A happy memory

Ethan needs to buy gifts for his twin sisters and Lena. But if he gives gifts to two little girls and doesn't do the same to little Ella, she might feel left behind after all they were playing together. And if he gives a gift to Ella, he should prepare a gift for her mother. Also, he should prepare gifts for his aunt and uncle, who are taking care of him. And for two captains, Muller and Siegfried, who were training him. And just today he became friends with Leta, so he should give her a gift too.

He started to think about what the best gifts were for each person, and his eyes darted from one stall to another.

[Do you want to prepare gifts for all the people in the mansion?]

[Um, yes. Are you using your technique to read me?]

[You can say so, and it was easy. Make your thoughts less obvious next time.]

[Um, okay.]

[And you don't have much money, so you should restrain yourself. Prepare gifts for only three people, as you wanted first.]

Though Ethan had enough money, his teacher was right; after all, he had already spent thirty gold and ten silver coins. But he really didn't want to discourage other people when he only gave gifts to some people and didn't give them to others.

[Gifts should be given only on special occasions. So, if you want to give others gifts too, you should wait for it and prepare your gifts then.]

[Um, okay. So I prepare gifts for Alice, Millicent, Lena, and Leta.]

[Fine, it's your money after all.]

Ethan decided to start with gifts for two little girls. He started to look around the stalls but didn't find anything that he could give to little girls. He even wasn't sure what would be the perfect gift for them. But he has a person who might know what might be the perfect gift for a little girl.

[Um, teacher, you said that you have a little sister. So do you know what might be the perfect gift for a little girl?]

[I had. But...Hmm...]

His teacher became silent. And Ethan waited patiently for his response. The silence lasted for about five minutes.

[She really liked to eat sweat, tasty stuff, and plush toys. Even when she became older, her room was always decorated with plush toys.]

His teacher's usually cold voice was softer, which really surprised Ethan. After all, he heard from his teacher that he couldn't feel emotions, but now he spoke with a soft, caring voice.

[When she became older, she always dragged me with herself to buy clothes on my days off.]

In Ethan's mind, one memory started to appear. But it wasn't from his life.

***

Through the mall, a young girl about Leta's age was dragging him with her. She was blonde and wore a light green one-piece dress. But he was reluctant to go with her.

"We already bought things that you wanted, so we should return, Suzan."

Suzan turned around and looked piercingly at him with her green eyes. In her hands was a light brown coat.

"No, we didn't buy anything for you yet, ----. Look at your clothes; you always wore the same thing."

She said someone's name, but Ethan heard only silence. He looked at his clothes. He was wearing a white shirt, black pants, and leather shoes.

"It's just practical, so I don't have any reason to change my style."

"Style? I wouldn't complain if it was stylish, but your clothes aren't stylish at all. It's a crime to not wear good clothes with your look."

He rolled his eyes.

"Fine, I let you help me with my clothes, led the way."

Suzan smiled brightly.

"Of course, I make you even more appealing."

She led the way, and he followed after her with bags in his hands. After they went inside the boutique, they saw nice-looking clothes for men. The one who was choosing clothes was Suzan; she would take one piece of clothing and, after she looked at how it looked on him, if she deemed that it wasn't fitting, she returned it to the rack.

And after she found clothes that might fit him, he was sent to the changing room, leaving Suzan with bags outside.

It didn't take him long to change his clothes, and Suzan was already waiting for him. Without bags in her hands, which were placed on the nearby couch.

When she saw him in new clothes, she gasped; her eyes were wide open, and her hands were over her mouth. But her expression quickly returned to normal, and she came closer to him and fixed his tie.

"Now it's perfect."

"Is that good?"

"Yes. Why don't you look at yourself?"

She turned his body towards the mirror, which was hanging on the wall. And he saw a young man with gray eyes and long, lustrous black hair that almost reached his shoulders. He now wore a black long coat, suit, and shirt with a red tie.

"You really look like a handsome villain now, especially with your piercing gaze."

A soft smile appeared on the young man's face.

"Hm, you're right. I buy it."

They went to the counter with the saleswoman. She calculated the cost of clothes.

"You two really look good together. Are you perhaps on the date?"

A happy smile appeared on Suzan's face.

"Yes."

"No. She's my little sister."

And Suzan pouted sullenly at his words.

After he paid with a bank card, they left the boutique.

"You could just agree with her words."

"But you are my little sister."

"We aren't blood related."

But instead of answering, he just said,

"Suzan."

And when she turned towards him, he lightly flicked her forehead.

"Ouch!"

She covered her forehead with her hands.

"You are such a meanie. I don't want to talk with you."

She defiantly turned away from him and, with a "Humph" sound, crossed her hands.

And he didn't know whether to laugh or cry at her reaction.

"Fine, let's just consider it a date."

"Okay."

She turned around and wrapped her hands around his. She was smiling happily, as if she hadn't been sullen a moment ago.

"Let's go to the restaurant. I already made a reservation."

"Huh, you are really prepared."

"Of course!"

***

The memory ended.

[Huh, I even forgot that such a thing happened.]

[Um, somehow I saw it too. You really were a nice big brother.]

[Hm, I was. But these memories had nothing to do with the current me.]

His teacher's voice again became cold.

[You should finish what you came here for and return to the mansion.]

[Um, okay.]

Ethan resumed his search for gifts.

On one of the stalls, he finds two similar-looking, cute fox plush toys. The difference between the two was the color of the ribbons on their necks. One had a red ribbon, while the other had a blue ribbon. They might be perfect gifts for two girls, so he bought them.

After he started to search for a gift for Leta, from his teacher's memory, he knew that young girls like pretty clothes. But Ethan didn't have much knowledge about women's clothes. He remembers that his mom was always happy when she received good perfume from his dad. And after some searching, he found a stall where perfumes were sold. He chose rose-scented perfume, which was really fitting for Leta, in his opinion. Though it was only a little vial, the price was a whole gold coin. But nonetheless, Ethan bought it.

All that was left was a gift for Lena, but he already had an idea of what would be perfect for her. So he went towards the stalls where clothes were sold. It didn't take him long to find the stall where different scarves were sold.

The merchant who was selling them was foreign and had a dark complexion. Ethan chose a light yellow silk scarf, which perfectly matched Lena's hair color. But there was a problem with buying it; after all, the merchant has difficulties speaking a common language. And after communicating about the price with his fingers, Ethan bought the scarf with ten silver coins. And the merchant smiled happily after receiving the coins. He bit one of the silver coins but didn't find anything wrong with it.

"Iyi!"

And gave Ethan the scarf.

But Ethan didn't manage to put the scarf inside the ring because the little girl took the scarf from his hands and ran away. Ethan looked at the merchant for explanation, but he only shrugged his shoulders, as if saying that it wasn't his problem. So Ethan didn't have a choice but to run after the girl.

"Wait!"

But she didn't stop. She ran towards an alley between two buildings. Though she was fast for a little girl, Ethan was faster after all his training.

The alley was straight, and Ethan could see another street, but the girl didn't run towards it. She turned to the left, but this alley wasn't long, and it was a dead end.

Ethan almost reached the girl when she dropped the scarf, and when Ethan was busy picking it up, she crawled through the hole beneath the wall, which was too small for Ethan. But he had already returned the scarf, so it was meaningless to chase after her.

Only Ethan planned to return when a bunch of little kids rushed inside the alley and blocked the path. The leader of the kids was a young, tall, burly boy. He half-smiled at Ethan with ridicule.

"Look who we've got in our territory!"