How could Nyuneri's citizens tell me—the eldest son of the Marquis—apart from others? The answer was by appearance. The citizens would immediately recognize me if I were to wear a mantle with my family's crest. There was no one in Nyuneri who didn't know of Quordentz family's crest.
Other than that, they might also recognize me if I were to don a dazzling armor, wear fine clothing, or bring guards along. Since our family's photos weren't put up for sale, only a few people really knew our faces. The citizens would, at most, know my age, height, as well as the color of my hair and eyes.
In short, the citizens would never think that I was the eldest son of the Marquis if I were to walk in a commoner's clothes, put on a wig with a different color, and bring no guards along.
「Young master, we'll be guarding at the back. Please be careful.」
「I'm counting on you.」
As soon as I passed through the wall separating the castle and the castle town, one of my guards whispered before disappearing in a blink of an eye. They would conceal themselves slightly far away and guard me.
I walked along the town street alone. The citizens didn't recognize my identity and paid me no attention at all. I hadn't felt so free in a long time.
The sound of the bell rang across the perfectly clear morning sky, notifying the current time. Clocks didn't exist in this world, so the sense of time was quite fuzzy. Nyuneri City had a facility that observed the sun. When the sun reached a certain position in the sky, the bell would be sounded to inform the city of the time.
Since this world had no electric lights like in my previous one, and using light by activating magic wasn't common, the citizens rarely worked till night. Instead, they would start very early in the morning. The sun was still low in the sky, but people were already walking along the main street.
There was a significant difference to this incognito trip compared to the last one. Since I had received permission from my father, there wouldn't be any issue if I were to sleep with a citizen in the city. The mere thought of it made my eyes unintentionally glance at the women walking down the street. My eyes were wide opened to beauties around me. One of the objectives of this incognito trip was here.
Minith and I had decided to leave our houses as soon as the bell rang and then meet up in front of the statue in the central plaza. I left the castle slightly ahead since Minith's house in the castle town was near the plaza.
「Well then.」
I stepped into the crowded plaza. When I lightly activated detection magic, there were commoner magic users walking around, but their number could be counted by one hand. Forget about killing me, they were far from enough to cause me any harm, so I just ignored them.
There was a bronze statue at the heart of the plaza. The statue was easy to spot, causing it to become a meet up place among the citizens. Minith and I would also be meeting up here.
Did I arrive a bit early?, I thought.
I observed the people in front of the statue. As expected, the front of the statue was crowded by people, including citizens, travelers, and adventurers.
While I was observing the people, a girl who stood in front of the statue, wearing pretty clothes, approached me with inquiring eyes. Her chestnut colored hair, sitting above her shoulders, swayed gently. Her hair was let down, drawing a curve that outlined her face. It was a really beautiful hair.
「Um…」
The girl not only walked close, but she also spoke to me. Was I perhaps being picked up by a girl? She was the cutest among the women in front of the statue, so I felt slightly pleased. The men looked at me enviously. I had won it.
「Um, young master?」
When I looked closely at her face, the girl was actually Minith.
「Oh, Minith, so it was you. I wasn't able to tell since you looked different from usual.」
Her hair wasn't in the usual bunned style. I guess there wasn't a need to tie her hair in a bundle since she wasn't on duty. With her hair down, the usual diligent impression that she gave off had disappeared. She instead exuded the vibes of a healthy town girl.
「Mm?」
Her hairstyle was kind of familiar. Where had I seen it before? As I thought a bit, I remembered a vague memory.
「Speaking of which, I kind of remember that hairstyle from back then…」
「Yes, young master's remembered it right. Back then, we were free to choose our hairstyle, so…」
Without hiding her joy, Minith smiled.
I felt jittery while brushing her hair, so I thought there was something about it, and it appeared that I was indeed right.
「You're no longer free to choose your own hairstyle now?」
「Yes. The head maid changed the rules back when the uniforms were introduced.」
The head maid, who loved being punctual, had apparently changed the rules back then when I decided to introduce the uniforms to the servants. Until then, they were allowed to do their hair any way they wanted as long as it wouldn't hinder their work. However, a limitation had been placed due to the head maid's view. According to the head maid, it wasn't beautiful that their clothes were uniform, but their hairstyles differed. As a result, a rule had been established, that they could either shorten their hair or tie it up.
I remembered Minith's current hairstyle. I thought it was kind of cute back then when I was going around surveying the servants about the uniforms. I see… I was unable to remember it back when I first had sex with her.
「How nostalgic. This hairstyle suits you and it's cute.」
I complimented her hairstyle without mentioning the fact that I had remembered about it just now.
「Thank you… I feel very happy.」
Minith placed her palm on her chest and breathed a great sigh of relief. Perhaps she was nervously waiting for me to notice her hair.
「By the way, Minith. Haven't I told how you should refer to me today?」
「Ah… yes. Um, would it really be fine?」
Even though I was concealing my identity, people would eventually pick up on something if she were to keep calling me young master. Whenever I went down to the castle town, I always had a fake background prepared. Minith should've received a note containing my fake background yesterday from Tesh.
