The next day, Ashley leaves the manor before noon and arrives in Boldaf just as the afternoon bustle is picking up in the streets. After leaving her beloved horse at the stable, she strolls through the town. Since she’s here on a private visit rather than for work, it would be a waste to just buy a novel and head back.
「Let’s see… first—」
Her stomach growls loudly. Ashley quickly glances around, then breathes a sigh of relief when it seems no one has noticed.
「I should get something to eat.」
With that murmur, she sets off in search of a promising place to eat.
◇◇◇
「I’m so sorry! We’re completely full and don’t have any seats!」
「I see… that’s unfortunate…」
How many more rejections will it take before she can get a meal? For Ashley, even the act of entering a restaurant alone is a challenging feat. Despite mustering up the courage to dive in with a 「here goes nothing!」, she’s turned away because there are no seats available. And this has happened four times in a row.
Ashley’s background is somewhat unusual—her father was the previous Noble family’s Holy Knight. Though they weren’t related by blood, he doted on her like a beloved cat except during her studies and training. His level of pampering was extraordinary, even surpassing the overprotectiveness she experienced at the manor.
For this reason, she hasn’t actually had many opportunities to explore the town alone. Consequently, she isn’t used to entering restaurants by herself or interacting with shopkeepers. Though it isn’t impossible for her, Ashley is already feeling mentally drained.
While not showing it on her face, she’s feeling downhearted and considering just picking up her target books and a few other interesting items before eating when she gets home. But just then—
「Ash!」
Someone calls out to her. When she turns around, it’s her acquaintance… the young man Ichiro.
「If it isn’t Ichiro!」
For whatever reason, he’s waving his hands enthusiastically at Ashley with a huge grin on his face.
「It’s been a while, Ash. Did you cut your hair?」
「It has been a while, Ichiro. No, I haven’t cut my hair.」
When Ashley answers simply, his shoulders droop slightly.
「What’s wrong? Why the sudden disappointment…」
「No, I’m not really disappointed…」
Ichiro is mumbling something about how it’s tough when Japanese jokes don’t land, but Ashley just tilts her head with a 「?」 floating above it.
「Anyway… I’m here shopping for ingredients.」
「Ah, that’s right—I heard from Anon. I hear you’re a good cook, Ichiro.」
「It’s nothing special, just amateur cooking.」
Not entirely denying it, Ichiro scratches the back of his head and grins sloppily, perhaps embarrassed by Ashley’s praise.
「It’s rare to see you walking around town alone, Ash… What are you up to? Some kind of errand?」
「Well, not really an errand per se—」
And so Ashley briefly explains to Ichiro how she came to visit the town.
◇◇◇
「Hey uncle, two Boldaf sandwiches!」
When Ichiro orders from the familiar food stall vendor, the man responds loudly, 「If it isn’t Low! I’ll throw in something extra!」 Boldaf sandwich—bread filled with lettuce, mysterious monster meat simmered in a sweet and savory sauce, and sausage, topped with ketchup and mustard—is handed over with a casual 「Here ya go!」 from the vendor. Ichiro takes one for himself and hands one to Ashley, exchanges a few quick jokes with the vendor, and leaves.
Following that, they have a similar exchange at a cold fruit juice stall, and with both hands full, the two of them eat while walking.
「…So you’re letting them call you Low?」
「Yeah… They found out who I am, but at this point it feels awkward to ask them to call me Ichiro…」
Ashley reflects on the Holy Knight’s position at that time. But that only lasts for a moment, and she manages to change the subject by asking Ichiro:
「Ichiro, where are we heading?」
「Going to get dessert. There’s this shop that sells frozen cut fruit, and it’s really good.」
「That sounds nice.」
Ashley loves fruit. She enjoys fresh fruit, of course, but also loves it when it’s chilled ice-cold. She even likes fruit that’s been left to ripen properly after being harvested. In other words, she’s the type of person who enjoys pretty much any kind of fruit.
「This shop, they put bite-sized pieces of different frozen fruits in a cup, you know? One time I was surprised to find a piece of watermelon mixed in, and since what’s inside changes depending on the day, that’s part of the fun too.」
Ashley’s walking pace quickens. In fact, it quickens so much that she overtakes Ichiro.
