Yulissa, the Overly-attached Sister
1720 Words
Sunday.
It's after the end of a week's worth of classes, so us cadets are given free rein on what to do, as long as we never break the existing laws of this kingdom.
The only restriction we have is that we are not allowed to leave the borders of the capital.
Even with Teleportation Feathers, it would be inconvenient and inefficient for our commanding officers to go on a wild goose chase searching for every cadet as another school week begins.
For this leisurely day, we three agree to visit the various shops that operate in the capital's Industrial-Financial District as well as enjoy the amusements located in the Poblation, or the capital's center.
We are all decked in our best casual clothes, minding to leave our sabers behind as part of cadet etiquette.
For the first shop we'll visit, I sure didn't forget Juliana's Bakeshop, as Yulissa highly recommends the melon bread on offer there.
With our pocket change that we agreed to split 50-50 beforehand, Yulissa and I treat Laika to the largest melon bread on offer.
The size is almost the same as that of a typical sphaeramnis, the magical audiovisual playback device that is one of the many innovations this kingdom has.
And once she bites onto the bread...
“Mm! This one's good! Still crunchy on the outside, but flaky on the inside, just like my favorite melon bread back at home!”
And yes, she can also relish the melon flavors inside the baked treat – whether it's the juices that are mixed with the dough or the melon shavings she can also taste.
“Maybe... just maybe.. you can visit the bakeshop every week for it. That'll keep homesickness at bay!”
My sister declares this, to which Laika responds with a jubilant yes.
The next place we'll be hitting is The Swimming Aerie, which is a musical instruments shop.
Since we were kids, we were fascinated with the traveling bards and minstrels who would always bring their stringed instruments and play them while they're singing their tales.
However, we could not afford to buy those instruments ourselves with the lunch money we were given, even with the daily habit of allotting some of the money to personal savings.
That could mean only one thing: These bards and minstrels must be loaded.
Right now, we're staring at the varied instruments on offer, particularly the stringed ones.
The guitar, the ukulele, the lute, the balalaika, the shamisen.
Every culture inside and outside the kingdom is equally represented here.
While Laika and I are still staring at the stringed instruments on display, Yulissa nonchalantly picks up a guitar, and begins to strum.
But then, the shop's caretaker rushes in and holds the guitar's neck, essentially stopping her from playing.
The caretaker then points towards a sign for her to read.
“No 'Fog on the Water'.”
“Aw, that's so unfair!”
The caretaker responds to her, “Sorry if I treated you this way, Miss, but aspiring bards and minstrels have been playing the first few notes of that song to no end, you know? Having to listen to those amateurishly-played notes gets my ears grating!”
“Well, sorry about that.”
“That's OK. I don't want to dissuade aspiring musicians, but they must know more songs other than that.”
She then returns the guitar to its original place, dissatisfied.
As we leave the shop, I can clearly sense gloom on Yulissa's face.
“Why get all blue over that specific spilled milk? Listen, we all make amateurish mistakes at some point, just like what the caretaker said.”
Laika follows my statement with the following.
“And that is why we are afforded to learn from our mistakes! Look, we're just barely a week inside the capital, so we have lots to learn about how things roll here.”
With those encouraging words, the gloom on her face is gradually being replaced with a brilliant smile.
“Yes!”
The Bad Stag 42.5, a casual dining restaurant, is the third place on the list.
Walking around the Industrial-Financial District sure is tiring for us three, that even when the clock ticks 11 ante meridiem, we can feel the pangs of hunger attacking our stomachs.
Not to mention... our bladders are full, too.
Good thing the restaurant has separate bathrooms for males and females.
Once I get into the men's bathroom, I feel free as I release the pent-up tension in my bladder.
What makes this even better is that the restaurant has partitions for the individual urinals and toilets.
I remember that in another town in Eliomam Prefecture – Tytana, if I recall correctly – one restaurant was castigated heavily for its bathrooms with invisible and non-existent partitions, openly flouting the kingdom's building codes.
What's even worse, the bathrooms themselves cost a whopping 295 million guintos in total, which raised suspicions of overpricing and favoring deals with a suspicious contractor.
