Chapter 22

That afternoon, Charlotte, having finished her preparations, dashed out of her room the moment it was five minutes before the appointed time.

She hurried down the long corridor, lifting the hem of her coat and dress, and pattered down the grand staircase.

"Oswald-sama!"

"…Ah."

In the entrance hall on the first floor, the most beautiful person in the world stood there.

Oswald turned around, dressed differently from usual.

Seeing him in his off-duty, holiday attire, Charlotte squatted down, her body going limp.

(Oswald-sama in casual clothes…!!)

"…?"

On this day, he was wearing an elegant gray overcoat.

Just the slim silhouette alone suggested it was of very high quality.

The long length, reaching below his knees, suited the tall Oswald well. The hem would surely flutter vividly with every step he took.

The collar was adorned with delicate silver-thread embroidery, subtly yet gorgeously. Apart from that, the design was very simple, but it accentuated the beauty of Oswald's features.

In other words, Oswald was beautiful today as well.

Looking closely, it seemed he was also wearing ear decorations that resembled cufflinks. The unexpectedness of seeing him with accessories made her heart almost stop.

"Hey, Charlotte"

"～～～～!! ――――っ、…………っっ!!"

"Wait, why are you crying at the sight of someone…?"

Oswald took a step back as Charlotte, who had started to tremble and press her lips, and his face clearly showed that he was taken aback by her.

"Ugh, uh, uuu…! Though you look at me as if I were an unknown entity, I am grateful that you recognize me…! However, from my perspective, the very existence of Oswald-sama is so unbelievable…!!"

"Stop it. Don't make someone's existence uncertain."

Frowning, Oswald said, and his red eyes gazed at Charlotte.

"You are…"

"!!"

Charlotte, suddenly realizing, immediately spread her arms wide.

For this day, Charlotte had chosen clothes with as little exposure as possible.

The dress, the color of amethyst, covered her neck and even more, leaving no cleavage exposed.

Over it, she wore a sky-blue coat that was itself dress-like, with fluffy fur at the cuffs and collar.

"I made sure to keep the exposure to a minimum! Please, feel free to look as much as you like!"

"…"

This would be warm. More importantly, it should be far from Oswald's taste.

Looking at her with sparkling eyes, he immediately averted his gaze and turned away.

"…That's enough."

"Yes!"

Not being scolded meant she had passed the test. Overjoyed, Charlotte nodded with a full smile.

Oswald, for some reason, looked a bit awkward and then said:

"Put out your hands."

"? Yes!!"

Immediately extending her hands, Oswald placed something on them.

What she received was a piece of jewelry with a thin golden chain and a sky-blue stone.

Seeing something she hadn't expected, Charlotte blinked repeatedly.

"Is this… a necklace?"

"No."

"But it has a thin chain and a gem-like decoration."

Then, Oswald, with a cool expression, said:

"This is a 'lost tag.'"

"Lost tag!!"

Charlotte opened her mouth wide and stared intently at the item in her palm.

"In case you get lost, I can still locate you to some extent."

"Does that mean, as long as I wear it, no matter how far I am, I will still be connected to Oswald-sama!?"

"No, it's just a means of surveillance. Since I'm giving it to you, keep it."

"Wow, thank you…!! A lost tag from Oswald-sama, I'm so happy…!!"

Sniffling with tears of joy, Charlotte hung the 'lost tag' around her neck.

The aquamarine stone, the same color as her eyes, dangled delicately from the fine chain, shining at Charlotte's chest.

"Hehe, sniff, I put it on right away! How does it look, Oswald-sama!"

"Yes. The divine power reaction is confirmed without any issues."

"If it suits me, I'm happy…! I will treasure it very, very much!!"

After a slightly mismatched conversation, Oswald looked at his left wristwatch and continued:

"By the way, this territory exists near the northern border. It's a place where invasions from other countries and monsters are common, so the main bustling shops are weapon stores or magic tool stores. —I assume you know this."

"H-Hai! Of course, I know!"

"Therefore, we will fly to the city in the south of the country. It's relatively peaceful, and the clothing stores are well-stocked, but it's not part of my territory. —I assume you know this as well."

"Hai! Of course, I know!"

Of course, she didn't know at all, but since 'Charlotte' would know, she nodded confidently.

(Thanks to Oswald-sama's detailed explanation, I can pretend to know without any issues! What a wonderful person he is. Even though he doesn't know I have amnesia, he is so considerate…)

While savoring this thought, Oswald continued:

"Your aversion to socializing means that only the priests who enter and exit the temple and the soldiers you've encountered on the battlefield should know your face. My face is somewhat known, but… well, few people think I'm in another territory. As long as we don't stand out, there shouldn't be a problem."

"I understand! In other words, 'don't stand out in the new location,' right!"

"Do you really understand…?"

He looked at her with a doubtful gaze. However, Oswald said, "Well, it's fine," and then raised his right hand to cast a magic circle at their feet.

"Wow."

No matter how many times she saw it, it was a magnificent magic circle.

It was so beautiful, like a work of art, yet its structure was highly practical, making it mesmerizing. Just looking at it, one could see that the magic power was optimized to the extreme, which was truly astonishing.

(Oh? But, it's strange. Oswald-sama must have an immense amount of magic power… Yet, why is it so optimized?)

Charlotte couldn't help but tilt her head.

(…It's as if he wants to save on the consumption of magic power…)

"Charlotte. Let's go."

"Yes!"

Called by her name, her thoughts were immediately erased.

Following Oswald's gaze, Charlotte took a step into the magic circle he had drawn.