TWEM Vol. 5 Chapter 16 Part 2
The four people Haruto noticed were Iris, Asha, Suzuno, and Ephyr. There was a reason Finne hadn’t come. She figured she’d be caught tailing them, and didn’t want to disturb their fun in the first place. Incidentally, Kuzel was taken to a bookstore by Zero, while Gawain and the Holy Knights were training at the cathedral after their encounter. Finne, who happened to be at the castle, was doing the same.
Iris and the others were still in the same spot, their voices hushed as they engaged in an argument that was barely audible over the ambient sounds around them.
“Iris, at this rate, they’re going to notice us. We should just go back.”
“Why are you so scared, Asha? You’re curious too, that’s why you came along!”
“Well, that’s… uh…”
As Asha’s eyes darted around, Suzuno and Ephyr joined in.
“That’s right. Besides, we’re curious about what Haruto might do with Ilmina.”
“Exactly. This is an important responsibility as a fiancée!”
If Haruto was listening in, he would probably argue with the two girls’ statements. With their conversation going on behind her, Iris kept her eyes on Haruto and Ilmina.
“Ilmina seems even happier than usual.”
“Indeed. We’ll have to spoil her even more when we get back.”
“Yes! Just as Suzuno said!”
“As expected of Suzuno!”
Seeing Iris and Ephyr praising Suzuno, Asha sighed.
“Ah, they’re moving. Let’s go, but make sure our presence is concealed!”
The two girls, with a determined thumbs up, and Asha, who was both exasperated and obedient, resumed tailing Haruto. In the midst of this, Iris’s mouth watered as she watched Haruto and the others eating skewers.
“Hey, Iris, are you hungry?”
“No, I’m not! It’s not like my stomach is empty or anything!”
As Iris denied Suzuno’s words, a cute growling sound echoed.
“I knew it.”
“I thought so too.”
“Indeed…”
Asha, Suzuno, and Ephyr let out resigned sighs.
“Lady Iris, didn’t you just eat breakfast earlier?”
“Of course I did! I eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner without fail!”
“How many pieces of bread did you eat this morning?”
“About six, I guess.”
“How can you still be hungry after eating that much…”
Asha was at a loss for words. Iris’ eyes sparkled, as she came up with a seemingly brilliant idea.
“That’s it! We don’t have to take our eyes off Haruto and Ilmina, so let’s have fun ourselves!”
With a self-satisfied grin, Iris seemed to say, “I’m such a genius, aren’t I?” However, no one seemed to agree with her suggestion, or so Asha thought.
“It’s true, just tailing them isn’t fun, is it~”
Contrary to her expectation, Suzuno agreed with Iris’s proposal. Asha and Ephyr looked at Suzuno with puzzled expressions. Then, noticing their gaze and expressions, Suzuno spoke up.
“Well, I mean, with such a delicious smell wafting over, you know?”
With a “you understand, right?” expression, Suzuno continued.
“Come on, let’s go!”
Grabbing the hesitant Asha and Ephyr by their arms, Iris headed towards the food stalls.
Asha and Ephyr also understood that arguing with Iris would be fruitless, so they decided that if they were discovered, they would blame Iris and Suzuno for their failed tailing attempt. From that point on, Iris and the others enjoyed the street food while keeping an eye on Haruto and Ilmina.
“This skewer is delicious!”
“Ah, miss, you have good taste. Here, have an extra one as a bonus.”
“Thank you!”
Iris happily munched on the skewers with both hands. Of course, Suzuno, Asha, and Ephyr also joined in, enjoying the food and exclaiming, “This is really tasty!”
In between bites, they would suddenly remember they were tailing Haruto and Ilmina and scramble to locate them, only to be lured back by the delicious smells and buy more food. This cycle continued until Ephyr, who had narrowly noticed Haruto and Ilmina slipping into an alley, reported it to the others.
“Haruto just disappeared into an alley!”
“What?! We need to follow them quickly!”
“What could Haruto and Ilmina be planning in that alley?”
“Lady Iris, let’s hurry up and follow them instead of eating!”
The four of them followed Haruto and Ilmina into the alley, but…
“Huh? They’re not here…?”
As Suzuno had said, there was no sign of Haruto and Ilmina. Although the main street lay beyond the alley, the two were nowhere to be seen within view from their current location.
“Let’s move on for now!”
At Iris’s words, everyone nodded and exited the alley to the main street. But there was still no sign of Haruto and Ilmina.
“Did… did we lose them…?”
“It seems so. If only Lady Iris hadn’t stopped to eat along the way…”
“Wait, Asha?! You’re blaming me?!”
“Please consider, if you hadn’t been hungry, we wouldn’t have lost sight of them, would we?”
“Ugh, well, that’s true… but you also started saying you wanted to eat something too, Asha!”
“Ha… I have no counter argument for that…”
In the end, Suzuno couldn’t help but chuckle since both parties were to blame. From a certain point, all four of them had enjoyed the food at the stalls.
“Let’s go back to the inn.”
“Yes, let’s.”
“Yeah. I’m pretty full now, anyway.”
“Same here, my stomach is full.”
With that, Iris, Asha, Suzuno, and Ephyr agreed to return to the inn.