We parted ways with Eugene and the others, and I headed once again to the Malm Chamber of Commerce.
　We entered the large, five-story store.
　Inside, there was not just one counter, but a number of counters that were prepared for business discussions at the best reception desk for the purpose.
　Now, which counter should I head to?
A wizard's professional habit of staring and watching.
　Then, out of the blue, he is approached by a woman.

'Huh...?　Oh, you are...!
M.....

　I turned toward the voice and saw a familiar face standing at the counter.
　It was one of the girls I had rescued the other day who had been held captive by the slavers.
　She's about fifteen years old, with flaxen curly hair and a not-so-fancy but well-formed appearance.

　It's a bit of a bad idea.....
　I can't help but think so.
　Again, no matter how bad a person you are dealing with, robbing them of their possessions (items) can hardly be called a legal act.
　She has seen exactly how it happened.
　It's not a good idea for her to be exposed.
　Therefore, I quickly spun around on my heels.

'Oh, wait, sir!　Please, wait!

　And yet she let go of the shop keeper and chased after me as fast as she could.
　I'm going to run away as fast as I can. Even though I'm a wizard, I'm still level 28, and my "status" is quite high, having been fully doped up with the Fruit of Speed and the like.
　You can easily escape, but I dare not do that and keep a distance between me and her.
　So I left the shop, ran down the main street, into a back alley, picked a secluded spot, and waited for her to catch up with me.

'Are you sure you're ready to take care of the store?'
It's not good, but after seeing you again, I can't let this opportunity pass me by......... I'm Malm's daughter, so I won't be fired just because I get a little bit of advice from you........

　She said as she caught her zealous breath.
　Ho. So she was a merchant's daughter. That's it.
　Maybe being held by the slavers was more of a kidnapping for ransom than simply being sold off.

'What's your name?'
My name is Aria. What's your name?
What do you want from me?
I want to thank you for your help!　By all means!

　I dared to brush off her name, but she - rather than being offended, she continued to answer my questions seriously.
　Moreover, the eyes that look up at my face, as if looking up at me for some reason, seem to be moistened.
　The same is true for the time when I rescued her from being locked up in the warehouse. At that time, I only thought I was in tears simply because I had a horrible thought.
　But this may not be the case...?
　Do you think it might be me...?
　No, no, no!　Don't be hasty. Wizards don't do that.
　I don't know much about women, and I'm not immune to them.
　I will observe them carefully, I will observe them carefully.

"You can thank me by going on a date with me!
Whoa!
'No?　Does that make me a treat for you!

　Aria is already desperately biting down on me.

'I was kidnapped by bad people at that time and locked in a warehouse, I was worried about what terrible things they would do to me from now on.......I was worried..... The kids I was held with were crying all the time, and I was on the verge of tears too.... But then you came to me!　He helped me out in a gallant way!　And that's without a quid pro quo!　I've seen all kinds of men in my business, but I thought I'd never seen such an amazing, wonderful man before!

　This, no matter how immune I am to women, there's no way to misunderstand this........
　U.........hmmm......ouch.......
　I'm a young man myself, it's not that I'm not interested in the opposite s*x, but.......
　I have an oath to defeat the Demon King........
　I decided to be honest with Aria.

''I'm sorry. I'm not used to dealing with women.

　-- What am I saying?
　You're the one who needs to be honest. I'm talking about defeating the Demon Lord!
　I'm so naive.

I'm fine. I'm not used to being a man either! You're my first love.
You're too f*cking tempting, aren't you?

　We were already swirling around each other's eyes, spilling our innermost thoughts to each other.
　I don't know........I don't like this girl.

Okay, okay. Let's go on a date. I've never done it before, so I don't know the etiquette.
Oh, thank you very much. I don't know what to do with myself, so even if I'm a beginner, I'm going to close my eyes to you.
'Yeah. That would help.
Or rather, I'm blind to you.

　I'm glad you're coming to Gugui.
　But since I can't go, I feel like it's just right. Maybe it's a good match?

　Anyway, I surprised Aria by introducing myself as Magnus.

'What?　When you say that you are Magnus the Wizard, you say that you are a member of a brave party!
'No I'll confess, I've been put on notice that I'm out of the force. Now I'm just a mere Magnus.
'That's terrible!　Aren't you a fool, Mr. Braveheart?　Even I, a mere town girl, could understand Mr. Magnus's skill in vividly eliminating those ruffians in the warehouse!

　There's no denying that Eugene is an idiot.

'Well, it's done. Anyway, De, when is your date?
You know, this coming Wednesday, I'm off...
So be it.

　We made a pact and parted ways.
　If I get along with Aria, she'll keep quiet about my antics in the warehouse.
　And the fact that the daughter of one of the most powerful merchants in the Rakstad area is a good friend of mine, means that I have a route to sell my surplus items.
　--I'm going to say that I didn't have any idea what to expect.
　I'm not going to be able to say that I was looking forward to my first date with the opposite s*x, but I was genuinely looking forward to my first date with the opposite s*x.
　And even more so if it was with a beautiful girl like Aria!