Nymera led the two of them through the crowd to the open-air kitchen behind the shop.
Steam filled the kitchen, and the air was thick with a rich, sweet fragrance.
A petite woman in a verdant green dress was directing several Felynes as they bustled energetically about, pounding glutinous rice, steaming rice cakes, and shaping Dango. Everyone had a clearly assigned task, and the kitchen ran like clockwork.
The woman froze for a moment when she saw Nymera, then hurried over.
"Boss Yomogi–"
Nymera had barely begun speaking when the woman raised a hand and smacked her palm against Nymera's forehead. "Call me Mother!"
"Mother..."
"..."
The woman planted her hands on her hips and looked Nymera up and down several times. Then she reached out, pinched Nymera's cheek, and gave it two hard tugs.
"Why are you dressed in something so revealing? Aren't you afraid you'll catch cold?!"
Nymera looked aggrieved. "This is Doom Estrellian Armor–"
Smack!
Another slap landed on Nymera's forehead. "Stop imitating Kagero! Speak properly!"
"...The Armor is just designed this way. I did cover the chest with cloth before, but Tidal Island was far too hot, so I took it off again."
Yomogi planted her hands on her hips and gave an indignant huff. She strode over to a cabinet, rummaged through it, then shoved a stack of clothes into Nymera's arms.
"Look at yourself, then look at your friends. Your Armor is the most revealing of them all. Don't choose designs like this again. It doesn't even look sturdy. Hurry up, change into these clothes, and come back down to help!"
Nymera still wanted to introduce her companions, but Yomogi waved her away.
Altaïr and Isis were a little nervous. Fortunately, unlike the stern manner she showed her adoptive daughter, Yomogi was warm and generous with them.
"Isis and Altaïr, right? And Sajji and Clawdia, of course. That child told me all about you in her letters. Thank you for taking care of her."
"Not at all. Senior Nymera is the one who's always taken care of us."
"Mm-hmm!"
"That child may seem quiet and diligent, but around close friends and family, she often loses track of what's going on or acts on whatever wild idea enters her head. She must have put you through a lot too, hasn't she?"
"Not at all. Senior Nymera has a wonderful personality. We're always the ones troubling her."
"Mm-hmm!"
After both sides had spent a while bowing and exchanging pleasantries, Yomogi led the two of them to a quiet spot at the back of the shop, set up a table, and brought them hot tea.
"Altaïr, Nymera also mentioned your problem in her letter. Don't worry, it isn't anything serious. I'll take you to see Mr. Yan shortly."
Altaïr quickly stood to thank her. Whether or not he wanted to "see a doctor," he could hardly refuse an elder's kind offer to help.
Just then, a loud gurgle reached their ears. Isis's face instantly turned red.
It was hardly her fault. It was already two or three in the afternoon, long past lunchtime. They should have eaten earlier, but when mealtime came, Nymera had stopped them and promised to treat them to something delicious once they reached her home.
After waiting this long, they really were hungry.
Yomogi slapped a hand to her forehead and stood. "Look at me, talking away while you all starve! What flavors do you like? Red bean paste? Honey? Fruit? Or something a little more unusual, like sansho pepper?"
"I'm not picky," Isis said, a little bashfully.
Altaïr's eyelid twitched twice.
Normally, when someone asked what flavors you liked, weren't the choices supposed to be savory, sweet, or spicy?
Why did everything here sound sweet?
Oh, right. This is a Dango shop. Never mind. I'll just eat whatever they serve.
"Anything is fine with me too. I'm sorry to trouble you."
"It's no trouble at all! The fillings are prepared in advance. Once the Dango are steamed, all we have to do is wrap them!
"I'll bring out a little of everything. You're all Hunters, so I imagine you have quite an appetite."
Just then, Nymera came running down from the second floor in her change of clothes.
Dressed in neat, simple cotton clothes with her hair tucked beneath a headscarf, she looked like an entirely different person. Altaïr and Isis could only stare.
"Hurry up!" Yomogi urged her. "That batch of Dango should be done steaming by now. Wrap some of each kind for your friends to try!"
Nymera giggled and clung to Yomogi's arm. "Mother, why don't you show them that trick? The one that goes swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!"
Yomogi looked exasperated. "I only put on those flashy performances to attract customers. Now that business is good, what's the point? They won't make the Dango taste any better.
"What really matters is getting the heat right for the glutinous rice dough and preparing the fillings..."
"Oh, just show them, Mother!"
Pestered by Nymera until she gave in, Yomogi went to the kitchen and grabbed a handful of bamboo skewers.
