“Oh… oh…”
It was the plain truth. Shion was quite deflated by the woman’s pointed observation that cut right to the core, but he tried not to show it on his face as he responded to her.
“…Hmph. If you have that much energy, you seem fine. Well then, I’ll be going. …Be careful on deserted night roads from now on.”
“What!? Wait a minute!! Leaving a delicate lady in a place like this, I question your sanity!! Are you even a man!?”
” (Delicate…?) Didn’t this woman just say she handled everything by herself…?”
Shion lightly scratched his head with a finger, puzzled.
“…What exactly do you want from me?” he asked.
“Specially, really specially, I’m allowing you to escort me to the city market! You should be grateful!”
“…Well, I’m honored,”
Moments ago, she was paralyzed by fear, unable to speak, desperately hoping for someone to help her, and still too terrified to even stand. But now, her attitude toward the person who saved her was surprisingly bold.
“(So basically, she wants me to take her to the market…)” Shion sighed, placing his hands on his hips. Despite his exasperation, he didn’t feel inconvenienced at all.
The woman before him acted as if nothing had happened, as if the earlier incident was just a minor nuisance.
However, as she had mentioned herself, there was no way a frail woman could experience something so terrifying and remain unaffected.
Such an experience could easily become a lifelong trauma. In severe cases, she might never be able to face people again.
She could even be tormented by an unhealed wound in her heart, leading her to end her life.
Even though Shion wasn’t the victim, he could imagine these possibilities.
So, to ensure her safety and to ease her mind, Shion had no objections to escorting her to the market.
If there was no one else to help someone in need, he would step up, regardless of the risk to himself. To him, this was the most natural decision.
This was the unshakeable sense of justice, conscience, and conviction that lay at the core of Shion Ichinose.
“…Alright then, let’s go. I’ll take you to the market.”
“Are you serious? Can’t you see that I’m still too weak to stand? Think before you speak! What a thoughtless man! Just stand there with that dumb look on your face until I can walk again!”
“(…Maybe I should just leave her here and go home),”
Shion thought, feeling his resolve waver for a moment.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
Five minutes passed in silence as Shion stared at the night sky. Finally, the woman stood up. She dusted off her robe with her hands and, in a calm but slightly exasperated tone, spoke to Shion.
“Why are you just standing there like an idiot? Hurry up and take me to the market. I don’t mind, but since you insist on escorting me, I’ll let you. You should be grateful.”
“…Yeah, let’s go,”
Shion replied, realizing it was pointless to argue.
“Hey, wait! Are you… angry? Um, I mean…”
The woman, now a bit flustered and uncertain, hurried to catch up to Shion, who had started walking away.
“I’m not angry. I’m just relieved that you’ve recovered.”
“Of course! Something like that was nothing to me! And if you weren’t angry, you should’ve said so from the beginning! How rude!”
She had briefly sounded more modest, but quickly reverted to her haughty demeanor.
“Yeah, my bad. I’ll be more careful.”
“That’s more like it. Hmph,”
she said, smiling smugly.
“She might not be such a bad person after all,” Shion thought.
Afterward, with Shion leading the way, the two of them walked down the night road.
“Are we there yet?”
“Are you sure we’re going the right way?”
“This is boring. Can’t you tell me something interesting? You’re really not much fun.”
“…Please stop. I’m getting a headache from all your talk about ‘darkness,’ ‘shadows,’ and ‘sins’…”
As they continued their banter, the dim path eventually led them to the lights and sounds of the bustling city market.
“Look, we’re almost there.”
“I can see that! Are you mocking me?”
“…Of course not.”
They had been walking and chatting for about fifteen minutes, but her attitude remained unchanged until the very end.
“Oh, by the way,”
the woman suddenly stopped and said,
“I haven’t properly thanked you yet for helping me. Well, sort of.”
“What’s with the sudden change? It’s really not necessary.”
“I can’t let it slide. Even though I didn’t really need help, not expressing my gratitude would damage my honor.”
“…What?”
Shion was slightly caught off guard by her emphasis on “honor.”
The overly formal speech, the exaggeratedly proud attitude, and her concern for her honor—it all felt oddly out of place.
And the way she kept her face hidden under her deeply hooded robe made Shion wonder.
“(Could this woman be pretending to be a [runaway princess sneaking into the commoners’ town]?) What a strange person…”
Shion couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable.
“Now, what can I give you as thanks…?”
“If you don’t have anything, don’t worry about it. I didn’t help you for a reward, so it’s really fine.”
As the woman rummaged under her robe, Shion reassured her, not wanting her to feel obligated.
“But that wouldn’t do. I can’t let my honor be tarnished… Oh, I know!”
As if something had just occurred to her, the woman pulled back her hood.
! Image
” — “
For a moment, it felt as if time itself had stopped.
Bathed in moonlight, her beautiful, glossy reddish hair and eyes were revealed.
Her skin was so pale and flawless that it seemed almost translucent, and she appeared to be around eighteen, a stunningly beautiful girl.
Walking through the city, she was the kind of girl who would draw everyone’s attention, leaving them dazed and staring after her.
But…
“(…That’s a rare hair color,)”
Even when faced with such a breathtaking beauty, Shion only found her hair color interesting, which wasn’t surprising given that his teenage years had never nurtured feelings of attraction toward the opposite sex.
After pulling back her hood, the girl reached behind her neck, removed a pendant, and pulled it out from under her robe.
The pendant was attached to a gleaming jewel, about four centimeters long and oval-shaped. The jewel was a deep purple, almost indistinguishable from black in the darkness.
“I’ll give you this as a token of my gratitude!”
“No, I can’t accept that. It looks really expensive, and isn’t it important to you?”
Shion refuses to accept the pendant held out in front of him.
“It might be valuable, but I have plenty of these at home! So, there’s no need to hold back.”
“Well, um…”
“If I’m offering it, you should take it! Or are you saying it’s too dirty to accept because it’s been around my neck? I’ll kill you!”
“No, no, no, calm down! Don’t kill me!”
Shion quickly replied, a bit alarmed.
“So, you’ll accept it then?”
“…I’ll gratefully accept it, thank you.”
With a resigned sigh, Shion took the pendant from her, and she smiled in satisfaction.
“You probably won’t wear a pendant, but it should fetch a good price, so you can sell it and use the money to help with your poor lifestyle.”
“No, I’ll keep it. It’s a token of your gratitude, after all. I’ll treasure it.”
Despite his occasional questionable behavior, Shion was genuinely happy to receive her thanks, as indicated by the slight smile on his lips.
“…Well, that’s a good attitude to have.”
Pulling her hood back over her face, she spoke softly, almost shyly. “Let’s go,” she said, as she continued walking toward the market with Shion.
When they reached the market and had walked through the rows of stalls for a while, the woman suddenly spoke up.
“I see someone I know. You’re no longer needed. You can go now.”
“Glad to hear that. Be careful not to get lost again.”
“Mind your own business!”
With a huff, the girl started walking toward the back of the street, but then she stopped and turned back to face Shion.
“Oh, by the way, what’s your name?”
“Hm? Oh, it’s Shion. Ichinose Shion.”
“Shion… Shion, huh. I mean, it doesn’t really matter to me, not at all, but maybe I’ll remember it if I feel like it.”
“…Thanks, I guess.”
“And also… who exactly are you, Shion? Are you really some scary person like that Red something… or Revna… whatever?”
Seeing the girl’s slightly fearful expression, Shion smirked with a hint of pride.
“No, not at all. I’m really just a regular C-class magic student.”
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