Chapter 19 - A Circle of People
It seems I've reached 5th place in the monthly rankings. I'm happy.
"Hahahaha! And then she asked you 'Who might you be?'! This is a masterpiece!"
Toak, sitting on a chair in my living room, clapped his hands and laughed.
"...Shut up."
Aisha glared at Toak while slumped over the table.
As for me, since I was the one who had asked 'Who might you be?', I couldn't bring myself to laugh.
From time to time, a piercing stare from the limp Aisha stabbed into me, and I felt like she was saying, 'This is your fault.'
Weren't you surprised to see Aisha like this? If Toak asked me that, I'd end up saying I thought a stranger had come. That's how much her transformation surprised me.
"Your younger sister Ina made you wear it anyway, didn't she? Telling you not to go to a luncheon in work clothes and to wear this instead."
Toak wore a teasing smile as he touched the sleeve of the dress worn by the slumped-over Aisha.
"............"
Since Toak was exactly right, Aisha couldn't argue and only brushed his arm away grumpily. I could feel the wrinkles deepening on Aisha's refined face.
"I can't tell which one is the older sister and which one is the younger sister anymore—"
Perhaps because he had been pushed around by Aisha during the price negotiations earlier, Toak seemed to be seizing the opportunity to attack her now that she was weakened.
If he bullied her that much, she'd probably strike back later; I wondered if he'd be okay.
Feeling somewhat awkward, I stood up from my seat to go prepare some snacks.
Aisha had brought raisins, so those would be good. Since Aisha probably ate raisins all the time at home, I decided to also put out the Pico Fruit and Ere I had gathered with Lauren-san and the others.
"Hey, come on, Aisha. Stand up and do a little twirl for us."
"...I'm not doing that. Something so embarrassing."
While I was preparing the dishes and plating the fruits, the two of them continued that kind of conversation. For having quite an age gap, those two got along well.
It must be because they grew up in the same village since long ago. Thinking about their childhood was a bit hard to imagine, but I felt like I wanted to see it.
"Here, I brought some light snacks."
When I brought the plate over, Aisha, having escaped Toak's verbal assault, sat up happily.
Conversely, Toak seemed disappointed that I had come back so soon. He had a blatantly disappointed look on his face.
"Oh, I thought it would just be raisins, but you're quite thoughtful. I was getting tired of eating those—"
Aisha let out a happy voice upon seeing the fruits on the plate.
As expected, she seemed fed up with the raisins made at her home. Her family produced that many grapes, after all. They probably appeared on the dining table every single time.
I was glad I put out something other than raisins.
"That's not a line a grape farmer should be saying."
"Try eating dishes with raisins in them every morning. You'll get tired of it in three days."
I thought it was enviable to be able to eat raisins every day, but I suppose one would indeed get tired of it if eaten daily.
Even though I had received a large amount of raisins from Aisha, I didn't want to end up like that.
"What kind of dishes use raisins?"
"You can use them for anything, you know? Mixing them into bread and baking it, mixing them into salads, simmering them with apples, and they also go well simmered with chicken."
When I asked, Aisha answered while gouging out the flesh of an Ere with a spoon.
As expected of someone who often saw them on the table, she answered fluently.
They all sounded quite delicious. It would be a waste to just eat the raisins on their own, so I thought I'd definitely give it a try.
"I see. Tell me the simple recipes later."
"Sure."
For a while after that, we silently scooped out the flesh of the Ere with our spoons.
◆ ◆ ◆
Once we finished eating the fruits, Aisha said she wanted to see the inside of the house, so I decided to show her around.
That said, since I had just moved in and didn't have much furniture or tools, I didn't think there was much worth seeing.
"Heh, that's a big bathtub."
Aisha's impressed voice echoed inside the bathroom.
"Apparently, the person who lived here before liked baths. They supposedly made it this big even if it meant making the changing room narrow."
"So that's why only the changing room was unusually narrow. Isn't it hard to prepare a bath by yourself when it's this big?"
"I'm confident in my physical strength, and I like baths too."
In truth, I was relying on the power of a magic tool, but it wasn't good to spread that around too much. Expensive things like magic tools were thought to be things nobles possessed, and it would only lead to strange misunderstandings.
We exited the changing room in a single file. It was because there wasn't enough space for an adult man and woman to stand side-by-side.
"What's this empty room?"
Aisha, having stepped into the hallway, peered into the adjacent room and asked.
"It's the bedroom. The bed isn't finished yet."
"...Toak, hurry up and make the bed already."
