Pay attention!
Standing in the lower part of the backyard now are two people.
One is a married woman with a look of shock; the other is a child of destiny, with a calm expression.
Just a moment ago, they had a conversation with a girl who was plain in appearance, plain in build, and plain in every conceivable way a conversation where their thought processes were on entirely different wavelengths.
“Pfft!” Mrs. Tomoda was the first to laugh, and once she started, she couldn’t stop.
Tsugikuni Yoriichi simply watched.
“My goodness, I never expected you to say something like that. If only Megumi could hear it—although it’s a little exaggerated, she really is a very good child.”
She lifted the corner of her sleeve. “But having said that, I have come to understand your intentions.”
“?” A trace of perplexity passed through his eyes.
“I believe you two will live a good life together from now on.”
Mrs. Tomoda was looking at him with the eyes of someone inspecting a future son-in-law.
Tsugikuni Yoriichi, who was not good with words, remained unaware and kept his expression quite serene and steady. “Very well.”
“As for Ya,” she pondered, “I will have a good talk with him.” She sighed. “Love goes one way, yet the heart feels another.”
Although I didn’t think Tsugikuni Yoriichi would encounter any danger in the village, I only felt relieved when I shielded my eyes with my hand and saw him returning.
“Huh? Why are there so many strange things?”
He put down the parcel. “Many people gave me things on the way.”
“Are you that likable?”
I was slightly shocked. Could it be that this was the “everyone-loves-the-protagonist” attribute of a righteous character?
“No.”
I tilted my head and looked at him.
After listening to his explanation, I couldn’t help but slap my thigh and laugh out loud. “Of course that would happen if you said it like that! Well, sometimes you need to tell a little white lie…”
“It’s because everyone likes Megumi, I suppose.”
“People in the village all know each other; having friendships is normal. ‘Like’? That’s true enough, but perhaps not to that degree.”
Sure enough, my intuition was correct: his social ability was a zero, a total washout.
Suddenly, remembering something, I hurried to turn around and go into the house. “Ahhh, the noodles, the noodles are getting mushy!”
After finishing our late lunch, we set off to find Mr. Goto, a skilled craftsman in the village.
“Your leg…” his gaze dropped.
“This?” I immediately strode forward, swinging my arms to show how relaxed I was, then gave him a thumbs up and a wink. “Thanks to you, it seems to have recovered~”
“Mr. Goto’s family have been carpenters for generations; his craftsmanship is excellent. He doesn’t just repair houses; the tables and chairs he makes are also very delicate and useful.”
As I spoke, we arrived at the rolling hills and mountains. After some searching, we found the bamboo forest he was surrounded by. The forest was breezy, and along a secluded path, a bamboo hut appeared. Behind the bamboo fence was a residence that seemed quite like a place where a recluse might live.
A thin man with half-grey hair was in front of the house, pushing a wood plane and crafting something by hand.
I pushed open the fence door and walked in generously. I didn’t disturb him; I pulled Yoriichi to sit to the side, waiting for him to set up an oval board and assemble a lantern chair before speaking up.
“Hello, Mr. Goto. I am Megumi, and I want to repair and expand my current house.”
Knowing he didn’t like small talk, I handed him a bag after I finished speaking.
He picked it up, weighed it, and glanced at me coldly. “You don’t need this much for repairs.”
“Mm-hmm, we’re expanding it, too,” I reminded him.
“Why does one person need such a large place? Is your money burning a hole in your pocket?”
Me: “…”
That’s right. Although Mr. Goto was a respected master craftsman, his most unlikable trait was… his sharp tongue.
Fortunately, I was already accustomed to Mr. Goto’s merciless comments. If he weren’t such a reclusive and eccentric person, he wouldn’t have moved to a place like this to live alone.
“It’s like this,” I said patiently. “You may not have noticed.”
I pointed to Yoriichi, who was automatically trying to become invisible beside me, and then stood up to outline his silhouette. “I’m expanding it for him.”
“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow, his tone rising in a question. It was only then that he turned his head as if just discovering Tsugikuni Yoriichi. After looking him up and down, he said with a lack of interest, “Aside from a nice face and a reasonably healthy body, he doesn’t seem as good as Ya.”
“Eh???”
My head was full of question marks.
Mr. Goto didn’t explain further, however, but turned to look at her. “I’ll accept this then. When do we start?”
Although I didn’t know what he was talking about, the deal must have been reached. I said, “If possible, the sooner the better.”
“I’ll be there tomorrow morning.”
“Then I’ll leave it to you. Also, this is a gift for visiting.” I bowed to him and then took out the eggs I had gathered from my chickens to give to him.
