CHAPTER 431: A Day Out

"We are going to the market tomorrow!" Valeria announced as she joined us for dinner in the mess hall on Frigday.

"What market?" I asked.

"We are?" Helena wondered.

"You girls need a day without fighting and some nice food. There is a small fair on the market square with a great apple cider! They also have a lot of good fried foods and other snacks. There is a bit of entertainment too with a juggler, some mock fighting,..." Valeria said.

"There will be real fighting once Koyuki gets ambushed." Cassie stated.

"Maybe we could use this to catch an Ilestrian spy? We wanted to leave the city to provide a more tempting target but a fair…" Skadi mused.

"You think I should switch clothes with Hatsumi again?" I wondered.

"No no no! You should enjoy the day! Surely you would want to be at the fair with your girlfriend and not hide as a maid?" Valeria asked.

She did have a point and I looked at Helena. "True. It would be more fun going as myself."

"I guess I will just have to guard you then and you need to stick close." Helena teased.

"We shall do our best to keep our Mistress safe." Kaito added.

Valeria sighed. "It's good to take precautions but this is supposed to be fun."

"You know, next time there is a fair you could try to sell your beer, Cassie." Skadi suggested.

"Right! Damn it, do you think we should give away a few bottles as advertisements? We could lure some customers to the beer garden…" Cassie mused.

"This. Is. Not. Work." Valeria said.

"Oh, Kaito loved that cotton candy last year at a fair, maybe we can get more." I said. "Do you think we will find more treats for undead?"

Nyx licked her boney lips.

"Maybe we can find some food containing bones like a pork knuckle." Helena suggested.

Nyx licked her boney lips again.

"I have never been to a fair." Rose said. "It sounds like fun."

"How is it that your undead are more into fun than you are?" Valeria asked.

I shrugged. "Creating undead and studying necromancy is fun but I admit that I am looking forward to trying some food at the fair."

"That's some progress…" Valeria muttered, then she looked at me. "Helena, maybe you could make sure that Koyuki wears something other than her uniform for once."

My eyes widened and Helena grinned.

This copy lacks the author's consent and came from the page where they publish, whose chapter supports the person who wrote it.

The next day I found myself wearing a light blue shirt and black linen pants. It was a nice sunny day and warm enough that I didn't need a jacket. Helena wore a dark blue shirt and matching black pants. Cassie and Skadi wore matching deep red shirts and looked kind of cute.

Valeria looked at us as we met at the gate. "All of you wore pants? It's warm enough for a skirt!" Valeria wore a light yellow blouse and a knee-length green skirt.

"Pants are practical." Skadi said.

"They have pockets where I can store a few small vials." Cassie added. "Otherwise I have to put everything in my bag." She held up a small brown leather bag which made some clinking noises.

"Do I want to know what's in there?" Valeria asked.

Cassie shrugged. "A girl needs to be prepared."

"Speaking of being prepared, Frank is dressed like a proper man-at-arms to escort you with his chainmail armour." Kaito stated. "Bob's gear is of slightly lower quality but they both look human enough from a distance. They can ride Thorn and Coffee to escort the carriage."

"Oh, we aren't walking?" I asked. "Is there a space to park?"

"There is but it's not free." Valeria said. "However, I think the carriage is worth it."

"It does provide better protection than walking." Kaito added.

I was hesitant to spend money like that but my finances weren't too bad right now. I got a stipend of 5 gold per month now and I had some money saved up from various bounties we had collected. Being ambushed did pay, in a way. Thanks to our sewer duties I wasn't required to pay any rent for my undead right now and with Cassie I had access to cheap potions. But I needed some money to outfit my goblins and pay for the wood from Valeria's mother.

As we exited the carriage I asked Kaito: "So, uh, how much did parking cost?"

"One silver." He replied.

"Oh, I guess that's not too bad…" I had feared worse.

We had to walk a few minutes from our parking spot towards the fair. The first thing that greeted us was the smell of food as plenty of stalls offered all sorts of treats. I also spotted a few other activities, like an archery stall where you could win some prizes. Before we entered a guard approached us.

"Um, are you the necromancer from the academy? Do you have your licence?" He asked, as he studied our group.

I nodded and handed him the document. "Here you go, sir."

He studied it briefly and relaxed. Then he handed it back to me. "Everything seems to be in order, enjoy the fair."

The guard wasn't the only one who noticed us. Kaito always drew some attention but so did Garm, who had Nyx on his left head and Yoru on his right head. Ivy and Kasai were curled up on his back.

"So, what are we going to do first?" I asked.

Nyx tapped on Garm's left head while pointing with a paw. Garm used his right head to look where she was pointing. "Is that this pork knuckle stand you discussed?"

"I think so." I said.

"While they look good I want to start with something lighter." Cassie said.

"I will buy one for the cats to share. Maybe you want something too, Garm?" I asked.

"I could go for a bite." His left head replied.

"Then we get some cotton candy for Kaito, do you want something Hatsumi? Rose?" I asked.

Rose looked at Hatsumi. "Do they sell something for us?"

"There is some blood sausage but it's not as good as Cassie's potions." Hatsumi replied.

"You have to try the cider! And there are some fried dough balls with an apple cinnamon filling!" Valeria said.

We spent some time wandering around the fair and sampled some food. Valeria's suggestion was good. I also tried some savoury snacks, like battered and fried sausage on a stick.

As time went on Garm became surprisingly popular, almost as if he was a part of the fair. It started with one kid having the courage to ask if he can pet Garm and that attracted a lot of others. The cats got some petting too as they lounged on Garn's back. And somehow Nyx managed to get some kids to feed her bones from their food.

I looked at my undead with a smile when a man bumped into me.

"Argh…" The man collapsed. "Ahhhhhhhh…" He started screaming as he held his spasming right hand with his left.

"Thief…" Kyan said, as his head poked out of a gap between my shirt and my pants. I hadn't even noticed him moving. Kyan's head was very close to my purse.

"What's going on?" A guard asked, as he approached. The screaming man's hand had turned black by now.

"Thisss man tried to take Mistress' money." Kyan stated.

The guard stared at the little snake.

"Ssssss."

"Uh…" The man looked at me.

"Um, what did you do to him, Kyan?" I asked.

"Hisss hand will heal. Sometime." Kyan replied.

"Right. So this man tried to steal and my undead stopped him." I said.

"Ah, right. We will take him into custody." The guard said and grabbed the man who was now sobbing.

"My apologies, Mistress." Kaito said. "We shouldn't let anyone this close to you but the man seemed harmless. I shall do better…"

"It's a busy fair, you can't just push everyone away. It's fine." I reassured him.

"You sure this wasn't an ambush?" Cassie asked.

"Yessss." Kyan replied. "Just greed."

"Damn." Cassie muttered.

"You have a bet going again?" I asked.

"Of course." Skadi replied.

Valeria looked at us and sighed. "Let's enjoy more of the fair…"

In the end I wasn't ambushed but I did enjoy a lot of tasty food. It had been a really nice day.