Songstress of Schwarzwald: The Secret of Zoe, the Exiled Music Mage Chapter 25 : My First Time Eating Out!

Okay, I’ll admit it: I’ve never eaten out before. Not sothing to brag about, huh?

“Hello! My father’s coming later, so it’s three people total,” Maggie says at the counter.

We got a few looks, like, What are these kids doing here by themselves?

“Welco! For three? You can sit over there,” says the Prancy Pony waitress. Looks like she actually sees us as real custors!

“What’s for lunch today?”

Wow, Maggie sounds like a regular. anwhile, I’m a bundle of nerves—this is my first ti eating at a restaurant!

“Potato stew or grilled at. The grilled at’s twenty pennies.”

Oof, that’s pricey! I do have the money, but we’re going shopping afterward, and I wanna save up for when I go independent.

Okay, I’ll start budgeting... tomorrow!

“I’ll have the potato stew. What about you, Zoe?”

Looks like Maggie’s trying to save her shopping funds too.

“Sa here!” Besides, I can grill at on my own.

The stew’s just simred with goat’s milk, right? I want to see how theirs compares—or, well, really, it’s the cheaper option. Let’s be honest.

“Father always stops here to have a little ale and take a break. Mother’s strict, so he doesn’t get to drink much at ho.”

Wait—isn’t that... drinking and driving? But I guess it’s okay here as long as you don’t get drunk.

And there’s just one road back to Lang Village. We didn’t even see another wagon on the way in, so it should be fine.

“That ans we’ve got ti to shop!”

We share a grin.

“Exactly! I hope that magic stone sold for a good price!”

Maggie’s still an apprentice, so it sounds like she hasn’t handled magic stones before.

The potato stew and so rock-hard-looking bread arrive before Maggie’s father gets here.

“Let’s eat! We’ve got shopping to do!” Maggie says.

Is that okay? It should be okay!

But just as we both pick up our spoons, her father shows up. Perfect timing?

“I’ll have ale and grilled at.”

Seems like grilled at must be the go-to al here.

After placing his order, he hands one hundred pennies.

“That’s the money from the magic stone,” he says.

“Thank you so much!”

Right on cue, the waitress brings over his ale, which he drinks with obvious enjoynt. It ca in a wooden jack. No chill at all—does it still taste good like that?

“Alright, let’s dig in!” Maggie’s clearly itching to get to the shops.

Our potato stew doesn’t just have potatoes—there are mushrooms and onions too. And milk as well!

It tastes richer than my usual stew. Maybe it’s because the potatoes are so tender they’re practically lting? Or do they have a different recipe? Whatever the case, it’s delicious.

After scraping up the last of our stew with the bread, we head out into town.

“Magic stones go for a good price, huh?”

Yup. The Almiraj magic stone sold for one hundred copper pennies. That’s one silver crown!

Since crowns are hard to use, I asked for pennies instead. Selina sotis uses gold coins—guldens—but most people just use copper. Silver’s only for bigger buys. Maggie told that!

“I have to buy a ribbon!” Maggie declares.

Ribbons over candy? She’s got a real eye for style.

“I want so kind of musical instrunt.”

Selina bought a harp from the royal capital. It’s really nice, but also uber heavy. I’m still a kid—I can’t carry that thing around like a grown-up bard.

And I can’t use storage magic in public, which ans I can’t bring it to Lang Village. Over the winter, I got good enough to play simple scales, and I’d love to play accompanint while Maggie and I sing together.

“An instrunt? Do you reckon Carlton Town even sells those?”

Hmm, I’m worried about that too. It’s bigger than Lang Village, but it still feels like a country town.

I an, the roads aren’t even paved, and none of the shops on the main street look like they carry anything fancy.

Still, maybe because there’s an adventurers’ guild, we find several weapon and armor shops.

And not just the little apothecary where Maggie and I sold our herbs—there’s a big one too.

“Don’t you sell herbs to that place?” I ask Maggie as we pass by.

“Mother says the apothecary here can’t tell the difference between low-grade and high-grade herbs, so nope.”

Huh. I an, the ones at the forest edge and the ones deep inside Schwarzwald do look pretty similar.

But if they can’t tell the difference, how can they make good dicine? Yet this apothecary has a spot right on the main street.

“Business is complicated!”

The back-alley apothecary is probably the better herbalist. But the one on the main street? Probably better at selling.

“Yeah… but I don’t think apothecaries can succeed on business skills alone. If I got sick, I’d buy dicine from the back-alley place.”

“True…”

That reminds of the ti I asked Selina why she didn’t sell her dicine in Lang Village.

She told : “dicine can’t cure every sick person. That’s why I only make healing potions for adventurers. They know what they’re risking when they go out there.”

I nearly told Maggie I’d give her Selina’s dicine if she ever got sick—but I managed to stop myself.

Yeah, the path of an apothecary seems really hard too. I guess that’s why Selina hides away deep in the Great Forest. To avoid nobles—and people who are sick.