Ch.161Friendship in Abundance, a Spoonful of Affection

The unexpected aftermath of the vinegar drinking incident was only calmed after cleansing my mouth with Jessica’s Clean Up and rinsing with black coffee.

It was an event that reconfirmed that magic is invincible and Jessica is a goddess.

After somehow finishing our meal, we ate the remaining apples for dessert while chatting about various things.

Like how we fought the monster wild boar in the White Rabbit Tribe’s forest, or what effects the raw ingredients of Abundant Cream actually had.

Naturally, the topic of our next destination came up.

“By the way, what’s our next checkpoint?”

“The third checkpoint is a place called Hopmill Farm, a quiet rural farm with a large windmill and vast wheat fields.”

“They built a farm more than a hundred kilometers away from the city?”

“It was the only place along the southern bypass that had both suitable cultivation land and ley lines. It’s quite important as a food production site for the central region.”

A wheat farm… food supply is certainly a critical issue.

Especially since the area around Atelier seemed to have little arable land due to toxic swamps, so it makes sense to effectively utilize any fertile soil they’ve found.

“There’s a mysterious ancient ruin in the hills west of Hopmill Farm. Uncovering its secrets is our immediate goal.”

“Mysterious ancient ruins?”

“The ruins near Ambers Ranch were an ecological research facility, the ones at Evernight Mountain were religious facilities, and underground in Korkas Mine were ancient human remains. But the ruins west of Hopmill Farm don’t have any clues about their purpose.”

“So if there’s an Arcane Word in those ruins, we might be able to figure out what they were used for.”

While we’ve been happily collecting Arcane Words from dungeons and ruins, some of them have value as information beyond just treasure.

Like the word “Armedia” we found at Evernight Mountain.

“Based on our experience so far, I think there’s a high probability that Arcane Words are hidden in those ruins. And judging from the attitudes of the Gentleman and Anastasia, I think uncovering information about ancient Grantis might be more important than artifacts or magical tools.”

“True… there’s definitely an atmosphere suggesting some great secret is hidden, but I got the feeling they can’t teach us anything unless we gather more information ourselves.”

“I agree. It would be nice if we could get something substantial from these ruins.”

After chatting about various things and finishing our dessert, we cleaned up and went to bed for tomorrow’s journey.

The temperature was quite chilly due to the continuous rain, but thanks to the body heat of the women lying close to me, I could sleep comfortably and warmly.

The next morning.

I woke up before the Repellation Field’s alarm effect went off and carefully slipped out of the tent so as not to wake the other three. After washing my face and brushing my teeth by the campfire, I stretched widely.

The persistent rain seemed to have stopped during the dawn, and the morning air filled my lungs with just the right humidity and freshness.

“Oh? You’re up early?”

“Ah, Mina. Good morning.”

Mina, with her hair still untied, came out of the tent, spotted me, and approached waving her hand.

Judging from the moisture still on her face and hair, she must have just washed up and changed clothes.

“How are you feeling now?”

“I’m fine. There was nothing wrong when I got checked at the Archmage’s Tower, remember?”

“That’s good then. Are you hungry? Should I prepare breakfast?”

“It’s okay. Let’s eat together when everyone’s up.”

“How about some coffee then?”

“Sure.”

I climbed into the wagon’s luggage compartment with Mina and took out my crafting tablet to prepare coffee for two.

It’s a bit disappointing that the only option is Americano with sugar. Things like milk would spoil quickly if we carried them around.

“Ahh… warm coffee in the morning is nice.”

“Especially after last night’s rain made it a bit chilly.”

The luxury of morning coffee while traveling.

It would be perfect with toast spread with strawberry jam and fried eggs, but unfortunately, we don’t have jam, bread, or eggs prepared.

While I was briefly pondering what to prepare for breakfast today, I felt Mina staring at my face.

“What?”

“Hmm, no matter how I look at you, your face isn’t handsome enough to be surrounded by three women.”

“That’s harsh to say first thing in the morning. But I’m not that bad, am I?”

