Chapter 56 : Chapter 56
Volume 1
Chapter 56 : Hospitality
“I’m back.”
The gust from the opening door stirred the wind chime by the entrance, making it ring with a crisp jingle.
Eluca stepped into the foyer and casually hung the bag in her hand on the wall.
“You don’t need to change your shoes. Just come in.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Well, you aren’t wearing any shoes anyway, are you?”
“Heh, true.”
Muen scratched his head.
He did not stand on ceremony and simply walked into the little love nest of the newlyweds.
A faint floral fragrance lingered in the air.
The decorations around him did not give Muen any especially festive feeling, nor did it feel particularly like a home prepared for a wedding, but the furniture and household items were all arranged with easy naturalness, making the place feel warm without one even noticing.
“They only just got married, and yet this place already feels so lived-in?”
Muen ran his hand over a spotless bookshelf, and before he knew it, his gaze came to rest on the snow-white wall.
A painting hung there.
It depicted a darkly tanned middle-aged man grinning broadly with gleaming white teeth, beside a reserved and restrained middle-aged woman.
“Hm?”
Looking at the painting, Muen rubbed his chin and asked,
“Eluca, the people in this painting aren’t you, are they?”
“Of course not.”
Eluca walked over and glanced at the painting on the wall.
“That was painted when my parents got married.”
“Your parents?”
“Mm.”
Eluca scratched her cheek a little bashfully.
“It is a little embarrassing to admit, but although I’ve been an adventurer for several years now, and my results have been fairly decent, for one reason or another, neither I nor the others managed to save much money. Let alone buy a house in Belland, where housing prices have already been driven through the roof.
“So for the time being, I’m still living with my parents.”
“I see. I can understand that, at least a little,” Muen said with a solemn nod.
It seemed that no matter what world one was in, being unable to afford a house was still a major problem.
“You can understand that too? I thought you were rich.”
“Haha, are there really rich people in this world who can’t even afford clothes and wander around stark naked outside?” Muen laughed it off, having no intention of revealing his noble status.
“…Maybe.”
It was impossible to tell whether Eluca believed him.
She chatted with Muen in a casual, intermittent way as she walked into the bedroom.
When she came back out, she had already changed into a set of home clothes and was wearing a cute pink apron.
“It might take a little while to cook. Would you like something to drink first?”
“…Get me some coffee. I need to stay awake.”
“All right… Hm, wait.”
Eluca, who had just been about to make the coffee, suddenly stopped and said awkwardly,
“I don’t think we have any coffee at home…”
“You don’t?”
Muen froze for a moment, then his expression turned strange.
“Did mice steal all the coffee from your house too?”
“What mice?”
Eluca said irritably, “I just suddenly remembered that my parents never drink coffee, because it keeps them from sleeping, so I doubt they ever stocked anything like that.”
“I see. Then there’s no need to trouble yourself. Just give me whatever you have.”
“There’s black tea…”
“No black tea! Plain water. Plain water is fine!”
“Really? All right…”
Watching Muen’s expression suddenly turn frightened, Eluca wrinkled her nose in confusion, then went into the kitchen.
Not long after, she came back out carrying a glass of boiled water.
“By the way, where are your parents?” Muen asked after taking the water and thanking her.
“Didn’t I already say? It’s the busy farming season.”
“Now? But didn’t you just get married?”
“That’s precisely why it’s the busy farming season.”
Eluca tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and sighed.
“Even a wedding is less important than rushing to harvest the wheat before the next rain comes.
“Besides, I’m the one who got married, not them.”
“I see. That really is harder than I imagined.”
Muen sighed again.
He almost felt like reciting a poem about farmers’ hardships.
After thinking about it, he decided against it.
This was a Western fantasy world.
Showing off with poetry would get him nowhere.
“Did your husband go with them too?” Since from beginning to end there had been only him and Eluca in the house, Muen asked the question almost instinctively.
“No.”
Eluca answered,
“He had something to do and went out.”
“I see. Then he should be back soon, right? It’s almost dinner time, after all. Though I do wonder whether he’ll misunderstand anything if he comes back and sees the two of us, a man and a woman, alone together. Hahaha…” Muen joked.
“No, he won’t be back for the time being.”
“Huh?”
Muen’s smile froze.
“What do you mean, he won’t be back for the time being?”
“Mm… It’s nothing much.”
Eluca sighed and rubbed her cheek out of habit.
“I just found a note he left in the kitchen. He had something to do today and will be back very late, so it looks like only the two of us will be having dinner.”
“The two… of us?”
Muen’s eyes widened abruptly.
Something was off.
Very off.
Newly married.
The husband was out.
The wife was alone in a room with a stranger.
They were even going to eat dinner together and remain there until nightfall.
There were too many elements here.
It was hard not to comment on it.
A newlywed secret film?
“Um… isn’t it a little inappropriate if it’s just the two of us?”
Muen, who had been perfectly relaxed until now, suddenly became stiff and uneasy.
Rubbing his hands nervously, he said,“How about I take my leave first? If the neighbors see the two of us having dinner together, I’m afraid it might cause some unnecessary misunderstandings.”
“Hm? You sound awfully guilty. Could it be that you really do have some improper thoughts, Mister Muen?”
Eluca narrowed her eyes and asked with a light laugh.
“How could that be? I just think this isn’t a good idea.” Muen scratched his head and laughed awkwardly.
“Then there’s no problem. Just stay here at ease. I’m not so rude that I’d let a guest leave on an empty stomach. Besides…”
Eluca curved her lips, a blissful expression appearing on her face.
“The feelings between my husband and me are not something that can be shaken by such a trivial matter.”
“Ah, I see.”
Faced with Eluca’s blissful expression, Muen stared blankly for a moment, then said almost without thinking,
“The bond between you and your husband is truly enviable.”
“Well, of course. I love him most.”
As she spoke those words of love, Eluca, though already a married woman now, still blushed like a young girl.
“Oh dear, what am I saying? I’m sorry, Mister Muen. I accidentally said something so shameless again.”
“…N-no, it’s fine.”
Muen twitched at the corner of his mouth.
“I don’t mind.”
He had really been force-fed a mouthful of dog food.
“A-anyway, Muen, just stay here and make yourself comfortable while you wait for me to finish the roast whole lamb. Don’t think too much about it. And of course, don’t entertain any strange ideas either.
“Though I know you’re a pervert.”
“That last part was completely unnecessary!”
“Then please look forward to it.”
Eluca smiled and walked into the kitchen.
...
“There’s no sediment at the bottom.”
Holding up the glass, Muen examined the boiled water against the light coming through the window.
“The color is clear and transparent.”
Then he brought it to his nose and sniffed it.
“The smell is normal too.”
He dipped a finger into the water and rubbed a little onto his skin.
Several minutes later, nothing had changed.
“And there are no adverse reactions either.”
“This really does seem to be an ordinary glass of boiled water.”
After testing it in every way he could think of, Muen finally arrived at that cautious conclusion.
“There’s no drug in it, and nothing strange was added.
“And Eluca’s words themselves don’t seem to have any logical problems, but…”
Muen looked out the window.
The night was gradually deepening.
In the clear heavens above, a single star shimmered.
Now and then, insects chirped in the quiet village, but no other sounds could be heard anymore.
“I still feel like… something is strange.”
...
“I love you.”