Chapter 475 – Wreaths.
A stiff beard like a gray brush and fine wrinkles speak of the passage of time, but the deep blue green eyes shining brightly do not make him appear old.
An elderly gentleman wearing a short grayish brown bowler hat, a velvet coat of the same color, gray trousers and brown shoes, and a luxurious cane that reflects the light.
“What do I trust the elder to entrust my child to?”
He didn’t look like a normal person, but Usher didn’t fall for that impression and asked him, and the old gentleman laughed.
“I already knew that the child was a witch. And with the body of an old man like this, how could he escape faster than you?”
Certainly, the people of this country recognized Lidika and Elkanah as witches to an odd degree.
‘I don’t think the people at the top were like that…’
Remembering that Donnar and those who had taken him in the past did not recognize that Belka was a witch, she was puzzled and focused on the conversation with the old gentleman.
“Even so, I can’t trust you. How could I not suspect that a stalwart man around here wouldn’t be ready to pick up the child?”
It was a bit rude, so Lydica was worried and she grabbed the hem of his cloak, but Usher could see her. The old man nodded his head in interest.
“If you were to give me this as security, would you believe this old man would not take the child?”
“This, this?!”
Soon after, Lydica found the badge he held out, and her eyes widened in surprise.
“Do you know what it is?”
“It’s the symbol of the Arbiter. Anyway, that badge isn’t something you can give away to anyone…”
Usher pondered for a moment, then nodded.
“As long as the child doesn’t disappear, I’ll return it to you.”
“Uh, Mr. Usher?!”
Lidica was taken aback when Usher took it from the old gentleman’s hands without hesitation, but he chuckled and gestured to Elkanah.
“Heh heh, I see. Baby. Come here.”
“…”
Then, the old gentleman talks as Lidica hesitates as the girl who was watching them suddenly approaches him.
“Let’s go. This song is coming to an end.”
“Yeah, I get it. Then just one song.”
At the end of the song, people interrupted or left the dance, and they intervened among the people.
“Ugh, Mr. Usher. You really can’t lose that! You see?”
“Is it that important?”
Of course, as soon as I received it from the old gentleman, I put it in a small bag that I carry separately so as not to lose it, so there was no problem, but seeing her appearance, it did not seem like something that would end up being just precious.
“Yeah, that’s…!”
-♪
However, Lidica’s words did not follow. Before that, the sound of music was heard and people started to move.
“We’ll hear more about it later.”
“What?! You really!”
Lydica looked at him with her sullen look as he broke her step and pulled her in. But Usher wasn’t worried. A small smile hung on her lips.
“Where did you learn to dance?”
“I learned a little in the past.”
It was nothing special. In Lantua he hung out with the girls a lot, so he knew there was such a thing as a ball.
At the time, he was not old enough to dance according to the customs of Lantua, but he only remembered that the girls often asked him to practice with him.
“Right now, all I can do is take steps as I remember.”
“Huh, is that so?”
In an instant, Lydica’s blue eyes sparkled as if she realized her funny prank.
“Then let’s have some more fun!”
Chachak! The sound of her boots pounding swiftly on the sidewalk block. Lidica led him with quick steps, like the snapping sound of a high string that runs swiftly over the plucking of a large string.
“Hehe, how are you?”
“I would like to ask where did you learn to dance?”
As calm as it is dazzling. It was admirable to see Lidica leading him, not disturbing the others who danced together, but moving quickly and without fuss.
“Cook-Cook, I’ve been here all by myself sometimes.”
Because of this, people know what kind of music they dance to and how they move.
“Isn’t it fun? The dance you dance between people?”
Even though the hem of the skirts of the spinning old women did not touch, Lidica also smiled happily as she spun in his arms, like a cog wheel.
Maybe he’s been waiting all along for someone to dance with? He looked so excited like a fox jumping around on the melody, leaving his fluffy white hair as a tail.
I wasn’t a big fan of her dancing, but I enjoyed these moments of her being drawn by Lydica and sometimes by herself himself, repeated over and over on her bouncing sidewalk block.
“This is my favorite music, you know?”
“I think I know.”
“Puh! How do you know my taste?”
She bursts out laughing as if his determined voice is rather amusing. But Usher just thought it would.
A gray-colored mouse bouncing lightly on the ground that resounds heavily, and the melody continues smoothly like a mischievous fox as it slides all the way behind it.
Overall, the sound of the music like an excited child was better suited to the fast-paced dance moves like Lidica’s rather than the elderly people next to them enjoying the calmness of each step.
The world revolves round and round around the hands they held together, even the buildings and people passing by. Even when everything was blurry, Lidica’s smile and blue eyes looking at him were clear.
“I was always envious of people dancing to songs like this from time to time.”
She was the one who laughed and talked as if she couldn’t help but whisper as if the end was approaching even though she continued quickly.
-~♪!
Lydica opened her eyes wide at the melody she raised with all her might, as if someone said it was the end of the music. Come to think of it, she could only see herself and her dancing her dance before she knew it.
People withdrew to the outskirts of the plaza as if giving them space to run freely. The only ones standing on this stage right now were Usher and Lidica.
She seemed puzzled for a moment, but Usher spoke as she moved her feet to keep them from slipping.
“You don’t have to be envious now.”
“!”
Ridden by his story, Lydica bursts into a broad smile and continues the line she draws with her gestures, as if leading Usher into an open plaza.
As if the last flame was burning, they were instruments burning fast like a burning light more fiercely and splendidly than ever, but Lidica doesn’t care and climbs on top of them and continues the dance.
However, no matter how splendid it burns, the music slowly withers as if it comes to an end. Lydica also took a deep breath and slowly matched her steps by his side.
Eventually, when the music died down.
“Huh, it seems like only strange things happen when I’m with you.”
Lidica was smiling relievedly as if she had left with the music that had faded her lingering feelings. Like a wild dream. Like the white clouds in the sky. It’s been awhile since we’re facing each other with the thrill of wanting to hold on.
– Pair, pair
– Clap clap clap clap
The sound of applause that started somewhere spreads around and fills the plaza, so she blankly looks around to see if she has returned to reality. She blushed and took his hand and ran swiftly back to where they had come.
“Oooh! Since when have we been there alone?!”
Then, at the sound of applause that didn’t stop for a while, Lydica buried her face in his cloak and whimpered and pounded his armor as if she were about to burst into tears.
Around the time when he patted Lidica on the back and calmed her down as the crowd looked at them with a mixture of surprise and admiration.
“Hehe, it’s worth taking care of the child to show such a wonderful sight.”
“Your sister is really pretty.”
The old gentleman who allowed them to dance and Elkanah, who had been entrusted to him, approached. It must have been that her sense of direction was distorted during the dance and she ended up somewhere else.
“It looks like the elder asked them to play more.”
He chuckled when Usher handed him the badge he had been pledging.
“I guess they also liked watching you dance. It’s not a service for just anyone.”
He seemed to be denying it, but he did not deny it until the end.
“Yes, meeting like this is also meant to be, so why don’t you become the talk partner of this old man a little more?”
“Oh my! What spirit am I…!”
Upon hearing the old gentleman’s words, when he saw Lydica, she was still muttering in an incomprehensible little voice with her face buried in her cloak, so Usher agreed to accept his offer.
