I love time travel the most!

The quiet and elegant doll rarely makes expressions that are inconsistent with her status, but that's why Kobayashi always focuses his attention on her, afraid of neglecting her too much.

He took Liu Zi's hand and started walking forward. Suddenly, he pulled away from Charlotte, and the shy girl quickly followed.

She said in a panic, "No, please don't just walk out like that! Where are you going?"

"Let's take a walk along the canal. After all, we had already agreed to go see the night view with Liu Zi."

Kobayashi raised his hands, which were clasped together with Ryushi's.

Holding hands with another girl in front of your own girl, and then deliberately showing it off to her, always feels strangely taboo.

Charlotte was somewhat surprised to see the two acting so intimately, and said, "You're a bit strange. A puppeteer actually listens to his own puppet... What a spineless man, being controlled by an automaton. His stance is completely reversed!"

Kobayashi did not get angry in the face of the reprimand.

Instead, he said in a very casual tone, "Liu Zi is my servant, my companion, and my most important family member. Is there anything strange about that?"

"But you treat other dolls differently than others," Charlotte asked curiously.

Kobayashi had previously treated Sigmund.

Normally, a puppeteer would not treat other people's puppets. Not only did Kobayashi take the initiative to treat Sigmund, but he also inquired about its physical condition. Moreover, he asked Sigmund about it, not Charlotte, which shows that he was treating the dragon-type puppet as an independent individual.

“Everyone has their own boundaries of judgment. I categorize anyone who can think and communicate as an independent individual. If you are implying that my questioning of Sigmund was overstepping my bounds, then I apologize.”

"...I didn't mean to blame you."

It was because Kobayashi showed kindness to Sigmund that she was enlightened by her own dragon-shaped doll, which is why she came to help him.

Although she appeared rather arrogant and unwilling.

"Then there's no problem." Kobayashi extended an invitation: "How about it, want to come along?"

"what?"

"Enjoying the scenery."

"I reject."

Charlotte turned her head away and refused outright, saying, "Why should I go sightseeing with you two? Besides, I'm already hungry."

I'm hungry...

Just as she said, she always unintentionally causes trouble for others.

"Okay, let's go eat."

"Huh? Aren't you going to see the scenery?"

"If someone tells you they're hungry, can you still silently enjoy the scenery?"

This rhetorical question made Charlotte lower her head dejectedly again, seemingly regretting the arrogant words she had just blurted out.

Kobayashi walked ahead and called out to her, "Let's go find a restaurant with a nice atmosphere. We can have a delicious meal and enjoy the view at the same time—isn't that the best of both worlds?"

The unexpected gentlemanly manner of the boy who comforted her deeply moved the girl.

Then I refused again.

"I...I don't want to!"

After Charlotte finished speaking in a forceful tone, her eyes darted around and she stammered, "This month... well, to put it simply, we're facing financial difficulties... or you could say it's an economic downturn... or something..."

"If it's money, don't worry. I just exchanged a lot of gold coins at the pawn shop, enough to treat everyone."

"gold……"

The girl was speechless.

She forgot how wealthy the country folk in front of her were.

Thinking of this, Charlotte's eyes sparkled, then she snapped back to reality, snorted, turned her face away haughtily, and said, "I won't accept any perverted favors."

Unfortunately, the girl's belly betrayed her.

Gollum-

"...You, you rude scoundrel!"

"My fault?!"

Xiaolin stared wide-eyed in confusion.

As if in retaliation, she placed her right hand to her ear, pretending to listen, and teased, "Oh dear, unlike a certain arrogant girl who says one thing but means another, her stomach was already cheering happily after hearing that someone was going to treat her to a meal."

"Varied……!

"How dare you embarrass me like this..."

Then, with a self-destructive attitude and tears in her eyes, Charlotte said fiercely, "I know, I know! Since you're so rich, I'll make sure you treat me to a really big meal!"

The girl's domineering accusation made the innocent Kobayashi's lips twitch slightly. However, all of this could be seen as her bizarre attempt to cover up her own shyness.

