This summer was somewhat different from usual.
The elves opened seed shops relying on their racial talents. Many newly cultivated high-yield varieties were gradually introduced during this summer’s planting season.
Garcia's breeding career was consequently neglected. Fortunately, the income from preparing magic potions was still enough for her daily expenses.
Additionally, the sudden increase in hunters meant various meats began appearing frequently on people's tables. The wild river deer, usually rare, also became common. The proportion of leather clothing in Elsia’s shop increased noticeably as well.
More importantly, the number of medical options available to the townspeople had grown.
Surgeon Anastasia's clinic became quiet. People injured while hunting or working preferred to go directly to the elven clinic for healing, even though it was slightly more expensive.
For illnesses that required medicine, people also trusted the magic potion formulas that had been passed down for five hundred years, so they visited Garcia’s potion shop more often.
Only for diseases lacking corresponding potions would people try their luck at Doctor Stasia's clinic.
Additionally, the changes brought by the merfolk race became increasingly significant. Besides richer marine resources, several new forms of entertainment had appeared.
Deep sea coral, pearls, and brightly colored conches appeared on Irene's shelves. More deep sea fish were added to people's recipes. Even new types of spices and essential oils appeared.
Some shrewd merfolk even opened travel agencies along the beach. Deep-sea tourism projects flourished, attracting crowds of customers.
Most worth mentioning was a new mental health clinic that opened next to Doctor Anastasia’s surgical clinic.
This marked the medical system of Irttat entering a more complete stage. Both people’s physical and mental health were now well supported.
Recently, the townspeople had been talking about the first Summer Music Festival hosted by the merfolk.
The festival’s original purpose was to celebrate the arrival of summer, and the merfolk’s way of celebrating was through music.
The festival was held after summer's first rain, on the first day of late April, occupying the town center square and the four main streets surrounding the square on all sides, lasting three days.
Harps taller than people stood on the square's high platform. All around below the stage were various small stalls.
Lily, back from her sea voyage, launched a lunch stall filled with cold fish sashimi as thin as paper, grilled cloud cap mushrooms sizzling with oil on the grill, and barley beer chilled in the coldest frost boxes.
Hot and cold smoke alternately mixed together. The fragrance of food from the small stall carried far.
After one sea voyage, Lily looked radiant, as if breaking free from invisible shackles. Her movements were much lighter. She danced and gestured, describing something to Sylvette who was helping on the side. Sylvette laughed from time to time, shoulders shaking with laughter, her single braid behind her head occasionally sliding to the front.
When Lily smiled, her signature mouthful of white teeth gleamed in the sunlight.
Irene's booth had various interesting trinkets. Wound-up wooden dolls that laughed, hollowed-carved tree root night lights, fast-growing oddly-shaped potted plants (clearly the work of elven mixed-bloods), and so on—a magical booth where children couldn't walk past and adults' wallets would suffer.
Additionally, Aurora's spices, honey, and early summer fresh fruits were also categorically arranged. The fruits at this time of year were mostly mulberries, strawberries, and cherries. After accumulating sweetness throughout spring, they were even sweeter than the fruits harvested earlier.
Red, pink, and purple fruits gleamed in bright colors, plump and juicy. At a glance they looked sweet, refreshing, and perfect for cooling off in the summer heat. Passing visitors bought some to snack on as they walked.
Aurora still had that somewhat arrogant look but seemed a bit listless, as if unable to bear the heat.
Teresa's candies and cakes, Garcia's carefully cultivated potted flowers, and various accessories made by Elsia were scattered here and there around the square.
There were no microphones on the stage. The amplification device was a voice-transmitting magical tool rented from the Activity Center.
This magical device was also a craft passed down from prehistoric humans, produced by Irene and made primarily from rare hollow umbrella-flower wood. Placing two of them at the left and right edges of the stage allowed voices to carry remarkably far.
The first to take the stage was an unfamiliar merfolk Lucita didn't recognize, but judging by people's excitement, probably a famous singer.
Lucita reflected on how she'd been too busy recently and forgotten to enjoy life.
This was a song describing summer night storms and death. The soprano was high-pitched and passionate with strong infectious power. The intensity of the stormy night and the heart-pounding danger of hanging by a thread stirred the entire venue.
People buying and selling, chatting, or eating snacks all looked up toward the stage.
The entire square was ignited. Everyone leaped with the beat. Familiar fans could even sing along.
Lucita also couldn't help but clap to the rhythm, her heart thumping with the beat.
Linnea had already jumped up, directly shouting the singer's name, completely entranced: "She's my idol! You know, before she even reached adulthood she was already the best singer in the entire race!"
Speaking of Linnea herself, she'd eagerly signed up early, scheduled to perform twenty-third on stage. Estimated to have to wait until the next day.
It was almost noon, and people found places here and there to sit down and rest.
