Angel Little Sister 326

 

Chapter 326 : Big City Market

 

After walking down the street while holding hands with Maya for about fifteen minutes, I could see the market.

There were so many people and stores, especially grocery stores that were lined on both sides of the street.

This place was so busy. I could hear people’s chatter from every direction.

「The young lady with her twin children over there, how about some potatoes? They are quite cheap today!」(seller)

As soon as we entered the market, the middle-aged man who was the seller from a nearby grocery store called out to us.

He meant no harm, but Maya didn’t seem to like the way he called her. She glared at him with a scary face.

「Huuh!? What did just call me?」(Maya)

「Hiiiiiiiyy!! I, I’m sorry if I offended you, Ma’am…」(seller)

The seller shivered in fear when he saw Maya’s face.

I could do nothing either but swallow my saliva silently in fear.

This must be what Maya of the Great Cleaver looked like when she was about to kill a monster…

Although she was irritated at first, she approached the grocery store as soon as she saw the price tag on the pile of potatoes displayed in front of the store.

「Hoo… They really are cheap.」(Maya)

「Y, Yes! We have a lot of potatoes today. D, Do you want to buy some, Ma’am?」(seller)

「It’s not me who needs them. It’s this boy.」(Maya)

Saying that, Maya glanced at me.

「Y, Yeah, sure. I’ll buy one kilogram of potatoes, please.」(Mark)

「Thank you very much!」(seller)

The man weighed the potatoes with a manual scale, put them in a paper bag, and handed them to me.

After I handed him the money in exchange, we left the store and walked deeper into the market.

By the way, I had no intention of buying potatoes since I still have some that I got from bartering in the morning market in Schultria Village. I planned to just walk around the town, enjoying my time.

However, since Tryon told Maya to go with me, I had no choice but to buy some. Besides, Tryon gave me the money to buy the ingredients, so I think I should use them well.

As we walked deeper into the market, I saw some vegetables and fruits that I had never seen before. They seemed to only grow in the area around this city.

I don’t need them to make potato salad, but I bought them anyway as a souvenir for Dad. I think he will be able to turn them into delicious dishes with his cooking skills.

After buying a lot of vegetables and other unique food ingredients, Maya looked at me with a somewhat worried face.

「Oi…」(Maya)

「Yes?」(Mark)

「No matter how much you pretend to put your groceries in your bag, I think someone will notice that you’re an Item Box user if you put so many things in it.」(Maya)

She may be right. If someone had been paying attention to me this whole time, they would have noticed that my bag didn’t get any bigger even after I put so many things in it.

But…

「Well, at least I’m trying to hide it. If someone found out I’m an Item Box user, then there’s nothing I can do about it.」(Mark)

「What if they want to kidnap you?」(Maya)

「Then they can try. I’ll teach them a lesson myself.」(Mark)

When I said that with a smirk on my face, Maya opened her eyes wider, looking a bit impressed.

「Hee… For a little kid, you’re much braver than I expected. Celine talked a lot about you last night. She said that you might be a kid but you’re as strong as high-ranked adventurers.」(Maya)

Apparently, Celine was bragging about me while she was drinking with Maya last night.

It kinda makes me happy, to be honest.

「Say, Maya onee-chan, did Celine onee-chan say something about me?」(Nicola)

Seeing Maya praising me, Nicola looked a bit jealous.

「Yeah. She said that you have a talent for magic and have an amazing ability to sense others’ presences around you.」(Maya)

「Really~?」(Nicola)

「But she also said that you’re lazy and rarely practice.」(Maya)

「R, Really…?」(Nicola)

She looked happy at first, but then her happy expression turned into a disappointed face in a second.

After buying various food ingredients in the market, I asked Maya if we could walk around the city for a while before returning to the castle.

Surprisingly, she agreed with me. It seemed that she also wanted to enjoy her time as well.

However, when we were about to return to the main street, Nicola told me she had bad news.

『Onii-chan, we’re being followed.』(Nicola)

『Really? …Ah, you’re right.』(Mark)

My sensing ability was slower than Nicola’s but I could feel someone was following us too.

『Anyway, we should let Maya know.』(Mark)

『You’re right.』(Nicola)

「Nee, nee, Maya onee-chan.」(Nicola)

「Hm?」(Maya)

Nicola pulled Maya’s arm, telling her to bow down a little. She then whispered to her.

「I think we are being followed.」(Nicola)

「…!? *Sniff sniff* …You’re right.」(Maya)

Maya frowned and sniffed the air like a dog. I wonder if that’s how her sensing ability works.

「Looks like your sensing ability is more impressive than I thought.」(Maya)

「Hehe~」(Nicola)

「Mark, Celine told me you’re smart. Do you have any idea who they are?」(Maya)

「I’m not sure, but either they’re the remnants of that bandit group or… they’re after my Item Box…」(Mark)

「After your Item Box, huh? See? I told you.」(Maya)

「Uhh… I’m sorry…」(Mark)

「But… Hold on… You went to Darkan’s store with Celine yesterday, right? Celine didn’t say anything but did that fat man say something to her?」(Maya)

「Eh? Do you think the stalker has anything to do with him?」(Mark))

「Well, I can’t say for sure. So?」(Maya)

「Umm… He offered Celine a contract to become his mistress or something.」(Mark)

「I see… What a persistent pig. So, Mark, what are you gonna do now? You said you would teach them a lesson, didn’t you?」(Maya)

「Ugh, I did say that, but… Aren’t you here to protect us?」(Mark)

「Tryon-sama did tell me to go with you, but I’m Liane-sama’s bodyguard, not yours. Besides, I kinda want to see how Celine’s disciple will handle this situation.」(Maya)

「Uhh… Is it a test or something? Hahh… Alright, fine. I’ll take care of it.」(Mark)

Maya grinned at me as if saying, “It’s gonna be interesting!”. She looked somewhat excited.

「We should avoid unnecessary attention from the surrounding people, so let’s go to that alley.」(Mark)

「Alright.」(Maya)

While kept holding hands and acting as if we didn’t notice the stalker, we went into the nearby alley.

The alley was not that narrow, but it was a bit dark because the surrounding buildings blocked the sunlight.

「Alright. Nicola, you take the front. I’ll take the back.」(Mark)

「With pleasure!」(Nicola)

Nicola nodded as if she understood my plan right away.

「Maya-san, please stay still and don’t move around too much, okay?」(Mark)

「O… Okay…?」(Maya)

When Maya tilted her head, looking somewhat puzzled, Nicola and I let go of her hands and climbed her body.

Nicola hugged her from the front while burying her face in Maya’s cleavage, while I hugged her from behind.

「Whoa! What the hell are you guys doing!? Stop it! Only Tryon-sama can touch me like that!」(Maya)

Uhh… I think I should pretend not to hear that…

「Ssshhh!! I told you to stay still! Now I’m going to take us to that roof, so please don’t move!」(Mark)

「H, Huh!?」(Maya)

Ignoring Maya’s confused face, I hugged her waist tightly and cast Levitation Magic to move the three of us onto the roof of one of the buildings surrounding the alley.

 

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