“You’re not bad. Actually, objectively speaking, I’d say you’re on the good side. Yeah.”

Mina took a sip of her coffee and looked at the campfire burning outside as she spoke.

“…About what I said in the hospital room.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Since when? When did I stop being a ‘burden’?”

“Well… it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when.”

When we first met, she definitely seemed like just a child, and even when she officially joined us at Blackforge Mine, I only thought of her as a genius engineering girl.

I can only explain that being able to treat her as an equal comrade, a reliable party technician, and a friend with matching interests was the result of the bond we cultivated through adventuring together.

“To be honest, I wasn’t really thinking of you as a ‘woman’ yet. Rather, you felt more like a female friend with similar interests.”

“Ah, I get that. I also felt we had surprisingly similar tastes when talking about guns and magical tools.”

It was enjoyable watching Mina contemplate what to create whenever we got our hands on new artifacts or magical tools.

And Mina, for her part, liked hearing my stories about convenient items and interesting toys from Earth.

“You felt like a mischievous junior I could be comfortable with, but when such a person becomes conscious of me and uses a potion to make her breasts bigger, then ends up in the hospital, of course I’d be concerned.”

“Eh~ So you did like big breasts after all…?”

“I told you that’s not it.”

As I raised my left hand that wasn’t holding the coffee cup, Mina flinched and hunched her shoulders, bracing for a chop, but instead of chopping her, I gently stroked her head.

“I’m sorry. For saying things that trampled on your pride as a woman from our first meeting. And for hitting your head all the time.”

“It’s okay. I know how my body appears to men of other races. And the teasing followed by the chops felt like a back-and-forth that was fun.”

Mina, quietly letting me stroke her head, leaned her head slightly toward me.

A moment of silence followed.

No words passed between us, only the sound of sipping coffee reached our ears.

“…You know. I honestly don’t really understand romance.”

Only after emptying her coffee cup did Mina speak in a small voice.

“When I look at the others, I think it must be really nice? Since I’m also a woman in my prime, I’m somewhat interested in romance, and I think I understand why it feels good and tingly just being close like this.”

“But?”

“I don’t think I can be with you in that honey-dripping atmosphere like the others… I’m happy that you see me as a woman, but I prefer the comfortable relationship we’ve had until now.”

I’m starting to get a sense of what Mina wants to say.

She mentioned that dwarf men and women grow up so casually together that they rarely get swept up in romantic feelings.

In other words, for Mina as a dwarf, the distance with men is premised on a casual relationship like childhood friends of ten years, and if their bodies happen to overlap by chance, they might go straight to marriage.

She feels a kind of resistance or hesitation about developing into a sweet and sensual relationship like Jessica, Seti, or Phyllis.

“So basically, you’d rather pursue friendship than romantic affection with me?”

“I-if possible, maybe just a tiny taste of the affection side too…?”

“I understand. If that’s what you want.”

Even while talking about friendship over affection, Mina’s head with the empty coffee cup shows no sign of leaving my shoulder.

It might seem indecisive, but I can somewhat guess why Mina decided to take this approach.

She’s curious about romance and wants to taste a bit of the sweetness that comes with it.

But she doesn’t have the mental fortitude to endure the lovey-dovey atmosphere unfamiliar to dwarves, nor does she want to dramatically change our relationship.

The position she’s chosen to catch both rabbits is a relationship that’s more than friends but less than lovers, with just the tip of her toes dipped into the “something more” territory.

“Hey. Can I stay like this a little longer?”

“Of course. This much is within the bounds of friendship.”

“Right? Hehehe…”

Mina laughs awkwardly and burrows a little deeper into my arms.

A refreshing scent wafts from her sparkling silver hair.

‘What a cute one…’

It’s like the innocent hesitation of a childhood friend character afraid that confessing might ruin the relationship they’ve had until now.

If that’s the distance Mina wants, I don’t think it’s bad to play along with this subtle friendship game for a while.

…Though it does give me an uneasy feeling like I’m secretly cheating on my three girlfriends.