Chapter 160 - The Village Square (1)

My golden apple dropped to the ground as Luke shot a precise arrow of mana in my direction. What was his deal this early in the morning? I only wanted to eat an apple.

"My apple," I whimpered.

"I'll wash a new one for you," Luke placed some apples into the pail full of water.

Once the apples bobbed on top of the water, he pulled one out before passing it into my hands. I didn't understand the difference between using purify and washing the apples with water. It was tedious to fill the pail with water from a stone well a few meters away from the house.

"Did you forget what happened last time with the desserts?" Luke sighed.

I bit into the warm juices of the apple gushing into my mouth. I cringed when it tasted bittersweet compared to the fruits in the first district. If the rest of the food tasted the same, this was going to be a hard week to endure.

"Yea, I know," I sighed.

I totally forgot about it since my mind was occupied with our engagement. The incident where I almost regressed back into a child was nearly forgotten. To clear my mind, I dashed out into the large fields that welcomed me inside. I expected no one to be near the house, but I noticed a girl around the same age as us a mile away.

She wore a ragged fall dress with patches sewn around the elbows. Her face was stained with brown dirt as she appeared to be concentrated on a metal blade in her hands. The blade was rusty with red iron as she tried to scr.a.p.e the pieces off with a tiny dagger.

"Do you need help with that?" I heaved from running to her.

"I thought that house was empty," she looked up at me.

"I recently moved in," I explained.

"I heard about a merchant's family moving into the village," the girl recalled.

"What are you doing with the blade?" I pointed.

"I'm repairing it by rubbing it inside the tough mud," she continued to scrub the metal.

"Why don't you buy a new one?"

"Metal is precious and it's rationed to commoners like us. It's incredibly expensive to obtain a decent blade to help with the farm work," she seemed confused why she was explaining this to me.

She continued to scrub the metal until it was rubbed raw as if it was regaining some of its former glory. The dull blade didn't shine, but the rust was almost completely dissolved to the point it was reusable. Her magical hands sharpened the piece with her dagger on the floor beside her until it eventually sparkled under the sun.

It was interesting to see the process of repairing tools. I was so used to fixing things with mana, I couldn't think of a way to fix them by hand. The method was raw, full of sincere hard work mixed with love for the object. My heart thumped from the ancient method carried out in front of me.

I couldn't stop staring as I crouched beside her, waiting for her to add the finishing touches. It was only until I saw wisps of Luke's silver hair from the corner of my eyes, I got up and patted off the dirt on my dress. He looked disapprovingly at my white dress turned into muddy yellow.

"She's amazing how she fixes those metal pieces," I showed off the blade.

"I'm not. I just have a bit more talent than others," she blushed.

"Have you ever thought of helping others repair their tools?" I grabbed onto her hands with excitement.

She shook her head as she looked at her dirty hands full of hard blisters from the hard chores. The healed calluses were a sign of her everyday life compared to my unblemished soft hands that replied on technology. Her skin was tan from working under the sun while mine was porcelain white from being confined indoors.

"You should!" My eyes sparkled.

It would be a win-win! I would be able to interact with more villagers during my time here while Olive would get the push she needed to embrace her ability.

"Well, I don't think they would want my help," she admitted.

"Why not?" I pretended to be upset.

"They think girls should do the chores while looking after the children," she sadly smiled.

"That doesn't mean you should follow it! Lead me to a house that needs your help," I placed my hands on my h.i.p.s.

"I'll support you," I grinned.

"But you seem busy," she cowered under Luke's gaze.

"It's fine, he's always like this," I elbowed his rib.

"Rika," Luke warned me.

"Visiting another house is no big deal," I complained while pouting.

This was a perfect chance to tour the village! I was going to take this chance to buy some meat that my stomach called out. There had to be someplace like a market inside the village. I somehow knew this girl would lead me to the place.

"It's a bit far," she turned to me.

"I'm used to walking," I lied while puffing out my chest.

Maybe I shouldn't have lied about my poor stamina. I ended up needing the support of both the girl and Luke to walk the way there. But, I had no regrets when the dazzling marketplace appeared in front of my eyes.