episode_0118

Tia went into the kitchen.

It was embarrassing to call it a kitchen, filled with all sorts of miscellaneous items.

This wasn’t Fosao’s doing out of laziness.

Ever since Tia brought me here, the general store’s kitchen had been transformed solely into a space for making medicine.

There was no need to cook anyway. Fosao mostly ate in the lower village and brought back leftovers for Tia.

But now, it was time to cook.

She cleared away the medicine bottles and herbs piled in the kitchen and cleaned it thoroughly.

She took out unused utensils and washed them sparkling clean.

She checked the cooking tools, gripping each one to see if it fit her hand.

She opened the storage room to check what ingredients were there.

She threw away anything rotten or decayed, picking out only what was usable.

Tia pondered over the ingredients.

“Mister likes greasy food, so it should have meat… No. But he eats too much of that, which is why his belly sticks out so much. Should I prepare something a bit lighter?”

Her voice was full of excitement.

Until now, Tia had always cooked thin stew.

It was out of consideration for ‘me,’ who couldn’t chew or move my mouth.

She would feed me a few spoonfuls, and then eat the rest herself.

Of course… eating only thin stew all day long was incredibly difficult.

The only thing Tia could somewhat enjoy was a few pieces of bread that Fosao left over from dinner.

In this situation, her healthy and robust body was noticeably wasting away.

Despite this, she never showed much hardship.

Perhaps Fosao’s request for her to cook was a welcome one.

Now, she, too, could have a proper, delicious, and warm meal.

While she was busy tidying the kitchen, Fosao returned home.

“Tia! H-here’s a gift.”

What he held was an apron.

“For you to use when you c-cook…”

“Oh, thank you!”

“And I b-brought this too.”

He showed her a sack he’d brought from the lower village.

Inside was a pile of butchered pork. The offal was also packed carefully, its freshness permeating.

Tia puffed out her cheeks.

“You only bought pork again.”

“Hehe… B-but there’s nothing else in winter…”

“You eat only meat even when it’s not winter.”

“Nghaa-.”

“It can’t be helped. I’ll cook with this for you anyway!”

Though it was her first time butchering meat, Tia had seen her Aunt Merid do it many times.

With a sharply honed knife, she boned the meat, separating the fat from the lean.

She ground herbs, rubbed them thoroughly onto the meat, and then hung it in the cold storage to dry.

It was a very laborious process.

And so, Tia, who had always sat by my side, began spending more time in the kitchen.

That day, the general store was filled with the smell of roasting pork.

Smelling it, Fosao entered the kitchen.

“D-delicious smell!”

Tia chided him.

“I told you to wait a little and not come into the kitchen, didn’t I?”

“Sorry. I-I couldn’t resist… Can I t-take a closer look?”

“…Fine.”

He pressed close behind Tia.

And, placing his hands on her shoulders, he said,

“Oh… Ohh. This smell… reminds me of the o-old days.”

“The old days?”

“In Goldsburg… when we had meat p-parties. It always smelled like this.”

“Ah…”

“Smells good-.”

Thump.

Fosao took another step closer, bumping against Tia’s backside.

“……”

Tia’s hand, which had been slicing meat, paused for a moment, but then she moved it again.

The sweet aroma of juicy meat flowed out.

Tia said,

“I learned it according to the village traditions, you see. It must be a nostalgic smell for you, Mister…”

“Hehehe. C-can I have a bite?”

“Of course.”

Tia picked up a piece of meat with her fingers.

Supporting it with one hand lest it fall, she put it into Fosao’s wide-open mouth.

At that moment, Fosao closed his lips and sucked on Tia’s finger.

“……!”

“Wow-! Th-this is it! It’s that taste from back then…! Delicious!”

A slightly flustered look flickered in her eyes, but soon her expression brightened again at the outpouring of praise.

“Is it delicious?”

“Mhm! I’ll w-wait until it’s all ready!”

Dishes were placed one by one on the table.

There weren’t many, but the pork alone made for an abundant meal.

Tia untied her apron and said,

“It’s all done!”

“L-let’s eat!”

Clink, clink.

The sound of dishes clinking was heard.

And Tia’s scolding voice, too.

“Eat slowly, Mister. You’ll get indigestion.”

“What w-will we eat tomorrow?”

“Haa- Are you already thinking about tomorrow’s meal?”

If one were only listening. It was a cozy atmosphere, like a meal between an ordinary couple.

But watching that scene, I couldn’t bring myself to smile.

Because I couldn’t bear to see the woman I loved… unknowingly… laughing with that pig-like man who had turned me into this state.

“Ahahaha!”

“Heheheh!”

Time passed.

Tia washed the dishes and gave me my medicine.

Soon it was night.

Tia, freshly washed, lay down before the lingering warmth left her body.

