Chapter 2 – Chapter 1: Sweets Party – 1
It’s a quiet night.
An owl dozing amidst the sound of insects chirping.
A very peaceful night in our town.
It’s time for everyone to go home, lay down their tired bodies in bed, and go to sleep.
Normally, I would have yawned too.
I’m not sleepy at all now.
My eyes were blurry, as if I woke up after sleeping for a very long time.
Swoosh-.
I drew the curtains on the window, lit a small candle and placed it in the corner of the room.
This is to prevent light from leaking out.
Also, from now on, I had to walk carefully so that no sound could escape.
I unpacked the package I had secretly kept.
Sweets bought from the village below poured out.
I bought it, but I also bought a lot.
It was when snacks were being laid out one by one on the table.
Knock.
A very small knock is heard from the back door.
At the same time, my heart was pounding slightly.
I carefully approach the door and ask quietly.
“Who are you?”
“… Giggling.”
‘Someone’ outside the door suddenly burst into laughter and could not reveal his identity.
As soon as I heard that innocent sound, I felt like I was going to burst out laughing, so I desperately covered my mouth.
I barely managed to force a laugh down my throat and opened the back door.
Kkeikik-.
As the cool night air flows under your feet.
A girl standing under the brilliant moonlight.
He was wearing a thin shirt and secretly came all the way here to meet me.
“Ritz… !”
Tia crept in, her red hair flowing.
And then very carefully closed her back door and whispered.
“Aunt Sherry is sensitive today… “I was late because I had to be careful.”
“Are you okay. I wish I hadn’t been caught. Come on in.”
“Ugh, it’s cold!”
Her arms crossed and her body shaking, it was like a wet rabbit splashing water.
It’s almost fall.
Since I ran through the night air dressed like that, of course my body would be cold.
I handed him a blanket along with water that had been boiled in advance.
Tia pulled her blanket over her head and squatted down in front of the boiling kettle.
As the warmth slowly spread, he hugged her knees closely with a relaxed expression.
“… Lol. It’s warm.”
“I’ll bring you snacks, so you can warm up.”
“Yes.”
Before starting the snack party, we took out the cake and snacks that had been cut in advance.
I take out the cold milk that was stored in the barn and unwrap the pickled strawberries.
When I entered the room holding a plate and cup in both hands, I found Tia lying down, eaten by the blanket monster.
“Dead?”
“I’m alive-.”
“Wake up. “Let’s eat snacks.”
“Yes-. “I want to stay like this a little longer.”
The guy hugged the blanket tightly and rolled around on the floor.
“Lol. “It smells like Ritz.”
“What?! Smell?”
She tried to snatch the blanket away, but Tia dodged around and giggled.
This guy is quite fast.
Tsk. There is a man’s pride. You can never lose.
I clenched my teeth and quickly grabbed the hem of her fluttering blanket.
“Gotcha!”
I tried to pull it with force.
“Huh?”
As the blanket unravels.
I lost my balance for a moment and fell forward.
Boom!
“Ah…”
When I open my eyes, what does this look like?
It is unfair. It’s as if I attacked Tia!
… And there’s only one blanket between us.
Strangely, even the distance between her faces is close.
Tia, who was underneath, seemed a little surprised, and her chest rose and fell rapidly.
“…”
There is an awkward silence.
When I came to my senses, I found myself backing away and making excuses.
“Well, you should have given it back when you asked for it! “They said it stinks.”
Woe!
A blanket was pulled over my shoulders.
Tia giggled and came close to me.
“Didn’t you say it smells bad?”
“Then?”
“Uhm-what should I say. Should I say it’s a reassuring smell? That’s why I said it was good.”
And then he smiles mischievously.
“If I didn’t want to, would I have covered myself with a blanket?”
“… Ah.”
“Oh! “This is angel castella!”
The guy who turned his attention to the snacks took a loaf of bread, ate it, and moaned happily.
“Mmm, it’s delicious. “I can just chew the walnuts in my mouth!”
“Don’t eat in a hurry. “I pretend.”
We lay side by side on the floor, covered ourselves with blankets, and picked up snacks one by one to eat.
It was delicious.
There were some things I was familiar with and some things I was seeing for the first time.
The taste I always ate brought back memories, and the new taste gave me the thrill of an adventure.
We spent some time chatting about various things, and before we knew it, the many snacks we had started to run out.
Now that she was full, it was difficult to eat anymore, but Tia kept rummaging through the crumbs.
She seemed to be looking for something.
Unfortunately, it is time to deliver sad news.
“I’m sorry, Tia. They said all the ginger biscuits were sold out.”
“What-?”
“You won’t believe it, but Aunt Lily said that. I guess it’s popular in Taildon these days.”
“Really? “When I gave it away, everyone hated it and said it wasn’t tasty.”
