The lunch boxes we picked up were ceramic and had three tiers. The cover was decorated in tiny flower designs that came in calming pastel pinks, whites, and pale blues.
(How cute...) She seemed to have taken to it. (The next time we go out together, I’ll stuff this full of my cooking.)
Michelle usually wasn’t very talkative, but she’d been really chatty all morning. I wondered if the coachman who was driving the carriage found it weird. From his perspective, it looked like we were sitting in silence the whole time with those Cocoa Cigars in our mouths. He’d only looked back once to speak with us.
“I’ve got a light,” he offered. “Would you like to use it?”
“This isn’t a cigarette,” I explained.
He’d probably only said that to be kind.
✦ ✦ ✦
Mount Garges was a lush mountain shaped like an upside-down bowl, with an elevation of only about one hundred meters. Wysterie flowers were bursting into full bloom here and there across the mountain. Their colors ranged from pale pinks to deep purples, and their shape was similar to wisterias’. The mountain was so thick with the blossoms that it seemed to glow with a faint light.
“This is amazing,” I marveled. “No wonder everyone comes to see these.”
“Yeah. I’m glad I could come here with you this year.”
The entrance to the mountain was packed with visitors here to see the flowers. There were many stalls too, and it was loud with the voices of the merchants touting their products.
“Let’s move away a little,” Michelle said, so we struck out along the mountain trail.
I didn’t know if going up the mountain was too much of a pain for everyone or what, but the farther we climbed, the fewer people we saw. As the long staircase continued, I started to run out of breath. Still, I was looking forward to seeing all the flowers from the top, so I pushed on. Finally, we mounted the last step and gained the summit. We would have a good view from here.
“Whoa. This is amazing...”
The sight of the wysteries spread out below me took my breath away. They looked like a cloud aglow with peach and purple light.
“I wanted to share this view with you...” Michelle said.
“Thank you for bringing me here. I’ve never seen something like this before.”
For a while I stood there in awe of the dazzling landscape. Then Michelle spoke up in a trembling voice.
“Y-You know, there’s a legend that says if you share a kiss with your lover here, you’ll live happily together until the next time the wysteries bloom.”
So, essentially it’s like a charm meant to ensure a couple’s happiness for a year? Come to think of it, I’d seen various lovebirds kissing here and there. Jeez, what show-offs...
“W-Well, I guess it doesn’t matter to us since I can’t take my mask off anyway...” Michelle mumbled, sounding a little wistful. She returned her gaze to the scenery. Wind blew up from the valley, past the wysteries in full bloom. Michelle and I were separated by a space roughly the width of five apples. I couldn’t look away as her black hair fluttered in the breeze.
Did she cast a love spell on me? No, the witch I knew was brilliant, but I had the feeling she couldn’t use magic like that. A couple living happily together for a year, huh...?
I wasn’t the type to believe in legends like that, but there was no doubt that a kiss would make this moment a happy one. And more than anything else, it seemed that Michelle wanted it. If that were the case, then it was my job to step up and make it happen. For an oh-so-mysterious dagashi-ya such as myself, my store’s products were always at my fingertips.
Product name: Monster Smoke
Description: If you apply this medicine to your fingertips and continuously make a pinching motion, a strange smoke will appear. It’s highly effective as a smoke screen to ensure your escape in battle.
Price: Thirty rims
I put the potion that was attached to the Monster Smoke card onto my fingers. Then, as I tapped my thumb and index finger together, a white smoke appeared and faintly enveloped us. No one should be able to see us now.
“Is this your doing, Yusuke?” Michelle asked.
“A dagashi-ya’s magic isn’t half bad, eh?” I said with a grin. “Michelle, can you take off your mask?”
“Huh? Sure...”
It was my first time seeing Michelle’s face outside. It was rarely exposed to sunlight, so her skin was so white it was translucent.
“My lips are too big, so I don’t like my face...”
“I like them. You’re beautiful.”
Michelle gazed at me with surprise. She stared at me for so long, in fact, that I couldn’t help laughing.
“Come on, I need you to close your eyes,” I smiled.
“What?”
“I’m too shy to kiss you like this.”
“Ah...”
This time, Michelle screwed her eyes shut with all her might, almost as if she’d just seen something scary. There had to be something wrong with that king for dumping a cute witch like this. Though we’re together now thanks to that...
I leaned forward then and pressed a kiss upon her puckered lips.