Chapter 8

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Chapter 8: The Love Affairs of Younger People

“This day has finally come.”

The day after he and Craig finally had a conversation, Shun stood in front of the gate of the central market and was distracted by his emotions.

There was a reason why he was able to suggest something so ridiculous when he was alone with Craig. He has never once tried to hit on Shun.

Gin, Evan, Diane, the group leader, and the other members were all attractive men, and Shun had been on guard for the first two or three days in fear of suddenly being caught in a kabedon. However, no one showed any signs of approaching him.

When Shun realized this, his heart leapt with joy. The heroine must have finally appeared. He was finally released from the (provisional) BL game.

Shun had gained his freedom.

He started to begin with looking around in the central market, which he usually runs by at full speed.

Since Dawn Fog wasn’t a strict company1, he didn’t have any specific working hours.

Sometimes there was an emergency call made around five o’clock in the morning when a bounty appeared, and on days where there was no work, they would gather in the evenings just to make merry.

Shun had gotten to the office around nine and decided to go home before dark.

There were days when he wanted to work overtime to sort through the wreckage, but he was afraid of seeing dangerous people like he had the other day. Plus, he didn’t want to listen to the high-pitched complaints of his white, pumpkin-shaped governor2, so he decided to return to the castle earlier as he was told.

Apparently his governor didn’t like that he wasn’t promoted because he was entrusted with a good-for-nothing3 like Shun.

While Shun sympathized with him, Shun was also troubled by his inability to pass up the opportunity to scold Shun every time to vent his frustrations.

Today, however, the governor had returned home for the birth of his grandchild, so it was a great opportunity for Shun.

Shun asked Aria, the lady-in-waiting who had become his personal maid because of the cake-cutting incident, to come to his room. She was dressed in inconspicuous, brown commoner’s clothing and ready.

Shun passed through the gates one step at a time and looked closely at the shop towards the end.

Oh, how wonderful a world it is when he isn’t constantly being kabedoned!

As expected, the central market was the biggest, and there were many clean shops selling fresh fruits, open-air shops offering up bone-in meat that was said to be eaten by bandits, and jewelry shops where young women happily picked out hair ornaments.

The currency of the world is “gai”4, and when he looked at price of a large piece of pastry bread being 100 gai, he had a feeling that gai was about equal to yen.

It was easy to understand.

For the first time, Shun felt like he was using money with no worries or expectations, and he walked straight from the castle along the rugged, stone-paved road.

Shun was impressed by the beautifully cut, orange melon and strawberries at a fruit shop and bought some of it that was stacked on a bamboo skewer.

A fruit about the size of a golf ball that the owner explained to him were apples, but the peeled fruit was bright red. It was cut in the shape of a rose to match the color, and Shun felt childish excitement.

It didn’t matter how much he saw, it simply wasn’t enough.

There were curious goods everywhere.

Other shoppers seemed to be very lively, perhaps stopping by on their way home from work or to buy dinner.

It was a wonderful place that reminded him of the large, Christmas markets but without all of the decorations, yet the excitement remained the same.

Shun finished eating the sweet and sour apples and was still a bit hungry, so he went to a teppanyaki restaurant5 that smelled strongly of charcoal-grilled food.

On a hot, black iron plate, sliced steak that was probably beef was being grilled. The thick, well-cooked meat was then brushed with a shiny, brown sauce by an older man that reminded him of Dian.

Everyone, including Shun, was mesmerized by the sweet and spicy smell of pepper floating in the air.

Shun desperately wanted to eat white rice.

Although it was a game with European motifs, it was still a game created by Japanese people.

Shun looked around the shops in the area to see if he could spot a similar grain.

No, not here either.

There were noodles that looked like pasta, but Shun’s cravings could only be satisfied with a nice bowl of rice.

No, this one was different too…

“…what are you doing?”

Shun looked up at the familiar voice.

It was unexpected to see this person leaving a small, flower shop.

Evan, holding a small bouquet of white lilies in his right hand, looked at Shun suspiciously.

Shun panicked because he had been caught desperately looking for some rice, but for some reason, Evan also looked like he had been caught red-handed.

“Evan, you forgot your change!”

The door of the shop opened with the ring of a bell, and a small woman appeared in a floral dress with a warm cape over her shoulder. Judging from the apron tied around her waist, she must have been the shop’s clerk.

She looked like she was in her early thirties, only a little older than Shun. Her long, glossy brown hair was tied back, and her long, lashes shadowed her eyes of the same color.

Her dignified features gave off the impression that she was an intelligent beauty.

“Keep it.”

“I can’t take money from kids.”

The clerk gently took Evan by the hand with a worn hand and dropped some small copper coins into his.

Shun didn’t miss the way Evan, who was always clamoring for a reaction, sealed his lips when the woman’s hand touched his.

“And here’s a bonus that I had waiting for you.”

Smiling, the woman took some candy wrapped in brown oil paper from her pocket and made Evan hold it along with the copper coins.

“Don’t treat me like a child.”

His words were still sharp, but it was nothing like how he spoke when he was around Gin or Shun.

