Volume 1 - CH 22

Alme and Falk walked hand in hand through the streets and reached the market district.

Holding hands is embarrassing, but it allows the cold air of ice magic to flow more efficiently to Falk. For this reason, they ended up holding hands throughout the trip.

She managed to keep her composure by assuming that she was connecting because it made sense.

Falk was concerned about Alme’s magic fatigue, but he was perfectly fine with her just sending cold air. However, if she used more magic power to produce a block of ice, she would collapse, though.

Excessive use of magic power can cause physical problems. If it is light use, the body will recover after a short rest, but heavy magic fatigue can put someone to sleep.

When Alme was a child, she would sometimes fall asleep because she accidentally overspent her magic power for fun. Every time she did, her grandmother would lecture her. It is a fond memory.

As soon as they entered the market street, the crowd increased one level. It is very lively, with people’s voices echoing with vitality.

Colorful tent-roofed shops are lined up in rows, with baskets full of vegetables and fruits. Other vendors sell spices by weight, flowers, cloth, and all sorts of other things.

There was also a section lined with street food vendors, and the wind was carrying the appetizing smells of good food.

Weaving their way through the crowd, she glanced at the shops lined up in a row. Falk was also looking around with great interest at the assortment of goods.

“The market in Luorio is very lively. Every store has a mountain of goods, and it’s a feast for the eyes.”

“Isn’t there a city market like this in the far north?”

“There is also a large open-air market in Bereslena, but most of the items are either frozen or covered with snow, so the colorful scenery is not overwhelming. Most of the items are white.”

“That would be interesting.”

What kind of atmosphere does an frozen market have? As for Alme, she was more curious about it.

While walking while talking about the city and food, she found the store she was looking for. It’s a shop that sells nuts by weight.

“Mr. Falk, can I stop by that shop for a moment?”

“Of course, is it a nut shop?”

“That’s right. I was wondering if it would be good as an ice cream topping.”

Falk’s eyes lit up when she answered. He walked into the nut shop with a happy expression.

Alme alone can be buried in a crowd of people in a crowded market, but with Falk it is easy to cross the flow of people and move easily.

Like the prow of a ship, he clears the way and pulls the hand that is connected to his.

She quickly arrived at the shop and looked around at the mountain of nuts.

Almonds, pistachios, cashews, walnuts, and more. More than a dozen kinds of nuts are sold in their shells.

“It seems like you can enjoy the texture of ice cream with nuts.”

“I think it would be good to make ice cream with nuts as the main ingredient, not just as a topping. Pistachio ice cream would be delicious. Please come and try it when it’s ready.”

“I’m looking forward to it!”

Alme picked up a wooden cup that was randomly placed on a pile of nuts and scooped a cup full of pistachios. With the other cup, she scooped almonds and asked the owner for the bill.

After getting the nuts in a hand-held drawstring bag, this concludes Alme’s business for the day.

She went over to the edge of the shop and faced Falk.

“- Well, this is the end of the market business, but where would you like to go next? As for the standard sightseeing route, I recommend starting with a walk on Central Boulevard and then visiting the Central Temple.”

“No, um, do you have any recommendations other than the temple? I’ve already seen the temple quite a bit.”

“Oh, is that so? Then, the other popular places are – the underground palace, the central park, and the canal plaza.”

“The underground palace sounds like a lot of fun! I heard that the underground mall is very difficult, so I definitely want to go around with a local.”

“Okay, let’s go!”

Once the destination was decided, Falk held out his hand again. It’s embarrassing to connect again, but the moment she showed hesitation, her hand was quickly taken.

Falk said with a mischievous look on his face:

“Then, let’s enjoy the continuation of our date.”

“Please don’t say that, you’ll make me angry.”

“… I’m sorry, I got carried away… Please forgive me.”

When she glared at him, Falk shrugged.

“I’m just kidding, come on, let’s go.”

Pulling on the hand of the man who had turned into a trembling little chick, Alme started walking down the street.

Passing through the vegetable and fruit market section, they passed a section of street food vendors. As it was lunchtime, the streets were overflowing with people.

“Mr. Falk, are you hungry? You can eat here, or there are many restaurants in the plaza of the underground palace, so you can eat at either.”

“I’d like to say either way, but if it’s cooler underground, I’d rather stay there.”

