And so the tea time passed leisurely.
Before they knew it, the sun was starting to set and the faces of the people on the road changed.
During the day, there were many ordinary citizens, but now there were more and more groups of adventurers who seemed to be returning from labyrinths. After the sun had set, they would probably be enjoying a drink with snacks at a bar, sharing about today's adventures.
...... I wonder if Charlotte will be scared.
He thought of the soldiers who had chased her.
Some adventurers could be seen wearing similar heavy armor. Charlotte hadn't shown any signs of fright so far, but... only time will tell.
Gulping down the remaining tea, Allen said, "Well... We'd better get going."
"That's right. It's time for dinner."
Charlotte nodded her head.
But Erica booed loudly.
"What? The night is not over yet! Here, I have picked some good restaurants from the guidebook!"
"... You still have the stomach to eat?"
The oversized crepe that Erika was supposedly eating just a few minutes ago had completely disappeared from sight, leaving not a shadow of its former self.
It was enough to give Allen a heartburn just by looking at it, but for Erika, sweets seemed to be different. She opened the guidebook covered with sticky notes to Charlotte.
"Look, how about this place? They specialize in cheese. Pizza with lots of cheese, cheese fondue, cheese in hamburger steak!"
"Cheese...?"
Charlotte cleared her throat as her eyes glued to the guidebook. She had eaten her fill of cakes, but she still seemed to be hungry.
When it came down to it, it was two against one. Allen meekly watched the situation develop.
If Charlotte was on board, it's not a bad idea to go out with her. He didn't have any complaints there but...
... Aren't I in a bad situation?
This was a battle between siblings to see who could please Charlotte.
Erika was by far the dominant player right now.
Even though there was nothing to lose if he lost this battle -- foreign enemies were, of course, excluded -- but as Charlotte's guardian, this was a battle he did not want to lose.
There's nothing to be afraid of, just spend the passing days laughing.
That much was already called for. Even so, that's not enough. He had to make her happier, much, much more than that.
Allen was worried about this turn of events.
"Huh?"
Then something suddenly caught his eye.
And just like that, the discussion between the women had been settled.
"All right, let's get going then! Of course, it's going to be brother's treat... oh?"
"Erika?"
Then Erika stopped talking. Without looking at Charlotte, who had her head tilted curiously, the foolish sister stood up from her seat and rushed down the main street without hesitation.
Then she grabbed the hand of a... thin young man. The young man was in a wheelchair, whose wheels were only slightly floating above the ground.
"Can I talk to you for a minute? Brother!"
"Huh? What, what is it...?"
"What kind of workshop did that cool magic wheelchair come from? I've never seen anything that cool!"
"Oh... this? Rather than which workshop... I made it myself..."
"Seriously? That's amazing! It's powered by wind magic, right? And with this combination of materials, it's really amazing that it works so stably--"
"W-well..."
Eluca caught the bewildered young man and they got into a magical discussion by the roadside.
Her sparkling eyes seemed to have completely forgotten about Allen and Charlotte. Charlotte looked on in amazement but soon, her appearance crumbled.
"I can see that Erika really likes magic. That's really nice. If I had a favorite thing like that... huh?"
Then she suddenly realized that she was alone at the table. Allen called out to her from a distance as she glanced around.
"Over here!"
"Allen!"
In response to the call, Charlotte came towards him, to a street vendor store right next to the coffee shop.