Love at First (III)

After running around town for at least ten minutes, the cloaked girl pulling me along finally comes to a stop and lets us take a break at a random street corner.

“Phew… that should be far enough. I think we lost them…”

The woman pants tiredly, hands on her knees, after our desperate escape. Midway through the run, she had pulled up the hood of her cloak to cover her face.

I am equally out of breath, gasping heavily for air, but my heart continues to race for various reasons.

“Haah, haah, are we good now? We don’t need to keep running?” I ask her to confirm if I can finally relax.

“Yes… I think we should be safe to rest now.” She nods exhaustedly.

“Thank goodness… I’m done for…”

I immediately slump onto the nearby wall and let all the tension and fatigue slowly leave my body.

The girl seems to be in similar shape, but she manages to stay upright while looking at me with concern.

“S-sorry… I’m so sorry about that. I forced you to run with me. I panicked and I got scared you would tell them which way I went, so I hurriedly took you with me. I’m really sorry!”

“Uhh… no, it’s okay. It’s fine. I don’t mind at all.”

“Are you sure? I feel so bad.”

“No worries. Besides, I probably needed to run away too.”

Given my current circumstances, I really don’t want another run-in with the knights after all. Putting Ariesa aside, the less I have to do with them, the better.

“In that sense, you helped me out by leading me down the fastest escape path. Perhaps I should even be thanking you. I would’ve gotten caught without you, partner~”

“Fufu, partner? You make it sound like we’re a pair of criminals.”

“Sounds good to me. I’ve always wanted a partner-in-crime. Hahaha.”

The two of us share a light laugh over our silly joke, letting go of the tension from earlier.

I decide to take this light-hearted opportunity to finally get her name.

“I’m Mamoru, by the way. What’s your name?”

“Huh? You… you’re asking who I am?”

For some reason, she seems shocked. Did I make some otherworld faux pas or something?

“Y-yeah. If that’s okay with you…”

“N-no, no, it’s fine. Umm, then… I’m Freila Vanderlight. Nice to meet you.”

“Oh, Freila! That’s a beautiful name. It suits you so well.”

Freila Vanderlight. It has a nice ring to it. I can finally put a name to my first kiss. I’m glad.

I could be satisfied with just that, but I am also rather curious about what just happened back there.

“By the way… can I ask why were you running away from those people? Are you in trouble or something?”

Those were clearly knights chasing us just now. And she’s wearing a hooded cloak over her body clearly meant to hide her identity.

Putting that together… is she some sort of criminal trying to escape the law?

“Oh, uhh… about that…”

She takes a cautious step back and immediately avoids eye contact.

Suspicious. She’s definitely a suspicious person.

However… at the same time, I find it hard to believe any runaway criminal would go out of their way to heal someone like that. She literally jeopardized her getaway in order to heal me for no reason.

I can tell she has a kind heart. I just can’t see this woman as a bad person.

In that case…

“Never mind. You don’t have to tell me.”

“Huh?”

“I was just worried you might be in trouble and need some help, but as long as you’re okay, everything’s fine with me. I won’t ask a thing.”

“You… do you really mean that?”

“Of course. In fact, right now, I’m too tired to even think. I’m just gonna lie here and close my eyes. So, if someone happened to run away while I was resting, I wouldn’t even notice which way she went…”

“…”

A stunned silence fills the air for a moment. But once the girl realizes that I really mean it, the surprise fades away into warmth.

“… thank you. I appreciate your kindness. I’ll pay you back someday, for sure.”

“You don’t have to. Just get going.”

“… okay. Thank you.”

And then she leaves.

I feel her presence slide away while my eyes are closed and wait a few moments before opening them again. When I do, she has fully disappeared, nowhere in sight.

She’s gone. For real this time.

Well, it is what it is. It was a short meeting overall, but this has been a memorable experience. Perhaps one day, somewhere in this big city, we’ll meet again. Until that day comes, I’ll think back on this random encounter with fondness.

Goodbye, my First Kiss…

“Oh, actually, I’ve changed my mind.”

“You’re back again!?”

Oi, oi, what’s with this disappearing and reappearing act? Does she think she’s a stage magician? Is she intentionally trying to put my heart on a rollercoaster of emotions?

“On second thought, I’d like to pay you back right now. If you don’t have anything else to do, would you be willing to accompany me for a little bit?”

“Huh? Are you sure? Don’t you have somewhere to go?”

“For me, right now, paying you back is more important. I have both bothered you and relied on your kindness, thus I absolutely must return the favour. Until I do so, I don’t think I’d be able to sleep at night.”

She actually seems completely serious when she says that. What an upright person she is.

“W-well, if it means helping you sleep at night, I guess I could oblige… but what do you have in mind for paying me back?”

“Well, my destination is actually a restaurant nearby. Since I’m already going there, I figure I could apologize to you by treating you to a meal. Does that sound good to you?”

A meal, huh? Wait, then does that make it… something like a lunch date?

Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a meal alone with a girl my age before.

In truth, I don’t really think she had anything she actually needs to apologize to me for, but… for some reason, I can’t find the strength to say no.

“O-okay, sounds good to me. I guess I can spare a little time for a free meal.”

“Fufu, wonderful. Then please follow me.”

With her leading the way, we head out once more, figuratively hand-in-hand.