Book Four – Chapter One – Part Two – The Invitation

When Servi and Momo walked into the crowd and bypassed tens of other stalls, they eventually came to a nice, quiet area. There was a rectangular pond nearby, and it was nearly spotless. And since there were four benches littered around, Momo couldn’t think of a better place to snack. She walked over with Servi in tow, taking a seat at the far end. The two closest benches were empty, but the one furthest away had two inhabitants.

Momo ignored the Elf and her dog, and she focused on the delicious meal in front of her. She placed her cup of water down beside her and started to dig it. She held the bowl to her mouth and tilted her head back, allowing the shrimp to slide down as if she was finishing off a bowl of soup. Momo didn’t want to do that, but she had forgotten to ask for any utensils. And she didn’t have any spare ones in her bag, and Momo didn’t want to bother Itarr with a trivial matter.

After biting and swallowing four of the fifteen pieces, enjoying the wonderful butter that meshed so well with seafood, she turned to look at Servi while chewing on a fifth. Her nose was blessed in heaven with just how deliciously her food smelled.

“Servy, you gotta eat, okay?” Momo said with a mouth full of food. Each time her teeth tore into the delicious crustacean, her mouth was filled with pure flavor. “Just do what I do and have it all flow in. I have a few napkins, so don’t worry about getting your face dirty, okay?” Momo smiled. She turned away from her friend and saw an adorable sight.

A family of yellow ducks was enjoying a nice dip into the pond. And looking closer, a few fishes gallivanting were underneath. They weren’t big, so it must’ve not been that cramped. “Hehe, Servy, it’s like we’re having our own picnic with a show. Wanna cheer on the fishes and duckies? Wait, was that too childish? Maybe it was, even for me… Hmm… Ah,” Momo looked back at Servi. In the time it took her to talk about ducks and fishes, Servi had utterly devoured her bowl of shrimp.

And her face had all the evidence. Little clumps of black pepper and brown sugar littered her lips. Momo wryly smiled and sat her bowl down beside her. She took out a napkin from her bag, dabbed it in her drink, and washed Servi’s face. “You have to be a little bit neater when eating, okay?” After Momo tossed the napkin in Servi’s empty bowl, both items disappeared from the world. “And be sure to drink your water, okay? And thank you, Itarr.”

After Servi had followed Momo’s order, the Singi returned to her meal. In between chewing and drinking, she asked a question out loud. “Servy, you do know Canary has a few libraries, right? I don’t mean anything by this, but if everything was super new, why not stop by? Wait, I suppose I can only ask that as easily as I did because I wasn’t in your spot. I know you told me that you were constantly experiencing new things, so maybe going to the library didn’t pop up in your mind? Grampy said that the easiest solutions are almost always right in front of you, so it’s best not to overthink a problem. Well, I might not have as much knowledge as a building full of books, but I can probably answer some of your questions. Just call me Momo, the library-dwelling Singi. Hey, maybe I can get some glass? I need those if I wanna look the part. That sounds kinda fun.”

For the next six minutes, Momo finished off her shrimp and downed her cup of water. As she leaned back on the bench, Itarr absorbed the bowl and cup for safekeeping. The adorable Singi, now stuffed with breakfast, put a hand to her tummy. “Man, that really hit the spot. I think it might be time for me to turn into a shrimp kinda gal. Whaddya think about that, Servy?” Momo asked. She saw movement out of her eyes and looked straight ahead, but she wasn’t on guard against anything. The pair sitting across from her—an Earth Elf and a dog—had gotten up and were walking over to Momo.

Though Momo didn’t realize it because she was stuffing her face, the dog had been acting odd. Instead of laying down, it remained sitting and just stared towards Servi. Momo also didn’t pick up what the Earth Elf said when she turned the four-legged beast. It seemed as if they recognized Servi, and they had walked over to confirm their suspicions.

“It’s… It’s you, isn’t it?” whispered the Elf. She wore armor befitting that of a Rank 10. While it wasn’t the worst, it was a far cry from what Rank 8 and Rank 9s wore. Still, its leather reinforcements could protect against rats and goblins carrying dull weaponry. She had a bow attached to her back, a nearly empty quiver of arrows on her hip, and a single red dagger sheathed into a slot on her chest.

“I’m sorry, but can I help you?” Momo asked. She briefly looked down and smiled at the dog. Its fur was as white as snow, but it had a few brown spots here and there. The adorable fellow probably had some fun rolling around a dirt pile earlier that day. The friendly beast sniffed Momo’s leg, then turned its head towards the unresponsive Servi. It sniffed a few more times, then it started to lick Servi’s leg, bouncing and barking as if the dog wanted to play.

