Volume 1 - CH 2

As soon as she stepped out of the library, the sun was shining brightly.

This is the second largest city after the royal capital, called “Second Capital Luorio”. It is warm and comfortable all year round, and is a popular city for tourists with flowers and greenery.

You can hear the bustle of the city on the wind. The voice of a high-spirited merchant and the sound of a carriage. The laughter of children and the voices of many people.

As if drawn in by the lively sound, Alme staggered and started walking towards the main street and idly passed through the crowd.

(Somehow it doesn’t feel real… I wonder if the scene just now was an illusion…)

The city was as bright and lively as usual, and it made her wonder if the sticky cheating drama was anything like a daytime drama

–The daytime drama is a TV program that existed in her previous life.

In her previous life, Alme was not a human from this world.

She was a woman who worked as a company employee in Japan, but she has a memory that she lost her consciousness while she was commuting in the summer, and she lost her life. This area is harsh and ambiguous.

She thinks maybe she was overwhelmed by the heat. After she collapsed in a daze, she remembers meeting a goddess-like person surrounded by light.

So she turned to the goddess and she groaned, ‘It’s hot… give me ice… give me some ice… something cold…”

Perhaps her wish was granted, she was given the talent of “ice magic” in this life.

There aren’t many people in this world who can use magic. There are only a handful of people who can use magic that can fight monsters.

For most people, their fingertips light up a little, or they create a breeze that makes their hair sway.

Alme’s ice magic is reasonably good. She has an average amount of magical power. A bucket of water can be frozen in no time if she concentrates.

It’s not a great talent, but nevertheless, her magic talent should be a great weapon in her future life. Of course, in terms of working and earning money.

As she walked slowly down the street, she organized her future in her head.

(I was planning to help Julio with his work, but since things have turned out like this, I have to find a job first. Ice magic is rare, and even with my level of subtle magic, in the worst case, I can go to the royal capital. If so, I should be able to find some sort of job. I’ve never done job hunting in this world, so I’m not sure what it’s really like… but let’s think positively. Aside from work, cancel moving out and return to a blank slate before marriage preparations――……)

She was about to take out a notebook from her bag to confirm various things, but her hand suddenly stopped. Inside the bag was the main part of today’s purpose――a beautiful flat box.

She took out the box and opened it. While staring at the contents, she ended up with a self-deprecating smile.

“… I completely forgot. It’s been half a year since our engagement, so I was planning to give Julio a present today…”

Inside the box was a light blue scarf.

Lovers in this world often give gifts to each other, so Alme also prepared a present for her six months after her engagement.

Far from giving it to him, the engagement itself disappeared, but… Even so, she chose a slightly good product.

“Yeah… let’s forget it… I’m sorry, Scarf-san.”

Gently closing the box, she tucked the pathetic scarf into the deepest part of her bag. While thinking about this and that, she kept walking down the street.

In her previous life, the weather was like early summer, but walking under the sun for a long time can get quite hot.

Activating a little ice magic on her palm and walk with refreshing air. Ice magic is wonderful because it can do this. She wants to thank the Goddess of Light.

Entering the side street from the main street, and then enter the alley. After walking for a while, she came to a small square with many alleys. One of the houses facing this small square is Alme’s house.

A two-story house with a reasonably stylish appearance. The living part is on the second floor, and the first floor is used as a storeroom.

In the old days, when her grandmother was doing well, she used the first floor as a shop. It was a fruit juice shop loved by tourists and locals.

Alme often used magic to help cool the juice. It’s a lovely house full of memories with her grandmother.

……she was planning to sell it after marriage, but it looks like she will be here for a long time.

In front of her house――in the middle of the small square, there is a large tree and a flowerbed. In front of the flower bed, there is a map of the surrounding area and an information board. This sign is for those who are lost.

The sub-capital city of Luorio has intricate alleys, making it look like a maze. The walk seems to be popular with tourists, but many people get lost.

Most tourists who get lost in the alleys around here end up in this small square. This city was built a long time ago, during an era when there were many wars, so it seems that tactics have something to do with it.

In today’s peaceful times, shops and merchants are making good use of it to attract customers. Her grandmother’s juice shop was also quite prosperous, even though it was located in a back alley.

Several tourists looked at the map on the information board and scattered while chatting.

In the small square, the same spectacle was unfolding today.

――But there was one person who had a different atmosphere than usual.

A tall man stood motionless, staring at a map.

(Oh? Isn’t that person a tourist?)

Somehow, he doesn’t seem to have the frivolous aura of a tourist. She sees people coming to this small square on a daily basis, so her intuition is usually correct.

