Chapter 55 - Aisha and Aldo's Intuition
After letting Toak and Aisha into the house, I explained my meeting with Flora to Toak.
"Heh, so Aldo and Flora met here nine years ago. And Flora was saved by Aldo back then and fell for him?"
"...Y-Yes."
Flora answered somewhat shyly as Toak turned his gaze toward her.
"No wonder she took to him from the start. I'd always wondered why Flora, who's famous for being shy around strangers, was so friendly toward Aldo from the moment he arrived in this village."
Toak muttered with a somewhat satisfied expression.
Flora, who was shy, was getting along well with a man who had come from elsewhere. Considering her personality, it was understandable why he'd be suspicious.
On the other hand, Flora, whose feelings for me had been seen through from the beginning, turned red upon hearing Toak's words.
"...U-Um, so you knew from the start too, Toak-san?"
"Of course. It was plain as day from the sidelines."
Being told so again by a friend seemed to make Flora feel embarrassed. She looked down, her face turning red all the way to her ears.
"Aldo, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice Flora's feelings at all. He couldn't even remember that Flora was the girl he met nine years ago for the longest time."
Was Toak's role to tease Flora, and Aisha's role to tease me? Aisha shot me a cold, staring gaze as if blaming me.
"I just couldn't easily connect the little girl I met nine years ago with Flora."
Besides, due to my profession as an adventurer, I had traveled to many different villages. Back then, I was somewhat detached when it came to connections with people.
"Heh, and why is that?"
"Why is what, Aldo?"
When I answered like that, Aisha and Toak both leaned forward in unison.
You guys are saying that knowing full well, aren't you? What a mean-spirited personality you have.
Flora, sitting next to me, also seemed curious, looking up at me with an expectant gaze.
"...I-I just didn't think she would grow up to be such a beautiful woman."
When I said that while letting my gaze wander, Flora's face instantly turned red, and Aisha and Toak let out satisfied sounds of "Haha—."
How could I have connected the girl I met nine years ago with such a beautiful woman? Her height and way of speaking were different from the past, and I didn't think Flora herself would remember me.
"Honestly, from my perspective as someone who knew, it was beyond frustrating."
Aisha poured honey into her tea while watching me and Flora being embarrassed.
Being Flora's childhood friend, it seemed Aisha had known all along about our meeting and that Flora had feelings for me.
"So that's why you were surprised when I said I'd been here nine years ago."
"Well, yeah. Thinking about the characteristics I heard from Flora and the timing of your arrival, I couldn't help but think, 'Could it be?'"
When I first met Aisha, she had muttered many cryptic words. At the time, I only wondered about it, but now I understand that Aisha was surprised.
"...If you knew, you should have told me sooner."
"No way. You have no self-restraint. If you knew, you'd definitely meddle and tell Aldo."
"Toak really does lack self-restraint. Even when we were fishing, he was getting so irritated."
"Shut up."
When I jumped in to say that, he made a sour face, seemingly aware of it himself.
Flora, who was next to me, and Aisha also seemed to remember the fishing trip and giggled.
"Even though you were moping about Flora seeing you naked..."
"Wh-!?"
"Fueh!?"
Perhaps because Toak had been hit where it hurt, he suddenly launched a counterattack at me and Flora.
Flora and I reflexively let out startled voices.
To bring that up is cowardly.
Then, as she was about to drink her tea, Aisha grinned.
"Oh, that. So you guys were talking about that too. It was quite an ordeal on this side, you know? She was saying, 'I ended up seeing Aldo-san naked... I don't know what face to make when I see him.'"
"Ah—! Aisha! Please don't say any more!"
Flora leaned forward and reached out her arms to try and stop Aisha's words. However, since Aisha was sitting opposite her, Flora's arms only flailed about in vain.
Because she even did a perfect imitation of Flora's voice from that time, I could easily imagine the scene.
I mean, her imitation of Flora is good...
"She even pleaded with me to share food because she was too awkward to see you."
"Hey, Toak, shut up."
In that manner, Flora and I continued to be teased by Aisha and Toak.
◆
While we were having a lively conversation while being teased in the living room, before I knew it, it was lunchtime.
"By the way, are Aisha and Toak okay for time today? If you are, do you want to stay for lunch?"
"I don't have any particular plans today. I can do my small jobs in the evening."
"Me too."
Aisha answered as if there was no problem, but to be honest, I was worried.
