“Thou hast done something cute.”

“…?”

I blinked blankly at Ashillya, who had suddenly appeared and said something out of the blue.

Ashillya looked at me with a faint smile. As I struggled to adapt to her somehow different atmosphere today, She reached out her hand to me.

I stared blankly at her delicate, slender… snow-white hand, and Ashillya let out a small laugh before wiggling her fingers.

“Will thou not escort me?”

“…Even if you suddenly say that.”

“I need thee to spend some time with me today.”

At Ashillya’s words, I found myself involuntarily pursing my lips.

The idea of spending time with her somehow sounded dangerous. Given that things had never really gone smoothly when I was with Ashillya, it probably wasn’t a wrong assumption.

Her smile became even more dangerously alluring as I shivered with a vague sense of unease.

“I shall refuse if thou refusest.”

“…Well, today might be a bit difficult.”

As I scratched my head and avoided her gaze, Ashillya tilted her head and looked at me.

“I already confirmed that thou hast no classes or schedules today.”

“…When did you investigate so thoroughly?”

Indeed, today, I only had morning classes, and the afternoon was quite free.

That’s why I had planned to leisurely train this afternoon… considering the timing of her visit, it was actually perfect.

Helena also had afternoon classes today, Sylvia still seemed to be avoiding me a bit, and Pamela… I don’t know.

“‘Tis a virtue for a spouse to take an interest in their future consort.”

“…Marriage is supposed to be based on mutual agreement…”

“Dost thou think I need permission?”

Ashillya’s red eyes gleamed ominously. Feeling a threat to my life as I looked at them, I had no choice but to gently avert my gaze.

“It was a joke. Anyway, thou must spend today with me.”

Ashillya said with a warm smile as if looking at a cute small animal, but I could only look at her with still skeptical eyes.

I really wanted to thoroughly train my lower body and practice swordsmanship today.

Seeing me hesitate, Ashillya only said one more thing.

“The wish.”

“…I understand.”

It’s unfair to use the wish card in this situation, isn’t it?

Seeing Ashillya wave her hand cheerfully, I let out a small sigh and took her hand, bowing politely.

Ashillya simply nodded, accepting my courtesy as if it were natural.

“Where shall I escort you?”

“Hmm… Well. I’d like to go to a popular dating spot thou knowest well.”

“…A dating spot?”

I blinked slowly again at Ashillya’s words. I couldn’t understand what she was saying.

It was hard for my mind to keep up with someone who allows no gaps in their daily life and lives so busily suddenly asking to be taken to a dating spot.

“Don’t you have urgent matters to attend to?”

“Even I…”

As Ashillya spoke, she suddenly turned her body. Led by her steps, I moved along, and she muttered in a low, quiet voice.

“I am not always working.”

Her expression somehow looked a bit forlorn, so…

“I don’t know much either, but I’ll give you the full course today.”

I couldn’t help but say that.

“…Shall I trust thee and leave it to thee?”

If you come to my neighborhood, I’ll treat you to the full course!!

***

I had made a bold claim, but in reality, I couldn’t possibly be knowledgeable about couples’ dating courses. After all, I had never been in a “relationship.”

“…Hooh.”

There’s a big difference between experiencing something directly and seeing it in videos, but one fortunate thing was…

“That is a bit interesting.”

“It’s just an ordinary street vendor.”

“…To think that making and selling food on the street is considered ordinary.”

For Ashillya, a member of the royal family, the street scenery was full of new and interesting things.

Seeing her look around with sparkling eyes, uncharacteristic of Ashillya, I somehow felt more confident.

This person would find anything I do interesting.

“But it does not seem very hygienic.”

“There are some unsanitary places.”

It would be even more so in this medieval setting. There were no proper inspection agencies or laws regulating it, so the quality of food was bound to be lower.

Hygiene was even more of an issue.

Hearing my words, Ashillya stroked her sharp chin, lost in thought for a moment.

“Then we should assign people to inspect them.”

“…Pardon?”

“We need not many. One or two per city should be enough. We need not inspect every day, periodic inspections would suffice.”

“…”

“Occasional surprise inspections would be necessary too. We could have them display an inspector’s certification mark. If unsanitary practices occur at certified places, we can punish those responsible.”

Ashillya was merely muttering to herself, but I couldn’t help but stare at her with my mouth agape.

She came up with that so quickly? Just by seeing and thinking about it, she’s already forming a systematic approach in her head. It’s quite remarkable.

“We’d need to work out the details, but this should be enough for now.”

Thanks to Ashillya’s quick judgment, the quality of life for the empire’s citizens would improve significantly.

It felt like she was directly implementing laws and systems from my previous world. Seeing her nod with satisfaction, I let out a small laugh and pulled her hand.

“…What is it?”

“Didn’t you say it’s not time for work now? Let’s focus on having fun.”

Right now, I hoped Ashillya wouldn’t think about work. I could roughly guess why she had used a wish for this.

“I see. Yes, thou art right.”

Ashillya nodded and followed my steps.

As she kept looking around and opening her mouth slightly in wonder, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Until now, she had seemed unshakeable, truly befitting the title of the Iron-Blooded Crown Princess, but now she looked just like a girl her age.

“What’s that?”

“It’s a street singer.”

“Doth that make money?”

“Minstrels sing songs, and if people like them, they give tips. I’m not sure how profitable it is.”

It probably varies greatly depending on skill.

“Would you like to listen?”

“…Why not.”

Noticing that Ashillya’s steps were slowing down a bit, I asked. Seeing her promptly answer as if she had been waiting for it, I smiled and led her to a spot where we could hear the minstrel’s song well.

The minstrel was singing while playing a lute, and his low, melodious voice was certainly pleasant to listen to.

Ashillya seemed to agree as she listened intently to the song with her arms crossed, nodding her head.

“…Do you like it?”

“‘Tis not bad. ‘Tis different from the music at the palace, but I think not that’s a bad thing.”

“Then, we can show our appreciation like this.”

Seeing Ashillya listening intently with satisfaction, I took out a silver coin from my pocket. I tossed it into the hat in front of the minstrel.

The minstrel bowed slightly while singing to show his gratitude for my gesture.

“…How much should I give?”

“As much as you’re satisfied with is enough. But don’t give too much. One silver coin like I did is probably appropriate.”

“I see.”

As Ashillya nodded at my words, I took another silver coin from my pocket and handed it to her.

I thought Ashillya probably wouldn’t be carrying silver coins. My assumption seemed correct as she naturally took the coin and tossed it into the minstrel’s hat.

In fact, even one silver coin was a considerable amount for the minstrel or commoners, but I had a feeling Ashillya might have tossed in a gold coin, so I told her one silver coin was appropriate.

“Satisfactory.”

“Shall we move on to the next place, then?”

As I gracefully extended my hand to escort her, Ashillya nodded solemnly with a faint smile.

“Let us do that.”