Bilan, who had recently arrived in Niailan, felt a great curiosity about the new scenery. She bid farewell to the carriage driver and began to explore the small town, smiling as she looked at its modest yet graceful buildings.
In the noble area of Dolez city, the high-ranking nobles maintained everything in a beautiful and pristine state, but to her, it appeared somewhat lifeless and fake. It always left her feeling stifled. Moreover, since she had rarely ventured outside the noble district during her childhood, she long became tired of watching it.
So today, after watching these modest but unique sceneries in this small town of Niailan, like the green moss on the stone, the wildflowers blooming on the roadside, she was charmed.
Even though these old and modest houses were constructed using the simplest wood, they appeared extremely refined and lovely in her eyes.
Moreover, perhaps because the townspeople had an appreciation for beauty, the balcony handrails and roof ridges featured rough yet charming patterns carved into them. The paths had bluestone slabs scattered along them. Although these roads in Niailan town were narrow due to a lack of detailed planning, The moss growing from the gaps in the bluestone path made the surroundings feel more beautiful and natural
The pure and kind-hearted noble girl, who had never seen such unique and refreshing beauty before, easily became immersed in it. Unlike the Dolez, where everyone was impatient and ridiculing kind, the residents of this small town were also all kind-hearted. Even the merchants who had always pursued profit first had a gentle tone, and they also have a kind of simple enthusiasm while bargaining.
Although as a mage apprentice, Bilan felt a vast amount of undisguised mana fluctuations from the direction of the white tower established by Punk at the very first moment when she came close to the town, but Bilan, attracted by the peace and beauty of the small town, gave up the idea of reporting directly to her tutor. And she planned to first enter the town and closely feel this new atmosphere.
…..
While browsing the various hand-made decorations in the roadside shops and feeling the faint breeze gently blowing across her face, Bilan came to the front of a shop selling bread.
Smelling the aroma of bread and wheat in the air, her small exquisite nose couldn't help but twitch slightly. Compared with the various delicacies filled with heavy seasonings in the noble families, this plain fermented ordinary bread made her feel more fresh and appetizing.
The beautiful girl walked to the bakery with light steps and looked at the few bread trays with expectation, and asked in a soft voice:
"Mr Baker, how much is the... Foam bread?"
(A kind of ordinary bread unique to Pheren)
The owner of the bakery was a fat, kind-looking middle-aged man. Perhaps it was because of the sudden appearance of a beautiful woman; the middle-aged Baker became a little stunned for several seconds. And finally, when Bilan again asked for a second time, he responded in a hurry.
"This... This! freshly baked foam bread is seven Dylan copper coins. How many do you want, miss?"
"This cheap! I'll take it all."
Bilan didn't notice the surprise of the Baker, as her full attention now was on the only remaining seven or eight loaves of bread.
Although the noble family she came from was not that big, due to the huge gap between the rich class and the commoners in the Pheren plane, buying a few loaves of bread was a trifling matter to her. And only on this trip, she brought more than ten gold coins with her.
…..
Looking at the small white breads lying on the cupboard, little stars started to twinkle in Bilan's eyes. With their burnt yellow crispy skins, the soft white insides, and the delicious fragrance, these small pieces of bread seemed to had come to life in her eyes, and they kept clamouring for Bilan to buy them.
"What kind of taste will this bread have from the town of Niailan? I'm looking forward to it."
"Wait! Leave two for me…"
Just as Bilan was captivated by the aroma of fresh bread, a young but somewhat abrupt voice came from the side.
She noticed a young boy in a white robe, carrying a thick book and wearing a stylish hat, rushing over while shouting.
Upon hearing the young man's shouting, Bilan snapped out of her daydream and gazed at the boy with a hint of confusion, not fully comprehending what he was saying.
The young boy sprinted to the bakery, and between gasps for breath, he said in fits and starts:
"Hey!... Why… are you selling all the breads? Didn't I ordered some yesterday!"
"Hello!, is these breads still available for purchase?"
Bilan tilted her head and looked at the Baker.
"This... This ~ the matter is…"
The baker wore a thoughtful expression. In reality, he was somewhat worried. Even though this type of white bread wasn't extremely rare or valuable, it was still considered a luxury among ordinary folks. So usually, very few customers visited the bakery to purchase these loaves, and even when they did, they usually bought just one or two. It was the first time he faced a situation where there were more loaves than there were buyers. So, while he wanted to sell more bread today, there simply was no more bread available..
The Baker, who was considering whether to go back to the kitchen and make some more slices of bread, did not notice that the young boy's attention was no longer on the bread.
Dickie was a bard who had just graduated from school. He felt that this might be his luckiest day, as not only today was his birthday, but when he was planning to buy some white bread to celebrate his birthday, he suddenly met the goddess of his dream.
Looking at Bilan's clear eyes, sleek and beautiful long hair, and her pink, white dress with luxurious lace, the young boy felt his cheek was burning for the first time. He dared to say that this was the most beautiful girl he had ever met in his entire life.
As an upcoming young bard, he still didn't have those romantic and colourful experiences. And now, in front of this beautiful lady, he felt as nervous as when he just stepped on the square to sing poems publicly for the first time.
"You, I, Hello, I... my name is Dickie. I'm a bard. I'm sixteen years old, and my gender is...."
In his confusion, Dickie gave himself a hard slap after realizing his muddled "self-introduction."
"God, what was I saying? I'm not at the city hall for identity registration.
This is so embarrassing."
Just as Dickie was about to search for a hiding spot, Bilan, unable to contain herself from the young boy's eccentric chatter, burst into laughter. It was the first time that she had met such a crude "little boy" who would introduce himself in such a way. A sense of amusement and lightheartedness welled up within her.
...
The two suns were already hanging high in the sky, it was now noon, but Bilian was still not in a hurry to meet the "official mage." On the one hand, it was due to the delay she subconsciously wanted to make because of the fear and uneasiness in her heart. On the other hand, it was also because she felt that the "little boy" in front of her was very interesting and worthy of chatting for a while.
Therefore, she stretched out a white jade hand to the young boy while smiling after looking at the boy's flustered expression:
"Hello, my name is Bilan. Nice to meet you."