After all, she's a proud and aloof person; it's already quite kind of her to agree.

Twenty minutes later, the three appeared at a restaurant along the canal. Under the influence of money, they were seated at an outdoor table on the second floor.

Here you can clearly see the lights on the canal. The interior decoration is a modern style made of steel bars and bricks, which does not give people a feeling of being unapproachable, but at the same time it does not feel like a lack of style. It is a restaurant that leaves a good impression.

"You can enjoy a fine meal and a beautiful view. How about that? It's a great restaurant, isn't it?"

"……well enough."

Charlotte's words and her expression were completely different, and it seemed she was quite satisfied with having dinner here.

One dish after another was served.

With enough money, one can naturally enjoy high-end cuisine.

The noblewoman was very pleased with this.

During the meal, Charlotte kept staring at Kobayashi, as if she were looking at some rare and exotic creature.

"...Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I've heard that island nations have the worst dining etiquette, but I didn't expect you to be quite normal."

"Wait a minute, have you misunderstood something?"

"What's the misunderstanding?"

"I am not from the island nation, but from the neighboring island nation."

"...Huh? You're kidding!"

Charlotte covered her mouth in surprise, staring at Kobayashi in disbelief.

As expected, a misunderstanding arose.

The girl, a native Westerner, was completely misled by her name, appearance, and close proximity to Akabane Raishin.

But then she said something even more misleading.

"What country are you from? But I heard that not everyone wears cheongsams and has a bun hairstyle..."

"That's prejudice!...No, it might not be prejudice."

There's no way around it; the stereotypes left on outsiders are too strong, and given that we're still in the 19th century, it's normal for such misunderstandings to exist.

"In short, I am not from an island nation, please make sure you remember that."

"……I see."

The girl nodded solemnly and kept this in mind.

That's her strength; she remembers things that the other person is unwilling or unwilling to say directly, and then she won't bring them up again in front of the other person.

"So, does that mean your fighting style is different from ordinary people because of this?"

"……You can say that."

"What school of thought is it?"

"School of martial arts? We don't use the term 'school of martial arts' where I'm from. But if I had to say... what's my school?"

What's passed down in the family is called XX flow, copying others is called source flow, making up whatever comes to mind is called mind flow, and making up everything yourself without knowing anything is called my flow.

In terms of skill, Kobayashi can only rely on himself, so it's reasonable to say that it's my style... even though Ryuu has never officially made a move since coming to this world.

The girl nodded blankly, it was unclear whether she understood.

"Okay, now it's my turn to ask a question."

Charlotte found Kobayashi's smile irritating and clearly showed her displeasure. However, she also seemed to feel that refusing would be too unfair, so she reluctantly nodded.

A man with ill intentions will strike at the other person's weak spot as soon as he opens his mouth.

"What is your relationship with Felix? Where did you meet?"

"What, are you really bothered by this? So you really have feelings for him, you're gay..."

"I urge you to be kind, young lady!"

While smiling, Kobayashi forcefully interrupted her, drawing Charlotte's attention to the doll girl beside her who was about to speak with a sharp tongue.

Fortunately, she managed to hold back.

Charlotte blushed slightly and lowered her eyelids as she said, "It was the other person who took the initiative to get to know me."

The girl's shyness was on full display.

But immediately, a hint of gloom appeared in those sapphire blue eyes.

She said in a low voice, "After all, I always unconsciously create enemies for myself... Don't get me wrong, even so, I don't care. Anyway, I'm more at ease on my own, and I have no intention of becoming close to them. Besides, being isolated has its advantages. And because Felix is ​​a disciplinary committee member, he's considerate of me in many ways."

"……I see."

Kobayashi's teasing followed, completely disregarding the fact that the girl was still immersed in sadness.

"So you developed feelings for him?"

"I didn't!"

Charlotte immediately denied it with a haughty air.

She raised her pale fist and threatened, "If you keep talking nonsense, I'll have Sigmund burn you alive!"

"How terrifying! The way a girl gets angry and embarrassed after her thoughts are exposed is truly terrifying."