If he’s not a tourist walking around, he may be simply lost and in trouble. She approached him and called out to the man.

“Um, are you in trouble? Shall I show you the way?”

The tall man looked down. The man’s appearance took her by surprise for a moment because it was too refined.

His hair and eyes are a common dark brown. Not a particularly noticeable color. ――Even though it was supposed to be, it somehow looked very gorgeous due to his overall beautiful and well-arranged features.

……However, he was sweating like a waterfall to the point that his beauty was ruined. Is he unfamiliar with the climate of this land?

The man made a bitter face and replied with a hoarse voice.

“Are you from the local area? I would appreciate it if you could help me… I’ve been lost in the alleys… I’d like to go to this place.”

The man showed his notebook and pointed to his destination. His destination is a long-established pharmacy known to those in the know. This pharmacy is underground, not above ground, so it’s in a place with a very high degree of difficulty to find. He groaned and explained. Alme knew where it is.

“This pharmacy is located in the underground mall, so you can’t get there if you just look at the map above ground.”

“What… this city even has an underground mall?”

“Yes, it’s cooler down there, but it’s difficult to navigate underground. Enter this alley–“

Following the map on the information board with her finger to show him the way. ――But, when she finished explaining, she apologized.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I should have drawn you directions.”

Presumably it hasn’t been a while since he came to this city. If she just talks like she’s dealing with a local, he’ll end up lost again.

She thought about drawing a map and handing it over, but the man simply replied.

“No, I remember. Thank you.”

“Um, but it would be a problem if you got lost on the way again.”

“It’s okay. I’ve got the map in my head.”

After saying that, the man accurately traced the maze-like directions that Alme had showed him with her finger. She can’t help but roll her eyes at his good memory.

“Even among the locals, not many people can reach it in one go. That’s amazing.”

“Because your explanation was easy to understand.”

“Please be careful on your way.”

After bowing, the man walked into the back of the alley.

He smiled just a little at the end. A modest, awkward smile.

Even though he has such a beautiful face, the way he smiles is strangely clumsy, and it’s kind of funny.

If he could make a good smile, he would have a face so beautiful that women would fall all over him. It’s really a waste.

(May he reach his destination safely.)

Wishing the lost man the best of luck, she made her way to her house.

She entered the house and sat at the counter seat of the former shop on the first floor.

She rested her chin on the table, and let out a deep breath.

After taking a deep breath, she looked back at what had just happened to her. In order to sort out the situation, she muttered to herself.

“…I went to Julio’s office with a gift for half a year of our engagement, and he was cheating on me. “

She slowly took out the notebook from her bag and opened it. The notebook is filled with notes and plans:

Julio’s work schedule and the days she helped out at the library. The day she would moved into his house. Plans to sell this house, the wedding day, and future plans.

“After getting married and helping him with his work, I wanted to give birth to a child in my twenties…it’s all a blank slate now.”

She violently tore up the schedule in her notebook, rolled it up and threw it away. Because her plans for the future were completely empty.

She slumped over the counter and whined to her grandmother in heaven.

“Haa… Granny, tell me from the heaven, what will happen to my future…”

Since childhood, Alme has sat in this chair and chatted with her grandmother while she worked. She whined then like she does now, complains, and laughs.

Her grandmother would work efficiently while dealing with Alme, and she would callout to various other customers at the same time. She must have been a person who liked interacting with people.

It was not only customers at the store, but when she saw someone who seemed to be lost outside, she immediately went to help. Just like when Alme showed the man the way just now.

As she remains limp and weak, she thinks vaguely of her grandmother.

–After doing that for a while, an idea came to her.

“Shopkeeper, I think I should try it too.”

Her grandmother loved seeing the smiles on the faces of customers who drank the fruit juice. She knows how it feels too.

She remembers the last glimpse of the man’s smile. Seeing people’s smiles makes her feel warm.

She felt that the smile that the man showed her healed her a little even after the shocking incident of Julio’s cheating and breaking off their engagement.

She got up and pulled out a wooden board from the corner of the room that had become a storeroom. This board, about the size of a chair seat, is the sign for her grandmother’s store.

After wiping off the dust with a suitable cloth, the letters “Titty’s Shop” written in paint looked beautiful.

“Yeah, it’s beautiful, and it looks like it can be used as it is. Life is easy, grandma. I’ll try it!”

“Life is easy, love is true.” This is a song her grandmother loved when she was alive. She often hummed as she worked. It seems to be an old song from this region.

Alme decided to follow this song, and follow her grandmother’s example, and take it easy for the time being.

The fact that she doesn’t have any plans for the future means that she can do whatever she wants.