Afterword Short Story: Hang in There, Siddy!
I folded my arms and groaned as I watched Sitri whip up a meal in the kitchen.
“What does Sitri like?” I wondered aloud.
“Hm? What’s this?” Liz asked.
“I was just thinking how amazing Sitri is.”
Sitri was amazing. She had her act together. I had just piled extra work on her, and this was hardly the first time. Sitri’s alchemical talents kept her busy with requests from all sorts, yet she didn’t show the slightest displeasure when I suddenly invited her to go on a vacation.
She even prepared our luggage and brought along Black, White, and Gray. Eva secured us a carriage, but I was sure Sitri could’ve done it if I had asked her instead. She also did most of the work setting up our camps, she had a hideaway in Elan, and another one here, in Gula. In the carriage, she had comforted Tino when she secluded herself. I was constantly finding myself indebted to her.
Now, I was letting her prepare dinner for us. I heard her knife chopping with what sounded like a cheerful rhythm. We had been friends for a long time, therefore I had been used to relying on her for a long time. Still, even I had second thoughts about letting her go this far out of her way for me.
“Mmm, Siddy’s always been good at using her brain. Lately, she’s been worrying a bit much about this and that. She’s the ideal candidate for too many jobs,” Liz said as she swung her legs back and forth on the couch.
She was strong and dexterous, but she didn’t work unless she had to. Tino, meanwhile, seemed quite sad after being chased out of the kitchen when she tried to help.
“Siddy’s incredible. I wish she would share some of her secrets with me,” she said.
“I just want to give her an overdue thanks,” I said.
We were friends, but that didn’t mean I could take her for granted. No matter how capable she was, I still felt pathetic relying on her so much.
“Eh, you don’t need to do that, Krai Baby. Siddy does these things because she likes to. I bet cooking a meal for you is a sort of reward as far as she’s concerned. I offered to make something, but she booted me from the kitchen.”
I wondered what kind of reward cooking duty was supposed to be. But Liz had a point, Sitri did look like she was enjoying herself and she always seemed overjoyed when I told her that her cooking was good. And I wasn’t flattering her—it was genuinely good.
Sitri Smart was a well-rounded person. There was nothing I could do that she couldn’t and she usually did it better. Most of the time, there wasn’t even anything I could do to help, I would just get in the way. So what if I just gave her a gift?
“Is there anything Sitri wants?” I asked.
“Mmmm,” Liz pondered. “Krai Baby?”
“What?”
I looked at Liz. For some reason, she had called my name. She blinked and shook her head.
“Never mind. I think Siddy would be happy to get anything from you.”
That seemed true, but that was the issue: she was too considerate towards me. I started to loathe myself when I realized that, in spite of our decade-long friendship, I didn’t know what to get Sitri for a gift.
“She probably doesn’t really want any accessories,” I said.
She was orderly and attractive, but she didn’t seem to concern herself with fashion very much. She was a researcher and a merchant, what she prized was efficiency.
As I mulled it over, Liz looked at me with wide eyes. Her contemplative expression faded as she pulled herself up and crawled towards me.
“Ah, you’re right, she wouldn’t go for something like that. So why not give it to me? I know I’d be reeeally happy.”
Like Sitri, Liz would be happy to receive a gift of any sort. I could probably count how many times she had ever shown me any looks of displeasure.
Liz enjoyed shopping and would sometimes even drag me along with her. I could safely assume she’d be happy to receive an accessory, but I couldn’t be so sure about Sitri. I then heard a loud crash from the kitchen. I wondered what Sitri was making.
“Umm, Master,” Tino said while glancing towards the source of the sound. “Don’t you, well, owe Siddy a lot of money?”
“Urgh.”
She was right. I had totally forgotten about my debt. How arrogant would it be to give a gift to someone you owed money to? Besides, Sitri was rich. She could buy herself anything I might be able to give her. She would probably say the sentiment pleased her, but I wasn’t so sure I’d believe her.
“I guess presents are a no-go, then. But I can’t think of anything I could do for her.”
The orderly sounds from the kitchen were replaced by banging and rattling.
Liz stretched out her arms and leaned into me.
“Here, how about you rub my belly?” she said in a saccharine voice. “Give it a try.”
Apparently, she remembered her past life as a wolf. Tino’s cheeks flushed.
Back then, I was young, and—I mean, that wasn’t the sort of thing I’d do to my childhood friend. Instead, I stroked her hair.
“For now, I’ll think about what I can do for Sitri. I can’t imagine she’d want her belly rubbed.”
Unlike Liz, Sitri always wore a thick robe. Even when she didn’t have the robe on, she still conducted herself like a proper lady. She would never want her belly rubbed. She might think less of me if I tried.
“Yeah, Siddy probably wouldn’t be a fan. She’s strict about things like skinship and all that. C’mon, since she’s all stuffy, why not play with me instead?”
“I can’t do that,” I said. “If Sitri doesn’t like sweets, taking her to a confectionary won’t do us any good.”
We were in a town famous for its chocolates so I wanted to try some, but there was no point in taking Sitri along if she didn’t enjoy those sorts of things. She was always grinning, but that just made it hard to discern what actually made her happy.
“Hmm, I’m not getting anywhere.”
I heard something that sounded like a knife hitting something. Maybe Sitri was cutting something hard?
Quivering, Tino looked at me with upturned eyes.
“M-Master, do you have something against Siddy?” she asked me.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login