Published: August 1, 2025
Since then, Anastasia had been unusually cheerful. She laughed brightly as she stepped away from me, returned to the unfinished work, finished it quickly, and immediately stood up.
Stretching, she turned to face me.
“It’s already lunchtime. Shall we go eat?”
“Go? Outside?”
“Yes. Even if you’re not hungry, you should at least come for tea. I’ll treat you.”
“Huh, well, I haven’t eaten lunch either, and if you’re treating, then I should—”
Before I could finish my reply, Anastasia put on her hat and started changing into her outdoor shoes.
This apprentice craftsman was basically quick in her movements. Though smaller than most and with short strides, she compensated by always moving at a brisk pace. Secretly, I found her like a little mouse—cute beyond words. Probably she’d get angry if she knew I thought so. That’s why I could watch her for hours without getting bored.
But she wasn’t impatient. She never rushed me when I adjusted my cloak.
Heading south along Central Market Street, which cut the royal capital from north to south, passing the Artisan District where we started, we soon saw rows of food stalls. It was just around lunchtime, and the area was packed with shoppers.
I furrowed my brow.
“There are a lot of people… we might bump into someone.”
“That’s the charm of the market, isn’t it? Why the sour face? Aren’t you used to this area?”
I smiled vaguely at the question. What I was worried about wasn’t myself, but—
As we walked ahead, Anastasia spoke almost to herself.
“I recently found a pretty good place—”
At that moment, a middle-aged man charged directly at us. Being small even for a woman, Anastasia was out of his line of sight. The two collided forcefully.
“Ah!”
Blown backward by a man more than twice her weight, Anastasia flew back. The man, merely jiggling his belly fat, shouted angrily.
“What the hell, be careful, kid!”
—Wait!? Didn’t you run into her?
Blood rushed to my head in an instant, and before I could step forward,
“Huh? You weren’t looking where you were going either!”
Anastasia immediately shouted back with a louder voice than the man’s. The man flinched for a moment, then grew angry. Not realizing I was with her, he looked down at me and growled in a deep voice.
“You’re pretty bold to pick a fight with me. Got guts, huh? Come on—”
“Yeah right, no way I’m winning. Get lost!”
“...Huh?”
Both the man and I showed puzzled expressions simultaneously.
Anastasia, on the other hand, puffed out her chest and adopted a teacherly tone.
“Come on, it’s obvious I’m way weaker than some old guy. Look at these tiny hands—so small and plump like a newborn kitten. Even nowadays, whitebait are a bit tougher.”
“Uh… yeah, I guess.”
“For someone as fragile as me, struggling forward with short steps, one-two-three, making slow progress, that old guy just blew me away with his muscular body. That’s not right. I’m living bravely, you know, so pitiful.”
“...Yeah. Right.”
“See? So let’s be mature here and let the old man be the adult, huh? Let the innocent boy pass.”
“Huh? Huh?”
The man tilted his head twice or thrice, finally grasped the situation, and burst into loud laughter, looking up to the sky. Then, oddly proud, he slapped Anastasia on the shoulder.
“Alright, my bad. I was careless. You little ones like you are rare in this market. From now on, I’ll watch my step.”
“That’d be great, thanks, mister. Sorry from me too. Bye-bye!”
Waving both hands, the man laughed again. His eyebrows drooped, and he left while properly saying “bye-bye.”
I just stared blankly. Anastasia adjusted her hat and let out a small sigh.
Then,
“So, I wanted to try that place once, but I couldn’t go alone.”
She resumed walking as if nothing had happened.
The place she brought me to was a typical coffee house. It was just an ordinary shop—not intimidatingly rough, nor intimidatingly fancy. Women weren’t banned as they used to be, and Anastasia was dressed in men’s clothes. So why couldn’t she enter alone?