On an ordinary summer day, a year before us sisters left to go to the capital.
“Everyone, do you know the language of flowers?”
Fabian-sensei asked the students.
Today’s lesson was on etiquette. The lesson wasn’t only about bowing and mannerism, but also about the culture of nobles.
“What nation does that language belong to?”
When Theo raised his hand and asked this question, Sensei frowned and smiled awkwardly.
“It’s not a language, Theo.”
I was impressed that this kingdom also had the language of flowers, but it didn’t seem widely spread among the common people. No one else in the classroom had heard of the language of flowers and they seemed curious about it.
“What about you, Aime? Do you know the language of flowers?”
Fabian-sensei asked me after he saw the students’ reactions. The attention of the dozens or so students in the classroom, including Rille-nee, who was sitting next to me, was immediately cast on me.
Rille-nee and I, who had already mastered most letters and were well advanced in our studies, are often asked last when no one else can answer. It seemed that today was my day.
“I’ve heard of it.”
“Can you explain it to everyone?”
“Yes. Well, the language of flowers is a language associated with a flower and is the meaning of that flower. I don’t know any specific examples though.”
I could have answered easily if he had asked me about a plant’s medicinal properties or its toxicity, but I haven’t learnt about the language of flowers in this world.
“Wonderful. Did you understand that everyone?”
Fabian-sensei nodded while smiling happily and looked around at the students. Theo, however, was still puzzled.
“The meaning of the flower?”
“Yes. Flowers can be used instead of words to convey feelings. For example, if someone isn’t feeling well, you can send them a flower that means, ‘I hope you feel better soon’. Choosing a gift that matches the person’s situation and your own feelings is what makes one a respectable lady and gentleman.”
“But why would this matter if the person doesn’t understand the meaning of what they’ve been sent~?”
The kid had a point. Well, there probably wasn’t anyone here in this downtown area that understood the language of flowers.
Fabian-sensei faltered for a moment, but immediately recovered with a cough.
“We are talking about being considerate. You have to make sure that you’re not being disrespectful to the other person.”
The kids’ reaction to this was ‘umm’. They weren’t really interested.
“It’s interesting that flowers have meanings.”
Rille-nee, on the other hand, quietly whispered in my ears.
“I wonder if herbs also have meanings.”
“Maybe? Even plants that don’t bear flowers have meanings.”
At least they did in the world I was in before I was reincarnated. When I found the name of a mushroom in a book on the language of flowers in my previous life, I thought that anything was possible.
Mushrooms aren’t even plants after all. They’re a fungus; they’re the same as mould.
“Things that don’t have flowers also have a meaning in the language of flowers. How strange~.”
“It’s really strange.”
“Sensei~.”
Suddenly, Leni, who was seated behind me, raised her hand in class.
“Are there flowers that are perfect for confessing to a girl you like~?”
“Yes. Huh? But Leni. Aren’t you a girl?”
“I’m going to sell them to men.”
Leni smiled boldly.
“I believe it’ll sell better if I use those words to sell them.”
The little merchant has grasped something that the teacher hadn’t planned on teaching them. There aren’t any romantics in this classroom.
“I-I see. There are many flowers that represent love.”
Slightly puzzled by the evil expressions on the students’ faces, Fabian-sensei opened a large book at the front desk. The kids gathered around the book, including me.
The book contained sketches of plants, their names, habitats, and their meaning in the language of flowers. He seemed to have just ordered this book in. I’m grateful.
“For example, cresium. This flower is often used by the court nobles. In the language of flowers, it means ‘faithful love’. Faithful love means ‘I vow my love to you for all eternity’. It’s a rare flower that has small white petals blooming inside its pink petals.”
The sketch was black and white, so Fabian-sensei added a description of its colours. I’ve never seen this flower around here.
“I want one that’s blossoming nearby.”
“Hey! Don’t turn the page!”
Theo pushed Leni as she tried to reach out from behind him.
