Chapter 21: 21

-21- Invitation to walk around the city

The next day they exchanged farewell greetings with a handshake.

She never thought she would see Falk two days in a row.

Unfortunately, the ice cream shop is closed today.

Unlike public institutions and large shops for the wealthy, most of the shops for the common people in town are closed irregularly. It’s a simple system where all they have to do is put up a closed sign in front of the shop on days off, but this seems to have been a disaster.

Falk had just arrived at the shop, and was very disappointed to see a sign on the front of the shop saying that the shop was closed.

Alme’s plan for today is a shopping trip that doubles as market research. She was getting ready upstairs on the second floor and was about to leave.

From the window, she suddenly saw Falk walking in the small square, and hurried down to the first floor shop.

When she quickly opened the front door and poked her head out, Falk, who had been caught by surprised, was completely startled.

“Ah, Miss Alme!? Oh, um, hello.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I suddenly opened the door…! Um, I’m very sorry, but the shop is closed today…”

“I see. I’m sorry for interrupting your day off. I will come back another time.”

“I’m so sorry you had to come all the way out here.”

“No, no,” Falk laughed, but he was clearly in a bad mood. Alme felt some pity for him. From now on, she thought she would let him know in advance about her next day off.

Alme was just about to leave, so she locked the front door. The weather in Luorio is dry and sunny again today. The sun is shining brightly.

“Oh, are you going out now?”

“Yes, I was thinking of going to the market. Are you off work today too, Mr. Falk?”

“Yes, I’m off work until the day after tomorrow. I seem to get a vacation after a big job…”

That’s good. You should rest well after hard work. ――That’s what I thought, but Falk looked unhappy.

“Can I help you with anything while you’re on vacation?”

“I’m not so much in trouble as I am…embarrassed that I have so much free time on my hands, and I don’t know how to spend it. I don’t have any friends, and even if I were at work, I would be kicked out…I don’t have a place to go. I wonder how everyone else spends their vacation.”

The image of a chick separated from the flock overlapped with the figure of Falk, who began to whisper. It’s not something to say to an adult man, but it’s kind of heartbreaking and pitiful…

She had expected Falk to have a very glamorous private life, given his good looks and ample pocket money, but perhaps that is not the case.

It seems that any person who has just arrived in a new city and has no one to play with is bound to have a suitably dreary holiday.

“… I’m sorry, I got into a boring conversation. Please be careful when you go out. Have a nice day then.”

“Oh, Mr. Falk, wait a minute. Um, I was just wondering if you could…”

Alme tried to stop him from saying goodbye and suggest a little idea.

“If you are looking for a way to pass the time, how about hiring me as a tour guide? My plan for today is to walk around the city, and I would be happy to walk with you while giving you a tour.”

Being a tourist guide is a familiar side job for the common people of this city.

Many innkeepers and shopkeepers take on children to earn pocket money, but sometimes adults have a well established guide shop as a job.

“Tour guide!? Are you sure, Miss Alme?”

“Yes, if it’s fine with you, how about 500 G for half a day?”

“Isn’t it too cheap? It’s bad bargain, such service should be…at least around 30,000–“

“The market price for children is about that much. If you offer more than that, I certainly can’t take it in good conscience.”

“Oh, I understand…! Please give me a 500 G tour then!”

Falk took out a 500 G banknote in a flustered manner.

Alme is glad he took her up on the suggestion because it would be a shame for him to spend a lonely holiday. She hoped it would be a nice change of pace for him.

After receiving the banknote, she greeted him again as a guide.

“Yes, I received it. Today, I, Alme Titty, will take responsibility and guide you through the city of Luorio. –I’d like to say first, but please tell your wife that you’ve hired a guide from a shop. It’s better to make it clear that even if we walk together in the city, it’s not that kind of behavior.”

This time, she received the money firmly and accepted the guide job in order to avoid trouble. She didn’t really need a reward for showing her acquaintance around the city, but if they were suspected to be on a date, it would cause trouble.

She thought that Falk and his partner would be relieved if it was in the form of receiving the money and making a guide contract, so she decided to do it this way.

(Actually, it would be best to get it signed in writing and keep it. Well, I’m not prepared to do that, and in this case I don’t have a choice.)

After paying attention to various matters, she put the banknote she received in her wallet. During that time, Falk was looking at Alme with a somewhat restless look.

After some hesitation, he pouted and whispered.

“Miss Alme, um, I’m single, so you don’t have to worry about that. I don’t even have a partner, I’m embarrassed to say…”

“Eh, oh, really?…Um, sorry! I’m sorry I said something unnecessary…!”

She was so upset that she rolled her eyes. She had thought to herself that this man could have at least three wives, but she had never imagined that he was single.

Falk added awkwardly to Alme’s surprise.

“I’ve been working all the time and haven’t been able to keep in touch with my connections… I’m completely used to living a single life. Oh, I swear to God that I would never lie about being single just to play around with women. So please believe me!”

“Ah, I understand.”

Somehow, today is the day when she catches a glimpse one after another of Falk’s private life.

What kind of life does one lead when one is so consumed with work that one loses touch? The mystery deepens with each revelation.

