Chapter 9

“A present for Miss Lilina?”

I was a little surprised by the unexpected suggestion from Miss Imilia.

I mean, I didn’t mind helping her choose something… but why was I the one picking out a present for Miss Lilina…?

“Well, she did have her birthday recently, but she hasn’t received so much as one or two presents.”

“Huh? Really? I assumed she’d received plenty, considering she’s called the Poster Girl Receptionist of Miltia.”

“It’s the exact opposite! All the shy men around here never get around to giving her anything. And for some reason, she’s stubbornly insisting that she won’t give them anything herself, either. So she hasn’t received a single present from a man.”

“I-I see…”

All I could do was give a wry smile at Miss Imilia’s explanation.

I guess the men around here had a rather… strict image. I could easily imagine how they might struggle to be honest about their feelings.

“That’s why I thought we could choose something together. Besides, I think she’d be happy to receive a present from you, Rex.”

“…Are you just being nice?”

“…I guess it does sound that way.”

Well, could you blame me? After the way she always treated me so coldly, I couldn’t imagine Miss Lilina being happy about receiving a present from me.

“But I understand the situation now. It’d be pretty sad if she didn’t receive a single present on her birthday, so sure. I’ll help.”

“Really? That’d be a huge help! Thanks, Rex!”

With that, Miss Imilia happily began patting my head.

I-It was embarrassing to have an adult woman pat me on the head like that…

“All right, we shouldn’t waste any more time. Let’s get going!”

“Y-Yes!”

And so, I found myself wandering around town with Miss Imilia to choose a present. The whole thing had started so suddenly that I couldn’t help feeling a little bewildered…

We spent the next few hours looking around at all sorts of things in search of a present. However…

“No good… I can’t find a single thing that’ll work.”

Miss Imilia sat down on a bench with a heavy sigh. Seeing her like that, I was starting to feel a little troubled myself.

That was the problem. We had no idea what kind of things would make her happy, so we couldn’t decide what to buy.

As for clothes… I figured she probably already had plenty. We had also considered accessories, but according to Miss Imilia, she wasn’t interested in them.

We’d even thought about food, but Miss Imilia wanted to give her something tangible that she could keep.

And that was why we couldn’t figure out what to choose…

To begin with, I hardly knew anything about Miss Lilina.

“I never thought choosing a present for that girl would be this difficult… Ahh, what should I do?”

Miss Imilia held her head in her hands, trying to think of something.

Watching her, I decided to ask about something that had been on my mind.

“Miss Imilia, you really love Miss Lilina, don’t you?”

“Cough!?”

Perhaps she’d been so surprised by my sudden question that she let out a loud cough.

I didn’t think I’d asked anything particularly shocking, though…

“W-Why would you think that?”

She asked me with a flustered expression, but… well, it was obvious.

“Miss Imilia, you’re always spending time with Miss Lilina, aren’t you? You were together just the other day, and now you’re even choosing a present for her…”

“T-That’s not it!! There’s nothing like that between us!”

“Eh…? Really…?”

At this point, I almost felt sorry for Miss Lilina after hearing such a forceful denial…

Miss Imilia’s cheeks turned red. Unlike her usual mature demeanor, she looked a little childish as she turned her face away, refusing to be honest.

“It’s not like that between us. It’s just… she’s always working so hard, so I thought I’d choose something for her as a little reward. That’s all.”

“…You really do love Miss Lilina, don’t you?”

“No, I don’t!! Rex, don’t get the wrong idea! Lilina and I are absolutely, positively NOT in that kind of friendship-like relationship!!”

Well, I wasn’t sure how she expected me to believe that…

Ah, if I said anything more, I had a feeling I’d end up on the receiving end of her anger, so I’d better keep quiet.

Still, it seemed that, one way or another, she really cared about Miss Lilina. Maybe that’s why she couldn’t help looking out for her…

“…Oh, speaking of Lilina, that reminds me.”

“Huh? What is it?”

Miss Imilia spoke up as though she’d suddenly remembered something.

“Come to think of it, she mentioned recently that she’d been having trouble seeing.”

“Her eyes?”

“You know how we have to use our eyes so much to read documents and request forms? It makes them tired. I feel like my eyesight has gotten worse because of it, too.”

“…Her eyes, huh…”

In that case, maybe I could get her that magic tool.

“Miss Imilia, I think I’ve come up with something Miss Lilina might like.”

“Eh? Really?”

I told her about the magic tool I’d had in mind. After hearing my suggestion, Miss Imilia furrowed her brows slightly, but seemed convinced.

“…I see. It might be expensive, but… it’s exactly what she needs right now.”

“Then…”

“Yes, let’s go with that. Good thinking, Rex! I’m sure she’ll be happy with it.”

“Now that we’ve decided, we should hurry!” she said, jumping up from the bench and immediately heading toward the shop that sold the magic tool.

“W-Wait for me!”

And so, I found myself running around town once again, trying to catch up with her.