CH 8

“The weather is really nice today, isn’t it? I’m glad we came out.”

Stretching and looking up at the sky, I said to the man who was sitting with his head lowered in the cart. Between his shimmering white hair, his reddened ears could be faintly seen as he nodded slightly.

“Yes, it’s really nice.”

“If you think so, I wish you had taken a look at the scenery. Did I embarrass you by carrying you with the cart?”

It must have been really embarrassing for him. However, I had no choice but to take him this way since he couldn’t even take five steps on his own. I had been consistently giving him elixirs… but I didn’t know if they were effective or not. However, he did have more energy and a healthier complexion, like he himself said, so maybe he was just a naturally weak person.

He sighed after a long pause in response to my question.

“Well, there’s that… but um, also your attire is a bit…”

“Attire? Clothing?”

What could be wrong with me wearing a T-shirt and jeans? They weren’t even shorts.

At first, I tried to wear shorts, but I remembered that in novels, women never expose their legs. I deliberately chose longer ones, considering his embarrassment when I gave him the T-shirt…

As I raised my head momentarily in response to my question, our eyes met. He sighed once again. Even his cheeks were as red as ripened strawberries.

“Well… the silhouette is too revealing. It clings too tightly from the thighs to the ankles…”

“Ah.”

“Moreover, there are tears all over, really, there’s nowhere to look…”

“Then, were the pants I had been wearing until now okay?”

“Yes, those were fine. The silhouette wasn’t visible, and it didn’t reveal anything.”

“Wait a moment. I’ll change quickly and come back.”

If it was embarrassing to the point where he couldn’t even look at my face, it would be better to change. Moreover, I was starting to feel embarrassed just by being seen. Luckily, it was before departure, so I secured the cart and quickly ran back to the house.

After changing into my usual overalls, I came out onto the road and the man who had been sitting on the cart was smiling.

“I’m sorry. I caused unnecessary trouble.”

“It’s not that much trouble. Well, since it’s a rare occasion, let’s talk about what’s uncomfortable for each of us.” As I pushed the cart along the path adorned with stones and flowers, I said so.

Watching the man’s shoulders, which had somewhat shrunk as I held onto the handle behind him, I remembered the time when we both got drenched in water.

Back then, I had carried him here this way in a hurry. The man, who was crouching in the corner of the cart, glanced back slightly and shyly nodded. I don’t know if it was because of the mood, but today, there was no sense of caution or distance from him at all.

Thud, thud.

The sound of the wheels turning was mixed with the sound of the waves coming from a distance. The man, who had pretended to be uninterested when I spoke yesterday, looked around as if enchanted.

It was fortunate that he looked happy… but under the sunlight, he was so handsome that it was almost intimidating. Honestly, with just his face alone, he could make a living.

While pushing the cart steadily, my gaze remained fixed on the man’s sculpted profile, and our eyes met.

Feeling shy, I quickly turned my head and pointed to a hill from which a sweet scent wafted. Then, in a slightly awkward manner, I exclaimed, “Um, over there! The giant… something we talked about yesterday?”

“Hogweed, you mean?”

“Yes, that’s it! I thought there might be a similar plant, so take a good look.”

“Well, it might cause some trouble.”

“What? What’s the problem?”

“Oh, never mind. Forget about it.”

“…?”

His response was a bit evasive. I thought it might be a herb since he mentioned having a headache and needing it. Could it be that even that was a poisonous plant?

I was curious, but seeing his avoidance, I gave up on prying for answers. I’ll ask him later when we become closer.

We traversed the winding path and finally arrived at our destination. There, pastel-colored flowers were seen blooming on the green grass.

“What do you think? Aren’t they beautiful?”

No matter how many times I saw it, the fantastical scenery made me proud.

I specifically created this place to release fireflies. Currently, only spring flowers were in full bloom, but when summer and autumn arrived, the seasonal flowers I had planted would bloom on its specific season. On the first day of spring, my tradition was to sow new flower seeds on this hill.

During winter, all the flowers I had previously planted would wither, so I had to replant them in spring. However, that was not a difficult task. In fact, I enjoyed planting various flowers each time.

At the excitement in my voice, the man faintly smiled.

“I see. This garden, carefully cultivated by you, is more beautiful than the gardens of noblewomen or the glass conservatories of palaces.”

There it was, a romance fantasy novel line. Noblewomen and palaces. Somehow, it made me flutter. Of course, I didn’t show it outwardly. But the way he casually said such things made me wonder if he was indeed from a high-class background.

Marquises, dukes, crown princes, emperors. I recalled the typical status of male leads in novels. However, observing him say such things nonchalantly, I wondered if he truly held a high status.

