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角峰

Come take a gander, feast your eyes on these fresh fruits and vegetables!

Oi, old man, isn't that the lad from the Yek family? It's been a while since he's come by the market.

What'd you expect? The boy's a guard for the Master's clan now. When would he have time to come here?

Ah, long time no see, Uncle. How have you been?

Oh my, it really is you, Matterhorn. Heh, so what brings you around these parts today?

I've had some spare time lately, so I thought it would be nice to cook dinner for the Master.

Good, good. Don't let your cooking skills go to waste. C'mere, go ahead and take this strip of steak. I remember the Master enjoyed them when he was young, and you'd always take a whole bag with you.

Thank you for your kindness, but let's get five pounds of tenderloin first.

Oh, and the youngest was just a little girl at the time. Whenever you'd go shopping, she'd follow right behind you, tugging at the hem of your clothes.

Hahaha, Ensia was indeed quite small back then—also extremely curious, and she refused to stay indoors. She would make me bring her along.

Here, the tenderloin's good to go. Hmm, the Master's tastes have changed, eh? Didn't he used to prefer short ribs?

Yes, the Master... grew up.

Matterhorn, about the older sister... Oh no, I mean, excuse this addled old geezer. How has the Saintess been? All of us... miss her a lot.

The Saintess... has been in good health. Everything is well.

Kjeragandr watches over her, so of course it is. You worry too much, old man.

After all, the reason we can continue our humble little lives here is because the Saintess managed to stabilize the situation at a critical time.

She is as bright as the snow itself. If she was able to deal with that crisis so calmly, lesser problems would surely pose no issue to her.

Good, good. Now all that's left is for her to be reunited with her siblings and old friends, and then we'll all live happily ever after. Hahaha!

(If only that were the case...)

Ah, how much you've all grown in the blink of an eye. Time sure flies these days.

Hardly. They've all grown up, but we've grown old. The young don't appreciate what they have.

Don't say that, you shine just as brightly now as ever before.

Hahaha, spare me the flattery.

*sigh*...

What's with that frown on your face? Something on your mind?

Auntie... After some thought, I think I'd like some short ribs after all.

Alright, I'll have it right up.

Here you go, is this enough?

That'll be fine, thank you. This is enough money, yes? I'll put it on the table here.

Heh, you young folks sure can add things up fast.

Alright, you two. I need to start dinner preparations soon, so I'll be heading back now.

Good, good. Don't let us old folks keep you any longer.

Come visit us when you have the time!

*exhales*...

(Huh... It's Matterhorn. What's he standing there like a statue for?)

Matterhorn!

It's getting harder...

Matterhorn, what are you muttering about in the middle of the hallway with a plate in your hand?!

Oh, Lady Ensia!

Didn't you say you were going to go out to eat dinner with Aurora? You haven't left yet?

It's not anytime soon, so there's no rush.

Whoa, what a feast! Do we have guests over tonight?

Not quite. The Master finally has time to come home for dinner, and I wasn't doing anything else, so I decided to go ahead and prepare a few dishes for him.

That's a lot more than a few dishes. Let's see, let's see... Whoa, you even made my favorite braised pork!

I don't even want to eat out anymore. Maybe staying home and having dinner with my brother wouldn't be so bad...

Haha, then you're more than welcome to stay, Lady Ensia!

What else would you like? I can always make a couple more dishes.

Oh no, I'm good. You're already going overboard! This is more than enough.

Alright then. It'll be a few more minutes, so don't wait for me. I still have some stew on the stove, so I'll bring that over later.

Okay, I'll go wash my hands then!

Sure.

(If Ensia is here, then...)

(For now... How am I going to speak with the Master?)

Lady Ensia, I've brought the stew. First— Oh...

Good evening, Matterhorn.

Weiss, why are you here? Is the Master not back yet?

Courier was just telling me that Enciodes is a bit busy, and probably won't make it back for dinner.

I hope you don't feel too bad, Lady Ensia. Some things came up at the last minute.

I see... Then why don't we wait a little bit longer, just in case he can make it later?

Matterhorn... Can I have a word with you?

Is this something you can't say in front of Lady Ensia?

I was thinking, it's probably best not to wait for him... You know how the Master is, once he gets busy he'll spare no time for anything else.

Mhm. I know, Weiss.

Matterhorn! Just a friendly word of advice, don't keep waiting...

Maybe saying that he'd be late... was already his way of being considerate to you.

Weiss...

For someone as thoughtful as you, a statement like that... should already have been clear enough.

Alright, I understand. By the way, I started smoking some jerky a few days ago. I'll go to the kitchen to pack some for you later. So you can take it with you as a snack.

You... still haven't come to terms with reality yet.

I appreciate your kindness, but my physician urged me to watch my diet because of a recent injury. And I thought I should take it to heart.

You're hurt, Weiss?! Where? What else did the physician say?

It's just a little scratch. Nothing you need to worry about, my friend.

But why didn't you tell me? You're always hiding things from me these days. That's what has me worried the most.

Haha, ever since I was little, you've always been worried sick about me whenever I got hurt. But now that we're all grown up, it's just embarrassing to keep putting that on you.

You're right... You can take care of yourself now.

One more thing... It's about—

Hold on, Weiss.

(*Searches around in his pocket*)

Are you looking for something?

Here, this is for you.

These are... snowflake crisps?

I passed by the candy store this morning. When you were little, you'd beg me for these every single time you were hurt during training. I was afraid you'd ruin your teeth.

But look at you now, you don't even want my stuff anymore. Guess I haven't gotten used to it yet, haha.

Matterhorn...

(*Rips open the candy wrapper*)

You have any free time later on? After I recover... let's go for a drink at the tavern.

Sounds good. Whenever you're up for it.

Anyway, I'd better get going. See you later.

Uncle Matterhorn, what did Courier say to you? Will my brother make it back tonight?

Go ahead and eat first, Lady Ensia. The Master might not be back until quite late.

I see, figures...

Then you should join me at the table too. Food doesn't taste as good when you're eating alone.

Mm... Alright, Lady Ensia.

Let's have a bit of the stew first. The broth should be nice and rich from the bones.

*sips*— Whoa, what a rich taste. Your cooking skills are truly amazing.

Haha. You're welcome to try these charbroiled short ribs next.

Whoaaa, these are delicious!

There's no need to rush, Lady Ensia. Please be careful not to choke.

Huh? You should totally dig in too!