Momo was definitely confused, but she didn’t think anything bad was coming. That was why she didn’t put a hand on her blade.

And also why Itarr hadn’t done anything. The Goddess knew this Elf and her canine companion.

“Umm… I just wanted to say thank you,” said the Elf as she put a hand to her heart. Her fingers danced against the dagger’s handle. “You were in disguise then, and I don’t know your name, but you were the one who saved Cue and me.” As if on time, Cue happily barked and wagged his tail. “My name’s Elly. Do… Do you remember me at all? You gave me this dagger,” Elly whispered.

“Servy did say something about an Elf and a dog, so I guess that’s you,” Momo said, slightly smiling.

Elly waited for Servi to say something, but her neutral expression never did vanish. She asked Momo what was wrong. Momo explained the best she could while keeping secrets. Even if Servi could trust Elly, Momo had never met her before. The Singi thought she did a good job, but she did see the apprehension on the Elf’s face.

“I see… I just wanted to tell Servy that I am thankful for the kindness she showed Cue and me. That dagger she gave me provided me the strength to run away from the slums and make something of myself. I’m still only Rank 10, but I’m alright for myself. I actually have friends and party members… I’m learning how to fight—how to defend myself… If she hadn’t come along, I’d probably have died that night after being assaulted.” Elly started to cry, and Momo handed her a napkin.

Elly’s hands went the weapon on her chest, and she pulled it from its home. “I don’t need this anymore. I don’t have to rely on it, so I want to give it back to you.” The blade itself was as red as superheated magma, and the grip was as black as obsidian. It also had a fancy design erected into the pommel, which seemed to be forged out of silver.

When Servi didn’t move at all, Elly handed the weapon to Momo, but she didn’t take it.

“Servy would want you to have it, so keep it. She gave it to you for a reason, after all. And if I know her, she would want you to use it to protect yourself. You might be in a much better position, but that’s all the more reason to keep it,” Momo said.

Elly wanted to argue, but she bit her tongue and sheathed her beloved dagger. “I’ll keep it. I promise I won’t ever forget the kindness you showed Cue and me. I wish I had something to give you…to thank you, but nothing I have—“

“Elly, Servy isn’t the type of girl who expects something back,” Momo said, interrupting the Elf. “If she does something, she does it because she wants to.”

“I… I see. Servy, I hope we get to run into each other later. Come on, Cue, we have to leave,” Elly said. Cue barked thrice more before facing his owner. As Momo watched them walk away, she whispered a few sweet words at Servi.

“Servy, I’m proud of you for helping her. You did something amazing, and I think that deserves another hug!” Momo wormed her hand on top of Servi’s and stood up. Then the pair shared a warm, albeit brief, embrace. “Now that our bellies are full, we can have some fun walking around the city! Hey, can we stop by the barbers? My hair’s gotten kinda long. The last time I tried to cut it, it ended in disaster,” Momo said as she ran a hand through her pink locks. Her hair moved as if it was a collection of cherry blossoms steadily flowing downward. Even if it did reach below the middle of her back, Momo still took excellent care of it. She was a bit heated because her hair took a lot of effort to clean and maintain. It had also started to annoy her since she wasn't used to it being that long in the first place.

And so, that was what they did. Servi and Momo wandered around Canary, checking out the options they had before them. The pair did pass by a guard or two, and they did start walking towards them, but it wasn’t anything like what Sea and Jeri did. Itarr, however, took care of it and used Kaasuvuoto. The pursuing foes drifted off to dreamland while standing, but they awoke a moment later, dazed and momentarily confused by what happened. But by then, the sneaky Singi and Human had gotten away.

When they did find a shop Momo approved of, she walked right through the open doors and checked in with the Elven receptionist. Servi was right there beside Momo, and after being told it would be a ten-minute wait, the pair took a seat. “You have to stay here when it’s my turn, okay?” Momo said. Her left index finger playfully tapped around the back of Servi’s hand.

Twenty-two minutes later, the deed was done, and Momo felt a heck of a lot better. When she stood up out of the chair, she paid the man for his service and even threw in a ten dupla tip.

Momo walked over to Servi, who hadn’t moved a single millimeter. “Servy, how do I look?” Momo asked while spinning around. She still had the same lovely hair, only it was cut much shorter. Her bangs had been elevated a little bit, which meant more of her eyes and forehead were shown. But the drastic difference came from the back. Instead of it nearly stretching down to her waist, her hair respectively stopped a little bit past her neck. Momo turned back to the chair and watched as the Koena was still in the middle of sweeping up the aftermath of a pink-haired slaughter.

