link ??? volume_up
Crivens, Leonie! Yer alive! I thought ya went and kicked the bucket!
link Leonie volume_up
And I'm equally surprised to find you on the right side of the dirt. Still hunting for treasure while arrows rain down around you?
link Lysithea volume_up
I saw you speaking with a churlish-looking man near the gate earlier, Leonie.
link Leonie volume_up
What, him? Oh, he's just a mercenary I met a while back.
link Lysithea volume_up
I see. Given his filthy appearance, I thought he might be a wild bandit.
link Leonie volume_up
Heh. Not hardly. Although if I'm being honest, he's more of a scavenger than a mercenary.
link Lysithea volume_up
A...scavenger?
link Leonie volume_up
Exactly. See, folks like him go to battlefields and loot anything worth a bit of coin that's lying around.
link Leonie volume_up
Noble folk call them "midden men," but that a pretty lousy nickname.
link Lysithea volume_up
I've heard tales of such people, but...
link Leonie volume_up
Yeah, they live in a different world from you and me. Honestly, you could probably live the rest of your life and never run into another one.
link Lysithea volume_up
I...had no idea.
link Leonie volume_up
Hey, don't look so glum! There's nothing wrong with not knowing about that kind of life.
link Lysithea volume_up
Except that I wish to know more about commoners.
link Lysithea volume_up
But in order to do so, I would need to speak with all manner of different people...
link Lysithea volume_up
Leonie, may I ask you something?
link Lysithea volume_up
I once read something that has stayed with me, and I wonder if you might confirm it.
link Leonie volume_up
Sure. Hit me.
link Lysithea volume_up
Well, one particular book stated that the cookies and cakes eaten by commoners are not sweet.
link Lysithea volume_up
But then another book claimed that commoners do not actually eat desserts at all.
link Lysithea volume_up
So do they not eat sweets? Or are the sweets they prefer simply not honeyed?
link Leonie volume_up
Hmm... Well, I can't speak for everyone, but I ate plenty of treats as a kid that weren't sweet at all.
link Lysithea volume_up
I can't even imagine...
link Leonie volume_up
There's no way for most commoners to afford the sweets that nobles enjoy.
link Leonie volume_up
So instead, we eat unsweetened treats. Might be better to call them snacks, really.
link Lysithea volume_up
Commoner snacks?
link Leonie volume_up
They're probably different from what you're used to. They're hard, dry, and look kind of plain.
link Leonie volume_up
Anyway, you make a rough dough out of whatever grains you have lying around and fry it up. It's basic, but it's filling.
link Lysithea volume_up
So if I were to become a commoner, I would also eat these "snacks"...
link Lysithea volume_up
I'd never eat sweet candy again...
link Leonie volume_up
Well, not every commoner is forced to live on snacks. I bet you could get your hands on sweets if you were a merchant or an artisan or something.
link Leonie volume_up
But anyway, you're a noble! Why are you worried?
link Lysithea volume_up
I...I'm sorry. It was merely a hypothetical.
link Lysithea volume_up
Thank you, Leonie. You were very helpful.
link Leonie volume_up
Was I? Huh. Well, if you've got any other questions, feel free to fire away.
link Leonie volume_up
Oh, and for the record, the kids in my village were always happy with whatever snacks we could get.
link Leonie volume_up
They were simple, sure, but also good in a weird way. You should try them sometime!
link Lysithea volume_up
A simple taste, is it? Intriguing...
link Lysithea volume_up
Maybe I should try making one of these snacks and see if Leonie wants to eat it with me...