These little fights break out between kids sometimes when lots of them are looking at a book together, but this wasn’t a bad thing. It was a sign that everyone was eager to learn, and I think it’s a good thing.
“Hey, hey, don’t fight. Let’s take turns looking at it.”
“Ah.”
Ignoring the teacher’s words, Leni stopped flipping the page when she turned to the next page.
“I think I’ve seen this before.”
“Which one? Ah, sansalem.”
I stood on my tippy toes and peeked at the page that Leni was pointing to.
It was a plant with round, ball-like flowers and thin leaves. I don’t remember anything about this plant.
“This flower means ‘gratitude’. It can be used as a gift for family and friends and is in bloom at this time of the year. If it blooms around here, then why don’t you try giving it to someone?”
I immediately turned back to look at Rille-nee. She seemed to have been thinking the same thing as me and nodded several times.
There was only one person to whom we wanted to give thanks to.
I quickly grabbed Leni after the lesson and before we went back to the apothecary.
“Say, where did you see that flower?”
“Hmm~?”
I pointed at the illustration in the book and asked Leni, who played stupid.
“I wonder where I saw it~.”
I could tell what she wanted from the way she was glancing at me.
“Show us where it is tomorrow since the apothecary is closed, and of course, we’re not asking you to do this for free.”
“I like you because you’re quick.”
Leni laughed happily. She’s a cunning girl, but well that’s good too.
“Why don’t we celebrate while giving her flowers?”
I suggested this to Rille-nee when we got back to the apothecary.
We were sitting by the side of the apothecary on a spread-out cloth and steadily peeling the shells of pistachio-like nuts that were used in cold medicine. Gis-nee was inside.
“It’s been nearly six years since we’ve started living here, hasn’t it? Let’s have a party to thank Gis-nee.”
It was a pretty half-hearted idea for celebrating our six years here, but there was nothing wrong with having a party.
Rille-nee was very supportive of the idea.
“Let’s do it. Gis-nee has done a lot for us.”
“Okay. I’ll make her favourite dish. Ah, and we can’t tell her until the day of the party. Let’s surprise her.”
It was always more fun to surprise someone like this. This thought must have shown on my face since Rille-nee giggled.
“Yes, let’s keep it a secret. Gis-nee likes…”
Rille-nee directed her gaze to the sky and pondered while still working.
“She loves everything, but I think meat is her favourite.”
“I think so too.”
Gis-nee has a muscular body, so she must need a lot of protein.
We usually ate lamb shank at home. It was tough but cheap, and it turned out nice and soft if you simmered it for a long time. Sometimes, Gis-nee roasts the lamb shanks and heartily bites into it. Her jaws are really strong.
“Then, we’ll have a meat dish, and we’ll decide on the rest of the dishes depending on how much money we have on the day.”
“Alright. Ah, the butcher is supposed to have beef delivered to them tomorrow afternoon.”
Wah!? Beef?!
A lot of farmers around here raise sheep, so that was what we ate most of the time. Cows probably cost valuable labour to raise, so beef was very rare.
“Why don’t we go look for flowers in the morning and then go shopping afterwards?”
“Let’s do that! ――― By the way, how did you know we were having beef tomorrow?”
“Rossi told me.”
Oh, so he knew about this because he’s the son of the owner of a transport company?
Oh yeah, I recall him coming up to Rille-nee this morning when she was drying herbs. I chased him away since he was annoying, but he came bearing good news.
“Hey, are you done?”
Gis-nee peeked out from the window behind us. We quickly shut up.
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
She looked down at us suspiciously. It doesn’t seem like she had heard what we were talking about.
“Nothing. Yup.”
I handed Gis-nee the basket of peeled nuts through the window. She frowned lightly but took the basket and went back inside.
We also tidied up the nut shells and went inside, then I immediately asked Gis-nee, who was mixing at the counter, about tomorrow.
“Say, Gis-nee, what are you doing on your day off tomorrow?”
“I don’t know…”
“Will you stay at home? If you are, then Rille-nee and I will go out for a bit.”
