Walking into a quiet alley, Talia led Sylvia to a door and knocked gently.
"Sister, sister, are you there? It's Talia."
After a short while, footsteps came from inside. With a creak, the door opened to reveal a woman who bore some resemblance to Talia. She had the same brownish-red hair, but it was braided and coiled at her shoulder. Wearing an apron, her appearance wasn't extraordinary, but she had a soft, virtuous temperament. A boy of about five years old stood beside her.
"Come, call her Auntie," Winnie guided the boy, holding his hand.
"Au... Auntie." The boy was a bit shy. After calling out, he hid behind his mother, clutching her skirt tightly.
"Hehe, it's Little Randy! Have you been good lately?" Talia chased after him, rubbing the boy's head, ready to play with him.
At this moment, Winnie clearly noticed the figure behind Talia and couldn't help but speak.
"Talia, who is this?"
Sylvia lowered her hood, revealing her smooth silver hair and face, causing Winnie to gasp slightly in surprise.
"Hello, my name is Tia. I'm Talia's friend, and I've just arrived in Cinderstone City," the girl introduced herself.
"Hello, I am Winnie, Talia's sister. Um, please come in and sit down." Having said that, she stepped aside to let them in.
Talia and Sylvia then entered the house and sat on a bench in the main hall. Shortly after, Winnie took a teapot hanging over the fireplace and poured warm tea for the two of them.
"It's been brewed for a while, so the taste might not be at its best. Please forgive me." If Talia had come alone, there would be no need for such politeness, but there was a stranger today after all.
"It's fine." The girl took the tea and then scanned the house with her eyes.
Its size was similar to the house she was currently living in, probably around 110 square meters. Inside the house were wooden cabinets, tables, and chairs, with many ceramic pots and jars on the counters.
After the three sat down, they soon began chatting. Winnie gradually learned about Sylvia's origins and current situation.
"I see. So Miss Tia can't remember her past?" She thought for a moment.
"There are many reasons for this. Besides common brain injuries, it could also be the influence of other supernatural powers."
"Oh? What kind of supernatural powers can do such things?" The girl was very curious.
"Those involving the mind mostly belong to the Moon essence, namely the three essences: [Brilliant Moon], [Mist Shadow], and [Nightmare]." Winnie was indeed quite knowledgeable.
"But as for which specific abilities or secret arts can interfere with memory, I'm not sure. Perhaps I'd have to ask my teacher to find out."
"Thank you." Sylvia wasn't in a hurry to find her memories; settling down was more important right now.
The three then talked about Tia and Talia's future life in the city.
"As for work, what I'm familiar with is being a waitress in some restaurants. I don't know if Talia can adapt to that." She knew her sister's personality well.
"A waitress? I don't like that," Talia shook her head, as expected.
"You have to stand all the time and maintain a certain posture, and use that kind of tone to speak. It's so uncomfortable."
"Well, other jobs won't be that easy then," Winnie continued with a smile.
"Sigh, go on, sister."
"Laundry, bathhouses, cleaning at hotels..." Winnie listed several jobs in a row.
"Ah, those don't sound good either." There was a huge gap between these and the beautiful city life Talia had imagined.
"They aren't great. I do know of some better jobs, like garden pruning, helping out in a dessert shop, being a maid for a wealthy family, or a shop assistant."
"Some of these require certain skills, some require good looks and etiquette, and some require literacy and arithmetic. Unfortunately, you don't meet any of those requirements," her sister replied with a sigh.
"Ah, I get it, sister, stop sighing. So what if I didn't study hard before? You're always nagging me," Talia covered her ears.
"Oh right, I've learned swordsmanship recently. Is there anything that could be useful for?"
"Swordsmanship?" Winnie tilted her head at Talia, looking skeptical and confused.
"Where did you learn that?"
"I learned it from Lord Frien, but Tia gave me more pointers," Talia said, pulling the girl beside her into the conversation.
"Is that so? Then do you know a Breathing Technique?" Winnie continued to ask.
"No," Talia shook her head like a rattle.
"If you don't, then it's of very little use," Winnie responded.
"Just knowing swordsmanship isn't very useful. Your physique isn't strong enough, your strength is weak, and your reaction speed can't keep up. Against warriors who know a Breathing Technique, you won't stand a chance. Even some strong adults could easily overpower you."
"Ugh..." Talia was so discouraged by her sister that she lost all confidence and had no strength to argue back.
"I know. Then what do you think I should do? Do I really have to be a waitress in a restaurant? I feel like I'd be bad at it."
"That... is true." Winnie was also at a loss for a moment and could only shake her head.
