Vicious Darling

[23]

Peter led the way when they were told to buy clothes first.

After checking through a mirror that the illusion was properly applied, the two followed him through the streets of the April Continent.

Though they didn’t know anyone here, the passersby would greet them with a light nod and a smile if their eyes met.

It was a strange atmosphere compared to the Winter Continent, where even acquaintances only exchanged eye contact greetings, and strangers passed by without acknowledgment.

“This is where the biggest market in the April Continent is held. Since it’s Saturday morning, people have brought out plenty of goods,” Peter hummed, moving along. He looked as comfortable as if he were in his own home.

As the roads gradually widened and merged, a broad square came into view.

The square was filled with blue-striped tents, under which rows of makeshift stalls were set up.

People, without exception, brought out goods to sell.

While there were some familiar items to Chris like milk, cheese, and salted meat, the overwhelming majority were fruits and vegetables.

There were many people coming and going, all with bright faces and loud voices.

A passing girl’s flushed cheeks were plump with flesh.

Somehow, it seemed like no one would starve to death in a place like this.

“It’s quite boisterous,” Yuri muttered with a slightly tired expression.

Chris blinked, thinking that this certainly wasn’t the kind of environment Yuri would enjoy.

Every stall was full of colorful fruits and vegetables.

A tomato rolled off someone’s cart and splattered on the ground. The merchant clicked his tongue, roughly stuffed it into a pocket, and tossed it away.

‘What a waste,’ Chris thought.

The sight of merchants offering fruit to taste freely was also unfamiliar. In the Winter Continent, fruits were mostly dried or canned.

While there were similarities to the Summer Continent, this space overflowed with a different kind of vitality.

Though he wasn’t riding in a bumpy vehicle, Chris felt strangely motion sick.

“Hey!”

Chris reflexively caught something that flew towards him.

It was an apple.

However, unlike the apples he knew, this one was green as if unripe.

“No fair! Uncle Ben never gave me an apple!” Peter stomped his foot, raising his voice in mock indignation.

“I’m giving it to this handsome young man here!” The kindly-looking uncle winked.

Chris unconsciously wiped the apple’s surface with his sleeve and took a bite.

He expected it to taste unripe, but an unexpected freshness filled his mouth.

It was like the scent of spring that filled this continent.

Though not fully ripe, it was bursting with vitality.

It wasn’t as sweet, but strangely, his mouth kept watering.

“How’s Uncle Ben’s green apple?” Peter asked.

“It’s delicious,” Chris answered reflexively, looking down at the apple in his hand.

The color and taste were unfamiliar, but he liked it.

“Shall I buy one?” He immediately turned to Yuri and asked.

“No need,” came the curt refusal. As Chris lowered his eyes, thinking he’d made a mistake, Yuri grabbed his wrist and pulled him close. Seeing this, Peter hurried ahead as if escaping.

Regardless of the guide’s circumstances, Chris, pulled along, watched somewhat dazedly as Yuri lowered his head and pressed his lips to the bite mark Chris had made on the apple.

Yuri’s lips, slightly wet with apple juice, moved as he raised his head.

“It’s sour,” Yuri said, licking his lips and frowning slightly.

Chris felt his heart pounding and pulled his hand away.

“I’ll eat the rest,” he said.

Yuri didn’t stop him.

Chris deliberately ignored Peter’s gaze directed their way. He mechanically finished the remaining green apple as they walked through the market alleyways.

Instead of the spring of the April Continent that had been filling his mind until now, Yuri took its place.

Chris, who had been walking ahead without realizing it, fell in step with Yuri and asked, “Is this… your first time in the Spring Continent?”

Yuri was silent for a moment at the question. It seemed less that the question was uncomfortable and more that he was recalling past events.

“…I think I came here with my parents when I was young.”

“Ah.”

“There were more collapsed buildings than in the Summer Continent, but it was more prosperous than the Winter Continent. So it was a place where reconstruction was actively taking place. I think I came along when visiting for Esper Union business support. Probably.”

Chris wondered what emotion was evident on Yuri’s face as he stumbled through his memories and deductions.

“There wasn’t a market like this back then. But food was abundant everywhere, so it wasn’t a bad place to stay, I think.”

“I see.”

“You,” Yuri’s clear purple eyes turned to Chris.

“Now you’ve been to the Winter, Summer, Autumn, and Spring Continents.”

Chris nodded slowly.

“Which did you like best?” It was a probing question.

“Um,” he hesitated for a moment before answering.

“The Winter Continent… was my favorite.”

“You liked that biting cold? Not the bustling Summer Continent or… the mild Spring Continent?”

The look was one of disbelief.

Honestly, there was a reason for Yuri’s reaction.

