Sixth Moon, Second Moon Day

  Aida looked around the quiet restaurant, taking in the boxes of dried ingredients stacked in the corner; the shifty-eyed, huddled forms of solo diners in the other two corners of the restaurant; the lethargic serving staff lounging by the entrance between the kitchen and the dining area.

  Anywhere to avoid making eye contact—and hopefully deter any deep conversations—with her parents, who were sitting across from her at the table in the last remaining corner of the room, eyeing her just as nervously as she felt.

  Ray cleared his throat lightly. "We've heard good things about this restaurant," he said jovially, the volume of his voice slightly too loud in the nearly silent room. He glanced awkwardly over at the waiter, who barely managed to suppress an eyeroll before he began sorting utensils. Loudly.

  Aida's father looked even more flustered, clearing his throat again before looking down to wipe a suspicious stain on the scuffed wooden table.

  Meg looked up from a different stain on the table she had been observing, giving Aida a quick, strained smile over the clatter of utensils.

  "Kenny recommended this place. He said it had great potential," she said quietly to Aida. "He encouraged us to try them before they get discovered."

  Aida nodded reassuringly. "I trust his judgment." She was confident in Sue's father's evaluation about the food quality, but she was less certain about the restaurant's likelihood of getting discovered. They had meandered through several cramped, maze-like streets in order to finally find this restaurant, thoroughly tucked away among the neighboring shops' excess inventory items. Even the windows were so blocked that there was barely enough light to see by, with the establishment supplementing everyone's vision with barely enough lighting from mana crystals in the ceiling.

  The clattering, dim lighting, and claustrophobic environment were synergizing amazingly to give Aida a headache.

  "Excuse me," Aida called, waving at the waiter, who was still courteous enough to keep himself occupied. He was now relocating the silverware onto a shelf behind him. "Do you mind if I turn the lights on?"

  "Ah, we would like to turn them up higher, but the cook is worried about the cost," the server said apologetically. "You know how it is—we need to be careful with our operating costs in the beginning. I hope you understand."

  "I understand. You don't mind if I..." Aida pulled her wand out of her bag, pointing at the tiny crystal in the ceiling. It wasn't very good quality; its reservoir was minuscule compared even to the ones in the Loreh residence, but it still brightened dramatically, leaving the room awash in warm light.

  The two other patrons in the restaurant looked up, startled, before peering at Aida's wand. They quickly lowered their gazes when they noticed Aida observing them, almost as if they were trying to become one of the restaurant's sack of ingredients themselves.

  The server gaped at the light himself, as if he had never seen the gem that bright before. He shook himself. "Thank you, miss, but ah… I hope you understand if we won't be able to provide any discount on your meal."

  "I wasn't expecting that," Aida assured him. "I did this for myself. I hope you don't mind."

  "Not at all," the server said, stuttering. He backed into the kitchen. "Let me check on your meal, it's been a while..."

  Doing her best to keep her expression stoic, Aida turned back to her parents. She smiled, trying to act unbothered by the surprising reception to her displaying mana abilities. Her parents were following her lead, hitching forced, clearly uncomfortable smiles on their faces.

  Did I do something wrong? Aida hadn't been aware that being a mana practitioner could make others this uncomfortable; even the golem drivers she'd ridden with had taken mana donations in stride.

  "We're glad to see you so comfortable with your mana," Ray started, and Meg nodded vigorously beside him. "So ah… we'd like to discuss your future with you. In a bit more detail."

  "Of course. What about?" Aida noticed Ray and Meg lean forward slightly, lowering their voices.

  "Last night, you seemed especially excited about your… job in Burston City," Meg said tentatively. She kept glancing at Ray, as if hoping he would intercept any mistakes she was about to commit. "Are you… certain you wish to go down that path?"

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  "Of course I am." Aida looked between the parents, nonplussed. "I spent a lot of time with the Clinic Head, and I believe I can learn a lot from him."

  As the two parents still seemed uncertain how to properly bring up their concerns, Aida took matters into her own hands. "I know what I want, and this is what I want. What are the two of you really worried about?"

  Even though her parents stiffened at the direct question, they seemed relieved at the same time. They exchanged glances, nodding imperceptibly at each other before facing Aida with carefully collected expressions.

