Chapter 685: Things That Don’t Have to End

After buying the seeds, they stopped by the bakery.

The man stood in front of the counter and looked over the options. Kael

noticed there was less hesitation than during their first visit.

"I want two of those."

He pointed toward the walnut pastries.

"And a small pear tart."

The attendant wrapped them.

"Anything else?"

The man looked at Seraphine.

"Do you want something?"

"Choose for yourself."

He thought.

Then pointed toward another sweet.

"One honey one too."

He paid without checking the change three times.

The attendant handed him the package.

When they returned to the street, Kael asked:

"Why the pear tart?"

The man looked at the package.

"I want to know if I like it more than the plum one."

"Important research."

"I think so."

Umbra appeared behind them.

"I want to participate too."

"Buy your own," Kael said.

Umbra pointed at him.

"You have money."

"And you can travel through shadows to reach the kitchen."

"That isn’t the same thing."

Sylphie started laughing.

Kael bought another tart.

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They decided to have lunch in a smaller square near the artisans’

district. Instead of entering an inn, they bought food from two stalls

and took everything to a public table beneath a shelter.

Kael chose seasoned meat with flatbread.

Sylphie bought rice with vegetables.

Seraphine chose soup.

The man bought the same dish as Kael but added a spicy sauce after the

vendor explained its flavor.

The first bite made his eyes water.

Kael watched.

"Strong?"

"Yes."

"Bad?"

The man took another bite.

"No."

Seraphine laughed.

"You don’t have to keep eating it just because you paid for it."

"I know."

Another bite.

"But I like it."

He opened his notebook and wrote something.

Sylphie tried to look.

The man partially covered the page.

"It’s mine."

She raised both hands.

"All right."

Kael smiled.

After lunch, they shared the pear tart. The man ate slowly, comparing

the filling with the tart they had made at the mansion.

"Less sour."

"Because pears are sweeter," Sylphie said.

"So it needs less sugar?"

"Usually."

Kael took out the cookbook he had bought.

"We can find out."

Sylphie looked at the package.

"You really are going to make another one."

"Yes."

"When?"

"Not tomorrow."

She looked surprised.

"Why?"

"Tomorrow I’m going to test the Step."

Sylphie immediately became serious.

"If your channels are fine."

"If they are."

"One step."

"One."

The nameless man looked between the two of them.

"What is the Step?"

Kael rested the book on the table.

"A movement technique."

"Like running?"

"Faster."

Umbra appeared behind him.

"Much faster."

"Is it dangerous?"

Kael answered before Sylphie could.

"If used incorrectly, yes."

"And do you use it correctly?"

Sylphie crossed her arms.

Kael looked at her.

"Most of the time."

"Terrible answer," Seraphine said.

"Honest."

The man seemed to think about that.

"Can I watch?"

Kael hesitated.

Sylphie answered:

"If he’s recovered and the test happens in the courtyard, you can."

"I want to."

Kael nodded.

"Then you’ll see tomorrow."

The man opened his notebook and wrote something else.

Kael didn’t ask.

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They returned to the mansion during the afternoon.

The man’s first destination was the garden.

Not his room.

Not the library.

The garden bed.

He crouched beside the small wooden marker and counted the sprouts.

Two.

Nothing had changed since morning.

Even so, he took out his new notebook.

Kael stood a few steps away.

"Are you abandoning the old sheet?"

"No."

The man took the folded sheet from his pocket and placed it inside the

notebook.

"I’ll keep it here."

Kael watched as he smoothed the paper between the pages.

Then the man wrote:

I CAME BACK FROM THE CITY.

BOTH SPROUTS ARE STILL HERE.

Kael looked at Sylphie.

She smiled faintly.

Seraphine carried the books inside, promising to return later. Sylphie

began sorting through the packets of seeds she had bought. Kael opened

his cookbook on the bench.

There were dozens of recipes.

Sauces.

Breads.

Soups.

Meats.

Preserves.

Sweets.

He reached the tart section and found a pear recipe.

"Found it."

Sylphie sat beside him.

"Already planning?"

"I’m reading."

"That’s what you said about the travel book."

"And I was reading."

She rested her head on his shoulder.

Kael continued.

The recipe was similar to the plum tart, but used less sugar and added a

small amount of spice to the filling.

"Cinnamon," he said.

"It goes well with pear."

"You already knew?"

"Yes."

"You could’ve told me."

"You bought an entire book to discover it yourself."

"That’s also true."

He closed the volume and spent a few minutes watching the garden.

He didn’t open a single report.

He didn’t go looking for Amelia.

He didn’t ask how the First Archive negotiations were progressing.

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It was Amelia who appeared near the end of the afternoon.

She came along the path carrying only a small folder.

Kael raised his eyes.

"Do you need me?"

"No."

"Then why the folder?"

"Because I was on my way to a meeting."

"Oh."

Amelia looked at the book on his lap.

"Recipes?"

"Yes."

She fell silent.

Kael waited.

"You can laugh."

"I’m trying not to."

"It isn’t working."

"No."

Amelia sat down for a few minutes.

"How was the city?"

"Good."

"Any incidents?"

"A spicy sauce."

"Serious?"

"The survivor is writing about it in his notebook."

The man raised his head from the other side of the garden.

"I heard that."

Amelia smiled.

Then she looked more closely at Kael.

"How are you feeling?"

"Good."

"Sylphie?"

The elf answered:

"If he’s still like this tomorrow, I’ll allow the test."

Amelia nodded.

"Then perhaps we can discuss your gradual return to your

responsibilities afterward."

Kael didn’t reject the idea.

He also didn’t immediately agree.

"Gradual."

"That’s the important word."

"No handing me fourteen folders on the first day."

"I can limit it to two."

"One."

"Two."

Kael looked at Sylphie.

She replied:

"Two."

"Did you negotiate this beforehand?"

"No," Amelia said.

"That’s worse."

Amelia stood.

"Tomorrow, after the test, if everything is fine."

Kael nodded.

"All right."

She continued toward the mansion.

Kael returned his attention to the cookbook.

Sylphie touched his hand.

"Are you worried?"

"About the Step?"

"About going back."

Kael thought before answering.

"No."

"Then?"

"I don’t want to go back exactly to how things were before."

Sylphie remained quiet.

Kael continued:

"I still have work. I’ll still fight when I need to. I’ll still use the

Step, travel, solve problems, and probably get myself involved in things

that will irritate you."

"Probably."

"But I want to keep coming here."

He looked toward the garden beds.

"I want to finish that book. I want to make another tart. I want to see

what those flowers look like when they grow."

Sylphie tightened her fingers around his.

"One thing doesn’t have to replace the other."

"I’m starting to realize that."

Umbra emerged from the shadow of the bench.

"And the stone competition?"

Kael looked at her.

"That too."

Sylphie smiled.

"Then tomorrow, after the test."

"If I’m fine."

"If you’re fine."

Kael accepted without trying to alter the condition.

The next morning, he would use the Celestial Step for the first time

since he had begun recovering.

But that afternoon, there was still a cookbook open on his lap, two

sprouts growing in the garden bed, and half a pear tart waiting to be

shared.

None of those things needed to end before he could move forward.