Chapter 26

Morning came and passed, and it wasn't until a few hours after dawn that a certain wolf awoke. After having to wake up before the crack of dawn for a week straight, the blessing of sleeping in seemed all the better.

Alice had just woken as well, and was rubbing her tired eyes as she got up and ready for the day.

After a long and refreshing sleep, the pair were filled with energy. Alex greeted the two as they ran through the halls towards the dining room.

"Alice, want to come with to the marketplace? Gary needs to restock his ingredients, but is planning on cooking up a big dinner tonight, so I'm getting ingredients for him."

Alice nodded happily, then continued her sprint to brunch.

Brunch was just as amazing as every other meal made in the Graves house.

Freshly picked greens, crisp toast, and venison so tender that it melts in the mouth.

After the meal, Alice joined Alex as he got the list of ingredients needed by Gary. Salt, paprika, and some other spices that didn't exist on Earth. Listening to Alice read the ingredients from the list, Roth knew what each ingredient tasted like and tried to explain them to Ash.

'Bro, how do you know this though? From what I can remember we never had any "Hoton leaves" or "Sumac."'

^Right about the first one, not sure how I know about it, but we definitely had the second before. I don't know, dude. I would say I'm just smart, but our family game nights have proven that wrong.^

The list of ingredients needed wasn't long, and Alex would be able to carry all of them with ease. The trio didn't need to bring anything aside from a bag to carry the ingredients, so they set off to the marketplace.

Upon seeing Alice, many of the vendors called out to her. A portly man with a calming smile offered a piece of bread, requesting only a single sil as payment.

Despite having just finished breakfast, Alice happily took the bread while Alex paid him.

"Thanks for the bread again Mr. Thorn! Your bread is the best!"

The standard cost for the bread was two sil, yet the vendor had happily given it to Alice for just one.

He wasn't the only one acting overly kind to the girl. She was offered a myriad of great deals, but turned down most of them.

Ash watched the vendors with a look of confusion. Hadn't these idiots learned how to manage a shop? Why were they all giving Alice these good deals?

Seeing Ash's confusion, Alice leaned down and whispered an explanation to Ash.

"At first, a lot of people didn't like me, probably because of our family's reputation… but no one spits in a smiling face! As long as you act happy and cheery in front of them, they will treat you nicely. Everyone here is so nice!"

Alice wasn't wrong. No one wanted to be mean to such a cheery kid, and over time, the vendors started to pamper the girl. Now, she could get almost anything at the market at a discount.

A few of the vendors backed off upon seeing Ash. The wolf pup had grown a lot, and looked quite threatening. Each time someone backed off, looking at Ash with fear, Alice would give him a pat on the head and reassure them that Ash was friendly.

It didn't take too long for the trio to arrive at their destination. Ordal, a merchant who specialized in selling spices.

The merchant bore a striking resemblance to a rather unpleasant animal.

From his thin build, to his oversized teeth and massive ears, one word could be used to best describe Ordal. He looked like a rat.

Ordal looked up at the group as Alex set the ingredient list on the counter.

"Ack… what are you idiots doing here again? Did that Gary run out of spices again? I'll tell ya, that guy doesn't have the slightest idea how to cook. He goes through spices at an unbelievable rate, I honestly feel bad for y'all that have to eat that crap."

Ordal spoke coldly, glaring at Ash, who was standing between Alice and Alex.

"What is that thing doing in my store? Ah, whatever."

Alex was completely unperturbed by Ordal's cold words, instead leaning onto the counter.

"C'mon Ordy, we know we're your favorite customers. You can't fool me. Now, how's it going with you and Feli? I heard from a little bird that you were making some progress…"

Ordal turned bright red, coughing in embarrassment.

"Its… uh… going well."

Alex and Ordal headed to the back room to pack up the spices, chatting about Ordal's love life the entire time.

^So is ratman a tsundere? Who knew… he looks more like a villain, but it looks like Alex is pretty close with him.^

Alice looked around the tiny store while they waited, sniffing the spices that were set up on display. It seemed she had done this before, as she avoided some of them, which Roth identified as spicy.

A few minutes later, Alex had all of the spices, and ratma- no, Ordal was shooing him from the store, his face still bright red.

At the manor, Alex always had a professional attitude, but now he chatted happily with Alice as a friend instead of a servant.

"Yea, it was fun back then. Me, Gary, and Ordal, the three of us were inseparable. Have I told you the story of when we caught a rabbit with our bare hands?"

Alice nodded, but Alex continued with the story anyways, completely ignoring her.

Alex's story came to an end as they approached the mansion, and he fell back into his usual butler attitude.

"M'lady, be sure to come in time for dinner tonight. Gary was sad when you didn't eat breakfast on time this morning, but Earl said not to wake you."

Alice nodded, then remembered what she wanted to ask before leaving.

"Alex, I think I asked before, but can you find a time when I can meet with Karl? I wanted to ask him some questions about Ash."

"Yes, I already checked. Karl is out of town at the moment, and will be away for a while. I'm afraid it will have to wait."

Alice frowned, then asked about meeting with another member of his mercenary group. Jorg.

Another servant happened to be passing by at the moment, and overheard their conversation.

"Oh, Jorg? That guy is always hanging around the Lion's Gate pub. If you want to find him, he is probably there."

Alex's face fell, the opposite of Alice's, whose brightened.

"Awesome! I'll head there tomorrow then. Alex, can you make time? I don't think they will like it is I bring Ash into a pub, and Dad would probably be mad If I went alone."

Alex knew that there was nothing he could do to stop Alice from going, if he refused then someone else would agree to go with her. He slowly nodded, and began dreading the coming day.

Alex knew that the story given by Jorg wouldn't be a happy one. The Red Falcon group was known for being ruthless and uncaring to nature; the story of how they captured Ash was sure to be an unpleasant one. It would be better for Alice never to hear it.