The sky was completely dark by the time the two of them walked back to the Silver Scale Chamber of Commerce residence, carrying the half-empty paper bag of chestnuts.
Nelisa was standing right under the porch.
To say it was a "coincidence" wouldn't be quite right—she had changed into clean clothes and her hair was redone; she had clearly freshened up.
The oil lamp by the porch illuminated her face, which bore a peaceful expression, but she was positioned perfectly to be the first thing anyone would see upon opening the courtyard gate.
Her intention to wait for them was written clearly on her face.
“Have you two eaten yet?” Nelisa looked at the paper bag in their hands and the kraft paper bundle, asking a practical question without prying into where they had been or what they had done.
“No,” Klein said.
“Perfect. The kitchen has prepared a few things. It's nothing grand, but it's clean. Care to join me?”
Klein turned to look at Ophelia. She gave a slight nod. The two of them followed Nelisa inside.
The dining table wasn't large; three people sat at the square table for four, so it wasn't crowded.
None of the three spoke much.
It wasn't that the atmosphere was stiff; it was just that all three of them happened to be the type who didn't like wasting words at the dinner table. They ate in silence for most of the meal until Nelisa finally dabbed the corners of her mouth with a napkin.
“How was your walk through the royal capital?”
“Not bad,” Klein said. “The selection in the bookstore was better than I expected.”
“You bought books?”
“Two.” Klein pointed to the kraft paper bundle resting on a nearby stool. “One for me, one for her.”
Nelisa's gaze lingered on the package for a moment, but she didn't ask what they had bought.
“The shops in the capital are dense, and their strength lies in the variety. However, there are many deceivers as well—those who hang old, established signs but sell inferior goods. Just keep your wits about you when you go out on your own.”
“Are you afraid we'll waste our money?” Klein chuckled.
“It’s not like you’re spending your own money.” Nelisa took a sip of her tea, her tone flat, but when her eyes looked over the rim of the cup, there was a faint trace of a smile in them.
She wasn't actually worried about the money—all three of them knew that.
It was just that Nelisa's way of joking was to speak in an affected manner that made it hard to tell truth from jest, then see how the other person responded.
Klein didn't take the bait. He just smiled and finished the last sip of soup in his bowl.
Ophelia kept her head down and focused on eating the entire time, hardly speaking. It wasn't that she didn't want to talk, but she really wasn't good at this kind of informal yet not-quite-private three-person gathering.
Nelisa spoke again. “If you two need any help during your days in the capital, don't hesitate to ask. Whether it's manpower or running errands, as long as it's not too excessive, the chamber of commerce can arrange it.”
“There's nothing we need for now,” Klein said.
“Very well then.”
Nelisa stood up and gave a few instructions to a subordinate waiting outside the door.
After finishing, she turned back and nodded to the two of them.
“I still have some matters to attend to. If you need anything later, just call for someone downstairs.”
With that, she left, her steps brisk and without any superfluous pleasantries.
Only the two of them remained in the hall.
Klein stretched, twisting his neck until his joints let out a sharp crack.
After walking all afternoon, his legs weren't tired, but his neck was a bit sore—he had spent too long standing in the bookstore with his head down.
Ophelia had already stood up, holding the kraft paper bundle in one hand as she waited for him by the table.
“Going up?”
“Yeah.”
The two went up to the second floor and reached the room Nelisa had arranged for them. When they pushed the door open, the room was small but neatly tidied.
The window was half-open, and the evening breeze brought in a hint of chill, flickering the flame of the oil lamp on the table. A pot of warm water and two cups sat on the table, with a tea tin nearby, its lid slightly ajar.
Klein poured a cup of water and handed it to Ophelia, then poured one for himself.
Ophelia took the cup, set the paper bundle on the table with her other hand, and finally began to untie the knot.
The knot was tied tight. She tried to pry it open with her right hand but failed, her fingernail sliding over the string and leaving a faint white mark.
She hesitated for a second, subconsciously tilting her head to glance at Klein—he was busy making tea with his back to her—and then switched to her left hand to untie it.
The fingertips of that hand were a darker shade, and there were several patches of extremely fine scales at the knuckles that were hard to see under the lamp unless one looked closely.
