Walking out of Elise' store, I slowly walked down the main street again.
The results of the fortune-telling were worrisome, but Elise said that
fortune-telling was just one of the guidelines for the future, so there
was no need to be overly conscious of it.
I didn't want to just leave after getting free fortune-telling though, so I
bought a few items that seemed to be charms of this world.
When I first entered her store, Elise had a complicated look on her face,
but when I was about to leave, she said "If you're going to come back as
a customer, you're more than welcome", so I think we got along a little
better.
Well, that aside, what should I do now? Should I go check out Alice's
store as usual? No, well, Alice herself will come out as soon as I call her
but… Somehow, when I hang out with Alice, I end up visiting her
miscellaneous goods store. Even with all her antics, I feel comfortable
hanging around in that store.
As I was leisurely walking along, thinking about such things, I saw a
familiar figure walking in my direction from the corner of my eye.
[Fufufu, marshmallow~~ Delishy delish marshma…]
The person who was walking along with a cute little bottle in hand,
humming in a way that seemed to express her good mood, stiffened as
if she had just been petrified by the gorgon.
[...…]
[...…]
After an incredibly heavy silence, the person turned so pale that it was
pitiful to watch, and she began to sweat profusely.
[…Ummm, errr, I didn't see anything, yes. W- What a coincidence,
meeting you here, Luna-san.]
[Y- Yes, you're right.]
Yes, what appeared in front of me was Luna-san, not wearing her usual
maid uniform, but instead, she's wearing casual wear.
From the way she was dressed, it seemed that Luna-san had a day off
today. And thus, she went shopping in the city, bought some
marshmallows, which were probably her favorite food, and was
returning home in a good mood when she ran into me…
[Are you shopping?]
[Yes, ummm…]
[…Do you like marshmallows?]
[S- Somewhat…]
I tried to keep the conversation going, but Luna-san's pale expression
and averted gaze made it difficult for me to continue.
I had already guessed from the situation that Luna-san liked
marshmallows, and the fact that she had come to buy them was not
strange in itself.
The subject of the matter here though was the mysterious song she was
singing in a very good mood.
If I didn't know Luna-san well, Luna-san's polite language, wellgroomed appearance and her behavior as a maid combined would have
given me the impression that she was a cool lady.
However, she is actually quite childish on the inside. She likes playing
pranks, and gets worked up when she's angry… She hates bitter things
and can't drink coffee. And from what I heard Noir-san accidentally
mutter, she apparently likes plushies.
Well, even though Luna-san was such a person, she is embarrassed
about this side of her, and as was the case during the Karaoke Battle, it
makes her feel very uncomfortable when she's seen like this.
[…Miyama-sama, I have a suggestion to make.]
[Eh? Ah, yes. What is it?]
[You like drinking hot milk, right?]
[Y- Yes, I do like them.]
[If you have the time, why don't you stop by for a while since my home
is nearby? I also have some delicious pastries prepared.]
[Ehh? Ah, yes. If it's not too much trouble…]
I nodded my head in response to Luna-san's sudden suggestion. To be
honest, I don't understand the purpose of this suggestion. The flow of
the conversation is just too strange for her to simply invite me to her
home.
In that case, her purpose perhaps isn't to invite me, but to treat me to
hot milk and some pastries? Even so, I still don't understand why.
[In return, I want you to erase from your memory what just happened
and not tell anyone about it.]
[…I understand.]
I see, it's an exchange condition huh. Come to think of it, I remembered
that Luna-san had once offered me an exchange deal already, in
exchange for not making fun of my dislike for bell peppers, I shouldn't
pursue her dislike of bugs.
Perhaps, she is trying to make an exchange condition when she asks for
something from the other party. Luna-san is a former adventurer… It's a
job where trust seems to be important, so it's possible that this
exchange had become a habit from back when she was an adventurer.
As for me, I'm not really planning on telling anyone about this even if
there are no terms of exchange… but if it makes Luna-san feel more
comfortable to accept the offer, there's no reason for me to refuse.
I'm also interested in what Luna-san's home looks like anyway…
Luna-san led me to an area of houses located a few distance away from
the main street. Luna-san's home, which is erected on the corner of a
street is… how should I say this… I don't mean to be rude but… it looks
normal.
The house isn't that big, a two-story house. It looks just right for a
family of three. It seems to be a very ordinary house but… this feels
refreshing to me instead.
[It's a nice house with a relaxing atmosphere.]
[It might be a bit cramped, but please come in.]
The houses of the people I knew in this world were all far from the
word "common". Many of them have large houses, like Lilia-san's
mansion, Isis-san's castle and Fate-san's temple.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Sieg-san's home is also a
commoner's home, but their house was also designed to look like a
large hollowed-out tree, which is unique to the Elves, while Alice's
miscellaneous goods store has been expanded with Spatial Magic
inside.
Thinking about it again, this might be the first time for me, a Japanese,
to visit a house with a familiar shape.
Dear Mom, Dad——— This might be misfortunate for Luna-san, but
this was just right for me who doesn't know how to respond to an
incident like this. Luna-san usually has lots of work she needs to do, so
we didn't have much chance to talk with each other. We've known each
other for a long time—— so I think this might be a good opportunity
for us to get to know each other better.