Pretending to be my girlfriend.

　As I walked down the road to the store, I was still thinking back to what I had just done. Wraith and Raffy are both clumsy, so it's good to be unclear how far it will go.

　I wonder if there wasn't a better excuse, but it was an idea that came to me on the spur of the moment, so it's probably inevitable. It would have been nice if at least one of them had experience with romance, but unfortunately, neither of them are far removed from that kind of thing.

　Raffy was working hard at being an adventurer and Wraith was working hard at alchemy. There was no room anywhere to worry about anything else.

　Wraith casually observed the people on the street.

　Inside, there was a man and woman who seemed to be a couple, walking together in harmony. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.

　If we were to replace them with our own, would we be able to maintain our composure?

No, it's impossible....

　The only casual contact with the opposite s*x in the Wraith is with Lurimes. However, it's safe to say that Lurimes is not among the opposite s*x in the Wraith, so it's no count.

　He doesn't have much experience in dealing with the opposite s*x to the point of desperation.

''Can't you just give up quickly........''

　As of now, that's all I can hope for as a Wraith. For example, if this state of affairs continues for several months, the first thing that will definitely be exposed is that he is lying.

　Above all, Wraith also has the store to deal with. We can't just focus on Raffy's problems.

''Well, what's going on.......''

　Wraith stops observing the passersby and starts walking again. At the right end of his vision, he sees something like a black blob for a moment.

　Wraith stopped in his tracks and looked to his right.

''.........''

　At the end of an alleyway that goes straight ahead.
　It's a little hard to see in the dark, but there's a black mass in the shape of a man lying on the ground. It doesn't move, and it looks as if it's dead.

　Wraith feels the urge to leave the place now. He hesitates for a few moments and then sighs before walking into the alleyway.

　Now that I've seen it, it's not a dream come true to leave it alone. I suppose this is why I'm so gullible and so on, but I don't care now.

　As Wraith approaches the mysterious figure lying on the ground, he realizes something.

''That fox is...''

　A pure white fox with a blue scarf around its neck and three tails. Its distinctive appearance was still fresh in his mind.

　The fox was sleeping comfortably on top of a figure lying on the ground.

　So that means.

　The person underneath the fox should be that girl he met on his way to the guild. How did she ask for directions, and how did she end up lying here?

　Wraith fearfully placed his hand on the girl's shoulder and shook her.

''Um, are you alright........''

　In the unlikely event that she was injured, it was time for the potion. Wraith waits for a response from the girl. However, after a few seconds, there was no response. There was still no change from the position she was in while lying on the ground.

　Since she has fallen on her stomach, it is difficult to check her condition. It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're going to do with it.

　--Perfectly, he meets the girl's eyes.

'Whoa!

　Wraith, who thought the girl was unconscious, is astonished by this. He reflexively dropped back three meters and stared at the girl with eyes as if he had seen something unbelievable.

　The heart that accelerated with a thumping beat showed the extent of Wraith's surprise.

　Wraith's voice woke up the fox as well, and she slowly raised her body. Then, he looked at the Wraith, who sat down with his hands on the ground.

''........You, who are you?''

　A voice with a slight hint of alarm. A swordsmanlike atmosphere. But more than that.

　The fox spoke........!

　Wraith swallowed and had such thoughts. Seeing the dumb Wraith's expression, the fox also lost his temper and let his guard down.

'Get up, Rotia. There's someone here just in time to show you the way again.'

　The fox lightly flattens Rotia's unmoving face with his tail as he lies down. Rotia only moves her eyeballs and looks at Wraith, and she makes a troublesome expression.

''Mimi, this guy is the same guy who showed me the way earlier.......''
'Really?　I didn't notice that because I can't remember human faces.

　Left behind by the situation, Wraith was only thinking about how to get away from the situation. The girl she tried to help because she thought she was unconscious was awake for some reason, and the mysterious talking fox seemed awfully pompous.

　Wraith's instincts told him that he shouldn't get involved with the person in front of him. He knows that he should follow these hunches.

　The Wraith jiggled back in a mid-legged position. The idea is to keep as much distance between Rotia and Mimi as possible while they are having a conversation.

　Rotia had collapsed at the end of the alley, so it's a bit far from here to the more or less populated streets. Wraith, who is sweating and trying to escape with a serious look on his face, the moment Mimi turns to me - he starts running.

　It's an all-out sprint. He mobilizes all the escape skills he has developed in his life so far and aims to escape the alley at once. I don't look back. I just look ahead and move my feet.

Okay, I'm almost there...!

　The street is already in sight. Wraith is convinced that he's gotten away with this.

'Nah!'

　But suddenly Wraith's feet stopped. No, he was made to stop. It was as if there was some kind of wall in front of me, and I couldn't move forward.

'You don't just run away out of the blue. I have a little favor to ask of you.

　Mimi's voice comes from behind me. As usual, Rotia is still lying down.

''I'd decline if I could...''
But I've blocked the road. Where do we go from here?

　The Wraith touches the palm of his hand to the space in front of him. As I thought, there is something like a wall and it's unlikely to be able to pass through.

'Then what about up there...!

　Wraith puts his hand into his bag and pulls out a certain potion. The contents of the potion is a 'body strengthening' potion made by Gura's fruit. Wraith drank the potion without hesitation.

　As it is, I lightly attached an aide to it and stepped out powerfully into the air. It's a good idea to use the same amount of physical strength that a wraith normally would not have, and jump to a height of about eight meters.

　This was an action after reading that the wall would not continue to the air as expected.

　........However, Wraith's wish was vain, and he crashed into an invisible wall in the air with great force. You will be able to freeze for a moment looking dumb, and then fall down without any way to do so.

"I.........

　Thanks to the effect of the potion, falling from a high altitude wouldn't cause much damage. However, as a result, it turned out that I couldn't escape from this place.

　In my upside-down vision, I can see Mimi's figure.

''Does that make you want to listen to me?
Okay, okay, okay, okay.
Why didn't you just do that in the first place?

　I also wonder why the fox is so high and mighty, but after seeing him use his magical powers, I can't say anything bad about it.

'So, what's the story?'
Save the boy.
She's....

　Mimi's tail was pointed at her, and she saw Rotia, who showed no signs of moving at all.

'Help me, are you hurt somewhere?　It didn't look like that, but...

　There is no significant trauma and Rotia doesn't seem to be suffering. When Lace approaches Rotia to check.

　Gugui, a loud sound is heard.

　The source of the sound is Rotia. She turns her eyes to the approaching Wraith, whose emotions can't be seen, and says a few words.

''Hungry, I'm hungry........''

　As if to make a point, Rotia's stomach rumbled once more. Wraith looks at the girl in front of her with half-lidded eyes.

''........Yes?''