She carefully untied the knot, pulled out the copy of 《Northland Travelogue》, and flipped to the page she had been reading in the bookstore—the corner of the page had been pinched by her, leaving a faint crease that made it easy to find. She lowered her head and continued reading.
Klein sat on the edge of the bed with his cup, watching the silhouette of her flipping through the book. The light shone from the right, leaving half of her face in brightness and half in shadow, the shadows of her eyelashes falling finely on her cheekbones. Her hair had been tied tight during the day, but now a few strands had come loose, hanging by her ears and swaying slightly as she bowed her head.
“You plan on finishing that tonight?”
“I'll read as much as I can,” she replied without looking up.
Klein shook his head, pulled his own copy of 《Issues of Mana Decay in Mineral Distillation》 from the paper bundle, leaned against the headboard, and opened it.
The room fell silent, leaving only the sound of the two of them turning pages.
The faint sound of the Silver Scale Chamber of Commerce subordinates walking in the courtyard below drifted in, along with the clatter of dishes being tidied in the kitchen and the occasional low murmur of conversation. These sounds were distant and fragmented, making the room feel even quieter.
The wind outside the window grew cooler. The nights in the royal capital were quieter than in the countryside—there were no chirping insects or the occasional bark of a dog from a distant field; there was only the soft whistling of the wind passing through the eaves.
After reading about three pages, Ophelia suddenly spoke. “Klein.”
“Hmm?”
“Lake Fran.” She didn't look up as she turned a page. “The book says that from the royal capital, it takes about ten days via the Northern Post Road.”
Klein thought about it. “Ten days? That depends on which road you take. If you go through the Wald Pass section, it might be difficult in winter.”
“You've researched this?”
“No. Just a guess.” He turned a page of his own book, his tone casual. “Places with 'pass' in their name usually have a high altitude, which mostly means snow-blocked sections in winter.”
Ophelia looked up at him. The look in her eyes seemed to say—"You even make guesses about such useless things sound convincing."
Klein chuckled. “We can look into it, though. We can ask Nelisa to borrow some maps of the North later. Since the Silver Scale Chamber of Commerce does trade, they should have ready-made trade route maps. The locations of post stations, supply points, which sections are closed in winter, and which are passable year-round—it'll all be marked on those maps.”
“You've thought of everything.”
“It pays to do some homework before traveling.”
Ophelia didn't respond, lowering her head to return to her book.
But under the lamplight, her finger paused on the page for two or three seconds before continuing downward.
Klein didn't look at her expression, but he caught that pause in his peripheral vision.
A while later, Ophelia finished the last paragraph of the chapter. She closed the book on the table, took a sip of water, and leaned against the back of her chair to look out the window.
The night was deep. Not many stars could be seen in the sky over the royal capital—the city lights were too bright, drowning out the dimmest ones.
“Klein.”
“Hmm?”
“Is your book interesting?”
“A little,” Klein said. “The author's experiments are quite solid; at least the data isn't made up. But I think his explanations are wrong in a few places. I can try it myself when we get back.”
“You're still thinking about your laboratory.”
“Of course.” Klein closed his book and waved it at her. “I can't let the world lose a genius alchemist.”
Hearing his somewhat self-important tone, Ophelia couldn't help but slightly curl the corners of her mouth—the movement was so small it was almost invisible.
“What are you laughing at?”
“I'm not laughing.”
“The corners of your mouth moved.”
“They didn't.” Ophelia raised her water cup to hide her face, suppressing the curve. But the tips of her ears were a bit warmer than before; it was hard to see clearly in the lamplight, but she knew it herself.
Klein placed his book beside his pillow, rested his hands behind his head, and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds.
“Get some sleep.”
“Okay.”
Ophelia stood up to put her book away at the corner of the table.
The dark green cover of 《Northland Travelogue》 looked somber under the lamp, like an unopened door.
She didn't actually want to read this book that much—or rather, it wasn't just because the book was well-written.
It was just that at the thought of Lake Fran being the place she and Klein had agreed to visit together, she couldn't help but want to know what it was like in advance.
What color were the auroras, would the lake surface freeze in winter, and what kind of trees grew along the post road.
She wanted to walk through it in her mind once before they actually arrived.
That way, when they finally got there, she could say to Klein—"It's different from what the book said," or "It's more beautiful than the book described."
Whichever it was, she needed to finish the book first.
Rate on N.U.
