Book Four – Chapter Two – Part One – Revealing Her Love

In the late afternoon, the sun was in the final stages of being the dominant object in the sky. Soon, night would befall the city and all who inhabit it.

A pair of friends were sitting on a bench inside Warden. The Demi-Human of the two, an adorable Singi with an overactive tail, was lazily scrolling through her ID. That was what her left hand was occupying, and she balanced it on her knee. Her right hand was solely monopolized by the girl sitting beside her. Servi’s black hair was like a curtain of darkness in that she was motionless. Her head hadn’t moved a millimeter, and it was the same with her body.

Servi’s sitting stance was absolutely perfect with how she aligned her neck and spine. She looked like the perfect mannequin. The part of Servi that was moving, if it could even be called that, was her hand, but she wasn’t doing it. Every so often, Momo would squeeze Servi’s hand, or she would draw little circles and squares on her friend’s palm. It was clearly a sign of friendship that had evolved into affection.

“So! If we’re gonna cook tonight... And if I wanna cook for you in the future, then I have to learn Firewall. That leaves me with 24 Potential. I do wanna learn Summon Spirit Familiar: Minor, but that needs 20. And I don’t see anything I can get for 4. But that’s fine! I know there’s gonna be a lot of adventuring ahead of us, so it ain’t worth getting upset about.” After tapping a few items and confirming her selection, Momo could now use Firewall after chanting. She had decided to wait on Summon Spirit Familiar: Minor because she wanted Servi to be there to experience it together.

“It’s weird when I think about it. Grampy said he never had to go through Warden to use certain water skills because he was blessed. He said he had to learn the mechanics behind it, but it’s totally different for me. Like, I’ve never used Firewall before, but the knowledge to use it is right in my head. And if I try to forget it, it’s impossible. It’s kinda odd, isn’t it? But I guess that’s the tradeoff if you’re born blessed. A toddler could probably use something like Water Whip if they were taught. Anyone else would have to be promoted to Rank 5 first, and then spend the Potential.” Momo was just talking about whatever came to the forefront of her mind. They had been sitting— waiting patiently—for their Elven friend to clock out.

Momo didn’t see Claire behind any of the eight windows or the sign-up desk, so she must’ve been working the back. In that case, she was probably getting documents together and filling out forms, documenting how many quests were completed and failed. It took a lot to run an organization like Warden, which had branches all over the world on every continent. But that didn’t mean they all worked together as a single-file unit. When it came to decision-making, each Warden office had a leader that oversaw the day-to-day. Above them was a person in charge of all of the offices in a country. There were three of those people for the content of Gea, which housed three countries: Lando, Keywater, and Westera. It was the same on the other continent and its countries. All of these answered to the big boss in charge, who had command over all of Warden's operations.

Yes, it was somewhat confusing, and even as important Warden was to the world as a peace-keeping organization, it wasn’t flawless. Stubbornness, bribes, and underhanded deals were just as frequent as any other business. Just because the contractors—employees such as Servi and Momo—wanted to do good, they were in the minority. It was estimated that over 70 to 80% of all contractors joined Warden for selfish and personal reasons.

Because of that, it was easy to explain how no Warden members jumped at the chance to be a hero when the slavery markets were attacked. Even if someone did try to fight back, Servi would’ve exterminated all who attempted to stop her. But most, if not all, didn’t want to potentially throw their lives away at stopping a foe they didn’t understand. If they had overreacted, it could only serve to make things worse. On top of that, if any over-eager adventurers acted, it could slow down or outright halt any attempts that the city guard had made.

“Man, it’s sure taking Claire a while, isn’t it?” Momo said. “But I don’t mind the wait!” Momo leaned back on the bench and stretched her legs and tail. An adorable yawn came from her mouth, and she lazily wiped her eyes with the back of her hand as a cat would. “But Servy, we haven’t decided on what we wanna cook. I remember you saying you like noodles and vegetables. Hmm… We could make that ramen we had a few weeks back. Or what if we cut up some veggies and cook them? I wish I knew a lot more about cooking. Grampy could cook like a champ. He’d take a bunch of ingredients and make a delicious meal as if it was the easiest thing in the world. But I guess we can talk—oh, there’s Claire!” Momo stopped talking and waved her free hand. Her ID slipped from her knee and smashed into the ground, the dust absorbing into her body.