“Suit yourself.”
“Thanks.”
Gis-nee felt something was off from our short conversation and asked, “Where are you both going?”
“I’m going to gather ingredients for an experiment.”
This explained all of my slightly strange behaviour.
“A girl from school told me she was going to show me where some rare plants are growing.”
You have to mix in some truth when you lie. I heard somewhere that a con artist tells the truth 80% of the time and uses the other 20% to deceive people. I’m not a con artist though.
“Where are those plants?”
“I don’t know since she told me she was going to show me where it is tomorrow. They might be growing downtown.”
“Are you going too, Rille?”
“Y-yes, I want to see them too.”
Rille-nee’s response was a little awkward. She wasn’t good at lying because she was an honest person.
“… Well, be careful on your way. Don’t go too wild, Aime.”
“I won’t~!”
I replied cheerfully and that was the end of the conversation. She probably didn’t suspect anything. That’s good.
… What do you mean “go too wild”?
The next morning.
I packed my harvesting tools in a small shoulder bag and was all set to go.
I talked to Gis-nee before we left.
“We’ll pick up ingredients for dinner on the way home, so you can relax for the day.”
“… Alright.”
Now, we’re going to be busy today!
We met Leni at school. We didn’t specify a time to meet, but I heard that she’s been sleeping at the school, so we can meet her there in the mornings.
We met the old lady from the fruit and vegetable store when we approached a nearby shopping street, “Oh my, Aime and Ridill.”
This was Peggy, the owner of the fruit and vegetable store that we frequented when we were living on the streets, and we still bought from her quite often even after moving in with Gis-nee.
She was also a neighbour who visited the apothecary, so we had to greet her properly.
“Good morning, Peggy-san. How’s your back?”
“It’s all better now. Your medicine works really well.”
Peggy-san smiled widely. I’m glad she’s feeling better.
“I know you must have a lot of work to do, but please be careful when you lift heavy things.”
“I know. Gis-nee often warns me about lifting heavy objects. Are you two sisters going out today?”
“Yes, we’re going out to do some harvesting today. We’ll come by the store again after lunch.”
Peggy was a nice person, but she was also very talkative, so it was best to end the conversation early.
But when we were about to leave, she stopped us, “Ah, wait, wait!”
“I got a rare vegetable from Tilney Kingdom this morning, would you like to try it?”
Peggy showed us reddish-brown vegetables packed in a bottle about the size of a milk bottle.
I wondered what it was for a second, but then I squealed in delight when I realised what the vegetable was.
“Dried tomatoes!”
“Aime, do you know what that is?”
“Yeah! They’re really good!”
I’ll have to buy some. I can simmer them with meat or turn it into paste and use it as a sauce. Various recipes flashed and popped up in my mind.
It wasn’t that big, so it wouldn’t get in the way if I buy it now. Unlike large supermarkets, shopping in this world was a struggle. I decided to buy it before anyone else can buy it.
Fortunately, Peggy was kind enough to let me have it at a reasonable price. People should get along well with their neighbours for times like these.
We walked happily through the shopping district and arrived at the school where Leni was sitting outside waiting for us. I saw Fabian-sensei reading to the younger kids inside.
Lately, I’ve been wondering when he rests. He looks frail but surprisingly had a lot of energy. I won’t disturb him.
“Mornin’, Leni.”
“Unn.”
Leni quickly held out her hand without returning my greeting. Yeah, yeah, I know.
I handed her money and a bag of beans and bread from my bag.
“I’ve received your payment. This way.”
Leni quickly took a bite of the bread she had received and headed off.
A few small kids followed us, perhaps because they sensed that something interesting might happen or perhaps because they weren’t interested in class.
Flowers and grass mostly grew in the less crowded areas on side streets in the city. We knew this since we used to sell flowers.
But Leni guided us to the back of a merchant’s house in the central district.
“Be quiet.”
