The next day at the guild
Haruka jumped on Emi, hugging her tightly and saying, "Emi, I missed you."
Emi was surprised. "What a surprise. I didn't think you would come." Then she looked at the bag Haruka had brought and said, "You even brought some luggage with you."
Yu, who was standing beside them, said, "Ah, yes. Actually, she'll be staying here with you to work for a week."
That means I won't see her for a whole week, he thought. Then he said in a low, happy voice, "Yeah."
Haruka gave him a side eye.
I'm the one who should be happy, not you, old man, she thought.
Emi smiled and hugged Haruka again. "I'm really happy. I didn't think you would stay with me for this long."
Suddenly, the lizard appeared from Haruka's shoulder. When Emi saw it, she panicked. Out of fear, she let go of Haruka and jumped onto Yu. He caught her in his arms and, with his face close to hers, asked, "Are you okay?"
A moment of silence filled the air. Then her face turned bright red. She screamed at the top of her lungs and punched him.
A few minutes later
Yu's face clearly showed the mark of her punch, and he looked annoyed.
Haruka was dying of laughter.
Emi brought some ice and handed it to him. "I'm sorry again. I'm really sorry. I was startled when I saw that lizard. I thought it was a snake."
Yu thought to himself while pressing the ice against his cheek, If you thought it was a snake, what's my fault?
Haruka stopped laughing and said to Emi, "This is Ryo. He's my lizard. I found him lost in the forest while I was there."
Emi looked at him and said, "I'm sorry for being scared of you."
Yu interrupted their conversation. He stood up from the chair, left the ice on the table, and said, "Anyway, she's in your care now, Emi. Take good care of her."
"But your face is still swollen," Emi said.
"It's fine," he replied before leaving.
Emi stood frozen in place, then began staring at the hand she had used to give him the ice.
She then heard a voice calling her repeatedly:
"Emi… Emi… Emi…"
"Y-yes?" she replied.
"What's wrong? I've been calling you for a while," Haruka said.
"It's nothing," Emi answered with a smile.
Haruka, who was looking at the posters on the wall, asked, "Is there any mission that suits me?"
"Hmm… let's see," Emi said as she checked. She sighed. "As I thought, the last easy mission was taken by Shotawa."
She looked at Haruka apologetically. "I'm sorry, there's nothing available right now."
"Tch… again," Haruka muttered.
"I'm really sorry," Emi repeated.
Haruka looked around. "The place is unusually empty. I remember the guild being full of people."
"Yes. Most of them went back home since Throne Day is near," Emi explained.
"Throne Day?" Haruka asked.
"Don't you know what it is?"
"No idea."
"Do you know the story of the first hero?" Emi asked.
"You mean the one who protected the kingdom from the one with the purple eyes?" Haruka replied.
"Yes, that event. The kingdom celebrates it every year to commemorate the re-establishment of the kingdom. And the best part is that the royal family visits the capital and greets the citizens."
Haruka's eyes widened with excitement. "You mean the Crown Prince too?"
"Y-yes, the Crown Prince as well."
Haruka jumped in joy. Finally, I'll meet my savior.
Her eyes sparkled as she laughed. "I'll return home without even needing to get accepted into that school."
Emi looked at her. "Are you that happy because you'll see the Crown Prince?"
"Of course! How could anyone in my place not be happy about that?"
She's completely in love with him, Emi thought.
"But Haruka, it's hard to meet him," Emi said.
"Who cares? I'll find a way," Haruka replied confidently. "So when is the parade?"
"In about ten days, I think."
Damn. I'm only staying here for seven days, Haruka thought.
"Can you send a message to Yu telling him I'll stay here for ten days?" Haruka asked.
"Y-yes, why not?" Emi answered.
An hour later
Haruka grumbled, "This is so boring. I want to find a job. I want to earn money."
"You just need to be patient, Haruka," Emi replied.
"No, I won't stay here doing nothing. I have to find a job or I'll die," Haruka said, jumping to her feet.
"Who's going to kill you?" Emi asked.
"Anyway, goodbye. I'll just look for a job and come back," Haruka said while running toward the door.
"Don't go too far and don't be late!" Emi called after her.
As Haruka walked through the capital, amazed by its beauty, she smiled. "Finally, freedom."
Then she shook her head. "No, no, no. I'm here to look for a job. I need to focus."
She asked many people, "Can I work for you?"
Doors were shut in her face. "We don't need anyone."
At another shop she said, "Can I work for you? I'm 16 years old and I—"
The door slammed shut. "We don't hire minors."
She kept asking, and everyone rejected her.
She sat on a chair in the garden and sighed, saying, "I think not having a job is my fate."
Then she passed by a restaurant that looked simple, and on its window there was a paper that read:
"We are looking for a full-time employee.
Salary: ten silver coins."
She looked at it and said, "Should I try?"
She went inside, and a girl in her early twenties welcomed her, saying,
"Welcome, what would you like to order?"
She replied, "Actually, I don't want to order anything. I just saw a poster outside saying that you are looking for an employee, so I wanted to work."
She answered in shock, saying, "Yes, yes, that! Welcome, I'm Shoko, and you?"
She replied, "I'm Haruka, nice to meet you."
Shoko said, "Anyway, your job will be writing down customers' orders and bringing their dishes."
Haruka said, "If that's all, then it's easy."
She replied with a smile, "I'm happy that you liked that. Anyway, here, I'll go get your work clothes."
While Haruka was waiting in her place, she saw a man at the payment counter reading a newspaper, not caring about what was around him.
Then she started looking around the place, saying as she thought, "Its design doesn't seem bad. Rather, it somewhat resembles the modern cafés that exist in our era."
After that, she heard Shoko running in that outfit, but at that moment she tripped over her foot and almost fell. However, Haruka caught her by the waist before she could fall and said, "Are you okay?"
Shoko was very surprised, and her cheeks blushed slightly.
Haruka replied after Shoko stood up, "You should be careful, your skirt is longer than you—"
She didn't even finish her sentence when she felt intense looks of hatred and malice, and at that moment she said, "Someone wants to kill me."
When she turned toward the direction of the gaze, she found the previous man staring at her with deadly eyes while pretending to read.
She looked at him from the corner of her eye without him noticing and said nervously, "What's wrong with him??"
I m sure that this is our first meeting.
To be continued…