New Year's Festival (2)
Orion and Heily strolled through streets packed with every kind of person.
Between them hung a single paper bag.
She was the sort who would vanish the moment you looked away. This was a measure to stop that from happening. Linking arms or holding hands was out of the question—they were neither a couple nor lovers. But if they stayed connected like this, at least he would notice the instant something went wrong.
"Is there anywhere you'd like to go?"
Orion glanced at Heily.
The Agnes Territory was vast. A festival could hardly be held in every corner of it. The place they stood in now radiated life from the plaza outward. Independent vendors of every sort seemed to have thrown up temporary stalls that looked rather like food carts.
"Secretary?"
Calling her brought no answer. She was absorbed in watching the people streaming past. She showed no particular urge to head anywhere specific—perhaps she simply enjoyed people-watching.
"Ah… I'm sorry. What did you say?"
Catching Orion's gaze, Heily gave a little start of her shoulders. Not wanting her to feel guilty, he spoke at once.
"Nothing. Watching you enjoy yourself was making me enjoy myself right along with you."
"I see. Then I'm glad."
"Shall we take a look around the whole place first, then?"
"Yes, please."
As with festivals anywhere, most of the stalls sold food. Fully half were taverns; the other half formed a long line of shops peddling simple fare meant to be eaten while walking.
"As expected—spicy, sweet, and salty tastes good no matter where you go."
Street food tended toward the bold and the intense. Honestly, once a person grew used to the refined cuisine of the mansion, fare like this ought to have been beneath notice. Yet the smells drifting from every side made craving it inevitable. Was this the life of a bourgeois come to sample commoner cooking? Somehow his shoulders felt like they wanted to lift with pride.
"Does it suit your taste?"
"Yes. It's a little spicy, but it's delicious."
What Heily held was a skewer dyed a vivid scarlet. Just looking at it seemed enough to set a mouth on fire, yet she was managing it quite well. Still, the heat left her panting—there was no helping that.
Orion watched her with a fond expression, then held out a drink.
"Here you go."
"Ah, thank you."
He had thoughtfully opened the lid already. The way she tipped it back and drank in long swallows made it plain why the men nearby couldn't keep their eyes off her. Her beauty was the kind that made looking away nearly impossible.
"You eat better than I expected."
"I believe it's because these are foods I often ate as a child."
"Ah—before the Madam hired you, you mean?"
"Yes. I was simply one of the territory's residents myself."
Her past. He was curious, of course. But now was not the time. He would ask once they had grown closer.
"Oh my!? Baby! Our young master's here too?"
A familiar voice rang out. Turning, Orion found Amanda approaching, every step radiating sultry charm—the manager of the Red-Light District. Behind her loomed two massive figures. For all their bulk, they were girls in their prime: Sena and Rena.
"Good day to you."
"Hmm? What about the Red-Light District—why is everyone here? Ah, it isn't opening time yet. A side job, by any chance?"
Amanda spoke with a smile curling through her voice.
"Come now, it's a festival. We can hardly sit it out."
She pointed behind her. There stood what looked like a temporary structure, yet it was an enormous tavern—quite possibly the largest building on the festival grounds.
"Everyone came out to enjoy themselves. No reason we shouldn't do the same."
The signature crimson lanterns of the Red-Light District were still in place. The attendants' attire, however, was far more conservative than usual. That did nothing to erase the allure woven into every gesture and glance.
"You managed to come out into the light."
"Don't even start. I learned just how strict our lord can be this time—learned it down to the bone."
"Hmm. That's something even without being the Madam—"
"More importantly, how about a drink, our young master? I'll pour for you myself, right beside you. Hmm?"
Amanda coiled her arm around Orion's. The heavy fragrance he remembered from the Red-Light District brushed past his nose.
"The girls will look after the baby. Don't you worry about that."
Soft warmth pressed closer as her arm wound tighter still.
That was when it happened.
Riiip—
The paper bag in his other hand tore slightly. Orion had not put any strength into his grip. Which meant…
"No thank you. I'm the Secretary's bodyguard today. Find someone else."
He peeled Amanda's arm away at once. Instead of looking disappointed, she only smiled sweetly.
"Hehe. If that's how it is, nothing I can do. Come find me if you have time~"
With that she trudged closer and leaned in to whisper against his ear.
"How about giving that child some kind of gift?"
A gift?
"See you next time~"
Amanda and the twins waved as they departed.
A gift, huh.
Yeah. Let's give her one.
Orion made up his mind.
This was not because he had been pushed into it. Even ordinarily, he had wanted to give her something—a repayment for the kindness with which she had always treated him.
"Hmm."
"Is something the matter?"