We climbed on a wooden box by the wall and peeked over the fence into the merchant’s garden where I saw a red chrysanthemum-like flower.
“It’s that, right?”
Leni pointed at the flower.
The flower, the stem and the shape of the leaves were exactly the same as the picture I had seen in the plant illustration book. That was probably sansalem.
“Keep watch. I’ll go and pull one out for you.”
“No, no, no! You can’t!”
I quickly pulled at Leni’s clothes to stop her.
“Someone lives here.”
“Yeah? And?”
“The problem is that you don’t see it as a problem. Why are you trying to steal it?”
“They won’t give it to us if we ask. The people who live in this house are very stingy.”
I heard a shout from behind me as we were arguing, “What’re you doing?!”
Oh no, they found us!
I ran away. My childish instinct to run away when I hear an adult shouting at me kicked in before I could even think of an excuse.
I ran down to another street, made sure no one was chasing after me, then stopped to catch my breath.
Hah, it’s been a while since I’d run this much. Seriously…
I glared at Leni, who was also panting next to me.
“Is that the only place you’ve seen it bloom?”
“Yeah.”
Leni didn’t seem apologetic, and it made me feel a little less angry.
“What should we do?”
Rille-nee looked troubled. We couldn’t do anything without the flowers that inspired this plan.
I wonder if I can ask the people who live in that house for a flower. One of the girls who followed us tugged on my clothes.
“I’ve seen those red flowers outside the city walls.”
“Huh, really?!”
The girl had seen it outside by chance when she was helping some merchant. She didn’t recognize it from the black and white illustration, but she remembered when she saw the real thing.
“Can you show me where it is?”
“I can!”
The girl happily agreed and held out her small hands.
“Money! Or food!”
You’re telling me to give you either of those things?
“… You didn’t plan this, did you?”
I asked to check, but Leni and the other kids turned away and didn’t answer.
I ended up paying the girl in the end, and also brought food for the other kids who were following us. Though, the only thing I could buy them was some cheap bean soup.
I was forced to spend an unexpected amount of money just to pick some flowers, but I’ll let this slide since the kids were happy. I guess I’ll hold back on shopping for a while after today.
The girl led us to the east gate, and we found a large river.
It was my first time going out of this gate, so I was fascinated by its majestic currents. I also saw several boats floating far upstream.
“It’s that way!”
I looked towards the girl who was leading the way and saw a cluster of flowers among the grass.
They were swaying in the wind and there were also round sansalem flowers among them.
I quickly ran towards it and crouched down in the middle of the flowers.
The reddish scarlet petals which were similar to chrysanthemum petals stacked on top of each other and there was a yellow circle in the middle. It looked like a small sun.
Rille-nee gently held the bright flower.
“The flower looks like it will cheer you up just from looking at it.”
“Right? The colours are nice too.”
While we sisters were chatting warmly, Leni and the other kids were quickly pulling out the flowers and putting them in baskets. They were probably going to sell those flowers. They might even take our flower if we’re not careful.
But it would be a shame not to enjoy this beautiful flower field.
I took the sansalem and some other flowers and twisted the stems together to make a flower crown.
“Kikka, come here.”
I called the girl who had shown us here and put the crown on her head.
“Wah, what’s this?”
“Teach me how to make it!”
“Ok, ok.”
I showed them how to make a flower crown since they kept asking. It was so easy that everyone could do it straight away and they had fun putting it on their head.
“Do you think we should give this to Gis-nee as well?”
Rille-nee asked as she showed me the flower crown she had made. I couldn’t imagine Gis-nee wearing fancy wildflowers on her head and burst out laughing.
“We can if you want. I’m sure she’ll smile awkwardly when she receives it.”
“Fufu, but I think it’ll look surprisingly good on her.”
“Then I’ll give her a necklace.”
I made something that was just a larger version of the flower crown, but with more colourful flowers. The necklace wouldn’t fit in my bag, so I tied it to my bag.
But these flowers will probably wilt in the evening.
