Day Out

Team Flutter goes out through the opened window, Grace settles herself at her usual spot and stretches comfortably in the grass. I look down from inside the room and smile, I think this will work out well.

I give Mystic a few pats and put Team Vital on [Orbit], all four settle around me. Behind me, Team Break leaves through the window, disappearing shortly after. I trust them to do well today. One of my goals for today is to talk to Areth, I want to tell her about some of plans. I don't want to suddenly leave one day without her knowing. She's been a lot of help so far, bringing me those books, and being so kind to offer me free food. Even though I'm not a social person in nature, I know how to offer gratitude, and I know Areth is a good choice to give it to. In the area, the only other people I know are the guard that helped me get to the Inn, and Rodrick from the Tool Shop. Since I'll be leaving with Rodrick, that's only two other people that I actually know.

Grace however, through the two days listening to people, has met all sorts of individuals. In fact, this morning before we left, she pulled me aside to tell me some of the information she had collected. A lot of it wasn't of importance but one of the lumber workers told her about an encounter in the forest. Apparently it wasn't him that saw it, but an acquaintance. He described it as a large towering monster with large claws. The acquaintance vividly remembers the loud growling noise it made, they saw it from afar, but knew it was a monster immediately.

I let Team Break know to be careful when they went into the woods. I've only seen one monster so far, and it's the Rambits, I trust them to be able to handle those small monsters but not a big one.

For some on Team Vital, it's their first time leaving the Inn. Velvet especially was a concern for me, I wanted to make sure she could handle herself somewhat. She doesn't need to be as strong as the others but I'm scared she'll be completely unable to defend herself. And with big monsters out there, my concern is tripled. We ventured down the stairs into the dining hall, Areth and the chefs can be heard quarreling as they do sometimes. Nothing unusual, I stand by Areth's usual spot at the front table and wait there. She'll usually check back in to make sure she doesn't miss any customers. She's very hard working, and I admire her for that. After a minute, she pops her head out of the kitchen and notices me. She smiles and walks over, putting down some papers on the front table.

"Hello, dear! Did you need something? Are the books helping?" Areth's eyes are sincere, this is her usual demeanor. Everyday is greeted by a happy and helpful Areth. It makes me smile back in turn.

"The books are helping a lot, thank you." I bow slightly to show my gratitude.

"Oh my! Well it seems they have, how wonderful. Would you like me to send over some more, I have two others I could pass by with?" Areth offers gently.

��No, in fact, I think I can return them by tomorrow. Actually… I'll be leaving for the Capital the day after tomorrow. So I wanted to ask you if you needed any help, I want to repay you for all your help." I figured this was the best way to offer my gratitude. Maybe she needs assistance delivering materials somewhere. I could handle a task or two.

"Oh my! Well, that's awfully soon, isn't it? Hmmm… Well, I'll be stuck here for the rest of the day. One of the chefs ended up not showing up, their kid came in to let us know that they caught a fever. So I'll be covering for them, thankfully I'm a pretty good cook. The only issue is that I have another job at the Tailor Shop, I help them out sometimes with doing calculations of their total wages and sales. You wouldn't happen to know basic mathematics, would you?" She looks over curiously. I guess I would be able to, as long as it isn't calculus.

"Yes, I do." I'm not the best when it comes to calculus but mathematics in general is fine.

"Wonderful! It's so rare to find someone around here with a good education. I was sure you would since you look like you've come from a good family. Actually, now that we're talking, can I ask-" She stops suddenly because of a yell from the kitchen, they seem to need assistance.

"It's okay, I'll be back later tonight. What time should I head over to the Tailor Shop for you?" I'm actually excited to head over to the Tailor Shop, it was one of the places I wanted to go aside from the Tool Shop. Though I wonder if I should change clothes before I go, do I have more clothes? I didn't see any but perhaps something less… eye catchy.

"Oh! Yes, yes. I need to be there in about 2 hours. I'll make a note for you real quick so they know you're my fill in." She grabs one of her papers and scribbles on it with her quill. Her handwriting is a bit messy in her rush but I guess it's fine. Areth hands me it and rushes to the kitchen.

Outside, the sun is brightly shining. A young girl is sitting with Grace at her usual spot. Seems the young girl is very fond of cats, I smile at the scene. In reality, the 'young' girl is probably around my body's age. Around 10 years old? I look a bit younger but I doubt I actually am. I wish I could just ask the notepad for my age. Uhhh… notepad.. How old am I?

I didn't actually expect the notepad to respond this time but just like that a chime was heard. The notepad simply says, "9". It's a sentence on it's own. Separated by everything else. It looks like the notepad could possibly respond to me? Is it able to answer questions on it's own?

Asking that, the notepad responds yes. Okay my head hurts, let's worry about the mystery of the notepad later.

My personal goal for today is to just enjoy the small town, look around at the rest of the shops. Other than the Tool Shop and the Tailor Shop, there was one shop which didn't have a sign at the front. At least, I think it's a Shop, people walk in and out of it often, so it must have a lot of customers.