「Please properly call me by that name. Otherwise, people might find out my identity.」
My background was that of a commoner, so my speech was also similar to the way they speak. There was no need to speak like boss like I always did, so it felt comfortable.
After taking a deep breath, as though switching gears, Minith spoke:
「Will.」
「Yeah, that's good.」
「Will…」
Minith placed her fingers on her cheeks, blushing. Somehow, looking at her made me feel embarrassed too. If we continued flirting here in the middle of the plaza, a kick might come flying from the men's side.
「Minith, let's walk around that area until we get used to it.」
The place that I wanted to visit was, in a sense, enemy territory. Before rushing in, I wanted to shake off this awkward feeling first. When I reached my hand out, Minith looked at it with a troubled expression.
「Mm? Do you prefer holding arms?」
Same as my previous world, when couples walked side-by-side, they'd either hold hands or the girl clings to the man's arms. Which one does Minith prefer?, I wondered. I was fine either way, but considering our heights, I think it would be quite a pathetic sight if she were to cling to my arm.
「No, ah… I don't. I think, I like holding hands more.」
As Minith spoke awkwardly, she grabbed my hand and even tightly interlocked fingers with mine. My hands were slightly hotter, so Minith's cold fingertips felt pleasant.
While holding hands, we left the plaza and moved towards the back lane.
「Is the market already open?」
「Yes… yup. It's already open.」
It seemed that Minith was struggling in adjusting her speech. The way she was having trouble speaking in a casual manner made her the exact opposite of Lupetta, which I found amusing.
I glanced at the surrounding and pulled Minith towards a shadow of a building.
「Umm…?」
「Minith. Just be yourself and enjoy it.」
I hugged her close and gave a light kiss. Minith leaned her body on me. If I were to engage in a deep kiss now, we'd probably be going head straight to the love hotel, so we only entwined tongues a bit.
「nnmmchu♡… Will…」
「Good girl.」
When I released Minith's lips, she looked at me with desire in her eyes, but we couldn't continue kissing here. There was still a place that I wanted to go and visit. It wasn't like I wanted to get off yet.
「Minith, let's go. Wasn't there a place that you wanted to check out?」
「What about you? There's no problem if go to mine later…」
「We can settle my business later. Let's first get used to our relationship.」
Pulling Minith's hand, we returned to the back lane.
The marketplace was at the heart of the commercial district, and it required a bit of walk to go there from the plaza. Minith was surprisingly quick on her feet. I wanted to try being considerate, like men would do during dates, adjusting to the walking speed of their partner. Unfortunately, it seemed that there was no need to do it with Minith. Commoners typically walked fast, and I guess she was no exception.
「You wanted to look for a makeup set, didn't you?」
「Yeah. Until now, I've been using the makeup set that has been handed to me by mom, so I want to buy a new one.」
The marketplace was enveloped in a noisy and bustling atmosphere. It was filled with morning energy. People were laying out their carpets, setting up their tents, and doing business. It gave the image of a flea market. Whenever I took a stroll in the castle town, I always visited this Blue Sky Market. It never bored me since it always had interesting stuffs displayed.
「This way.」
Although the people looked as though they were just opening stores as they pleased, there was actually a rough standard operating procedure.
Minith pulled and led me to the area for women. There were many female customers around this part, so I'd never gone here until now since I was nervous to step in. But this time, I had a female companion, so I was able to confidently step inside the women's area. I felt slightly troubled, thinking whether I should a present for Fanny. If I were to buy something she didn't like, I felt like she'd sulk even more.
「Wow… It's so pretty.」
Contrary to her usual demeanor, Minith raised a cheerful voice befitting her age. There was a wooden box that appeared to be a makeup set in front of her, and she was grabbing each tool with excitement.
「Hmm, so this is a makeup.」
I'd never had a chance to step inside a young noblewoman's dressing room, so it was my first time seeing these kinds of tools. Well, there was a chance that their makeup tools were different from the ones that commoners used, so it probably wouldn't be of any help. I couldn't give out any advice on which was good or bad. There were tools inside the wooden box, and I was totally clueless on how these tools were used.
「Mr. Boyfriend, it's inappropriate to keep looking when a woman's buying her beauty products.」
The woman tending the store reprimanded me. Certainly, I felt like it was slightly insensitive to keep staring at a woman's beauty products. Wondering if I made a mistake, I glanced at Minith's reaction.
「Boyfriend… boyfriend… ufu…♡」
For some reason, she looked really happy. There was a difference in our age and height, but it was good that people were properly seeing us as a couple.
「How about buying an ornament or something? There are good ones over there. Go and have a look at them.」
「Come come! Take a look here!」
I was immediately led to a woman who was opening a store next door. It seemed that this store sold accessories. Minith went along with my request, so I should at least give her a gift.
「Your girlfriend is a beauty, so I think the accessories around here will suit her. It will definitely look good on her! She'll be happy… and perhaps she might even listen to your naughty request.」
The woman spoke the last words while showing a gesture of lowering her voice. She was still young, and yet her behavior was like a middle aged woman.
「What's this one made of?」
「Mm? Ah, that's a comb made of tortoiseshell. It's from the tortoise that comes out of fields, the one with a green shell.」
The comb's material was similar to a tortoise's shell, so I had my doubts about it, but it looked like tortoiseshell was indeed the raw material.
