—Though it’s not an uncommon sight to see food being sold by the roadside like this.

“It’s hardly the sort of thing Lady Alisha would eat—”
“Alice.”
“I-I’m sorry. Er, it’s not the sort of thing Alice would eat, is it?”
“Is that my image?”
“N-no, that’s not it —er, I’m sorry.”

　I denied it, but truth be told, that was precisely the case.
Generally speaking, the sort of things sold at stalls are cheap, as one might expect for the price —and the quality of the meat isn’t exactly top-notch either.
They probably put some effort into it, but it’s not the sort of thing a noble like Alisha would willingly eat.

“It’s been like that since I was a child. But when I’m working as a knight, I sometimes have to procure my own meals too.”

Now that she mentioned it, it was true. Alisha was a noble lady —but she was also a knight.
　During expeditions, for instance, one couldn’t always count on having good food.

(I, once again, knew nothing…)

I’d been projecting my own image onto Alisha.
As a friend —even such a simple request, Lotte loathed herself for not being able to properly ask.

“—Here, Lotte’s portion.”
“Eh?”

What was offered before her was a skewer.
　It seemed Alisha had bought it for her without her noticing.

“W-what, for me too?”
“Of course. You haven’t had breakfast, have you?”

Alisha was right; they’d been preparing to leave early that morning, leaving no time for breakfast.
Alisha handed her the skewer.
As Lotte stood there, still bewildered, Alisha took a bite of her own skewer.

“Mmm, delicious. They’ve seasoned it rather strongly, haven’t they? Have some, Lotte.”

Urged on, Lotte also took a bite.
The sauce had soaked in nicely – it was tasty. This kind of rich seasoning might be characteristic of the royal capital.

“Right, let’s eat while we walk.”
“Ah, eating while walking is terribly ill-mannered.”
“I’ve wanted to try things like this. It’s alright once in a while, isn’t it?”
“…I suppose I have no choice.”

—Once she said she’d wanted to try it, there was no stopping her.
If this was what Alisha desired, Lotte wanted to grant it for her sake.

“Lotte and I share a secret, don’t we? So why not —I thought I’d do everything I feel like doing in front of Lotte.”

Without holding anything back —time to simply be a girl.
　It was quite a responsibility for Lotte, but considering how busy her usual work was —it would be a form of stress relief.
Lotte decided not to press the matter further and simply went along with what Alisha wanted to do.
While eating skewered meat, they visited a square in the capital city, notable for its clock tower and fountain.
Even though it was still early, there was a fair amount of foot traffic there.

“This is one of the capital’s famous tourist spots, you know.”
“I’ve heard of it, but this is my first time here.”
“Well then, perhaps it was worth coming.”
“Have you been here before, Alice?”
“Several times for work. But I’ve never had the chance to come and see it properly like this. It’s a good opportunity for me too. Look, it seems it’s nearly time.”

As she said this, the bell atop the clock tower chimed loudly —and simultaneously, the fountain shot water high into the air.
　It seemed such displays occurred hourly, likely drawing many visitors specifically for this spectacle.
The fountain created a beautiful rainbow, and Lotte found herself gazing at it too —but when she suddenly glanced around, she noticed something.

(…There are a lot of couples?)

It was still rather early, yet upon closer look, couples being affectionate stood out.
　Yes —this place was both a tourist spot and a popular date spot.
She remembered Alisha mentioning it was a date, and her face flushed involuntarily.
Their fingertips touched—

“Hyah, s-sorry!”
“Huh? What do you need to apologise for?”
“Ah, um, well, they just… touched…”

Lotte replied, looking mortified.

“Getting flustered over just fingertips touching? Silly Lotte.”

Alisha chuckled, finding it amusing.
—Perhaps Lotte really was overthinking things.
Alone with the person she admired —in this pseudo-date situation.
She ought to be enjoying it, but sadly, Lotte’s heart wasn’t built that strong.
　She’d pushed Alisha down once, and just now they’d held hands —yet to be unsettled by mere fingertips touching was rather peculiar.
But back then, she’d been desperate to make a wish come true —and still was. Once calm returned, she couldn’t help but overthink it.

“Right then.”

Whether aware of Lotte’s inner turmoil or not, Alisha suddenly took Lotte’s hand.