She doesn't notice the way Mister Cole's eyes light up. Lucy hands the sketches to Selena. "For blacksmith," Lucy says. I might become stupid if everything is handled by Selena, Lucy muses. Oh, well. She already got odd looks for doing what she did. Pushing it too far would be detrimental.
"I want to walk around" Lucy demands, once they exit Mister Cole's workshop. Selena pauses. Lucy hugs her neck. "I really, really want to look around," Lucy says softly. Selena hesitates and looks at Sir Jenz. He shrugs and waves the carriage off. "Between the two of us, nothing could hurt her," Sir Jenz says. Selena smiles. "Thank you, Sir Jenz. I shouldn't allow fear to cloud my mind" Selena says warmly. "Just call me Jenz" Sir Jenz says, as they amble through the streets.
Despite walking through busy crowds, neither Selena or Jenz were being crowded. Lucy eyes a street stall, it was selling candied almonds. Lucy points it out. "I want!" Lucy says. Selena glances over and shakes her head. "No, little mistress. You can't eat things from outside the Palace," Selena says. Lucy's eyes widen. But! It's not like anyone knows we were going to be on this street! How could a random food stall be poisoned?
Lucy bites her sleeve as Selena walks away. The bangles bump against her mouth, irritating her even more. As they walked, they passed all kinds of stalls. Popcorn, pudding, noodles, buns, kebobs, even what looked like pizza! Lucy covers her eyes in order not to torment herself.
Only her interest in seeing people and the architecture kept her from demanding to go home.
Like at her Nameday party, people wore clothing that was very mixed. There wasn't a standard style.
The buildings were mainly built from bamboo with curved lines, with a spattering of stone or brick buildings. Carriages and horses went through the middle of the road, the crowd simply parting to let them through.
Lucy saw that at the food stalls, most people paid with bronze coins. Even when they pass a tailor shop, bronze was the coin of choice. "Here, little mistress. Eat this" Selena shoves a wrapped cookie into Lucy's hands. Lucy blushes. I didn't think my tummy was that loud. Lucy nibbles on it, leaning on Selena's shoulder to observe the crowds.
In the end, though, her stomach defeats her barely an hour later. Selena runs out of snacks, forcing Lucy to return to Jing Palace to eat. Lucy pouts, glaring at her bowl of noodles. My day trip! Ruined by my stomach! Lucy shoves the bowl away and grabs her jump rope.
Lucy jumps, the tension in her body slowly fading as the silk rope flips over her head. One.
Two. Three. Four. Five. Six...
One hundred, sixty-four. Lucy stops, sweat dripping off her. Even her braid dripped. Her stomach growls loudly. Lucy loops her rope and hangs it up. Then, Lucy rushes to the table, skipping the bowl. She uses her chopsticks eating noodles from the pot. After emptying it, Lucy glares at it. I'm going to get fat! Lucy tosses her chopsticks down and crosses her arms.
I'm never going to be able to do anything if I'm tied done by my food. Lucy scowls. "What exactly did that pot do to you, little thing? If you were a (fire witch,) it'd be burning by now." Papa says, lifting Lucy into his arms. "I had to come back because I didn't have enough snacks! Selena won't let me eat food from outside. I didn't get to see enough. Selena can only carry enough food for a couple of hours. Will I be chained home, Papa? How will I ever do anything?" Lucy whines, wrapping her arms around his neck.
He just laughs. "It sounds like you haven't been using your Cosmos bag," Pap says. Lucy tilts her head "What's a cosmos bag?" Lucy asks. Papa pats her head. "It's a bag that is bigger on the inside than on the outside" Lucy blinks Spatial item. Want!
"I don't have that!" Lucy says, eyes wide. Papa smirks. " I sent it over after you got Void Hunger. It should be a red purse." Papa explains. Lucy frowns only vaguely recalling embroidered flowers and vines. As Selena kept her valuables, she hadn't given it a second look. How could you forget to explain this! It's a spatial item. A SPATIAL ITEM!
"Selena! Cosmos purse!" Lucy calls itching to dig out of storage herself. Yeah, right. As if Selena would allow that! Thankfully, Selena quickly returns with a palm-sized purse. Lucy opens it, but the inside simply is a red purse. Lucy eyes Papa. Are you lying to me? If this is a prank, I might cry. Papa seems to ignore or not notice her doubtful eyes.
"Here" He picks her finger, squeezing a drop of blood, letting it drip into the open purse. A vast room fills her mind, although the inside of the purse hasn't changed. Lucy touches the inside of the purse, feeling the fabric. "To put things in your space, simply will it so" Papa instructs.
Lucy steals his cravat pin and focuses. In! The pin disappears from her hand, landing gently on the floor inside the vast room.
"Now only you or your soul bonds can access it," Papa explains, kissing her temple. Lucy hugs him. "I love you, Papa," Lucy says. Even if you are a weird, ruthless man and a terrible husband. You are a very good father!