The restaurant was essentially shut down due to that controversy, and another restaurant has taken over what remained of the old one.
If my memory serves me correctly, the new restaurant is named Cafe Grimgerde.
Once we're done answering the call of nature and washing our hands, we three are ready to order dishes that are, as advertised, exclusive to the capital and can't be found anywhere else.
A waiter readily asks us what to order.
After a minute's worth of peeking at the menu, we give our answer.
“Three plates of southwestern egg rolls and nasi kuning. For drinks, we'll have pearl milk tea. Three each, too.”
“Alright, then. That'll be 550 guintos all in all.”
We pay the tab, which we agreed to split evenly beforehand.
“Your dishes will be ready in fifteen minutes.”
As the waiter leaves, I ask my younger sister.
“I recall you hate coconut milk when we were kids. Aren't you aware that the rice in nasi kuning contains it?”
“Sorry, brother. I didn't check the fine print.”
“And I very well know as your older brother that you're not allergic to it.”
“I just don't like the taste! It's just too bland!”
“Here's something you should know, Yulissa. It's better to be bland than to be... uh... too bold but repulsive. Plus, don't you know that most of the ice cream being sold here in the capital has coconut milk in it?”
Laika cuts in.
“Ah, yes. I've seen those ice cream carts roaming the capital that advertise that ingredient. I've had a taste of it yesterday, and it's surprisingly yummy.”
I continue.
“See? Like I've said before, we still have lots to learn here in the capital.”
A few minutes elapse, and the dishes are brought to our table with panache and aplomb.
“You'll see in a few minutes that coconut milk isn't as bland as you think it is. Don't be too choosy, girl.”
In order to set ourselves as exemplars, we take the initiative in eating the egg rolls and the turmeric- and coconut milk-flavored rice.
Yup, the flavors really blend together.
In particular, the varied ingredients that comprise the egg roll are harmonized, while the overpowering effects of the turmeric are somewhat dampened by the coconut milk.
“See? Coconut milk ain't so bad if combined with other ingredients. See the smiles of satisfaction on our faces? Now go ahead, give it a try.”
Yulissa musters up her courage to eat the egg rolls and the yellow rice.
As she bites into them, she can feel some initial hesitation; but after a few seconds, she's now all smiles.
We retain our smiles as she begins to dig into the meal more, with satisfaction dawning on her face as she emanates a slight blush.
Wow, she's really reconnecting with her inner child as she eats.
That makes her a lot cuter than she is.
It only took her five minutes to finish the entire meal. Impressive.
As for Laika and I, we finish our own in six minutes, not counting the time we had to delay to observe her eating.
Laika then commends Yulissa.
“Nice work! Now you realize that culinary genius can turn the blandest of foods into the most exquisite ones!”
“Yes!”
We then raise our glasses of pearl milk tea to mark my younger sister's getting over her dislike.
“Cheers!”
Now that we're through eating, we all should go ahead and head towards the Poblation.
There are many amusement rides there, operated by different companies but are administered by the local government to ensure they are all safe.
I've had an experience where my parents took me and Yulissa to two amusement rides in the capital.
One was the roller coaster; the other was the pirate ship ride.
And after getting in both rides, I've puked due to nausea. Yulissa didn't.
How shameful of a brother like me to puke in front of his beloved sister!
So to prevent a third strike, I have to take her (and Laika, too) to something non-dizzying.
The Ferris wheel, that is.
As we hop aboard one of the carriages, I agree to the girls' proposal that we should all sit on one side, and I get to be the one in the center of the seat.
The result? Both my arms are interlocked with theirs.
Laika's latched on my left, while Yulissa's latched on my right.
And I can feel their elation, marked by their blushes on their faces, as we get to see the entirety of the kingdom from a distance.
And even as the ride ends, my sister still can't let go of my arm, unlike Laika.
Laika knows that we two are as close as siblings expect to be, and is never even a bit jealous about that.
We all decide that we've had enough fun for today and we must return to the military school apartments as soon as possible.
And on our way back, she can sense some peering eyes aimed at us three in the distance.
She pays those eyes no mind.
But tomorrow... those eyes will give birth to unfounded rumors.
- Writer
