"Hello, hello, hello. Come in.

　The young shopkeeper raised her eyes slightly from the book she was reading to greet Charlotte. However, she quickly returned to her reading.

　The store is a simple one, made of cloth and pieces of wood. Under a roof full of holes, necklaces and other items are spread out. Each item is priced at one silver coin. It was a typical cheap grocery store.

　Charlotte looked at the store and Allen and tilted her head.

"Mr. Allen, do you want any jewelry?
"No. No, I just saw something that caught my eye.

　No, I just saw something that caught my eye." With that, Allen gingerly picked up one of the items.

　It's an ordinary hair ornament. It's made from a blue stone, and it's in the shape of a flower. Every petal was carefully finished, and it was a gem filled with the heart of its maker.

　When I saw this store from the coffee shop, it caught my attention.
　I put it on Charlotte's head.
　He stared at ...... it and nodded in satisfaction.

I'm sure you're right. It's the same color as your eyes.
"Oh.

　Charlotte paused and gently touched the hairpiece.
　The round, wide-open eyes and the small flower on her head were almost the same color. Thanks to this, it suits her well. Her hair is black now, but it will shine even brighter when it is blonde again.

　Allen nodded his head and spoke to the shopkeeper.

Allen nodded his head and spoke to the owner.
Yes. A silver coin.
Here. Keep the change.
Well, hello, ....... Hey, customer!　That's a gold coin!　That's a lot of money!
Keep it. It's my policy to pay a fair price for good work.

　He winked at the flustered shopkeeper and turned to Charlotte, who was still puzzled.

You can have this too. Well, it's a small price to pay for a lot of clothes.
"No, .......

　Charlotte opened her mouth in a daze. You'll be able to get a lot more than that.

This is the ...... thing that makes me happiest.
"Oh, really? ......?

　The reaction was a little unexpected.
　I'm very happy if you're happy. But I was more than a little embarrassed. Even though he hadn't cast a death curse, Allen's heart began to beat a strange rhythm.

　This made Allen speechless, and the two of them stood in front of the street vendor for a while.
　The owner of the stall sees them, and what does he think? He smiles and whistles at them...

"Haha!　So...
"Aha!
Oh, Charlotte!

　Suddenly, Charlotte was pushed by someone.

　Allen hurriedly caught her in his arms.
　She's slightly heavier than when he picked her up near the mansion just the other day. He calmly measures her eyes, thinking that she still needs more meat.
　Well, I guess I'll put this matter on hold for now.
　At any rate, ......, a more troublesome problem was in front of me.

"Oh?　What the hell, ......?
Hey, what's going on?

　There were two young men standing in front of Allen and Charlotte.
　Both of them seemed to be adventurers returning from dungeons, wearing simple armor on their chests, arms and legs. On their hips is a large sword.
　They have reasonably good-looking faces, but their ...... less-than-refined manners and behavior give the impression of coarseness. In other words, they are "ruffians.

　They both glare at Charlotte.

I'm not sure what to say.

　Charlotte took a small gulp.
　The blood drained from her face in an instant. So Allen shields her with his back and smiles at the men.

No, I'm sorry about my companion. Let me apologize in return.

　I apologize in return for my mistake.

　If you put all of these together, you'd have to kill her three times in half to make her feel a little less guilty.

(But then again, ...... told me not to fight.

　If I had beaten up the men and Charlotte had been frightened, I would have been seriously hurt.
　So I tried to keep it civil.


　Uncharacteristically, Allen sets out to resolve the situation in a non-violent manner.