The meeting and the banquet were over, and the next day we were strolling through the streets of the capital city.
“Excuse me, Lord Ainzich! I’m just going to meet up with an old acquaintance!”
Werner had headed out into the capital early in the morning. He has a girl he’s been friends with since his time in the slums, and apparently, they still keep in touch. Since he’s been constantly occupied in the Duke of Baltia’s territory, this seemed like a rare opportunity for them to meet, so I gave him permission. Well, to be precise, he dashed off before I could even say yes…
And so, I ended up exploring the city with Leila and a few knights.
“This is the capital of the Vywarl Count’s territory, right?”
“There aren’t many places to see, are there? Compared to the Duke of Baltia’s capital, it’s much smaller in scale.”
As you’d expect from a ducal capital, the economic center of the Siluria region, it’s much larger.
“No, but the people’s faces look bright and full of energy.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that.”
As we chatted and walked through the city, we stumbled upon a particular food stall and couldn’t resist running over.
“Hey, long time no see, old man.”
“Oh!? If it isn’t Lord Ainzich! I was wondering why I hadn’t seen you around lately. You’ve been doing well?”
“Yeah. And it looks like you’ve got some time before you kick the bucket yourself, old man.”
“Ga ha ha ha! I’m just getting started! Hey, here, have one of the usual!”
I took one of the sandwiches from the old man, the same kind I’d eaten often in the past, with a piece of fish fillet sandwiched between bread and vegetables.
“Sorry, could I get one more? I’ll pay for it.”
I glanced over at Leila, who was standing a little ways away. The old man noticed this right away.
“Oh! So Lord Ainzich has finally got himself a sweetheart, huh! That’s wonderful news. Here, take it! No need for payment!”
“Thanks, old man. I’ll come back and buy a lot next time.”
“Alright, you do that!”
I took the extra sandwich and walked back to where Leila was waiting at a distance.
“Sorry, Leila, I got a bit carried away by nostalgia and ran over there.”
“No worries. Besides, you seem to have a good relationship with the locals. I’m a bit… envious.”
“Well, I keep my roles separate, but it’s just in my nature to be more comfortable interacting like this.”
Of course, I’ll behave accordingly when acting as a member of the Duke of Baltia’s family. But when dealing with a friendly old guy like that, maybe it’s just a habit from my previous life.
“By the way, here.”
I offered one of the two sandwiches I had received to Leila.
“This is a specialty here—a sandwich with some kind of fish fillet.”
“Raw fish? That’s unusual.”
“Yeah, we’re close to the sea here, so we can just barely get fresh fish.”
In the capital of the Duke of Baltia’s territory, we never had raw fish, probably because it would spoil before it could be transported. I took a bite, and then Leila took a small bite as well.
“It’s delicious…!”
“Right?”
“Yes. The sourness of the sauce is just right, and the bread soaks it up, making it easy to eat. The unique flavor of the fish is…”
I was genuinely happy that Leila enjoyed it, but lately, she seems to be turning into a bit of a foodie.
…Is it because I’ve been feeding her?
But, well, it’s a hundred times better than when she had her guard up all the time.
As we enjoyed this leisurely moment, one of the knights approached us.
“The Count of Vywarl is requesting your presence.”
“…I’ll head over right away.”
And thus, our little date came to an end.
