“Well then, first of all…”
Bobby took charge of the situation and decided on their destination.
“Hey, Bobby.”
“What is it, Kent?”
“Seriously, we’re not going *here*, are we?”
Kent said to Bobby.
“Shouldn’t we get something to eat first?”
Bobby led Kent and his companions to a street stall area where various foods were sold, perfect for eating on the go.
“Prim is the young lady of a major merchant family, so I wondered how she’d feel about places like this.”
“R-really?”
Bobby said with a flustered expression. While Josette might happily browse street stalls, Kent felt that this place, where commoners gathered, was unsuitable for Prim, who, despite her commoner status, lived a far better life than impoverished nobles due to being the daughter of a wealthy merchant.
“I don’t mind at all. I have dealings with several shops here, and I’ve visited before.”
Seeing Prim’s cheerful reply, Bobby looked relieved.
“I see. I guess I shouldn’t have chosen the place based on my own feelings. That was close. Right, she’s a young lady, isn’t she?”
Bobby muttered to himself in a low voice.
“Eating while walking is a first for me, but it’s quite enjoyable.”
“Right? It’s fun, isn’t it?”
Prim said, holding a skewer of grilled meat and eating it deliciously as she walked. Bobby watched her with satisfaction.
“It seems to be going quite well.”
“Yes, it is.”
Kent and Emily watched Bobby and Prim from behind as they moved along, chatting occasionally.
“Master… Someone has been tailing us for a while now. Please be careful.”
“What? You don’t say. How many?”
“Well… it’s hard to tell their exact numbers in this crowd, but there are definitely multiple people.”
Emily suddenly informed Kent that someone was following them.
“They’re not anyone related to us, are they?”
“Unfortunately, it seems not.”
Kent jokingly asked if Al or someone else was following them, but it wasn’t the case. For now, Kent decided to act calmly while trying to understand the situation without the opponents noticing him.
“Hey, Kent.”
“Yeah?”
Just as he braced himself, Bobby, who had been walking ahead, turned around and spoke to Kent.
“Next, I want to go to a shop I found the other day.”
“Got it.”
“Wow, they have shops like this too.”
Kent said in surprise as he entered the shop Bobby had guided them to. It was a shop selling small accessories, with prices affordable for commoners.
“This is cute. And the price is low too. If I had come alone, I would have bought everything.”
Prim also looked at the displayed merchandise with apparent enjoyment.
“Bobby, you know some good shops. Prim seems happy, so that’s a big plus.”
“Oh, stop it. You’re making me blush.”
Bobby said bashfully after being praised by Kent. The accessories displayed in the shop were not handled through interactions with a clerk at a counter; instead, they were arranged on shelves, allowing customers to pick them up and examine them freely. This sales style seemed popular with customers, and the store was quite crowded.
“I’ll buy something for Emily too. Which one do you like?”
“Huh? You’ll buy something for me too?”
Feeling it would be rude to just look without buying anything for the shop staff, Kent decided to buy Emily a gift. Emily happily browsed the items in the store.
“Since we’re here, I’ll buy you something too. You can choose whatever you like.”
“Really? Thank you.”
Bobby, who had just witnessed Kent and Emily’s exchange, said the same to Prim, who happily started looking for an item.
“It really is true that girls are weak to accessories, isn’t it?”
“It seems so.”
“Kent, you’ve gifted something to a girl before, haven’t you?”
“…Hm? Come to think of it…”
Prompted by Bobby, Kent tried to recall but couldn’t remember gifting jewelry to a woman.
“…Maybe not.”
“What! You’ve never given a gift before? How have you managed until now?”
“Well, I haven’t gifted accessories, but I’ve gifted other things.”
He had mostly gifted food, and the women he gifted them to had always enjoyed them. However, Kent began to think that perhaps a lasting memento would be nice too.
*Tug tug*
As he was thinking this, he felt a sudden pull on the hem of his clothes.
“Hm? Ah, Emily.”
“Guh… Kent, I’ve decided on this one.”
Emily had brought back a cute heart-shaped earring. The heart part was decorated in red, and although it was a small accessory, it made its presence known.
“Understood. I’ll go take care of the payment.”
“Yes! Please do.”
Kent took the earring Emily had chosen and headed to pay.
“Master… that…”
“Hm? Ah.”
At Emily’s cue, Kent looked at the woman standing at the register and understood what Emily wanted to convey.
“A shop-attached fairy.”
“Yes, it’s actually my first time seeing one.”
“Of course. Shop-attached fairies can’t leave the store. You, Emily, also couldn’t leave your store, so you wouldn’t have met one. But…”
Emily, for some reason, could now leave the store. Because of that, she could now see other shop-attached fairies.
“Speaking of which, don’t fairies of the same kind repel each other?”
“That’s fine. If the other party has the same attribute, it won’t be like it was with Al… I think.”
“Hey, don’t say things that make me anxious.”
“Hehehe. Just kidding. It’s true that if their powers are evenly matched, that could happen, but the other party is also a shop-attached fairy, and I believe my abilities are far superior, so as long as I don’t make the first move, we’ll be fine.”
Emily replied with a smile to Kent.
“Welcome. Will that be all?”
“Yes, please ring this up.”
“Certainly. A present for your girlfriend over there…”
The shop-attached fairy at the register, who had been wearing a professional smile, froze upon seeing Emily next to Kent.
*Gaku gaku gaku*
Then, she suddenly began to tremble as if she had seen something terrifying.
“Um, are you alright?”
Kent asked, worried.
“Y-y-yes. I-I’m f-f-fine.”
“I have no hostile intentions, so please carry out your duties.”
“Yes, yes!”
Emily conveyed that she had no hostile intentions, and perhaps reassured, the shop-attached fairy replied with a loud voice, causing all the customers in the store to look their way.
“Whoa, Kent, did you do something? My apologies, ma’am. My companion seems to have caused trouble.”
“N-no, n-no that’s not true at all?”
Bobby noticed and came to Kent’s side, speaking to the shop-attached fairy at the register.
“Is that so? In that case, can you please ring these up too?”
“Uwah, you’re overloaded.”
“…Well, these are cheap… Sigh, I’ll have to ask Father to give me more work again.”
Bobby placed a large basket of accessories on the counter, his expression vacant. It seemed he had spent most of his money for the date here.
“Thank you, Bobby. I’ll cherish it.”
“O-oh.”
“Thank you, Kent. I’ll use it carefully.”
“I’m glad if it made you happy.”
Although their words were almost identical, the expenses for Bobby & Prim and Kent & Emily were worlds apart. After paying, the four left the store, expressing their thanks to their respective givers.
“(My funds are gone, and this won’t cost anything,) let’s head to the forest park next,” Bobby said.
“That’s a good idea. We still have time, so let’s go.”
Bobby decided on their next destination. Since Kent had no particular plans, he agreed.
“Master…”
Emily spoke to Kent in a voice inaudible to Bobby and Prim.
“Is something wrong?”
“Yes, about my range of movement. That destination is at the very edge of my current range, so if we go there, I might be restricted due to being too far from the shop. I would prefer if we could change our destination, if possible…”
Emily said apologetically. Kent, considering the recent tailing incident, judged that if Emily couldn’t exert her abilities, they would be unprepared for trouble, which would be problematic.
“…Sorry…”
“That sounds nice. Let’s go.”
“That’s the spirit!”
Just as Kent was about to refuse, Prim eagerly agreed, and Bobby was also all for it. Despite the potential issues, they reluctantly decided to head to the forest park.