「Do tortoise come out of fields?」
「You… are you a young master of a rich family? Tortoises that feed on leaves and roots come out in great number during the beginning of spring. They are about this size. Their meat isn't very delicious, but their shell has many uses.」
When the woman mentioned the size, she formed a circle the size of an ordinary automobile's tire with her hands. The tortoise was quite large.
I remembered that tortoiseshells were usually obtained from sea turtles. I never thought they could get one in the land, what a mysterious creature. There were animals on earth that existed in this world, and there were also mysterious creatures that I'd never seen before. That tortoise must be from the latter group.
「Did you like it? Processed tortoiseshells are beautiful, after all. If your going to gift your girlfriend, then choose a good one, like this one here.」
Perhaps because I casually picked a comb, she lined up combs with different colors of tortoiseshell. There was blue, yellow, green, red, purple, white, brown, and black. The scene before my eyes had turned colorful.
「These colors…」
「They are all from different tortoises. The cheapest is the green one, and the most expensive ones are the red and blue.」
Oh my turtle, there were so many of them. Perhaps the world was actually flat, and it was being supported on the back of a gigantic turtle.
「The red and blue lived up to its price, they are beautiful.」
Although the red and blue were expensive, that was only from the perspective of a commoner. I could easily buy a box of them. When I held the red comb towards the sun which had already risen slightly higher, the half-transparent comb caused a red light to shine on the ground.
「Do have anything other than combs?」
「Anything… That's too vague. Can't you narrow it down a bit? For example, hair ornament, earring, necklace, or a ring.」
Since I would give her a present, I'd like her to use it every day. I thought about an accessory that she could use even when working as a maid. I tried remembering the appearance of the maids in the castle, but I'd never seen anyone wearing accessories like earrings or a necklace. This must be due to the head maid's actions behind the scenes.
However, I realized that there was one accessory.
「Do you have something to tie up the hair?」
The rule established by the head maid had caused a lot of maids to tie up their hair in a bundle with ribbons or strings, among others. They were free to choose, to some extent, which hair fastener to use. Minith used a plain fastener that looked similar to a barrette to tie up her hair.
「Oh yes. If your looking for a hair tie, then we have quite a lot of them.」
The woman displayed different kinds of hair tie. There must be a demand for them since there were lots of long-haired women.
「This one.」
「That one? What was that again… Errr, that's a flower with a nice smell. Tortoiseshell was used to make that accessory. It's beautiful, isn't it?」
I took a barrette the shape of a red flower. The petals appeared to be made of processed tortoiseshell, it was sparkling beautifully. Its size wasn't too large, so I think the head maid wouldn't confiscate it.
「I'll buy this one.」
「Okay, thank you～.」
I handed a silver coin, which had been prepared for today, and received the barrette. When I glanced at Minith, she was looking at the makeup sets slightly far away from me. I'd decided to give it to her later.
After Minith looked at the accessories for a while, she moved towards me. It seemed that she didn't buy anything since she had nothing in her hands.
「Wait, you didn't buy anything?」
「… I didn't. They said that a peddler will be coming from another place soon and there will be better products for sale. I've decided to wait until then.」
「I see.」
I guess buying cosmetic products wasn't something to be rushed. Minith looked satisfied after looking at the goods displayed. I pointed my finger outside.
「Is there anything else you'd like to see?」
「Well, I'd like to look for cloths…」
Commoners normally wouldn't buy finished clothes. Assuming they buy one, they'd buy a second-hand. Most of the time, they would buy materials to make new clothes or fix their old clothes.
I wanted to visit a clothing store with a girl and enjoy the situation where the girl would ask me 'Does it look good on me? Which one is better?", and then I'd start getting annoyed since she couldn't decide on what to pick.
「Then let's go and look for cloths.」
I pulled Minith by the hand and walked.
The sun had reached high in the sky, and after taking lunch at a food stall in the central plaza, the sound of the bell reverberated.
It was already afternoon.
「Will, what are we going to do after this? 」
「Hmm, let me see…」
Minith seemed to have become accustomed to behaving as lovers, and the awkwardness had mostly disappeared.
「Let's go.」
I'd decided to proceed to this trip's place of destination. We left the central plaza and entered the area opposite of the commercial district. There were many old buildings around this part, and the atmosphere was calm.
「It's just around the corner after turning right.」
Led by Minith, I walked while breathing the slightly musty air. The alley's old cracked stone paving gave an excellent ambiance. From the perspective of a former Japanese person, even the other districts were a sight to behold on their own, but this district felt like you're walking inside an enormous world heritage.
「Wow… So this is the place?」
「Yup. I also felt it when I visited here the last time, but the building is really impressive.」
After passing the slightly dark alley, a large church came into sight. The stone walls were light orange and the roof bronze. A tremendous amount of funds must've been invested in the construction of the building. Its past glory was visible to see.
There were fine and delicate arts on the walls, but the long passage of time had caused many areas to blacken and begin to collapse. That building was a religious establishment under the management of Xessian Synod. It was the Church of Xess.