Chapter 27
I glanced over the shooting range. As expected, I spotted that the targets inside were cleverly arranged to subtly miss. It might fool others, but not my eyes.
Staring straight at him, I crinkled my eyes in a smile and replied.
“Okay. I’ll do it.”
I paid the owner for ten rounds, then picked up the gun. The owner, having taken my money, was grinning ear to ear, counting it with a look like he’d struck gold.
However, the owner’s face, once brimming with laughter, began to darken bit by bit after my first shot.
As time went on, what started as just one or two people gathering around me turned into more and more crowding nearby.
“Wow, did you see that? Three rounds in a row, all kills. This is the fourth one now.”
“Look at the owner’s face. He looks like he’s lost his entire kingdom.”
“He seems like the type to scam customers—I knew this would happen someday. He met his match. He needs to get a taste of it.”
It was while I was reloading bullets after perfectly hitting every target through the fifth round. The owner, who had been watching me in a daze as if his soul had fled, suddenly rushed over.
“Ah, miss. No, customer, how about calling it quits now?”
“Huh? Why? Sir? Is there some problem?”
“Ah, no. It’s just… there’s no problem, but…”
I calmly asked the owner, who was hemming and hawing, rolling his eyes.
“Then I can keep shooting, right?”
“R-refund! I’ll refund the remaining five rounds, so you can stop and go now.”
“Ah, the remaining five rounds.”
I flashed him a bright smile and, instead of answering, finished loading the rest of the bullets. At that, the color drained from his face, and he grabbed me, shouting urgently.
“I-I meant full refund—I misspoke. Hahaha…”
“And you’ll give me all the prizes too, right?”
The owner still couldn’t let go of his greed, it seemed. Well, no helping it then.
“Well, now let’s get back to the remaining five rounds with full effort…”
“O-of course!”
The owner replied with a face that was impossible to tell if he was crying or laughing. I smiled back at him.
“Good.”
“Come again, customer!”
Somehow, it felt like there was a hidden undertone: don’t ever come back.
As I walked along the street, I could feel people glancing at me curiously.
Right now, I was struggling to drag along five massive bear plushies I’d won as first prizes.
The owner kept trying to persuade me that they’d be too heavy and to just take one, but I’d stubbornly taken them all out of spite.
‘Ugh. Maybe I should have just taken one…’
I stared at the bear plushies for a moment, then bit my lip. My bright expression gradually clouded with dark regret.
There was no one left to give them to anymore.
…Maybe I shouldn’t have done it after all.
From somewhere, a child came running up and leaped onto one of the bear plushies.
“It’s a bear! A super big bear! Are all these yours, miss?”
“…Huh? Yeah, that’s right.”
“Can I have one…? I want a bear plushie too… Wah!”
Right after, what seemed to be the child’s parents came running up and apologized to me.
“Ah, we’re so sorry. We looked away for a second, and our child was rude.”
“Ah, no, it’s fine.”
“Milia. You need to apologize too. Come on. You can’t just demand something that’s not yours like that.”
The child’s face started to crumple under the scolding. My years of experience told me this was not a good sign.
Sure enough, before long, the child burst into heartbroken sobs.
“Hic, sniff. What am I supposed to do if I want it! M-Mom and Dad never buy me stuff like that! Waaah! You always say you’ll buy it but never do!”
“Oh, honestly, this child…!”
The parents’ faces, as they raised their voices, showed a mix of guilt toward the child and embarrassment. I stepped in between them and gave the parents a light nod.
Then, I crouched down to the crying child’s eye level.
“Hi there. Milia.”
“Hic, sob…”
“Did you want this bear plushie?”
“Sniff, y-yeah…”
Pearly tears rolled down from the child’s eyes. I gently wiped her face and deliberately brightened my voice.
“Wow, really? That’s perfect! I was actually in a bind because I have too many plushies. So if Milia could take one bear for me, that would be amazing… Could you do that?”
I glanced over, and Milia’s eyes were growing rounder and rounder. Her crying had stopped abruptly.
“R-really…?”
“Absolutely!”
I quickly pulled out one bear plushie and handed it to Milia. It was about the same size as her and must have been heavy, but she hugged it tightly with the brightest smile.
“Mom, Dad, look at this…!”
The parents standing behind Milia bowed repeatedly, thanking me profusely. The way they exchanged loving glances was indescribably beautiful.
As I watched them, a faint smile crept onto my face without me realizing.
It was then that Milia, after handing the bear to her parents, suddenly ran back to me. She hesitated, pursing her lips, then whispered right up close.
“…Miss, what’s your name?”
“Hm? Me?”
When I asked again, Milia nodded slightly.
“Judith… No, it’s Judith.”
Figuring there was no need to hide my name from this little child, I smiled and gave her my real one.
Milia murmured “Judith miss” softly, then came right up to me. With her tiny hands, she carefully held my cheeks and planted a kiss on one with a smack.
“Hehe, thanks for the plushie gift, Judith miss!”
I blinked in surprise, eyes wide, and the child, her cheeks flushed adorably, smiled brightly like a freshly bloomed flower.
Perhaps embarrassed by my staring, the child who had greeted me dashed back to her parents.
“Bye-bye, miss!”
Even after parting, the child kept turning back, waving enthusiastically at me until the end. I smiled and waved back, only standing up once they were completely out of sight.
I did well bringing the plushies after all, I thought.
After that, as I continued walking, I gave away the remaining bear plushies to children who looked at me enviously, then explored the rest of the festival.
Browsing the ornate accessories and peculiar items imported from abroad, I finished buying the gifts I’d promised for Mary, then headed to the main attraction of Nelvia Square: the fountain.
An enormous circular fountain stood majestically in the center of the square. Watching the water jets endlessly shooting upward, I felt a refreshing coolness inside.
Like everyone else, I sat on the edge of the fountain. The sky, once filled with sunset hues, had turned pitch black. The streetlights sparkled beautifully, as if they were stars in the sky.
“Come to think of it, I didn’t see Axel at all in the end…”
Even while touring the festival, I hadn’t forgotten to scan the surroundings for Axel, but I never once crossed paths with him.
“Maybe he finished what he had to do and went back already.”
A sense of regret slipped out, impossible to hide.
It was because I hadn’t seen him for far too long.
Of course, I’d been the one to decide not to seek him out first, out of consideration for Axel, but now even holding onto this poker face was reaching its limit. I really wanted to see Axel.