The Elf looked as if she was the definition of exhaustion. Her messy red hair drooped down past her neck, and she rubbed her head as if she had a headache. Sweat dripped down her chin, and she clumsily wiped it with the jacket she had in her arms. When she reached the bench, Claire exaggeratedly slumped down and took a deep breath. “Hey, Momo. Hey, Servi,” she quietly whispered.

Momo looked closely and saw Claire’s collar was utterly soaked in sweat. “Did you have a hard day?” Momo asked.

“Yeah… It was hard…and slow…and annoying…and tedious…and exhausting… And I feel like ‘blah!’ But I feel a lot better now. I can’t wait until tonight!” Claire perked right up after venting to Momo.

“Same here! And I know Servy’s been waiting, too.”

Claire straightened up on the bench and sat as if she had any sense. She reached into her jacket and took out a canteen. A quick sip later, it was time to talk about dinner. “So,” Claire said. “What are we eating tonight?”

“Servy told me a while back she liked noodles and vegetables. Maybe we can work off of that?” Momo asked. Her eyes briefly glanced to the half-empty lobby. Only a few people were actively scrounging around the quest board. The majority of them had taken a seat at a table and were talking to friends and family.

“We could do some steamed veggies. Or we can toss them in the frying pan and cook them that way. I don’t have a grill, so we can’t grill anything. There’s always pasta, so that’s an option.”

“Pasta? That’s pretty much noodles and sauce, right?” Momo asked.

“It is, but you can a bunch to it to really make it shine. Heck, we can have bread and potatoes on the side.”

“Oh! Can we have onions, carrots, mushrooms, peas, and corn?” Momo excitedly said. “Those are my favorite veggies!” Her tail wagged behind her, lightly thumping into Servi’s side, but neither of the two noticed.

Claire covered her mouth and happily laughed. “Yep! We can have whatever you want to have! Oh, before we head out, do you wanna change into something more comfortable?”

“That sounds good to me. Servy, you stay here with Claire, okay?” Momo said. She squeezed Servi’s hand once more and darted off towards the stairs, leaving the ever-still Servi and her Elven friend alone.

It was awkward—that much Claire would agree on—but the weirdness only lasted a few seconds. Because if she thought about it, why did she feel that way?  Servi was still Servi. The girl sitting next to her looked like Servi. She even smiled like Servi whenever she was in her happy state of mind.

Claire leaned back and hugged her jacket. “Servi, don’t think I haven’t noticed the nickname Momo calls you. Servy… I think it’s kinda cute. Did you give her one? I bet you did. Was it something like Momie? Or if she wanted to have it sound similar, I bet you chose Mosie. Am I right?”

Claire waited a few seconds before continuing just in case Servi somehow reacted. “Oh… Umm… I just want to say you made the right choice when protecting Momo. Taking a life is hard… For some people, it’s probably the hardest thing in the world because it means you crossed a line that you can’t come back from, and even though I’m not qualified to speak about it, I know it changes a person. My father was a ranger. It was up to him and his fellow rangers to defend the forest and the village where we lived. And I know he had to cross over that barricade many, many times to protect his family and our friends from bandits. The challenge is seeing if you can remain the same after doing it… Dad had us help him cross back over, and you have Momo. You also have me, Dineria, Fisher, Srassa, and all of the other friends you’ve made since coming here. We can be the support you need, Servi. Remember that. You—”

Out of nowhere, Servi slowly shivered left to right, and water began to fall from her eyes. Apparently, Claire’s words had reached her. Servi’s crying then increased in intensity. Her mouth slowly opened up, and her hands moved to her eyes. Claire panicked! She stood up, dropping her jacket to the Warden floor. The Elf looked left, right, then glanced at the stairs. When she didn’t see Momo, she sprung into action by crouching down in front of Servi.

Claire did what her grandmother had done for her whenever she was feeling moody, and that was to place her hand on Servi’s head. She moved it back and forth, lightly rubbing Servi’s black hair. It was soft, like the fur of a freshly groomed, long-coated dog. The ruby-eyed girl suddenly leaned forward.

