Night Market
The three of them arrived in front of Kurt's lodging after a simple dinner.
"Well then. See you tomorrow."
With those words, Kurt headed into the building, carrying numerous bags and boxes...
"Be careful not to be late."
"See you tomorrow."
Rudell and Leje also waved to Kurt.
As Kurt disappeared from their sight, Leje stretched out her body towards the sky as if tired.
"How was it?"
"Huh? What was?"
Leje tilted her head at Rudell's question.
"Kurt, I mean. Didn't you have any first impressions or anything?"
"Well, he didn't seem like a bad guy... Why do you ask all of a sudden?"
"That's enough."
Even a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, as they say.
The fact that she didn't harbor any ill feelings towards Kurt meant that the purpose of him setting up this meeting today had been achieved.
"By the way, what are we going to do now?"
"Well, if you're bored, how about a short walk?"
The sun had set, but it was still quite early to go to sleep.
Knowing Leje's personality, it was clear that she wouldn't want to go back just yet.
"That sounds good!"
As expected, Leje nodded at his suggestion and started walking, and Rudell followed her with a faint smile.
"Is there anywhere you want to go?"
"Hmm... There is one place."
After pondering his question for a moment, she said so and started leading Rudell somewhere, holding his hand.
And so, about ten minutes after Rudell was led by her hand...
"Ta-da! We're here!"
"This is..."
The sight that unfolded before Rudell's eyes as they stopped walking was quite familiar to him.
A long street with stalls lining both sides.
People were coming and going, carrying snacks from the stalls one by one.
"A night market?"
"Correct! I heard it opened recently."
"Oh..."
He never expected a night market to pop up in a place like this.
A smile appeared on Rudell's face as he looked at the scene, and Leje also smiled at him.
"By the way, are you sure about this?"
"Huh? What about it?"
"Eating snacks at night will make you gain weight, you know?"
"Hey...!!"
Leje flinched and shouted at his words, and Rudell chuckled.
It's so much fun teasing her.
"If you're that worried, should we exercise together?"
"N-No need!!"
At her shout, the surrounding people's attention was momentarily focused on her, and startled, she blushed, pulled her hat down, and started pinching Rudell's side.
"Ow?! Sorry! Sorry! I was just kidding!"
"Shut up! Idiot! Moron!"
Her attack, fueled by her frustration, continued for a while, and only stopped when Rudell bought her a fruit candy coated with sugar syrup from a nearby stall.
"Nom."
"Is it good?"
"Yeah. Want to try one?"
Leje nodded at Rudell's question and handed him a fruit candy skewered on a wooden stick.
Rudell stared at it for a moment, then put one of the candies in his mouth...
"How is it?"
"It makes me miss black tea..."
He gave a short review of the sweetness that made his tongue tingle.
The fruit candy was way too sweet.
The already sweet fruit was coated with melted sugar, so the taste could only be described as a concentrated explosion of sweetness.
"I think it's delicious."
"Ugh... I wish I could rinse my mouth."
Feeling nauseous, Rudell looked around.
It would be nice if there was at least some food that could neutralize the sweetness...
As he was looking around with that thought in mind...
"Hmm?"
Rudell tilted his head at a familiar smell coming from somewhere.
A pungent, spicy aroma.
"What's that smell...?"
"A spicy smell?"
Leje frowned at the smell that was very familiar to Rudell, and Rudell tilted his head and started looking around to find the source of the smell.
And soon, a stall caught his eye.
"This is..."
What he saw as he approached was chicken skewers being grilled on a griddle.
And the surface of the chicken skewers was coated with a familiar red sauce, spreading a spicy aroma all around.
"Excuse me... Is this sauce by any chance..."
"Hmm? Are you interested? It's a sauce made with a new spice called chili pepper..."
"Chili pepper!?"
Rudell's eyes widened at those words.
No matter how much he had adapted to this world, he sometimes missed the food from his original world.
Among them, the taste he missed the most was spiciness.