"That's because you suddenly said you were doing a luncheon!"
When Aisha muttered that in the hallway, a voice of protest flew from Toak, who was relaxing in the living room.
Aisha walked further in, pretending as if she hadn't heard him.
Well, since it was a private house, sound traveled easily.
While I gave a wry smile, Aisha marched further inside.
"The only thing left is the storage room, though?"
In the storage room, I had moved the magic tools and swords that had been in the living room, so it would be a bit problematic if she stared at it as she did with the bathroom.
There was also money for emergencies and high-grade monster materials. I wouldn't usually invite people into the storage room, but since I didn't know what might happen in the future, I should probably make a hiding place in the attic or under the floorboards.
"...Is that so? Then it's fine."
Aisha said that after staring intently at my face, then she turned on her heel quite easily.
I was a bit relieved since it would have been troublesome if she had said she wanted to see everything just in case.
Even though there shouldn't be much in the storage room since I just moved in, I shouldn't be showing the storage room to others as expected.
As I was walking down the hallway with Aisha to return to the living room, I heard a reserved knocking sound from the door.
I knew immediately from that reserved knock that it was Flora.
"It's probably Flora."
Aisha would knock roughly with a thud-thud, after all.
While I was thinking that, Toak's voice echoed from the living room, "Someone's here—"
"Yes, yes, you don't have to go out since you haven't talked to her much."
"I know that."
Aisha and I hurried toward the door in the living room. Indeed, if Toak suddenly answered, the shy Flora would be surprised.
"Welcome."
"H-Hello."
When I opened the door, there stood Flora, wearing a blue dress over a white blouse.
Perhaps it was slightly different from the blouses she usually wore; the collar was decorated with fine rose embroidery, and there was a blue ribbon at her chest. The dress fluttering in the wind wasn't navy blue, but a color closer to a slightly brighter blue, giving a refreshing impression.
I thought it was an outfit that highlighted Flora's neatness and cool impression. Her hair, which was usually straight, was carefully braided today, giving her a more mature atmosphere.
"U-Um."
"Hurry up and let her in."
As I was unintentionally staring at Flora, she squirmed embarrassedly, and Aisha tapped my shoulder from the side.
I couldn't help but wonder why women's impressions changed so much with their clothing and hair.
"Ah, right. Come in."
"E-Excuse me."
When I snapped back to my senses and invited her in, Flora entered and changed into slippers.
"Sorry for calling you so suddenly."
"No, today's afternoon work wasn't that important. Besides, Aisha suddenly saying things is something she's done since long ago."
Toak and I looked at Aisha with cold eyes, as she always did troublesome things like inviting people suddenly.
However, Aisha remained nonchalant as if she didn't care about such things. She had thick skin as always.
"So this is Aldo-san's new house. It's my first time..."
Flora muttered while looking around curiously, but perhaps she remembered the last time she came, as she looked down with a red face.
The members here were those who knew the circumstances.
I felt Aisha give a wry smile and Toak direct a smirking gaze.
"Yes, yes, Flora's here too, so let's start cooking right away. I'm already famished."
"Y-Yes."
Thanks to Aisha changing the subject with a bright voice, Flora seemed to be able to switch her thoughts as well.
Now then, just as we were about to move to the kitchen in a group to start cooking, Toak spoke up.
"Hey, don't I need an introduction or something?"
"It's fine, someone like you... is what I want to say, but it can't be helped since Flora will get nervous if there's someone she doesn't know well."
"Y-Yes, please."
Perhaps because Toak had stepped forward, Flora stiffened her body slightly.
"I'm Toak, I live in this neighborhood. I work making furniture."
Toak was also trying to make a gentle voice and expression so as not to scare Flora, but no matter how you looked at him, he only appeared to others as a man oozing with a grumpy mood.
"His personality is twisted and he's not honest."
"His face is always sullen, but he's not actually angry."
"What are you guys saying!?"
When Aisha and I softened Toak's stiff greeting and added those supplements, Toak let out a flustered voice.
"Ufufufufu. ...Ah, no, um, I'm sorry. The conversation between the three of you was just funny."
Flora's stiff expression softened, and Toak became quiet as if the wind had been taken out of his sails.
Then Flora somehow managed to meet Toak's wandering gaze and said,
"Um, I am Flora, the daughter of the village chief. It's nice to meet you."
"Yeah, nice to meet you."
The introduction of the two, which had been a concern, seemed to have gone well, which was a relief.
I hoped that from here, Flora's shyness would be alleviated and her circle of people would expand.