Chapter 20 – Chapter 2: Girl at the General Store – 3
“…”
There was silence.
What kind of situation is this?
Mr. Posao came home wiping his sweat and saw us belatedly.
“Uh, uh… Ritz?”
I looked back at Tia with eyes longing for an explanation.
A clear explanation was needed.
A perfect explanation to understand this situation right now.
“…”
Tia slowly walked up to Uncle Po Sao, and then she suddenly kicked him in the shin.
Puck!
“Koheook-!”
Tia shouts harshly at the man who collapses while holding onto her leg.
“I told you to knock in order!”
“B-but… It’s so cold outside…”
“I really can’t live-.”
But it wasn’t an angry voice at all.
As if everything had been resolved with what she had just kicked, Tia obediently let the man into her house.
“Come in quickly.”
“Uh, uh…”
Uncle Posao greeted me awkwardly as well.
“Ritz. Joe, good morning…”
“Ah… Yes.”
I couldn’t even figure out what was going on.
The person sat down on Tia’s bed, breathing heavily.
Then, just like she always did, she casually took out her silk pillow and placed it on her lower back.
“Nah-. Hee, it’s hard…”
“Drink this at least.”
Tia went to the kitchen and handed over her leather canteen.
Uncle Posao took the canteen and gulped it down.
“Come on, have a glass of Ritz too.”
Tia handed me her cup of water in a much kinder voice.
It was a small and cute cup. She thanked me, but just cleared her throat and put it down.
I just don’t feel like forcing anything down her throat.
“I’m a little embarrassed.”
“Huh?”
“Anyway, I never thought that Uncle Posao would come to your house.”
“Ah…”
Tia looked troubled, then furrowed her eyebrows and turned to look at the man.
“Did you hear? Ritz is uncomfortable. “Get out now.”
“Neaa? Yeah, really? Sorry!”
“That’s Okay. Where else can you go while sweating like that? Ritz, I’m sorry, but that guy… Would it be okay if I let you rest for a moment? “If I kick you out like this, you’re going to freeze to death?”
What can I say?
“… Because this is your home. Do whatever you want.”
“Thank you, Ritz!”
There is no need to say thank you.
Just something… It’s just unpleasant because it feels like a heavy and uncomfortable lump has entered the space between me and Tia.
The sight of him arbitrarily entering Tia’s house, climbing up to her bed and shamelessly sitting on it… Why do I hate seeing it like this?
Tia must have read my eyes and immediately spoke.
“Uncle Posao said it was difficult to come all the way here-. They say you really need to take a short break like that. “I hate it too.”
Although the last one was almost a whisper.
There was no deep-rooted disgust in the word ‘I don’t like it’ like there used to be, and it was just a playful tone.
My teeth are clenched.
“But you… “Why did you come here in the morning?”
“You are helping me with my work. “This.”
Tia took out a Mushurin root from the uncle’s herb bag.
“I can’t afford to supply it myself. She asked him to buy it for her.”
“Ah. Okay… ?”
“Yes!”
She heard the detailed story.
When winter came and the medicinal ingredients for my recovery medicine ran out, Tia borrowed the help of Uncle Po Sao, and the uncle is said to have traveled to various villages to get her medicinal herbs.
The problem was that Tia couldn’t go down to the general store to get the herbs every time, so Uncle Po Sao instead brought them ‘directly’ to Tia’s house secretly, avoiding the eyes of the villagers, and she bought a tree in case Tia wasn’t at her house. It is said that he also gave me the password for the door.
It was only after hearing the explanation that I could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Okay. I would feel so much better if you had told me this earlier.
In the end, both Tia and Uncle were working so hard for me.
If so, there is no problem.
“Thank you. Uncle.”
“Well, you’re welcome. Hehe… It’s good to see Ritz healthy…”
I blame myself for doubting it for a moment.
In the first place, Tia could become friends with a pot-bellied man like that, but she wouldn’t want anything more than that.