"When your brother-in-law comes back, I'll ask him. Maybe there are some opportunities in the merchant guild."
After finishing with Talia's matters, Winnie turned her attention to Sylvia.
"Does Miss Tia have any plans for now?"
"Not for the moment, but I plan to learn some knowledge. I'm not sure what channels are available in the city or how much the tuition would be," Sylvia said.
"I can handle basic knowledge. The difficult part might be arithmetic. If you really want to study various fields of knowledge in depth, you'd have to consult a scholar in the city."
"Are there any recommendations?"
"There are currently three scholars in the city. Among them, Scholar Hyde is the most senior and is also the teacher of the other two," Winnie explained.
"However, Scholar Hyde is no longer taking students. As for the other two, Scholar Romanda is an advisor to Viscount Snow and has no time to teach. The other is Scholar Edson, who is currently an advisor and appraiser for the 'Oak Barrel' Merchant Guild. He also seems very busy and would find it hard to make time to teach," Winnie said regretfully.
"My husband, Anchel, and I were introduced by Scholar Edson. Maybe we can ask him again."
Hearing Winnie's description, Sylvia knew the hope was slim, so she turned to ask about other things.
"Are you looking for a job?"
Winnie looked at Sylvia with some surprise. In her view, a girl like her basically didn't need to work. As long as she was willing to show her face among the nobility, people would surely shower her with countless gifts and invitations, and her schedule for banquets and outings would be packed for days.
"One must live independently after all. Besides, I don't really like letting others dictate my future." This was a world with supernatural powers; external things were hard to rely on.
"In that case..." Winnie roughly understood Sylvia's temperament. In fact, she quite admired this kind of character.
"If it's Miss Tia, you could find many good jobs, such as an actress in an opera house, a spokesperson for a jeweler, or a host for a flower salon."
"No, no, please recommend some jobs that involve less public exposure." The girl didn't want to be so conspicuous.
"Less exposure..." Winnie fell into thought again.
"A book transcriber? No, that's too exhausting. A waitress at a high-end restaurant? No, that wouldn't suit Miss Tia's status..." She rejected several options in a row, while the jobs she mentioned made Talia, who was beside them, green with envy.
Is this the advantage of being smart and beautiful?
"I heard you mention the Apothecary Guild and the Horticulturist Guild earlier. Is there any suitable work for me there?" Sylvia became interested in this.
Her Discernment Pupil should be able to provide a lot of help in identifying medicinal ingredients and their properties. Moreover, if she could learn how to concoct potions, she could earn her own living expenses without having to show her face in public. As for the Horticulturist aspect, she wanted to see if there were any cornflower seeds and related cultivation techniques.
"We'll have to ask to find out," Winnie nodded in agreement.
As evening approached, Winnie's husband, Anchel, returned home from work and met the two guests in the house.
"So that's how it is." After listening to Winnie and Talia's explanation, he roughly understood the situation.
"Tomorrow I'll go ask Mr. Edson. As for the Apothecary Guild, I recommend Miss Tia buy a guide to identifying medicinal herbs first. Studying that before starting work will make things much easier," he suggested while they shared dinner.
"Talia knows where to buy books. If you're short on money, I can also lend you some." Considering Tia had just arrived in Cinderstone City, it would indeed be difficult for her.
"How much does a book roughly cost?"
"If it's the medicinal herb identification guide I mentioned, it's about 8 silver coins."
"Whoa, books are that expensive?" Talia exclaimed in surprise.
"Of course, knowledge has never been cheap," Anchel nodded.
"No problem, thank you for the advice, Mr. Anchel," Sylvia thanked him.
"It's nothing. You are Talia's friend and have also helped the residents of Basswood Village. For me, these are things I should do."
After finishing dinner, Talia and Sylvia said their goodbyes and returned to their residence.
After they left, Anchel and Winnie discussed the silver-haired girl they had just met.
"This Miss Tia's background is definitely not simple," he said with some emotion.
"Yes, just from her standard accent and her appearance and temperament, there's a huge gap between her and ordinary people."
"Besides, chatting with her is very comfortable. She doesn't have that cold arrogance typical of nobles," Winnie recalled her impression from earlier.
"I'll go ask at the merchant guild tomorrow. Oh, and about my sister Talia. Grandfather sent her to the city probably because he didn't want her to waste away at home."
"It just so happens she's sixteen this year, old enough to start working."
"Talia has a lively personality. She probably can't handle those quiet jobs. She'd love something that involves a lot of running around," Winnie said, describing Talia's character.
"There will be something," Anchel comforted his wife.
The two discussed these matters, then the topic shifted to their child, Randy. They planned their life and future until the night grew deep and they fell asleep.
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