"Well then, let's head to a café next! There's a new café around here with a lovely atmosphere!"
"Ah, ah… right."
Rest stepped out of the shop in a state of utter exhaustion after being dragged along for two hours of clothes shopping.
Viola and Primula, walking ahead, were radiant and full of energy — the polar opposite of the haggard Rest.
Rest was carrying bags in both hands, having been roped into playing pack mule.
(It's only guys who get worn out by this kind of thing…)
It was the same with any outing: when you were doing something you enjoyed, you barely noticed the fatigue. The person being dragged along, on the other hand, burned through far more energy than necessary. Rest was living proof of that.
"Lord Rest, are you all right?"
"Ah, of course."
Primula had asked with concern, so he answered with a smile.
In truth, there was no problem on a physical level. He could recover from fatigue with magic.
If anything, the mental exhaustion from being subjected to endless clothes shopping had been worse.
(Having a girl grill you about every little thing regarding women's clothes is exhausting… You never know where the landmines are either…)
"This outfit suits me, right? Which one of these two is better? Which colour works?" — He had been asked that sort of question over and over while she tried on outfit after outfit, and it had completely drained him mentally.
"Hm…?"
He followed Viola and Primula down the city street, but then — he suddenly sensed an uneasy presence behind him.
His perpetually active spell — Presence Detection — had flagged something.
(The spell caught two presences… One I recognise, but the other is…?)
He couldn't be sure, but it felt distinctly ominous.
Rest raised his alertness one notch — and, with impeccable bad timing, Viola turned into a side street with little foot traffic.
"This way. It's a shortcut through here."
"Mm…"
Rest frowned slightly, but without stopping her, he followed behind.
The moment the three entered the alley, the presence behind them began closing the distance.
"Viola, Primula, move ahead a little."
"Hm? What's the matter?"
"Lord Rest?"
Rest urged Viola and Primula forward, then turned around with his body shielding the two of them.
Three men entered the alley after them — all of them unsavoury-looking types who practically screamed "rogue."
"Freeze."
Their appearance left no doubt that they were up to no good. Rest cast his spell without hesitation.
"Wha—!?"
"What the hell!?"
From the knees down, the men's legs were frozen to the ground.
Since he hadn't frozen them completely, once he lifted the spell there would be no need to sever their legs to free them.
"You a mage!? What the hell was that for?!"
"You lot — you've been following us, haven't you? What do you want?"
"That's…"
The men faltered.
Right after, a man and a woman appeared from a different direction and took position behind the rogues.
"Sorry, we're late."
"You are…?"
Viola blinked in surprise.
The newcomers were a separate pair who had been tailing Rest and the others, independent of the rogues.
They were servants of House Rosemary, assigned to guard the sisters.
"No, I was simply too impatient. You were both here already, so there was really no need for me to act."
The man and woman had been following Rest's group from behind the entire time.
Rest had noticed them with his spell — but since he had deduced they were affiliated with House Rosemary, he had left them alone.
Even without Rest intervening, had the rogues attempted anything malicious, those two would have stepped in to handle it.
"You… you lot… what the hell are you!? Why are there so many of you cropping up one after another?!"
"Silence. Why were you following the young ladies?"
"Young… young ladies…?"
When the bodyguards interrogated them, the rogues exchanged glances.
It seemed they had not known that the people they were following were the marquis's daughters.
"We… we didn't know! We saw some good-looking women and were just trying to find the right moment to make a move…"
"You were trying to pick up women who were with a man?"
"Well, that's…"
The men mumbled and fumbled for words.
Rest could guess at what they had been planning — beat him senseless and then make off with the sisters alone.
It wasn't just pickup artists. They were more like human traffickers.
"Would it be all right if I left the handling of these men to you?"
"Yes, leave it to us."
When Rest asked, the bodyguards nodded.
"We'll hand them over to the military police. Please go ahead to the shop, my ladies."
"Understood. We'll leave it to you, then."
Viola said airily, pointing ahead in the direction they had been heading.
"Shall we? The shop we want is just up ahead."
"Right."
Rest and the Rosemary sisters left the alley and headed toward their destination.
Even as they walked away, Rest could feel the rogues shooting furtive glances at them.
The men had looked disappointedly away upon seeing Rest — but if it had been only the sisters, they would have undoubtedly tried their luck.
Beautiful young women apparently couldn't even walk down the street without being in danger.
A pair of stunning beauties like Viola and Primula might as well be living flame lamps, drawing every trouble in the world toward them.
(And this is just for a spot of shopping… If it were the two of them alone, I couldn't just let them wander the streets casually…)
Rest kept his eyes sharp for any danger, even as a wry smile crossed his face.