Chapter 14
Harvest Festival (3)
The outfit he eventually chose was a black suit that leaned closer to ready-made attire.
“Why do you think ready-made clothes are called that? It’s because they look decent on anyone. Young Master, you must not trust your own fashion sense.”
Aldio’s sharp sting of advice had been effective.
Once he changed, Elric finally realized how atrocious his previous outfit had been. His conviction was only solidified by Tiria’s reaction.
Tiria let out a long sigh of relief.
Elric felt a wave of shame.
At any rate, it was through such a process that they finally made it to the town center.
Elric felt a sense of novelty. Looking back, he hadn’t visited the town square even once since returning to Wibin.
On his first day back, he had only taken the fastest route to the estate. After that, his only two outings had been to visit his father’s grave and the Wibin family estate.
As such, looking at the square now, Elric’s eyes held a mixture of nostalgia and warmth.
“Nothing has changed.”
It was a circular square.
There were no particular decorations like fountains; it was simply a vast, open space surrounded by the most prosperous shops in Wibin.
Even the names of the shops were the same as they were ten years ago.
People passing by on the street bowed politely in greeting.
As Elric waved back to acknowledge them, Tiria spoke.
“The last ten years have been peaceful, so no one has had to give up their spot.”
“Is that so?”
“The only thing that’s changed is that the restaurant over there was handed down to the owner’s son and his wife.”
“……I know that shop.”
“You do?”
“I used to get snacks from there all the time when I was little. The owner had a very booming voice.”
Whenever he would lead the neighborhood children on long play sessions and show up just as they were getting hungry, the owner would shout with a hearty laugh.
‘You little troublemakers! You’re here again!’
Then, he would lead them to a table in the corner and give them sandwiches filled with jam and meat on pre-meal bread. The taste still lingered in Elric’s memory.
It wasn’t exceptionally delicious, but it was warm.
Perhaps it wasn’t the taste, but the warmth of the owner who always treated them with a smile.
Lost in his memories, a smile naturally touched his lips.
Seeing the temporary structures being erected throughout the area in preparation for the Harvest Festival made him feel as if he had returned to his childhood.
As he looked around, Elric’s eyes met Tiria’s.
More accurately, he realized belatedly that Tiria was staring intently at him.
“……Ah, my apologies. We came out here to work today.”
“There is no reason to apologize. It is not as if time is pressing.”
“Haha, then shall we get started? What do I need to do?”
“Supervision. All you need to do is inspect the temporary structures to ensure they are built sturdily.”
Elric nodded, and Tiria began to walk slowly, matching his pace.
There wasn’t much to see. Most of the temporary structures were stalls, and the largest was a campfire the size of a building.
Even after checking the lines drawn on the ground for order and the various decorations celebrating the festival, only two hours had passed.
The work ended quite easily, he thought.
It was just as he made that judgment.
“Now, let us go meet the shopkeepers.”
“Hmm?”
“The shops near the square become particularly chaotic with crowds on the day of the festival. Therefore, we must perform safety inspections in advance.”
It was a reasonable point.
In fact, if he searched his memory, shops used to set up ropes made of twisted straw in front of their entrances when the festival approached.
“You check all of those things?”
“It is only natural, as there must be no accidents.”
How meticulous.
Then again, given his father’s personality, he would have been extremely wary of any unplanned accidents.
Elric nodded.
“Let’s go. I’d like to say hello to the shopkeepers as well.”
Would they still remember me?
That thought crossed Elric’s mind.
The shopkeepers didn’t recognize Elric at first glance.
Even Aldio had been uncertain because of how much he’d changed, so it was only natural.
However, it wasn’t all that disappointing.
Every one of them remembered the Elric of his childhood.
“Hu-hmmm? Are you truly Young Master Elric? The troublemaker of Wibin?”
Elric laughed heartily at the shopkeeper’s words.
His heart was filled with a sense of welcome.
“You remember me.”
“How could I forget? My head still hurts when I think about how many of our shop’s fabrics you ruined!”
Elric flinched at the clothing store owner’s boisterous words.
“D-did I really……?”
“Of course! I remember you bringing all the neighborhood kids here and shouting about siege warfare or something. My…… that troublemaker has grown up to be like this……!”
The shopkeeper wore a fond expression as he reminisced, but Elric couldn’t bring himself to smile.
Now that he thought about it, it felt like something like that had happened.
No, he had definitely caused trouble at least once at every nearby shop, not just here.
Naturally, he glanced at Tiria to gauge her reaction.
As his eyes darted toward her, Tiria remained expressionless.
“What is the matter?”
“……I’m embarrassed. I was a bit of a peculiar child back then.”