The kind of spiciness that made his tongue tingle.
"One please!"
"Yes? A-Are you sure? It's going to be very spicy..."
"I don't care!"
Just take my money!
Rudell handed a silver coin to the worried stall owner.
The bewildered stall owner took the silver coin and handed Rudell a bright red sauce-coated chicken skewer along with the change.
"A-Are you really going to eat that?"
Leje made a disgusted face at Rudell, who was looking at the chicken skewer with sparkling eyes.
It was understandable, considering that the food culture of this world was not far removed from that of early modern Europe.
Therefore, for most people, spiciness was not a flavor in food, but rather a kind of chemical or torture device.
Seeing him looking at such food with sparkling eyes, Leje's disgusted reaction was understandable.
Of course, that wasn't a reason for Rudell to give up on spiciness.
"Of course!"
Rudell answered her question and carefully took a bite of the chicken skewer...
"Kgh...!!"
"Ru-Rudell!? Are you okay!? Do you want to go to the hospital!?"
Leje asked in a panicked voice as a low groan escaped Rudell's lips.
However...
"This is it...!!"
"Huh...?"
"This is the taste! I've missed this taste so much...!!"
"Uh... Uh..."
Leje stammered at the sight of Rudell with a blissful expression.
Did he really eat something wrong...?
Leje's expression seemed to say so, but Rudell didn't have the time to care about that right now.
Just enjoying this nostalgic taste a little more.
That was the only thing he wanted.
* * *
"That was truly the best..."
With a satisfied smile, Rudell threw the remaining sticks into the trash can.
The taste of home he had felt after a long time.
If it weren't for the fact that he had just finished dinner and was full, he could have eaten a few more.
Leaving his regrets behind, Rudell walked down the street.
"How can you even eat that..."
Meanwhile, Leje was drinking an iced drink with a flushed face.
"It's not an easy taste for those who aren't used to it."
Leje had also challenged the chicken skewer, but the result was, of course, her overwhelming defeat.
[S-Spicyyyyyyy-!!]
Leje's screaming and flailing was quite a sight for Rudell.
"If you tell anyone about what happened earlier, you're dead."
"Huh? What was that~? I can't hear you~?"
"Ugh! Come here!"
"Argh! Argh! I'm sorry! I won't tell! I won't!!"
Leje finally stopped her punching after Rudell screamed in response.
"You always have to be hit to listen, don't you?"
"I'm going to die from your jokes, seriously."
Should I really buy some armor?
As Rudell was walking with that thought...
-Thud.
"Huh?"
He felt something fall on his head, and Rudell looked up with a puzzled voice.
-Pitter-patter. Thud. Pitter-patter.
And at the same time, heavy rain started pouring from the sky.
"Wahhh!? Rain? Suddenly!?"
"Let's run!"
Leje shouted in a panicked voice at the sudden rain, and Rudell grabbed her hand and ran down the street.
"Let's wait under there for a bit."
However, the rain was getting heavier, and Rudell headed for the awning of a nearby shop with Leje.
"What's with this sudden downpour..."
"I know, right... But Leje, your clothes are...!?"
Rudell turned his head towards Leje, who was grumbling as she wrung out her soaked clothes.
And at the sight that followed, he couldn't speak and averted his gaze.
"Rudell? What's wrong?"
"W-Well... Your clothes..."
"Clothes? What's wrong with my clothes?"
Leje, who had a puzzled expression at his words, looked down at her clothes, and only then did she realize what state they were in.
The pouring rain had soaked her clothes, making what was underneath completely visible...
"Ah... Ahh...!!"
A low moan escaped her lips as she realized her state.
Rudell, who was watching the scene, took off his jacket with an embarrassed expression, shook off the water, and put it around her shoulders.
"J-Just bear with this for now..."
"O-Okay..."
Leje nodded at Rudell's words, who was avoiding her gaze...
In the dark street, with the sound of rain echoing, the two looked away from each other, staring into the distance.
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