Chapter 49 - Do You Like Muscles?
I'm sorry. I said there might be some mild eroticism, but there isn't even a hint of it.
Upon marrying Flora, it was decided that I would become the future Village Chief of Nordende.
I felt anxious about whether a mere adventurer like me could handle a job like being a Village Chief, but Elgis-san told me it was still far in the future, so I should just learn slowly.
Thinking about it, that was true. Elgis-san is still young, so he has no intention of quitting his job yet.
In the first place, I've only been in this village for about three months, and there's no way I could handle the job of leading a whole village all of a sudden.
First, it's important to get used to life in Nordende and get to know the people and nature living there well. At the very least, when I become the Village Chief, it will be many years from now.
Just as Elgis-san said, I should just learn while slowly helping with the work.
Fortunately, I can write, read, and do calculations.
I realized those were essential skills for living as an adventurer, so I learned them from sisters and adult adventurers when I was a child.
If I didn't, I couldn't even take requests properly, and I'd be at a disadvantage in monetary transactions. Although it's a world where strength accounts for a large portion, there are many situations where strength alone won't cut it. When I was a child, I was ignorant and was cheated and taken advantage of many times.
Well, for that reason, I've already acquired the necessary skills, so there's nothing I need to study in a hurry.
To put it simply, as expected, getting used to village life is the most important thing.
After having such a discussion with Elgis-san and finishing lunch, I was helping with the preparations for Flora to move into my house.
Yes, from today, Flora has officially come to live in my house. So Flora is currently in the middle of packing her clothes and tools necessary for life at her home.
There's nothing I can do to help with organizing the luggage, so my main job is to take the things Flora has organized and packed into boxes, load them onto a four-wheeled cart, and pull the cart to our home.
Those were my two main jobs, but because of certain guys, the jobs increased to three. That is...
"Hey, Aldo. How did it go in the end?"
"Hey now, asking that is just tactless, isn't it? Just look at the fact that he's loading Flora-chan's luggage onto the cart and figure it out."
"Idiot. I know, but I'm asking on purpose. It's a grudge for stealing the lovely flower blooming in Nordende. I'm going to tease him, tease him, and tease him to the end."
It's to drive away these villagers who come to mock us like this.
I looked at those villagers with a bitter expression and said,
"...You guys, your behavior is in bad taste. Do you have to go out of your way to bring work you can do at home outside?"
Yes, the villagers in front of me were sitting and working as if taking up positions in front of Elgis-san's house.
Papyrus Beans, which grow wild in Nordende.
The characteristic of these is that if you peel the hard shell, crush the beans with a stick, and then knead and bake them, they bake up fluffy. With a faint sweetness, soft texture, and the fact that they're filling, they are a food often eaten in the village.
Normally, it's a task you do bit by bit in the kitchen at home, but these guys have brought it all the way outside.
"But, you know, peeling the shells bit by bit is hard work. I can't just stay quiet and do it inside the house all the time."
"It's just a simple task of peeling shells and crushing them with a stick anyway. If I'm going to do it, I'd rather do it while watching something interesting and having fun."
The villagers said such things while peeling the shells of the Papyrus Beans bit by bit.
Something interesting...
Well, I also find doing laundry alone boring and do it while chatting with the neighborhood wives, so I understand the feeling. But I wish they wouldn't come near my house and make a spectacle of it.
"Aldo-san! Please take care of this."
"Ah, okay!"
Since Flora brought a box containing luggage to the entrance, I ran over and received it.
"It has cooking utensils in it and is a bit heavy, so please be careful."
"Haha, I can carry something like this even with one hand."
It might be a bit heavy for a woman, but for a man, this much is easy.
"Wow, as I thought, Aldo-san's arm muscles are amazing. Like, the arms aren't just thick, but they feel tightly packed without any waste."
When I lifted it with one hand, Flora raised an impressed voice and touched my arm.
I won't drop the box from just that, but Flora's smooth hand stroking my skin was ticklish.
"Hey, that's ticklish."
"I'm sorry, just a little more..."
Even though I raised a gentle voice of protest, Flora continued to touch my arm muscles absentmindedly.
Come to think of it, when we take a bath together, she's always touching my chest and upper arms too.
Does she like muscles that much?
They aren't soft or pleasant to the touch, so I don't think they're anything good, but I wonder if Flora is attracted to them because they're something women don't have.
Well, I guess I should think of it the same way as men being attracted to women's breasts. I got to touch Flora's breasts a lot yesterday too.
"Ukee! I'm jealous!"
"Damn, flirting right in front of us...!"
While I let Flora have her way for a while, the villagers positioned in front of the house raised frustrated voices.
No, it's your own fault for coming right in front of us.
However, it didn't feel bad to see the villagers making frustrated faces because I was flirting with Flora.
I turned only my face toward the villagers and let out a full-force smug face.
""Ukee!""
Then, the villagers all let out monkey-like screeches and started throwing Papyrus Bean shells into the cart.
Stop it, are you guys monkeys?
After glaring at the villagers who had turned into monkeys for a while, I heard footsteps from the entrance.
"Flora? What are you doing? If you don't finish up quickly, it'll be evening, you know?"
"Ah, yes. That's right!"
Flora snapped back to her senses at Fiona-san's voice, who had come to check on us.
Flora reluctantly let go of my arm and went pitter-patter back into the house.
I guess I'll let her touch them as much as she wants when we get home.
"...Aldo-san."
Thinking that, as I was about to take the box to the cart, Fiona-san called out to me.
"Yes?"
"............"
I stopped moving and looked back, and Fiona-san approached me silently.
Then, Fiona-san slowly raised her arm—and touched my shoulder.
Her moist, soft hand moved as if enjoying the contours of my shoulder muscles.
Being touched by Fiona-san, who is a beautiful woman, was still embarrassing.
"...U-Um..."
"As I thought, you have good muscles."
While I raised a bewildered voice, Fiona-san muttered that and then casually let go of my shoulder and went back into the house.
Are women really that curious about men's muscles?
I don't really know, but Fiona-san didn't seem as interested as Flora. She let go quickly, so it was probably just simple curiosity.
Flora, on the other hand, starts touching my muscles and loses sight of her surroundings.
Recalling the previous scene with a wry smile, I took the box to the cart.
When I did that, I had to pass in front of the villagers who had turned into monkeys...
"Eat some Papyrus Bean shells!"
Having expected the shells to be thrown at me, I easily dodged them with a step and loaded the box onto the cart.
Then, I promptly moved in front of the villagers, to the place where the Papyrus Bean shells were piled up, and—
"Phoo!"
—blew a strong breath on them.
"Ugyaaaaah!?"
"Uwaah!? What are you doing! The beans and shells got mixed up!?"
The Papyrus Bean shells flew into the villagers' faces and into the beans they had sorted.
The villager who got them in his face writhed on the ground, and the other one was desperately removing shells while shouting.
It's retribution for pestering me so much and throwing shells into the cart.
"Aldo-san! There's something a bit heavy, so could you carry it for me?"
"Got it!"
The villagers moved more than I expected...