TNZKMA 111

１１１

 

I don’t know when Haruka plans to go but I’ll try asking Saine just in case. That way, we might be able to go together.

Hurrying home with that thought in mind, I found Saine preparing to go out.

 

 

[What’s wrong?]

[I have work today.]

 

 

Suddenly being told that, I gasped. I heard that his work is done this season. Saine prepared his sword, bow and arrow, and even a big axe that he rarely carries with him.

 

 

[Isn’t your work supposed to be over?]

[That’s how it’s supposed to be. You know Katsuya, right? I’ve decided to accompany him in his training.]

 

 

Katsuya is a bodyguard in his third year. He has brown hair and brown eyes, his face is covered in freckles, and he still looks like a child. I think he’s probably around 18 or 19 years old, and he’s a bright and fun guy.

But even I think he might be taking the job of a bodyguard a little lightly. He just has a lot to say.

This is it, you know? The test of a bodyguard that Saine told me about before. They make bodyguards in their third to fifth year who are starting to take the job lightly do slightly dangerous work to get them on their feet. So Saine has become their guardian.

 

 

[Dole was supposed to go with him but apparently his Ceremony has already started.]

[What!? Dole is taking the Ceremony!?]

[Katsuya’s work starts tonight, but Dole hasn’t shown up even though it’s already past noon. When Katsuya went to check on Dole’s house, he found a note stuck in the door. He must have begun the Ceremony early in the morning.]

 

 

A lot of things started moving at once, and my heart started beating hard. Dole was performing a ceremony. I wonder which priests were performing the ceremony.

 

 

[I see…… Dole is doing the Ceremony…… Then it can’t be helped. The Ceremony is more important that work.]

 

 

When I nodded vigorously, Saine smiled and patted me on the head.

 

 

[That’s how it is. All right, I’m off.]

 

 

After finishing his preparations, Saine shouldered his pack. He put his sword and axe on his waist, and his bow and arrows on his back. He also put his cold weather gear, wrapped and tied up, on his back. He put his water bottle on his waist, and the small bottle of dour grass in his pocket.

 

 

[Are you going to the mountain?]

[We’re going to both the forest and the mountain. The best way to go to either place is to gather materials for the Priests. The reward is high, but the danger is also high. And yet, there’s no client who follows us, so I can just protect Katsuya.]

[Olphynn is the only Priest who follows you, after all.]

[He’s an oddball.]

 

 

I saw Saine off until outside. I was surprised at the suddenness, but Katsuya is also a 3-year guard. Since there are 2 guards, it should be much safer than usual.

 

 

[We’re going to the mountains, so it will take about 10 days for me to come back. Don’t cry while you wait.]

[I won’t cry.]

[If you get lonely, go have a party with the old man and the others.]

 

 

Saine laughed and gave me a little hug.

 

 

[Be careful not to hurt yourself.]

[I’ll bring you a souvenir.]

[Yay! I’m looking forward to it.]

 

 

When he’s with clients, he can’t really do whatever he wants. Unless the cate or ras are in their path, he can’t hunt it. The only time Saine brought me a souvenir was on his first job.

But if guards move by themselves, things like that should be fine. i cheered at getting a cate after a long time.

 

 

I used the ingredients for dinner and breakfast for two, the ones that would go bad easily, and ate dinner alone. I ate facing Kyui. I’m not used to this kind of thing. It feels like the temperature in the house has dropped since Saine is gone.

I heat up the bath and go to bed quickly. There’s nothing to do if I stay awake, and since Kyui is asleep, whatever I say will end up sounding like a monologue. I only think about which bed to go to for a moment, and decide to go to the bed where the smell of Saine is still strong. Although, my futon already smells of him as well.

I put the lantern on the floor and sleep. The room is dimly lit until I fall asleep. The basket where Kyui sleeps is next to my pillow, and in the quiet room I can hear it sniffling. I chuckle and close my eyes.

 

 

The next day I’m going to the Reincarnators Association. Maybe Haruka will buy some shrimp and I’ll learn how to make delicious tempura. We’ll need a lot of oil. I usually buy three days’ worth of worms, so I think I’ll use them all at once. That’s what I thought, but it still won’t be enough. “We’ll need this much,” Granny Haru said, shaking the small pot.

The shrimp are big, so Haruka can eat them too. Then I’ll invite Haruka’s husband over and we can all make oil together, which will make things quicker.

 

 

One shrimp might not be enough for four people, so let’s also add vegetables to the tempura. Potatoes and pumpkins would be good.

When I said that, the grannies started talking about what would go well in tempura. Granny Haru insisted that ice cream tempura was tasty. I’ve never tried anything like that. And, is there any ice cream around here?

 

 

The tempura Grandma Haru is talking about is apparently something her great-grandson fed her in her past life.

That’s nice. Ice cream tempura? Just imagining it sounds delicious. It’s really a good thing to live a long life.

 

I’ve eaten steamed shrimp, and then fried them, and I wonder what’s next. When Saine comes back, I’ll ask him to take me there. Yesterday was so sudden that I forgot, but I’ll ask him when he comes back. I think Saine will take me.

It may be conceited, but I think Saine cares about me. He likes me… or so I think. He never says it, though.

 

 

I stop in my tracks and think.

Who was it that told me they loved me, in my past life and in this one?

When I think about it carefully, no one comes to mind. He won’t say it, but I know that Haruka feels that way. So, he must like me. As a friend, of course.

 

 

The person who loves me the most…… might be Saine. I believe, that’s probably the case. 

He doesn’t say it, but I guess I’ll have to make do with that vibe. Because, other than Saine, there’s no one who puts me first.

 

 

A nostalgic scene came to my mind. When I was still little and playing at kindergarten or nursery school, parents would come to pick us up. When my friends who I was playing with saw their parents, they would cheer, drop their toys and run towards them.

It was the same for moms and dads, and the parents would hold their children tightly. When their children said “I love you,” the parents would reply “I love you too.” I was so jealous of that.

 

 

I smile and start walking. There are good and bad things about remembering the past.

I stayed at the Reincarnators Association for too long today. Looking up at the sky, I see a faint red sunset. The color is similar to the sunset in my previous life. I don’t like this time of day the most.

 

 

In the evening, their parents would come to pick them up. Whether we were playing at kindergarten or the park, their parents would come to pick them up and take my friends home. I was left alone, watching my friends’ backs as they walked home holding hands with their parents. Sometimes I’d watch them being carried home.

If I had told my mom that I liked her, she’d probably laugh at me and call me stupid. If I had told my dad, he’d probably have called me gross and pushed me.

I knew all too well that’s why I didn’t say anything.

 

 

You can’t go home from nursery school unless your parents come to pick you up. I was always left alone, causing trouble for the teacher. The teacher was also the only one who stayed behind and would hang out with me.

I remember playing parent-child with the teacher when everyone was gone at nursery school. I would come running towards her, and I would run towards her, asking her to hold me in her arms.

The teacher was young and kind at the time. She would join in on my play time, over and over again. As the teacher held me tight, I would whisper to her that I loved her. She heard me clearly and said I love you back.

 

 

I let out a “Ah” and stopped.

What? I have. I’ve had the experience of being told I was loved. That’s good. Even one would be fine. I mean, one is enough.

Okay, okay. I nodded and started walking.

It’s better to have memories after all. Good memories are sleeping soundly. He might not say anything out loud, but I’m sure he cares for me and loves me. As for words, Teacher’s “I love you” is enough.

Cheered by the memories I could remember, I ran home.