Lucita listened to Linnea chattering away while buying three plates of sliced fish sashimi at Lily's booth.
She'd been smelling this refreshing, delicious fragrance from the side just now. She'd been craving this for a while.
Lily lived up to being a tavern keeper. The sashimi was sliced as thin as cicada wings. Almost transparent snow-white fish slices piled on the plate, drizzled with prepared sauce, sprinkled with chopped green leeks. The dish looked like a piece of art.
Preparing a plate like this required exceptional knife skills, and each plate sold for five silver coins.
Handing one plate each to Violet and Linnea, Lucita picked up a slice and sent the trembling fish slice to her mouth, ready to enjoy the tender texture of the fish meat.
After chewing a few times, Lucita's expression gradually became strange. She ate one slice, then picked up another to eat.
Now she finally confirmed it.
Why did the fish have no taste?
Lucita ate two more slices before finally accepting the harsh truth.
Losing her sense of taste had been something she had mentally prepared for. But why did it have to happen now?
The fresh, fragrant smell of fish meat filled her nose, making her mouth water again.
Was there anything more painful than being able to smell but not taste?
Lucita’s mood sank immediately. She handed the rest of her sashimi to Violet, who happily accepted it, holding plates in both hands and eating heartily. Linnea’s reaction was much more restrained. Having grown up in the sea, she was used to eating raw fish. Even though this sashimi tasted better than usual, it didn’t excite her very much.
The next day, Lucita refused to go to the festival square again.
Food aromas filled the air everywhere in the square. Why should she go there just to torment herself?
Violet knew the reason and didn’t force her. With a pouch of silver coins, she happily went out with Linnea instead.
That afternoon, Lucita cleaned the courtyard. With nothing else to do, she began organizing the small medicinal garden in front of her house.
Most common magic herbs had very tenacious vitality. As long as it wasn't the harsh winter, they grew readily in spring, summer, and autumn. A small portion of rare magic herbs were relatively demanding about growing environments. Some could only grow in spring, some only bloomed in winter's coldest snowfields, some needed to grow by water with higher alkalinity and humidity.
At the moment, her small medicinal garden was still quite sparse. Most of the plants had been brought back by Linnea during her excursions. Fragrant orchids, lotus stalks, thirteen-section grass, and hollow thistles had been planted in spring. The fragrant orchids had already bloomed into scattered purple flowers, their soft petals surrounding yellow stamens like the face of a shy beauty.
The magical herbs planted earlier in the summer still looked bare and somewhat wilted, clearly not yet adapted to the soil and water.
Additionally, the waterside in the backyard was planted full of black false hellebore and sea onions, stretching into a patch of low, fresh, moist greenery.
Lucita cleared away weeds with a small shovel when she suddenly heard Linnea calling her from afar.
"Sister Lucita—Lucita..."
She patted the dirt from her body, stood up and steadied Linnea's small body rushing in: "What's wrong?"
Linnea caught her breath for a few moments before saying intermittently: "Palmer, Palmer is here."
"Palmer?" Lucita thought for a moment: "At the square?"
Linnea nodded: "Sister Violet said you've been waiting for her to bring a set of experimental equipment and told me to hurry and tell you."
Lucita patted Linnea's head and brought out a cup of hot water from the kitchen for her: "It's fine, don't worry. Palmer will stay here for several days."
After Linnea caught her breath, Lucita took her back to the square.
Palmer indeed had set up a booth in the corner of the square.
Although her booth was in the corner, it still attracted many customers with its unique novelty.
The human world spent five hundred years rebuilding civilization on ruins. Despite the technology tree being somewhat deformed and industrial development in various sectors being extremely unbalanced, this didn't prevent those in the upper class from enjoying life. While many commoners had little food to eat, the continent had already developed many ingenious tricks.
Those precision mechanical pocket watches, gem brooches on silver bases, and gold-rimmed glasses stored in wooden boxes—all were things that Irttat's withered industrial tree couldn't produce. Crafts passed down through generations were even more so.
With Irttat's sparse population, mastered crafts were very few. Exquisite techniques like silver engraving, filigree, and inlay were all tricks devised by humans on the continent.
People here focused more on "practicality."
In any case, these crafts deeply attracted the townspeople who hadn't seen the world. Each of Palmer's visits was very welcomed.
Lucita parted the crowd and greeted Palmer.
Palmer looked up and saw her, warmly greeting: "Friend, long time no see!"
Lucita also smiled: "You look even more energetic than before."
Palmer's business was busy. Lucita didn't delay much, agreeing with her to deliver after dinner before leaving.
Looking down, Linnea was squatting happily looking at this and that: "Wow! What an amazing pocket watch! Sister Lucita, this one is even more exquisite than the one you brought to the sea back then!"
Lucita: ...
She now understood those parents with children who would detour when passing Irene's stall.
She made an agreement with Linnea: "You can only choose one thing."
Linnea nodded vigorously.
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