CH 234

Chapter 234 : Harvest Festival

A few days have passed since we went hunting Arrow Dodging Birds on the other side of the river, and today is the day of the harvest festival.

The villagers gather in the village square a little later than usual on the day of the harvest festival because there will be no morning market. Instead, everyone brings food from their home for them to eat together in the village square.

Those who don’t usually produce food usually cooperate by providing materials and labor for the event.

Because not many people produce food in this village, some villagers need to go hunting to increase the number of food for the festival.

That’s why Deel took us to hunt Arrow Dodging Birds a few days ago.

Speaking of food, I was thinking of offering my cucumbers and mayonnaise since I produce them, but then I thought serving my cucumbers and mayonnaise like usual would be no fun. Since it’s festival, I wanted to make my cucumbers unique.

Therefore, I was thinking of replacing mayonnaise with a special seasoning for the festival, so I asked Ester’s dad, Miguel-san, to help me make a new seasoning for my cucumbers the other day.

Even though I asked him all of a sudden, Miguel-san kindly accepted my request and completed a perfect seasoning for my cucumbers in no time.

I expect nothing less from a professional chef. I think his cooking skills are on par with my dad’s.

Using the special seasoning made by Miguel-san, I marinated the cucumbers in a container for about half a day.

After that, I put bamboo skewers into the cucumbers for people to hold while eating.

They’re like skewered pickled cucumbers that I’ve seen at a stall in my previous life.

Before I brought the pickled cucumbers to the village square, I asked Nicola and Ester to try them and tell me their thoughts.

「Mmm~ It’s sour but it’s refreshing at the same time! It’s really good! Mark, I think everyone will like it! No, they will definitely like it!」(Ester)

「Yummy~!」(Nicola)

I thought there was no problem with my pickled cucumbers since I tasted them first, and as I expected, Nicola and Ester seemed to like them a lot.

After confirming their reactions, I closed the lid of the earthen container where I stored the pickled cucumbers and put it in my Item Box.

「Onii-chan, I want another one!」(Nicola)

「You can have more later when we get to the village square.」(Mark)

「Eeehhh…」(Nicola)

「Miguel-san, thank you for the seasoning. It was perfect.」(Mark)

Nicola and I are currently in Ester’s house.

We were planning to go to the festival in the village square together with Ester.

「No problem. You always give us delicious vegetables, so I’m happy that I can repay you even a little.」(Miguel)

As Miguel-san smiled kindly while saying that, Stina-san teased me.

「You can always take Ester as a bonus if you want~」(Stina)

「U, Umm…」(Mark)

「Hey, Stina! Mark, I’m sorry but I can’t give you my precious daughter yet!」(Miguel)

「A, Ahaha…」(Mark)

「Geez! Mom, Dad, stop it! You embarrass me!」(Ester)

Being yelled at by Ester, Stina shrugged and smiled wryly while Miguel-san sighed and shook his head.

「Hahh… Anyway, you guys can go to the village square now.」(Miguel)

「We will come later~」(Stina)

「”We”? Mom, you will come too?」(Ester)

「Yup!」(Stina)

「But I think you better stay at home.」(Ester)

Ester looked at Stina’s swollen stomach. She was worried about the condition of her mom and her younger sibling who hasn’t been born yet.

Seeing Ester’s worried face, Miguel-san talked to her as he put his hand on Stina’s shoulder.

「I told her so too but she didn’t listen. But don’t worry, I’ll protect your mom.」(Miguel)

「We’re going to go on a date for the first time in a while, so don’t mind us~ I’ll be with him all the time, so I’ll be fine.」(Stina)

「A date? Hee~」(Ester)

Ester glanced at her dad and smirked.

「W, Well… You see… We rarely go on a walk together lately, so…」(Miguel)

Miguel-san scratched his cheek with his index finger shyly.

They already have a daughter, but they still look like newlyweds somehow.

While looking at the married couple, Nicola talked to me with telepathy.

『Onii-chan, I wonder how Mama and Papa are doing at home right now…』(Nicola)

She doesn’t look like it but she must be homesick. Honestly, I miss home too…

『I’m sure they’re doing fine. They’re a lovey-dovey couple after all, just like these two.』(Mark)

『You’re right… After the festival, let’s go to Celine’s house at noon and talk to Mama and Papa with the Resonance Stone.』(Nicola)

『Alright. But before that, we should enjoy the festival.』(Mark)

『Of course! My tummy is ready to devour all the food there!』(Nicola)

Saying that, Nicola smirked. She probably imagined herself eating all the food she can find at the festival.

「A, Anyway, you children can go now and enjoy the festival!」(Miguel)

「Fufu. Okay~! Let’s go, Mark, Nicola!」(Ester)

「Un!」(Nicola)

I nodded to Ester and helped her load the cart in the kitchen with the food that Miguel-san had prepared.

After that, Nicola and I followed Ester who went outside through the backdoor while pushing the cart. We then headed to the village square together.