'I'm in trouble.'
This simple thought sums up her entire situation. Ariellia's amethyst eyes dart from one shelf to the other, hoping something would stand out, but nothing comes to mind. Her awkward pause is so unnatural even Sena notices something is not right with her miss. To avoid curious questions she can't possibly answer, Arie tries to play it off, acting like she meant to bask in the abundance of shiny jewels and trinkets.
"Oh my, they're all so beautiful I'm torn on which to choose from!" She purposely exaggerates her dilemma.
"Why pick at all my lady, the duke said you can purchase anything you wish. We can take everything you like." The excited maid offers.
Ariellia frowns, looking at the few young elven maids with her. "But how would we transport so many things? I don't want to look like an uncultured guest by overloading my host's home with my purchases."
Sena nods, "I forgot my lady doesn't use magic artifacts. Don't worry about quantity my lady. We brought four storage chests with us for the trip, they hold up to 600 sq ft of space each. You can buy everything here and still have space for more!"
'That's a relief.' She's suspected as much when she first saw the chests on the carriage, but it doesn't hurt to know exact numbers for future calculations. Certainly, Allba's humble shop is not up to 600 sq ft. Still, she finds it wasteful to take all his items, including useless frivolous ones as well. If only she could remember the ones she actually needs.
'Arie are you awake?'
'No'
'Too bad, I know you're up now. Can you look into the memories I gave you and tell me which items I need here?'
'Why would I know what items you need, in fact, why would you know?' The real Ariellia seems confused by his sudden request.
'Of course I should know, it was all in the game?'
'What game?' The genuine confusion in Arie's voice can't be mistaken. She truly doesn't know about it.
'Come on, the game I was playing before I died.' If the young elf's goal had been to take her memories to even out the gap between their ages, it's only right that she should be processing them now.
'You truly are a fool, magic doesn't work that way.'
'That's rich, coming from someone who didn't take her magic lessons seriously her entire life.' The rude tone in her voice naturally made Eren more defensive, biting back out of habit.
'I didn't take those memories from you to view them. They are currently being digested.'
'Then why did you take them? What do you mean digesting…are you eating them!'
'…'
The silence on the other end isn't very comforting. She suddenly has a sick feeling in her gut. With no alternative she firmly asks, 'Arie, why did you take my memories?'
'I can't tell you, not yet.'
'What do you mean not yet!'
She's not pleased by this response at all, but she knows time is short and if she keeps hesitating to argue with her other half it won't take long before people start giving her strange looks. In the end she can only sigh. 'How much of my memories have you already digested?'
'…25%'
'25%!' He'd given her 1,095 days' worth of memories, that's a whole three years in total. Yet she's saying that she already managed to digest 273 days' worth in just two days. How on earth is she consuming them so fast?
A cold sweat breaks out just at the thought of his memories being processed at such an ungodly rate. 'Can you digest them a bit slower, just give me enough time to document a few things before I forget them forever…please.'
'Hmm…fine, but you owe me. In the future I will ask you to do something for me and you can't refuse.' Eren can practically envision the real Arie's haughty look as she grants him this request.
'As long as it doesn't cross my moral code of conduct or endangers me, you have my word. How much time do I have before I lose these memories for good?'
'Seven days.'
He panics, eyes dilating in shock. 'Not enough time, give me two weeks at least. It's gonna be a lot to write down!'
'…ten days, that's the best I can do for you.'
'Fine, I'll take it.' Ten days is still better than seven. Eren spots a magical journal on one of the shelves and rushes to grab it.
[The traveler's journal]
[restriction: Level 1. Use: A magical journal able to preserve one's thoughts and emotions exactly as they are written. A magically bound item, unable to be reused by others once activated. Price: 250 sol]
In the end, fearing that she might really leave something precious behind by mistake, Ariellia does buy almost everything in the store. Rejecting only a few items that obviously have no use no matter how she looks at them. Sena and Allba are delighted for different reasons, but she can't be bothered to ruin their celebration. Her main concern is to document as much as she can of the remaining memories for the next ten days before they vanish into oblivion.
In her current situation she's no longer in the mood to shop. She returns to the mayor's mansion with her entourage.
"How was it dear, did you see anything you liked? It's been seven years since you came here last, I'm sure a lot has changed." David just happened to be sitting in the living room when she arrived, reviewing documents while enjoying some afternoon tea. As much as she would rather run off into the guest room assigned to her and crack open the magic journal to begin documenting her departing memories, she knows it would reflect poorly on her manners. Stamping down the anxiety gnawing at her belly, she feigns poise and calm as she takes a seat by her father.
"Yes Daddy, I had a lot of fun. I even managed to buy an entire store."
"Hahaha, that's my little moonshine. You've always had sharp eyes for good items. You'll have to show me your haul later, for now I'd like to introduce you to Neilos. He's mayor Takao's son, you met him when you were ten remember?"
It's only then that she notices the youth sitting across from them. A tall dark elf with braided olive-green hair and eyes. He looks to be about the same age as Rei, even mirroring his stature if it weren't for Neilos' leaner limbs. Eren can't help but feel flustered, stumbling over what he might say in his head. How is he to greet this new acquaintance? Were they close as kids?
'Would you like to trade a memory?'
'Over my dead body' with a stiff smile Ariellia tries to gauge the other's nature with a generic greeting. "Hey Neilos, it's been a while.'
"It sure has Arie, sorry I couldn't come to your wedding. I was still nursing my broken heart, you promised you'd give me a chance to ask for your hand in marriage back then." In turn, he casually lobbed a bomb right back at her.
"…marriage?"
"Yeah, I promised to marry you the last time you came here but you ran off an got married without me."
There's still a healthy degree of hurt in his voice. It would be a lie to say he isn't eyeing her ring finger with a bit of jealousy and resentment. The sight of his heated eyes is giving her goosebumps. Perhaps divorcing Rei so soon might be a bad idea. It appears the line of suitors eagerly waiting to take his place as soon as their marriage fails isn't as short as she'd hoped. She's better off with the hero she knows than an absolute stranger.