A small building far away from the square.
“Huuh~ That was delicious, right?”
After finishing her meal, Leje said with a satisfied smile.
“Yeah, it was alright. When did you find this place?”
“Hehe. Unlike you, I go back and forth to Royal Road often. I stumbled upon this place by chance.”
At Rudell’s compliment, Leje seemed to feel good, puffing out her chest with a triumphant expression.
Seeing her like that made Rudell chuckle, thinking she looked like a child begging for more praise.
“By the way, it’s unexpected. I thought you’d be taking me to some fancy high-class restaurant.”
Following Leje’s lead, he arrived at a small diner that served home-cooked meals, something you’d see anywhere.
With a slightly worn-out appearance, the diners were mostly ordinary people rather than nobles.
No matter how you looked at it, it wasn’t a place where a duke’s daughter would confidently bring her friend.
“Have you never heard the saying not to judge by appearances?”
“True, I suppose.”
Judging by appearances alone, it made no sense for Rudell, a count from the Weinstein County, to be friends with Leje, a duke’s daughter.
Understanding her point, Rudell nodded and continued down the path.
“So, where should we go next?”
“Hmm… I think we should head to the commercial district first. We have a lot to buy, so we need to hurry.”
Right away, what came to mind were basic furniture and various daily necessities.
If someone asked why they needed to buy such things when they weren’t setting up a household, the answer was simple.
“Given the state of the dorms, we need to buy furniture first.”
The two were now fifteen years old.
That meant it was time for them to enroll in the Academy.
Students who enroll in the Academy generally live in dorms, but the problem was that the conditions of these dorms were not that great.
What they provided was just a single bed, a small desk, and a wardrobe.
Everything else had to be purchased by the students themselves.
For ordinary students who could barely afford tuition, this was not much of a problem, but for noble-born students like Rudell and Leje, it was a serious issue.
The silver lining was that the well-off noble kids could bring in their own furniture and necessities.
The reason the two of them had met today was to buy the items they would need for the dorm before the entrance ceremony.
“When I first heard it, I thought Kaylee was just teasing me…”
“That’s understandable.”
Seeing Leje grumble, Rudell let out a low laugh.
Despite having lived in a cramped space in the 21st century, even he found the dorm conditions lacking.
If it was bad for him, how much worse was it for Leje, who had always lived without want in the Duke’s House?
One couldn’t help but wonder how the protagonist managed to survive in such poor conditions.
“Okay! Let’s hurry up! We have to finish everything before it gets dark.”
“Yes, yes! I’m going!”
And just like that, they were off.
Leje led the way, and following her, Rudell chuckled softly.
It seemed like it was going to be a busy day.
*
Before long, the sky had turned a brilliant red, and the sun was setting beyond the high castle walls.
Under the starry sky filled with reds and blacks, Rudell and Leje walked along the path.
“Ugh… I’m so tired…”
“Is it really? You’ve just mentioned being tired.”
Even knowing that her fatigue was mental rather than physical, Rudell teased her.
“Are you seeing me as anything other than a human? I am a person too, you know?”
“Hmm… Ogre?”
“Ugh, you little!!”
With that monstrous strength, one could believe she was an ogre or a giant.
As Rudell squinted, Leje immediately charged at him.
“Ah! Sorry! It was a joke! I’m sorry, Leje!”
“Shut up! This time I won’t let it slide!”
The intense blow landed on his defenseless back, and a painful scream escaped Rudell’s lips.
Of course, even then, Leje’s attacks continued for a while.
“One little joke, and it’s life or death…”
Rubbing his sore back, Rudell grumbled.
“Shut up; it’s only because of you that this is how it ends.”
Then, Leje shot him a sassy reply.
To be fair, that was true.
If it had been someone else making such a joke to Leje, they would have lost their head right there and then.
That meant that Leje regarded Rudell in a special way.
“By the way, have we bought everything we need?”
“Let’s see… We got all the school supplies… Bought the furniture… and necessary items… Looks like we got everything.”
At Leje’s question, Rudell took out his notebook, checked the last item, and closed it.
“Then should we take a stroll, have dinner, and head back? Dinner time is soon, right?”
“That sounds good. Do you have anywhere in mind?”
In fact, Rudell had been feeling a little disappointed to just head back.
After all, this was only his second time in Royal Road.
Considering that he didn’t remember his first visit, today essentially felt like his first time in the royal city.
Having come all the way to Royal Road, wouldn’t it be boring to just read books in his room like always?
“Hmm… I don’t have any specific places in mind.”
“Then let’s just walk around; something will come up as we go.”
When in doubt, walking aimlessly is the best way to go.
With a faint smile at Leje’s response, Rudell started down the wide path alongside the river.
“Is it just me, or is time flying? We’re already fifteen.”
“Sometimes, I still recall the day we became friends.”
The day Rudell became friends with Leje was still vividly clear in his memory.
“Do you know how scary that was? Out of nowhere, you grabbed me and asked to be friends…”
The emotions he felt back then still gave him cold sweats even now.
“Scary? It wasn’t like I was going to eat you or anything.”
“If you said you would eat me, it might have felt less scary!”
“You really would float to the surface if tossed into water, huh?”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“That’s not a compliment!”
As Rudell answered with a playful expression, Leje looked at him in disbelief.
Seeing her reaction, Rudell chuckled, while Leje pressed her forehead, as if dealing with a headache.
As they exchanged silly jokes and walked along, all of a sudden…
“Rudell! Look over there!”
“Hmm? What is it?”
Taken aback by Leje’s strangely excited voice, Rudell turned to see what she was pointing at.
And what he saw were small boats gliding along the river.
“It’s a gondola. I’m seeing one for the first time in person.”
“A gondola? Is that what those boats are called? I’ve only seen them pass by in a hurry.”
“Yep. Want to give it a try?”
With sparkling eyes, Leje seemed to have found an exciting new toy.
Noticing her intent, Rudell cautiously inquired.
“Sure! Let’s ride it!”
“Let’s see… There should be a dock nearby.”
Rudell muttered as he started looking for a dock, while Leje vigorously nodded in agreement.
Before long, they spotted many gondolas moored at a dock, and Rudell headed there with Leje.
As they reached the dock…
“Watch your step.”
Holding Leje’s hand, Rudell carefully entered the dock area and approached a nearby gondolier.
“Welcome! Are you here to ride the gondola?”
“Two, please.”
“That will be ten silver.”
When the gondolier asked, Rudell held up two fingers, and the gondolier reached out his hand.
As Rudell pulled out a shiny gold coin from his pouch and handed it over, the gondolier pocketed the money and escorted them to the gondola.
“Please be careful not to trip.”
“Oooh… This feels strange.”
“Now, hold my hand.”
After getting on the gondola first, Rudell reached out to Leje, who seated herself across from him with a trembling voice.
“Just in case, I should say this: don’t get up or move around too much while we’re driving, okay?”
“Yeah, I understand.”
Nodding, Rudell shifted his gaze to Leje, who was nervously looking around and smiled gently while extending his hand.
“Here, take my hand.”
“What? Oh, no, I mean it’s not that I’m nervous or anything…”
“Yeah~ Yeah~ Just quickly give me your hand.”
As she hesitated, Rudell let out a low laugh and held her hand tightly.
“Eek!?”
At that moment, a sound emerged from Leje that was hard to describe, but soon after, she buried her head and began mumbling softly.
Maybe because of the sounds around them, it wasn’t very audible, but it surely wasn’t very important…
“Alright, we’re setting off now.”
With that, as the gondolier began, the gondola, carrying the two, sailed along the river that was beginning to turn a deep blue.
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