“Ah, um, Rai… I mean, young lady? What are you doing in a place like this?”
I called out to Rain, who had muttered something far from the worst situation I’d anticipated. In response, she lifted her face, which had been buried in her knees, and looked straight at me.
“Me? I’m feeling down.”
“Oh, yeah, it seems so… Why are you feeling down?”
“Why do I have to tell you, Onii–san?”
“Ugh!? That’s… you know, sometimes when you consult with someone else, your mood can change, right? Oh, you’re hungry, aren’t you? I’ll treat you to a meal.”
“I was taught by my parents not to follow strangers.”
“Guh!? I, I see. They’re excellent parents, yes.”
Her perfectly logical response left me at a loss for words. Of course, any sane person would refuse an unknown man saying “I’ll treat you to a meal” out of nowhere.
But what will happen in the future if I don’t get involved with Rain here? If I pretend to meet her by coincidence multiple times, that will only scare her…
“Hey, may I interrupt?”
Tia pushed my shoulder and stepped forward. There was a gentle smile on her face, and it seemed to me that Rain’s guard was slightly lower with her than with me.
“What is it, Onee-san?”
“Well, we just arrived in this town today. But because of that, we lost our way and ended up here… Do you know this town well?”
“Yes, more or less.”
“Then, would you mind showing us around the town? As a thank you, we’ll treat you to a meal. Of course, with a sweet and delicious dessert included”
“Dessert!”
At Tia’s wink, Rain’s expression lit up.
“Understood. Helping people in trouble is a good thing, so I’ll help you! By the way, is it okay if the dessert is pancakes from the ‘Golden Melody’ Inn?”
“Fufu, that’s fine. Right, Ed?”
“Huh!? Oh! Of course it’s fine.”
“Great! Then I’ll start guiding you right away!”
Upon receiving my approval, Rain quickly stood up, dusted off the dirt on her clothes, and started walking energetically. As I followed her, Tia intertwined her little finger with mine.
[See? It went well, didn’t it?]
[Yeah. Seriously, you saved me. Keep it up.]
[Okay, but what exactly should I do?]
[For now, just be friendly with her. And if you can, I’d like to know why she was sitting there like that. Of course, I’ll ask too, but I’ll rely on you if needed.]
[Understood.]
“By the way, I haven’t introduced myself yet! I’m Rain, a bright 14-year-old!”
Rain, who said this while turning around, was a beautiful girl with bright brown hair tied up on the left side and similarly bright, large brown eyes. I hadn’t noticed before as she was sitting in the shadows, but upon a closer look, her clothes seemed fairly normal, and there was no sign that she was struggling with her living conditions.
“Rain-chan, huh. I’m Lunaritia, but you can call me Tia. As for my age… [Hey, Ed, are there elves here?]
[I’m not sure. I don’t remember seeing any, so you might want to assume there aren’t any.]
I answered Tia, who had asked me at the spur of the moment via our [Missing Talk]. By the way, while elves do exist in some worlds, there are subtle differences in their existence, such as the shape of their ears and lifespan.
However, Tia hasn’t been particularly hiding her ears. If someone unfamiliar with her asks, “Your ears are long, aren’t they?” she can simply reply with, “I was born with long ears. Isn’t it strange?” and that settles it.
“Huh? What’s going on?”
“Ah, it’s nothing! My age… um, I’m 21!”
“Wow, you’re older than I thought! Nice to meet you, Tia-san.”
“Yes, nice to meet you, Rain.”
“I’m Ed. I’m 20.”
“Oh, Ed-san is younger. That’s a bit surprising… Nice to meet you, Ed-san.”
“Ah, likewise.”
After briefly introducing ourselves, we came out onto the main street. The sun was already beginning to set, and magical lights were starting to shine here and there on the streets.
“Hey Rain-chan. We asked you to guide us, but is it okay to take you around at this hour? Won’t your family worry?”
“Ah, that’s not a problem. I’m currently staying at an inn, not home.”
“I see. Then…”
Grrrr…
A cute stomach growl interrupted Tia’s words. Rain quickly held her stomach, her face flushing red.
“Haha, then let’s get something to eat first. Um, what was it again? ‘Golden Melody’ Inn? Can we eat regular meals there too?”
“Yes! The ‘Golden Melody’ Inn serves meals, alcohol, everything! But it’s a popular place, so if it gets too late, all the seats might be filled up…”
“Then we should hurry. Can we ask you to guide us?”
“Of course! It’s this way!”
For some reason, Rain spun around and began to walk briskly. The place she guided us to was a medium-sized restaurant that could accommodate about thirty people. A lively hostess greeted us, and the three of us took a seat at a round table.
“Hey, Miss Waitress, what’s this place’s specialty?”
“Well, of course, everything is a specialty! All our dishes are the best you can get!”
“Haha, I see. Then what would you want to eat the most today?”
“Oh, you’re asking that. Well… today, I might go for the simmered Moola lamb. Dad said we got a good batch of meat, and it smelled so good when we were preparing it… Mmm.”
In response to my question, the waitress covered her mouth with a look of absolute bliss on her face. Huh, it seems promising.
“Alright, I’ll have that then. Tia, Rain, you can order whatever you like.”
“Yay! I’ll have this heap of vegetable salad, and… maybe some pasta?”
“I’ll have pancakes with plenty of honey… two… no, three stacks! I-Is that okay?”
“Don’t hold back. You can stack five or even ten if you want.”
“Wha-! Are you some kind of god, Ed-san?! But if I eat too much, my stomach will burst. So I’ll have to hold back… Please stack three with vanilla and chocolate ice cream!”
“Young lady, you’re going all out. Do you not need a regular meal?”
“Ah, I forgot! Um, then…”
Watching Rain hastily rechecking the menu made me smile. Seeing her huddled in the back alley, I was seriously worried, but she doesn’t seem to be forcing herself to be cheerful, so it appears there’s no need for concern.
While I was thinking about this, our order was completed, and the waitress left our table. Rain ended up ordering cheeseburgers and three-stacked pancakes topped with vanilla ice cream.
“Now that we’ve ordered and are waiting for our food, shall we chat a bit? Is that alright?”
“Yes, that’s fine! I love to chat, too!”
“That’s great. So, the first topic… Rain-chan, what were you doing in that place?”
“Uh, that’s…”
At Tia’s casual question, Rain’s expression suddenly clouded over.
“I’m sorry. If it’s hard for you to talk about, you don’t have to.”
“No, it’s okay. Actually…”
With a small fist tightly clenched, Rain began to speak slowly.
“I… didn’t make it through the idol audition.”
