Not a Bad Countryside Life
Miracca spent the night in the room we had prepared as a guest room.
"Sleeping alone feels so lonely... Elina, why don’t we sleep together tonight? It’s been a while."
"We’ve never slept together before!"
"What? But back then, you used to so passionately seek my body..."
"Please stop! Senior might get the wrong idea!"
The atmosphere had been on the verge of turning somber, but Miracca, perhaps sensing it, lightened the mood with a perfectly timed joke (?). Or maybe she just wanted to tease Elina. Either way, the day ended on a bright note.
◇◇◇
The next morning.
As usual, Elina and I woke up before dawn to help the villagers with their farm work. Unaware of this, Miracca, hearing the noise, came out of her room.
"Sorry, did we wake you?"
"I’m used to waking up early, but what are you doing at this hour? It’s not time for patrols, is it?"
"We’re heading out to help with the fields."
"T-The fields?"
Miracca repeated the word, unable to grasp Elina’s meaning. A typical reaction for a knight.
"You can take your time getting ready, Miracca."
"No, I’ll come too. Let me just get prepared—go ahead without me."
"A-All right."
I was surprised. I never expected Miracca to willingly volunteer for farm work.
Elina and I left the station as usual and headed to the fields. By the way, our own little plot—though just a home garden compared to the villagers’ farmlands—was growing well, and I planned to tend to it later.
Bit by bit, the crops were maturing. In a few more weeks, we’d have tomatoes and bell peppers. I also needed to collect eggs from the chickens.
About thirty minutes into our work, Miracca arrived at the fields, looking eager.
"All right, leave everything to me!"
Her enthusiasm was great, but knowing how physically demanding harvesting could be, I decided to have her carry the harvested vegetables instead. After all, we’d be traveling a long distance to the royal capital soon.
Meanwhile, I focused on the harvesting, breaking a sweat. After over a month here, I had gotten considerably better at it—even I could tell. Since knights rarely used these muscles, it had been tough at first.
I efficiently gathered the crops while Elina packed them into boxes. Miracca was in charge of transporting them to the designated area. It was monotonous yet exhausting work, but she didn’t complain once, diligently carrying out her task. Before long, beads of sweat were rolling down her forehead.
"How’s your first farm work experience, Miracca?"
"It’s much harder than I imagined... Do they do this every day?"
"Yeah. Harvesting is done in the morning, but there’s a lot of other work, so it’s an all-day thing."
"That’s impressive. I think I’ll remember today every time I eat vegetables from now on."
"Haha, I felt the same way."
We take vegetables for granted, but it’s thanks to the farmers’ hard work that they make it to our tables. I never used to think about that before.
As the sun rose and the surroundings brightened, our work came to an end.
"Good job, Miracca."
"You too. Doing this every day... it might make for a good new kind of training."
"Elina and I only do a small part of it. The villagers work on even more demanding tasks, taking only a short midday break and continuing until dark."
"They must have amazing stamina. If Vice-Commander Bellows were here, I bet he’d try to recruit them all."
Now that she mentioned it, Vice-Commander Bellows was passionate about training young knights. He often visited my master’s dojo, scouting talented young fighters. That’s how I was discovered and brought into the knight order.
As we talked, the villagers gathered around Miracca.
"Thank you for helping today."
"Oh, I didn’t do much—I wasn’t much of a help at all."
"No, no, just having the willingness to help means a lot."
An elderly villager spoke, and the others nodded in agreement.
After the farm work, we returned to the station.
"You’re heading back to the royal capital, right?"
"Yes. But first, I need to meet up with Gary."
"Gary, huh... Is he doing well?"
"As lively as ever. Honestly, I wish he’d tone it down a bit and calm down."
"Haha, no doubt."
After some small talk, I saw Miracca off as she gathered her belongings.
"Thanks for everything. I had a great time."
"We should be the ones thanking you."
We shook hands, hoping to meet again.
"Take care on the road."
"Don’t worry. Even if ten monsters attack, I’ll just wipe them out."
"!? Y-You heard that!?"
Watching their exchange, I couldn’t help but feel that these two had gotten closer. Back in the capital, they probably didn’t interact much, but now, their bond seemed to have strengthened. It’s always good to see seniors and juniors getting along.
"Well, I should get going."
With a wave, Miracca left Curtis Village.
Hopefully, we’ll meet again with smiles on our faces.
What do you think about this chapter?