While thinking about these things, I parked the cart under a tree. I spread the blanket I had brought on the grass and took out the packed lunch.

The man glanced around with a vacant expression.

“Did you manage all these flowers by yourself, Miss Yuri?”

“Well, it’s more like letting them grow on their own rather than actively managing them. At first, I used to water them one by one, but now there’s a sprinkler system installed.”

“A sprinkler… system?”

“Yes, it automatically waters the plants when the soil gets dry. Do you see that circular thing on the ground over there?”

In romance novels, science often replaced magic. Perhaps that was why the man showed such an intrigued expression, following my finger.

The sprinkler system became available from the second year of spring. However, I removed them as I like watering it myself.

Now, the only one remaining was here. I had considered removing everything on the hill as well out of boredom, but I stopped because I thought it would be difficult to come and water this vast land every day.

After unpacking the packed lunch, I spread a mat on the grass and took out the plates, forks, and drinks. I dusted off my hands and stood up. The sound caught the man’s attention, and he quickly looked up.

“I’ll go get down myself.”

“You have a keen sense.”

I had only stood up, yet he knew that I was going to help him down from the carriage. How did he know?

As I sat back down on the mat, the man began cautiously crawling on his knees to take a seat opposite me. The securely fastened cart remained still even as he moved.

I patiently waited for him to come down. And when he settled in next to me, I poured freshly crushed strawberry juice with ice into a cup and handed it to him.

The man, with an exhausted expression, drank the juice and then hesitated before asking me.

“Are you always this… carefree?”

“I’m more inclined to move my body first than to think.”

“No, that’s not what I meant. I meant… that is, embracing and touching a strange man without any hesitation.”

A strange man? I corrected my posture and sat with both legs folded under me, raising my head a bit late. Seeing his pale cheeks flush again, a faint laugh escaped me.

“It’s not like that. It’s just that I feel uncomfortable watching someone in pain and not doing anything…”

“The other person might think it’s useless meddling, don’t you think?”

“Well, was it useless meddling to help?”

I was always in a position where I received help from others. Helping others and meddling like this was something new to me, especially with this man.

But even if he called it useless meddling, I understood. I had said similar things to my family when I closed my heart. Instead of asking for help, the man had asked why I saved him, with the intention of fleeing as soon as possible.

He hesitated as he looked at my face and then replied, “…At first, I thought it was useless meddling, but now I’m not sure. Initially, I thought there was some purpose behind why you saved me…”

“Oh, yes, I remember now. You thought I saved you in order to receive something in return.”

Remembering my first encounter with the man, I casually picked a rice ball and a sandwich from the plate and handed it to him. The rice ball contained not only tuna mayo but also flying fish roe, pickled radish, and soy sauce-marinated chicken nuggets.

Reacting reflexively, he received the plate and lightly prodded the rice ball with his fork. There was a troubled expression on his face.

“Was this made with rice? The ones produced in the Kingdom of Daphne had a strange smell, so I couldn’t eat them.”

Indeed, he was lying about his memory loss, although there was no need to hide the fact. I decided to pretend not to know.

In novels set in the West, rice was often described as rarely produced or tasteless. It seemed like it had to do with the variety being different. But since he had been eating porridge just fine, it should be okay, right?

Thinking that even if he didn’t like it, there was a sandwich available, I shook my head and replied. By the way, the name ‘Daphne’ sounded strangely familiar.

“Yes, rice. But I personally grew it, so it won’t have any smell. The porridge you’ve been eating so far was also made with rice.”

“…Really? Is that true?”

“Yes.”

Was that such a surprising thing? Considering that my taste buds weren’t particularly picky, everything grown and produced on the island naturally tasted good.

The man seemed to hesitate for a moment, then used his fork to take a bite of the rice ball and brought it to his mouth. He savored it for a while, then moved on to the sandwich.

There was no significant change in his expression, but both seemed to suit his taste. While I experimented with various ingredients in the porridge, it would get boring if he only ate one thing.

This time, instead of juice, I poured him carbonated water mixed with lemon syrup. He raised his bulging cheek like a chipmunk and then slightly lowered his head.

Engrossed in the meal, without any conversation, unexpected words suddenly came out of the man’s mouth, “…It’s fascinating. The dishes you made, even more than the medicine you gave me. It have remarkably restorative effects compared to regular food.”

“Huh?”

“Didn’t you realize? The porridge you made for me and these dishes right now, they all contain a strange power that is similar to magic but different.”

“…What?”

What was he talking about? I alternated between looking at the man’s face and the sandwich in his hand, baffled.