*knock* *knock* *knock*
Rena heard someone knocking the door. She rolled on her bed and stretched her body, taking time for her consciousness to slowly increased.
"Uhmmm, Yes?" She asked with a sleepy voice.
"This is Sebastian. Excuse my rudeness, Miss Serena, but I have prepared breakfast for you."
(Whoa, seriously?)
Recalling yesterday morning when she still woke up in the dark cell of the pirate ship, this was like heaven and hell. She was happy when she could get her own room like this, but she wasn't used to getting a lady treatment. When her grandma was still alive, Rena helped doing a lot of household chores. And after she was gone, these skills helped her surviving her daily life, especially in cutting food budget. When there was extra money at the end of the month, she often spent it to buy some manga or light novels. A hobby that only her closest friends know.
(Ah, I still want to sleep more...)
"Wait a moment. I'll open the door..."
Rena rubbed her half-open eyes, and got up from the bed. She walked a little wobbly to the door, her balance hasn't returned yet. When she opened the door, she saw Sebastian stood there, holding a tray in one hand.
"Good morning, Miss Serena. Did you sleep well?" His tone sounded nicer than yesterday.
"Y-yes, I slept really well last night..."
"I'm glad to hear that. Your complexion seems better too. May I come in?" He politely asked for her permission.
"Sure, err... Sebastian." She was a little hesitant to call his name without honorific. Rena moved aside from the door, permitting him to enter the room.
He walked into the room and put the tray he brought on the table. On his folded arm, a dress hanged there.
"I bring food and also water and towel to wash yourself. And there's a change of clothes as well, hopefully, the size match. We borrowed it from the inn owner. I apologize I couldn't prepare something better for you."
"Thank you, Sebastian, I appreciate it. But you don't need to do this much with me, I'm just a slave your master bought."
"Miss Serena, Master Frei doesn't differentiate status, whether you are a slave or a noble, he values individual capabilities. Sebastian here has been told to take care of you and that I must answer his expectation."
"He must be a rare person in this world." Rena muttered.
"Pardon?"
"Ah, it's nothing." Rena shook her head a little.
For a moment, Sebastian silently gazed at Rena before speaking,
"Miss Serena, this may be out of my line, but from now on, even though there will be difficult times, I hope you can help him."
"Hmm? I still don't know what he wants with me but I'll do my best not to disappoint him. I could smile right now because his generosity. I'll definitely pay him back!" She said that with confidence.
Sebastian's mouth curved up a little, showing a faint smile.
(Oh not bad. At first, he looked scary with that scar on his face, but if you pay closer attention, he has some look there. As expected as that guy's butler...)
"Then for now, please let Sebastian serve you." He gestured her to sit on the chair.
"Ah, you don't need to serve me. Just leave them on the table, Sebastian.
You must be busy right? I can do it myself, s-so..."
She wanted to say please don't mind me. Not getting embarrassed being treated like a high-up, in a way, need adjustment as well. Also, Rena remembered something very important after seeing these items: a jug of water, towel, and a dress.
(I haven't cleaned myself these past few weeks!! Those damn pirates only gave me the minimal amount of water, enough to do this and that but not for washing myself!)
When she was in a desperate situation, she couldn't care less about her appearance, but now that she had been out the hole, seeing a fine man brought her this stuff made her terribly embarrassed.
"If Miss Serena prefer it that way, Sebastian will excuse himself. If you need further assistance, I'll be waiting outside. Please enjoy your food." He bowed and walked back to the door.
"Phew..." Rena sighed in relief.
"And one more thing, Miss Serena." Sebastian turned around.
"When you are done, I'll accompany you to buy some clothes. Master Frei has some business to attend and would be back late. He told me to bring you out to buy some clothes that will suit your taste."
"Eh? Isn't this fine already?" Rena pointed at the dress Sebastian had prepared for her.
"That won't do, Miss Serena. It's an emergency situation, so I have no choice to borrow it from the inn. You need at least some spare of clothes. Tawarr is a big port city, there are many merchants from different kingdoms here, please use this opportunity to find anything you like."
(Oh, wow. I'm overwhelmed by this generosity...)
"...And for someone who is going to serve Master Frei in the future, you shouldn't give shame to his name." He added with strictly serious tone.
Shame.. shame... shame...
Sebastian's words hit Rena like an arrow. She was super sensitive right now since she hadn't had a bath for a few weeks. Of course, Sebastian didn't mean it that way, he didn't even realize Rena's problem. But it really was a shame for a modern girl like her.
(Sebastian, you merciless!) Rena screamed in her heart.
"Ugh, I understand." Rena was defeated.
"Then, excuse me." He bowed and closed the door. This time, he truly left.
Now that Rena was alone, holding her head with both hands, she shouted,
"Waaa, I forgot I haven't bathed for a few weeks! I must smell bad right now!"
She wanted to bang her head on the wall, but she restrained herself. The sound would probably make Sebastian to come, wondering what happened. She stared at the neatly folded muffler next to her bed. Rena remembered Frei's scent last night. She could smell a hint of rose coming from him. There was a lingering scent of him from the muffler.
