Lukewarm Ale and Ice

Ringosta, the royal capital of Lumelica, is a city that does not sleep even after the sun goes down and night falls. In the noble quarter, of course, no one makes a racket, but in the common quarter, taverns of every size lined not only the main street but the back alleys too, thronged with a steady turnover of customers. It is a merchant city, and perhaps because people came and went so freely, every tavern had an open feel, marked by people of all races cheerfully sharing a drink.

In one of the many such places, amid the noisy din of a rowdy tavern, two conspicuous-looking men were tipping back their cups. It was an inn's dining hall after the daytime service had ended, in other words, a fairly common, down-to-earth cheap tavern. The inn stood about the middle of the common quarter. Naturally, the customers were mostly a rough and noisy lot, and here and there you could hear gambling and quarrels breaking out.

In a place like that, the two men stood out. Both were plainly dressed, but a closer look showed their clothes were remarkably fine, and in this tavern, where most customers wore cheap things, they seemed thoroughly out of place.

One of the men, Michael, tilted back his wooden tankard of ale and gulped it down. When he set the tankard on the thick wooden table with a thump, the brimming ale splashed and left a stain.

"Hmm, I think I might like it chilled after all. It's like a different drink from when it's lukewarm, ya know."

Lukewarm ale tasted stronger of barley than the chilled kind. Chilled ale was more refreshing and went down smooth, truly like a different drink, and Michael tilted his head.

"Hmm... true. This would be the best in summer. Still, why has no one until now ever thought to chill it? Well, I'm one of those people too!"

So saying, Elliot laughed cheerfully. Then, regretting the warmth of the ale, the "beer," as that strange young lady from Altria, Cosette, called it, he drained his tankard in one go. Putting ice in a drink to chill it was a luxury in the first place.

"But how did she know this tastes better chilled? There's ale in Altria too, sure, but the nobles wouldn't drink it."

That she was underage did not strike Elliot as much of a problem. Naturally, since Elliot himself had never kept to such rules. But for a noble of Altria, where aristocratic restrictions were stronger than in Lumelica, and a young lady at that, to have drunk ale, a drink of the common folk if ever there was one.

Puzzled, Elliot asked a passing serving girl for another ale. The plump, pretty serving girl with a smile and a flouncy skirt answered brightly and headed for the kitchen. These two were customers far too fine for this tavern. Naturally, that put some extra care into the service, and the girl soon brought ale and some nibbles.

"Well, Lady Remie did say Lady Cosette was quite the oddball. Though I didn't think she'd be that far gone. ...She's interesting, isn't she."

Though Lady Remie's a piece of work herself, Michael muttered in his heart, even as he clowned about like a jester. Glancing sidelong at him, Elliot let a complicated color rise in his eyes.

"You don't have to talk like that in front of me, you know... big brother."

At those words Michael's eyes widened for a moment, then he smiled, pleased. But as if to cover it, he signaled the serving girl and told her to bring some ice. The girl, who had frozen at Michael's smile up close, flushed, and yet lowered her brows, troubled.

"Ice? We've got some, but... it's dear, you know? W-well, it might be cheap to gentlemen like you."

Ice, cut from the frozen lake over winter and kept in an ice house, took effort and was a precious thing, so it fetched a high price. That was why no one ever came up with anything so foolish as putting ice into cheap ale, of all things. The serving girl, who would never think of such a thing either, kept stealing curious glances at Michael, wondering, no doubt, what it was for.

"To chill the drink. Never mind, just bring it."

Watching the serving girl go to fetch the ice, still cocking her head at the strange order, Michael's smile deepened.

"Truly interesting. The ale, and her too. I've taken quite a liking to both."

"Big brother, that's..."

To catch the fancy of his fickle brother! As far as Elliot knew, there had never been a woman who drew his brother's interest before. He felt a fresh surprise at it, and a kind of admiration for her, but when he thought of the situation at the Royal Academy of Altria, as he had heard it from Remie...

As Elliot struggled with how to put it, Michael shrugged as if to say he already knew.

"You mean the crown prince of Altria, right? But they aren't engaged yet. Are they?"

"That's right. No, but... hmm."

The Altrian crown-princess race, and that school which held such a peculiar event, Elliot had heard about well enough from Remie. If she was taking part in that race, wouldn't that make her a candidate for crown princess, or someone who had put herself forward as one? But Elliot did not know the details that far, and he faltered. It was possible she just happened to be enrolled at the school and had no interest in the crown prince or in being crown princess. By Remie's account, the relationship between the two did not seem to go beyond friendship. Then again, Elliot's goddess was not the sort of chattering woman to gossip freely about others' affairs, so the truth of it was anyone's guess.

While Elliot fretted, the serving girl brought the ice. Michael took one largish piece, tossed it into his tankard with a clink, and smiled, bewitching, the kind of smile anyone would be caught staring at.

"I'll make her mine. ...Honestly, it's the first time I've ever met a woman who interests me this much."

Watching his brother chuckle low, Elliot gave up on getting involved. There had never been a single thing this brother of his had truly wanted and failed to get. No matter how much I fret over it, Elliot thought, things will go the way they go. He poured the ale, gone cold with ice, down his throat in one go.