「Hey, you don’t even know where it is! Wait up!」
◇◇◇
After finishing their meal and dessert, the two browse the street stalls. They chatter excitedly about what’s good and what’s cute, making quite a scene. Ashley, who would still be in her teens if this were Japan, and Ichiro, who spent his youth in battle and training, enjoy this time together as if making up for something lost.
「Oho, what are you looking at?」
「…」
At one particular stall, Ashley stares intently at something. Ichiro moves to her side. What she’s gazing at is a stuffed animal. It’s a rabbit plush that looks to be about a third of Ichiro’s height. Sensing something, he smoothly picks up the plush in question. Then—
「Ma’am, I’ll take this one!」
「Oh? Oh? Are you buying it for your girlfriend?」
「No, it’s not like that…」
「Come on! Don’t be shy! That’s it! I loves this kind of thing! Damn, take it and run!」
Despite some playful teasing, the female vendor gives them half off the price of the stuffed animal. Ichiro hands the rabbit plush to Ashley, saying:
「This is what you wanted, right? Since we’re here, please accept it.」
Ashley responds with flushed cheeks.
「Thank you… Are you sure? Ah, I’ll pay for it!」
「Don’t worry about that. I bought it for you, Ash, so please take it.」
Ashley shows an unusually shy expression that she’s never shown before in response to Ichiro’s words.
「Are you really… sure?」
「It’s fine, really!」
「To receive such a cute stuffed animal…」
「It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s not that expensive. The plush is probably happy to become yours too.」
「I would never have been able to buy it alone, I’d have been too embarrassed… Ichiro, thank you so much!!」
Ashley beams with her brightest smile. And then, she adds one thing—
「But Ichiro, please stop picking it up by its ears.」
Ichiro freezes for a moment before apologizing with an 「Oh, sorry」 to both Ashley and the rabbit plush.
If you enjoy it and wish to see more, please consider giving it a 5-star rating for the series on NU. Click Here.
Check out my Patreon for early access to upcoming updates. Patreon Link
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Chapter 263
◇◇◇
The next day, Ashley leaves the manor before noon and arrives in Boldaf just as the afternoon bustle is picking up in the streets.
After leaving her beloved horse at the stable, she strolls through the town.
Since she’s here on a private visit rather than for work, it would be a waste to just buy a novel and head back.
「Let’s see… first—」
Her stomach growls loudly.
Ashley quickly glances around, then breathes a sigh of relief when it seems no one has noticed.
「I should get something to eat.」
With that murmur, she sets off in search of a promising place to eat.
◇◇◇
「I’m so sorry! We’re completely full and don’t have any seats!」
「I see… that’s unfortunate…」
How many more rejections will it take before she can get a meal?
For Ashley, even the act of entering a restaurant alone is a challenging feat. Despite mustering up the courage to dive in with a 「here goes nothing!」, she’s turned away because there are no seats available. And this has happened four times in a row.
Ashley’s background is somewhat unusual—her father was the previous Noble family’s Holy Knight. Though they weren’t related by blood, he doted on her like a beloved cat except during her studies and training. His level of pampering was extraordinary, even surpassing the overprotectiveness she experienced at the manor.
For this reason, she hasn’t actually had many opportunities to explore the town alone. Consequently, she isn’t used to entering restaurants by herself or interacting with shopkeepers.
Though it isn’t impossible for her, Ashley is already feeling mentally drained.
While not showing it on her face, she’s feeling downhearted and considering just picking up her target books and a few other interesting items before eating when she gets home. But just then—
「Ash!」
Someone calls out to her.
When she turns around, it’s her acquaintance… the young man Ichiro.
「If it isn’t Ichiro!」
For whatever reason, he’s waving his hands enthusiastically at Ashley with a huge grin on his face.
「It’s been a while, Ash. Did you cut your hair?」
「It has been a while, Ichiro. No, I haven’t cut my hair.」
When Ashley answers simply, his shoulders droop slightly.
「What’s wrong? Why the sudden disappointment…」
「No, I’m not really disappointed…」
Ichiro is mumbling something about how it’s tough when Japanese jokes don’t land, but Ashley just tilts her head with a 「?」 floating above it.
