“Hey, hey, we meet again!!”
The next day.
I had come to Undertale to do some shopping. Rena had asked me to run errands if I was going to slack off.
When it comes to students eating, there are two choices. The first is to eat at the school cafeteria. Most of the dorm students do this. The second is to cook for yourself. For this, you need to prepare your own ingredients. Rena and I usually go with the latter for dinner. Rena likes cooking, and if not for these opportunities, I would skip meals. When I’m sleepy, I’d rather go to bed than eat. To avoid this, Rena suggested that we cook. The food is tastier than the cafeteria’s, so I had no objections.
However, the prices in Undertale are high. Most of the students at Glassrain Academy are children of nobility. As a result, the town that grew around the academy focuses on quality over affordability. We have to be thrifty. Even though we get an allowance, we can’t afford to waste money. The fifteen wagonloads of gold bars from the Townset Duke haven’t arrived yet, and my father doesn’t like giving children large sums of money. It would make us lazy. Without money, you have to use your wits. With money, most problems can be solved easily. Despite his eccentricities, my father is firm about this.
So, I bought some discounted vegetables. I don’t know where she gets the information, but Rena always knows which stores have sales. My sister is quite reliable.
On my way back from shopping, I stopped at a food stall selling croquettes. It wasn’t that I particularly wanted them. It was because I saw a familiar face in an apron, selling croquettes. The familiar face waved at me with a smile.
“…What are you doing?”
“What does it look like? I’m selling croquettes… isn’t it obvious?”
Annette, the familiar face, tilted her head in confusion. That wasn’t what I was curious about, but… whatever, I decided to not get involved. I nodded once and started to leave, but her voice called out from behind.
“Oh no! These delicious croquettes, there are two left! What should I do? If they don’t sell, I’ll get scolded…”
When I turned back, Annette had a playful smile on her face. I could ignore her and go home, but if I did, it would bother me later. So, I returned and told her,
“Two croquettes…”
“Thank you for your purchase!”
As I handed over the money, Annette skillfully handed me the croquettes.
“Uncle! They’re sold out!”
“Thanks as always! You can go home now!”
“Okay!”
After getting permission to leave from the shopkeeper, Annette took off her apron and came over to me.
“Thanks, Roy-kun! Thanks to you, we sold out!”
She smiled brightly at me. Thinking she was quite the charmer, I offered her one of the two croquettes.
“…What?”
“Weren’t you planning to take one for yourself?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you made me buy two so you could have one, right?”
“No way! You eat both, Roy-kun! You’re a guy, you can handle two, right?”
“Can’t you see? I’ve got dinner waiting for me later.”
I’m not much of an eater. Eating two croquettes now would spoil my dinner, and Rena would get mad.
“But…”
“But?”
“Free isn’t good. Don’t you know? There’s nothing scarier than something free!”
Annette exaggerated the dangers of free stuff. It seemed she was adamant about not accepting freebies. Sighing, I said,
“You helped fix my drawing yesterday, didn’t you? Think of it as a thank you.”
“That was just something I did on my own…”
“Isn’t free bad?”
“Ugh…”
Caught in her own words, Annette turned away with a strange noise. Just then, her stomach growled. Blushing, she held her stomach.
“This… it’s different! I haven’t eaten anything all day! I’m not a glutton!”
“So? Are you going to eat it or not?”
“I’ll eat!”
Resigned, Annette held out her hands and started eating the croquette. She finished it quickly, clearly hungry.
“Thanks for the meal! These croquettes really are the best. Right? They’re delicious, right?”
“Yeah, they’re good.”
Answering honestly to her enthusiastic praise, I admitted they were indeed tasty. I could probably eat two or three of these. As I started walking, Annette walked beside me. Since we were heading the same way, I couldn’t tell her not to follow.
“Why were you selling croquettes?”
“Because I need money!”
She answered without any hesitation. But that wasn’t exactly what I was curious about. I looked at her intently until she smiled wryly.
“Oh well… I’ll tell you since you bought the croquettes.”
Despite our short acquaintance, I knew Annette wasn’t stupid. If anything, she’s sharp and intentionally acts carefree. She quickly understood my curiosity.
“My family is really poor.”
“You said they fell on hard times.”
“Yeah. My parents had almost no talent for magic, and in the Empire, it’s hard to live like that. They both died from overwork a few years ago, so now it’s up to me to earn money. If our family hadn’t fallen, it wouldn’t have been so bad… but after Grandpa died twelve years ago, we went downhill fast. There’s no inheritance left. So, I need money to support my siblings.”
I almost reacted to her mention of twelve years ago, but held back.
“I see. Did you come to the academy with state support?”
“Yeah. I have three younger brothers and two younger sisters. As the oldest, it’s up to me to earn money.”
“Good thing you have talent for magic.”
Not knowing what else to say, I managed to get that out. Annette is a troublemaker, but also a genius. The Empire probably offered to take care of her family in exchange for her attending the academy, covering all her expenses. She narrowly escaped a dire fate.
“Really. I even thought about selling myself. I had no other options. Then a suspicious-looking man appeared. He was handsome, but looked like he was up to no good. He recognized my talent and arranged everything. He promised to take care of my family and cover all my academy expenses.”
A suspicious-looking man… I had a guess who that might be. One person came to mind with those rare traits. Could it be that the interesting talent Valère mentioned is Annette? If so, he’s out of his mind. Annette is a genius, but recommending her as a disciple to the Great Sage is crazy.
“Did I upset you?”
“No, I was just wondering. If your family is supported, why do you need money?”
“It’s simple. The support lasts only while I’m at the academy. Besides, our basic needs are covered, but we can’t live luxuriously. I need to save up.”
“In the Empire, a mage can support their family, right?”
“True, but I can’t practice magic. I won’t become a mage.”
She smiled sadly. The academy didn’t mean any harm. Annette’s immense talent was overwhelming, and the academy banned her from using magic for safety reasons. It was a necessary measure. However, it closed off her path. Instead of being disheartened, she decided to earn money, which was typical of her resilience.
“But you’re secretly practicing, so you haven’t given up on becoming a mage, right?”
“Of course. The Sonieir family is famous for fire magic. My late grandfather was always proud. If I have talent, I want to revive my family. That way, I can support them. Also…”
“Also?”
“I want to become a Great Sage if possible. I once saw the current Great Sage’s magic. It was amazing. All mages admire him. I want to be like that. It would be wonderful if children admired my fire magic someday.”
Annette smiled serenely, not her usual cheerful smile but a calm, reflective one.
“Thank you. You’re a good listener.”
With that, Annette took a different path and left.
