Zoemi was about to ask Miriette if everything was alright but the dark-haired girl acted faster – the black-haired boy's arm got hugged so tightly as if it was a lifebuoy while Miriette leaned on Zoemi's shoulder and nuzzled her face against it.

"I want to check the stall of that nice aunty, Kirissu!

"

She exclaimed excitedly tugging on Zoemi's vest.

"Pfft…!

"

Zoemi managed not to laugh out loud but he still snorted and looked away.

"Hey! What's so funny…!?

"

Miriette frowned and glared at him, all pouty because of his reaction.

"I'm sorry, my la… Miri. You are just too adorable…

"

"…!

"

With that one response, all grumpiness was evaporated and the dark-haired girl froze before hurriedly looking away to hide her embarrassed face.

"Let's go… She said her stall is near the square!

"

Still, Miriette wasn't going to let anything – even her own shame – get in the way of their date, so she got over it quickly and pulled Zoemi in the direction that she saw Kirissu leave.

——-

As it turned out the stall really was impossible to miss – that's for sure.

As soon as Miriette and Zoemi came near the city square they saw a big carriage that had one of its walls opened to create a quite sizable stall, it was comparable to a small store than a stall, honestly.

It was higher, more visible, and definitely more pompous than all the surrounding ones.

The black-haired woman, Kirissu, was waiting behind the counter and it looked like she was already waiting at the pair – she saw immediately as they spot her and waved at them with her only hand.

|HER…!|

"…

"

The beastly roar resounded through Zoemi's mind, but the boy merely shook his head – he couldn't let anything happen to Miriette, his own feelings and suspicion had to wait.

The pair had to push their way through the crowd of people to get to her.

It was so bad that at one point Miriette thought about activating her enchants and plowing through those annoying commoners like a hot knife through butter but every bad thought perished as soon as Zoemi embraced her protectively.

On the other hand, Zoemi was quite furious – first, was his own voice roaring in his mind – but that wasn't all – for whatever reason some thieves, thinking that they are sneaky, reached out their hands towards the boy's and girl's pockets!

And not just once but multiple times – which suggested multiple individuals like that!

Although the pickpocketers were one thing – as far as the boy could see, most of them looked as if they were doing their best to survive… and hurried away after receiving a warning tap on their grabby finger reaching for coins…

No.

Zoemi wasn't annoyed by pickpocketers – he was absolutely furious about perverts – often looking shockingly wealthy – who kept aiming for Miriette's butt.

Such trash was a menace to society as a whole, but still, the black-haired boy couldn't just remove them for good…

…although anyone trying to get their hands on Miriette deserved immediate capital punishment in his opinion…

…still, Zoemi didn't see anything wrong with putting those individuals in a time-out…

|What nerve…!|

Zoemi was a step from foaming from the mouth in anger, with a cold expression, he locked eyes with another one of perverts he caught red-handed.

Before that trash had time to back off, the black-haired boy twisted his fingers until he felt the bones shifting, cracking, and, finally breaking – as the offender's face twisted in pain.

|And these scum dare to call darkness magicians perverts!|

One could say that Zoemi was a bit weird.

Instead of punishing pickpocketers and perverts equally – as both could be a menace – he left off the first ones with a light but stern tap on the hand.

Nothing more than 'I noticed, stop', while the second group would be physically reprimanded and the punishment varied from elbowing the ribs all the way to actually breaking arms and or legs.

"URRGHAAAAAH…! You- you **ing…! Do you know who I…?!

"

*WHAM*

The perverts with all of his fingers broken and twisted into unnatural shapes cried out and had the guts to try and raise his voice – his clothes would suggest that he was someone wealthy, which made the situation several times more infuriating for the black-haired boy.

"Shut the ** up, you filth.

"

Zoemi, as a trained attendant, tactfully moved his master to his other side, using the shift in movement to punch the man in the solar plexus and then elbowed him in the temple making it look like the offender had fainted on his own.

"EH? What was that?

"

Miriette flinched, surprised by the boy's sudden movement, and looked behind to check on the sudden commotion that the unconscious body made by falling under the feet of passing people has caused.

"Someone just fainted, nothing to worry about, it's hot today, after we check the stall we'd better buy something to drink to not end up like him.

"

Zoemi assured her with a gentle smile.

"Then why did you…?

"

"I realized that he would faint, I wasn't going to let him fall at you.

"

Miriette furrowed her brows, suspicious about the boy moving her from side to side – but Zoemi didn't even bat an eye while saying the convenient excuse and shrugging his shoulders while continuing to protect the girl…

——-

"Hello, sweety, I see you brought the boy with you.

"

After Miriette and Zoemi managed to push through the crowd, Kirissu welcomed them with a smile.

She leaned over the counter and showed her white teeth in a bright, welcoming smile.

"Y-yes…

"

Miriette blushed and nodded which made Kirissu laugh.

"Good morning, ma'am. My name is Zoemi Auequas.

"

Zoemi bowed lightly and introduced himself, visibly cautious.

He felt so tense around the black-haired woman he never met before that he didn't even try to hide his real feelings.

"Oh my, a noble! Hello, my boy!

"

Without showing any apprehension at the sound of the boy's name, Kirissu reached from behind the counter and patted his shoulder as if they were old friends.

"No.

"

"Eh…?!

"

Zoemi stepped back – and not only that, but he also pulled Miriette back with him, causing the dark-haired girl to let out a shocked gasp.

"I am not your boy.

"

The black-haired boy said, glaring right at the black-haired woman while holding Miriette as close as possible as if expecting the woman to try and steal her away from him.

"Aww, you don't have to put up your guard so much, youngster. It's quite rare to see our people just hanging out. We darkness magicians should stick together!

"

Kirissu didn't seem too bothered about the boy's behavior and laughed it off, waving her hand dismissively.

"I am NOT a darkness magician.

"

Instead of calming down, Zoemi tensed up even more.

"Zoemi…! What is…!

"

He was acting so strange that even Miriette got worried – she ended up gasping and almost scolded him, but she shut her mouth the moment she looked at his face.

Zoemi's eyes were completely lifeless, filled with murky darkness that emanated the purest hatred that made the dark-haired girl shiver even though she wasn't the target.

"…I see… Shadow magician huh… Don't worry, with enough hard work you could become a darkness magician – after all shadow is just…

"

"I don't plan on becoming the dark magician.

"

Kirissu's smile wavered and she leaned back, stopping trying to go for a handshake.

"You sure are your grandfather's grandchild, aren't you?

"

She sighed and asked straightening her back, shaking her head with disappointment.

"That's how genetics work.

"

The black-haired boy scoffed while gritting his teeth, somehow stopping himself from saying what really was on his mind after hearing the rather awkward-sounding phrase – not to mention that he was definitely not going to explain his situation to some random stranger.

"Miri, could we go now, this isn't the only stall…

"

"Zoemi! Don't be rude! Those are all amazing!

"

The black-haired boy scoffed and clearly wanted to back off, but that was the opposite of what Miriette wanted to do – although her action could have a lot to do with the pair of matching bracelets that could be worn without being too obvious.

…or, since she most likely would lose the courage and not do something so bold – an elegant pocket watch with an intricate design that she most definitely wanted to buy for the black-haired boy since she heard him mention breaking his old one…

"…yeah, sure…

"

Zoemi looked at her and breathed out – he even let go of her while still staying close, although he had no intention of apologizing to the black-haired woman at all.