Mitsuki walked beside the girl.

Everything felt strangely awkward because she neither spoke nor did anything other than stare ahead with her cute expressionless face.

’I probably shouldn’t think this, but there are weird people everywhere. No one has ever invited me on a date like this before. Well... no one has ever invited me on a date at all. What are you even supposed to do on a date?’

He looked up at the sky, trying to find some kind of answer.

’The only references I have are dating sims, but I don’t think those work in real life. I mean, girls in real life don’t fall in love with the protagonist at first sight or over simple things like a slight brush of hands.’

Until recently, he had been a shut-in virgin, so he had absolutely no experience with this sort of thing.

’Besides, those heroines always acted way too conveniently. Real people are much harder to understand.’

"Uh... Hey," Mitsuki said.

Rosemarie suddenly looked at him. Her hood whipped lightly to the side, as though the movement itself had been filled with force.

"Yes?"

"Where exactly are we going? It feels like we’re just wandering around aimlessly."

She opened her mouth to answer, but stopped halfway because she clearly didn’t know what to say. Instead, she looked toward the road and stayed silent for several seconds.

A group of people passed beside them at that moment, forcing them to step slightly aside. Rosemarie waited until the path was clear before responding.

Mitsuki raised an eyebrow.

"We’re going to buy fruit," she suddenly said. "I like fruit. I used to bring a lot of it to my grandmother. She also liked chicken soup. We should get that too."

"Okay...?"

Looking away, Mitsuki felt bewildered.

’Yeah, she’s weird. She’s even weirder than Jeanne, and that’s already saying a lot.’

Even so, the serious way she spoke made it hard to tell whether she was joking or not.

Still, he wasn’t losing anything by spending time with this girl. He had returned to recover and prepare for the next kingdom, so this short break wasn’t really taking much of his time.

He could also use the opportunity to spend time with a cute girl he had only just met.

And so, he followed Rosemarie around like a puppy until they arrived at the city’s commercial district.

It was still the same place as always, yet it somehow felt different.

Maybe it was because he was walking alongside someone, or because for the first time in a long while, he wasn’t thinking solely about survival.

The commercial streets were packed with all kinds of people. Shop signs glowed with small magical enchantments, while the scent of freshly baked bread mixed with sweet perfumes and the smoke of roasted meat.

The girl approached one of the stalls and bought a bag of assorted fruits. She walked over to Mitsuki and pulled out an apple. First, she polished the fruit against her cape before offering it to him.

"Here. Eat."

"Uh, thanks," he said, accepting the gift.

The apple was cold and fresh. When Mitsuki bit into it, sweet juice quickly spread through his mouth.

Rosemarie seemed to show a faint smile when she saw him eating. It was only a tiny change in her expression, yet it made her face look much gentler.

She then pulled out another apple and tossed it into the air as she said:

"Hati, eat."

The apple vanished in midair along with the loud sound of something taking a single bite. A few drops of apple juice splashed around, some of them landing on Mitsuki’s face.

Several nearby people jumped in surprise and looked around in confusion, trying to figure out what had made that sound.

"Good. Let’s continue," she said.

Mitsuki swallowed hard.

"What was that?"

"That? It’s Hati, my pet. He’s a very adorable puppy, but I can’t summon him inside the city because he’s too big and would destroy the merchants’ stalls. He’s also very restless, so making him obey is difficult."

"I-I see..."

An adorable puppy? If it was big enough to break everything around it, then it definitely wasn’t an adorable puppy—especially if its owner couldn’t even control it.

’I’d better not ask any more about that. I don’t think it’s something I should get involved in.’

For some reason, Mitsuki felt a slight chill run down his spine as he imagined the size of that creature.

They continued walking while eating fruit.

Rosemarie quietly took small bites from a pear while observing the streets. Her expression remained calm, yet she seemed to enjoy the atmosphere in her own way.

Before long, they arrived at a homemade food restaurant, a small establishment located on one of the corners near the center of the city. There were tables and chairs outside beneath wooden umbrellas that protected customers from the rain and sunlight.

It was a cozy place. Steam drifted out from the interior together with the delicious smell of freshly cooked food.

"Let’s eat chicken soup," Rosemarie said.

She didn’t even wait for Mitsuki’s response before sitting down in one of the chairs beneath an umbrella.