Had she skipped out on work again?
"Are you really okay, Aisha? You're not skipping work again, and your younger sister Ina isn't going to come drag you back?"
"She won't. I properly got permission to be off until the evening today. Can't you tell by looking at my hair?"
When I asked just in case, Aisha pointed to her hair with a somewhat dissatisfied look.
Hair?
As I stared at Aisha's long hair, Toak said with a convinced expression,
"Ah, her clothes and hair are properly done up today. That means Ina approved of her going out and made her dress up, right?"
"Pretty much."
Hearing Toak's words, Aisha puffed out her chest for some reason.
"Honestly, Aisha, you're so beautiful, yet you're so indifferent to fashion."
"It's fine. If I did that every day, it would just be a hassle. More importantly, food. I'm looking forward to Flora's home cooking today."
Perhaps because the conversation wasn't going well for her, Aisha shifted the topic to lunch.
"Oh, Aisha."
Seeing Aisha like that, Flora gave a wry smile.
It was an expression full of maternal affection, like looking at a child who couldn't be helped.
Aisha has beautiful hair color and a good figure. I think she'd be quite popular if she dressed up properly, but she seems to have absolutely no interest.
Well, I was told similar things during my adventurer days, so I can somewhat understand the feeling.
"What's for lunch today?"
"I'm thinking of using the Radish harvested from the field."
It's the harvest season for Radish lately. There's more than the two of us can eat.
An ordinary person would be struggling for repertoire by now, but Flora, who is good at cooking, makes a different dish every time, so I never get tired of it.
"The field... the one Aldo was growing?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Hey now, is it okay? Is it actually growing properly?"
"It's fine. It's really delicious! I'll go harvest some now, so wait here!"
Alright, I'll decide to give Toak a spicy Radish as a souvenir later.
Deciding that in my heart, I headed from the living room to the entrance.
Then, Aisha followed me to the entrance with pitter-patter steps.
"I'll go too. I'd just be a hindrance if I tried to help with the cooking anyway."
"O-Oh."
When she says it so bluntly, it's actually quite refreshing.
While Flora and Toak started preparing the food in the kitchen, Aisha and I changed from slippers to outdoor shoes and headed to the field.
"Heh, it's growing properly, isn't it?"
Aisha voiced her admiration as she observed the field.
"I've been getting help from Flora all the way, though."
"Even so, it's growing beautifully for a first attempt. You took proper care of it, didn't you, Aldo? This sort of thing requires the patience and observation of the grower, so it's not just thanks to Flora. I think you can be proud of yourself."
"...Thank you."
Perhaps it's because Aisha herself knows the hardships of growing things as a grape farmer. I was surprised by her unusually serious words, but I was very happy to be praised for the hard work I put into growing them.
"The carrots, snap peas, and Sheil over here seem to be doing well too."
"Yeah. It'll still take time for them to get big, but they're doing well."
Right now, only Radish can be harvested, but if they continue to grow well, I should be able to harvest other vegetables too. I'm really looking forward to that time.
"But knowing Aldo, I feel like you've missed something here or there. I wonder if there's anything you've overlooked?"
Aisha, perhaps concerned about the state of the vegetables, crouched down and checked the undersides of the leaves in detail.
I checked them with Flora early this morning, so there shouldn't be a problem, but my heart pounded strangely.
"...No problems. Now, let's harvest the Radish."
Relieved to have received a passing grade from Aisha as well, I headed to where the Radish were growing.
"Yeah, they're not cracked, and they've grown beautifully. These look delicious."
Aisha muttered as she checked the bright red bulbs and the lush green leaves of the Radish.
"...Can you tell which ones look spicy? I want to give only the spicy ones to Toak as a gift."
"Mumu, that sounds interesting, but I can't tell. I heard they get spicy depending on the growing environment, but that's not the case here, right?"
When I proposed my plot, Aisha grinned.
This feels more like Aisha.
"Yeah, I feel like there are many sweet ones and a few spicy ones."
"We can't exactly bite into them, so in this case, our intuition and discernment will be important."
"I'm confident in my intuition."
My intuition has been good since long ago, and it served me well in hunting and combat. With my intuition, I should be able to pick out only the spicy Radish perfectly.
"Hmph, me too. I don't want you to underestimate the observation skills and intuition I've cultivated from looking at countless grapes."
Aisha and I looked at each other and laughed, then began pulling up Radish while carefully examining them.