episode_0083

Whispering.

Vincent, who had heard the whispers, tilted his head.

“…Really? The old Lords are playing secret hide-and-seek?”

“Shhh-. I said it’s a secret.”

A startled Vincent quickly covered his mouth.

The little boy lowered his voice and asked, “The seeker is… ‘bandits with large bows and axes’? I haven’t seen any men like that? Where are they?”

“Right here.”

“…Gasp!”

“They came from Deseo, they say. To catch the Lords.”

“Th-then what should we do? Shouldn’t we stop them?”

“There’s a rule that we can’t interfere. Vincent wants the Lord to win, right?”

Innocent Vincent nodded.

Seeing that he was almost halfway convinced, Tia deliberately made a troubled expression.

“Hmm… I do have a good idea. But Vincent’s role is big.”

“Really? What is it?”

“Can you do it?”

“I’ll do it! I’ll do it!”

“Good.”

The little child was already in her palm.

Tia calmly explained the plan. “First, we make this secret hide-and-seek no longer a ‘secret’.”

“Oh…”

“Then the seekers will be troubled, won’t they? They came all this way to catch the Lords, but if the story spreads, the Lords will also know they’re in danger.”

“That’s right!”

“To do that… we have to secretly spread the story of this hide-and-seek throughout the entire village.”

Vincent’s eyes changed.

He already looked eager to burst out, his mouth itching to tell.

“I’m totally confident! I’m the one who spread the rumor that Ritsu Hyung is a hero! First, I’ll tell all the kids… and Mom too…”

“Yes, yes. I’ll trust only Vincent.”

“Okay!”

She watched the little boy run off, her face hardened.

The sun moved a little more.

After finishing her business in the lower village, Tia returned to Breezedawn.

As soon as she returned, she went straight to the apothecary and made a recovery potion.

She quickly whipped up a bottle, carefully placed it in her herb bag, and headed to Aunt Merid’s house.

Knock knock-.

“Ritsu, I’m here-.”

“Welcome.”

Tia opened the door and entered.

She set down the freshly made recovery potion next to me.

The past me… gulped down that potion without knowing anything.

And with hollow eyes, having just risen from my sickbed, I smiled.

“Haa- Thank you, Tia.”

At that word, “Thank you,” Tia’s face brightened.

“How’s your body?”

“Much better. I think I can even run outside now. It’s all thanks to the medicine you made.”

“Hehe-. That’s a relief! Still, bear with it a little. You need to rest well until you’re completely healed.”

Tia pulled out a Gordburg apple from her herb bag and showed it to me.

It was the apple she had received from Vincent in the lower village.

“Oh, and this. I got some apples on the way here. Want to eat them together?”

“Sounds good.”

I took out my pocket knife and carefully began to peel the apple.

Crunch crunch.

She cleanly sliced off a piece of the beautifully peeled flesh and held it out to me.

“Here, try one! How is it?”

“It’s delicious. It’s incredibly sweet? Where did you get it?”

“Actually, it’s a different kind of apple. It’s not from our village.”

“What? Really?”

“Yeah. They say it’s an apple from Gordburg. I happened to try it once and it was so delicious that I remembered it-. But it just so happened to have arrived in the lower village, they said? So I picked a few.”

“……Ah.”

The past me smiled awkwardly, a blank look on my face.

How foolish.

All I had to do was say, ‘You must have worked hard and are tired, I’ll help you.’

To be standing there with a dumb expression, not knowing anything.

It’s frustrating to no end.

Tia was still smiling.

She cut another apple slice and brought it to my mouth.

“Here, ah-. You eat well-. You must like it.”

“I’ve been getting hungry a lot lately.”

“That’s good news! Hehe-. If I get any snacks, I’ll bring them often.”

The past me asked, “Come to think of it, where were you yesterday?”

“…Huh? Oh. I was at the apothecary the whole time.”

“Making this recovery potion?”

