As the sun went down and evening approached, the number of people increased. Delicious smells and pleasant laughter flowed from all directions. It’s exciting, but she was nervous. The hand holding the leash continued to gain strength. It’s so noisy and there were so many people, but would Leone really be okay?
“Trixie.”
“Isn’t it too hard?! Shall we go back?”
Her nerves were on edge, so she asked without realizing it at a call that might not be a big deal.
“Humans…”
Leone said in a distant voice. It must be really hard, what should she do! Because Leone was covered so much, it was difficult for her to see his expression.
“Leo-“
“Humans… Carry a cloud.”
Leone said in a shocked voice.
“Nine… name?”
She followed Leone’s gaze and turned her head. What reached the end of her gaze was… It was a child walking with cotton candy. It seemed like the first time she had seen Leone’s genuinely surprised face. Laughter came out without her knowledge.
Yes. When she was young, she also liked cotton candy because it looked like a cloud.
“Humans, clouds… eat.”
As if he was in even greater shock, Leone’s voice was filled with bewilderment. The cotton candy people carried ranged from pink to blue to yellow. Thanks to the dyed cotton candy, the colors of the streets were becoming more colorful.
“Haha. Leone. That’s not a cloud, it’s called cotton candy. It’s a snack people eat.”
“Cotton. Candy.”
“Huh. It’s made with sugar, but Leone has never eaten it. It tastes very sweet.”
“Clouds, no. Hey.”
As if he couldn’t easily understand her explanation, Leone’s eyes couldn’t stop from the cotton candy in people’s hands.
“Leone. Would you like to try it?”
“Huh.”
He nodded his head as if waiting. It was the first time he had been interested in something like this, so she was excited as well.
“Welcome!”
She approached a shop that sold cotton candy. The owner, who melted the sugar in a large frying pan, welcomed them.
“Hello. Would you make us some cotton candy?”
“Yes! The process is complicated and takes a long time. Would you mind?”
“Great, we will wait.”
Unlike modern times, seeing them made by hand one by one made her mouth open. Leone and she stood side by side, mesmerized, watching the sugar threads weave together. It just took a long time. The way he stretched the threads one by one and wound them one by one seemed to be very painstaking.
“It must be difficult.”
“It’s okay! Because I like meeting people. Working like this, thanks to the mountains, can’t we meet wonderful couples like our guests?”
“Yes? Do we look like a couple?”
She thought the sales comment was awesome, but she was suddenly taken aback.
“Couple… this? What? Trixie.”
“Yeah, couples are like lovers… hey.”
“…aha.”
Leone nodded his head. The expression did not look good. For some reason, ever since she came to Stud, she had been misunderstood as a lover with Leone. There was nothing like this at the foot of Mount Meto.
‘No. There was.’
The two girls who helped her in face-to-face training, Lou and Sophie, were thrilled saying that he liked her and were trying to protect Leone. They said he was like the main character of a romance novel.
She thought it was nonsense then, and it still was today. Hearing this over and over again made her heart swell.
‘Really, the two of us… Do we look like that?’
Did they look like real lovers? Did Leone really seem to ‘love’ her? No, no. People in the world usually saw adult men and women as lovers when they were together. Even she did!
‘Why are you thinking like this? Crazy, really.’
Okay. Seeing them as a couple means that Leone standing next to her looked like a normal guy, so shouldn’t they be happy? She covered her mouth with her hand and laughed.
“Ho-ho-ho. Not a couple. This child is my relative’s younger brother.”
“The atmosphere was like a couple… Sorry for the misunderstanding.”
The owner responded generously.
“No. I get misunderstood sometimes. Haha.”
“I thought the lady was younger, but if you say he is the youngest… this is a twist of a twist!”
It was a short moment, but she thought a lot. Did Leone notice her agitation when she kept her mouth shut? For some reason, it seemed that she could feel the gaze.
Gathering up courage, she glanced sideways at Leone. Contrary to her worries, he was preoccupied with the cotton candy, as if he had no interest in her.
‘I was worried for no reason.’
The relief that Leone didn’t see her because he was so focused on cotton candy left a bitter aftertaste. Hmm? But why was she feeling that? She was trying to check the remnants of the emotions she had just left, but cotton candy was pushed in front of her eyes.
“It is complete!”
She was awakened by the owner’s lively voice.
“Ah yes…! My, thank you.”
Her hands floundered in the air, entangled with the thought of having to pay the bill and the need to accept the cotton candy.
“Trixie.”
“Uh, yes!”
“Slow down, do it.”
Leone reached out and took the cotton candy. A large hand with bulging joints and tendons passed in front of her. A light breeze blew towards Leone. The hood fell slightly, revealing Leone’s jawline. Even with a subtle smile, she could feel the warmth even beyond that ridiculous disguise.
“Huh… I didn’t know because he was covering it up, but now I see that he’s quite handsome, right?”