The way she sat was rather straight and elegant. Even the way she rested her hands on her lap gave off a refined and tranquil feeling.

’She definitely moves at her own pace. If this keeps up, I won’t be able to keep up with her.’

He sat across from her and waited. He looked at the girl, who was staring fixedly at the tablecloth.

’It looks like she only talks when someone asks her something.’

That was a good strategy. Remembering what had happened at the guild, he decided to ask about it.

"Uh... Earlier, I saw that you and Ellegaard don’t get along very well. Why?"

She raised her gaze.

Her red eyes seemed to focus entirely on Mitsuki for several seconds.

***

Near the guild, Jeanne was talking with Ellegaard while the two of them searched for Mitsuki.

"Ellie, you can’t keep hating Rosie just because she’s better than you at certain things. She’s way younger than us, you know? She’s basically still a child. Why are you so jealous of a child?"

Ellegaard frowned. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Me? Jealous? Of that flea-ridden mutt? You have to be joking!"

The elf spoke so loudly that a couple of nearby adventurers turned their heads to look at her.

"See? It’s obvious you are. First, you need to calm down a little and think about it. You’re already an adult woman, you can’t go around hating children. Now let’s go find Mitsuki and—"

Jeanne suddenly stopped. Ellegaard thought the princess was mocking her, but when she looked in the direction Jeanne was staring, she became just as shocked.

"Those are..."

"Quiet, Jeanne," Ellegaard whispered.

The elf grabbed Jeanne’s hand and together they hid around the opposite corner of the street.

Both of them barely peeked their faces out from behind the wall to observe carefully.

Meanwhile, Rosemarie calmly answered Mitsuki’s question.

"She’s rude to me, so I’m rude to her too. It seems like that’s the only way I can talk to her, because before, I tried being nice, but..."

"Did she hit you with her magic staff?"

She shook her head.

"She tried a couple of times, but I was stronger than her. I’m a battle mage, after all, but I can also summon shadow beasts. Hati is a shadow beast I tamed while I was in the Land of Shadows."

As she spoke, Rosemarie grabbed another piece of fruit and slowly bit into it.

"Shadows... You mean..."

She nodded.

"I was exploring one of the corrupted lands in search of power within its mysteries. Hati was there. I fought him for an entire week until I managed to defeat him. That’s how I turned him into my pet."

Her voice remained calm, as though she were talking about something completely ordinary.

The Land of Shadows... Mitsuki knew little to nothing about it because he had barely researched Nemoria at all. If this girl possessed knowledge about that place, then perhaps his next destination after the Land of Ash should be there.

’I think I just found someone extremely valuable for my search for power.’

It was like a gift falling from the heavens.

If she had survived that place, then she could become an excellent companion during the journey.

He leaned over the table and asked:

"Can you tell me more about it? What was your experience in the Land of Shadows like? I’ve only been to Nemoria."

Rosemarie’s eyes seemed to light up at the interest in Mitsuki’s words, but she raised her palm in front of the Ashen Boy’s face to stop him.

"First we eat chicken soup, then we talk about that."

"Chicken sou—"

"Waiter!" she called out.

A demi-human with bull horns, dark skin, and red hair appeared.

He wore a white apron over his clothes and held a small notebook in one hand.

"Sorry for the wait. May I take your order?"

Rosemarie nodded.

"Chicken soup. Large. Do you want chicken soup too?" she asked, looking at Mitsuki.

He sighed.

’She’s still very weird, but it feels like we’ll get along well.’

Honestly, it was surprisingly easy to talk with her. Maybe because Rosemarie also didn’t seem very concerned about acting normal.

"Yeah. I want chicken soup."

"Okay. Two chicken soups, please."

The demi-human nodded and returned inside the restaurant.

From inside the establishment came the sounds of boiling pots and dishes clattering together. The smell of hot broth reached their table only a few seconds later.

From the corner, Ellegaard and Jeanne watched suspiciously.

"It looks like they’re on a date," the princess said.

Ellegaard continued observing them. Her elf ears twitched as she listened to the conversation between those two.

The elf frowned deeply when she saw the calm expression on Mitsuki’s face while sitting across from Rosemarie.

"Why does that tick look so comfortable talking with that weirdo?" she muttered under her breath.

"Because Mitsuki is weird too," Jeanne immediately replied.

Ellegaard fell silent.

She hated admitting it, but that made far too much sense.