The Elf embraced the tearful girl in a warm hug. Her body seemed to vibrate whenever she whined, but that friendly affection was all Servi needed. Her crying simmered off until there was silence, and she leaned back and softly drifted off to the world of dreams.

The whole experience was odd and a little nerve-racking for the Elf, but she pulled through like a champ and wondered what to do next. Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait long because her pointy ears picked up a familiar voice.

Claire stood up and turned around, and started to explain things to Momo. The adorable Singi wore a black skirt and a white shirt. She had pink socks that came to her knees, and Momo finished the outfit with a pair of black boots and her all-important messenger bag. It held everything she owned.

“Momo, I was talking to Servi, and she started to tear up. I didn’t really know what to do, so I patted her head and hugged her.”

“Yeah, Servy does that sometimes,” Momo said while walking forward. Claire took a few steps to the side and made room for Momo, who crouched down and stared at her friend at eye level. She looked for a few seconds and tilted her head. If she strained her ears, then Momo heard a soft exhale. She smiled then stood up while rubbing Servi’s head. “She’s fine. She’s just asleep, but I don’t know how— bwah—!!!” At that moment, Servi jolted awake and hugged Momo from the side while remaining seated. With that big grin on her face, the Singi knew what time it was as Servi rubbed her chin on her soft friend.

“Happy!!” Momo excitedly squealed.

“Happy!!! Happy!!!” Servi repeated. The happy, rambunctious, copycat side of Servi had woken up. She grinned, staring up at Momo with a smile that would put the bright sun to shame.

“Well, I guess this Servi will be joining us for dinner. Claire, are you ready?” Momo asked. She maneuvered her hand and gently wrapped Servi’s fingers between her own. The black-haired girl stood up and lightly bounced on her tippy toes, but her chest was protected by her blue overalls. There wouldn’t be any bouncing bosoms today!

Good choice on the outfit, Itarr! You rock! Momo said in her mind.

“Uhh… Oh, yeah. I’m ready if you two are,” Claire stammered. The Elf didn’t know why she was so surprised since she had already seen Servi in her happy mood. But she guessed it was the way Momo wrangled the unpredictable Servi in like a farmer dealing with an uncontrollable mare.

Claire stood up and wrapped her jacket around her waist, which was clothed in a black skirt. It came down to her knees, where they met a pair of black stockings. As for shoes, Claire wore a pair of formal-looking shoes. With the black jacket involved, it seemed Warden’s summer dress code was all dark colors, but that didn’t make much sense because black absorbed more heat than any other color. Momo was curious, so she asked Claire when they walked out the door.

“Our dress code is to just be presentable and formal, like you would be if attending a business meeting. And I got the clothes for that which are not black, but they’re dirty. I’ve really been slacking on laundry… And I’ve got two more uniforms left, but they’re all black, which means I was burning up all day. I swear I drank about 5 liters of water today,” Claire said. As soon as she stepped outside, a fresh breeze caressed her face, cooling her cheeks and neck. It ticked her hair, so she pushed it out of her eyes. It seemed the wind even brought Claire’s depressed ponytail back to life since it was fluttering in the gust.

“But what about your clothes, Momo?” Claire asked, wanting to know if there was history behind her outfit.

“I’m wearing the same thing I had on when Servy and I first had dinner,” Momo answered as she turned left. The market wasn’t that far away, but it was still a bit of a walk. “I was soooo nervous!!! But I didn’t have anything to be afraid of.”

“But why were you nervous? Was it because she was new?” Claire asked.

“Yeah. Other than grampy, I never really had dinner with anyone. When I traveled from my village to here, I mainly just ate my food away from other people. I—”

“Food!!! Food!!!” Servi repeated. She grabbed Momo’s hand with both of hers.

“Are you hungry? We’re on our way to the market right now,” Claire said. She towered over Servi, who was taller than Momo, by about 20 centimeters, so she almost looked like an adult escorting two children.

“Hungry!!!”

And so, the three friends talked, chatted, and laughed until they arrived at their destination.

It took the group of three thirty-five minutes to reach the market, which was located entirely outdoor in a sizable plaza. A large metal canopy with thick glass squares protected the stalls from inclement weather. The sides were also angled, which allowed rainwater to flow down into drains that led to the sewers. And since the glass squares allowed light to come through, the need for candles only came when it was dark or shady.