  "While you were at school, we secured a marriage agreement with a lower noble family," Meg said quietly. "They have been rapidly climbing the ranks, and were on the way to becoming a more notable name. But when we were discussing details of the agreement, we...they are under the impression that you would just marry into their family once you graduated. I don't know how understanding they would be if..." Aida's mother looked helplessly to Ray, who carried on the narrative.

  "We… you wrote to us that you thought you could secure a job after school," Ray said bleakly. "But we, ah, thought it would be prudent to continue our discussions with the Boly family, in case either path failed. We didn't expect both paths to succeed!" He laughed awkwardly, quickly quieting down as he noticed his wife and daughter wince. Fortunately, the waiter returned, rescuing them from an awkward silence.

  "Here you go! Three bowls of house noodles, as ordered," the waiter said with forced cheer, setting down three steaming bowls of soup noodles along with a plate of steamed vegetables. "And the chef said to give you this, as thanks for charging our mana crystal."

  Aida murmured thanks as the waiter bustled away, leaving the three of them alone again. She looked towards her parents, who were watching her anxiously.

  "So...what can we do?" Aida asked, keeping her tone measured and steady. "To be very clear, I have no interest in being married off. Especially to someone I don't even know." Her heart clenched as she thought of Ezra, alone in the Healing ward at Maglica. Vanita's bracelet, which twinkled cheerfully with the mana of her friends, weighed heavily on her wrist. Ezra's empty bead was like a void, tugging gently on her own peripheral mana.

  Her parents exchanged another worried glance. "We… if we were to tell them we would like to back out of the arrangement, we can see if they are amenable," Meg said hesitantly. "We can return the bride price...”

  "How much did they give?" Aida asked warily.

  "Not very much," Ray said encouragingly. "We're used to living frugally, so we haven't spent it yet. We were thinking we could finally move to our own place, and have more space for our washing business." His face fell slightly before he gave a strained smile to Aida. "Don't worry, though. The whole reason we did this was so that you wouldn't have to worry and you could live happily—if you're happier not marrying, then that's all that matters."

  Aida furrowed her brows. She couldn't help but feel guilty, as though she had costed the Lorehs something—even though she had made her intentions clear at the outset. She straightened in her chair. "Mom, Dad, don't worry. My wages at my job are good for the area, and I don't have to worry about my living expenses too much—the clinic will provide me room and board, and if I'm careful about what I spend my baen on, then I'll be able to save quite a bit. It will take a little longer, but we can all save up together."

  Meg and Ray stared at Aida, their lips parted in surprise at the vehemence in Aida's voice. They blinked, looked to each other; blinked again, before looking back to Aida.

  "You...you're serious," Meg said, a slight question in her tone. "You don't have to, you know… you should live your life, be happy..."

  "I'll be happy knowing you two won't worry," Aida said with a confidence she didn't completely feel, though her parents still seemed to take solace in her words. "The Poison Clinic might have a bad reputation, but the fundamentals I would learn there can still translate to my other skills. There's a lot of growth potential."

  "We believe you," Ray said earnestly. He blinked rapidly. "We trust you. We just… as your parents, we want you to have a good life. We are comfortable as we are. As long as you are satisfied, we are satisfied."

  The emotion in Ray's voice stirred Aida's own feelings, melting through the congealed shell of her own irrational guilt of abandoning her parents—even though it hadn't been her own choice to be transported into this world.

  Meg and Ray were just like Annie's parents. Selfless and generous. Unconditional love for their daughter, willing to endure hardship just so she could be happy.

  People like that didn't deserve their struggles.

  If Aida never returned to her own world, she resolved to make sure Meg and Ray could retire comfortably.

  "Eat, Aida," Meg said briskly, dumping nearly half the complimentary vegetables into Aida's bowl before splitting the rest of it between her and her husband. "Don't let the noodles get cold." Though her voice didn't tremble, there was still a thickness to it that told Aida her mother was still trying to present a strong front.

  "I'll drop by the Boly house later today," Ray said to his wife as he stirred his noodles. She nodded as she began slurping her own noodles, helping him come up with an appropriately apologetic script.

  There was a certain liveliness to the two of them now as they discussed how to undo the misunderstanding with the other family, as if a weight had been lifted from their shoulders—even though they were looking at a more bleak future than if Aida had agreed to the marriage. Aida's heart filled as she looked at the two of them, unable to help but see her own parents in these two relative strangers.

  What I can't do for my own parents, I will do for them.