Following Marcy down the road, his head moved back and forth, taking everything in. The streets were littered with people as they came and went on various errands. Most walked but there were those that rode horses or in various styled carriages.

  The crowds flowed around the carriages as they passed. Giving them a wide enough berth that told me I probably wanted to avoid whoever was inside. After wandering in a zig zag pattern across the town, Marcy stopped in front of a crowded restaurant.

  I didn’t even have to look that the sign or at the people eating. The smell lingering around the pce was enough to make my mouth water. It was a mix of fresh baked bread mixed with various meats and hints of something else.

  Luckily, a table was just leaving as we entered the pce. Quickly we stole the spot. A waitress hurrying over to clean the table as she said “We have two options tonight. A stew with a slice of bread or grilled fish with greens. Both are served with a light ale, grape wine, apple juice, or water.”

  Marcy spoke up, seeming to know what she wanted. “Can I get the stew with the wine?”

  Looking to us, they both waited for either of us to speak up next. “Um, can I get the stew as well…”

  Before I could choose a drink, Marcy interrupted, “oh, both of them will have the apple juice.”

  I shrugged; I had been pnning on drinking it anyway. “Mom!” whined Victoria. “I wanted to try the wine too.”

  “You are not old enough and you know that.”

  “We are not on…” Her mother hissed at her, stopping what she was going to say. “Fine, I will take the fish.” The waitress nodded and disappeared deeper into the restaurant with her load of dirty dishes.

  “So,” Marcy “Have either of you thought about how you will pay for things that you want?” Both her sudden topic change and words caught me off guard. While it was unexpected, she brought up a good point. It wasn’t like any of our money would be good here nor would anyone take credit cards.

  Shaking my head, I said, “No, any advice?”

  “Well, as I see it, you have two viable options. You can become an adventurer, risking your life to do things for various clients or get a normal job.”

  “What about me?” Victoria’s question told me she had caught something about how her mom had phrased her answer.

  Sighing, she answered her, “You have a third option, though I would rather you not go down that path. We can talk about it ter if you really don’t want to do the other options.”

  “Can I even be an adventurer without a weapon?”

  “Most of the quests you can take at first will only be odd jobs and the safer collection quests. Give it a bit of thought. For today’s trip, I will pay for everything including your weapon and clothes. After today though, you will both be on your own when you are not at home.”

  Before we could ask anything else, the waitress returned with two bowls. Pcing them down in front of me and Marcy, she disappeared only to reappear a second ter with two ptes. One with three rge slices of bread and Victoria’s food. Last, she returned with our three drinks. Taking a bite of the lightly steaming stew, I moaned at the fvor, and I wasn’t the only one. Victoria and Marcy were making simir sounds and they took a bite of their food.

  Before I could take a second bite of my food, Victoria turned to me, a forkful of fish coming toward me as she said, “You have to try this.” Accepting the bite, I savored the fvors. While I could taste the fish, it wasn’t as overwhelming as other fish I had had before. In fact, it was fairly subtle. The spices that were added to the fish brought it out and enhanced it to a point that I would have expected a world css chef to have made it.

  In return, I held up a spoonful of my stew for her and she groaned. As I continued to eat, I said, “They are both so good. I can see why this pce is packed.”

  Marcy ughed at me. “I can see why you think that. I mean it helps but that is not the reason the pce is packed.” She ate another spoonful before continuing. “Every dish is full of mana. All those that eat it will find their mana refilling a bit faster while some will get a tiny boost to their capacity. Some others, though very rare, can even get a boost to one or more affinities.”

  “Isn’t that dangerous?” I asked.

  “Everything on this world, and most others, have at least a tiny amount of mana. It is just a result of living on a world permeated with it. In fact, most worlds have a decent amount of mana. Earth was a desert in comparison. The few creatures there with access to mana struggled to recover any mana they used.” She said before bringing the bowl up to her mouth and drinking the rest of the stew down.

  I did the same before reaching for a piece of bread. Sopping up the leftover stew with the sponge like slice. Without a thought, I gave the st bite to Victoria as she held out her st green bean to me.

  When she finished chewing, she asked, “So where to now?”

  “First, have you both decided what you are going to do?”

  Victoria’s hand found mine and squeezed as we both replied at the same time, “Adventurer.”

  “Then we will get you both some clothes before heading to the guild and getting you registered.” I groaned at that.

  “Don’t worry, getting clothes will be fun.”

  “For you maybe, I hate clothes shopping.” As we stood, Marcy pced a pair of small, rusted coins on the table before leading us out. Before we had even talked a few steps, another group had taken our table, and the waitress was back. Cleaning as she took their orders.

  Passing out of the restaurant, I felt a tug on my arm. Looking over, I saw Victoria. Her arm wrapping around mine as we walked. Pulling my arm out from between us, I instead wrapped it around her shoulders. Her arm moved to wrap around my waist.