God Eater, Black Clover

22 | jealousy, jealousy

"That being said, here's your punishment for losing—"

"I'm being punished?!"

"—go do the groceries."

"...Huh?" She blinked. "That's it?"

"Would you like more?" She couldn't tell whether or not Charlotte was joking when she asked again but she shook her head.

"No thanks, Cap! I'm good, I'll go and do the groceries."

"Good." Charlotte said and simply smiled. "The grocery list and the money for them is on the table in the kitchen. Go to the market in Nean, everything's rather cheap there and you could get some good deals."

Nean was exactly what Captain described it to be. Low-rise buildings and a crowded market, commoners passing by in a hurry to purchase what they required before the items ran out, Galgaria's favourite bakery located right across the street, everything screamed lively and colourful chaos. The market was semi-crowded today with it being Saturday afternoon. Commoners, errand boys and maids have joined together to pick up food for families.

"How much for the tomatoes?"

"Two yul for a bunch of five, five for a bag of eight."

"Then I'll take three bunches, please." Anemone asked as the vendor nodded, gifting her the purchase.

By the time she finished her shopping, the sun was going down, descending to late afternoon. She wouldn't call it the most peaceful shopping day however. Her blue hair caught unnecessary attention, some eyeing her curiously, others eyeing her like candy, and some possessed the gall to approach her, but Anemone wasn't surprised by such attention from strangers and dismissed them all ruthlessly. Now, if only her journey home could be ten times more peaceful...

"Wheeee! Again, again!"

"Asta is the best!"

Catching the familiar name along the winds, Anemone's ears perked up and she followed the cheerful sounds. She rounded the corner and caught her childhood friend playing with a bunch of kids near the church.

"Woah, hey, Nemy!" He greeted with starry eyes as soon as he saw her and just finished swinging the kids around. "You did groceries?"

"For my squad, yeah." She sighed. "It's my punishment for losing against Captain in a game of chess. Even though I just learned how to play today."

"Your Captain plays chess? Mine just sits in the toilet all day." Asta stated innocently. The sheer innocence in his tone made Anemone snort, her hand flying up to cover her mouth in shame for releasing an undignified sound. "By the way, meet my new friend! Rebecca, this is Nemy, my best friend. Nemy, this is Rebecca. We met recently when Finral asked me to accompany him to a mixer."

"Nice to meet you." Rebecca greeted in an amiable manner. She bowed her head. Nemy was beautiful and she stood proud and tall despite being the same height as herself. She must be a noble. Possibly Asta's secret crush.

Anemone didn't think about the bowing of her head to be a sign of respect — she thought Rebecca was just being shy. "Nice to meet you too." She turned to Asta with a smug look. "Sorry for interrupting your date."

"Date?" Asta said and tilted his head in confusion. "Oh, Rebecca and I are just hanging out. These—" He referred to the small redheaded kids, "—are her siblings and I'm here to play with them."

"That makes sense. Who did you say went to the mixer with you again?"

"Finral and Luck! Sadly, they didn't manage to befriend their dates."