She was closing her eyes, feeling drowsy from the rare feast.

Creak, creak.

She opened her eyes again.

‘That sound’ had started again.

Rustle.

Tia turned over.

Creak, creak.

Fosao’s blatant sound of masturbation made it impossible for her to sleep.

Sure enough, Tia slowly began to get aroused.

“Haa-.”

She put her hand into her pants.

Taking a short breath, she moved her fingers in time with the creaking sound.

But it was only for a moment.

The faint movement of her fingers suddenly stopped.

Tia, furrowing her brow, slowly got up.

And with bleary eyes, she looked up.

Was she going to go upstairs and scold Fosao?

She put her feet on the floor and headed somewhere.

Stumble, stumble.

The place Tia headed was not the stairs.

For some reason, she was coming towards me, lying on the sickbed.

“Haa……”

Breathing heavily, Tia leaned her head against my chest.

Her cheeks and ears were red.

What could be the reason?

I couldn’t tell.

“Ritsu… Forgive me…”

She whispered that once.

Slowly.

She began to lower my pants as I lay there.

In the darkness, a small penis was exposed.

Tia gently grasped it as if she had been waiting for it.

Creak, creak.

The strange sound from the second floor continued.

Tia began to shake my penis.

“Haa… Haa…”

Tia closed her eyes.

She put her other hand into her pants and rubbed herself.

“Hahh…”

Following the man’s masturbation method she had learned from Fosao.

To release her overflowing desire, she had instinctively come to me.

But no matter how much she shook it, my corpse-like body wouldn’t react.

Instead of hardening, it was just a limp mass in Tia’s hand.

“……”

Tia stared blankly at that powerless part of me.

She didn’t speak, but I somehow knew what she was thinking.

Probably.

She was recalling Fosao’s large, hard penis.

The one that had truly shown her what a ‘man’s penis’ was.

Creak, creak.

Right above her head, as if demanding to be heard, ‘that thing’ made a creaking sound.

Thud.

Her excitement seemingly gone, Tia slumped onto my body.

“Just a little more. You just have to wait…”

Tia waited and waited.

Only five days had passed since she sent the letter, but it already felt like five years.

An indefinite wait, with no guarantee of how much longer this time would last.

She herself must have known.

That the more she got used to this life, the greater her fear became.

Fosao was speaking kindly now, letting her stay comfortably in his home.

But what would happen if that time became a month… then a year…?

She had been careful, so careful, yet she had seen embarrassing moments without disguise.

They had seen each other naked in the bathroom.

And tonight, while making dinner, she had felt Fosao’s private part touch her backside.

Tia had quietly let it pass, but such accidental contact must have been increasingly burdensome.

However, there was nowhere else to go.

She couldn’t leave anywhere carrying my stiff body.

If no reply came from the court physician, she might have to live like this forever.

Tia offered a sad smile.

“…Ritsu. You know, when Ritsu wakes up, I’m going to suggest we travel.”

She continued to speak to my ears, which could not hear.

“Even if you say you don’t want to, you can’t. You absolutely have to come with me. Yes, I’ve decided that. When we travel, I’ve already decided where we’ll go first. I’m going to Goldsburg. They say it’s warm there most days, even in the middle of winter. The people are nice too. We’ll find an inn by a river, and there, with Ritsu, we’ll admire the scenery and eat lots… lots of delicious food. How about it? Isn’t that good for our first trip?”

Her red eyes looked at a place she had never been.

“And then let’s go east. There’s a village called Tsarlak. It’s a little far from Rottenban, but I promised those kids I’d visit them again. I’ll go with Ritsu and proudly introduce you as my lover to the kids. They’ll be so surprised, won’t they? Hehe…”

“……”

“Next is Deseo! I don’t know if Deseo will still be dangerous then, but if it’s not, there are lots of sights to show you. The night market is fun, and the festivals are fun. The night view is incredibly beautiful. After enjoying it to our heart’s content—we’ll take a ship from there and go further east! First, Raitain! We’ll see what it’s like outside this continent. There must be strange foods and animals, right?”

Tia, who had babbled on for a long time, finally reached the last leg of her dream journey.

“…And let’s go to the ‘Flower Country.’ The place I saw in the books. They say it’s the end of the world. Beyond it, a vast sea stretches out, and no one has ever been there. Flowers blooming at the end of the world. Isn’t that incredibly beautiful? There… when the journey ends, I’ll tell Ritsu.”

Her delicate fingers swept away the hair that had fallen onto my face.

“……Let’s get married.”

That small voice pierced my heart, watching her.

But neither I, seeing this illusion,

Nor my body, lying on the sickbed,

Could answer.

Slowly.

Tia said, tearfully,

“I truly love you… Ritsu.”

And so, Tia, little by little,

Was burning away her last hope.