As Shun stared, the woman noticed him and asked if he was looking for something.

“Oh, sorry. I’m not a customer, but a friend of Evan’s.”

Shun didn’t know how much she knew about Evan’s job, so he made their relationship unclear at the last second. She seemed to wonder what kind of friend of Evan’s he was but didn’t particularly ask.

“Come again. Send my regards to her.”

She poked Evan in the chest once and then went back into the shop.

Evan watched her leave with a bitter and wistful expression. He was wearing even better clothes than he did in the morning. His robes were beautifully embroidered, and the fastenings on the chest were made with brown jewels.

Even Shun, who was out of touch with this world’s culture, understood his situation. He couldn’t help but laugh, and Evan stared at him. However, Shun wasn’t scared of him.

In the past month, Shun had learned that only Evan’s speech and behavior were rude, and that Evan was actually gentle and full of a sense of justice appropriate for his age.

Shun’s fear of him was gone.

Shun thought of him more as an older friend than a cute student. As he started walking, Shun followed up beside him.

“Being young is nice.”

“Says the old man.”

Shun smiled and laughed at his sharp words that lacked their usual venom.

“Don’t tell anyone.”

Shun had never seen Evan look so serious.

A little pressured, Shun nodded firmly. However, he couldn’t help but open his mouth.

“Why do you want to hide it so much?”

“On the contrary, why did you think you could be open about it?”

Evan spoke quietly and looked down at the white lilies in his hand.

Shun, who had been thinking lightheartedly about how he was jealous of the fact that his beautiful sister would probably take a cue from him when he revealed his interest and thought that maybe he was embarrassed to be teased about keeping it a secret, realized something.

In medieval stories like this, women of that age were usually only single at that age for two reason.

Marriage was forbidden because of their work, or they were widowed. However, florists weren’t prohibited from marrying.

Few people would congratulate Evan, a teenager with no position or power, on his love affair with a widow.

Rather, the widow would be believed to have played a trick on him, and the world was not good enough for them to be able hide this from judgmental onlookers.

“Sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s just that I’m pretty happy you’re teasing me about it like normal.”

He said that bluntly, sounding a bit embarrassed, but that just made Shun feel even more guilty.

“I was thinking irresponsibly, but you’re a good guy…”

“What? You’re treating me like a child?”

Evan looked bad with an unpleasant expression but stopped talking when he saw Shun’s face.

After scratching his head with a difficult expression, he offered something to Shun. It was one of the candies he had received earlier.

“I don’t care what you really mean. That’s all I’ve got.”

Like Gin, Evan always acted young, but he really was an adult. His past was unknown to him, partly because he never cleared Craig’s route, but at his age, he was already a bounty hunter.

He must have his own circumstances.

“It’s not good for someone as thin as you to look so gloomy. People will think I’m mugging you.”

Even though Evan had a pretty face, he was strong and looked a bit like a delinquent, and he looked quickly around them.

Did something like that happen in the past?

“But this candy is the precious thing Evan got. I won’t take it.”

“I don’t like cinnamon. When I first got it, I said I liked it even though I didn’t to act like an adult, and I can’t clear up the misunderstanding now.”

Shun couldn’t help but laugh at his troubled face that made him look younger than Shun was.

Evan put a finger to his mouth and urged Shun, “This is also a secret.”

“She thinks you have a girlfriend, but is that okay?”

“That’s just her assumption. It’s the only reason a person like me would buy flowers every day, and I’m in trouble if I deny it and have to think of another reason for buying them.”

They walked side by side, eating cinnamon candy, and talked for a bit.

What a cowardly thing for a guy, who would punch others without a moment’s hesitation if the town’s unscrupulous people mocked him or his friends, to do.

But maybe that’s what love is all about.

Also, Evan told Shun about it calmly and is convinced that the other party doesn’t particularly think about him.

Shun, who was probably the most experienced person in the royal palace if not the most experienced person in town, couldn’t give a good comment, let alone offer advice. He muttered to himself that he was sad.

“I can’t do anything, but I’ll listen to you complain. It was through some coincidence that I found out.”

“You’re a useless old man.”

Evan didn’t get angry and looked relieved, even though he was speaking in a rude way.

“I might complain once in a while. And I’ll be happy if you give me candy.”

Shun squinted at his youthful smile.

They separated at the edge of the market because the sun was about to set. Shun was forced to promise not to tell anyone, and was told to both keep away from the florist but also buy the flowers there.

***********************

1. I got “solid company” from the raws, but I think strict works better in context.

2. It said educator, but he’s like in a “medieval” style world so I’ll use governor/governess instead, since that’s the more specific term for it.

3. It literally said “穀潰しを” which translates to grain crusher, which from context I assumed meant that Shun was considered useless, but it took forever to find something that confirmed this :[

4. I just went with the romanization of this from the raws “ガイ” because “guy” as a currency is a little… -w-;; If anyone has any better suggestions, I’d be more than happy to hear them.

5. A teppanyaki restaurant is like this, in case you’re curious:

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