“Okay. The market is crowded, so it’s better that way. If you leave here, there’s a stairway to the underground mall, so let’s walk down from there. You can avoid the sun…”

In the middle of explaining to Falk, she unintentionally let out a low voice. She had spotted a figure she didn’t ever want to see again.

On the other side of the crowd was an elegant man with quirky brown hair and green eyes. His name is Julio Beatos.

By his side was a colleague from the library—his younger apprentice.

Even though he is an apprentice, he is older than Julio. He is a man who has been under the tutelage of the Beatos family, who have been book restorers for generations, so he is a man who has become Julio’s lackey.

They were probably out for lunch together. Worst timing ever.

They hadn’t noticed her yet, and there’s still a distance between them. They are in the middle of this crowd of people, and she was sure they would not notice her when they passed by.

–Even though she thought so, the reaction on the other side was unexpectedly quick.

“Alme? Alme, it’s you, right?”

Before she could turn her face away, their eyes met.

Julio quizzically called out her name from the other side of the crowd. She thought he wouldn’t notice because she cut her hair, but she was easily guessed. She tried to look away now, but it was too late…

While she was flustered, Falk called out to her with a puzzled face.

“Do you know each other?”

“Yes, it’s a former colleague.”

“Is that so? well, then, would you like to say hello?”

“No, um, I’m not on good terms with him, so if possible, I’d like to run away…”

She was so impatient that she put all her strength into their overlapping hands. Then, Falk’s expression, which had been pouting, changed to a cool one.

Falk lowered his voice and whispered.

“Well, let’s pretend we didn’t notice. Shall we go?”

After saying that, he gripped her hand and they started walking away. Taking the long way around to get a much distance from Julio as possible, they passed each other on the street.

They were able to successfully pass through the bustle of the crowded street. She was about to relax when a familiar voice followed from behind.

“Hey Alme! Why don’t you at least say hello!”

Julio went out of his way to push through the crowd and approached them.

As has always been the case, he has a somewhat nervous quality. If she didn’t notice that he had called out to her, or if she didn’t respond in time, he was quick to point it out. He would say in a gruff voice, “You ignored me just now.”

If she keep ignoring him like this, it would put him in a bad mood even more and it would become troublesome. It can’t be helped, so let’s exchange greetings for the time being…

Alme gave Falk a look and he stopped in his tracks, as if he had guessed.

“You couldn’t escape.”

“That seems to be the case… I’m sorry, but I need a little time to say hello. I’ll finish it soon.”

Haa, she let out a grand sigh and decided to face Julio approaching behind her.

While complaining, Julio arrived in front of Alme.

“You really don’t know how to behave when meeting people, you really…”

Julio stopped speaking when he looked at Alme’s hand. His gaze was fixed on Falk and Alme’s overlapping hands.

Even though she was suspicious of Julio, who froze, she called out to him in order to quickly finish her greetings.

“Hello. I’m sorry, I didn’t realize with so many people here.”

…Even though we made eye contact, you’re talking nonsense. Are you mocking me? I’ve always thought that you had a bad character. You should watch out for that.”

“Yes…I’ll be careful.”

Certainly, she had no choice but to admit that she ignored him and ran away even though their eyes met perfectly.

She bowed her head honestly and Julio seemed to regain his composure. He glanced at her and continued his words as if to spit them out.

“Today, you’re looking very sexy. Is this your true nature? I didn’t know you had a companion. How surprising, I thought you were a modest person.”

“It’s none of your concern, It’s up to me how I dress, what kind of friends I go with, and where I go. In the first place, there is no need to hide anymore.”

“…!”

Alme was teased for her sexy appearance, and she retorted.

When she was carrying the title of Julio’s fiancée, she was worried about various things because she thought that her actions would cause trouble for him as well.

But now she is free. No matter what she does, it’s just a life that comes back on her. There is absolutely no need to hold back.

–Thinking that, she returned the words as they were, but Julio’s face distorted.

“You dare to say something impertinent…! I wonder if it’s okay to treat me like that when you’ve been indebted to me so badly? It cost a lot of money for your grandmother, but have you forgotten your gratitude already?”

“That’s… it’s already over…”

In frustration, Julio brought up the subject of money. It’s true that the Beatos family helped her with her grandmother’s medical expenses, but that debt should have been written off as alimony for him cheating and breaking off the engagement.

