Chieria Town, Eastavarieth
Medina and I spent the better part of the day in the east allowing her to catch up to wayfarers and listening to another change of heart from a noble that insulted her in the past. Now that we’re done, I thought we’d be heading out of town, but Medina has other plans. “There’s a wayfarer helping out at a cream puff shop nearby. I’d like to go see how she’s doing.”
Ah, yes, there was one here when we passed through the town just a few days ago. We didn’t get a chance to check it out, but now would be a wasted opportunity to not do so. “Now that I think of it, I can smell something delicious right now.”
“Unlike last time, we’re not in a hurry. You can buy one if you like.” As she says that, a huge group of people begin to move about in one direction. To me, it doesn’t seem like anything special is going on, which is why Medina’s gasp surprises me. “It looks like they’re planning to line up at the shop! Run, Jaymes! The shop only makes a few dozen cream puffs a day!”
“We can’t get ahead of all those people...well, not by normal means, but I’m not going to bulldoze a crowd like that! Besides, you’re only here to check on a wayfarer, you don’t really need to--”
She grabs my collar and shakes me. “What are you talking about? Since when do you give up so easily?”
“Why are you getting so worked up about this?” Does she...want a cream puff as well? Why didn’t she say so? Sighing, I look around for a potential shortcut, but there’s not one on the ground…ah. It’s been a while since I’ve done a rooftop run. “I got it. A perfect shortcut, where no one will get in our way. We’re taking the rooftops!”
“T-T-The rooftops? Ahhh!” I grab on to Medina and launch ourselves up to the nearest rooftop. I let her go and begin running, hearing her follow after. “Wh-What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Huh?”
“There’s at least twenty cen gaps between houses! You can’t just jump across them!”
I stop at the first gap and mentally judge the distance. “Hmm, no, it is not that far.”
Medina looks at me like I said the most preposterous thing in the world. “Twenty cen is ‘not that far’? It’s the length of a sheet of sheepskin parchment!”
I don’t even know what that is like. “What, are you scared? Because if you are…”
Medina frowns at my teasing. “I-I’m not scared! H-Here I go!” Medina walks back to gain some momentum and leaps across the gap. She lands on her knees on the adjacent roof, breathing heavily while I simply use the Aerial Element to move across.
“Nice jump. Are you okay?”
She gets up and brushes herself off. “Of course I’m okay! Keep moving!”
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“Okay, there are only 18 people in line already! I think we can just make it! Jump down!”
“You go ahead and line up first.”
“It’s not that high. You won’t lose much Life even if you fall.”
Medina stomps her foot. “Just go! Line up! I’ll catch up with you later!”
I don’t think she will. Her legs are shaking like jelly, she’s passively angry… “So you are...”
“No! I’m not the least bit scared! Whatever! I don’t care… Hurry up or the cream puffs will sell out! Go ahead! I’ll be fine...”
YOU ARE READING
Alicization: Steel and Lycoris
AventuraWhen Kirito loses his sense of self in the Underworld and the Ocean Turtle is taken over by a mysterious force, Jaymes dives into the Underworld and joins three new friends; the current head of a disgraced noble family, Medina Orthinanos, and the In...
