Seeing off Erial and Til had gone well enough, but it would be fair to say an unexpected situation had cropped up in the aftermath.
"...I wonder exactly where we are?"
"Hmm, those 'World Coordinates' are too complicated for me to grasp. Cento, where are we?"
"Let’s see... according to the map, we're right about here. We're close to the West District, quite a distance from our previous location."
Our stall had been set up in the South District, so naturally, we had been navigating toward the central venue via South Main Street earlier. However, looking at the map Cento had spread out, this spot was actually closer to the ceremony venue than our last position.
We would be following West Main Street instead of South, but it felt like we had shortened our commute considerably.
"It’s a coincidence, but since we're closer to the venue now, it's actually quite convenient."
"True. We're using Teleportation Magic to get home anyway, so the route doesn't really matter. I guess we'll just head for the center from here?"
"Sounds good to me. Since we've cut down the distance and have time to spare, we can probably afford to browse the stalls on the way."
My encounter with Erial and Til had yielded better results than I'd anticipated. We stepped out onto West Main Street and resumed our walk.
Up until a moment ago, we had been aiming for the ceremony venue in a bit of a hurry, but thanks to the extra time we now had, we could afford to browse the various stalls along the way.
Still, being so close to the venue, the sheer density of the crowd was incredible. There was a general flow to the movement, so we weren't stuck in place, but the sheer volume of people was staggering.
I continued on, glancing at the various stalls lining the street, when suddenly—
"...Ah."
"..."
"..."
"..."
A familiar face... My eyes met Elise's. In that instant, a rapid-fire silent conversation occurred between us through my Sympathy Magic. Elise maintained her business smile but gave a small shrug of her shoulders.
If I were to translate that look and the telepathic exchange of emotions from Elise into words, it would go something like this:
"...Now listen here, Human-san. I believe I told you—repeatedly—not to come here?"
"It's a misunderstanding! This is a total accident! I didn't even know where your shop was, Elise-san!"
"...It is true that I never told you. Sigh. I underestimated your bizarre luck, Human-san. It would have been better to just tell you where I was and warn you to stay away... though you probably would have appeared anyway by sheer chance..."
Somehow, I managed to scrape by with a "not guilty" verdict. Still, she was incredibly adept at projecting her feelings. The fact that her expression remained a bright, cheery smile the entire time was nothing short of terrifying.
For now, I decided to just stay quiet so as not to provoke her further.
"Ah, Kaito! Look, it's that fortune-telling shop from the White God Festival!"
"Gah... Tre!?"
"It must be fate! Come on, let's stop by!"
And there went Tre. She didn't mean any harm, of course; she probably just remembered the fortune cookies we'd bought during the previous festival. In response, Elise wore a perfectly adorable smile... while bombarding my Sympathy Magic with a relentless wave of protest.
Seriously, how could she maintain that face while sending these emotions?
"Welcome," Elise greeted us.
"Hello! Do you have any limited-edition items?" Tre asked.
"In that case, how about these? They are traditional flower amulets of the Kingdom of Sinfonia, specifically arranged for the Founding Festival."
"Heh, they're beautiful."
At a glance, they looked like small flower corsages, but the designs and color schemes were modeled after the national flag of the Kingdom of Sinfonia, giving them the feel of a proper commemorative gift. It was the classic "exclusive" marketing tactic that always stimulated the urge to buy. She really was a natural at business.
"Well, since we're here, I'll take four. I'll pay for everyone's together."
"Yay! Thanks, Kaito!"
"Certainly. Thank you for your business," Elise said.
My primary motivation was to finish the transaction as fast as possible and get the heck out of there. I mean, despite the smile, Elise's "please just leave" aura was overwhelming. If I lingered, I felt like she would be absolutely furious the next time we met, so I aimed for a quick exit.
As I handed over the money and received the amulets, Elise added something extra.
"These decorative cords are a bonus. Please use them if you decide to hang the amulets on a wall."
"A-Ah, thank you."
For a split second after handing over the cords, a gentle emotion reached me—something along the lines of Don't come today, but please visit me some other time. It was gone as quickly as it appeared, replaced immediately by Now get lost.
She really was versatile... or rather, she was a person who could transmit her emotions with uncanny accuracy.
Serious-senpai: "I knew it! Even if Elise acts harsh toward Kaito, her affection level is actually through the roof."
???: "It is, in fact, remarkably high."