn't in the mood for that. Instead, she used the Warp Gate installed in her home to travel via Shinkai and Hourai Island, eventually transferring to Reinhard’s home, Rankenhaus.
"The masters are in the workshop."
A maid she recognized gave her the update, mentioning that Jin, Elsa, and her father Toa were all there.
Feeling a slight hesitation, Saki peeked into the workshop. Her opening line was classic Saki.
"Hey everyone, what are you all up to?"