Isn’t it a bit unfair to use that as a shield now? she guessed he knows that if he talks about being indebted to him, she won’t be able to come on strongly.

If the story drags on like this, it will be at a disadvantage. Besides, she didn’t want to have a long argument on the side of the road like this.

It wasn’t a good idea to keep talking back… in this case, it’s better to just wrap this conversation up.

“… No, you’re right, yes. I’m sorry for saying something impertinent.”

“You should try to apologize more promptly and honestly. I will forgive you this time, but please be careful from now on.”

“Yes, I’ll reflect on it…. Then, it’s bad to ruin your lunch break, and it’s time for me to excuse myself. Have a nice day.”

Finally, she bowed her head. This should be the perfect way to deal with Julio. It is a tactic for dealing with Julio that she had mastered during the six months she had followed him as his fiancée.

–However, on this day, for some reason, the response did not go well.

“Wait, Alme. Isn’t your farewell a bit crass? Are you really reflecting?”

As she moved her body to leave, Julio’s hand reached up for her shoulder.

–However, the hand was left half-stretched and ended up floating in the air.

Falk stepped in front of Alme and blocked Julio’s hand.

“Excuse me, but is there anything more you want to say to my companion? If you need to talk, I’ll listen. May I first ask you to identify yourself?”

“Ah, no, I just had business with Alme…”

“I’m asking you to identify yourself.”

Falk’s voice was cool, although from behind she could not see his expression. Julio looked alternately at Falk and Alme behind his back and his mouth was agape in confusion.

Inwardly, Alme was also confused. For the first time, Falk clearly took the attitude of a nobleman.

It’s not a big deal for the common people, but in high society, there’s a manner in which people of lower social status are the first to introduce themselves.

Ordering the other party to “Identify yourself” at the very first greeting is meant to show off your high status and to provide the greatest possible restraint on the other party.

She knew this as some kind of common knowledge, but this is the first time she had witnessed it.

Guessing the situation, both Alme and Julio broke into a cold sweat.

It was Julio’s apprentice, who had come nearby before anyone knew it, that broke the tension.

“Oh, hey, Julio…! What going on here, you should answer him. Go on!”

“Oh, ah…”

The apprentice tapped Julio on the back, prompting him to make a greeting. Julio, who had frozen, finally changed his posture and addressed Falk in a nervous tone of voice.

“My name is Julio Beatos. I beg your pardon…”

“Good. I’ll remember it.”

After a short answer, Falk quickly turned to Alme and called out.

“Come on, let’s go, Miss Alme.”

“Oh…um…yes.”

Falk put his hand on Alme’s shoulder and gently held her close to him, nudging her to walk. With a series of flowing gestures, she started to walk as she was led, without time to be embarrassed.

They continued on through the crowd. Julio’s voice was long gone. After walking for a while, Falk’s body finally moved away.

Falk made an apologetic face and peered into Alme’s face.

“I’m sorry…I left the place a little forcefully, are you okay?”

“No, I was saved. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart…”

“Then, that’s good.”

Falk smiled as if relieved. He was back to his carefree mood again, which somehow made her feel relieved as well.

Changing his pace to a slower one, Falk took Alme’s hand. 

In contrast to earlier, he spoke with a strangely exhilarated voice.

“Miss Alme, am I your friend now?”

“Eh, what is it all of a sudden?”

“You said earlier that you are free to go out with whatever friends you want, wherever you want. I wonder if that includes me among your friends.”

“S-I’m sorry… I said it in a rush, but I accidentally included you as a friend… If you don’t mind, I’ll just call you a friend… from today on…”

“Hmm, I see. Friends.”

Impatience and embarrassment welled up when the part that she accidentally talked about was brought up.

To say that she is a ‘friend’ to Falk, who showed some kind of high status earlier, is quite uncertain. What if it turns out to be some kind of a joke in the future?

She was prepared to be the butt of some joke and was about to chide him for teasing her, but when she looked at Falk, he was grinning from ear to ear with the most carefree expression on his face.

“Today is a wonderful day because I became friends with Miss Alme. I’m so happy”

The words, mumbled like a soliloquy, somehow tickled her ears.

Perhaps inspired by his words, Alme’s heart was filled with a cheerful feeling.

It seems that from today on, in addition to their relationship as clerk and customer, they will also be friends.

Falk didn’t appear to be half-hearted, so she decided to leave it at that. As for Alme, she is very happy.