It was a useless worry.
“Since there are more customers – I’ll bring some snacks! Everyone, please wait a moment-.”
Tia ran into the kitchen and brought back a large basket of apples.
Full of bright red color. These are the Gordburg apples she introduced me to before.
Surprisingly, Mr. Posao recognized it right away.
“That. Oh, Goldenbulk apple?”
“Ha-. How many times should I say it? It’s called ‘Gordburg.'”
“Go… Gorldbulk…”
“Try to follow along slowly. Go, le, de, bu, le, k.”
“Goldbuk…”
“Puhup- Ahhahaha-! I really can’t do it!”
Tia held her stomach and laughed at the uncle’s sloppy pronunciation.
… Is that funny?
Tia, who laughed for a while, finally calmed down.
“Anyway, the correct answer-! It’s a Gordburg apple.”
“At that time… “Wow, it was delicious, right?”
“Yes-! You said that out of all the apples you’ve ever eaten, that apple was the most delicious! So, as soon as I saw it at Taildon Market, I immediately bought it.”
“Also… Just like back then… “You didn’t do it, did you?”
“To. “It’s not-.”
I was smiling awkwardly because I didn’t know what they were talking about, but Mr. Posao was just trying to explain to me.
“Well, Ritsu… Add honey to that apple… I thought it was a scam… Ti, Tiaga…”
“Ah-Stop! Stop! All the way there!”
“Just fighting with the merchants-.”
“If you say anymore, I won’t give you an apology. “Give it to me.”
“… Wow! Mia-an-!”
Well, it looks like Tia has an embarrassing story she wants to hide.
But from what I heard, the first time she ate Tiagai Gordburg apples, she was with Uncle Po Sao.
“Tia. “I guess she went somewhere with you?”
“Oh, yes. Now that I think about it, I guess we didn’t talk about it.”
Tia crossed her arms and glared at him.
“I happened to go to Deseo with Uncle Posao.”
“… What? Deseo?”
A loud voice came out without me realizing it.
It takes 15 days to walk from here to Deseo.
The only road connecting Taildon and Deseo is ‘Mess Road’.
It was a desolate road without any ordinary villages, so it was definitely not a road you could cross with a light heart.
Of course, it would be much faster if you took a boat.
I didn’t think Tia would have the money to do that.
“Did you really pass through Meth Road?”
“Huh! To be exact, it went back a little bit.”
Conquering Meth Road was one of Tia’s long-standing goals.
I thought she would go from there if she set out on an adventure.
“It was – it was really dangerous. Suddenly, bandits attacked me and I almost died…”
“Bandits?!”
Encountering bandits on Mess Road meant that a major battle took place.
The bandits there were notorious.
It was said that they were almost like barbarians, killing people at random.
So, a regulation was created that said mercenaries must be hired when passing through Meth Road.
… Of course, that is also a thing of the past.
I haven’t heard of anyone seeing bandits since Deseo’s dispatchers cleared them out 10 years ago.
But bandits appeared?
“Huh. Somehow… I got out. Hehe – It’s hard to believe, right? Anyway, I made it to Deseo safely. If I were to tell the whole story, it would be so long that I would have to stay up all night, but-.”
“Tell me now. I have a lot of time. What on earth happened?”
“Ugh… Since Ritsu is curious, I think we should talk about it. Hmm – where should I start? So, in Taildon…”
It was finally the moment when Tia’s long adventure story was about to begin.
Thump thump thump!
Suddenly, a harsh knocking sound was heard from outside.
“Tia-!! Is it there-?!”
We all closed our mouths and held our breath.
Someone was urgently looking for Tia.
Tia was embarrassed and shouted in a low voice.
“Mister! Hide quickly!”
“Naaah-. Where, where…”
No matter how quickly his fat body moved, he just looked like a slow pig in front of the quick Tia.
“Follow me quickly!”