“He also washed my hair and combed it for me. See? Feel it,” Momo excitedly said. She took hold of Servi’s hand and placed it on her head. The emotionless Human kicked into one of her happy moods, and rubbed Momo’s head, running the pink hair in between her fingers.

“Feel it!!!” Servi chirped. For an odd second, Momo just stood there, getting petted by the girl she loved, and her tail went absolutely haywire. She didn’t think it had ever wagged that fast before in her life. Unfortunately, the affectionate-filled scene couldn’t continue because the Elven receptionist practically kicked the pair of friends out because they were becoming a disturbance.

“Happy Servy is my favorite Servy! No, Servy is my favorite Servy!” Momo said. She didn’t even care about the embarrassment of being thrown out of a business. She took Servy’s hand, and the pair of friends skipped over to a nearby bench. Before they could sit down, Momo felt a rumbling in her tummy and realized nature was calling. She looked left, right, up, and down in desperate search for a toilet, but she didn’t find one.

With haste, Momo practically dragged her laughing friend behind her as she searched for a place to relieve herself. Just as it seemed hopeless, Momo saw a holy blessing in the form of public restrooms. It was a single brick building, but there was a clear split. The left half had a picture of a man, and the right had an image of a woman. “Bwha!!! Servy, stay there!!!” Momo said as she ran forward. She slipped inside the door right as someone was coming out and darted ahead to the first stall. Her feet mercilessly pounded the marbled floor, and she slammed the wooden door shut.

If only my village had something like this... Privacy is the best...

Five minutes later, Momo emerged from the building with a relieved look on her face. Since she wanted to save her napkins and towels inside her bag, she air-dried her delicate hands by waving them about. She looked around for her best friend, but Momo only saw odd strangers. Her heart rate increased, and a surge of panic filled her chest.

Momo ran forward, her mouth screaming Servi’s name while  she raced to the spot where she last left her.  “SERVY!!!!” she shouted with worry as the panic set inside her heart. Everything seemed to slow down as Momo's eyes searched with frantic haste.

“Servy!!! Servy!!!” came a very familiar voice that was definitely welcoming. Momo looked towards the source and saw her lovable friend standing just a few meters away. She was just standing there with a coin in her outstretched hand while leaning against the building. The smile on her face was unfathomably bright, but Momo didn’t see it that way. She rushed towards the girl and hugged her tight.

“Why didn’t you stay there?” Momo asked. The tears that were about to fall wanted to return to where they had come from, but gravity willed them to fall down her flushed cheeks.

“Stay…? Stay!!!” Servi said. She stiffened up and remained motionless as if it was some sort of game, but Momo still had more to say.

“Servy… Please, don’t walk away like that ever again… I… I know nothing bad would happen because Itarr would protect you, but I can’t handle not ever seeing you again. Servy…” Momo tried to remain in control of her emotions, but water just fell from her eyes. Droplets landed on Servi’s shirt, and Servi soon found herself in a crying state. She cried out, dropping to the floor as a few people passing by stopped and stared at the odd scene. It wasn’t many, but it was more than what Momo was comfortable with. Then a moment later, a pair of guards spotted the two girls.

They were the ones Itarr had put to sleep earlier.

She pushed aside her worries and fears and ran away with Servi. The two ran down alleys, came up behind a few stores, and finally emerged somewhere near Warden's sister building.

Momo heaved for air, and she turned back and stared at Servi. Her hand was sweaty, so Momo unhooked her fingers and wiped them on her pants. She looked up at Servi, and saw that her happiness had disappeared. What was left was nothing more than a face with no visible emotions. Servi’s eyes were half-open and half-closed, but her red eyes never moved. They were perfectly placed in the middle, choosing only to stare ahead at what was eye-level. The redness from her cheeks, from where Servi had started to cry, also vanished. It was also the same with her cute lips, which were totally relaxed and at ease.

After a few minutes, Momo calmed down to the point where she could think clearly. She realized just how much she overreacted. Again, she didn’t feel embarrassed by it. Friends just care about their friends. I did overreact, but I didn’t go crazy. If she thought about it like that, Momo felt fine.

“Servy, how do you feel about taking a break? We’ve been walking and talking and eating for a while, so let’s cool off back at Warden,” Momo said. Once she felt Servi’s touch around her delicate fingers, Momo marched off towards her home with her best friend in tow. She wished Servi was still in her happy moods, but who knows… There’s a chance she’d be bouncing like a happy bunny once again after going home.