We leave the forest which the carriage was parked, Lizz heads back into the book while I and Shiona head to the gate, once there I show my adventurer’s license and pay five copper for Shiona’s entry.

We walked down the main road which went straight to the other side of the town, and since we could see the gate all the way from here the town seems way smaller than Eastern lake city, although there were too many people on the roads to see what was on the other end of the gate.But as though seemingly to make up for not being as large as Easter lake city this place had way more shops and stalls situated along the main road.

We walked up to almost each and every one of them that stocked food, only shying away from the ones that looked… less reputable, however by the time we got the the gate on the other side of the town we hadn’t bought anywhere near as much as I would’ve wanted.

“Halt!”

As we were leaving the city through the gate we had gotten to we were stopped by a guard.

“To enter the high district a fee of fifty silver is required! Adventurers’ licenses are not accepted!” He shouts while standing stiff as a spike.

‘High district?’

I look behind the guard and see that the other side of the gate is not in fact filled with the view of the outside, but rather it was more townscape, even more bustling than the part of the town which we had just gone through.

“Well maybe they have more stores in here, what do you think Shiona?”

“Could be worth a look at least, if you feel like giving him a whole gold coin that is.”

I shrug my shoulders, or at least I think I do, I never really thought about whether I had shoulders or not, since I have neither elbows or knees, and hand the guard a gold coin, leaving me with thirty one left.

The man steps aside and ushers us in, not letting the way he acts change just from seeing that we did in fact have the money to pass.

‘Guess SOME guards are profesional at least.’ I think as I remember my first encounter with a guardsman.

Getting to the other side of the wall we immediately see a big difference between this place and the, err, low district? The houses in the temporarily named low district were a mix of one and two story building, most of them being one story with only a few taller buildings sticking out from the rest every here and there, while the high district seemed to have the same proportions, but opposite, with most buildings having two floors with only about a tenth only having a single floor.

I look to Shiona and see her looking around i excitement.

‘Come to think of it this is the largest town she’s been in in the last three years. Wonder how she’ll react when she sees the three-floored jungle that is Eastern lake city.’

We continue walking down the main road which had become wider and had gained a pattern in the stones used to build it, eventually coming across what looks like a general store.

*ding ding*

A bell can be heard as we enter, and inside we see a woman chewing on a piece of wood sitting at the counter with her feet on it and reading what looks like a newspaper, she points towards the center of the roof where there’s a see through orb with a red light inside and says:

“Security, don’t try to steal.”

And then continues reading.

We walk around inside and the red light inside the orb follows us.

“Ugh, that thing creeps me out…”

“You’ll get used to it.” Answers the shopkeep, not caring that Shiona wasn’t talking to her.

I look around and see small tables around the place with open wooden boxes on them, the boxes filled with various foodstuffs.

“Excuse me but is it possible to buy an entire box?”

She looks back up at me, though due to my height she doesn’t have to look up very much.

“Depends on which box you want.”

“Well I’m kind of short see? I can’t actually tell what you have in stock.”

Although the tables that the crates were on were short, they were still too tall for both me and Shiona.

The shopkeeper sighs and puts down her book, she then points towards each of the crates and explains to me.

* * *

A good few hours later we walk out of the store, the book containing ten less gold but taking their place is all the food that we’ll need for a very long time.

When the shopkeeper had understood we were serious about the amount we would purchase she had ran out the store while telling us to wait and then coming back a couple of minutes with tens of other shopkeepers from various other stores, letting us stock up on fruits, vegetables, flour, spice, meat and all sorts of ingredients, as well as a large amount of the various kinds of potion jellies from one of the shopkeepers that dealt with adventurers.

Luckily for us all of the shopkeepers left after we were done to discus “information fees” with the one who ran the store we were actually in, letting me put everything in the book without them seeing me.

We walk through the gate to the low district, pleased to discover that the fifty silver toll was only for entering and not for exiting, and then leave the town fully, paying another five copper.

Once we get to the carriage I pick up a rock and knock on one of the spikes on it, letting the elves know we’re there so they can open for us.

After talking with the elves for a bit Fallis then sits down at the front and starts steering the horses which I have now realized are actually machines rather than actual horses with armor on them.

“Plush, do you… Do you think you could start cooking please?” Asks Shiona sheepishly.

“Wait, how are you going to cook even?” Asks Lizz who has since flown back out.

“Well I was thinking you could take over for me here and I’ll cook in the apartment.”

“Oh.”

And so I borrow Lizz’s power again, putting her in charge of my body while I go inside the book and head to the kitchen.

While I’m wondering how I’m even get the food from the inventory and in here I open the fridge out of pure habit, and see the fridge isn’t so much a fridge as it is a door to another room.

‘Lucky I didn’t ask just as I was doing that.’ I think quietly as I imagine how much fun Lizz would’ve had with my mistake.

I head inside the fridge room and see all of the crates of food which we had just bought, as well as the food left from what we were given by the quartet.

Touching the already made food I can feel that it’s somehow still warm, but I decide not to mind it and simply grab the things I’m going to use.

A bag of flour, a small container of olive oil, some yeast, salt, cheese, tomatoes, ham, onions, and garlic.

I go back outside the fridge and put them down on the counter.

…

Or rather I try to, however I’m too short…

I try to create some stilts or something to stand on, however with no success.

‘So I can’t use skills in here… But then what?” Out of all the things I was thinking would get in the way of cooking this one had never come to mind.

I look back up at the counter and see-

[Hi.]

A spider.

A spider the size of my face.

A spider the size of my face, right in front of my face.

I drop all the things I’m holding, however yet again my small size made the fall too short for anything to break.

‘...Hi.’

[Could you let me out?]

‘ Wait what!?’

[I want to talk to the elves about what they’ve discovered.]

‘That’s not what I meant! You know the book doesn’t have enough power to let you out, and even if it did you’re way to conspicuous!’ I think, letting my fear of spiders control how loudly I thought.

[... I meant the way Elizabeth does it.]

‘... Oh. Hang on, let me think a bit...’

I then think quietly to myself, wondering if it’s really a good idea to make Cy’s powers inaccessible to me when I don’t have her help, but then I realize-

‘Wait, isn’t that a great idea!? If I make it so I can only use Cy’s powers while I’m in the book, then that means I won’t have to deal with the spiders that her power attracts!’

I snap my fingers, however since I can’t use my skills here it doesn’t create any satisfying sound.

“Lizz, get back inside!”

Before she can object fully I find myself back in the carriage and I start channeling energy throughout my body while thinking about Cy, and might I remind you that this is no easy task for someone scared of spiders, but I try and pull through in order to save myself in the future.

I try to visualize Cy as clearly as I can, the spidery legs, the spidery eyes, the entire spidery body.

“I can’t!” I think as loudly as I can when I give up, no way can I visualize a giant spider for long enough time to do something like that!

However when I open my eyes I surprisingly find myself in the kitchen on top of the counter where Cy was before, and looking to my side I could see Lizz rolling on the counter next to me trying to hold back her laughter.

I try to ignore her and jump down from the counter, I then start picking up the ingredients again and contemplate what to do.