She Becomes The Hero In Another World 109 She Makes Apple Peel Tea

Once more, Robin had to drink the cup of magic water, and lie down perfectly still. But this time, she couldn't seem to feel comfortable. While the bed was fine, and the air was clean, she felt mildly unsettled.

"Please try and stay as still as possible." Chelsea asked. "As I am stimulating the recovery of your mana source, you may experience a feeling of mild discomfort."

Robin sighed, and resolved herself to bear with the strange feeling. 'I should look on the bright side. At least, it isn't extremely painful. To exchange a brief half hour of mild discomfort every few days for a shortened healing period should be considered a medical marvel.'

She decided to attempt meditation. Slowly breathing in, and slowly breathing out, focusing on breathing as if she were trying to match the tempo of ocean waves. Of course, they were nowhere near the ocean. So Robin had to make do with her memory of the timing.

As she breathed, she went over her memory of the night before. 'I'm not entirely unconvinced that Bard Quinn had a hand in all this.' She thought to herself. Since Quinn didn't show up with them, he was extremely suspicious. Of course, there was a chance that he simply wasn't in range of the transportation circle, or limit. But, even the campfire was moved. Thus, for Quinn not to be taken along was, as a result, highly suspicious.

'All right! The next time I see him, I'll punch him hard in the face!' She decided, clenching her fist.

"Um, Robin, please don't move." Chelsea pleaded. "This work is very delicate, so I don't want to mess up and make things worse, okay?"

...Ah, right. She was in the middle of being treated. She had actually forgotten herself while thinking. Robin's cheeks were lightly dusted with pink as she made a positive sound in her throat. For the time being, she could only obey the doctor's orders.

The half an hour went by slowly, but eventually, it was finished. When Robin was allowed to move again, she went downstairs with Chelsea, to join her companions.

"Where's Christian and Jasmine?" She asked, not seeing them with the others.

"I know!" Skye replied proudly. "They went to make an appointment with some official for tomorrow. Jasmine muttered something about 'darned beaurocrats' when she left. What are beaurocrats?" The flying kitten tilted its head sideways. though it might be older than her, there were many words it had never come across.

"Er, it's a type of official, I do believe. They aren't known for being quick to act, so she may have simply been annoyed at how slow the person is being." Robin replied to Skye, skirting over the corruption/red tape/delay tactic issues that most beaurocrats were known for.

"Hey, somehow, doesn't it seem to be getting real dark out?" Gerard noted. It was true. Even though it was nearly noon, the ambient light had slowly gotten less and less.

But, just when they were going to head outside to see what happened, a clap of thunder rumbled overhead, and a sudden downpour of rain pelted the rooftop of the inn.

The innkeeper clicked his tongue. "Ah, just when we had a spot of good weather. It looks like we'll be having us another stampede on our hands tomorrow." He told his wife.

"It looks like we'll be staying inside for today." Robin noted as she took a seat down by a window. To ward off the rain's chill, the innkeeper lit a fire in the common room fireplace. In front of the fireplace, Gerard, Skye, and Elise had fun teasing each other with small cantrip magic.

While she waited for Christian, Jasmine, and Keith to return, Robin busied herself by making some applesauce, borrowing the kitchen for a bit. After making three large jarfuls, however, she got tired and began reading the books she had found in that hidden cave.

The knights inspected their armor and weapons for any repairs needed. And, in general, the whole company pa.s.sed the afternoon in relative silence. It had rained the whole time, and there was no sign of it letting up anytime soon.

Sometime in the late afternoon, Christian stomped in, soaking wet from the outside. Jasmine and Keith followed behind him, completely dry.

"You're back." Robin noted, looking up from her book. "How did it go?" She asked as she took in Christian's sopping wet appearance. 'He looks good even when he's wet. Is that a prerequisite for being a prince, I wonder?'

"Go? It went the way most appointment-makings went, unbearably slow. The only reason why we were still able to acquire an appointment was because of this blasted rain!" Christian grumbled in a foul mood. "Since the rain will bring another monster stampede, that plump, puffed-up person was too scared to head out of the city gates anymore, so he used us as an excuse not to head out. It's a good thing we're not in Ekkins.h.i.+re, otherwise he'd have lost his job that instant!"

Jasmine sighed, and beckoned to Chelsea. "Chelsea, dear, could you please do something about all this water? The carriage wheel broke and we had to walk back. Christian's been so upset about earlier that he walked out of the range of my water barrier."

"Sure! No problem!" Chelsea waved her hand and the water gathered from Christian's hair and clothes into large droplets, floating up in the air, past Keith, and out the door, where it was poured onto the cobblestones.

Now Christian's clothes were completely dry, albeit a little wrinkled. He scowled and stomped off to his room.

"So you did get an appointment, then?" Robin asked, as she marked the place she left off in the book and returned it to her storage bracer.

"Yes, thank goodness." Jasmine sighed.

"Then we can consider the trip successful. If you provide the water, I'll make some hot apple peel tea to warm everyone up. Judging by the radiating chill, this rain must be practically ice cold!" Robin rubbed her hands together.

"Apple Peel Tea? Do you mean hot apple cider?" Jasmine asked.

"No, apple peel tea. Have you never had apple peel tea?" Robin asked.

Jasmine shook her head.

"Then, let me show you and Ponzu how it's done~!" She said as she once more borrowed the kitchen. All the kitchen utensils, pots, and pans that she used were all stored in her magic bracer, so all she really needed was some counter s.p.a.ce, and a place on the stove for simmering.

First, she took out the apple cores and peels that she had saved from her earlier applesauce-making venture. she put these in a pot, with some lemon juice, and half a lemon. Then she poured water in until it just covered the apple peels. she added some brown sugar and cinnamon, and simmered it for around 15 minutes. After that, she poured the contents through a strainer cloth.

The liquid was the tea.

As for the remains, the lemon and apple cores were tossed, and the hot steaming apple peels were served alongside the tea with a sprinkling of brown sugar and cinnamon on top. Robin had made just enough for her party to each have a cup.

"Wait, there's one more cup and serving here!" Gerard pointed out, eyeing the steaming apple peels.

"That one is for Christian." Robin replied, taking a sip of her tea. Then she stood up and picked up Christian's plate and teacup, putting them on a tray.

"Are you going to take him his share?" Jasmine asked.

"If I don't, will Gerard simply let it be?" Robin replied with a knowing glance. This brought a chuckle out of the company as Robin left the room.

"Christian?" She knocked on his door. "I brought some hot tea. Would you like some?"

After a few moments, the door opened, and Robin entered the room, only to realize that Christian had been in the middle of changing, and was s.h.i.+rtless.

"Whoops! Should I have waited a little more?" She quipped, as she placed the tray down on the nearby desk.

"No, it's fine. I was feeling chilled, and a hot drink will do me good." He replied.

"I was talking about the state of your clothes. If you're chilled, then even more so you should put a s.h.i.+rt on!" Robin retorted.

While she was saying that, she couldn't help taking in the sight of his well toned, lean muscles. It didn't show much once he wore a s.h.i.+rt, but Christian was certainly well-built.