So, I cut some sansalem flowers with a knife, and wrapped the bottom of the stem with paper that had been moistened with water from the river. I also added some small white flowers wrapped in Rille-nee’s patchwork cloth to make a bouquet. The patchwork cloth was secretly sewn by Rille-nee yesterday while I was distracting Gis-nee.
This was a decent gift.
We played around and achieved our goal, then we decided to head back to town when the sun rose high in the sky.
“Thanks a lot!”
“You helped us too. Thanks for the food.”
We parted ways with Leni and the kids who were off to sell the flowers they had picked and went to the butcher store next.
The butcher store that we frequent was on the main street.
“We have beef today~! There’s only a little left! Get it fast before it goes!”
I heard a young voice selling the beef before we reached the store.
Are we too late?
I rushed to the front of the butchers and saw that there weren’t many pieces of meat left on the board placed on top of the crate. All that was left were bones and heads which only had a little bit of meat on them. The delivery might have arrived earlier than I had expected.
“――― Hey Ridill!”
The young man sitting at the table lit up as soon as he saw us, or rather saw Rille-nee. He’s the same as Rossi, huh.
“Hello Hank.”
“Hey! Ah, the younger sister is here too?”
Hank’s excited face dropped as soon as he spotted me.
Of course, I’m here. I’m always with her whenever we come to your store.
I restrained my smile and talked to him in a cheerful voice.
“Hey Hank. We’re here to buy some beef, are there no good cuts left?”
“There are. I put some aside for Ridill.”
Hank went into the back of the butchers and came out with a chunk of red meat wrapped in paper.
“It’s from the shank, but it’ll taste nice if you simmer it well.”
“Woah, thanks!”
Rille-nee thanked him with genuine happiness which made Hank melt.
He put some meat aside for a customer who he didn’t know would be coming.
“Did you ask Rossi if we were coming?”
“What?”
I asked him and he averted his gaze.
“Ah, well, he mentioned you would be coming.”
“Really? I have to thank Rossi later.”
Rille-nee is so polite. I heard Hank click his tongue. Seems like they’re both fighting over Rille-nee.
It would be more effective to directly confess to the person in question instead of uselessly keeping a check on each other. Well, I won’t easily give you the opportunity to do so!
But I’ll thank them both for today, and yay for Rille-nee’s charm. That’s my sister!
“――― Hey.”
I felt someone behind me as I finished paying.
Hank froze in front of me.
I turned back and saw three boorish men glaring at Hank.
“You said earlier that this was the last of the meat.”
Ah, this doesn’t look good.
I pulled Rille-nee’s arm and tried to hide around the corner, but one of the men grabbed my shoulder and stopped me before I could leave.
“Wait.”
Like I will!
I stretched my arms as far as I could and did a backstroke to get out of his grip.
“Ah, this fucking… Give me the meat!”
“Rille-nee, go over there!”
“Okay!”
One of the men tried to grab us to steal the meat, so we climbed up on the crates that were lined up like stairs in front of the store and escaped. Then, we kicked down the middle boxes to prevent the man from climbing up.
I had no idea that shopping would turn into a real battle! Everyone loves meat! I guess they were annoyed that Hank said there was no meat left even though there was, and they were probably drunk as well.
One of the other men grabbed Hank by the chest and the other one was smashing a board with a cow’s head on it in front of the store. The man who was after our meat hadn’t given up yet.
Maybe I should give them the meat and run, but it was rare to find beef in the market, and this was a gift for Gis-nee, so I didn’t want to give it to them. I don’t think these men will reimburse me for the money I had paid.
This was a busy street, and the patrolling soldiers will hear the commotion and come rushing over soon. I won’t have to run if I’m patient.
I kicked the hands that reached out from underneath us and shouted so that my voice would reach far and wide.
“SOLDIERS~!! SOMEONE’S CAUSING TROUBLE HERE!!”
“Shut up!”
“Kyaa?!”
Someone ran out the moment Rille-nee’s skirt was grabbed.
