Chapter 56 – Ice Cream

Ice Cream

“What do you think you’re doing there?”
Marian said in a cold tone, holding ice creams in both hands.
…So that’s what she went to buy. She could have at least said something.

“Is this your friend? Your friend is quite beautiful too.”
The guy, seemingly unaware of the situation, looked at Marian and spoke in a nonchalant tone.
How can he be so calm seeing that expression?

When a person’s brain is consumed by lust, they can become this brave. It’s almost awe-inspiring.
‘Ah, is it because Marian isn’t wearing her helmet that they don’t recognize her?’
…That could be.

After all, Marian is better known for her appearance with the helmet on.
If they’re not from the capital but from another city, they might not recognize Marian.
Even so, it’s still quite a brave action.

“Let go of that hand. Now.”
“Haha, I was just talking to this friend a bit because she’s so beautiful…”
“Let. Go. Now.”

Even with Marian speaking like that, the man stubbornly held onto my wrist and spoke calmly.
Moreover, as if he had become defiant, he started to snap at Marian.
“I don’t know what relationship you have with this person, but if you’re just friends, aren’t you interfering too much? From what I saw, this lady didn’t seem to dislike it that much…”

Alright. Let’s kill him.
I’m not sure why this guy is defecating through his mouth, but that alone is enough reason for him to die.
“…”

While I was making up my mind to kill the guy, Marian, who seemed to be lost in thought for a moment after hearing the man’s words, strode towards me and the man.
Then Marian grabbed the hand of the man who was holding me.
“Aaaaarghhhh!!!!!!”
“Wh-What’s going on?!”

Under her terrifying grip strength, the man started screaming as if the heavens were falling.
‘That actually works.’
A scene that seemed to come out of a cartoon unfolded before my eyes.

Just from having his arm grabbed, the man fell to his knees on the ground, presumably from the pain.
When Marian let go of his hand, he started pointing at her with a distorted expression.
“Y-You bastard…”

Thud. Before his companion could stop him, the man threw the glove he was wearing at Marian.
‘No way?’
“I challenge you to a duel! You seem to be from the Guard, but I’ll show you that you’ve chosen the wrong opponent…”

“Tristan! That person. That’s Marian! The captain of the Guard, Marian from the hero party!”
“…What did you say?”
The companion seems to have seen Marian’s bare face before.
The man’s face started to turn pale upon hearing his words.

“A duel, you say. I suppose we don’t need to set a separate place?”
Crack. Marian started stretching her body here and there.
As Marian approached, the guy started to back away hurriedly.
‘Where do you think you’re running?’

Yap. I used a binding spell to tangle the guy’s feet so he couldn’t escape.
The man fell flat on the ground with a thud.
“M-My feet!!! W-Wait a moment…! There’s been a misunderstand-”

Marian approached him with a dazzling smile.
The man who was his companion had already run away.
‘The fountain looks pretty.’

With the man’s screams as background music, I sat on the bench and watched the fountain. The water looks so clear.
Ah. Now it’s become murky.

“Yes, I witnessed him sexually harassing and threatening my companion, so I took direct action. Make sure to hand him over to Henri.”
“Ah, understood, Marian-nim. Um, is he alive?”
“…He was breathing. Just now.”

We handed over the man, who had become like a rag, to a nearby guard.
…He should be alive, right?
“Then, good work!”
“…Right. You too, take care. Elliot.”

“I-I’m honored that you know my name!!”
The guard bowed 90 degrees to Marian, showing respect.
Seeing tears welling up in his eyes, he seemed so happy that Marian knew his name. Is he a sensitive person?

Afterwards, the two of us set out on patrol again with a somewhat awkward atmosphere.
Marian was still frowning, perhaps not having cooled down yet. No, looking closely, she seemed a bit dejected.
“Um…”

Just as I was about to open my mouth to say something, Marian apologized to me in a slightly hesitant voice.
“I’m sorry, Ariel. If I hadn’t left you alone, this wouldn’t have happened.”
…It was nonsense. It was those guys who were wrong.

