'Miss Julia. Have a nice day!
Yeah, you're welcome, too.


　Iris bows her head with a smile. It feels like it's been a very long time since I've seen her, but it's actually been about a week since I've seen her.


　Since then, the elves have regained their physical condition, and now they seem to be living in the village as normal... but there was another development. It was planned to hold a signing ceremony to coincide with this parredo, where they would officially begin to interact in front of the people.


　Even though they have regained a part of the land of dusk, it is still managed by an anti-magician and no ordinary people are planning to live there. In that situation, the elves were to use part of it. Since the current village is somewhat cramped, it is a form of expansion.


　That's how some elves have come to the Boundary City for this signing ceremony. That was Iris.


　Although the parade is tomorrow, Iris, who had arrived early, seemed to have some time on her hands. When I found out that she was coming, I decided to ask her out.


　Then she agreed with a big smile on her face.


　She agreed with a big smile on her face, and that's how things are going now.


'Well, thank you again. Thank you so much. And after all that happened, I never dreamed that I would ever be able to formally interact with human people... I'm really, really grateful.
No need to be so awed. We're doing what we deserve to do.
Yes. Still, thank you.
'Haha Aries is a really nice girl.
Good girl, huh? I guess so. I try to be, but...


　There is a slight air of silence. Aries lost his parents, and we also lost a friend. We are both aware of the pain of losing someone special. And that's why we have to act stoutly. And we know that's what we can do.


Let's go into town then. It's only a short walk away.
'You can see a little bit of it from here, but it's amazing ... really. The base here?　I was also surprised at the scale of the thing called...
Then the city might be more surprised.
That will be fun!


　We walked side by side and continued on our way.


　◇


Wow, there are kind of a lot of people here.
'Yeah. But it's the day before the parade now, so I guess it's partly because there are so many of them.


　We come to the center of the city in the Central District. There are many shops on both sides of the street, and they seem to be busy preparing for tomorrow's parade. It's a big straight road, but there are a lot of people coming and going.


　By the way, Aries and I are walking around the city wearing hooded jackets. It has not yet been officially announced that elves are in the city, so it's a measure.

　Well, as long as you hide your pointed ears, there's not much difference in appearance between you and a normal human.


　It's a good idea to make sure that you're not going to have to worry about it. It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for. It's a secret that I regretted that I should have used this instead of dressing as a woman.

　Everything is an experience. Let's let that be a good thing for now........ I don't even want to remember much.


'There are all kinds of shops.......what on earth do you have for sale?　I don't really understand the buying and selling of the human world...
Well, it's mainly the necessities, I guess. But now there's more and more recreational stuff, and more and more places to eat, too.
''Wow.........the human people are really amazing. The level of civilization is a bit too amazing.
'Haha, well, maybe. So, does Aries have any places he'd like to go?
''Well... that stuffed animal over there?　Isn't it? I want to go to that restaurant.
All right. Let's go then.
Yes!


　And we both tried to move forward side by side, but there were too many people to move forward.


'Aries, give me your hand.'
What...?


　I take her hand in mine and proceed to wade through the crowd as I go. If I continue as before, I'm sure I'll get separated from her. That would be very dangerous. Even though she's just a sneak attacker, if she, an elf, gets lost here, it could cause all sorts of problems.

　Besides, Iris would probably be worried too.

　That's the reason for my action.


　Then when we arrived at the shop, I let go of my hand with a flash.


''Oh... well, I mean!　
The crowds were huge.
'Yes, of course........yes. I know.......yes.


　She looked a little depressed, but she smiled widely as she picked up a plush toy in the store.


'Heh ... that's amazing!　I can't believe it's so elaborately crafted...
'We're getting some production out of it now. I think it's great, too.
''Hmmm ... can I buy a few things?　Oh, but I don't have any money....
I'll buy.
'No!　It's bad!　I can't believe they're showing me around and even offering me money...
'I don't mind. To be honest, I have a good salary, but I've been having trouble spending it. The only hobby is reading, and I have no other hobbies to spend money on. If I can use it for someone else, then I'm happy to do so.
If you say so, though, that would be very helpful. Well, thank you very much.

　Aries bows her head with a smile. After all, she is a very nice person. She's kind and considerate of others. I was impressed by her and bought the stuffed animal that Aries had chosen.

'Here you go,'
'Oh!　Thank you!　I'll treasure it for the rest of my life!
That's an exaggeration but well, it's nice to have it last longer.
Yes!


　Then we decided to go out to eat next.


'What... what is this?'
It's a curry.
Curry?　I've heard of it, but it's quite spicy. It smells very spicy.


　When we came to my favorite restaurant, we both ordered curry.

　Aries clears his throat and scoops up the curry with a spoon and eats it with a mouthful.

''Hmm!　Delicious!　It must have been cooked for a long time with several different spices, plus vegetables and meat. You can see how many different ingredients are mixed together in this dish. But it never falls apart, and it's all rolled into one. This is indeed delicious. And rice goes so well with this flavor!　It's a little spicy, but eating it with rice eases that... and then finally with water... yes!　It's perfect, this is perfect!
Oh my god that's a great food report.
'What?　 Te........
For my part, I'm glad that Aries is aware of this quality. So let's keep eating it!
Yes!


　After that, they did not speak to each other.

　We just ate in unison. Scraping in the roux, adding more rice, swallowing them and resetting them with water. While the process was repeated, they ate it all.


''Hmm ... the curry here is great.''
'It was delicious!　I'd love to come back!
Yeah. Let's eat together again, shall we?
Yay!


　This meal was also on the house.

　When it was time to pay the bill, the manager gave me the change, muttering "Thanks again..." at the end.

　That's the professional in him. I liked his reticence.


"I'll be back again, manager.
Okay.


　Then we left the shop.


　After that, we did some window shopping. We decided it wasn't a good idea to ask them to spend any more money, so we looked around at various shops together. I was very happy to see Aries getting more and more excited each time.


　She was thinking about her death. Her family had died and she was cursed and treated like cattle.


　But now she is smiling. Even if we have lost something important, we can still laugh at each other. We are grateful for this trivial everyday life, and we continue on our way.


'Julia-san!　Thank you so much for your time today!


　He bowed his head again. We were back in front of our quarters now, and we were just parting ways.


'It's been fun over here too. Let's go again if we get a chance.
Yes!


　That smile was so beautiful.

　If I wish, I wish she could smile all the time. I thought so.