“Are you sure?” he asks, immediately putting the box with the rest of his things. I see the barely concealed excitement in his eyes.
Unable to help myself, I suggest, “If you like strawberries that much, there’s a small farm on the edge of town where they grow them. You can pick them yourself and fill a basket if you pay a certain fee.”
The man’s eyes gleam with interest. “That’s a good idea. We don’t really have strawberries where we’re from, so—”
He stops, but his words already have me blinking. “The South Alliance is known for producing the best strawberries. Which pack are you from that you don’t have access to strawberries?”
It’s his turn to become stiff. “I meant that the area where my pack is located is a little barren. We focus more on other fruit.”
“I see.” I don’t buy it, bu