Tia took Uncle Po Sao’s hand and went down to her cellar together.
Then, he gently closed the warehouse door and whispered to me.
“Ritz! “Please pretend that I’m not there!”
“…”
Haha-.
What kind of situation is this? I got caught up in something troublesome.
Sigh-. Boom.
After confirming that the basement warehouse door was completely closed, I gently opened the front door.
Uncle Marvin was waiting outside.
“Huh? Ritz? Why are you out there?”
“Ah, I also happened to be looking for Tia. “I’m not home.”
“Okay? Hmm…”
“What’s going on?”
“They say women dye fabrics, but they don’t have enough hands. Tia is a grown-up girl now, but shouldn’t she start learning about the village?”
“That’s right.”
“Tsk tsk. “I left her alone after her parents passed away, so I don’t know if she will be able to get married and do housework properly.”
Haha…”
When I smiled shyly, I was immediately scolded.
“Uh huh. This is nothing to laugh about, Ritsu. It’s your job too. Is it okay for you, a sexy woman, to abandon your work and just wander around like that?”
“Uh…”
“You two seem to get along well, so I’m not really worried. Marriage is another story.”
Uncle Marvin sighed and put his arm around her.
I feel somewhat uneasy.
I have a feeling that an incredibly long and boring sermon is about to begin…
Sure enough, the strong smell of her alcohol wafted from Uncle Marvin’s body.
Oh my, this.
She has been drinking heavily since morning.
“Listen, Ritz. When girls are young, they say things like ‘I want to marry Dad!’ And rush to please anyone. But when you become a young lady. I feel very cold. So who does a ‘real woman’ want to marry?”
“Well. Someone close?”
“Wrong!”
Uncle Marvin dragged me up the hill.
“She is a woman, and she wants to marry the most trustworthy person who can protect her. Why do you think that’s the case?”
“Why?”
“Because I have to have a baby.”
Excuse me… It seems like the progress is suddenly too fast.
“Ritz. Remember. Women don’t love men. “She is a woman, and she loves the child she gave birth to most.”
“… “Did you fight with Aunt Olivia yesterday?”
“Listen quietly. “You bastard.”
“Aaaaah!”
I finally ended up eating just one honey chestnut.
“Anyway, giving birth to a baby is the most important issue in a woman’s life. So she chooses a man who can protect and raise her baby. In the face of such cold instincts, the love I boasted about when I was immature doesn’t work. How do you feel? Aren’t women such complex creatures?”
“Uh, I guess so.”
“But on the other hand, a woman’s love is that simple.”
Uncle Marvin spoke in a caring voice.
“A man who is the first to extend his hand when you are tired and having a hard time. A knight-like man who always protects your side. The only man who likes him even when everyone in the world points fingers and curses at him. Doesn’t that mean that women easily love a man like that? So, if you want to marry Tia, be sure to show yourself as a responsible man.”
“Yes. I understand.”
“Okay. Damn, you’re a man!”
The man patted me on the back and went up to the field again.
I thought I was leaving in style while teaching him the ways of a man.
Before long, Aunt Olivia’s thunderous shout was heard, and Uncle Marvin, very frightened, saw her running away in a hurry…
I thought that the future me who married Tia would be even more miserable.
But still. I want to do it with Tia.
Marriage.
Even though he was ripped off like that, Uncle Marvin loved his Aunt Olivia with all his heart.
Even though I was having a hard time comforting the crying baby, I smiled brightly.
With the woman I love the most.
I want to have such a fun married life.
For some reason, I returned to Tia’s house, holding her heart that was pounding.
“Tia! “I’m here!”
But no matter how many times I knocked on the wooden door, there was no response.
When I looked through the window, the house was empty. It looks like he went somewhere in the meantime.
This. Have you been held captive by Uncle Marvin for too long?
Well, it looks like if I call them out at best, I’ll end up getting dragged into doing chores.
We just decided to meet next time.
