I Can't Accept That Kind of Money

I'd been chatting with Leo-kun for a while as I waited when the sound of the front door opening reached us.

"I'm home. Leo? You here?"

Kazusa-chan was back, it seemed.

Leo-kun got up from his seat and went to greet her.

"Welcome back, sis! We have a guest!"

"A guest? Hey, I told you not to open the door when I'm out!"

"Sorry. I thought it was you…"

"Oh come on, how am I supposed to scold you when you say that? But no opening it next time, okay?"

With only dividers separating us, their voices carried all the way over.

I felt a bit bad eavesdropping on a family conversation, but this was unavoidable.

Two sets of footsteps headed my way.

The divider slid open, and Kazusa-chan and Leo-kun stepped into the room.

When she first entered, Kazusa-chan's expression was a bit tense, but the moment she saw me, relief washed over her face.

"Oh, it's you, Azu. What a relief."

"It's been a while. Kazusa."

I stood and shook her hand.

We hadn't seen each other since parting at the Hill of Lament, but as my first real friend, she held a special place.

"Hang on a sec. Let me put this away."

Kazusa-chan showed me the shopping bag she was carrying.

A baguette was poking out of the top.

"Oh, want to stay for lunch?"

"Is that okay?"

"Of course. You saved my life, Azu. Besides, I've been earning pretty well lately."

"That wasn't just me, but… sure. I'd love to. I'll help out."

"Yeah? Then I'll take you up on that. Leo, you still haven't finished today's studying, have you? Go take care of that."

"Okaaay."

Leo-kun shuffled off to another room.

I got up and followed Kazusa-chan.

After passing through several dividers, we reached a room set up as a makeshift kitchen.

"Surprised by the place?"

"Not really…"

My eyes wandered just a little.

I hadn't expected her to be living in a run-down old church.

That said, once you were actually inside, the dividers made it feel less strange than you'd think.

There were no rows of pews like you'd expect in a church, and the dividers blocked the view of the altar and statues in the back.

Though I did notice that sound carried right through, so you could really only live here with family.

"Just so you know, I'm not squatting here or anything. I'm paying proper rent."

"I wasn't thinking that."

"I know. Just wanted to get that out there."

Kazusa-chan flashed a grin.

That same cheerful smile as always.

I couldn't help but smile back.

I envied that brightness of hers.

"Okay, could you chop these up? I got some milk as a freebie, so I'll make a stew."

"These, right? Should I match the size and shape?"

"Yep. Cut them small so Leo can eat them easily."

"Got it."

I started chopping the vegetables Kazusa had handed me into small pieces.

Good thing I'd been practicing cooking.

I couldn't exactly call myself efficient yet, but I could do the work properly.

Kazusa-chan prepared a large clay pot, lit the wood stove, and set the pot on top of it.

She seemed to be using it in place of a proper hearth.

A church wouldn't have had one, after all.

In this cold weather, it would warm the room as well. A smart idea.

She dropped butter into the pot and gradually mixed in flour.

Once that was done, she poured in milk.

The aroma was wonderful, and my stomach started rumbling.

"The drafts aren't bad in here, but the high ceiling makes it kind of cold. I can't heat the whole room, so once it gets really cold, Leo and I will probably just camp out in this room."

"It really has been freezing lately. Every morning I don't want to leave my bed."

"I know the feeling."

We chatted as we cooked.

Celery, potatoes, carrots.

First I washed them in a bucket of water to get the dirt off.

The vegetables were colorful but uneven. I cut them into small, uniform pieces.

"Don't worry about the order, just toss them in as you finish cutting."

"Okay."

I added the chopped vegetables to the pot as Kazusa-chan directed.

"You're pretty good at this. Must be from all that sword practice."

"Are those even related?"

"Who knows."

Once all the vegetables were in, the contents of the pot began to bubble.

Then she sliced salt-cured meat thin and added it.

"This way you don't need to add salt separately, and it seasons everything."

"Salt-cured meat really is handy. We always throw some in the soup when we're camping."

"A classic move, right?"

Before long, the ingredients were cooked through.

A thick, creamy stew was ready.

Leo-kun, lured by the smell, wandered over.

The baguette was cut into three equal portions and served on plates.

The stew was scalding, perfect for a cold day.

I blew on it to cool it down a bit before eating.

Even so, it was so hot that I burned the inside of my mouth.

But honestly…

"This is delicious, Kazusa."

It wasn't like what Master made. It had that homemade, family-cooking feel that warmed me from the inside.

We ate and chatted for a while.

"Oh, right. What did you come here for? I completely forgot to ask."

"Ah, right. I came to deliver this. The Anti-Magic Orb was the only thing left unsettled from before, so I came to hand it over."

"Oh, right, there was that. I'd totally forgotten. Honestly, being rescued and then getting an even split was more than enough."

"You helped save me too, Kazusa. I'd really like you to accept it. Everyone agreed."

Kazusa-chan groaned. She clearly didn't want to take it.

"Just to check, how much did it sell for? Around a hundred gold coins?"

"Two thousand five hundred."

"… Huh?"

Kazusa-chan's eyes went round, and she dropped her spoon on the floor.

"Um, after commissions and fees and everything, the even split comes to five hundred coins per person. Here."

I reached into my bag to pull out the draft.

But Kazusa-chan lunged to stop me.

"Th-there's no way I can take that!"

Her shout echoed through the church.

The high ceiling made her voice carry even better.

"Sis, you're being loud."

"Hush, Leo! I didn't do nearly enough to deserve that kind of money!"

She said it flatly.

I'd assumed she would accept it without much fuss, so I was caught completely off guard.