“We’ve got some croll steel weapons from Lillielsa! Just delivered! You won’t beat our bargains!”
“Hey, mister, how about this, eh?”
“We’ve got the latest designs, popular in the west, before anyone else! Come have a look, young ma’am!”
Esma was a large town, with Clovel being the only nearby town that surpassed it in size. It was a key trade spot, meaning that the market was always bustling. I walked a short distance to the plaza where rows of stalls and stands stood shoulder to shoulder. Unlike specialist brick-and-mortar shops, the stores here sold knickknacks and items where it wasn’t readily apparent what their use was. Prices didn’t dictate what was for sale, rather the merchants put out the things they wanted customers to buy.
There were all sorts of products available at the market and you’d hit upon a dud just as often as you’d find a real gem. I didn’t have a very discerning eye, so I didn’t come all too often, but it was the ideal place to find something good, even if you didn’t know exactly what you were looking for.
The slime had refused to be held in my arms, so it was currently riding on my head with no intention of getting off. Stupid slime...
“A present that’ll cheer Leen up... Has to be food, right?” I said.
Leen ate anything if it looked appetizing, but that only made it harder to figure out if she had any actual favorites. I couldn’t think of anything that jumped out...
“Hmm... Not an ideal stratagem, lad. She’s been to most stalls in Esma, so she has already finished her own ranking of the foods here.”
“Right...”
Whatever the case, food from stalls was tastier when you spotted it while walking around and ate it fresh. There were fresh bacon sandwiches, fruit-filled crepes... I hadn’t eaten yet today, so I was quite hungry.
“So, uh... Jewelry, maybe?”
I hadn’t really noticed since Leen wore a high-quality robe and cape, but she didn’t really wear all too much jewelry. Going through the brush or wading through marshes was part of the job, so any purely aesthetic accessories would only get in the way, but they didn’t seem like a bad choice for a present.
I ended up in a section of the market with trinkets and charms and spotted a few potential choices.
“Oh, this looks good. It’s a ring that will light ten meters ahead of you even in the dark,” I said.
“I wouldn’t advise it, lad.”
“Really? Oh, how about this one. It’s an earring that can detect sources of water. It lights up if there are any within twenty meters!”
“Not that either, lad. The design is atrocious.”
“C’mon...”
Whatever I thought might be good, evidently the slime thought would be a bad choice. I was picking out something that would improve Leen’s mood, so I’d intended to take its opinion into account, but from its expression (if I could even call it that), my selections were off the mark.
“If you will permit me to give a modicum of advice, I would advise against buying something based on practicality.”
“Hwuh?”
“In times like these, you shouldn’t focus on simple usefulness. Choose something that she’d be happy to receive.”
I went silent for a moment.
“Why have you clammed up, lad?”
“Uh, how do I choose an accessory not based on practicality...?”
“Oh, dear...”
This had been a real shock to hear. Jewelry got in the way, after all. An adventurer only equipped things that would be useful in some capacity during a quest. A simple necklace you wore in your off time could easily get caught on a tree branch, for example.
“Eep!”
“Whoa!”
Just as I was mulling over how to tackle this excessively difficult task, I felt someone bump into my back.
“I-I’m sorry, are you okay?” came the voice.
It was a common occurrence in the busy marketplace. She didn’t need to apologize. It felt to me that she’d bounced off me after walking into me. I turned around to say sorry.
“I’m fine. Are you oka— Geh...”
“Ahh! It’s you! Hakura Istilla!”
How could this be? I expected to never see her again. Her apologetic tone vanished and she immediately went on high alert, glaring at me as if I were an enemy.
“T-Twist bread girl...!” I muttered.
“Wh-Who are you calling ‘twist bread’?!”
Today she wasn’t wearing her robe, but regular clothes. However, her pink hair was unchanged, in a triple braid that looked like twist bread. She was one of the Carbuncles members who’d blocked us during the witch trial, and I’d made her cry.
“Well, I don’t know your name,” I said.
“It’s Crescen! Crescen Lillielsa!” she replied.
I didn’t really care about her name, but she told me anyway. Her home name of Lillielsa was on the eastern side of Corsueny. If I remembered correctly, it was a sister town of Lilliette. I’d never been, but I’d heard they had quite the big church or school there. Anyway.
“Okay, right, then I’ll see you later,” I said.
I didn’t want to really chat with her and neither did she want to talk to me. Just as I turned on my heel to leave...
“Wait...Hakura Istilla,” a voice said.
Barring my path was a figure with a striking red color scheme.