“I was aware.”
“Y-you were?”
To think his infamy had reached as far as the Wibin family estate; Elric began to fear his own past.
Meanwhile, the shopkeeper spoke.
“Regardless, it is a pleasure. I heard you had left Wibin, so I am truly glad to see you return!”
“……I will be sure to compensate you for the fabrics I ruined back then.”
“Forget it. I don’t even remember how much it was, and looking back now, the market was only that lively because of you, Young Master.”
The shopkeeper’s face turned bittersweet.
“It’s so quiet these days that I think of those times every now and then. Did you know? Most of the kids who used to cause trouble with you left for the big cities. They left five years ago saying they’d make it big, but they haven’t even thought about coming back…….”
It wasn’t an unusual occurrence.
The invention and development of the steam engine had reduced the sense of distance between cities.
Since travel had become free, it was only natural for young and ambitious children to head for the major cities.
The days of inheriting farm work like in the past were largely over.
“……Well, they do write once in a while. Oh, do you remember Lytton? Your right-hand man.”
“How could I ever forget him?”
“I heard he became a knight.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes, he’s the pride of Wibin. Lytton’s father still goes around bragging about it so much, honestly…….”
Elric felt a surge of joy at the shopkeeper’s words.
‘We’re going to be knights! The best Royal Knights in our kingdom!’
‘Yeah! I’ll follow you anywhere, Boss!’
Ah, that’s right.
He was the friend with whom he had shared the dream of becoming a knight.
Thinking back, wasn’t he a friend who had a good physique and strong power, enough to become a knight whenever he wanted?
‘You achieved your dream.’
It was a relief.
Unlike himself, who had become a war mercenary, his friend had fulfilled his dream.
“Head of the family.”
Tiria spoke.
“The safety inspection is complete. Let us move on to the next shop.”
“Ah, right.”
It seemed she had finished all the work while they were talking.
Feeling sheepish, Elric spoke to the shopkeeper.
“Then, I shall visit again.”
“Please come by whenever you need clothes made.”
“Yes, I’ll do that.”
After saying their goodbyes and leaving the shop, they visited quite a few more stores.
The last place they arrived at was the restaurant where he used to get free food.
The owner had changed, but it was still someone he knew.
“Elric? You’re Elric?!”
He couldn’t help but know; the son who had inherited the shop was Elric’s friend.
“This is crazy! You really came back!”
His name was Bart. He was the one who was always the supply soldier in their games of war, and the quick-witted guy who was the first to run away whenever they caused trouble.
Encountering an old bond once again, Elric embraced him.
What followed was chatter. No amount of reminiscing was ever enough.
The feeling of joy showed no signs of subsiding.
“Do you remember then? Huh? The day we secretly climbed the mountain in the back.”
“We saw a wolf-type monster in the distance and everyone scattered. It’s a miracle no one died.”
“Yeah! You remember!”
As they cackled and laughed, Elric suddenly felt closer to his past, and his identity as someone who had crawled through battlefields began to blur.
Elric’s smile grew even deeper.
Was that the problem? Elric wasn’t able to perform the safety inspection at this shop.
It was Tiria who fulfilled that role.
“Head of the family, the work is finished. Let us head back.”
“Ah…….”
As Elric let out a sound of dismay, Tiria spoke.
“It is fine. I understand the joy of meeting a friend.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Elric, you’re a bad husband.”
As Bart snickered, Elric glared at him.
Bart shrugged his shoulders.
“Take care. Make sure to come by for a meal during the festival.”
At any rate, he was as sly as ever.
Elric chuckled and said his goodbyes.
“Yeah, see you then.”
And so, they left the shop.
Bart continued to wave his hand until Elric disappeared from view.
“Honey.”
“Ah, sorry. I’m coming.”
“What are you looking at? I know you’re happy to see your friend, but we have a lot to prepare.”
“It’s just…… a bit fascinating.”
Bart’s gaze was still fixed on the spot where Elric had departed.
“I didn’t expect those two to get married.”
“What?”
“Just saying.”
Bart scratched his cheek and turned his head.
What he was recalling was a memory from the past.
‘Hey! Ugly!’
‘……I’m not.’
‘You are too! Your face is all puffy and ugly! Aldio said so! Pretty people have very slender faces!’
A smirk appeared on Bart’s lips.
‘No, did they get married because it’s those two?’
Since he was the kind of guy who would approach even that young lady without fear, then perhaps, this was a good match.
Bart shook off the thoughts that had surfaced and headed for the kitchen.
The unexpected reunion had been quite pleasant.
The Wife Waited in the Wheat Field (Serialization)
