1x1 A typical Adventure (122xTala)

Evergreen puffed her cheeks. "We're a happy family, yes, but we still have our struggles and all. For one, we're cramped for space at home. You must have some struggles too, right?" She munched on another berry.

 

(Kirito is so evil haha)

Evergreen's eyes widened. "Whaaaaa? You know we can't do that! We can barely manage on our own and..." She paused. "You know how young they are! And, well, I can't live on my own either."

 

Evergreen wrapped her arms nervously around her, as if she was nervous or cold. "Well... I'm not living on my own. I'm still sticking with Maria, Seline, and Azelia, and they're still so young! I have to look after them, and... Maria still has my charm."

She ate another berry. "Leon moved out to live with his wife, so that frees up a little more space in the house. Besides, I... I wouldn't have anywhere to live on my own, or live with someone else." She blushed again, wondering why she was saying this to Kirito.

 

Evergreen sighed deeply as if she missed her family already, but the conversation made her realise something else. Since she had been away from them for a while, Evergreen realised how much she missed her family and what she would be without them. It was a little hard to bear.

She looked back at Kirito's grinning face. "Yeah, let's go get the boat."

Erynn came back to collect their dishes. "Stay safe out there!" she said.

 

Erynn smiled and waved them good-bye. "As long as you have something suitable to trade, you don't need any tickets."

Evergreen followed Kirito out to the streets of Koniko Town, with her purse and sunhat. Now they really needed to look for the shopping bag.

(What will Kirito do with what he knows about Evergreen?)

 

(Ha, I'd like to know what he'd say)

Evergreen stood nervously. "I... I never saw any ticket salesmen. Only the boats around here." She paused when she saw Kirito simply enjoying the Alora atmosphere. Despite the heat, the sea breeze did its work to cool him down. "But there has to be some kind of ferry around here. Just somewhere."

At the pier was a commercial travel boat which provided connections to all the islands, as it happened. As Kirito had described, the boat was set to leave in an hour for Poni Island. Supposedly there were very great gift shops on the island too, but Evergreen wasn't worried about that now. What mattered most was getting the shopping bag back.

 

(Can't believe it's been three years since the music box happened)

Evergreen's eyes became a glare. "Kirito! You know I didn't steal that! Maria gave me the money for it. I didn't lie!" Her body became tense. "A-anyway, you don't believe me? I thought you trusted me, Kirito..." Then she became sad. "And... I don't know if the bag is at that island, but we have to find it. If only you didn't go on your date, you know?! We could have found it together."

 

Evergreen bowed her head, and then wrapped her arm with Kirito's and led him to the pier.

The sailor saw the pair approaching. "Hey there. What will it be?"

"We want to go to Poni Island," Evergreen replied.

 

The sailor crossed his arms. "Hmm... Okay, but I require something from you to cover my expenses."

Evergreen noticed several boxes of berries piled beside the ferry. "If we helped you with those, would that be enough?" she asked.

The sailor paused to think, and then nodded. "I'll see to getting the ferry ready while you're at it."

 

With a bit of psychic energy, Evergreen lifted some of the baskets with her and brought them to the ferry. Seeing Kirito spacing off, she asked, "What's on your mind?"