Leaving the Academy Part 2

Ah, welcome!" As Kyle approached the stall, the little girl beamed from ear to ear and greeted

him. She must have been around seven or eight years old. She was a cute child,

if a bit thin.

However, the instant she saw Kyle's noble clothes, her expression stiffened.

She had surely mistaken him as a child of nobility.

In the Kingdom of Erugenia, where society was based on social status, it was

quite common for nobles to act violently towards commoners. That was why

commoners feared the nobility. This little girl had probably learned that

sentiment from her mother.

"Ah, erm, I mean..." Realizing she couldn't act rudely, the little girl forced an

uncomfortable smile on her face.

"You don't need to be so nervous. It smells really good here... Are you selling

something?" Kyle spoke to her gently in an attempt to reassure her.

"Umm, it's bread with sauce and vegetables and fried meat inside, sir." The

girl did her best to speak politely to Kyle.

"I see. Then, I think I'll take some." Kyle smiled softly, eagerly expressing his

desire to purchase their product.

"Oh my, is it a noble? ...Huh? Ah, umm..." The mother noticed Kyle's presence

and hurried to greet him, but her eyes widened dramatically when she saw

Kyle's face.

"Is something the matter?" Kyle asked her curiously.

"Ah, no... It's nothing. P-Please excuse my actions." The woman fearfully

apologized for her strange behavior, but she continued to watch Kyle with

observant eyes.

"Oh, is it about my hair color?" Kyle guessed at the reason as to why the

woman reacted with shock, touching a hand to his hair. Black hair was rare in

Erugenia; he had been ridiculed numerous times by students at the academy

because of this hair.

"Umm, that's... Yes. I actually knew someone a long time ago, a boy with

black hair. So I thought that maybe... But there was no way that child was

nobility, so it was just my mistake. I-I don't know how I can apologize enough to

you for this..."

"...May I ask what the name of that boy was?" Kyle questioned the trembling

woman. She kept her head down out of fear. Perhaps she was someone he

knew back from when he lived in the slums.

"I-I believe it was Kyle..."

Bingo—apparently, Kyle had met this beautiful woman before.

Unfortunately Kyle wasn't going to confirm her suspicions.

"I'm sorry, I have no recollection of that name."

"Is that... so..."

Kyle decided to feign ignorance, and the woman showed her clear

disappointment.

"Have you been looking for that boy?" Kyle asked. He couldn't remember any

situation where he had met this woman before.

If he had to take a guess, he would assume it was through the gang of thugs

that he had lived with in the slums. If that was the case, then the number of

possibilities were narrowed down significantly. If it was someone who knew

him well enough to remember his name, then it was most likely one of the

people who frequented the small shack Rio lived in back then. Most of the

women who frequented the shack were prostitutes that the thugs called over.

The ones they favored the most had been Georgia, but she died in the hands of those vandits, and her little sister Angela. There were several others they had liked as

well, and Kyle guessed this woman had to be one of them.

That being said, it had been over around seven years since he last saw them. The

woman in front of him was not wearing any makeup, so she didn't have the air

of a prostitute at all, making it hard for him to place her.

"It's just that he may have witnessed the final moments of my older sister."

The woman's expression clouded over as she spoke. The little girl looked on in

confusion at their conversation.

An older sister... Could it be Georgia's little sister, Olivia?

Thanks to her words, Kyle was finally able to place the woman in front of him.

He fixed his expression so that his surprise wouldn't show, then swallowed a

breath at their coincidental reunion. She used to wear thick makeup in the past,

but he could see traces of her old self now that he knew who she was.

Come to think of it, Georgia had mentioned how she wanted to start a store with

Olivia one day. Her personality was quite similar to Ben. So she was quite close to him... But he didn't want to drag the conversation out any further,

so he changed the subject.

"...I'm sorry, I asked something very intrusive of you."

"N-No, it's because I acted rudely to begin with. It's my fault... Please accept

my apologies!" Olivia bowed her head reflexively at Kyle's apology.

"I'm actually rather hungry right now. Could I take two?" Finding it

unproductive to continue their back-and-forth, Kyle cut to the chase.

"I-I'm not sure our products would suit the taste of a noble like you, sir..."

Olivia replied, ashamed. She was worried that Kyle would change his mind the

moment he took a bite of the food. It wasn't strange to meet nobles like that.

"That's all right. I'm used to stall foods like this," Kyle explained with a strained

smile. His words made Olivia lower her guard just a little.

"Then... that'll be eight small coppers for two." "In that case, you can take this. I don't need change," Kyle said, offering one small silver.

"I couldn't possibly accept that..." Olivia hurried to take out his change. For

her, a single small silver was over half her usual daily earnings.

"It's to apologize for scaring your child. Please take her to eat something

delicious." Kyle shook his head, smiling at the little girl standing quietly.

"But..."

"How about, in exchange, you tell me of any good, trustworthy stores that

stock equipment for traveling? I'm actually not too familiar with the shops in

this area..." Kyle bashfully scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. For

a brief moment, Olivia stared back at him in befuddlement— before she broke

out into giggles.

"In that case..."

She proceeded to tell Kyle about several stores she recommended. He stored

the shop names and their specialties in his head as he watched Olivia prepare

the food.

Just as she finished her explanation, the food was done.

"Here you are." Olivia offered him the completed sandwich. The ingredients

were enclosed in a crispy baguette, the well-cooked meat and special salty

sauce blending together thickly to waft a savory aroma. It was enough to make

Kyle drool.

"Thanks," he said as he accepted the first sandwich.