Chapter 14: 14

-14- Military March

The ice cream shop that opened the day before yesterday is now in its third day of operation.

The number of customers, which had been reasonably strong from the first day, remained at the same level the next day.

Its’ gotten off to a better start than she had anticipated, so the challenge for the future will be to build up the business even more.

She planned to open in the morning and close in the late afternoon, but today, the third day after opening, the shop will be temporarily open from noon.

She will go to the military march of the Luorio army in the morning. 

When the army goes off to battle, the city bell is rung at noon the day before departure as a signal. The march then takes place the next morning.

When the merchants hear the bells ringing the day before, they rapidly become busy from that point on.

The procession is now a major event in the city, an opportunity to do business as people gather on the main street and get excited as if it were a festival.

In order not to miss out on any business opportunities, the shops had to be ready by the next morning, which meant that they had to be extremely busy.

This time, Alme was not participating for the purpose of business, so she could take it easy. –She thought she would be able to take it easy this time, but it seems she can’t be so carefree.

Ena came to pick her up earlier than she had expected.

“Hello! I’m sorry! It’s Ena!””

Energetically ringing the bell of the first floor entrance door with a clang, Ena called out in a loud, well-defined voice.

Seeing her through the window of her second-floor home, Alme grabbed her bag and hurried downstairs.

“Good morning, Ena. You’re up early.”

“I’m sorry to rush you, but I thought I’d give us a little extra time just in case. The main street will be crowded. Can you leave now?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Let’s go!”

After locking the front door, Alme and Ena started walking side by side.

As they walked out of the alley and onto the street, she saw more people out and about than in normal times. As they passed through narrow streets and onto larger ones, the number of people on the streets increased rapidly.

There used to be a lot of people on military day mornings, but it seemed to her that the density of people walking along the streets was higher than before. The percentage of young women had certainly increased.

“There’s already a lot of people. Can we see the march properly…? Maybe it would have been better to reserve a spot first thing in the morning.”

“It’s okay! Actually, I’ve already reserved a place. I secured it three days ago, so it’s perfect.”

“Three days ago!?”

As expected of Ena, her love for Aiden runs deep. Alme could feel her enthusiasm to see him off at any cost.

As they walked and talked, they approached the central boulevard. The number of people was increasing, and Ena took Alme’s hand so that they would not get separated.

“This way. My friend has a shop, so you can see it from there. It’s a little far away, but you should be able to see it just fine.”

They walked hand in hand, weaving their way through the crowd.

Even though it was crowded and still early in the morning, there were many ladies dressed up in their finest makeup and fashion…

It is probably not her imagination that many of them are wearing white hats, white flowers, and white hair ornaments. Perhaps they are fans of Shirotaka.

Somehow the phrase she had heard in her previous life, “dress your guess without embarrassment,” came to mind.

Their beautiful attire was surely a reflection of their feelings for Shirotaka.

Pulled along by Ena, she moved through the hustle and bustle and arrived at their destination. The owner of a cake shop, a friend of Ena’s, was waiting for her outside his shop.

“Oh, you’re here, Ena-chan! Look, I’ll give you a box, so you can get on it.”

“Thank you very much, I will borrow it! May I bring my friend with me?”

“Of course. Stack 3 boxes up and the height should be fine.”

Alme said hello and thanked him for the inconvenience, and went up to the three-tiered wooden box stand.

Compared to the front of the roadside, the distance is a little longer due to the width of the wide sidewalk, but it is still a position where you can see well.

She wondered if it was okay for her to be given such a good position even though she doesn’t have a family member in the military, but she was grateful for the opportunity to see them off for the first time in a long time.

While overlooking the wide street, she decided to enjoy this bustle for a while.

— It’s been a long time since she’s seen the military off, because she was busy with her grandmother since she got sick, and since she got engaged to Julio, she had been helping him with her work, so she couldn’t come.

It may be the first time since Aiden went to war that she’s properly lined up along the roadside to see him off.

Recently, she could only look out the window of the library facing the street and watch them from a distance. She could only glance at them because Julio would have warned her if he spotted her doing so.

The occasion that compelled her to do so… was shortly after they became engaged.

She was helping Julio with his work and they were walking down the hallway of the library together when she had just seen the military march outside the window.

It was an upper-floor hallway, so she had a perfect view of the soldiers marching by as she looked down the street. She wondered if Aiden was there, too, and she looked for him, but Julio warned her sternly.

‘”Don’t be so disgraceful. Don’t you think it’s embarrassing to follow another man with your eyes?…or were you more into rough guys like soldiers?”

After being told that and the atmosphere became awkward, even if she saw them marching, she stopped following them with her eyes.

So, to be able to wave her hands and cheer for them without worrying about anything like this is a feeling that makes her heart warm with excitement.

If she had been standing next to Julio, she is sure that she would never have felt the excitement of the crowd for the rest of her life.

When she thinks about it like this, it makes it seem like breaking off the engagement was not a bad thing either…although the kissing scene was so awful she wanted to forget it as soon as possible.

As she waited while chatting with Ena, she soon began to hear loud cheers from far away. The army seems to be heading this way.

People started to get noisy, and both Alme and Ena became nervous as if they were drawn to the atmosphere.

“–Ah! I can see the front!”

“Where is Aiden?”

“I think he’s in the first half of the line. It depends on the day, but he’s always somewhere around there.”

“So it won’t be long now! I’m getting kind of nervous……!”

Alme didn’t need to be nervous at all, but for some reason her heart started pounding.

While Ena was laughing at her, the squadron commanders finally started to pass in front of her.

Riding past on large, muscular horses, men in gleaming knightly uniforms. They must be high-ranking men in the military. Their fluttering cloaks were dashing and cool.