“Yeah. It took some time to make it, probably because it was my first time…”

Those words were both true and a lie.

It was true that she had been at the apothecary during the ‘day’.

But when ‘night’ came… Tia had dug a secret passage to the general store.

Tia grumbled, “At this rate, I really could take over the apothecary-.”

“You could. I mean it. At that level, you’re already an expert.”

At the time, I had said it to flatter her.

Thinking about it now, she really did have expert-level skill.

What novice in the world could make that recovery potion in a single day?

That… would be impossible without innate talent.

“…Ahahaha! I guess so. No matter how long Mushurin is boiled, its roots don’t come off easily. But that also means it has strong vitality. That’s why it’s used in recovery potions.”

“I see!”

Even though I had already read about it and knew everything.

Tia chimed in as if she had just realized it, to match my mood.

That’s when it happened.

A belated realization flashed across her eyes.

“Oh.”

She looked toward the window.

It was well past lunchtime.

“Come to think of it, the time…”

Tia quickly gathered her bag.

“Going already?”

“Ah, yeah. I have to go make more medicine.”

“…Alright. Be careful on your way.”

“Then I’ll come again tomorrow. Bye!”

Clunk.

Contrary to her words about “going to make medicine.”

Tia did not go straight to the apothecary.

……Now I understand.

The reason she hurried out was because she was worried about Fosao, who was hiding in her house.

Her hurried steps headed towards Aunt Merid’s house.

The aunt, who was tidying up the kitchen, frowned.

“……Tia. Did you bring the medicine?”

“Here. I’ve settled the money issue too.”

“Really?”

The aunt looked at her suspiciously, then checked that the medicine was properly there and nodded.

“…Well done.”

“I’m sorry for making you worry.”

“No. It’s fine as long as it’s settled. Have you had lunch?”

“Not yet…”

“Here, there’s a little left, so take it.”

In the basket were a container of stew and a few loaves of rye bread.

Tia picked up one loaf of bread, as she always did.

Then, as if something occurred to her, she hesitated for a moment, then picked up two more loaves.

Seeing this, Aunt Merid asked loudly, “Why are you taking so much bread?”

“Oh… I’m hungry…”

“You always only took one loaf, didn’t you? That’s why I only baked one for you.”

“Th-then I guess there’s nothing I can do.”

In the end, Tia only took one loaf of bread and returned home.

She ran down the hill, entered the password for the wooden door, and opened it.

“Uncle! I’m here!”

She hurriedly opened the door and entered, but a shocking sight unfolded before Tia.

“Uncle!”

Fosao was sprawled on the floor.

A startled Tia helped him up. Unfortunately, he was still breathing.

“Nuhh-.”

“What’s wrong?”

“My, my back hurts…”

From what she heard, he had no choice but to bend his back like a shrimp in the narrow underground storage, and he hadn’t eaten lunch, so he was too hungry and had come up briefly.

But the moment he stepped onto the stairs, he had sprained his back and was in too much pain to move, so he lay on the floor.

Tia was flustered.

“F-first, lie on my bed!”

She helped Fosao onto the bed.

Creak-.

As the heavy body climbed on, the wooden frame sank heavily.

It was the bed’s groan, having supported the feather-light Tia until now, accepting a pig-like weight for the first time.

“And I brought lunch. I’m sorry I’m late.”

“Hungryyy-.”

It was so disgusting it made me want to vomit.

An uncle well over forty was throwing a tantrum like a baby.

Did Tia feel nothing, even seeing such a repulsive sight?

She immediately handed him her own portion of rye bread.

Fosao gobbled down that precious bread in an instant, smacking his lips.

He then devoured the stew as if sucking it down, and set down the container, now empty of even broth.

“Burp-! I-I feel alive again-! Tia, did you, did you eat lunch?”

“……I did.”

A lie.

She hadn’t eaten anything all day.

That’s what Tia said.

“First, please rest here until your back feels a little better, then go back into the storage.”