While thinking about this and that on his own, Alme started walking with Falk.

“Shall we begin the tour, then?”

“Yes, please.”

“Can we stop by the market first? It’s close to here.”

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“I’ll leave it to you.”

While talking, the two entered the alley from the small square side by side.

Walking and talking side by side, she felt the height difference between them more than when they were talking in the shop. However, it was unexpectedly easy to walk next to Falk.

Alme can walk easily while talking, thanks to him matching her stride. The difference in height is such that their walking speeds would not normally match, but they are perfectly in tune with each other. This casual consideration helped her mind relax.

After growing up, the only time she had the opportunity to walk side by side with the opposite sex was when she was spending time with Julio.

Julio walked at a fast pace, and she felt like she was always running after him so that she didn’t get left behind.

She thought it must be hard to walk with men, but she just realized that it is not.

It made her feel empty when she thought about it…what was the point of running after that man. She’ll just have to forget about it from now on.

When she was walking with a distant look, Falk, wondering what he had misunderstood, let out an apologetic voice.

“I’m sorry… I’m not used to playing so much…I’m trying to think of something fun to talk about, but if…you find it boring, you can always end the guide.”

“Eh, I don’t want to. Please don’t say that. I feel so relaxed when I’m with Mr. Falk, so I’d like to enjoy this opportunity! If possible, I would even like to ask you to stay all day.”

She felt that Falk is emitting something like ‘negative ions’ in her previous life, and she felt like she wanted to bathe in the healing energy as long as time permits.

In fact, right now, one useless memory with Julio has been purified.

When Alme hurriedly answered, Falk glanced at her and remained silent.

She felt a little impatient that he didn’t reply, wondering if she had said something strange in the heat of the moment.

After a long pause, his words finally came back. In a voice that is taut and devoid of strength, Falk said, “I’m sorry, but I can’t help it…When I do nothing on these days off, I feel like I’m terribly worthless, or should I say, I don’t understand the reason for my existence…yet you find value in me.”

The negative words came back to her unexpectedly. She looked up at his face and saw that he was smiling, but with a somewhat self-deprecating smile.

(I didn’t know Mr. Falk could also look like this. I thought he was a cheerful person, but maybe it’s not the case…?)

She really thought she is making many new discoveries today. Because she was told something negative, she ended up replying with a sense of encouragement.

“Even if you can’t see your worth, you are full of charm! Just being there makes me feel at ease and happy. As a recent secret pleasure, I’ve been enjoying spending time with you.”

When she got to that point, she suddenly realized and stopped speaking. She felt like she had just made a pick-up line.

She unintentionally used words that hinted at the love between a man and a woman, something like that.

When she looked at Falk, he turned his face away as if embarrassed and flapped his hands up to release the heat from his face. Her poor choice of words had come through loud and clear.

Looking at the situation, Alme gradually felt embarrassed. She tried to correct it in haste.

“Um…! I didn’t mean that in a weird way, I just meant that as a clerk I enjoy chatting with customers!”

“I already know. I understand. But, um, good feelings, time spent together, secret pleasures, such words for a man are a little…”

“Sorry, I’m sorry…for being so inconsiderate!!”

Alme also turned her face away and used ice magic to cool the rising heat.

After walking down the alley in awkward silence for a while, they came to a street.

When they reached the street with more people, she regrouped and started guiding.

“Well, the market is just a short walk from this street. Let’s go.”

“Yes, then Miss Alme, please take my hand.”

“Huh!?”

When she was about to start walking, Falk held out his hand.

This time, these hands are not the handshake hands of yesterday. It was the hand of an escort. She knew that, but she didn’t know how to respond to it.

Even with her ex-fiancé, She had never walked hand in hand.

After staring at his hands seriously and wondering, she asked the person in question for an answer.

“Should I, um…hold this hand?”

“I think you should hold it. There are a lot of people, so to prevent getting lost and for security purposes, please be at ease and take my hand.”

“Is that so…then excuse me.”

When she gently put her hand in his, Falk made an innocent face and started walking. Alme seems to be the only one who got nervous unnecessarily.

(I wonder why I’m the only one who’s embarrassed…it doesn’t have any deep meaning, it’s just an escort.)

She shook off the weird embarrassment and concentrated on walking.

Alme is a commoner woman who has no connection to this kind of thing, so she is aware of every single thing, but for Falk, it is probably an act that he does not even care about.

With that in mind, walking hand in hand seemed to be okay.

…and yet…soon after, the calm that had finally been achieved was shattered.

Falk suddenly brought his face close to her ear and muttered softly.

“Walking around town holding hands is fun, like going on a date.”

“Da…date!? What are you saying!? I’m embarrassed, so please don’t say weird things…!”

“Earlier, I was seduced by Miss Alme, this is revenge.”

“Ugh…this!”

She tried to shake his hand off, but his firm grip prevented her from doing so.

Apparently, this hand-holding seems to be payback for her suggestive comment earlier. With a cool face, what kind of mischief did he come up with?

With Alme’s unconscious seduction and Falk’s mischievous hand-holding, it seems that this time will likely be spent sharing embarrassment.

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