The store owner squeezed his face towards Leone, narrowing his eyes as if to take a closer look.
“Oh, if you get too close.”
Leone seemed to be surprised. Then he could have a seizure, and these streets would be in chaos, and families would fall apart, and countries would collapse… That shouldn’t happen. She stretched out her hand to separate them.
“Huh.”
But wasn’t Leone responding to the owner with an expressionless expression? What a grown-up attitude! Had Adler seen this, his legs might have undone.
“You are really, really handsome! Oh my god. I have never seen such a beautiful person in my life. Your relatives must be very proud.”
The owner continued with his eyes shining.
“Yes, what. Yes…”
“You covered it like this because it looked like this. It is worth knowing.”
The shopkeeper nodded his head in agreement.
“I was like that when I was young. No matter where you go, you get caught up in all sorts of infatuation because of your appearance… I know your heart.”
The owner seemed to sincerely sympathize, and made a sad face.
‘This uncle… Is he in love?’
She wanted to refute it, but since each person has a different way of remembering their life, she kept her mouth shut.
“Haha. That’s right. I tend to be careful because this kid has a very striking appearance.”
“Brother, be careful. It is also good for you to find a mate as soon as possible and get married. If you declare that the seat next to you is already full, who will approach you?! If you get caught up in your passion, you will be really tired.”
At the words of the owner who gave sincere advice, Leone looked at her.
“Marriage.”
Leone’s eyes lit up. It was a very curious look. Certainly, she seemed to have more things to explain now that they were out.
She paid the owner and led Leone.
“Trixie. Marriage, what is it?”
“It’s like the next step for a lover. It’s an oath of love to be together for the rest of your life. When you get married, you become a couple, and then you can never separate. The laws of this country are so absurd.”
“I can’t break up, I can’t… that male human – two. They talked about marriage.”
Hh. The day before yesterday, Jamie and Earl Buckett talked about marriage in a fuss. She shook her head.
“I have nothing to do with them. It’s not something they can’t part with me.”
Leone nodded his head slowly.
“Leone. Rather than that, try eating this cotton candy.”
She was very curious about the impression of Leone while eating cotton candy. At her words, Leone carefully raised his hand and grabbed the cotton candy.
“This, how?”
“Just grab it and tear it.”
She showed an example first, and Leone did it without difficulty. Leone’s eyes widened as he bit his cotton candy.
“It’s gone, uh.”
“Right?”
The beauty of cotton candy was that it melts and disappears in an instant. Leone bit off the candy a few more times to savor the taste.
“I like this.”
“At that time, they say it is delicious. Delicious. Like this.”
“Delicious.”
“Is it delicious?”
“Huh.”
She was glad he liked it. She wanted to experience human food while feeding Leone this and that. If she found something that suited Leone’s palate among the foods, wouldn’t his taste for raw meat change a bit?
They ate cotton candy side by side. Cotton candy quickly disappeared. Leone nodded his head in satisfaction.
“Humans, good things. Make.”
This seemed to be the first compliment Leone gave to a human.
“Ah, there are so many more delicious things. Leone doesn’t know much about human food yet, right? It’s a shame.”
She played a joke with the feeling of being slightly ignored. Leone, who had cotton candy on his lips, looked at her seriously.
“Let me know.”
She didn’t know anything else, but she could teach him about human food today. A hearty laugh came out spontaneously.
* * *
For a long time, the streets became noisy as they were busy teaching Leone the taste of the new world.
“Tonight at 9pm! The flower of the festival, the specialty of the Stude Festival! Fireworks are on!”
The voices of the boys walking around and promoting it were booming.
“Fire, made… A flower. There is?”
“Huh. There is. I’ll show you later.”
“Humans, it’s amazing…” Leone muttered.
The flow was very good today. From delicious food to fireworks.
“Human, they. Smile.”
As soon as the news of the fireworks display spread, flowers filled with anticipation bloomed here and there. It was an atmosphere where happiness seemed contagious just by watching.
“Why do you keep smiling?”
“Looks like you’re having fun. There are festivals and fireworks.”
“Are you happy?”
“Huh. I’m happy, this is enjoyable. People laugh at that.”
“Happiness…”
Leone muttered a few words.
“Humans, silver. Unhappy.”
“Huh?”
“Always, make an unhappy- face.”
“Who was so unhappy?”
“All.”
“People around you? Have people always had unhappy faces?”
“Huh. I’m scared, and I hate it. Always, impress. Write.”
She was speechless. Didn’t there be that many people who laughed in front of Leone? It wasn’t that she didn’t understand, but it still bothered her. She lightly wrapped around the back of Leone’s head, who was wearing a hood, and stroked it.
“From now on, you will see more smiling faces than those.”
She gave Leone the best comfort she could. Thinking that she would make it somehow, made her smile unstoppable.