Following them, a line of soldiers on foot passes by. They are dressed in rough shirts and pants, but the swords they carry are large and magnificent. When they get to the battlefield, they will probably wear armor. They are the fighters who will cut their way into the demons.

A carriage carrying cargo follows behind the group. And then the next group followed– and marched in groups of one and two.

The people around them started cheering all at once, and the temperature of the place rose sharply.

“Hey! Good luck everyone!” 

“Retice! Don’t hurt yourself!” 

“Kyaaa!! Mr. Misera!! Look this way!” 

Each of them was cheering for the others as they wished.

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Hearing the people’s cheers was also interesting, and she unintentionally relaxed. It’s also fun to see Ena add little commentary.

“Mr. Retice is that little blonde guy over there. It looks like he sprained his leg and had a bad time.”

“Who is Mr. Misera?”

“The one in the back on the black horse is Mr. Misera. He is popular among the ladies because of his muscular body. But he is the father of a big family.”

While she was listening to the conversation, she spotted a red-haired man among the group walking toward them. Aiden had arrived.

Instantly, Ena leaned forward as if she were going to fall off the boxes and shouted.

“Ah! It’s Aiden! He’s so hot!! Aide――――N!!”

“Aiden! Over here! Over here!”

Alme cheered along with Ena. When they waved their hands in the air together, Aiden noticed them and raised his hand in response.

Aiden was also lightly dressed in a shirt and pants. He was walking with his chest out, a long sword strapped to his waist belt, which was quite a cool sight. He was wearing an air of dependability that was hard to imagine from his usual jovial appearance.

“Aiden! Good luck!!”

“Be careful!!”

Aiden gave a fist pump with a sharp look on his face and started walking straight again.

Ena looked at his back and gave a small sigh.

“That guy is so cool when he’s silent, I doubt he’ll attract any fans…”

“Yeah…I wonder if he has any hidden fans. Why don’t you try having him wear a flashy engagement ring?”

“Soldiers carry swords, so they can’t wear them. I wonder if I should let him wear matching earrings instead.”

She burst into laughter at Ena who spoke with a serious face. She laughs a lot when they’re together like this.

–As they were talking about this, the soldier’s march was over.

From across the street she heard a woman’s high-pitched scream of “Kyaa!!”

“Could this scream be–?”

She figured it out and glanced at Ena, who nodded and laughed.

“It must be Mr. Shirotaka. –Ah, look! I can see him now!”

“…Wow! He’s the one people have been talking about…!”

“In the group coming this way.”

From behind the walking soldiers, she saw a group of priests on horseback.

One person in front, followed by four priests.

The one on the white-gray horse leading the way is probably the rumored Shirotaka – Falkert Raltoze.

Even without checking with Ena, his appearance is immediately recognizable.

He has silver hair that shines like snow and sharp golden eyes.

His elegantly drawn mouth and narrow eyes are dignified, and his face is like a work of art.

He seemed to have a mysterious air about him that was somehow foreign to humans. Beautiful and powerful like a mythical goddess.

Instead of the robes worn by temple priests, he wore a gorgeous white and blue knight’s uniform.

A long-handled magic wand was tied to his horse. At the end of the magic wand is a large light blue magic stone, beautifully carved all around.

“What is that wand? It is very beautiful.”

“It’s a magic wand can send healing magic to distant combatants.”

It’s a wand that looks ornamental, but it seems to be something important to use on the battlefield. Combined with his mysterious appearance, it looks like a sacred treasure.

As she stared at him, Ena waved her hand at Shirotaka. People around her cheered him on as he approached.

Alme also began to wave her hand a little modestly. She can wave with all her might for a relation like Aiden, but she felt a little embarrassed when she waves her hands around for a complete stranger.

She waved her hand modestly but firmly, with all her heart.

“Kyaaa—Mr. Shirotaka—! !”

“Look here–! !  Here–! !”

“Smile! !”

As Shirotaka approached, the high-pitched cheers of the women grew louder. It was more like an ulterior motive than a cheer, and she kind of laughed.

–But the next moment, Alme’s relaxed smile turned into surprise.

Shirotaka, who had been staring straight ahead, suddenly turned its gaze toward her. –He pulled his horse slightly closer to the roadside.

He seemed to be staring at her with his beautiful golden eyes…

(What? ……? eye contact…? I feel like he’s looking at me…)

For a moment, the thought crossed her mind.

However, the exclamations of the people that immediately followed quickly dispersed those thoughts.

“Kyaaaaaaa! I made eye contact! Our eyes met!”

“I definitely made eye contact with him just now!”

“You saw it too…! I can’t do this anymore, I’m going to die…!!!”

They were all saying the same thing. Alme understood with a wry smile. This is the so-called “idol concert phenomenon”.

In a place where there is a lot of distance and people, just by looking in your direction, you will feel as if the whole area around you is gazing in the same direction.

(Ah, what is that… Well, that’s right. Haha, I was surprised for a moment.)

She smiled inwardly, satisfied and smile again, waved her hand, and resume seeing them off.

She joined in the excitement of the people around her and cheer for them as they pass in front of her.

“Mr. Shirotaka! Please be careful!”

Shirotaka put one hand on his chest, silently saluted in their direction, and passed by.

Apparently, there was someone he knew nearby.

His saluting gesture was so graceful that he looked like some kind of a prince.

After looking at that salute, Alme and Ena looked at each other and laughed.

“It looks like he knows someone around here.”

“Hey, how lucky for them!”

After Shirotaka rode away, several women and girls in the vicinity were shot through the heart by such a salute, and immediately collapsed.

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