“Yes.”
“Uhm-. What do you think! That’s good news! Let’s think the kids have finally realized the strange taste of ginger biscuits! In any case, it’s good to have more Ginger Biscuit colleagues.”
Is it good…
Actually, I didn’t like ginger biscuits that much.
Should I say that I don’t like the unique scent of ginger?
I think I know why kids hate those biscuits.
It looks like a delicious cookie, but when you bite into it, it tastes bitter and bitter.
Is there anything else besides that?
Still, Tia liked it, so we always ate it together, and even though she doesn’t enjoy it, she’s gotten used to it to some extent…
Now that I think about it, I’m curious.
Among all the sweet snacks, why did she like such a ‘weird’ snack?
“Tia. Why do you like ginger biscuits?”
“Huh? Umm-.”
Tia thought for a moment as she bit into her butter cookie.
“Because it’s delicious? We’ve been eating it for a long time.”
“You were the first to recognize it. “I didn’t even know there was such a snack in the world.”
“I don’t know-. I just like ginger biscuits. What can I say… Should I say that when I chew it, the bitter taste spreads and my body gets chills?”
“Are you getting creepy? “Isn’t that bad?”
“No! I got chills for a moment, but then my body warmed up… That feels good.”
Ginger is definitely effective in warming the body.
Around late fall, even the elderly drink ginger tea.
The point is that it’s strange to enjoy eating ginger regardless of the season…
Well, it seems Tia’s tastes are a bit different from mine.
“And I brought this.”
I took out the gift package I had hidden under the bed.
As soon as she saw how thick it was, Tia seemed to realize what it was.
“Is it a book?”
“Okay. “What you ordered.”
“Wow!”
Tia unpacked it right away.
When I tore off the thinly wrapped wax paper, inside was a thick book bound in leather.
Chin.
It is truly a beautiful size.
Are there many books like that in the great library of Deseo?
I couldn’t even imagine it, but I was certain that this book was not something to be found in a squalid place like a mountain valley.
Tia slowly traced the cover of the book with her sparkling eyes.
〈 World Adventure Record 〉
Unusually, there was no author listed in this book.
That’s natural. Because it is a ‘world adventure record’.
Fantastic and beautiful stories compiled into a book that encompasses the adventures of travelers around the world.
A child who grows up reading this book becomes another adventurer, travels the world, and writes the story again in the World Adventure Book… It is also a book that continues the breath of people who lived such lives.
Tia hugged the book tightly.
“I, this is really… I really wanted it.”
Those words were pure sincerity with no lies.
Tia’s parents were adventurers.
It is said that although she was active for a short time, she was a well-known adventurer.
Perhaps their stories may also be included here.
Tia may have ordered this book to find the face of her father, whom she can no longer remember, and the story of her mother, who died when she was young. She had that thought.
“Thank you, Ritz.”
“…”
I didn’t buy the book, nor did I help.
I just brought it from Taildon.
Of course, there was some ulterior motive in wanting to hear such praise.
If you say ‘thank you’ to me with a face like that with moist eyes… What should I answer?
It was a moment when my tongue was stiff.
Sabak-. Sabak. Sabak-.
I heard someone walking outside.
Irregular gait. It’s definitely Uncle Marvin who went out on patrol after drinking heavily.
I immediately blew out the candle and shouted softly.
“Behind… !”
Tia hurriedly put her body under the blanket.
I also hid myself in the shadows and looked toward the window.
Under the swaying lamp.
Sabak-. Sabak.
Uncle Marvin’s shadow passes in front of the curtain.
Sabak.
But suddenly I stopped walking because I heard something.
Did you hear? Did you notice? What excuse should I make?
Even though we are best friends, if we were caught secretly together at night, there would be an uproar.
A brief moment where all kinds of thoughts came to mind and I held my breath.
“Go!”
Uncle Marvin roared like a dragon and walked away again.
It was only when I stopped hearing the sound of irregular footsteps.
“Ha…”
I was able to sweep down her chest.
After checking again that she was really gone, she picked up a candle to light it.
For some reason, my lower abdomen feels hot.
The mysterious feeling of warm air regularly penetrating through your shirt.
Her face suddenly heated up at the pleasant tickling.
Tia was hiding under her blanket and holding onto my leg tightly.
She kept doing that because she didn’t know what was going on outside.
Was he this small?
I’ve always seen his lively appearance, but seeing his shoulders shrunken like a baby bird gave me an interesting feeling.
I wanted to stay like this a little longer.
Tia asked softly first.
“Did you go?”
“I’m gone.”
The guy took off the blanket and let out a small sigh.
And her eyes sparkled again, as if it had never happened before.
“Let’s read a book!”
Well then.
I guess I’ve all slept in tonight.