「Anyway… I’m here shopping for ingredients.」
「Ah, that’s right—I heard from Anon. I hear you’re a good cook, Ichiro.」
「It’s nothing special, just amateur cooking.」
Not entirely denying it, Ichiro scratches the back of his head and grins sloppily, perhaps embarrassed by Ashley’s praise.
「It’s rare to see you walking around town alone, Ash… What are you up to? Some kind of errand?」
「Well, not really an errand per se—」
And so Ashley briefly explains to Ichiro how she came to visit the town.
◇◇◇
「Hey uncle, two Boldaf sandwiches!」
When Ichiro orders from the familiar food stall vendor, the man responds loudly, 「If it isn’t Low! I’ll throw in something extra!」
Boldaf sandwich—bread filled with lettuce, mysterious monster meat simmered in a sweet and savory sauce, and sausage, topped with ketchup and mustard—is handed over with a casual 「Here ya go!」 from the vendor. Ichiro takes one for himself and hands one to Ashley, exchanges a few quick jokes with the vendor, and leaves.
Following that, they have a similar exchange at a cold fruit juice stall, and with both hands full, the two of them eat while walking.
「…So you’re letting them call you Low?」
「Yeah… They found out who I am, but at this point it feels awkward to ask them to call me Ichiro…」
Ashley reflects on the Holy Knight’s position at that time.
But that only lasts for a moment, and she manages to change the subject by asking Ichiro:
「Ichiro, where are we heading?」
「Going to get dessert. There’s this shop that sells frozen cut fruit, and it’s really good.」
「That sounds nice.」
Ashley loves fruit.
She enjoys fresh fruit, of course, but also loves it when it’s chilled ice-cold. She even likes fruit that’s been left to ripen properly after being harvested. In other words, she’s the type of person who enjoys pretty much any kind of fruit.
「This shop, they put bite-sized pieces of different frozen fruits in a cup, you know? One time I was surprised to find a piece of watermelon mixed in, and since what’s inside changes depending on the day, that’s part of the fun too.」
Ashley’s walking pace quickens.
In fact, it quickens so much that she overtakes Ichiro.
「Hey, you don’t even know where it is! Wait up!」
◇◇◇
After finishing their meal and dessert, the two browse the street stalls.
They chatter excitedly about what’s good and what’s cute, making quite a scene.
Ashley, who would still be in her teens if this were Japan, and Ichiro, who spent his youth in battle and training, enjoy this time together as if making up for something lost.
「Oho, what are you looking at?」
「…」
At one particular stall, Ashley stares intently at something.
Ichiro moves to her side.
What she’s gazing at is a stuffed animal. It’s a rabbit plush that looks to be about a third of Ichiro’s height. Sensing something, he smoothly picks up the plush in question. Then—
「Ma’am, I’ll take this one!」
「Oh? Oh? Are you buying it for your girlfriend?」
「No, it’s not like that…」
「Come on! Don’t be shy! That’s it! I loves this kind of thing! Damn, take it and run!」
Despite some playful teasing, the female vendor gives them half off the price of the stuffed animal.
Ichiro hands the rabbit plush to Ashley, saying:
「This is what you wanted, right? Since we’re here, please accept it.」
Ashley responds with flushed cheeks.
「Thank you… Are you sure? Ah, I’ll pay for it!」
「Don’t worry about that. I bought it for you, Ash, so please take it.」
Ashley shows an unusually shy expression that she’s never shown before in response to Ichiro’s words.
「Are you really… sure?」
「It’s fine, really!」
「To receive such a cute stuffed animal…」
「It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s not that expensive. The plush is probably happy to become yours too.」
「I would never have been able to buy it alone, I’d have been too embarrassed… Ichiro, thank you so much!!」
Ashley beams with her brightest smile.
And then, she adds one thing—
「But Ichiro, please stop picking it up by its ears.」
Ichiro freezes for a moment before apologizing with an 「Oh, sorry」 to both Ashley and the rabbit plush.
If you enjoy it and wish to see more, please consider giving it a 5-star rating for the series on NU. Click Here.
Check out my Patreon for early access to upcoming updates. Patreon Link
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