Chapter 39 Meeting A Silver-Haired Girl
"Hey, what are you doing!"
"...Huh?"
As the sun completely set, the town's taverns started getting lively.
While digging through a barrel filled with leftovers in the alley, a man from the tavern came out from the back door and shouted at me in a frantic voice.
"Didn't work out?"
"Of course not! Having someone like you around scares off customers!"
The man's yelling echoed through the back alley.
Before I knew it, onlookers who heard the commotion were giving me looks as if I were trash.
"Alright, I get it. Sorry for causing trouble, thanks for the meal."
"Don't come back any more, you homeless!"
The stone thrown by the man hit me on the head, and laughter erupted from the surroundings.
As I turned around blankly, some onlookers were laughing, some were scared, and some had lost interest and were turning away.
"At least my hunger is satisfied for now..."
Mocked for having an incompetent job and being exiled from the royal family a few months ago.
Because of a rumor spread by my father Charles that I stole a family heirloom, I couldn't even register as an adventurer.
I was starting to get used to living like a stray dog.
Of course, I didn't want to get used to it...
"Snow, huh—"
As I emerged from the alley onto the main street, white clumps were falling from the sky.
"Uh oh. Looks like it's officially the snowy season."
As someone who was expelled from the royal family without even being given a coat, I didn't have proper clothes to withstand the cold.
If it gets cold enough for snow, I need to seriously change my current situation.
"For now, I need to find somewhere to endure the cold... Huh—?"
As I shifted my gaze from the sky back to the ground, there was a girl there.
She had a silver hair that seemed to match the fantastical scene of falling snow.
The girl was wrapped in a black cloak, making her silver hair even more striking.
Our eyes met briefly.
"Put on your hood. Don't expose your face too much."
"...Okay"
Next to him, a large man called out to a silver-haired girl.
The man was also wearing a black coat like the girl, but he felt quite different from her despite their similar attire.
"Let's go. We have no business being here."
As the big man started to turn on his heel, he glanced briefly in my direction.
"Hmph. That pitiful man, he's just like you."
"..."
The silver-haired girl slightly lowered her head, and a little later, she disappeared onto the main street with the big man.
Watching them leave, I muttered to myself as I walked in the opposite direction from those two.
"...Calling such a beautiful girl pitiful, is his eyes rotten?"
* * *
The next day...
The snow was falling even more heavily.
Yet, that day was lucky.
It was because I managed to find work after several days.
I earned 8 Bros copper coins and a wage that was only about one-tenth of the usual amount...
Still, having earned money after a long time, I was able to buy some meat from a street vendor to fill my almost empty stomach.
Like work, this was my first meal in several days.
Now, I moved to a narrow alley to escape the cold a bit.
Glancing towards the main street, I saw a woman at a flower shop smiling and serving customers despite the snow falling.
"Well, let's dig in."
I muttered to myself as I was about to bite into some meat.
――Meow.
I looked over at a faint meow and saw a skinny cat.
It looked so thin that I thought it might starve if left alone.
"...Aren't you eating more than me? You there."
――Meow.
The cat just sat there and meowed without demanding anything.
Still, I couldn't bear it and scratched my head.
"Jeez..."
I threw my first meal in days towards the cat.
――Meow!?
Is this okay, I wondered.
It felt like the cat meowed so.
"Yeah, my stomach might get upset if I eat something I'm not used to. I'll go look for food elsewhere. ...I'll probably end up scavenging leftovers again."
The cat may not have understood what I said, but after rubbing against its head, it grabbed a piece of meat and ran off somewhere.
――Is it just self-satisfaction?
Such thoughts crossed my mind, but I reconsidered and thought it was fine.
Ultimately, people live by doing what they want to do.
――Grrrowl.
My stomach growled.
Even if I act like a hypocrite, my stomach won't be satisfied, of course.
Oh well, as I was about to walk off to scavenge for leftovers somewhere again...
"――Here, please have this."
"Huh...?"
When I looked up at the voice that suddenly spoke, there was a silver-haired girl standing there.
She was wearing the same black coat as yesterday, and in the hand she extended to me, she held an apple.
Up close, her face was indeed well-proportioned, enough to take my breath away.
"Here, you gave some food to the kitty, aren't you?"
"...It's no big deal. I just wanted to do it."
"No, it's fine."
The silver-haired girl smiled warmly.
I thought she was a bit unusual.
"So, here you go."
I didn't know what she meant by "so," but the silver-haired girl pushed her hand holding an apple towards me.
"Thank you..."
I accepted the offered apple and thanked her.
"Also, aren't you cold like that? Please take this to wear."
Saying that, the silver-haired girl handed me the black coat she was wearing.
The coat felt very warm, as if it still held the girl's body heat.
"Hehe. It's a special coat woven with magic. I think it'll last a long time."
"Is it okay...? For a homeless like me. I can't give you anything in return."
"It's fine. It's what I want to do."
The girl's blue eyes looked straight at me, exuding a strange strength.
I still thought she was quite unusual.
"Alright then, I'm off."
"Ah... really, thank you."
After I conveyed just that, the girl smiled again and ran towards the snow-covered main street.
After the silver-haired girl had left, I bit into a red fruit.
"Delicious..."
The sweet and sour juice spread throughout my mouth, making the cold I had been feeling irrelevant.
Whether it was because I had eaten something decent after a long time, or because I had received the girl's kindness, tears welled up on their own.
――Ah, damn, this is delicious.
It's not an exaggeration.
It was warmer than any feast I had eaten back in the palace, the most delicious meal I had ever had in my life.
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