"Even that guy smells nice..." Lightly bumped her head on the table.
She took the water jug, poured the content into a bowl, dipped the towel, and proceeded to clean herself. This wasn't enough for her, but she couldn't do anything about it. The civilizations of this world weren't as advanced as Earth, it would be impossible to expect bathroom or toilet available everywhere.
(I'll ask Sebastian to take me to a bathhouse if they have one here...)
Then Rena put the dress brought by Sebastian. It was a long floor-sweeping dress, with ivory color and blue embroidery at the collar. A matching blue sash was worn around her waist. It's a little big for her but it looked just like a loose style dress.
"Mmm, not bad." Rena muttered to herself, looking at her own reflection.
After done changing clothes, Rena looked at the food at the table. It didn't need to be mentioned that she was hungry. This was her first decent meal in this world. There was a round flatbread, some fruits she had never seen before and a drink. The fruits picked her curiosity.
"Hmm... What is this fruit?"
She picked one of them and observed it. It was red, oval, a little wrinkly, and as big as her thumb.
"Itadakimasu..."
She bit half of it. It had deep sweet taste and chewy, the texture reminded her of gummy candy.
"Interesting texture, I'll ask Sebastian the name of this fruit later."
Next, she ate the flatbread...
"Bland... It will be good if there's also a dipping sauce..."
She put the bread back on the plate and grabbed the drink.
"How about this drink then?" Rena stared at it.
She held it with one hand, tilted the clay cup in a circular motion to stir it. The color was milky, reminded her of Calpico, although the liquid looked thicker. Rena took a sip...
"Uwaaah, sweeeet! Do they drink this every morning here??" Rena was shocked.
(It's sweet but not sugary sweet...)
"I wonder what is this made from? I'll ask Sebastian about this too." She decided to ask Sebastian about the weird drink.
After done with the taste testing, she started to eat them for real. Interestingly, she thought it was a good idea to roll the fruits with the flatbread and dripped half of her drink on top of it.
It was temporarily named, xxx fruits flatbread rolls with xxy sauce.
"Thank you for the food!" Rena clasped her hands, feeling satisfied after finishing the food.
...Later on, it will shock Sebastian learning Rena's eating habit.
---
When Rena opened the door, she saw Sebastian standing there.
"Miss Serena, are you done?" Sebastian asked her.
"Ah, yes. The food was interesting! What were those fruits called?"
Her eyes were sparkling when she asked that question.
"Those are called Phoenix fruits. It's a famous fruit growth in this region. Did you like it?"
"Yes, yes... It was my first time eating it." Rena nodded vigorously.
"It reminded me of a gummy candy." She added.
"What's a gummy candy?" Sebastian asked, confused.
"Oh! Umm... It was something chewy and sweet, just like those Phoenix fruits?"
For a moment, Rena forgot that gummy candy didn't exist in this world, so she mentioned it casually to Sebastian.
"Anyway, it isn't popular so it's not weird you never heard it." She lied.
"I see..." Somehow he accepted her explanation.
(Ah, I need to be more careful not to mention stuff from "the other world.")
"Then, how about that drink? What was that called?" She continued her question.
"It's called Phoenix Wine, Miss Serena. It was made from the tree sap of the same tree that producing Phoenix fruits."
"Wine?? But, I didn't taste any alcohol in it?" Rena was surprised, not only she didn't taste any alcohol in it, it was too sweet to be called a wine.
"That's because what Miss Serena drank before was still fresh from the tree. If it's drunk later in the day, the flavor will change and become mildly intoxicating." He explained it to her.
"Ooh, that's interesting! I'd like to try it again when the flavor had changed." Rena said that more to herself than Sebastian, taking a mental note to try it again.
Rena was excited hearing Sebastian's explanation about the foods she ate. Her eyes were bright and her smile was wide, like a little kid who was learning the world around her. If at least his Master had half of her enthusiasm with food, life would be easier for him was what Sebastian thought.
"I'm glad, Miss Serena like it. The inn still has some bottles left, I'll ask them to spare us one later." He said that
"Hehe, thank you, Sebastian!" Rena smiled happily.
"It's my pleasure." He bowed courteously.
"Then, Miss Serena, shall we go now?"
"About that, I have a request, can we go to the shop by foot?" She was nervous when saying it, but anticipation filled her eyes.
".....Why?" Sebastian's word was halted for a while before asking the reason.
"Being in a carriage is nice but I want to look around this place more. When strolling around a new place by foot, you get to enjoy the experience directly, the atmosphere there, the activities people were doing, and maybe find a new place you won't notice when riding a carriage." Rena's eyes were sparkling when explaining about her reason.
"It will be dangerous for Miss Serena to walk around like that." His expression was serious.
"But Sebastian will accompany me, right? It will be fine!" Rena wouldn't give up.
"Please?" She used puppy eyes on him.
Rena could be persistent when she wanted to do something, and her energy had rejuvenated after a long sleeping. In the end, the puppy eyes won.
---
Note: *Phoenix dactylifera.