As Marron disposed of her cup, she saw a young mother and her child approach the counter. "Two magic waters, please--large."

"Coming right up!" Jenny carefully poured the magic water into two large cups (labeled 36oz, Marron noted) and handed them over. The child took one sip and smiled, eyes closed with happiness. "So tasty! I'll ask mama to come back tomorrow."

"Can't wait to see you then!" Jenny said happily, handing them some sweets with their change. "on me," she clarified, and when they left her cart, their smiles were so wide.

"You're going to revolutionize Lumeria's beverage culture," Marron observed.

"I'm going to make enough money to expand," Jenny said. "Maybe open an actual shop instead of just the cart. Hire people. Make this a real business." She reached underneath her cloth-covered cart and pulled out a shaker full of red syrup.

Marron watched in real time as Jenny poured some syrup, carbonated water, and ice. It was like the sparkling fruit soda she made when she first arrived in Savoria.

Jenny's had a strong cherry flavor but had gentle bubbles that tickled the tongue. "I'm trying some cherry fruit soda."

Marron did. It was sweet and tart and perfectly carbonated, like cherry soda from Earth but made with actual Savorian cherries.

"I think that's gonna be a real winner. Why introduce it now?"

Jenny grinned. "Well, we all can't be hard-working heroes. I needed something to give me an edge--give customers a reason to return to my cart. So magic water from another world sounded pretty good to me."

The crowd continued to flow—people buying drinks, trying flavors, exclaiming over the bubbles. Jenny worked with practiced efficiency, taking orders, pouring drinks, making change. She was clearly in her element.

"Your hair looks different," Jenny said during a brief lull. "I like it. Very 'I organize resistance movements' energy."

Marron touched the shorter layers self-consciously. "I cut it myself this morning."

"Brave. Also very obvious—you've got a piece in back that's longer than the others." Jenny leaned over the counter, made a quick snipping motion with her fingers. "Come here tomorrow before market opens. I'll even it out. I used to cut my roommate's hair on Earth. I'm not professional, but I'm better than self-administered scissors."

"You don't have to—"

"I want to," Jenny interrupted. "Besides, it gives me an excuse to pick your brain about something."

"About what?"

"About expanding," Jenny said. She poured a glass of the clear carbonated water for herself, drank half in one go. "I'm making good money with the soda. More than I ever did with just hot dogs and doughnuts. And I'm thinking... maybe I should franchise? Is that even a thing here? Train other vendors to make carbonated drinks, sell them the equipment, take a percentage of sales. Build a network instead of just one cart."

Marron blinked. "That's... ambitious."

"Maybe, but...also smart, I think." Jenny said. "I wanted to do the same thing on Earth, but...ended up here before I could start."

"If this works—and it's clearly working—other people are going to copy it eventually. Someone will figure out the ingredients in magic water and start selling their own version. I'd rather be the one setting standards and building the network than scrambling to protect my monopoly."

"You've thought about this a lot."

"I've had three weeks of lines outside my cart to think about it," Jenny said. "But I don't know Lumeria's business regulations well enough. Don't know how to set up franchise agreements or protect my methods or any of that. And you—" She pointed at Marron. "You organized fifty vendors and outmaneuvered a merchant's guild. You understand coalition building. I could use that kind of brain helping me figure this out."

It was an offer. A partnership, maybe. Or at least the beginning of one.

"I'm not a business expert," Marron said carefully.

"Neither am I. But we're both figuring things out as we go." Jenny served another customer—a large order, six drinks. "Think about it? I'm not asking for an answer today. Just... consider it. Two Earth people building something together in this weird magical world."

"I'll think about it," Marron promised.

She stayed for another thirty minutes, watching Jenny work, drinking fizzy cherry soda, letting the market noise wash over her. There was something comforting about being here—among vendors she'd helped save, in a community that had survived crisis together, watching someone from home build something new.

Eventually the crowd thinned slightly, and Marron said her goodbyes. She'd come back tomorrow morning for that haircut and a longer conversation about franchising magical fizzy water.

As she and Mokko left the market, heading toward the Guild district for afternoon classes, Marron felt... good. Settled. Like her life was taking shape in ways she was choosing rather than defaulting to.

New haircut. New friendship. New possibilities.

Three Legendary Tools and a growing reputation.

A place in this world that felt earned rather than accidental.

"You're smiling," Mokko observed.

"Am I?" Marron touched her face, realized he was right. "I guess I am."

"It's a good look on you."

"Thanks, Mokko."

They walked through Lumeria's afternoon streets, and Marron thought about Jenny's offer, about expanding businesses and building networks, about what it meant to take Earth knowledge and apply it to Savorian problems.

About how much she'd changed in just a few months—from bare-minimum survival mode to organizing coalitions and carrying Legendary Tools and cutting her own hair at seven in the morning because she was tired of looking invisible.

Tomorrow she'd get that haircut fixed. Tomorrow she'd think seriously about Jenny's franchise proposal.

But today? Today she just walked through her chosen city, with her chosen companion, toward her chosen life.

And it felt right.

The rest of the day passed in comfortable routine. Afternoon class with Henrik—they were working on compound butters, learning to build flavor through fat. Marron's attempt at herb butter was decent but needed more salt, according to Henrik's exacting standards.

Evening prep work in her apartment kitchen—she'd started keeping detailed notes on everything she learned, documenting the Legendary Tools' properties as Edmund had requested. It felt important, like she was preserving knowledge even as she used the tools daily.

Dinner with Mokko and Lucy—simple food, nothing fancy, just the kind of meal that sustained without requiring thought.

And then, because she'd been mostly sedentary all day and felt restless, Marron decided to take an evening walk through the artisan district.

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