- Our salary won't disappoint you, believe me. But there's one change I must make. I have seen the size of the portions in the Kantine taverns. It's... well, it's huge! You humans really do eat a lot.

- It's true. But that's the way it is in our mainland food capital. We work a lot, we eat a lot.

- Quite right... Well, that's what I was going to say. If you have an average appetite, you'll be fine.

- Average by Kantinian standards, yes.

- So… this bag of biscuits. How long will it last? Two or three lights maybe?

- This evening.

- Evening! Oh, my... My advice then. You don't have a garden around your service kotti. Consider using Forest gifts and Public Gardens.

Amelia made another big sip, squinting with pleasure. 

- Noted. I'll ask people in a station for locations and edible varieties of local herbs, nuts and berries. 

- Yes, it will help you survive. Ask the Selvas, they are the natives here, and the Forest is the main source of food for many of them. And a big part of their lives in general.

- I understand them completely.

- For others, the food they foraged was used as payment for more complex, interesting food from coffee shops. Why bother when it can be prepared by specially trained people using tried and tested family recipes? The coffee makers were usually the owners of the most delicious secret recipes. Omillians love coffee shops, life and exploring new tastes. It's a huge part of Omillian culture.

- A great part of a great culture. Most things are sensible and fine-tuned. I think I have the same goals in life. Kantinians have one tavern that serves one district. And people of the other district, seeing unusual face always wonder why I am here. I can't explain to them that I was tired of my local tavern's menu and wanted to try something new. They just don't understand. 

So I usually say I'm here because of my militia work, and I'm too hungry to go to my local tavern. They buy it. You know... I've always wondered how my life would have turned out if I'd been a part of Prime's or Omill's life... They say we are exactly where we deserve to be. I wonder what I did to deserve that.

- In that case, you have nothing to lose. Kantinians are also sick foodists.

- But they're not hedonists. There's no pleasure for them. Duty, traditions, but no pleasure. I think joy comes from knowing how hard life is, but instead of being angry about it, you take advantage of it by enjoying all the pleasures that can be enjoyed. For me, this is the local fusion of Nordic and Selva culture. The local humour, refined in its simplicity, reflects this perfectly. Unlike the humour in Prime, which is hilarious but sometimes hard to understand if you're not a witch and don't know some local trends. It's so annoying sometimes to be an alien everywhere you go... But fortunately, two things are always understandable and universally good, no matter where you are. Food and nature.

- Agreed. - Lucille clapped her hands happily. - Speaking of which... While I was talking to you, I finished the ale I was going to take home with me, and I intend to get some flower pollen ale instead. I recommend it. It's totally aletastic. You should try it if you never have.

- I certainly won't miss it.

Nodding with approving enthusiasm, Lucille resolutely extended her hand.

- Give me your water pouch, then.

- It's full of water.

- I can get you another one.

- Yes, please. It will come in handy. And it'll make a nice souvenir for me. Pick the nicest one, please.

- I will.

- Thank you.

Amelia's eyes narrowed in gratitude, Lucille saluted cheerfully and ducked nimbly into one of the buildings, returning a short time later with a couple of charming little water bags of ale.

- How many jewels or seeds do I owe you? - the Kantinian clapped his hands in admiration.

- Take it as a gift. With your curiosity, you'll need a lot of payment things in this city. - the Omillian winked.

- Alrighty...

The service woman motioned for her interlocutor to wait and leaned over to her huge travelling bag.

Of course, it is almost impossible to find the right thing at the right moment, not only in a rucksack, but also in a small belt bag. From which the desired thing seems to evaporate or melt, spreading along the folds.

However, at the cost of an incredible effort, Amelia excavated the bag and explored the bottomless abyss to the very bottom, puffing and blowing. With the look of a winner, she took a beautifully carved box out of the naughty bag and handed it to Lucy.

- ...Then take this as a gift... 

- What is it?

- Open the shell. It's a mobile clothing repair kit. A valuable item in Kantene. You can pay with it or keep it for yourself.