Servi stared with glossy eyes at everything she saw, but she kept close to her guardian Singi. Momo squeezed her hand to assure her she was still there and started to walk in. There was a section where it seemed people could sit and relax, so the group headed there first.

It was almost like being transported to a different city. While it looked the same as any other part of Canary, the aura and atmosphere couldn’t have been more different. Haggling was almost necessary to get a fair price, which intimidated some of the meeker folks around, and everything felt so fast-paced. People stormed up and down the aisles and booths, and very few ever took their time to actually glance and look at what they bought.

“Is this your first time here?” Claire asked as she reached into her skirt pockets. She was making sure she had her coin pouch.

“Yeah… It’s pretty intimidating. Is there a different place we can go?” Momo asked.

“There is, but it’s in the noble district and requires a license. But this place isn’t dangerous at all in terms of falsified foods. There’s a strict quality assurance program to make sure that what you buy is what you get. Like, if you bought an orange, you know it’s an orange and not something disguised as an orange. And it looks intimidating, but the people here are all nice.”

“If you say so… Servy, be good, okay? Just stick close to me, and we’ll beat eating pasta and chowing down on some veggies before you know it!”

“Veggies!!!!” cheered Servi. She did what her guardian said and really closed the distance until her chest slipped right between Momo’s arm.

An erotic warmness covered her cheeks, and Momo stammered. “M-Maybe not that close… Maybe not right now…? But you can have a little bit of distance because I know you need your space!”

“Close!!!” Servi cheered. Now, she was practically hugging Momo’s arm. Claire just laughed and rubbed Servi’s head. She was rewarded with a gentle grin.

“You ready to do some shopping?”

“Shopping!!!” Servi responded, throwing a hand in the air for a split-second. She giggled and continued to hug Momo’s arm with both hands.

“Momo, do you mind if we use your bag to carry the food?” Claire said. She pointed to a box filled with brown bags. “You have to pay for those, and—”

“I don’t mind at all. But let me pay for half of the food,” Momo said. She had a pleasant smile on her face. To her surprise, she got over the embarrassment of Servi pressing against her quicker than she thought. It attracted a lot of attention, but Momo didn’t care about that at all. The days of being flustered because she wanted to show off her affection or friendship were far gone. Heck, if her best friend wanted to hug her arm, then Momo would let her do that because she desired that. And it wasn’t like they were doing anything obscene. Momo had an inkling that if Servi was a male Singi, then they wouldn’t be given a second look.

But because they were different races and the same gender, it somehow made an innocent display of affection into something sinful and wrong. Did Momo want to rebel against that? No, she didn’t. Rebelling against anything wasn’t something that ran through her mind. She just didn’t know why there were rules and possibly criminal charges, if the church pushed for it, for Humans and Demi-Humans to be together.

“It’s supposed to be your celebration! It’s like making a birthday kid pay for their presents,” Claire replied.

“But we’re gonna get a bunch of food. And to be honest, we really need the spices and stuff because I wanna learn how to cook. When we went to Arcton, the chicken was kinda tasteless and bland. And the hardtack was flavorless because we didn’t have any jam or peanut butter,” Momo retorted.

Claire thought it over and came to a compromise. “How about this? You pay for 25% of it, and I got the rest, okay? I’m offering to pay because I want to pay. I want to do something nice for my friends.”

“Okay! It’s a deal,” Momo said, smiling. Truth be told, Momo felt like she had a lot of money at the ready. Fisher said Servi offered to pay for the orphanage, which meant Servi had a stack of cash somewhere. Logic dictated that it was in her ring, and since Itarr didn’t shy away from giving Momo 2,000 dupla to pay for a year’s worth of room and board, Servi had to be incredibly wealthy. Food ingredients weren’t going to break the bank. And that didn’t account for the money Momo had saved up.

Even if Servy is loaded, I won’t take advantage of it. I already have to pay back the money I borrowed for the room at Warden… Momo, be sure to write this down, so you know how much you owe Servy.

“Good! Now, why don’t we do some shopping?” Claire asked. She smiled and began to walk. Momo and her lovable Servi followed behind, casting their gazes to the tables full of different items. It seemed they were lucky enough to enter close to the vegetables, so that was quickly crossed off their list.