Two Felynes came running over with a large tray of freshly wrapped, steaming Dango, while Nymera went into the shop and called out to the customers.
A large crowd immediately rushed outside, still carrying their tea snacks and cups, eager to watch the show.
Under the bewildered gazes of two humans and two Felynes, Yomogi stretched briefly and signaled that she was ready.
Nymera took the large tray from the Felyne helpers and tossed its contents high into the air.
Isis gasped as the entire trayful of Bunny Dango flew skyward.
Yomogi's expression turned serious. She crossed her arms and flexed her fingers, and eight sharp bamboo skewers appeared in the gaps between them.
She leaped into the air and flung out both hands. The skewers shot forward like arrows loosed from a bowstring.
Without pausing, she flicked her wrists, and another eight bamboo skewers appeared in her hands. Once again, they whistled through the air.
One after another, all sixteen skewers pierced the falling Bunny Dango. Three Dango per skewer, sixteen skewers and forty-eight Dango in all, without a single miss. Every skewer lodged firmly in one of the two large wooden trays Nymera held aloft.
The watching customers and villagers erupted in cheers. Altaïr and Isis were dumbstruck.
Skill and strength aside, what kind of dynamic vision did it take to track four or five dozen falling targets at once?
Calling her a ninja master would have been far more believable. A Dango shop owner?!
Faced with the customers' cheers and the stunned stares of her juniors, Yomogi waved her hands a little sheepishly. "All right, all right! Everyone, hurry back to your seats! Your tea won't taste good once it gets cold."
It took quite some effort to disperse the customers, who kept cheering and clamoring for an encore. Yomogi tapped Nymera on the head in exasperation. "You're always stirring up trouble!"
Nymera giggled and set the two large trays of Dango before Altaïr and Isis. Then she pulled little seeds such as sunflower seeds and sesame from her pocket and used them to give the Bunny Dango eyes and noses, making each one look like a tiny ornament.
"All right, hurry up and try them! The Bunny Dango at Yomogi's Tea Shop are a delicacy you won't find anywhere else in the entire Old World!"
"These... are all for us?" Altaïr asked uncertainly.
"Of course. A Hunter meal here normally consists of three skewers. Sixteen skewers only amount to about five servings. The three of us can easily finish that much, can't we?"
Unlike her usual slow, archaic manner of speaking, Nymera rattled off the words under Yomogi's watchful eye.
Altaïr and Isis exchanged glances, holding a silent conversation.
We're eating nothing but Dango for the entire meal?
What else can we do? Are you really going to tell Yomogi 'no' after she fired sixteen skewers and hit forty-eight Bunny Dango in a single second? Let's eat...
Truthfully, the Bunny Dango from Nymera's family shop were delicious. The glutinous rice skin was soft and chewy, with the distinctive fragrance of grain. The fillings were sweet without being cloying, and the different varieties complemented one another beautifully.
A single skewer would have made an excellent dessert after a meal, when there was still just a little room left.
But filling up on Dango alone... Altaïr felt as though he were slipping into a carb coma.
—--
After struggling through the meal until they were full, the group followed Yomogi out of the tea shop and headed toward the home of the wandering physician Yan.
Along the way, Yomogi told them about many of Yan's accomplishments.
Dispelling Chameleos's poison mist, neutralizing the Qurio's poison, helping bring the Frenzy Virus under control... Almost every feat was connected to Elder Dragons.
Altaïr no longer wanted to wonder how a tea shop owner knew so much about incidents he was not even cleared to hear about.
All that mattered was that Yan had extensive experience with ailments related to Elder Dragons.
The group reached the edge of the village and stopped before a cramped wooden house. Yomogi stepped forward and knocked on the door.
A gentle male voice soon answered from inside. "Come in."
Yomogi led the group inside, only to discover that Yan already had another patient.
She was a middle-aged woman who appeared to be in her forties, and she wore nothing above the waist but a tight undershirt. Beside her, a tall Wyverian man was applying medicine to her wounds.
The Wyverian man was clearly Yan, but Altaïr's attention was entirely fixed on the woman.
A body tempered by countless blows. The assessment sprang into Altaïr's mind.
Her muscles were not bulky, but they had been honed to an extraordinary degree. Altaïr could tell at a glance what weapon she favored. Without a doubt, it had to be Dual Blades.
Then there were the scars covering her entire body.
Scars were perfectly normal for Hunters; both he and Isis had their share. But he could not imagine what sort of injuries had left so many marks on this woman's body...
Just how many times had this woman died?
(Translated by yourtl.app)