“H-how long do I, I have to hide?”

“It’s almost over now. It’s not far off… you can wait just a little longer, right?”

“Of, of course! I can even l-live here forever.”

“You can’t do that.”

“Hehehe-.”

Fosao bared his teeth and chuckled at Tia, who was sternly rejecting his joke.

“I’ll make Ritsu’s recovery potion and be back around evening. Please stay hidden quietly.”

“Okay… H-hurry back.”

“Yes.”

Tia went back up to the apothecary.

Time flowed on.

***

The sun set.

Tia returned with a basket of dinner.

As soon as the wooden door rattled open, Fosao sprang out.

“Ti-Tia! I was waiting for you! Hehehe- Hmm, what a fragrant smell.”

“Were you waiting for me, or for the food?”

“Both…”

“Hmph.”

Tia set down the basket.

“Eat. It’s for you, Uncle.”

“Ohh-!”

Fosao began to gobble up the bread as if possessed by a famished pig.

His gluttony was so strong that Tia couldn’t even touch it.

“Were you that hungry?”

“Ughh-.”

“……Hmph.”

It’s strange.

Even though she had almost no food for herself.

Even though she looked utterly exhausted.

Tia just looked at Fosao with a contented smile.

In the end, only about three spoonfuls of meat stew remained. The bread was just a finger-sized crumb.

After eating such a meager meal that wasn’t even enough to be a snack, she washed the dishes cleanly and even cleaned the underground storage.

But her dignified appearance was only for a moment.

Completely exhausted, Tia sat on the floor with hollow eyes.

Fosao, who was lying on the bed, said, “Ti-Tia. You look tired.”

“No. I’m just… a little tired.”

“Did you, you not eat dinner?”

“……”

“What about lunch?”

As if she no longer had the energy to answer, Tia hung her head low.

“Then… did I, I eat your share, Tia?”

“It’s okay. To go hungry for a day.”

“Nghhh-! N-no! I have to, to do something…”

Fosao began to fuss.

He rummaged through the cooking utensils in the kitchen and checked if there were any ingredients.

But there was no way there would be normal food ingredients in a house emptied by making my recovery potion every day.

“Sh-should I go to the general store? Th-there might be something there.”

“It’s fine…”

“I have money, so I-I can somehow…”

“It’s late… I just want to sleep.”

With tired, shuffling steps, she flopped onto the bed.

Fosao, who had been at a loss, suddenly remembered something, grinned, and approached her.

“Th-then, should I give you a massage?”

“I told you it’s late.”

She refused him, feigning firmness.

But Fosao pressed closer instead.

“…Hehe. S-sorry. A massage is the only thing I-I can do right now…”

“Haa-.”

Tia, with her arm placed over her head, let out a deep sigh.

A moment later.

She subtly turned her body, exposing her limbs.

I knew from having seen all her memories from Deseo.

It meant… ‘You may give me a massage.’

“Hehehe.”

Understanding the signal, Fosao immediately reached out his hand to Tia’s body.

Thump. Thump.

My heart pounded madly.

In the dark night, when everyone was asleep.

In the winter air, where pale moonlight fell.

Little by little.

As that thick, dirty hand was about to encroach upon her fair skin.

It happened so suddenly.

Clatter- clatter.

Along with the sudden sound of the wooden door opening.

“……Huh?”

Thump! Thump!

Someone, enraged, was stomping up the stairs into Tia’s house.

“……!”

The situation was so urgent that there wasn’t even time to say “hide.”

As if on cue, Fosao nimbly entered the underground storage, and Tia quickly closed the storage door.

The moment she hurriedly took her hand off the doorknob and turned around.

Bang-!

The main door was violently flung open.

Whoosh-!!

The cold winter wind blew into the room.

The lantern in the intruder’s hand shone brightly, as if to illuminate the entire dark interior.

Terrified, Tia, in a trembling voice,

Called out the intruder’s name.

“……Ruyef?”