From the moment they arrived in the Spring Continent, Chris had been wandering the streets as if enchanted. Like a puppy encountering spring breeze.

His seemingly innocent behavior had caught Yuri’s attention. But it was also true that he felt somewhat displeased by Chris’s solitary excitement.

He hadn’t turned to look at Yuri at all.

So saying the Winter Continent was his favorite sounded like lip service.

“But most of the time I spent with you was in the Winter Continent,” Chris answered plainly, lowering his eyes.

He remembered the hunger of the day they shared a bowl of thin stew, heavily spiced to mask the odd smell.

He remembered the night they shared a blanket because the heating wasn’t working properly.

He even remembered the day he played with coins beside Yuri, who was counting the wages they had carefully saved up.

The day Chris was first injured in the Winter Continent, Yuri wrapped bandages around his hand with fierce eyes.

These memories were too shabby to be called fond recollections.

Nevertheless, looking back, every moment was etched in his heart.

“There were many hardships, but… somehow I think I’ve grown attached to the Winter Continent.”

He remembered suffering from inexplicable homesickness in the Summer Continent, where all conveniences were available.

Even while receiving special treatment as a Northern Light agent, he felt uncomfortable, as if wearing ill-fitting clothes.

But in the Winter Continent, which he visited for missions, Chris adapted surprisingly quickly, even to his own surprise.

Perhaps he instinctively recognized the place where he had spent what could be called a lifetime.

“…I,” Yuri suddenly stopped. Chris, who had stopped with him, looked at his master with a steady gaze.

“I dislike the Spring Continent because it’s too abundant, and I dislike the Summer Continent because it’s too bustling and crowded. I dislike the Autumn Continent because it reminds me of Rosenhauser, and I disliked the Winter Continent because it’s cold.”

Chris pressed his lips together. Otherwise, he felt he might laugh without realizing it.

‘I probably shouldn’t say I knew you’d say that.’

While thinking how he could dislike everything so thoroughly, Chris also thought it was very like the meticulous Yuri.

Only, he felt uneasy at the guess that Yuri might have liked the Autumn Continent best if not for Rosenhauser.

“So I was planning to go along with where you liked. You’re kicking away the opportunity on your own.”

“Ah.”

Chris blinked, a beat late.

But Yuri had already resumed walking, following the Keysmith who was leading the way, pretending not to notice Chris’s reaction.

Chris, who had easily caught up despite losing sight of him a few times due to the crowd, couldn’t bring himself to speak and only cast furtive glances.

“Be quiet.”

“I… didn’t say anything.”

“Your gaze is noisy.”

It was an unfair rebuke, even for Chris.

But he was in such a good mood that he lowered his eyes as Yuri wished.

“It’s going to take forever to cross this market,” Peter Garrett grumbled loudly enough for them to hear as the distance between them finally closed.

Naturally, both Yuri and Chris ignored his complaints.

After buying what they needed from a clothing store occupying a corner stall in the market, the group returned to the inn.

Chris set down the items he was carrying in both hands in the room.

“Wow. Really. How can you carry all that so lightly?”

“Telekinesis.”

As he had felt all along, Peter seemed to be a chatterbox who would never run out of topics even if he babbled all day.

Unlike Chase, he didn’t give off an unbearable lightness, but there was a vivacity typical of youth.

Chris wondered if this was what it would feel like to have a younger brother, something he had never experienced.

‘Like an annoying three-year-old.’

Dismissing the somewhat rude thought without a second thought, Chris asked Yuri,

“What should we do about dinner?”

“Let’s eat the simple things we bought.”

Chris recalled the fruits and vegetables he had bought, which he had never seen in the Winter Continent.

He felt a bit embarrassed that he couldn’t control his curiosity, even though they had come here for a mission.

However, Yuri’s expression wasn’t too stern.

‘The atmosphere seems to have softened a bit since I spoke honestly earlier.’

Chris, who often became perceptive when it came to his master, swallowed his questions about why, even as he wondered.

He didn’t want to bother Yuri by asking why or disturb the current peace.

Instead, Chris asked a different question.

“We only have fruits, and nothing that could really be called a meal. Will that be okay?”

Yuri had a small appetite, but he wasn’t a light eater.

He had to eat, even forcibly, to maintain a body suitable for combat.

“If it’s not enough, they do serve dinner on the first floor of the inn,” Peter quietly offered new information.

“That sounds good too,” Chris nodded.

They went down to the first floor and took their seats. A waiter came and handed them today’s menu.

“Today’s soup, today’s salad, today’s bread, today’s meat?”

Chris stared at the paper with only four menu items.

“Ah, I forgot to mention,” Peter grinned at Chris’s somewhat bewildered face and added,

“It’s cheap, but there are no choices.”