CH 13
「Then I and Pal-Ane will be heading to the church. You two don’t do any weird thing when you are alone! 」
That’s what Julia, who wears a hoodie shaped like a cute cat ear, reminds Falsa and Zenobia.
The time was already between noon and evening, and the Hero party has arrived in a new town.
After settling the commotion in the morning, they left the inn and started moving in a carriage and their journey proceeded smoothly, without any bandits or thieves.
As they were at a distance to be able to arrive at the city where the Feudal Lord lived by tomorrow, and as they have found an inn without a problem, so they had decided today to be a free-day.
「Don’t, don’t talk nonsense! !I, I, I and Falsa-Dono such, such......」
Zenobia refutes Julia while blushing from her face and even ears.
Falsa seemed to be used to it, and he didn’t seem to care about it.
「Yes, yes, we won’t do any weird thing, so go to the church quickly. I entrust Julia to you, Palmina. Also, Zenobia if you are going to take her rattling seriously every single time, Julia is just going to amuse herself from this. 」
「Yes, leave it to me. Now, Julia, let’s go. 」
「mu–, I really want to play with Fal-Ani too. Goddess-Sama too, can’t you be a little more flexible as well, isn’t ok for you? 」
Julia is pulled along by Palmina even though she complains.
They were able to use Holy magic under the protection of the goddess Fortuna, who is revered by the Fortuna religion.
There are still many unclear points about the magic techniques, and the correct method of training varies greatly from sect to sect.
The Fortuna religion teaches that their prayer to the goddess, that is their faith increases the effectiveness of the Holy Magic and so it is natural for their followers to attend churches and temples daily.
The Fortuna religion is also a regional religion in this province, so most people follow this religion except for the Non-believers.
Even if they are not holy magicians, their followers go to church and pray, and even Falsa and Zenobia, who are not so religious, visit the church once a week.
「Well, Zenobia, let’s take a look around the town. It’s not such a big town, but there are many peddlers, we may find something interesting. 」
The place where the two are now is a post-town located at a distance of a day by carriage from the capital city, where Feudal lord of the region resided.
It is not an exaggeration to say that this is a town for the merchants and travelers like Falsa’s group who are headed towards the capital to lodge and as a consequence many peddlers are moving around the province that stay here.
In such a place where merchants and travelers come and go, a Market place is naturally opened and not surprisingly it is filled with a lot of hustle and bustle.
Stalls of peddlers are lined up with various local specialties and special products, and there are even some suspicious items that one doesn’t know the use for.
Some of it was excavated, and Falsa aimed at magic tools and ancient books that were from the ancient civilization among them.
Of course, there is no chance that there will be any rare and expensive magical gadgets like contact balls or magic books designated as national treasures, but there will often be enough items just to enjoy the feeling of treasure-hunting.
「um, Yes. I also wanted to look around the stall. Let us go now. 」
While still slightly flushed, Zenobia, who calmed down a little bit, began to walk with a somewhat cheerful expression.
「Well, where shall we start looking? Let’s start from the east and then we will look at all of it. 」
Ten minutes after they had parted from Julia and Palmina, they had reached a large circular square.
Many stalls are open in the square, and some of the shops sell food, so the scent that makes people hungry is spread in the environment.
The travelers and the inhabitants of the town looked at the various stalls with interest, and the merchants, spoke loudly, to call in their potential customers.
To put it in a bad way, the square was so lively that it was noisy.
「Y, Yes. I don’t care what place it is if Falsa-Dono wants to see it, I’m ok with it. 」
Maybe because she is alone with Falsa, Zenobia seems to be a bit out of tune.
Seeing this, Falsa grinned and spoke gently.
「Are you so nervous with me? When I first met you, you were more.. you know, you didn’t give a soft-frail person like feeling like this! I’d be happy if you wouldn’t be too worked up about it. It’s a waste if you don’t enjoy your free time. 」
「Th, that time.....forget about that. That was just Youthful vigor. But Falsa-Dono has a point. Th, then Falsa-Dono..... I, I would like to ask you to be my Escort. 」
Even though she was a little agitated by remembering the time when she met Falsa, still Zenobia gently held out her right hand forward.
However straight face she makes it can be seen that she is embarrassed, her turning her face to the side can be said to evidence of her lack of experience related to the opposite gender.
「Very well, My Lady. Although this Falsa is unworthy, can I have this opportunity to accompany you? 」
With an elegant bow, he took the right hand of Zenobia and proceeded inside the square.
One was dressed in a black robe, and the other was wearing an Armor which was at quite a distance from elegant, but their actions were certainly of nobles.
But it didn’t take long before they couldn’t keep such graceful manners in the crowd and remained simply by holding hands together.
「Mister, gives us two of that grilled Skewers no make it four, and then 2 of the Sausage over there, after that, one of that soup, and then....」
「Master, I will have broiled Lamb and, an eastern Noodle, and then fried shrimps, oh, that Nikuman also, umm, I will have 2 of that. 」1
Half an hour after they began to walk through the square, Falsa and Zenobia decided to try out the food at various stalls.
They couldn’t find any items that they liked and were just wasting their time, and that being the case.... they decided to try out the food of different stall, which turned out to be a great hit.
There were many stalls, ranging from typical home-cooked dishes to rare dishes from the east.
As a knight, Zenobia naturally eats a lot of food because of the intensity of her training, and Falsa also has quite an appetite, regardless of his appearance.
Zenobia, who is particular about manners, also ate food on the spot like a regular customer in the stall.
Actually, this was not the first time for them to go out and eat together, and it is something that was done several times when they lived in the capital.
Falsa remembered about the time when they first went to a stall as this and Zenobia got confused about eating a skewer.
「Falsa-Dono, this is very delicious, too. It is something from the east called Nikuman, it’s soft wrapping, and the splendidly blended juicy and hot ingredients, create a wonderful harmony. As I thought Eastern cuisines cannot be looked down upon. Here I will share one with Falsa-Dono. 」
Who would think that this girl, with food in her hands and her cheeks full of Nikuman, would be the daughter of a great nobleman?
The previous nervousness has already faded from her face, and it was apparent to everyone that she was enjoying it from the bottom of her heart.
「Which one which one....., oh this, it is very good. This skewer is also quite delicious, try eating this, yes, aa-hh.」
Falsa smacked his lips after having the Nikuman, and as if returning the favor held out a recently purchased skewer in front of Zenobia’s mouth.
It’s just a matter of giving consideration to Zenobia, whose both hands are full, but it’s not the same her.
Once or twice, Zenobia’s eyes alternate between the skewer and Falsa’s face, and then, as if she was determined, she took a bite from the skewer.
「m, mu, delicious. This skewer is .... not bad either 」
The figure mumbling and chewing with her face down is neither a Noble nor a Knight but just only a girl.
Of course, Falsa didn’t have any other intention, but it didn’t matter to the receiver.
For a while, the two shared and finished the food they had bought and had similar conversations over and over at the end of the square.
Occasionally, the girl was seen withdrawing her hand several times from trying to offer him food to his mouth, but it was the man only who didn’t know about it.