Chapter 24
“What? No, it’s just…”
I had almost fed him the exact same way I feed Ban.
Realizing it a beat too late, embarrassment flooded over me. I quickly pulled my hand back, trying to feign composure.
“If you don’t want it, forget it.”
“Who said I didn’t want it?”
The hand I was withdrawing was caught, and before I knew it, my fingers were pulled toward him—his lips brushing against them.
The warm, soft, unfamiliar sensation made my fingers twitch.
It felt like if I wasn’t careful, he might actually bite them, so I quietly slipped my hand free.
“How is it?”
“It’s amazing how it melts the moment it hits my mouth.”
“Right?”
“But it’s too sweet. This is basically just a lump of sugar.”
“That’s the whole point.”
Honestly, he just didn’t know how to enjoy food.
When I waggled my index finger at him, Herais—who’d been brushing his thumb over his lips—let out a short laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing. I just… like it.”
“Li—like…?”
Before I could finish stammering, his hand suddenly reached out and brushed the corner of my mouth.
“You’ve got something here. Were you saving it for later?”
“You…!”
Just as I was about to scold him for his increasingly shameless skinship, Ban urgently tugged on my hair.
“Shishi, what’s that?”
“…Fruit candy.”
“I want some! I want the strawberry one!”
“Wait! Ban—!”
Ban leaned forward, completely ignoring me in his excitement.
Before I knew it, I was half-dragged away, serving as his very convenient wallet.
At that same moment, while Sienna was being dragged around by Ban—
“Shishi?”
Herais, who had let his attention wander for just a moment, suddenly realized Sienna was gone.
“This is the first time I’ve lost her…”
Of course, calling him “lost” might be a stretch—he could return to Sienna’s side with a single spell.
Herais fell into rare, deep thought.
Should I go back to Shishi now… or not?
It was nice having her fuss over him and feed him bites of food,
but most of it was the overly sweet stuff Ban liked, and his tongue was starting to ache from the sugar.
If I go back now, she’ll just keep making me eat.
He decided he’d run to her if she ended up in danger.
For now… maybe I should look for that guy first.
Even after all this time, a person’s unique aura didn’t change.
Just as he was casually scanning the area, someone timidly tugged at his robe.
“Mister, is this your first time in Kanima Street? Do you want to visit our trading company? We’re running a big festival event!”
“I’m not a mister.”
When he turned around, he saw a familiar face.
“Hey.”
“Oh! You’re from the temple that time!”
“Fancy seeing you again.”
Herais lightly ruffled the hair of the little boy who’d once headbutted Sienna.
The boy next to him quickly changed his wording, grinning sheepishly.
“Brother, our trading company’s really great! We have all kinds of good herbs. I’m sure they’d be useful for you.”
“They would! They really would!”
Herbs were of no use to an immortal like Herais,
but he thought of his fragile young lady.
“Alright. Let’s go to your trading company.”
“We’ll take you there!”
The kids’ eyes lit up—clearly proud of their successful pitch.
“Master, a customer’s here!”
“Welcome, welcome!”
A cheerful merchant rushed over to greet Herais.
“What kind of herbs are you looking for?”
“Ones good for easing coughs and pain.”
“Then how about these red plum tree berries? They’re a rare ingredient.”
The merchant was right—they were precious herbs.
Five hundred years ago, there were times when you couldn’t get them even if you had the money.
Maybe I’ll make a potion out of these.
Expensive ingredients meant stronger effects. Herais pulled out his coin pouch.
“How much?”
“One gold coin for a handful!”
“One gold? That’s all?”
Herais looked genuinely surprised—it was dirt cheap compared to what he remembered.
“Yes, one gold is fair. If we charged too much, how would the poor afford it?”
Still…
Even if you shouldn’t judge by appearances, it was hard to believe a word of that from someone with such a plump figure next to the skinny kids.
Well, whatever. A bargain’s a bargain.
It wasn’t like cheap herbs would cause a problem—thousand-year cactus grew everywhere nowadays.
“Here.”
The merchant chuckled, twirling his mustache as he took the gleaming coin.
“A wise choice, sir!”
“Shishi! I want that one too!”
“And that one!”
“And that one over there!”
How many had he eaten already?
Watching Ban’s endless eating spree, I sighed.
“Ban, I think you’ve had enough now.”
“What are you talking about! We still have to get skewers!”
“…Sure. Let’s eat them all.”
I handed Ban a skewer, then reached out to my side.
“Herenn, this one isn’t sweet. Want some?”
But my hand closed on empty air.
No reply.
Only then did I notice Herais was gone. I scanned the area.
“Herenn? Where’d he go?”
“He went that way earlier,” Ban mumbled around a mouthful, pointing off somewhere.
Without suspecting that his food-obsessed brain might have gotten the direction completely wrong, I headed that way.
It took me a while to realize something was off.
“Huff… Where the heck are we…”
My stamina had dropped sharply, and I collapsed onto a nearby bench.
If it weren’t for the potion Herais gave me, I’d have collapsed ages ago.
I patted my thighs and asked Ban,
“Ban, are you sure it’s this way?”
“Mm? Yeah, yeah, it is. Sienna, let’s grab that snack on the way!”
“…I don’t see a single hair of him.”
I gave Ban a half-lidded look—he was clearly too absorbed in food to notice.
Well… whatever.
Like Ban, I let myself get distracted by the lively streets around me.
It’s so vibrant. Such a good atmosphere.
I regretted all the times I’d just stayed hidden instead of coming out to enjoy this—
to laugh and have fun with everyone else.
No. No negative thoughts.
I tapped my cheeks lightly and shook it off.
“I can still enjoy it. Starting today, I’ll enjoy everything!”
I clenched my fists and took a determined step forward—
—and thunk!
I collided with a passerby.
“Ah!”
It wasn’t a hard hit, but without Herais to steady me, my weak body stumbled and fell backward.
“Ow…”
“Sienna, are you okay?!”
Even then, I somehow didn’t let go of Ban. I nodded.
“Oh no, it’s all spilled…”
At the young-sounding voice, I looked up—and was startled to see a child barely half my size.
“Hey, are you alright?”
As I stepped closer, a strong herbal scent hit me.
Must be from spilling their basket of herbs because of me… oh no.
I brushed stray leaves from the child’s hair.
“I wasn’t watching where I was going—sorry. Are you hurt? Are your herbs okay?”
The child stared at me for a moment before shaking their head.
“…I can still use most of these, so it’s fine.”
No crying, no anger—just simple acceptance.
I helped the child gather the herbs back into the basket. With two of us, it was quick work.
“That basket looks a bit big for you. Want me to carry it?”
The child gave me a dubious once-over.
“…Then take this.”
What they handed me was a single herb stalk.
“…I could carry more than this.”
“Feels like something bad would happen if I let you.”
I’d just been looked down on—by a kid who looked ten years younger than me.
Heat rose to my cheeks in embarrassment.
As I fanned myself to cool down, the child studied my face and then held out their hand.
“Then, can you at least give me directions?”
“Where to?”
Thank goodness—I wouldn’t be a completely useless adult after all.
I brightened.
“Panima Street, District 3.”
I knew exactly where that was.
“Leave it to me.”
We fell into step together, and I struck up conversation.
“So, kid—what’s with all the herbs? What are you going to use them for?”
“My name’s El.”
“Alright, El. I’m Sienna.”
After the slightly belated introductions, El answered my question.
“It’s been a while since I’ve come to the capital, but there’s so much good stuff here. I just kept buying and buying, and it ended up like this.”
“Where are you from?”
“Maniro.”
