Volume 1 Chapter 7 It's Time To Say Goodbye, But..
──It seems true that fun times fly by in the blink of an eye.
Now, we sat down on a bench in the city square. When I looked up, I noticed that the sun had started to set, casting the sky in a sunset glow.
The lively street stalls were starting to pack up, and the crowd was gradually thinning out.
"...Fun times really do pass by in the blink of an eye, don't they?"
"I was just thinking the same thing right now."
For some reason, both of us found it funny and burst into laughter.
Then, silence.
We just silently watched the flow of people heading home or towards another place.
If we speak, the end will draw near. By staying silent, we could savor this moment of quiet. That's what I thought.
But it was the young lady who broke the silence.
"Thank you very much for today."
"What is that 'thank you' for?"
"It's a thank you for various things."
She stood up slowly and took a few steps forward, then turned towards me.
"Thank you for helping me in the back alley. Thank you for taking me out of there. Thank you for being with me."
──And for not asking anything.
She smiled happily, but there was a touch of sadness in it. It was a smile that made my heart tighten just by looking at it. Perhaps it was my pride as a man that kept me from noy showing any pain on my face.
"You must have noticed. That I am not an ordinary person."
"After showing such a natural side, even a country bumpkin like me could tell."
When I answered honestly, the young lady froze for a moment.
"...Um, was it really that obvious?"
"If you had enough confidence to hide it with that, then I would be even more surprised."
"Auuuuuh."
The young lady looked down shyly.
I also stand up from the bench, tap her shoulder, and then pass by her. She looks back at me.
"...Shall we take a walk for a little while?"
The young lady nods quietly without saying a word.
We walk in the evening city together, without exchanging any words.
I wanted to exchange more words, actually.
However, the more words we exchange, the more regrets we will have.
It becomes harder to say goodbye.
──We understand each other.
This encounter is the only time our separate paths intertwine. We will never meet each other's paths again.
──And then...
"...We have come this far, haven't we?"
The young lady stops her steps at the center of the bridge over the waterway. I also stop and turn around, and she bows deeply.
"I appreciate you accompanying my selfishness. I will never forget your kindness."
"Don't mention it. I'm also grateful that I could have a date with such a beautiful young lady. It will be a lifelong memory."
"I am also delighted to have a wonderful gentleman like you as my date."
The time of parting was approaching.
I strongly wish that today would be special for her at least.
"Young lady, could you take this?"
So, I took it out from my pocket and offered "it" to her.
"This is──"
"Well, it's a little something from this afternoon. As a commemoration for today... Could you take it?"
In my hand was a pendant with a beautiful blue stone. I had bought it secretly while she was absorbed in the street performer's act.
"It might be a bit too cheap for a young lady to wear."
"It's not like that at all..."
The girl who received the pendant held it tightly as if embracing it to her chest.
"Oh, but I don't have anything to give back... Wait, come to think of it, you paid for everything today..."
"It's a matter of a man's pride, so I'd be happy if you quietly accepted it."
"It's not that simple."
She paused mid-sentence, and then, as if remembering something, she suddenly snapped back to attention.
The young lady took off the ring she had been wearing on her left hand and offered it to me. It was a finely crafted piece with intricate carvings, and even to an amateur eye, it was clearly of top-notch quality.
"Please, take this."
"Well, hold on a second. Isn't this quite expensive?"
"It's impolite to ask about the price of something in these situations, you know?"
As I responded with a hint of reluctance, the young lady smiled mischievously.
"Besides, I've received a lot from you today, so this is my way of repaying you. If it's bothersome, you can sell it off."
"I don't mind!"
Unable to resist the young lady's determined insistence, I accepted the ring.
"Oh, and one more thing."
The young lady removed the hood of the cloak she had been wearing.
"Would you put on this pendant... with your own hands?"
Her neatly arranged crimson hair fell down, gently cascading. Her beautiful hair color and stunning appearance captivated me more than the sunset.
After a while, I realized that she was holding out a pendant in front of me, and I snapped back to reality. If it weren't for the light of the sunset, she would have easily noticed my blushing face.
I took the pendant and unfastened the chain, wrapping it around the back of her neck and securing it.
"Here, is this okay?"
"Yes."
She nodded and tightly gripped the pendant that hung down her chest.
And then, both she and I smiled together.
I wished that the last face I remembered would be a smiling one, for both of us.
I will never forget the radiant smile that she had at that moment.
We didn't know anything about each other, not even our names.
But still, our encounter definitely happened right here.
A pendant on the young lady's chest.
A ring in my hand.
A proof of our one-time encounter.
"Well then... goodbye."
"Yeah, it's goodbye."
We turned our backs on each other and started walking.
And with that, the fateful meeting between me and the young lady came to an end.
It was the day when the events unfolded in the royal capital.
And it was the day when I experienced for the first time in my life what they call 'love at first sight'.
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