I steer clear of Lang Village the next day. The general store shopkeeper lady roped me into helping with so much cooking yesterday that I still smell like stew.
“You’re not going? Even though it’s the day before the summer festival?”
Selina thinks I ought to learn more cooking, just because the meat pie the shopkeeper lady sent home was tasty.
“Everyone’s busy getting ready for the festival… Oh! But Maggie said there’ll be food stalls...”
Which I can’t afford.
I blew all my money on that hoe and the seeds, plus the secondhand clothes and flute in Carlton.
“You don’t need to eat at stalls when Schwarzwald is crawling with monsters,” Selina says.
“That’s not the point! I want to eat with everyone!”
She just shrugs like it’s none of her business. Good grief.
Well, of course she doesn’t get it. A witch living alone in the depths of the Great Forest probably hasn’t eaten anything with anyone in years.
Hmph!
I stomp out of the cabin, annoyed.
“She could at least give me a little pocket money…”
But there’s no use daydreaming.
“If I went to Carlton, I could sell herbs for more… and magic stones, and pelts too...”
I already sell herbs to the general store here. They’d definitely fetch a better price in town, but...
I know the way—I rode in the wagon last time. And I figured out a route that avoids being spotted by strangers.
Teleportation! Selina must have Waymarks hidden for more than just the royal capital.
She’s gotta have ones for Carlton and Heinz too. There’s no way she gets all her clothes from Lang Village—they probably don’t even have silk.
She must buy books in the capital, but daily necessities from somewhere closer, right? Like food from the general store.
Still, she won’t teach me the Waymarks for Carlton or Heinz.
So I’ll just have to teleport there on my own.
“Okay, first I teleport to Lang Village. Then hop along the edge of the Great Forest toward Carlton a few times. Once I can see the town, I’ll pop out onto the road and walk the rest!”
I’ve been practicing magic control ever since I bought the flute—more than two weeks now.
I’ve been avoiding the village, working in the field, gathering herbs, and hunting monsters.
I gave most of the herbs to Merry and Ben, and we ate the meat, but I’ve still got pelts and magic stones saved up.
“But… I wonder if the seamstress would buy pelts? Maggie was good at negotiating, but… And I don’t even know where to sell magic stones. Maggie’s dad always handled that part.”
The kind-looking apothecary seems easiest to deal with. I’ll start there.
I head for the shed to grab my gathering basket—time to pick herbs!
But Selina catches sight of me.
“Good grief. Planning to go sell herbs in Carlton?”
Eek—busted!
I flash a bright smile to cover.
“I thought I’d gather extra feed for Merry and Ben for tomorrow. Since I’ll be at the summer festival and all.”
As I try to sneak off with the basket, Selina chuckles behind me.
“Oh my, so you don’t need pocket money then?”
“Wha—of course I want it! I really want it!”
Selina being this generous? Something must be about to go horribly wrong.
“Well then, take a couple of Almiraj to the general store lady. Her cooking really is delicious, you know.”
Ugh. That means I have to go hunt Almiraj—two of them—and deliver them?
“Big Boar meat would be fine too. Just butcher it into bag-sized pieces.”
But I want that pocket money!
So I grit my teeth, hunt down two fat Almiraj, and haul them to the shopkeeper lady.
“Ooh, nice and plump. One’s for Selina, right? Since you’re here, I’ll teach you how to cook them.”
Herb-roasted Almiraj—completely different from how I’ve been doing it. I just sprinkle salt and toss it on the fire.
She sautés breadcrumbs in garlic butter, then layers them over the Almiraj meat. The smell is amazing—so warm and savory it makes my stomach growl.
I can gather herbs in the Great Forest, and I could scrape hard bread into crumbs. I don’t have a grater, but I bet Air Cutter would work.
The general store’s kitchen has a cooking stove. We’ve got magic tools at the cabin, but this one runs on firewood.
She spreads onions and potatoes on the iron plate, then lays the Almiraj meat on top.
It’s already rubbed with herbs and salt, and she tops it with bacon!
As it sizzles, she spoons up the oil from the meat and bacon and drizzles it back over the top.
“The smell is... incredible.”
I want to eat it right then and there, but I carry it home to the cabin like a good girl.
“Here’s your summer festival pocket money,” Selina says, handing me ten pennies. Isn’t that just payment for the Almiraj?
Oh well. I’d rather eat than argue about it.
Besides, Maggie’s mom’s herb-roasted Almiraj is unbelievably good!
“It’d be nice if you could learn to make it yourself,” Selina says.
She’s probably right. But the shopkeeper lady only taught me this time because I helped cook for the festival and brought ingredients.
“Oh, what if I bring the ingredients myself…? Well, I’ll think about it after the festival!”
Tomorrow is the summer festival, after all.
I still need to take a bath and wash my hair!