There was a certain famous saying within Baska that almost everyone knew: Whatever it is that you seek, the annual flea market has it. This was not an understatement, for Baska was renown as a merchant town, and the annual market was almost akin to a festival. People from all over the country, and even beyond visited the market, and what made it exciting was that they were both merchant and visitor alike. Perhaps it was exactly for that reason that it was a fortuitous occasion that Lycoris was currently within the aforementioned town. The purple-haired girl had been walking along the streets of the town, her gaze fixated on an object she was holding while skillfully sidestepping and avoiding anyone who would have otherwise collided with her.

Looking at the object in her hand would soon confirm its nature: it was the hilt of a blade, but the blade itself was nowhere to be found! Indeed, her battle against Kon had left her weapon pulverized, and unfortunately, Lycoris found herself currently without a weapon, a situation she needed to resolve soon if she wanted to resume her work as a mercenary.

Indeed, her fight against the man had taught her plenty, not only was she still too weak, but she also lacked the proper equipment to accomplish her goal, and without the necessary funding all she could do was pick up some trivial jobs in the hope of obtaining enough wealth to purchase some decent weaponry.

But not today... Today she had decided to take a break from all the requests she had taken in the past few days, instead preferring to take a casual walk among the people of Baska. It wasn't like Baska was an exciting place to be in outside of the annual market, but it had a certain coziness to it that she could appreciate. That type of peacefulness you couldn't easily find in crowded cities like Hargeon.

However, her thoughts were brutally disrupted by a feminine voice that called out to her, causing the purple-haired lass to turn around to face the one responsible for the interruption of her thoughts. "Hmm?" Her gaze drifted along the person's features, a pretty girl seemed to have called out to her but considering it was someone unfamiliar to her she was not certain what to expect. Then again, she was in a good enough mood to not let suspicion bother her, so instead, she merely smiled calmly at the lass, sheathing her broken blade while inquiring with a pleasantly friendly tone. "Good morning~ Is something the matter?"

Yet after a moment, her gaze drifted to the book she was holding, raising a hand to her chin as she pondered for a moment. "Oh~ Reading out on the streets? That's a pretty interesting thing to do, I used to do the same as a child. Trying to read a book while avoiding bumping into others is an interesting way to train your sensory skills."

Yet realizing she had gone off into her own little musings Lycoris continued with a smile. "But I doubt that's the reason you called out to me--- not that I would have minded if you bumped into me~"

A little wink followed at her teasing remark while she waited for the lass to speak.

So this young lady was simply searching for someone to converse with? For a moment she gazed at the stranger who had approached her, a mixture of curiosity and amusement evident in her expression when finally she smiled calmly at her. It was true, considering Baska was a modest merchant town it was quite unusual to find a large crowd of adventurers or travelers outside the period the annual flea market was held at, so compared to the citizen and locals of the village she must had looked quite different, especially when one considered that she was lightly armored in attire and armed, even if the weapon in her sheath had lost its blade in a recent duel.

"I guess that's a correct statement to make, I'm not a local~" She admitted with a brief grin as she listened onwards to the girl's explanation of how she still frequently bumped into things whenever she was reading. It was understandable, to develop a means to avoid bumping into people when combining a walk with reading one needed to learn to hone their hearing. "It takes practice, to be able to estimate a person's location based on their footsteps and how loud they are is a skill that takes a lot of time to master."

However, it was after their subject on the matter of the book reading had ended that the girl suggested something rather curious, making Lycoris pull her hands behind her back and playfully lean forwards toward her. "Is that a pick-up line?"

After a moment she chuckled softly, a grin on her lips as she continued with a smile. "Heh~ Sure, I don't mind having a drink with you. The name is Lycoris~"