Priority (1)

"Haha! No, now that I think about it, I believe I made a mistake during the day. I admit it, I swindled you. I don't usually charge that much, but I guess I got greedy. Give me the chance to restore my honor. I'll really show you some fun places."

Tess said with her hands on her hips.

"I can't be bothered. I'm so uncomfortable that I'm dying. Amy, just shut him out."

"Fine, then. Goodbye."

While Amy attempted to close the door, Jiss slid his hand inside, showing a desperate expression.

He didn't have a plan prepared, but being an experienced salesman, he quickly came up with words.

"W-Wait a minute! If you don't want your friends to come, you can come alone."

"Why would I do that? This seems suspicious."

"It's fine! Okay! I'll be honest. I... got into a big trouble."

"With who?"

"Even traveling salesmen have a guild, you know. It seems my actions reached the higher-ups. They told me to guide the customer I treated rudely around the island. If rumors spread, tourists won't use vendors. Can't you spare a moment? If not, I might completely lose my source of income. I might even have to beg like a beggar."

"Hmm."

Amy maintained her suspicious look. Jiss, terrified, anxiously awaited her judgment.

"It's okay, I could use some fresh air. Wait here, I'll go change."

Jiss's head shot up excitedly. Of course, he had come for this.

On the other hand, Tess, who was listening, was bewildered. She never thought Amy would believe the words of a street vendor.

She thought Amy was upset over the incident with Shirone and followed quickly.

"Amy! Why are you following him? How can you trust that guy?"

"It's fine. If I feel it's dangerous, I'll simply come back."

"Don't say that, let's think a bit more about this. What about Shirone?"

"It's okay. He can take care of himself. Rian must be hungry now, how long are you going to make him wait? This might be better anyway. I'll eat outside, so have some quality time with Rian."

Amy, after changing clothes and fixing her hair, descended to the entrance.

"Do you really have to go? Then you should come back quickly, okay? Just take a little fresh air. If you're late, we'll come looking for you."

"I told you I understand. Rian, I'll be out for a while. If Shirone comes back, feed him a bit."

Rian was alert. His hungry appearance disappeared, and he was seriously observing the situation.

Was it really right to let her go? But it was absurd to stop her when she wanted to go herself.

"You said Jiss? Let's go."

"Huh? Uh, yeah!"

Jiss was stunned. He hadn't been able to sort out his thoughts since she came down the stairs in her maiden-style black dress.

When Amy left, the villa was silent. Tess sighed and shook her head, feeling twisted inside.

"Sigh, how did it come to this? The atmosphere was good a while ago."

"Wouldn't it have been better if I went with her?"

"Idiot, don't you understand anything about a woman's heart? How miserable would Amy feel if someone else's partner escorted her? Anyway, where the hell did Shirone go?"

Rian approached the window and saw Amy getting into the carriage.

The stars over the sea were shining as if they were about to rain down.

***

Jiss sat across from Amy. Now that they were in the carriage, one could say the plan was about 80% successful.

"Alright, let's go! Hey, move!"

As the coachman nodded and shook the reins, the twin horses shook the carriage and moved away.

Jiss kept talking. Was he a village gossip? He was rambling on about trivial matters that she didn't care to know about. Who cares if the vegetable shop owner is having an affair with the widow or not?

Up until that point, Amy hadn't said a word and was only looking at the nighttime view out the window. Lost in her thoughts, she hadn't even heard his words.

At some point, Jiss also realized that and stopped talking.

In fact, looking at Amy's face like that made him happier. Her calm, subdued expression was completely different from her anger during the day.

Did Falkoa really intend to sell this beautiful girl? At first, it didn't seem real, but once he had her in the carriage, fear started to creep over him.

"This is taking a long time. Where are we going?"

Amy was the first to speak. Jiss was taken aback by her question, which hit the mark.

"Ah, well... it's a bit far. It's the best place in Galliant. You'll know for sure once you see it."

"Is that so? Did the boss who attacked you tell you to take me there?"

Jiss's heart sank.

Since when did she know? Perhaps from the beginning? Then why the hell did she get into the carriage, and why hadn't she said a word until now?

It was uncertain when Jiss's face would thaw from the frozen state. His mind was blank, and he couldn't think of any lies.

"T-That is..."

"You don't need to lie. I can tell just by looking at you. You're scared and begging; anyone who doesn't notice would be a fool. Anyway, do your best. I'll just follow your trick this once."

"Following the game... you say?"

"Yes. I don't know why you became a sacrificial pawn, but once this is over, stop what you're doing altogether. I'm saving you because you're so pitiful."

Jiss's face flushed.

"What! Am I pitiful?"

"So, you don't want to be pitiful?"

"T-This can't be real...!"

Amy asked before Jiss could get angry.

"You... threw a gold coin at me, didn't you?"

"That, that's..."

Jiss averted his gaze. He shuddered just thinking about the day's events. He was beaten to near death by Falkoa because of that action. It was a trauma he would never forget in his life.

"Kids like you can't last long in this world. People who have a lot to protect are only used and then discarded."

"Tsk, how would you know? You're a noble born to good parents."

"At least I know much more than you. I used to wander here too. Of course, I was in a much higher position than you."

Jiss bit his lip. In the end, it was like that. However much he tried to maintain his pride and raise his voice, it was impossible to look at her on the same level.

"Are you sympathizing with me?"

"Yes."

