CH 54

It was past noon when they reached one of the peaks of the Twin Mountains.

“Ohh, what a nice view. There aren’t many trees around here, so we can really get a good look.”

Said Xena as she looked around, admiring the view from the top of the mountain.

“It’s past noon already, so let’s have lunch here. It feels like a great place to have a meal.”

“Yes, let’s take a break before we start looking for medicinal herbs. Looking for them doesn’t look like it’s going to be easy.”

Said Celia as she looked surveyed the ground in the peak of the mountain.

The whole area was covered in grass and flowers.

Because there were no trees, that area was like a beautiful flower garden, but it was hard to see it as such when they thought about having to look for medicinal herbs in it.

Celia had some knowledge about medicinal herbs, and knew very well how difficult it would be to find them there.

She did look into the herbs they would be collecting before they left, but could not see a single one as she looked around.

All looked the same, which made them very difficult to tell apart.

Since it was a rare herb, there was always the chance that they would not find any.

(The field is not that big, so myself and Theo should be done in about an hour. No, there’s a good chance that I might overlook something, so maybe I should leave this to Theo…)

Thought Celia.

“Ah, I found it.”

“Already? That’s our Theo.”

“…Eh?”

Theo pointed to an herb near him, invalidating all of Celia’s concerns.

He found another one as they moved somewhere with a nice view to sit down and eat, and yet another one as he prepared their lunch.

As Celia looked at these herbs, she could not see how they were different than the rest.

By looking at them very closely and very carefully, she could see slight differences in color and shape, but could not comprehend how anyone could possibly notice this while working on something else.

Thanks to Theo’s incredible herb picking ability and luck, their business on the first mountain was over.

“…You really are great at this Theo.”

“Thank you very much. I’m glad they were so easy to find.”

It was a little disappointing for Theo, who was fired up and ready to give it his all, but Celia was too impressed for words.

They rested as they had lunch.

“Are you tired Theo? It must be hard having to be the one to cook every time.”

“Sorry for always relying on you. Should we cook the next meal?”

“N-no no! This is pretty much all I can do, and you’re probably tired from all the fighting too, so it’s fine!”

Theo wanted them to rest after fighting the bandits and the monsters they encountered on the way, but also felt like he wanted to help in any way he could, since he could not fight.

However, fighting monsters and bandits was not that tiring for Xena and Celia, and Helvi took over the fight against the one opponent that would have given them a real fight, so they were not very tired.

“Hmm, if you say so… Your cooking is a lot better than ours anyway.”

“If you need help don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Thank you, but Helvi helps me, so it’s fine.”

“Yes, of course. I am your wife after all.”

Said Helvi, who was sitting next to Theo. He thanked her as his cheeks turned red.

Theo was still embarrassed by this sort of thing. Would he ever get used to it?

For Helvi, who enjoyed seeing him like that, it would be preferable if that day never came.

“Be sure to say something if you get tired too, Helvi. I-it’s a husband’s job to… Heal his wife too…!”

“…Yes, thank you.”

Said Theo as his face became even redder.

Helvi managed to prevent it from showing on her face, but her mind was in disarray.

(H-hum, wife… That sounds good. I have heard it before but still… Good.)

The couple was too embarrassed to look each other in the eye, and the two women whose time without a boyfriend matched their ages did not find it very amusing.

They liked watching Theo being cute, but not so much the couple fooling around in front of them.

Xena looked on with a sour look, until she suddenly remembered something and grinned.

“Then how about you give Helvi a massage Theo?”

“Wha…!?”

“Eh? M-massage…?”

“Yes yes, you’re good at giving massages.”

They had discovered Helvi’s weak point the previous night.

Her body was so sensitive, a simple massage was enough to tickle her into being unable to contain her voice.

Theo did not notice this, but Xena and Celia were present, and knew about her weak point.

So, while under the pretext of healing Helvi, they proposed something that was more akin to a little prank.

“W-well…”

“Oh Xena, that’s a very good idea coming from you. Theo gives good massages, so you should let him give you one, Helvi.”

Celia caught on to what Xena was doing, and provided support with a big smile on her face.

In their minds however, their smiles were not so nice.

(Y-you two…!)

Obviously, Helvi could see this.

(Ooh, she’s here. Come on Helvi, don’t you want to feel good again?)

(Well, I’m sure Helvi doesn’t even know if she’s feeling good or ticklish.)

(…When this trip is over, you are going to pay for this, and that includes what happened last night.)

She could not make them experience the hell that was her punishment in front of Theo, but Helvi decided she would without a doubt get them back for that.

Xena and Celia, oblivious to how terrifying that was, continued teasing her.

“Y-you don’t know this, but it doesn’t look like Helvi deals with massages very well…”

Theo said as he remembered the previous night.

He thought back to how he felt a little strange, seeing Helvi like that for the first time, and became embarrassed.

“Oh, really. Is that so Helvi?”

“That’s surprising. So even you have things you’re not good with.”

They said with a monotonous tone while grinning.

The pair that still did not know what was coming to them felt good about getting one over on Helvi.