Chapter 23

I barely managed to get Jessie out of that sweltering tent.

"Oh, what a shame. They said there'd be at least five matches."

Jessie repeated the same words for the fifth time, so disappointed was she at having seen only two. Regret dripped from every step she took back toward the carriage by the river.

"We can come again next time."

"...Really?"

"Yes. But you said you'd never been here before—you were as fervent as an actual fighter."

"It's popular among the maids these days. They teased me so much for being the only one who hadn't gone."

"Did they? I should have brought you sooner."

"It's all right. Just coming once today is enough for me."

"Liar."

"Hehe..."

In the past, Jessie had grabbed at anything I offered her. It was because she had learned through the days she spent surviving on the streets just how rare such things…