Chiriri—the ornaments hanging from the eaves of a stall made a noise in the wind.

Looking towards it, Dia was fascinated by a glass workshop which shimmered and reflected the lights of the town.

The glassworks imitated various shapes—such as small birds, wreaths, ribbons, and twigs. They were all on sale.

Dia’s eyes gleamed due to their sparkling beauty.

“…Fua.”

“Ah, an ornament, huh.”

“There are so many beautiful things hanging.”

The ornaments were quite strange.

The shades of each were slightly different, and even if similar, the color of the scattered light was different.

Among them, what caught the eye of Dai was an ornament that imitated the stem of a rose that was about the size of her little finger.

It’s as if the stem of a rose had been crystallized…

“I’ll buy this one. Anything else?”

“Noin!?”

“There might also be the things you like over there.”

“Nanu. That ornament is a chicken leg, I am fine with this rose stem…”

It was Dia who panicked at Noin, who tried to buy an ornament in a flash. Because the other choice was a piece of chicken, she unintentionally chose the rose stem.

While she was surprised that an ornament of a chicken leg existed, he was already asking for the first ornament to be put in a light blue, fluffy, thick cloth bag. Once the bag tied with a ribbon was handed to her, Dia blinked—what was she supposed to do?

“…You’re buying it for me?”

“…You. Don’t react strangely now, not when you show no reaction whatsoever when it comes to food.”

“…Mugu.”

But, this is special…

The spirit might not have known, but that was called a gift.

Surprised because of the unexpected gift, she became completely defenseless—after all, she was given such an adorable thing.

The cute ornamental stem figurine was made of glass and had blessed stones.

If she were to put it on the windowsill, it seemed that it would twinkle—whether or not it was night or dawn.

There was also a silver paper knife engraved with the design of a small bird. The blade was akin to glasswork, the ice ore knife seemed to give off the scent of winter night when used to tore open an envelope.

A special wine that was only sold on the night of Evemeria in a card with magical tricks.

Although it seemed as if all stalls sold it, it was special because it wasn’t sold anywhere else in Fashitar.

Their shopping was stowed away in a mysterious tool called a magical safe, but Dia clenched the ornament tightly, saying that she would keep it herself.

She heard that ornament carved out of blessing crystals wouldn’t break if dropped or stomped on, hence she could carry it with confidence.

The warm wine accumulated in the pit of her stomach, and she looked up at the ornamental tree in front of the church. While still within Noin’s arms, she had reached there.

The large tree with extending branches had a crispy blue-green crystals on the tips of its leaves. The ornaments with plenty of decoration were a unified beautiful crimson color. A thread of pale gold crystalline stone was wrapped around the three—all of the stones shimmered.

There was a little fairy with a rabbit-like appearance trying to steal the red fruit amongst the decorations.

He was pulling the red fruit, however, his power was insufficient. Thus, he exhaled and could only sit down.

“…How beautiful.”

“It’s a small town, but some local products have a good reputation, and the magic of the land itself is good. The fabrics are woven with the help of fairies. Blessing crystals can be obtained not only from the forest, but also from the star trout in the mountain stream. The liquor brewed is also popular.”

“Those who live in this town will surely be happy. It’s so beautiful and peaceful that even I, who has only visited on the night of the festival, can understand such a thing.”

The doors of the church were opened, and at the back, a golden altar adorned with small ornamental trees on each’s side could be seen.

The pipe organ had a complex and lustrous tone that Dia had never heard. Surely, if she wasn’t mistaken, even the color of that town’s snow was different.

Washed by the town’s beauty and gentleness, the last trace of sadness stuck to Dia’s chest vanished.

“Noin, thank you for bringing me to such a wonderful place tonight.”

“…It’s because I returned late. I’ve also prepared a banquet. Other than that, you like Evemeria, right?”

“Yes. It’s an annual festival that I loved the most. …Noin, what you’ve bought for me, I will treasure it. That… I am a person in such a position, and there’s also the thing regarding tomorrow… can you tell me how to manage?”

She had acquired a treasure she wanted to bring to the Land of the Dead.

When she told him so, she tightened her grasp on the bag containing the ornament. Noin, whom was sitting on the bench of a stall opposite the church with Dia on his lap, smiled a little.

He asked for a cup of black tea brewed in a small, white, porcelain cup with plenty of cream and a drop of fruit liquor, which was a local specialty.

She had eaten a lot and drank a lot of nice drinks.

Even so, she could drink plenty of the creamy tea deliciously. Not like she could help it, it had been a really fun evening.

Dia looked up at Noin who had lifted the edge of his lips to the point he couldn’t mask his real expression anymore.

Noin’s eyes, reflecting the lights of the Evemeria’s night, were beautiful. Their clarity was so gentle, the depth of Dia’s chest made a strange noise.

Perhaps he noticed Dia’s line of sight. With raised eyebrows, he slowly laughed like an elegant beast.

The fingertips that touched her cheeks weren’t cold, even though he wasn’t wearing gloves.

However, the sensation of his touch excited her heart, Dia lost her words and could only sigh.

Due to the touch, her temperature went up. Then, his lips touched her’s.

…!?

Even though her heart was jumping around, she wondered why her body didn’t move.

The warmth which came to her lips felt sweet. For some reason, she wanted to raise her voice and cry like a child.

When she felt her eyes growing hot, she shook her head. She had already done lots of things tonight.

Dia recalled that until a little while ago, she had been crying. Thus, she blinked her eyes.

“…Mugu.”

“It’s a great festival. Before the date changes, I give you a blessing. This is the moment when the Midnight Throne has the greatest power.”

“In this case, I don’t know whether I should sprinkle you with spicy oil or to throw a fuss—what do women of the world usually do when they are in this kind of predicament?”

“…I see. You still have a shred of sensibility. In this kind of predicament, you should just stay quiet.”

“Fuaai…”

Knowing that it was her best choice, Dia reluctantly buried her face in Noin’s chest. The embarrassment was unbearable.

Due to it being a blessing, it may not be the kiss of a fairytale—but still, for Dia, that was her first kiss.

For some reason, as Dia continued to bury her face in his chest, Noin was quiet.

Does he dislike me doing this?

Therefore, Dia lifted her face—and for some reason, the beautiful spirit was looking at her begrudgingly. Her nose was pinched.

“Muga! Release this maiden’s nose at once!”

“…you unprincipled fellow.”

“Why am I being degraded like this, I have no clue…”

But, Noin who was currently staring at her—there was a hint of redness on his face.

It raised a question—so a non-human like him could be embarrassed, too?

It might had been for another reason entirely, but still, just considering the possibility made her happy.

---

***T/N: THEY KISSED!!!! THEY KISSEDDDDD!!!!! MY SHIP!!!!! MY SHIP IS SAILING!!!! I WILL SLEEP WELL TONIGHT!!!!!

<Previous Chapter

Next chapter>