One day, Elliot and Whis were at the village market together.

By the time he was old enough to understand, Elliot had been immersed in practicing swordsmanship and magic, so he had hardly ever been to a lively place.

For Whis, it was only a few times that he had been there on errands for his grandmother, but it was not a place for fun. The reason they had come here was because Emily was not feeling well. Clare was accompanying her mother and taking care of her. There were some illnesses that Clare's magic could not cure. Instead, Elliot, who was not familiar with markets, was asked to do some shopping, so he brought Whis to the market.

Whis, holding a basket in his hand, grabbed Elliot's sleeve and entered the crowd.

"Whis, do you know what you're buying?"

"Yeah, it's fine. I can read the note."

Whis looked at the note happily. She was already able to read simple characters.

"Nicotake, Agas, and Koril, the store over there is cheap."

She entered the crowd with her small body. Elliot's fingers were about to come off Elliot's sleeve, so Whis grabbed his hand.

"Uncle, sixteen Nicotake mushrooms and four each of Agas and Koril. Can you give me a little back?"

Whis had no reservations about the intimidating owner of a shop that only sold vegetables.

"Young lady, are you running an errand again? Is that boy your boyfriend?"

The owner's face suddenly softened as he asked.

"Yes!"

Whis nodded obediently to the owner's question. When asked if he was a boyfriend, Whis replied.

"Okay, I'll give you a little back."

The owner smiled back.

"Thank you. I'll come buy from you again!"

Whis waved to the owner and went into another shop.

"You're pretty used to it."

"Leave the shopping to me. Elliot always takes care of me."

"No, I didn't do anything."

"No. Without Elliot, I wouldn't be able to read or write, and..."

Whis started to say something, but then fell silent. Instead, the hand he held tightly to Elliot's strengthened.

Elliot, who had never even held a sword before, was reminded of the opposite sex by Whis's soft hand.

"And... what's wrong?"

"No, nothing."

Whis's ears were red as he skillfully made his way through the crowds in the market.

"Ah, here, here!"

As if to avoid talking about something else, Whis suddenly pointed in high spirits.

The place was a butcher's shop, which was particularly crowded with people. Various types of livestock and game meat, as well as cuts, were lined up in front of the store, each with a price tag attached to it, and they were being sold.

"Auntie, give me this meat!"

Whis examined the meat and pointed.

"Yes! That's five copper coins."

The shopkeeper replied cheerfully.

Elliot thought that bringing Whis along was the right decision. Even if he had told him verbally, he might have ended up with the wrong meat. He was made to realize just how naive he was.

"The butcher there has a wide variety and is cheap because the uncle buys and catches the meat himself."

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Whis read the note he had been given and confirmed it.

"That's all for shopping. Let's go back home."

"How much money do you have left from the money your mother gave you?"

Whis checked inside his wallet.

"I have six copper coins left over."

"Let's have some sweets with them!"

"What?! You can't do that."

"My mom told me that if I had any left over, I could use it as pocket money."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's true. Is there a store that sells sweets somewhere?"

"Hmm... I guess."

Whis looked skeptical, and pulled Elliot's hand, heading in the opposite direction from his house.

"How about over there?"

Whis headed to a store called "Lapanna." A sweet smell was coming from the front of the store. Inside, there were six counter seats and four tables. A young couple, a man and a woman, stood out.

"Yeah. I think it'll be fine."

"Hey, are you sure?"

Before he could confirm, Elliot pulled Whis' hand and went inside the store. He sat down at an empty table, and a waiter came over immediately.

Elliot did not miss the moment when the waiter looked at Whis's outfit and showed a suspicious expression.

"What would you like to order?" he asked Elliot.

"Whis, what do you recommend?"

"...I'm sorry. I was just curious because it smelled sweet, but I don't know anything on the menu."

"Waiter, then, I'd like two recommendations."

"These recommendations... will cost four copper coins. Is that okay?" the waiter asked suspiciously.

"Yes, it's okay. Whis, just give me the money you have left."

Whis hurriedly took out six copper coins from his wallet.

The waiter saw this, changed his attitude, said "I understand," and returned to the kitchen.

Whis, who had been lively until just now, suddenly went silent.

Elliot somehow understood her feelings and gave her a smile.

"It's okay. I don't mind at all."

"Sorry."

"What! No sorrys!"

Whis apologized again, and Elliot pointed.

"Yeah, I'm sorry... Ah!"

Whis instinctively put his hand over his mouth.

Elliot smiled back at Whis.

"You're going to have to enjoy something sweet."

"Y-yes. I agree. Thank you."

Perhaps he had regained his composure, and the smile returned to Whis' face.

Soon the waiter came with some sweet-smelling snacks called cutlets and syrup, placing them in front of the couple and saying, "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Wow!"

Whis looked at the carefully arranged cutlets with a big smile.

"Enjoy your meal," the waiter said, perhaps lured by Whis' smile, as he turned up the corners of his mouth. He then went to another couple who were waiting to order.

"Looks delicious, let's eat!"

"Yup!"

Whis couldn't resist pouring syrup over it, and even though he had a knife, he cut it with a fork and brought it to his mouth.

"Mmmmm!!" Whis put down his fork and held his cheek. "Ouch!!"

"Hahaha"

Seeing Whis's expression, Elliot couldn't help but laugh.

"So this is what it means when they say your cheeks are falling off!"

She was smiling, still holding her cheek.

Elliot looked pleased that he'd brought Whis, since he probably doesn't usually eat sweets. Elliot poured syrup over it and used a knife and fork to bring it to his mouth.

"Yup! It's fluffy and delicious!"

The texture and sweetness was different from the cutlets that Emily sometimes bakes, and spread in his mouth.

"Restaurant cutlets are so different."

Seeing Elliot skillfully use a knife and fork to bring it to his mouth, Whis imitated him. The knife moves back and forth, the plate clanging.

"You don't have to use too much pressure."

"R-Really?"

Whis blushes in embarrassment.

"It's like this."

Elliot demonstrates.

Seeing this, Whis follows Elliot's example and cuts slowly.

"That's right, it feels good."

Elliot and Whis are unashamed as they chat like a couple and stuff their faces with cutlets.