Chapter 14 - The Smiling Pair
The next day. Thanks to the furniture being installed in the living room, I was now able to lead a minimally functional life.
There were still things missing, like a bed and a custom-made chair, but Toak had lent me a sofa, so my back didn't hurt when I woke up in the morning.
Getting up from the sofa and tidying myself up, I heated and ate the leftover vegetable soup from yesterday's dinner.
Eating a soup infused with the umami of vegetables in the morning made vitality well up within me.
I could feel the warm soup spreading through the inside of my body.
However, compared to the soup I ate at Toak's house, it felt like something was missing. Was it the simmering time? Or maybe the seasoning, since the types of vegetables should be the same?
I'll try asking Toak next time.
Having finished breakfast, I thought about what I should do next.
The minimum furniture was gathered, and the bed and custom chair would still take quite some time.
I certainly wanted bedding and clothes, but it wasn't that urgent. Since I had a promise for Toak to introduce me, I should probably visit after the bed was somewhat finished.
According to Toak, there were more than enough bedding and clothes, so there was no need to order them in advance.
Since I had relaxed and rested my body yesterday, today I'd have Elgis-san introduce me to a hunter and have them take me to the mountains.
I wanted to start working soon and be able to give something back to everyone.
I might feel awkward meeting Flora, but I couldn't leave it alone forever. After a day's gap, she should have calmed down too.
In that case, since I might go to the mountains today, I should look for portable food.
Thinking that, I was rummaging through the hemp bag I got from Toak when Nordende wine came out.
'This wine, you see, is made at Aisha-chan's place.'
I remembered those words from Elgis-san.
Come to think of it, even though Aisha was the first one to guide me, I hadn't even given her a report that I was able to move in or said thanks.
This was very bad. It was rude.
Ideally, I should have gone on the day the house was decided. Or yesterday.
Well, I didn't think she would care that much, but I had to go say thanks.
For that reason, I decided to go say thanks to Aisha in the morning.
"Hah? Aisha's house?"
However, since I didn't know the house where Aisha lived, I had come to the house of Toak, whom I had just met yesterday.
Toak, sticking his face out of the window, had hair that was a complete mess, probably because he had just woken up. His eyes were narrow, and he seemed twenty percent more grumpy than usual.
"Yeah, that's right. Aisha took care of me when I came to the village, but I haven't said any words of thanks yet."
"Ah, to come to this village from the outside, you have to pass through that vineyard. Well, I don't think she's the type to care about that, though."
Toak said the same thing I was thinking while scratching his head vigorously.
But there was a possibility she might say something blunt like, "Since I took care of you, shouldn't you have let me know first?" so I couldn't ignore it.
"If it's Aisha, she'll be at the vineyard from the morning at this time, so rather than heading to her house, you should go to the straight road at the vineyard. By the way, if it's her house, it's south of here. It's surrounded by vineyards and has a big warehouse for managing grapes and wine, so you should know it as soon as you go there."
"Oh, I get it. Thanks!"
Having been told Aisha's whereabouts by Toak, I turned on my heel and started walking.
◆ ◆ ◆
When I headed to the vineyard as Toak had told me, there was Aisha, dressed in work clothes just as he said.
Seeing her sitting on the fence along the road, it seemed she was currently on a break.
Relieved that Aisha was there, I approached and found Flora behind her.
Wh-Why is Flora here! I shouted in my mind, but I was convinced after hearing Fiona-san's words about how she had played with her daughter since they were little.
The two must be childhood best friends. It wouldn't be strange for her to come see her even without business.
At the very least, I had thought I would meet Flora after this, so I wasn't quite mentally prepared.
But depending on how you looked at it, it could be considered convenient since it would be resolved in a place where Elgis-san and Fiona-san weren't present.
I hadn't done anything that guilty... no, since it was an action that could be described as showing my naked body, I might be a little guilty, but this might be a chance.
I suppressed my slightly heavy footsteps with willpower and moved forward.
As I approached them, Aisha noticed me.
Flora also seemed to notice someone approaching and turned around with a curious face.
Flora's reaction was exactly as I had expected; as soon as she saw my face, her face turned bright red with a 'boing' and she tried to run away, but perhaps because Aisha grabbed her arm, she ended up flailing and struggling.
When Aisha whispered something to the struggling Flora, Flora's arms, which had been swimming in the air, suddenly dropped and she became quiet.
Seeing that, I understood that Aisha knew about our situation.
Aisha's follow-up was appreciated, but because the situation was known, I felt embarrassed.
With a slight wry smile, I approached Aisha and Flora.
"Hello."
"Hello."
"............"
I tried to greet them, but only Flora hid behind Aisha and didn't return the greeting.
As I was wryly smiling, thinking that I was indeed being avoided, Aisha nudged Flora with her elbow.
Flora sent a gaze to Aisha as if protesting with teary eyes. Looking at that, I felt like there were words implied like, 'It's really no good right now.'
However, Aisha didn't make a sound and only moved her mouth, glaring back at Flora. Then, Flora trembled with a start and came forward.
I didn't understand the latter half of the exchange, but it seemed some kind of agreement had been reached.
It was that kind of communication that only passed between close friends.
"U-Um, hello."
Flora greeted in a thin voice while her white cheeks were dyed red like an apple.
It couldn't be helped that her gaze wasn't directed here, perhaps because she was embarrassed remembering the events of the day before yesterday. Even so, I was happy that she didn't run away and I got a chance to apologize.
"Hello."
""............""
When I returned the greeting with a smile, a silence followed for a while.
Flora was fidgeting with her clasped hands in front of her, and an awkward time continued where I was also wondering how to start the conversation.
Since that was my fault and the content was what it was, I should be the one to bow my head and apologize, right? While I was thinking that, I received a sharp gaze from Aisha, who was behind Flora.
She seemed to be saying, 'Hurry up and apologize,' while lightly moving her chin.
Responding with a light nod, I made up my mind and bowed my head.
Then, I felt the presence of Flora, who had been letting her gaze wander, gasping in surprise.
"Um, I'm sorry about the day before yesterday. I said words that encouraged you to enter even though I wasn't prepared."
"No, I'm the one who should be sorry. I entered even though I hadn't fully heard the words encouraging me to enter. I'm sorry."
So saying, Flora bowed her head with a 'peko'.
What. To think she would offer such a follow-up without blaming me; she really was a kind person.
Relieved by Flora's words, I raised my face, and she also smiled bashfully and met my gaze.
Since we hadn't fought, it might be different from making up, but the awkward atmosphere was gone.
I was truly glad.
"Ahem."
As we were smiling at each other for a while, Aisha, who was behind Flora, cleared her throat.
Surprised by that, Flora and I hurriedly turned toward Aisha.
"I'm going to start working soon, so could you two go home?"
Aisha said as she put on her gloves.
This was probably Aisha being considerate. I had been taken care of by Aisha again.
However, I had to give my thanks for her guiding me on the first day.
"Aisha-san, thank you for guiding me on the first day! I'm living near the house of the furniture craftsman named Toak!"
"Ah, yeah, yeah. You're living near Toak's house, right? Well then, I'll drop by next time."
After saying that, Aisha crossed the fence and disappeared into the vineyard.
"Shall we head back then? I have business with Elgis-san."
"Ah, yes. I'm going home too."
Left on the straight road, we returned to Elgis-san's house.
I had to catch some prey by the time Aisha came so I could treat her to a feast.