“When you’re shopping for veggies, you can’t just pick one at random. There are a few tricks you gotta use. Like for white onions, make sure they’re heavy for their size. If it looks like it should weigh more, pick a different one,” Claire said, dropping some knowledge. As an Elf, she was very acquainted with the fruits and vegetables of the land. She thought about going into cooking and becoming a chef, but Warden was just her path in life. Besides, the Elf didn’t think she could take the harsh criticism that came with cooking professionally for money.

“Got it!” Momo said. She surveyed the table. The sign hanging above said ‘The Onion’s Onion,’ and while Momo didn’t know what that meant, she was sure it had something to do with the onions sitting in front of her. Servi and her were leaning against the counter to make room for the busybodies passing behind them. “Is the process the same for every onion?” Momo asked.

Claire confidently nodded. “For the most part. And make sure they aren’t squishy. If it has a lot of give, pick one that’s firm. For green onions, make sure the ends are bright and white. If there are any brown or wilted spots, pick another one. So, what kind do we need?”

“I never made pasta before, so I don’t have a recipe to go off of,” Momo confessed. “Does it matter if mix and match different types? Like can we put white onions and those yellow onions in the same pot?” As she asked, the merchant behind the desk started to get a little antsy and rapped the clothed table with a meddlesome finger. Claire curled her brow and looked annoyed, which sent the Dwarf into a tizzy. But he knew he didn’t want to say anything that would result in less business, so he let it slide and went to help someone else.

“You can. It just depends on which ones you use. Like, you wouldn’t want to mix sweet onions and white onions together unless the recipe calls for it because the former is good for salads and the latter is more suited to grilling. Unfortunately, I don’t have a grill. What if we get two or three yellow onions and one of the smaller white onions so that you can try it?” After Momo nodded, Claire spoke to the shopkeep and paid for her items. It wasn’t that expensive since there were farms aplenty around Canary, which was one of the perks of living here.

Claire gave the onions to Momo, who took a sniff. Her eyes started to water, and she comedically whined out, then she stored them in her bag. Servi thought that was funny, and Momo just thought her laugh was the most adorable thing ever.

“When we get my place, you can give me the 25%, alright?”

“Right! What else do we need?” Momo asked. She nodded to the shopkeeper and followed behind Claire.

“For the vegetables? We need corn, peas, carrots, mushrooms, bell peppers, and broccoli. Oh, we can’t forget about the tomatoes and garlic. I guess we can pick salt and pepper, too.  That’s pretty close to where we are, so let’s get to it.”

A few minutes later, after squeezing through brimming lines of hungry wives and mothers buying food for dinner, the group of three arrived at a table selling corn. As for peas, they were sold by the pod in groups of ten per pack. Each pod had as many as five to twenty delicious peas inside. The counter itself was a beautiful mix of yellow and green, and from the prices on the sign nearby, it was all very affordable. The sixteen people waiting in line thought so as well, and while Servi, Momo, and Claire waited, the Elf started to talk. “Momo, what all do you know about corn? And peas, for that matter?”

“Not much. I mean, I know one is yellow and the other green, and they’re good when mixed together.”

“Have you heard of sweet corn?”

“Yeah. My grampy would haggle whenever a merchant would come by the village. We didn’t have many opportunities for dessert or sweet things like that, so I was a happy cat when grampy said he had a treat for me. It’s not technically a dessert, but it was the closest thing we had.”

“Well, did you know you can make an actual dessert out of it? It’s called sweet corn ice cream. If you take a few cookies, you can produce chocolate chip sweet corn ice cream sandwiches. My mother used to make them for my cousins and me when I was a child.”

“That’s impressive, and now I wish I could try it. But I guess ice cream is kinda rare, isn’t it? Well, maybe a bit rare in Canary?”

Claire nodded. “Just a little bit. You can certainly find it, but it’ll be more expensive than if you go to Adenaford. But for ice cream, it’s best if you make it yourself so it can be just right. And it takes a good while to do that.” After Claire said that, they were at the front of the line. She asked for 10 packs of peas, which came out to 100 pods, and six ears of corn. It was probably too much, but there was nothing wrong with that. Ordering more now just meant it’ll be longer until she had to make another grocery run.