“AHHHH!”
I don’t know why, but Rossi suddenly appeared with a yell. The man was distracted by Rossi, and he let go of Rille-nee’s skirt.
Did you come here because you thought you could see Rille-nee? Well, I don’t care why you came here, but are you that free? Anyway, thanks for saving us!
“Great, Rossi! Keep it up!”
I tried to encourage him, but Rossi, who was hugging the man’s waist, was grabbed by the collar and easily thrown off.
Ah, Rossi’s no good. He can’t help us.
I prepared myself for the man who was coming towards us again.
―― But…
“Gaaaah?!”
There was a strange scream that didn’t sound like a normal human voice, and Rille-nee and I, as well as the man who was trying to take the meat from us, stopped moving and looked over.
There stood a deva king.
A corpse was already lying at Gis-nee’s feet, who was several times more reliable than a soldier.
Her normally sharp eyes were even sharper as she stared down the remaining two men.
“What do you want with my kids?!”
She asked in a low voice, or well more like threatened in a low voice.
“Wh-, h-hey!”
Gis-nee dodged the terrified man’s fist with barely any movement and twisted her hip and punched the man in the stomach.
The man flew and slid about five metres across the ground and plunged into the crowd of onlookers that had gathered.
What is this, a comic?
I was stunned by Gis-nee’s superhuman strength. I wonder if his internal organs are ruptured. Is he going to be alright?
I worried, but someone suddenly grabbed my leg and pulled me down.
“Aime!!”
Rille-nee tried to grab me, but she couldn’t reach me in time, and I was held by a filthy hand.
“D-don’t move! I’ll kill her!”
Oh no, I messed up, but I won’t just sit around and let you use me like this!
I quickly checked to make sure that he didn’t have any weapons and bit the fat man’s arm as hard as I could.
At the same time, I heard an unpleasant crushing sound above my head.
“―――― Uahmm?”
When I stopped biting him, his arm around me loosened and he fell backwards.
Gis-nee was standing in front of me and Rille-nee was holding a jar of dried tomatoes above me.
The fallen man’s nose was weirdly crooked. Apparently, Gis-nee had slammed her fist into the man’s face the moment I bit him, and Rille-nee had hit him on the head with the jar.
We worked together to bring him down. But well, it might have been a bit merciless.
“Are you alright, Aime?!”
Rille-nee quickly climbed down from the crate to check if I was hurt.
“I’m alright. Thanks.”
“Are you hurt anywhere, Rille?”
“Nope, thanks to you, Gis-nee.”
Then, Gis-nee let out a heavy sigh.
“You guys are so…”
Gis-nee patted my head and I could tell she was relieved.
The soldiers were late to the scene. They asked Hank and us what had happened, then promptly took the unconscious men away. The case was settled.
Rossi and Hank weren’t seriously injured either, and they were happy that Rille-nee treated them and thanked them over and over again. I didn’t ruin their happiness since I was also grateful to them.
“Thank you so much, you saved us.”
“N-no, I can do this much for Ridill.”
“Yeah, you don’t have to thank us!”
But when they finally got the chance to confess to her, they got carried away and didn’t tell her their feelings, which is why they won’t do.
“Speaking of which, what are you doing here Gis-nee?”
I asked Gis-nee while we were all helping Hank clean up his trashed store. I thought she was going to be at home today.
“I had a bad feeling since you two were acting weird, so I was looking for you.”
Eh, did she notice? I thought we were acting completely normal.
“How were we strange?”
“Aime was talking a bit weirdly and Rille was strangely silent. That’s how you two usually act when you’re up to something."
Woah, so she knew we were up to something.
“Then, I rushed here because I heard your voice. What the hell were you doing? What’s with that bouquet and the flowers on your bag?”
Gis-nee’s eyes landed on the gifts that we hadn’t wanted to show to her.
Argh, my plans have gone out of the window. I wanted to come home and say, “Thanks, Gis-nee,” with the force of a firecracker!