- It looks so beautiful and authentic! I think I'll leave it... I've never held something like this before. This carving on a shell... It's amazing.

- My sister does it.

- Thank you very much. It's much appreciated. But... You know. There is something else you can do for me in return.

- What would that be?

- Tell me something interesting about your Department. 

- Oh... Just to unburden my soul and complain about this bunch of idiots. With pleasure. But it's a sort of sadistic pleasure. So... Where to start... So that it's not negative... Hmmm. 

Ami was distracted by staring at a mushroom cap against an endless starry sky. Her Now was all here, occupying all that flowery and coffee-scented space after sunset under those majestic, beautiful clay pots beneath the glowing mushroom.

This life was dissolved in flavours and tastes. 

There was no more old Ami or future Ami. Except the one who was here with this overwhelming beauty and deliciousness. 

"Amelia. The question."

She managed to turn her gaze to her beautiful water bag. 

...A true work of art. How do they make those patterns on the surface?

"Amelia."

Ah, yes... The question.

- Everything is so great here. - she said in a blissfully apologetic tone for the delay. - I don't even want to go home in my mind. But I'll do it.

- Start with the negative, if that's the only way. - Lucy shook her head a little sympathetically. - What have you been up to?

She took a sip from the bag to sweeten the memory. And smiled involuntarily. 

A meadow of flowers bloomed in her mouth. She sniffed happily, letting the scent run down her nose. 

Delicious. Another beautiful note on this light full of experiences... Sometime, she would get used to the wonders of Omill, including the gastronomic ones, and they would stop surprising her... 

But not now. The Department.

- As I said... I haven't done anything important in the last few cycles...

Ami took a larger sip and exhaled blissfully, as if she were talking about someone else's vexing life and continued somewhat aloofly.

- …Take this report to Prime... take that stuff to Omill… Go to Wanda to ask her what she didn't share with Oke... and share it. You go to that new guy... what's his name... and tell him that if he doesn't start working, he'll have to be thrown out of the city, we won't feed the Youlle freeloaders here… But he wasn’t from Youlle, of course. I wish he were. Then I will feed and provide for him myself, just so he has a chance to learn something about his city. But I think the Primes would have been ahead of me here…

- Youlle freeloaders! - Lucille snorted. - That's a funny expression. When I first heard it from my aunt, I was very surprised and wanted to see them.

- You wouldn't come to see them even if they came. - Ami snorted, slightly annoyed. - Like all good things, they'd be quickly outed in our city. There's no room for anything great here. Disgustingly working dung filters...

- My great-great-great-grandmother was also driven out of Kantine.

- What a lucky woman... - Ami sighed again, sipping her ale after her cold coffee. - She seems to have been a nice lady...

- Yes, she was, they say. - Lucy smiled.

Ami pulled out of the pouch... the last biscuit. The tastiest last bite.

She should eat more consciously. 

The biscuits, like all good things, wouldn't last forever. They shouldn't be taken for granted. 

- Great-grandmother loved Kantine. - Lucille also sipped from the bag, chugging her coffee and puffing approvingly. - If she hadn't been banished because of her abilities... she wouldn't have gone anywhere on her own. A lot of people say that, by the way. Some even have warm feelings for their homeland, despite the way they've been treated.

- And some don't, even though they weren't treated that way... The funny thing is that the Kantinians themselves were forced to leave Youlle in ancient times. And it taught them nothing.

- They left Youlle of their own free will, as far as I know.

- That's the old lie... Personally, I don't believe it. There's something behind it. I can feel it. Or maybe I'm just paranoid. The Kantinian version says that after our exodus from Youlle, the North didn’t survive at all and everyone died there. "The useless witches sat on the shoulders of the hard-working farmers as an aeon burden and couldn't cope when we were gone," they say. To hear them tell it, they're the only ones who work on the Mainland, and others just come to rest and eat at their expense. I think it's just another lie. And Primean sources have a different view as well. It was an incredibly advanced and technologically advanced society, they say. They couldn't have just disappeared.

- We'll never know. Lucy shrugged. - At least as long as Youlle is still sealed with something.