Chapter 18 - The Visit of an Unfamiliar Woman
Since it was decided that we would eat venison at my house, we temporarily disbanded from Toak's house.
It was decided that Toak would come after finishing his morning work, and Aisha would come after pushing her work onto her sister.
As for me, since I was entrusted with the role of inviting Flora, I decided to head to Elgis-san's house.
When I arrived at Elgis-san's house, Fiona-san was working in the field behind the house.
"Hello."
When I called out, Fiona-san stood up smoothly and turned around.
She is a person whose every movement is beautiful, as always. The movement of standing up from a crouching position, the movement of turning around toward me—every single one was beautiful.
The reason Flora's every movement is beautiful must be because she grew up watching Fiona-san.
"Oh, hello Aldo-san. Thank you for the delicious meat yesterday."
"No, no, I've been constantly in your debt. I should be the one thanking you for letting me join you for dinner. It was delicious."
"Since you eat so heartily, Aldo-san, it's worth making for both me and Flora."
Fiona-san laughed elegantly, placing her hand over her mouth.
Just looking at that gentle smile made me feel like my heart was being healed.
What is it? A sort of all-encompassing tolerance. I wonder if this is what they call maternal instinct.
I feel like I can understand now why Keel used to say, "Older women are great because they have maternal instinct!"
"By the way, what brings you here today?"
I suddenly came to my senses at Fiona-san's words.
That's right, Fiona-san has field work too. It would be a nuisance if I tied up too much of her time.
"Um, I have business with Flora today. Since Aisha and Toak are going to cook lunch at my house, I came to invite Flora to join us."
"Oh, that's lovely. I'm sure Flora would be happy to go, but she's out bartering right now."
"In that case, would it be impossible for today since she's busy?"
As expected, since I brought it up so suddenly, it was too much to ask. Villagers are basically busy people who are doing some kind of task or work every day. If that person has a family and takes a break, the work might be passed on to other family members, or the work that was put off might be delayed and cause trouble.
Toak and I are single and it's just easy for us to use our time freely, so I have to be careful about that sort of thing.
Of course, even for me, on days I go to the mountains I can't do almost any other business, and even for Toak, it's not like he can just play around just because he doesn't have orders. Both have their pros and cons.
"...No, I think she'll be back before lunch, so I think she'll head over later."
Fiona-san answered with a smile after thinking for a moment.
She probably confirmed Flora's schedule in that brief moment, and within that, sorted out what should be finished today and what shouldn't, and built a new schedule.
Somehow, I felt bad for being the one who invited her.
"I'm sorry for inviting her so suddenly."
"It's fine. The one who always says such things suddenly is Aisha-chan. I'm used to it."
I couldn't help but respond to Fiona-san's words with a wry smile.
Maybe it's because she does things like this that she's still called Aisha-chan even as an adult.
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After telling Fiona-san to have Flora come over, I decided to lightly clean the house since guests were coming.
Not many days had passed since the big cleaning, but because I had been living there, sand had been tracked in and a faint amount of dust had accumulated.
I took out a broom and began sweeping the dust and dirt on the living room floor out the door.
I realized while sweeping the living room floor that I hadn't prepared slippers or indoor shoes for guests.
Basically, at home, it's normal to wear slippers or indoor shoes so as not to bring dirt into the house. However, in my house, I only had indoor shoes for myself.
Making them walk in their socks would get their socks dirty, and their feet would be cold...
I wonder what I should do about this.
"...I'll just have to have Toak bring some."
There were many slippers placed at Toak's house.
It's a strange story to have a guest bring indoor slippers, but since it's Toak, there's no shame or anything, so I'll decide to rely on him without hesitation.
Having thought that, I easily switched my thinking and moved on to cleaning the kitchen.
Since Toak and Flora were coming to cook in the kitchen, I had to make it sparkling clean. Since it's a place where food is handled, I have to keep it sanitary.
I disposed of the contents of the wooden box for raw garbage in the sink and quickly rinsed it out.
I carefully wiped the kitchen counter with a wet cloth and then wiped away the remaining moisture with a dry rag.
After finishing that, I washed the rag and wiped the chairs, table, and windows in the living room, and the cleaning was complete.
Yeah, as expected, cleaning my own house feels good.
Perhaps because maintenance of my own equipment like weapons and armor carried a sense of responsibility and duty since my life depended on it, I hadn't been able to taste this kind of feeling until now.
If I could feel this refreshed just by making things clean, it wouldn't be bad to clean frequently.
"Now then, I guess I'll put away the cleaning tools and go borrow some slippers from Toak..."
I checked the kitchen and living room again, and just as I picked up the bucket, the door was pounded with a knock.
Who could it be? Did Flora come over because she was able to return early from bartering? No, Flora knocks more modestly with a 'kon kon', so it's different. Thinking about it, it's either Aisha or Toak.
"Yes, I'm opening it now."
Having experienced my previous failure, I've decided that I will be the one to open the door regardless of the situation.
If I neglect that, I might accidentally invite someone in even if I'm naked.
When I set the bucket aside and opened the door, a young woman with long red hair and a red dress was standing there.
She was a woman with wheat-colored skin, a tightly toned waist and rounded hips, and her slender arms and legs had a healthy beauty.
I thought she was a woman with a beauty different from Flora or Fiona-san.
However, who is this woman? I don't think I would forget if I had seen such a woman in the village...
Maybe a villager living nearby came to greet me? She has a bag hanging on her arm, so it must be a neighbor's greeting.
"Who might you be?"
"...What kind of sleepy thing are you saying? It's me."
"Huh? ...Is that voice Aisha?"
No, no, there's no way... right?
When I widened my eyes and showed my surprise, Aisha scratched her neck and opened her mouth as if it were a hassle. Ah, that's kind of like Aisha.
"Even I don't wear work clothes every day, you know? Well, the main reason is because my sister is noisy about not wearing work clothes if I'm going out."
"............"
I'm sorry. I thought exactly that. I had selfishly assumed that you were in work clothes even at home and in private, and that your hair was always tied up with a barrette.
Even so, maybe because Aisha doesn't dress in a feminine way, I hadn't really been conscious of it, but she's a very beautiful girl.
It's almost a waste that she usually ties her hair up messily and dresses in work clothes. Well, such fashion might be unnecessary for field work, but wouldn't it be fine to at least let her hair down? Her sister is indeed the serious type for making her older sister dress up. The composition of a big sister who is lazy and finds things a hassle, and a younger sister who devotedly takes care of her, unfolded in my head.
"Hey, I know it's a rare sight, but could you not stare so much?"
So saying, Aisha glared at me with an upward glance. Perhaps she was a bit embarrassed to be seen in her private appearance, as there didn't seem to be the usual sharpness in those eyes.
"Ah, sorry, sorry."
"Here, this is wine, jam, and raisins. I'll give them to you first."
When I hurriedly apologized, Aisha handed over the bag hanging on her arm as if pushing it onto me.
"Well then, I'm coming in."
"Ah, sorry. I'm about to go borrow slippers from Toak, so wait a moment."
When I said that, Aisha let out a big sigh. It seems her gestures don't change even if her appearance does.