Gis-nee entered lecturing mode. She won’t stop asking until I answer her properly.
Rille-nee and I looked at each other and sighed deeply.
“――― With Aime!”
“Ridill’s!”
“We can’t cook it in three minutes~!”
I stood in front of the hearth and shouted desperately.
“… What’s going on?”
“I don’t know, but Aime told me to do it.”
Gis-nee propped her elbows on the table and stared at us blankly. I forced her to wear the shriveled flower crown and necklace, since I was frustrated that she had found out our plans.
“You don’t have to do this, you know?”
“We already started! Gis-nee, you just wait quietly!”
“Alright, alright. Well, I’m looking forward to it.”
I got hyped up after she said that. What I couldn’t surprise her with, I had to make it up in cooking.
The first thing I did was fry onions in a pan with oil until they were golden brown. When they were done, I took them out, cut the shank into smaller pieces with a knife, sprinkle salt on both sides, and put the onions on top.
Then, I added the malt liquor, water, dried tomatoes and some herbs. Next, I just had to simmer it until the sauce became thick. We don’t have a pressure cooker, so I had to be patient. It might be too late to mention this now, but this isn’t a summer dish. The main ingredient is shank meat. Well, it doesn’t matter as long as it tastes good.
The soup turned red from the tomatoes, and the soup turned into a bright colour like the sansalem flowers. The delicious aroma spread through the house and overpowered the smell of the medicinal herbs on the shelves.
I removed the scum, checked the consistency of the meat, and when it looked done, I seasoned the soup with more salt to complete the dish!
I managed to make it in time for the usual dinner time since I started cooking early.
I put a lot of meat on Gis-nee’s plate and brought it to the table.
“Thank you for waiting!”
“You’re welcome. That looks amazing.”
Gis-nee immediately took a bite of the meat, then she took off the flower crown and necklace.
“Yummy.”
Gis-nee was slightly surprised. Yay! After we watched her eat the first bite, we ate our portions as well.
I taste tested it while I was cooking, so I knew it was good. The umami and flavours of the dried tomatoes and fried onions made it delicious.
“It’s been cooked really well.”
“Aime came up with the recipe. I can’t believe it’s this delicious, you’re amazing Aime.”
Rille-nee drank the soup and said happily, but Gis-nee stopped eating and looked carefully at her plate as soon as my name was mentioned.
“… You didn’t put anything weird in this, right?”
“I didn’t?! I don’t experiment on people!”
“Don’t worry, Gis-nee. I kept my eye on her while she was cooking.”
“Eh, did you think I was going to put something strange in it, Rille-nee?”
“I, I didn’t.”
Rille-nee quickly waved her hands in a ‘no’ motion, but she probably did think I was going to put something weird in the soup.
“――― Well, leaving that aside.”
Let’s leave the trust issues aside and say what we have to say.
I stopped eating for a moment, took the bouquet that I hadn’t officially given to her yet and walked around to Gis-nee’s side.
“Once again. Thank you for letting us into your home, Gis-nee.”
“Thanks!”
I handed her the bouquet as we said our words of thanks.
Gis-nee put down her spoon and accepted the bouquet. She looked a little embarrassed.
“You also help me in a lot of ways.”
“You helped us more. We’ve been unlucky ever since we were born, but that all changed when we met you, Gis-nee.”
“Our fates changed when you accepted us as your family.”
Rille-nee continued after I spoke.
“You didn’t just give us a place to live. You are the kindest person we have met. You gave us the warmth that we’ve always wanted. So, we are really, really grateful to you.”
“That sums it up nicely.”
I casually walked around to the other side, made eye contact with Rille-nee and smiled.
“We love you, Gis-nee!”
We tightly hugged her from both sides.
The ex-soldier was caught off guard and couldn’t say anything for a moment. She placed the bouquet on the table and hugged us with her long arms.
“――― I love you guys too.”
She whispered softly and I felt extremely happy.
I was convinced that I hadn’t been born here through someone else’s ill will.