Riveria and I were walking around town hand in hand because we were on a date. Yes, on a date! It's important, so it needed to be said twice. And what was even more surprising was that it was Riveria herself who suggested going out together.
I mean, she didn't explicitly call it a date, but…what else could it be?
"You appear unusually absorbed in thought. What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing," I replied with a small smile.
It didn't really matter whether this was officially a date or not. What mattered was that we were together. I gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "I was just thinking that I'm incredibly lucky."
Riveria blinked.
"To have you."
A faint blush spread across her cheeks, and her emerald eyes widened ever so slightly.
Cute.
No, precious.
"You say such things unexpectedly."
"And you never try to stop me."
She squeezed my hand back, "...That is because I do not wish for you to stop."
Gah! Critical hit!
Riveria looked ahead, her expression composed, her posture as dignified as ever, while a small smile played on her lips. A smug smile worn by someone who knew exactly what they had just done and was very pleased about it.
Smug Riveria is cute too!
As we continued through the streets, the evening atmosphere of Orario surrounded us. Merchants called out to passing customers, adventurers moved between taverns and guild buildings, and children ran through the streets chasing one another without a care in the world.
Quite a few people recognized us as we passed.
Some adventurers gave us curious looks. Others nudged their companions and whispered amongst themselves before moving on. A few even looked surprised to see Riveria and me walking hand in hand. Since it was rare for us to go out alone like this, most of the time we spent in the library together.
The elves were perhaps the easiest to read.
More than once, I noticed one glance toward Riveria, then toward our joined hands, before their expression immediately soured. The looks they sent my way were sharp enough to make their opinions perfectly clear.
Fortunately, none of them said anything. The moment Riveria's gaze shifted toward them, they would stiffen, avert their eyes, and continue on their way as if nothing had happened.
Honestly, it was impressive.
Riveria wasn't even glaring at them. She was simply looking.
But I didn't let that distract us from a fun, happy date time. But I didn't let that distract me from our date.
Eventually, Riveria slowed in front of a bookstore. It was a small shop tucked between two larger buildings, easy to miss unless you were specifically looking for it. I followed her gaze to the sign above the entrance, then back to her, then back to the bookstore.
"...You want to go in?"
The moment I asked, her eyes brightened slightly. The change was so subtle most people wouldn't even notice; unfortunately, I did.
No, wait. This is bad.
If Riveria enters a bookstore, she might completely forget everything else. Then what happens to our date?
I looked at the innocent-looking shop suspiciously and narrowed my eyes.
The bookstore is my enemy.
"...I would like that," Riveria replied, her voice calm as always, though I could detect a trace of restrained excitement.
Another critical hit!
There was absolutely no way I could refuse her after that, so I surrendered immediately. "Sure. Let's go."
And with that, hand in hand, we stepped into my greatest rival yet.
The moment we stepped inside, the familiar scent of paper and ink greeted us. Rows upon rows of books lined the shelves, some old enough to have yellowed pages, others freshly printed and neatly arranged. And just as I feared...
Riveria's eyes began scanning the shelves.
"..."
"..."
I had lost her. The betrayal came quicker than I could've expected; not even ten seconds had passed. I watched as she moved toward one of the history sections, her gaze traveling over the titles with frightening speed.
At this point, I was convinced Riveria possessed some hidden skill related to books.
There was simply no other thing that could explain her obsession with books. She was a bigger bookworm than I.
I followed her and picked up a random book from a nearby shelf.
"Found anything interesting?" I asked.
"A few." Came the immediate reply. Riveria hadn't even looked away from the shelf. My shoulders slumped.
It's over.
The bookstore had won before the fight could even begin. Just as I was preparing to accept defeat, Riveria suddenly pulled a book from the shelf and held it out toward me.
"...This one."
"Hm?"
I glanced at the travelogue she had handed me. "The main routes of the continent?" I read aloud.
Riveria nodded. "You always say you wish to travel more one day, no?"
For a moment, I simply stared at her. The bookstore hadn't won. Riveria shifted slightly under my stare.
"...What?"
"Thank you for thinking about me."
A faint blush appeared on her cheeks again. "...Of course. We are partners, are we not?"
Kuh! She's going to kill me with her cuteness today!
Eventually we purchased a few books and left the store together with three books. Two belonged to Riveria, and one belonged to me.
Though considering she picked it out, I wasn't sure it counted.
The evening sun had begun sinking lower in the sky by the time we stepped back onto the street. Golden light painted the stone roads of Orario.
A comfortable silence settled between us as we continued walking, hand in hand. Riveria held the small paper bag containing her books in one hand while the other remained intertwined with mine.
"Wargh!"
The sound of a shrill cry cut through the peaceful atmosphere, causing both of us to stop in our tracks. Without exchanging a word, we headed toward the source of the scream, only to find it coming from one of the back alleys nearby.
"Bow! Bow!"
"A wild dog?" I muttered as I pinned the dog down by its neck, squeezing it slightly, along with releasing a small amount of pure magical energy to scare the dog off. Which seemed to have worked, as when I released its neck, the dog ran off.
"Are you okay, Chil—hm? You are…" Riviera approached the child (?) and then abruptly stopped in her tracks, her well-shaped brows knitting together.
"…" The child, or rather the young girl, remained silent, quietly staring at us. She was young, maybe about 5 or 6, with dark hair and teal eyes.
It wasn't just Riveria who felt something strange about the kid; I felt it too.
"That was…scary…" the girl muttered. Riveria seemed to push her doubts aside and approached the girl.
"Are you okay?"
The little girl hesitated before nodding. "...Mm." Her voice was quiet, almost as if she wasn't used to the act of speaking. Riveria crouched down to her height.
"Where are your parents?"
The girl became silent, looking towards the ground. "…Don't know." Riveria and I exchanged a glance.
That wasn't a good answer.
"Do you know where you live?" I asked, and the girl slowly shook her head.
"Your name?"
"..."
It's going nowhere.
The girl looked between Riveria and me before her gaze settled on our joined hands. For some reason, her eyes lingered there. Then she quietly reached out and grabbed the edge of Riveria's sleeve.
Riveria stiffened before relaxing while the little girl hid slightly behind Riveria. As if she had already decided she was the safest person present. Which I completely agree with.
Riveria's expression softened ever so slightly. "...Would you like something to eat?"
A tiny nod followed.
I sighed. "Well, there goes the rest of our date."
Riveria glanced at me. "Do you object?"
The girl immediately looked at me too. Those teal eyes stared innocently, which kind of reminded me of Ais.
"Nope, I don't mind." I said, "I was thinking of getting something to eat as well."
And with our next course of action decided, we started making our way towards a cafe, with the little girl still holding on to Riveria's sleeves. While the girl looked harmless, I still had a nagging feeling at the back of my mind that something was strange about her. As for what it was, only time could tell.