Chapter 23: Twenty two

In the end, Rasputina and Anastasia spent shy of three hours in the spa hotel; the hustle and bustle of the street disorientated them for a brief moment when they finally stepped out into the open. 

“So, Rasputina?” Anastasia asked happily. “How do you feel after a relaxing spa bath?” 

“How do I feel?” Rasputina touched her face and felt the surprising suppleness of her soft, moisturised skin. “Woah, it feels like all my fatigue just dissipated away…” 

“And your eyebags are gone too!” she remarked with a cheerful grin. “See, spas are so much more effective than drinking coffee.” 

“You know, they are also so much more expensive, Princess.” 

“Who goes to an isekai and worries about prices?” Anastasia made a face in response to her rebuke. “Hey, hey, so what are we doing now? Are we going to see Maria-chan?” 

“I thought you have already forgotten about that…” Rasputina let out a resigned sigh and gave a thin smile. “I’m not very sure where she is at the moment, just saying.” 

“Oh?” She tilted her head to the side slightly. “Can’t you just send her a text or something…I guess you can’t, huh.” 

“What are you mumbling about?” Rasputina asked off-handedly, giving her a weird glance. “Anyways, we have already stayed in the capital for quite some time, the King is probably starting to worry…hey, are you listening to me?” 

Anastasia had ran off to a shop ahead of them—which turned out to be a bookstore when Rasputina finally caught up to her and glanced up at the signage above the storefront. 

“W…what’s with you all of a sudden?” she asked, catching her breath. 

“Hmm, nothing?” Anastasia let out a giggle and shook her head. “I was just wondering if this building was something special, since it has all these colourful banners hanging outside. Like, you know, an adventurer’s guild or something.” 

Rasputina gazed at the banners in question. “Looks like the bookseller is advertising a new book published by some famous author in the empire, that’s why they’re doing a promotion.”

“A new book?” she exclaimed in excitement and pushed open the bookstore doors. “Where? I want to read it!” 

“I knew it…” Rasputina smiled as she followed her into the bookstore. The interior was quaint and filled with a feeling of nostalgic homeliness; the air had a charming mustiness to it which hinted at the age of the books that lined the walls from floor to ceiling. An open fire in the hearth provided warmth to the few customers browsing the shelves, the soft crackling of wood adding to the cozy ambience. 

The middle-aged bookseller didn’t immediately greet or accost them upon noticing their entry; he simply touched his woollen flat cap on his head in a gesture of salutation to the two ladies before returning to his task of arranging books on a table placed near the entrance. 

Anastasia looked around the inside of the bookstore, soaking in the lovely atmosphere for a moment, and approached the bookseller eagerly. “Hello! What are you doing?” 

“...” The man pointed at a sign placed on the table, then paid her no further heed. 

“Er…” She turned to Rasputina and smiled awkwardly. “I don’t think he understood me, did he?” 

Seeing her face turning red from embarrassment, Rasputina couldn’t help but feel a little pity towards her plight; she lightly tapped on the bookseller’s shoulder to get his attention again. “Good afternoon, Sir. We’re interested in the promotion advertised on your storefront, can you perchance tell us more about the new release?” 

“All the information you need is written on that placard, Missus.” The bookseller nodded his head towards the sign. “「A Tale of Two Cities」, authored by Monsieur Charles. Ten pennies for one copy.” 

“Can we please get one?”

“Of course, please give me a moment.” He picked up one book from the table and gestured for them to follow him to the counter. 

“Thank you very much.” She flashed him a sweet smile and turned to her side—only to notice that Anastasia was missing. “Eh?” 

A frantic glance around the bookstore later, she spotted the princess by the lattice display window and went over to take her hand. “Let’s go, the bookseller is waiting for us.” 

“W-wait, Rasputina, look at this—” she held up the book she had been flipping through “—there’s something strange about this book.” 

“Something strange?” Rasputina leaned in to take a closer look at the title on its first page. “「After transmigration, I became a mob character in the supercalifragilisticexpialidocious world of smartphones and light novels! Since I was a princess in my former world, I decided to live my new life in peace as a commoner~」...I must say, that is an excessively long title for a book. Which lunatic wrote this?”

“No, that’s not the point.” Anastasia looked at the book with an unusual frown on her face. “This title style…it reminds me of the books I read in my own world. If my guess is correct, then the author of this book must have…” 

They were interrupted by a polite cough; the bookseller had finished wrapping up their book in brown paper tied with a string of twine and passed it to Rasputina. “Ten pennies, Missus.”

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“Mister, where did you get this book from?” Anastasia asked, and Rasputina quickly translated her question for the bookseller. 

