Chapter 111
After the dizzying sensation of the space flipping, her feet landed firmly on solid ground. Noxia took a deep breath and opened her eyes.
She looked around. This was not Tyros. This time, Promeon had brought her to her homeland, to a space that felt personally quite familiar.
“Near my old house…”
Noxia whispered as she looked around the park. By “old house,” she meant the small rented home she had lived in before. It had been her cozy refuge when she first came to the capital.
“I know. When the weather was nice, we often went for walks here. We’d sit on the bench and read books.”
Promeon replied cheerfully. He didn’t seem to be hiding the fact that he had secretly followed her before, and Noxia gave him a slightly haughty sideways glance.
“Noxia.”
He called her name tenderly, using the name that represented her present identity, not her past.
“Spend the day with me in the capital.”
“Huh?”
“I want to spend time like people do these days. They call it… a date, I think.”
His gentle gaze fell on her. The way he used modern terms felt as light and airy as a spring breeze.
“Just one day. Only today.”
He spoke with a softly pleading tone. Noxia stared into Promeon’s deep blue eyes.
“…Alright.”
She answered. At those few words, Promeon’s face lit up like he had been promised all the gold in the world. Seeing that sunshine-like smile, Noxia felt both her eyes sting and her heart ache.
“Thank you.”
He whispered. Her throat tightened, and she nodded.
When they had left Tyros earlier, it had been a dim dawn, but here in Hermeon, it was a clear morning.
It was midsummer, so the temperature was high, but a cool breeze blew, so it didn’t feel overwhelmingly hot.
“What do ordinary people do on dates?”
Promeon asked matter-of-factly. Instead of snapping back about how he had been following her and the prince like a stalker, Noxia answered warmly.
“First, let’s eat something. I’m hungry.”
Noxia extended her hand toward Promeon. He froze, showing a rare look of surprise. Noxia ignored his reaction and said lightly, as if it were nothing.
“What are you waiting for? Hold my hand.”
Promeon hesitated unusually, then finally, like a shy boy, timidly intertwined his hand with hers. Their palms touched, and fingers interlaced. Their skin met at a similar warmth.
“Let’s go.”
Noxia led the way. Promeon blinked briefly at her dazzling back.
Hand in hand, they walked toward the academy. As the grand outline of her old workplace rose on the horizon, a sudden wave of nostalgia surged.
But Noxia’s current destination was not the school. The small restaurants, cafés, and food stalls lined behind it greeted her as a familiar, heartwarming scene.
“Have you ever eaten here? Back when you were Jade Ranon?”
“No.”
“Of course. Even if you had eaten with others, you wouldn’t have come to a place like this.”
The backstreet eateries selling simple sandwiches or cheap noodles were convenient in a positive sense, shabby in a negative one.
They were mostly frequented by students or staff wanting to save on meals, either during free periods, lunch breaks, or after school/work.
Promeon, pretending to be a noble young master, would have chosen far more elegant restaurants even if he had plans with others.
Noxia’s deduction was correct. Instead of showing annoyance at her blunt remark, Promeon just nodded sheepishly with a slightly embarrassed expression.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I’ll show you this time. There’s a sandwich shop I used to go to often. Their coffee is good too.”
When she had woken up too late to eat before work, when nothing appealing caught her eye at lunch, or when she wanted a light dinner after work, Noxia often went to this shop.
To save on rent, there was only one table, but it didn’t matter since most customers took their sandwiches to go.
Entering the cramped familiar shop after a long time, the savory smell of bread toasted in butter mixed with the bitter scent of coffee tickled Noxia’s nose.
She inhaled deeply with a happy expression, then gazed at the shop owner in the kitchen with tender eyes.
“Hello, sir.”
Noxia greeted warmly. Having spent so much time at the academy from last spring to autumn, she had become friendly with the owner and occasionally got a free coffee.
“Welcome, sir. Will you be ordering?”
The cheerful middle-aged man greeted her with a polite smile, as if treating a guest properly but also seeing someone new for the first time.
Noxia smiled back calmly. The tender light in her clear eyes darkened just slightly, otherwise no different than before.
Promeon stood quietly, observing her. At first glance, his expression seemed blank, but it carried an emotion close to fear.
Noxia ignored his timid glances and spoke to place her order with a calm, ladylike demeanor.
