Guy

ㅤ Knights had no days off: they always served the empire, whether they were wearing armor or not. Flynn was completely restless, so it took Estelle and Ioder a long time to persuade him to take at least a little rest. He had to resign himself to it… For once, he walked outside in civilian clothes. Without his armor, he felt terribly uncomfortable; it was as if it had become a part of him. But there was an advantage: it was easier to deal with the children in the Lower Quarter in ordinary clothes. However, before he could reach the Lower Quarter, he was stopped by a young man with long red hair, slightly bleached at the tips. "Hey, Guy, help me!" 'Eh, guy…?" Of course, Flynn had heard the occasional "Hey, guys!" from the boys lately, but that kind of speech was clearly not appropriate for someone of noble birth. And the young man before him clearly wasn't a commoner, judging by his expensive clothes, albeit of a specific design. Flynn couldn't resist helping, so he responded without question. All it took was carrying a heavy sack of groceries. Why was a nobleman doing this? Flynn couldn't say for sure, but the words suggested something: "I'll show her! She'll see I can cook just as well!" Flynn appreciated the eagerness, finding it noble to try to learn something simple: it brought nobles closer to the common people. "Let's go there again!" The young man stopped at almost every shop, finding something interesting here and there. His eyes darted from the abundance of goods: he clearly didn't leave the Imperial Quarter often. So they rushed back and forth until the load became almost unbearable. 'It's a good thing I'm not wearing armor today…' But the most distressing thing was that the young man seemed unaware of the existence of money, forcing Flynn to pay for everything out of his own pocket. The feeling of being watched was unsettling, but it was easier to come to terms with: it wasn't every day that one got to see an energetic nobleman led the commandant around the shops. "Oh!" the young man stopped abruptly. "Let's try it!" The young man's eyes lit up at the sight of the simple street food. However, to him she looked like a curiosity. Flynn sighed resignedly. The young man acted simple and naive, but he clearly hadn't been pushing Flynn around out of spite. And he was spending his money… 'I hope he'll think to pay me back when he gets back to the mansion?' It would have been too awkward for him to remind. Flynn was so exhausted that he wouldn't have minded restoring his strength with food, so he easily resigned himself. They settled down on a nearby bench and began eating. The young man looked at the "curiosity" for a long time, not knowing how to eat it at all. Flynn became his role model. Finally, the young man calmed down. Utterly satisfied, he allowed himself to relax, calmly watching life pass by. "You seem a bit uncommunicative today," the young man remarked. "Huh?" was all Flynn could manage, trying to remember if they'd ever met. 'Perhaps it's not surprising that a nobleman knows the commandant by sight?' he tried to find an explanation. "And when did you have time to change?" the young man only remarked. Flynn didn't have time to tell them that the emperor and princess had convinced him: the young man intense gaze confused him. He looked straight into his eyes, frowning. "Why are you wearing contacts?" "Contacts!?" Flynn completely lost track of what was happening. "I kept wondering," a voice rang out above them, "when will you notice?" "Guy!" the young man jumped up. And just as quickly, he turned his gaze to Flynn. "Guy!?" The young man began to quickly turn his head, looking from one to the other. 'I think I get it…' Flynn finally figured out the situation. The real Guy did resemble him in some ways. But not so much that they could be easily mistook! Perhaps the young man was too dazzled by many new things around: Flynn could still remember the sparkle in his eyes. Which meant he literally didn't notice anything "familiar" around him. "I apologize for the inconvenience," Guy apologized to Flynn, taking out his wallet. "The third time you rushed past me, I couldn't help but wonder how it would all end." "Glad it's all resolved," Flynn replied with a good-natured smile, not judging; everything had indeed happened very quickly. "I hope we didn't keep you too long." "I was in no hurry." Flynn would have been happy to head to the Lower Quarter as planned, even if his energy for play had diminished considerably. However, glancing at the mountain of purchases, he decided to turn sympathetically to Guy. "I suppose you could use some help carrying everything home?" "If it's not too much trouble." Guy's gaze spoke volumes, as did his wry smile. He was genuinely grateful to Flynn, but also embarrassed. But on the way to Luke's house, all three welcomed their new friendship—Flynn's heart was warmed by the fact that there were such naive and kind young people among the nobility. ㅤ