Having decided to open up a baby castella stall, the first thing I have to do is to register our stall. It seems that it can be done at a general hall, but I came to ask Elise-san if there are any other documents necessary.
[……Haahhh, I really said something unnecessary back then.]
[A- Ahaha, ummm, thank you for teaching me a lot.]
I’m currently walking down the street with a dissatisfied Elise-san towards the general hall.
As for why this happened, when I came to visit Elise-san again to ask her about how the registration works, and after she taught me various things…… “I’m worried about what I’ll do if only Human-san goes there, and since I’m responsible for the slip of the tongue I made, I’ll go with you” or so I was told.Well, her tone is still as sharp as ever, but in short, it seems like she’s gonna accompany me in applying for a stall, so her actions certainly are really kind in contrast to her words.
[Speaking of which, in the end, what kind of stall are you gonna open?]
[Yes, I was thinking of opening a baby castella stall.]
[I see, it may be standard, but it’s easy enough for amateurs to make. I’ll say this again, but don’t open your stall near my stall.]
[Got it.]
As we walked while chatting like that, a certain question popped into my head, so I decided to ask Elise-san about it.
[……I’m changing the subject, but I had something I wanted to ask. Elise-san has a shop on the street of the royal capital, so why are you going out of your way to open up a stall?][……Haahhh……]
[Why are you astoundedly looking at me……]
When I asked that question out of pure curiosity, Elise-san astounded looked at me and sighed. Then, with a slightly scornful gaze, she spoke.
[Listen here, okay? In the first place, that shop isn’t suitable for handling a large number of customers in a short period of time. My shop only has one entrance which has bad people traffic, so if a large number of people come, it will quickly become full.]
[Now that you mention it……]
[And since I run the business by myself, there’s a limit to the number of customers I can serve at a time. So, if I’m going to serve customers in a festival-like format, it’s better if I open a stall than accept customers in my shop.]
[I see, that’s informative.]
As I thought, if I ask her about something, she would answer me…… rather, she would answer me quite carefully.
[I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, but Elise-san is a good businesswoman huh.]
[Is that so? I think I’m pretty normal…… Well, I guess I’ll just take that compliment.]
[Come to think of it, I’m changing the subject again…… but Elise-san, do you have no particular plans for today?]
[I did have some, but since I’m acting with Human-san like this, I have some free time. What about it?]
The reason why I asked about Elise-san’s plans is simply that I wanted to thank her for all the help she has given me. Even if I wanted to give her a gift, I wasn’t sure what Elise-san would like.
So, I thought that since it was currently around lunchtime, why not treat her to a meal?
[Well, I have been in your care a lot of times, and it’s just around lunchtime, so why don’t we go have lunch after we’re done with the stall registration? It’s my treat.]
[………………..]
[Ahh, no, I don’t mean to impose but……]
[……It’s fine. Well then, I’ll have you treat me to something expensive.]
[Ahh, yes!]
I thought she would say something harsh, but she agreed surprisingly easily. Although it’s only a bit, I felt some happy emotions conveyed through my Sympathy Magic…… so I suppose she was delighted.
W- Well, I’m relieved that she at least didn’t dislike my suggestion.
[……The heck is with all that emotions on your face? That’s something you yourself suggested, Human-san.]
[Ahh, no, I was just a little surprised you easily agreed……]
[Human-san, what kind of person do you think I am……]
After saying this and letting out a sigh of exasperation, Elise-san quickened her walking speed a bit. Then, just as I could no longer see the expression on her face, she idly murmured.
[……If it’s just eating, it’s not like I would need any reason to go out with you.]
They were probably words that were meant to be spoken to herself, something she said without wanting a response. It’s just, hearing those words made me feel a little relieved.
Although I knew she didn’t hate me, I was relieved and happy that she seemed to think of me as at least a friend.
<Afterword>
Serious-senpai : [At the very least, rather than a friend, considering that Alice and Kaito are the only two people with whom Elise expresses her true personality…… That definitely places Kaito within the top 3 among the people Elise likes the most……]
