Before they knew it, Frieren and Fern had been standing for ages in front of the gates to the luxurious seaside estate.
They were caught up in whether they ought to bring a gift or find some delicious food, and hadn't even noticed the sun climbing higher in the distant sky. They just stood there, lost in thought.
Finally!
Just as the two of them were still racking their brains, a clear little girl's voice suddenly rang out behind them.
"Hey!"
|▽)
"What are you doing?"
()o
The unexpected voice startled them both badly!
"!!"
"Yah—!"
Fern spun around at once. When she saw that the newcomer was only a cute little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, her eyes widened.
"Phew—"
"So it was just a little girl?"
Only then did she pat her chest repeatedly, still looking shaken. She'd clearly been badly startled.
The girl had suddenly shouted right behind her. Anyone would have jumped at that, especially when Fern had been lost in thought.
"??"
"You are..."
Frieren stared at the girl in puzzlement, a trace of confusion in her eyes.
Given her perceptiveness, she couldn't believe she hadn't noticed the girl approaching. It left her quite surprised.
Still, she hadn't detected any magic from Annie, so she naturally concluded that she'd simply been too focused on her thoughts and had subconsciously ignored an ordinary little girl who posed no threat.
"..."
(`)
The newcomer was none other than Annie herself!
"What do you mean, 'you are'?"
Annie didn't care about that. With her hands on her hips, she fixed the two with a suspicious gaze and a cheeky expression, then complained indignantly:
"I haven't even said anything about you yet!"
"What are you doing skulking around here? You're not planning to steal something, are you?"