We walked out and closed the door.
I did a little hop of excitement and clapped my hands. “Great! The houses Mr. Goto designs are all very beautiful. I heard that’s the case for Mrs. Tomoda’s house. Not only that, he can survey land, and it seems that well was also dug by him. He’s truly an aloof and reclusive eccentric! I was actually prepared to be rejected.”
I patted my chest in relief. “Luckily he agreed. Did he seem to be in a good mood today?”
As I spoke, I realized Tsugikuni Yoriichi had been watching me for a while, as if there were something on my face.
“What’s wrong? Are you unhappy?”
He looked away. “Today, Mrs. Tomoda told me she once wanted to adopt you.”
“Ah, that did happen.” I recalled it for a moment, and then a look of sympathy appeared on my face. “An epidemic broke out in the village a few years ago, so everyone’s lives were very hard. I heard her husband got sick, and Mrs. Tomoda looked after him night and day, barely managing to snatch his life back from the Reaper, but he remained bedridden and there was no source of income for the family. How could I go over and cause her more trouble at that time? However, she did agree to let me come over to fetch water, which made things much more convenient.”
I rested my index finger on my chin. “Her complexion looked pale and haggard at the time, but there was nothing I could do to help her.”
Speaking of that, that period really was dark! The kind where you could count the grains in the rice jar. We had to go hungry every day, and beyond that, we had to watch others suffer.
If only I had been some kind of medical student or agronomist, but I was just an ordinary, plain person…
I couldn’t help but look at his special eyes and say, “If one has talent in a certain area, it should be a very happy thing, because it means being able to better protect those around you.”
“It isn’t sorcery, or being a monster?”
He said slowly, “I am a person who brings misfortune. My mother fell ill because of me, and leaving home was the right choice. So be it. The existence of so-called ‘special talents’ is, to others, nothing but total misfortune. Someone once said that, and I have been unable to forgive myself.”
His eyes were filled with mist-like sorrow, and there was always a bloody, unhealed wound in his heart.
“The person who said that only saw the differences between people, not the connections between them. To strip a person of everything until only a heart remains, beating for the most profound things is that all there is in his memories?”
I cupped his cheeks in my hands, gazing intensely at him. “It is far from that. I feel pity, but not for you for the person who said those words! How pitiful! When we have things we are capable of doing, they only find satisfaction by blaming people who have done no wrong.”
“Do you really think you are something special because of that?”
He shook his head in my hands.
“Then don’t be confused by such words anymore!” I took the opportunity to pinch his cheek and then smiled. “Don’t be so foolish. If you feel ashamed because you are too strong, that is the height of arrogance!”
I let my mind wander.
Ah, it feels so good. It’s quite fulfilling to secretly bully the “ceiling of martial arts.” A successful day. I nodded to myself.
“You’re right.” He opened his mouth slowly, and I seemed to find myself in the depths of his pupils. “If only I could have met Megumi sooner.”
His expression was still a little dazed and seemed to be shining slightly, looking very cute. I couldn’t help but ruffle his hair. “It’s not too late now!”
He looked at me and said, “I don’t know how to earn money.”
His tone carried a hint of defeat when he said this.
Although the topic jumped significantly, I understood what he meant, and I waved it off. “It’s okay. That you don’t have that talent was within my expectations.”
After all, his talents were likely all poured into killing demons.
In a household living a normal life, his greatest advantages were probably his diligence and capability; otherwise, he was utterly useless. (Mist)
It must have been the money spent earlier that was still on his mind.
“Actually, I still have a little money. When the market opens, we can buy some materials to make things and sell them in town.”
I suddenly became vibrant and animated.
My plan was that once the house was repaired and the housing problem was solved, we would go to the market and set up a stall!
The thought of doing business had been swirling in my mind for a long time. What to do, how to do it—I had considered every aspect. The only hurdle I couldn’t solve was the local hoodlums and thieves who often hung around the streets!
Without a means to protect myself, if I ran into trouble with local scoundrels, I would at best lose everything, and at worst, lose my life!
But now, I had nothing to fear!
“Hehehehe…” I giggled out loud, having already begun to dream of the future without limits. One day, I’ll eat well! I’ll dress well! I’ll have it all!
God knows how I’ve survived up until now!
At this moment, I was still far from knowing that I would indeed realize this idea one day in the future, but… it would have been better if I hadn’t!
I smiled happily, thinking that I had to give Yoriichi something good to eat so I could reasonably ask him for small favors.
And then, I saw a strange jar appear in front of our door.