"I don't want your sympathy. Absolutely not."

"That's why you should leave this place. This might be your last chance."

Jiss hung his head, feeling defeated. She was right. If she hadn't shown him any sympathy, he and his sister would probably be experiencing hell right now.

"Tsk."

When Jiss clicked his tongue, Amy looked out the window. It was as if a fresh sea breeze blew and gently soothed her eyelids.

"I don't dislike kids like you."

"Eh?"

"I'm talking about you throwing me a coin. If you're a man, you should have courage. If you were just a street thug, I would have never gotten into this carriage."

Jiss's face turned as red as a tomato.

"For heaven's sake. Are you giving the disease and the cure now? That's why I don't like nobles. It was the same before. Someone mocks, and someone discourages. It's just selfish."

Amy, resting her chin on her hand, chuckled softly.

"Ah, Shirone? That guy is also a commoner. So that must have discouraged you."

"What? A commoner? Are you saying he's not a noble, but a commoner?"

Jiss' eyes widened. At first, he thought it was a joke. Otherwise, there would be no reason for such a beautiful girl to be dating a man of a lower status than herself.

"Yes, a commoner. What does that matter?"

"Oh really? But wasn't he your companion? It seemed like you were on a couple's trip?"

"That's right, a companion. The one who brought me to this island across the sea and then disappeared somewhere... my companion."

Amy made a sad smile with her lips. Looking at her increasingly distant gaze, Jiss' head became a mess.

Maybe he was wrong from the beginning? He should have picked up the gold coins that fell to the ground. If that were the case, even if his pride were hurt, things like this wouldn't have happened now.

"Darn it! Damn it!"

"Are you risking danger to sympathize with me? Do you know what danger is?"

This girl was thinking too lightly.

Falkoa was the interim chief of the Freeman Organization. What was the Freeman Organization? They were the rulers of Galliant, in charge of a fearsome elite army.

Even when Jiss was young, the island's commercial power was divided into several organizations. There were occasional power struggles, but the balance of power was never broken.

However, the situation changed drastically after the Freeman Organization landed on the island five years ago.

They expanded their power at an incredible speed, and the existing organizations dissolved without even being able to use their force. Finally, an alliance was formed to confront the Freeman Organization, but it shattered as if it were nothing.

It took only three months for the war to end.

The Freeman Organization was a battle group formed by monsters that dismantled all the organizations in just three months.

"It's not just Falkoa. The thugs above me are terrifying bastards. And I'm going to take this girl to a place like that now."

Jiss clenched his fists. He wanted to dissuade her, but he couldn't open his mouth.

She might escape because she's a student from the magic academy. But his sister can't. If Falkoa decided, he could make his sister disappear with a street vendor without even the mice or birds noticing.

'I must protect her. At least my sister... Definitely!'

***

After parting ways with Marsha, Shirone reached the beach. His legs were shaking from running non-stop, but the real challenge was yet to come. The villa was in the midst of the mountain, so he had to climb uphill.

"Huuu, why is my luck so bad today? All I do is run."

It was nearing sunset, so Rian and Tess were supposed to be having their meal by now.

If Amy was still waiting, he needed to tell her the bad news as soon as possible. The bad news that he had left his purchases behind.

'In one way or another, death is the same.'

Shirone gritted his teeth and ran uphill. When he reached the villa, his breath reached down to his chin.

Shirone, on the verge of collapsing, bent over and knocked on the door.

"Rian, Amy, Tess. I'm here. Please open the door- Akh!"

Suddenly, the door swung open, and Shirone tumbled forward. It was a much quicker response than expected.

"Shirone! Where the hell have you been? Do you know how long Amy waited?"

"Oh, sorry. There was a reason for that. Let's go in and talk. My legs are trembling."

There was no smell of food in the villa. Shirone, wishing the three had eaten first, apologized even more.

"Did you wait a long time because of me? But, where's Amy?"

Tess didn't know how to explain. Should she say that Amy got tired of waiting and went out? Or that Amy, disappointed with Shirone, followed Jiss?

"What's going on? You have a bad expression. What happened?"

"This... Oh, this is embarrassing."

Tess remained silent as she didn't want to cause any misunderstanding between the two.

However, Rian grasped the core of the situation.

"Eh? Jiss? You mean the guy who scammed us? Why would Amy follow him?"

"I don't know. While she was waiting for you, the guy suddenly appeared. He said he'd make up for what happened during the day. So, he took a carriage somewhere."

"Amy just followed him? Without any reason?"

Tess intervened.

"Yes! All because you were late. Do you know how lonely Amy must have felt? Tell me, what happened?"

Shirone delayed his response. Now wasn't the time to argue about such matters.

"Let's go. Do you know where they went?"

"We don't know. Why are you so nervous? If you were going to be like this, you should have treated her well from the start."

"She didn't leave because of me."

"What are you talking about? Amy was so angry!"

"Amy has a bad temper, but she doesn't act emotionally. Even if she's angry with someone, she wouldn't do anything to worry them. She'd rather wait for me and beat me up."

Tess's face went blank. Since Shirone knew Amy well, he was probably right.

Moreover, when she thinks about it, it makes sense. Amy gets angry easily, but she's tender-hearted. She seems grumpy but is actually very considerate, isn't she?

"But are you sure nothing would have happened? He's just a street vendor. Isn't Amy outstanding even at the magic academy?"