“One special sandwich, please. Extra bacon and lettuce, no pickles. And a cup of coffee as well.”
“Yes, understood. Will the gentleman behind you not be ordering anything?”
The owner’s cheerful gaze turned to Promeon, who froze in embarrassment. Noxia casually looked back at him.
“Do you want anything?”
“…I’ll have the same as you.”
Noxia was slightly surprised. She had expected him to say it was fine or that he wasn’t hungry, but he hesitated before giving another answer.
“…Then two special sandwiches and two coffees, please.”
“Extra bacon, extra lettuce, no pickles for him as well?”
“Yes, the same, please.”
This time Promeon answered. Noxia was quietly astonished again.
“Alright, please wait a moment.”
The shop owner said cheerfully and skillfully flipped the bread sizzling on the griddle, showing a golden-brown surface.
Noxia and Promeon sat across from each other at the shop’s only table. Noxia looked at him skeptically.
“You don’t have to force yourself to eat. You’re not even hungry, right?”
“I may not feel hunger, but I can taste. You already know that.”
When Noxia whispered, Promeon shrugged. Though he had been tense since earlier, smiling at her came naturally.
“It’s a date today. Since we’re matching ordinary people of this era, I have to keep the promise.”
His tender words carried sincerity. Noxia’s gaze briefly clouded.
Her eyes turned to the kitchen again. The savory smell of bread frying in butter mixed with the lively sound of bacon sizzling.
Promeon glanced toward the kitchen following her gaze, then immediately returned his eyes to hers.
“I’m sorry for erasing your memories.”
He pleaded softly. Each word carried genuine emotion.
“It’s alright. I agreed to it too. At the time, I thought it was the best I could do.”
Noxia muttered. She remembered the shop owner from before who had smiled kindly at her and given her free coffee. Her gaze still lingered on the kitchen, which made Promeon somewhat distressed.
“I’m sorry.”
He whispered clearly again. Only then did Noxia turn back to him.
“It’s alright.”
She answered just as before, with no resentment in her eyes.
A moment later, the shop owner brought over the finished sandwiches and coffee. There was no special service for regulars today, but Noxia looked up at him and smiled kindly.
“Thank you, sir.”
“Enjoy your meal.”
Had the weather been a cooler spring or autumn day, they would have taken the sandwiches and coffee to a nearby park, but as there were no other customers, they ate in the shop.
Noxia took a bite of the warm sandwich. The combination of rich bacon, crisp lettuce, and the shop’s special sauce was as excellent as ever.
Promeon held his sandwich with his hands and ate too. He could have requested a knife and fork, but today he wanted to adjust even these small details for his companion.
Seeing someone who seemed like they would elegantly cut even a simple sandwich with a silver knife eating it by hand in this cramped shop made Noxia laugh softly.
“Pfft.”
When she chuckled quietly, Promeon looked at her with slightly pitiful eyes. That sorrowful look only made her laugh more.
“Sorry, I’m not mocking you. It’s just… too…”
Cute. She almost said it out loud.
But on a day like today, saying that to him would be cruel, so she swallowed the rest of her words, leaving a faint smile on her face as she quietly ate her sandwich.
After finishing the modest meal, which didn’t suit the grandeur of an immortal hero or the first king reincarnated, the two thanked the shop owner, paid, and went outside.
The sun had risen higher in the alley, shining brightly. Noxia paused in front of the shop, thinking about their next destination.
“Let’s go this way.”
“What’s over there?”
Walking side by side with Noxia, Promeon asked, matching her pace. His tone sounded genuinely curious, so Noxia answered lightly.
“There’s a shopping street that academy students often go to. Mostly stores selling study-related items, like bookstores or art shops, but there are also clothing and cosmetics shops.”
“You know the area well.”
“I lived here for a while. I don’t really need anything, just want to browse a bit.”
“Do as you like.”
Promeon spoke kindly, though he didn’t really understand the concept of wandering through shops without intending to buy anything.
‘If there’s nothing to buy, what exactly are they looking at?’
When he was human, this kind of shopping culture didn’t exist. Currency was inconsistent, and concepts like large-scale capital or mass production were absent.
While he, cursed, wandered this world like a ghost, his descendants gradually adapted to a monetary economy, and permanent stores that attracted customers replaced the occasional markets.
As a detached observer from outside reality, Promeon had watched this long process indifferently, never truly empathizing with the changes in human goods.