“Oh, Missus, you’ve taken an interest in that particular book too?” he muttered. “A maiden came by yesterday to sell it to me, saying that it was a precious keepsake with sentimental value. I didn’t believe her one bit since it looks like a self-published work, but I felt there was something unique about its contents, so I decided to buy it from her and put it on display—” 

She immediately jumped forward so that she was standing directly in front of the astonished bookseller. “H-how much are you selling it for?” 

He listened to Rasputina’s translation and furrowed his brows before meeting Anastasia’s expectant gaze. “It’s not for sale…but I can let you have it if you promise to return it to me in future.” 

“Deal, I’ll come back one day to return this to you!” She hurriedly bowed, a grateful smile on her happy face, before running out of the bookstore. “Let’s go back home, Rasputina. I can’t wait to read this book!” 

Rasputina and the bookseller exchanged a glance; she gave an acquiescent shrug before shouting after the perfervid princess. “Anastasia, you have to pay for the other book first before leaving!”

 

---

 

“So, ahem…how did the walk go, Holy Saintess?” King Cetheri quizzed curiously over the dining table during their dinner. 

“It was splendid, Your Majesty. Her Highness thoroughly enjoyed going about the capital today.” Rasputina gave a perfunctory nod as she sawed away at the tender and juicy roast beef on her plate with her silver knife; its tantalising aroma wafted into her nose, causing her to salivate and her tummy to rumble. Alarmed, she quickly pressed her hand against her stomach to quieten it down. 

“That’s great to hear,” the King replied, a mildly contented smile brightening his wrinkled face. 

“Anatasia, eat this.” Queen Cetheri, in the meantime, was putting some kind of leafy vegetable on the poor princess’ plate. “The head chef specially cooked this in consideration of your health, so please eat more of it, understand?” 

“H-hai, Mother…” Anastasia looked like she was on the verge of tears as she stuffed the strange vegetable into her small mouth. 

The four of them continued their dinner in awkward silence; though, Rasputina hardly minded as she wolfed down the most delicious roast beef she had ever tasted and munched on the sweet fruit sorbet to cleanse her palate. 

“Ah, thank you.” She gave a cursory nod at the maid who helped to clear her plate off the dining table; she was about to excuse herself when King Cetheri suddenly addressed her. 

“Incidentally, Holy Saintess,” he said, producing a colourful ornamented invitation letter from his coat pocket. “If you deem Anastasia going out as beneficial to her recovery, might I recommend you to take my daughter to this outdoor event?” 

“An outdoor event, Your Majesty?” Rasputina curiously took the invitation from the King; she cleared her throat with a polite cough and began to read it aloud. “You are cordially and earnestly invited by the République-sœur ElveticaRépublique-sœur means 'sister republic' in French. to attend the…Inauguration de l’Exposition UniverselleFor reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%27s_fair?!” 

Anastasia swallowed a piece of vegetable down her throat and quizzed, “Exposition Universelle? What’s that, Rasputina?”

“I-It’s an international exhibition where the achievements of nations all over the world are showcased and celebrated in one central location,” she mumbled. “Your Majesty, t…this is such an important diplomatic event, you can’t surely leave it to just Her Highness and me to settle…” 

“Your Grace has built an enviable reputation in diplomacy following the negotiation of our peace treaty, so I don’t think it’s much of an issue for yourself,” King Cetheri said with an approving smile.

“Treaty?” Rasputina blinked, confused. 

“The Treaty of Elvetica between the Königreich Kievsta and the Aetherium Empire, Your Grace,” Queen Cetheri added slowly. “Have you—”

“No, no, of course I know of the Treaty of Elvetica, how can I possibly forget?” She chuckled nervously while nodding her head. “The settlement of our conflict is a spectacular success thanks to the Königreich and Empire’s commitment towards, I believe, peace in our time.”

The King and Queen exchanged glances with each other before King Cetheri cleared his throat politely. “Absolutely, we both returned to our respective homelands bringing peace with honour then, and having Your Grace with us here in the capital indeed is the highest embodiment of peace for our time.The joke here is that Rasputina misquoted their declaration after the signing of the historic Treaty. For reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_for_our_time”

“Besides,” he continued, waving his hand towards Anastasia. “I figure it will be a good opportunity for my daughter to experience new things and meet new people. Don’t you agree, Holy Saintess?”

“I—” she noticed the gleam of excitement in Anastasia’s eyes and paused before smiling faintly. “—I concur with your judgment, Your Majesty.” 

“YES!” Anastasia dropped her cutlery and cheered. “Isekai world’s fair, here I come!”

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