Breakfast Away from Home

I must have slept more deeply than I'd expected, because it was sunlight leaking through the curtains that woke me.

I opened the curtains and looked outside.

There were some hedges, but the view was otherwise clear.

Anyone outside during the day would be spotted immediately.

(What was that about last night? Could it have been a… peeper?)

Not that there was any reason for someone to peek at me specifically…

I pulled on my trousers, then slipped into my shirt and jacket.

I took a basin out of my storage bag and filled it with water.

Careful not to spill, I washed my face and chased away the lingering drowsiness.

The cold water did the trick; I was wide awake.

I dried off with a towel, had the Water Elemental dispose of the basin water, and put everything away.

After making the bed, I slung the storage bag over my shoulder and buckled my sword belt around my waist.

That was all I needed.

The room looked exactly as it had when I'd arrived.

I stepped out and knocked on the next door over.

Alexia-san was surely still asleep.

It took three knocks before I finally got a response.

The lock clicked and Alexia-san emerged.

In her negligee.

I hurriedly pushed her back inside, followed her in, and shut the door.

"Morning, Azu."

"Good morning, Alexia-san… You're even more out of it than usual today."

"Am I?"

She was clearly half-asleep.

I scrubbed her face with a damp towel, and at last she seemed to wake up, stretching wide.

"Somehow, I slept really well."

"So it seems. Please get dressed first."

"It's just us girls. You don't need to worry so much."

"Actually, about that…"

I told her what had happened before I'd fallen asleep.

I hadn't seen who it was, but there had definitely been someone outside.

Alexia-san's expression turned serious.

"A garrison means it's mostly men. It wouldn't be strange for someone like that to be lurking around."

"Maybe. Nothing actually happened, so I'm not too concerned about it."

"Hmm. I didn't sense anything like that near my room."

If anyone had been watching her, she would have noticed for certain.

We had no proof, and I didn't want to stir up trouble in an unfamiliar city.

I waited for Alexia-san to finish changing, and we left the room together.

I made one last check for forgotten items. Couldn't afford that kind of hassle.

Elza-san was already awake and came to the door as soon as I knocked.

Apparently she'd been doing her morning prayers.

She said she hadn't heard any noises, either.

Was it really just my room…?

Ramiza-san was, as expected, fast asleep, so I pulled the blanket off her.

She put up considerable resistance, but I managed to get her up.

Given what I'd observed of this woman's habits, I had to wonder how she normally functioned on her own. It was a mystery.

I wiped her barely conscious face and helped her change, finally getting her into a presentable state.

I accidentally brushed against her chest in the process. It was incredibly soft…

When we stepped into the corridor, Moomya happened to be walking toward us.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"Good morning. We got a solid rest."

"Glad to hear it. It's just about time for breakfast. Follow me."

We fell in behind Moomya.

I kept last night's incident to myself.

This section had most likely been the women's quarters.

Once we passed through the corridor, we could see a crowd of soldiers heading to the mess hall.

We drew plenty of stares, probably because we stood out.

Breakfast at the garrison was served cafeteria-style, with people lining up to receive their food.

An efficient system for feeding a large number of people.

I picked up a tray, set out empty dishes, and waited for the line to move.

The ones dishing out food appeared to be middle-aged women.

Maybe they'd been hired from the neighborhood.

We filed through and received our portions.

The menu was mashed potatoes, sausage, egg soup, a heaping mound of rice, salad, and a small cut of pan-fried meat.

Each table had a kettle of brown tea.

"Seating isn't assigned, but everyone more or less sits in the same spot. Have a seat over here."

We moved to a table in the back with Moomya.

It seemed you were free to start eating once you sat down.

We set our trays on the table, took our seats, and dug in.

The seasoning on everything was heavy on the salt.

It was clearly designed for soldiers who sweated a lot and needed the generous portions of rice to go with it.

I liked this kind of food, actually.

I scooped up a big spoonful of mashed potatoes and brought it to my mouth.

Then I shoveled in some rice, chewed a few times, and washed it down with a gulp of soup.

Despite the generous portions, I finished faster than any of the soldiers.

Alexia-san and the others were the same.

Being an adventurer inevitably made you a fast eater.

The only one taking her time was Ramiza-san, and even she was keeping pace with the soldiers.

"How's the food here?"

"It was good. Plenty of salt, and the portions are generous."

"Our soldiers train daily to protect the city. Providing them with the best meals possible is the viscount's policy."

"That's admirable."

This wasn't flattery. I meant it.

If you said something was important, you needed to back it up with action.

Anyone could say anything with just words.

I knew that all too well.

After finishing our meal, we returned our trays and dishes.

It looked like we wouldn't be meeting the viscount until sometime after noon, as expected.

Just sitting in a room and waiting until then would be mind-numbingly boring.

But we couldn't exactly wander around on our own, either.

And the identity of last night's possible peeper was still unknown.

"In that case, would you be willing to spar with some of my soldiers?"

"Sparring?"

"That's right. You're high-ranked adventurers, aren't you? It would be a valuable experience for us as well… What do you say?"

I checked with the others.

The result was that Ramiza-san and Elza-san would only watch, while Alexia-san and I would join the training.

A good chance to get the body moving.