"Ah, it's nothing."
Orion considered. Gifts were given from the heart, true—but shouldn't it be something she could keep? No matter how carefully you wrapped street food, it remained only food.
Then something caught his eye.
"Haa. I'm ruined. I took the train all the way here because they said there was a festival…"
An accessory stall tucked into a corner stood out. Orion was a complete novice in such matters, yet even he could tell at a glance that this shop was different. It bore no resemblance to the cheap trinkets hawked along the street. Being a temporary stall, its exterior was nothing grand—but every piece on display looked refined and meticulously made.
Hmm. It's the prices.
With a crowd this size, business ought to have been decent no matter what. Yet no one was paying the accessory stall the slightest attention. One look at the price tags explained why: these were not sums a commoner would casually spend. Not ruinously expensive—but enough to make a person hesitate over a single item.
Orion approached the merchant, who was muttering things like I need to at least make back the train fare and I picked the wrong merchandise.
"I'll take this one."
He had already decided with a glance. A hairpin wrought in the shape of a pure white snow crystal. The craftsmanship was extraordinarily fine; simply looking at it made the piece seem elegant.
"Huh? Ah… that one, the price is a bit high… It's the most expensive item…"
The merchant stammered, his lips trembling. He had not expected a customer at all—much less one who would buy on the spot.
"It's fine. Here's the money. Please take it."
Orion paid without hesitation. It was not the allowance Karen had given him before they came—it was every last coin he had left on hand. Since he had yet to receive his salary, he could only regret not being able to give her something finer.
I'll have to be frugal for a while.
The merchant stared at the money Orion had placed in his palm. Then, with a resolute look, he spoke.
"Half is enough."
Half the sum was pressed back into Orion's hand.
"Hmm?"
When he tilted his head and tried to return it, the merchant waved him off.
"It's all right. You're my first customer—and seeing you go out of your way to come to a place where business is this poor, I'm simply too grateful."
"No, but still…"
Even as Orion kept trying to give the money back, the merchant refused absolutely.
"I made every one of these pieces myself, stitch by careful stitch. Money matters, of course—but rather than have them sit unused and discarded, I'm far happier if someone wears them."
Ugh…
When the man put it like that, there was nothing left to argue.
"Understood. Then I'll gratefully accept."
"Yes—thank you so much for buying."
But there were other ways to repay a kindness.
Orion gently drew back Heily's hood.
"What…?"
And pinned the snow-crystal hairpin into her hair.
"It's a gift."
"…A gift, you say?"
"Yes. I really wanted to give you one. So please—just accept it, and don't say another word about it."
Heily stroked the hairpin with dazed fingertips.
"Here you are!"
Thoughtfully, the accessory merchant held out a hand mirror. Seeing her own reflection, Heily smiled.
"…I will treasure it for the rest of my life. Thank you so very much."
"Then I'm the one who's honored."
Just as they lingered in the moment, a stir began to swell around them.
"Wow, that's really pretty. Should I buy one for my wife…?"
"Oh my—oppa, can't you get me one of those too?"
People suddenly began to crowd in. As expected—the importance of a model. Orion guided Heily a short distance away and shot the merchant a solid thumbs-up.
"Khuh…"
The merchant shed tears of pure emotion, covering his mouth as he returned the thumbs-up in kind.
"Orion?"
"Ah—shall we head over that way this time?"
The world was rough enough. People ought to help each other out.
"Ah—would it be all right if we stopped by a bookstore?"
"Yes, that's fine."
And so their next destination was set. There was a bookstore they usually frequented, but it lay some distance from here. Conveniently, one stood near the plaza. Books were much the same wherever you went, after all.
Opening the door released the distinctive scent of paper that belonged to bookshops alone. It was quiet. Apparently, paying little attention to one's customers was the unspoken rule for shopkeepers here as well.
"Let's see."
Orion picked up a volume from nearby.
"Hmm?"
An unfamiliar cover. An unfamiliar title. He had thought he'd seen quite a few books around these parts, yet this one was entirely new to him.
Opening it out of curiosity, he found Heily peering at the pages from beside him as well.
—Hot, thick candle wax dripped onto her slender back.
—Ahhh~!
Slap!
Orion slammed the book shut.
"Ah—I-I didn't open it because I wanted to look! It was just a book I'd never seen before…"
Glancing sideways just in case, he found—mercifully—no change in her expression. Had she not seen it?
The thought had barely formed when—
"…It's fine. Everyone has different tastes."
Heily sharply turned her head and moved elsewhere.
…She saw it.
A thoroughly dumbfounded Orion screamed inwardly.
Why is there erotica right at the entrance!!!!