There’s no need for Marian to apologize instead of that guy whose brain was consumed by lust.
But as if she sincerely thought so, Marian bowed her head to express her apology to me.
“…”

I gently stroked her head and said,
“Stupid. Don’t worry about it, Marian.”
Her head, which I usually had to look up at, was now bowed down to my eye level, so how could I resist?
When else would I get to pat Marian’s head?

“Um… people are watching.”
“Ah.”
At Marian’s words, I withdrew my hand that was patting her.
At first, it was meant to encourage her, but as she flinched slightly each time I stroked her hair, it became fun and I ended up…
It’s all Marian’s fault.

“…”
A strange atmosphere flowed between us afterwards.
“Really, you don’t have to worry about it, Marian.”
“Okay…”

Although I knew she had gone to buy ice cream, I deliberately asked Marian in an exaggerated tone to change the atmosphere.
“Oh, by the way, where did you go? I was surprised thinking you might have abandoned me.”
“I went to buy a snack called ice cream from a new store in the capital… Come to think of it, I dropped it on the ground.”

For reference, during the altercation with the man, the ice cream Marian was holding was eaten by the ground.
I should have made him pay for the ice cream.
“I wanted to let you taste ice cream but…”

…I heard that ice cream was introduced to the capital relatively recently.
It seems she thought I hadn’t tried ice cream before and deliberately went to the store to buy it.
Actually, I haven’t eaten it since reincarnating into this world.

“Then, shall we go buy it again? Marian? I’ll buy this time.”
I said to Marian, who looked dejected.
Neither of us got to eat it, but since Marian did buy the ice cream, I’ll buy it this time.

As expected, Marian firmly told me that she would buy it.
“That won’t do. I’ll buy it.”
“No, I should buy it.”

Our gazes crossed for a moment. A battle where neither of us was willing to yield an inch.
“Then, let’s decide with that game you taught me, rock-paper-scissors.”
“Alright. Prepare yourself, Marian.”

In the end, we agreed to compete with rock-paper-scissors, the fairest game in the world.
“”Rock, paper, scissors!””
And so, we suddenly started playing rock-paper-scissors on the street.

To others who don’t know the concept of rock-paper-scissors, we might look like two people making strange hand gestures, but that doesn’t matter.
‘This is a battle of pride…!’
A tense moment where one second feels like one minute.

It seemed like the match would go on forever, but all matches must end eventually, and finally, a winner and loser emerged between us.
“Ugh…”
Why can’t rock beat paper? A cloth would tear if you throw a rock hard enough at it. Rock-paper-scissors is unfair.

“I won! Ariel!”
Marian seems quite happy to have beaten me.
Seeing her like that, my frustration at losing the rock-paper-scissors melted away.

‘I’m glad she’s cheered up.’
Marian suits a confident appearance more than a gloomy one.
…Though she did look cute when dejected.

“Ariel, ice cream is very sweet. The sweetness that melts in your mouth is really… the best. I’ve been wanting to let you taste it someday, and now a good opportunity has come.”
Marian said with a smile, seemingly excited about the thought of letting me taste ice cream.
…Actually, I was more concerned about Marian’s smile than the ice cream.

‘She’s really beautiful…’
If Riste’s beauty is reminiscent of a goddess, Marian’s might be described as having a touch of handsomeness added to that.
People who see Marian’s face for the first time often get a bit intimidated by her sharp eyes, but knowing that ocean-blue eyes are hidden behind them, I can only feel sorry for them.

How nice it would be if such a person were a lover.
‘Sigh. Don’t think strange thoughts. …Huh? Come to think of it, Marian didn’t wear her helmet today. I wonder what brought that on.’

“Hey, Marian? Why didn’t you wear your helmet today?”
Unable to contain my curiosity, I asked Marian. She answered with a slightly embarrassed smile.
“Is it strange? I thought I’d try to change a bit.”

“Not at all. I told you before, Marian. How charming your eyes are.”
“…It’s because of what you said.”
“Huh?”

“It’s nothing. Oh, I can see the store there. Let’s hurry.”
After that, Marian headed towards the store at a quick pace, leaving me behind.
“Wait for me! Marian!”

The ice cream I ate with Marian was sweet. Sweet enough to make my teeth ache.