“Midori” did not exist; it was merely a figment of my imagination.
It didn’t even have a specific shape, and the name was just something I had blurted out that day.
But “Midori” did exist. Whenever I felt lonely and couldn’t find anyone to talk to, I would resort to talking to myself to cope with the difficulties though that was honestly quite foolish.
So, I would stare at a certain spot and think that perhaps, right there in this empty world, something was truly keeping me company.
However, my brain remained within the range of a normal person’s, so the reality was clear: there was no one there a rock-solid fact.
But yesterday, it seemed someone had broken through into this sealed space, and even the airflow felt freer.
“As expected of a righteous character; a simple sentence has such great power. It’s shining as warmly as the sun!” I said, rubbing my chin.
In the morning light, his figure was slender. Even wearing rough, tattered hemp clothes, he couldn’t hide his elegant appearance and gentle temperament.
A beautiful young man! I would never get tired of looking at him for a hundred years!
I cheered internally.
But soon, I remembered the task at hand. “Ahem, the matter we didn’t finish discussing yesterday, I have something I want to talk over with you.” I walked to the door and sat down carefully, keeping in mind that I needed to be cautious so my sprained ankle wouldn’t act up again.
“If you’re going to stay, I’m planning on finding someone to expand the current house,” I said, gesturing with my hand and using a casual tone.
This place was far too cramped for two people, and he couldn’t keep sleeping on the wooden floor! He was practically becoming a long-term laborer living in misery! Doing this to the “ceiling of strength” would probably get me thrown into hell by the gods later, right?
Although he himself seemed quite indifferent to it all…
“I’ll find someone in the village to help with the design and consultation. Which side would you prefer to live on?”
“Either is fine.”
Ah… the expected answer.
With a look of “I knew it,” I said, “Fine, then we’ll listen to the advice of senior Ya when the time comes.” I then changed the subject. “I wanted to go right away, but our water vat seems to be completely empty.”
He looked at me, and I looked at him.
Then, I revealed a very “nuclear-friendly” smile.
“Today, you go alone. If it’s Yoriichi, it will surely be fine, right?”
Immediately after, I leaned back, adopting a lazy posture. “Oh my, my leg hurts! I can’t take a single step today.”
Only after witnessing my exaggerated acting did he realize what he was facing. After an imperceptible moment of stiffness, he said, “I can carry you there.”
“…Then how will you carry me back?”
This reason was fatal.
After a while, he said to me, “Actually, the public well isn’t that far away.”
This guy.
He had always appeared very cooperative and obedient, but he actually had his own thoughts, I thought, grinding my back teeth.
“But that wouldn’t be good,” I said, feigning distress. “If we suddenly stop going, Mrs. Tomoda might think we are dissatisfied with something.”
I gazed into the distance. “Oh dear, you might not understand, but mutual need and support are important ways to maintain interpersonal relationships. If we did something so rash, we might just grow distant because of it.”
As I spoke, I scanned him with my gaze.
For a moment, there was a sense of bewilderment about human hearts in his expression, but in the end, he seemed to yield to my rambling.
“Fine, I will go. You should get some rest.”
Seeing that I had achieved my goal, I couldn’t help but smile, cupping my hands around my mouth. “Then I’ll leave it to you~ Go early and come back early~”
Watching his figure move further and further away, the smile on my face slowly faded. “Continuing to be this withdrawn won’t do.”
I had never imagined that the “ceiling of martial arts” in his youth would have such a shy, timid, and naive personality.
“But, what to do!” I rested my chin lightly on my knees, pulling them together, and tilted my head. “The feeling of having someone to rely on is really great, isn’t it?”
Tsugikuni Yoriichi departed from Megumi’s little house. People in the village were already familiar with him; after all, his appearance was of the level that made one unforgettable.
“Hey, it’s Yoriichi! How come you’re here alone today?” Someone was already enthusiastically striking up a conversation with him.
Thinking about something, he paused for a beat before turning to the old man fanning himself at the doorway. “Megumi’s leg is injured.”
At this moment, he didn’t yet know the power of this sentence.
“That’s terrible!” Upon hearing this, the old man immediately rose from the doorway, went inside, and stuffed something into his arms all in one smooth motion. “This is our family’s wildflower honey. Take some back; it’s good for wounds.”
Along the way, as long as he answered the question, the things in his arms would +1.
Gradually, his body was filled with various gifts of sympathy. Later, he finally learned to be clever and stopped telling the honest truth to everyone he met that Megumi was injured.
“She is busy at home.” After he said this with a blank expression, the people who asked left without further ado, and he finally breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
It worked.
When he finally arrived at Mrs. Tomoda’s house, she opened the door and was a little surprised. “Oh my, did you come alone?”
He put down the buckets and said calmly, “Yes, Megumi is at home.”
“That’s true, you should be familiar with the environment here by now.” She nodded and asked, “Are you getting used to it?”
Usually, the task of talking to Mrs. Tomoda fell to Megumi, while he only focused on following, fetching water, carrying water, and heading home.
But today, he also had to chat!
“Yes,” he answered dully. Although he didn’t mean to be cold, he really didn’t know what he should say.
“You child.” Mrs. Tomoda smiled tolerantly. “You are too honest. Ah, no, that doesn’t seem right. I heard you beat up Ya yesterday?”
“I…” he opened his mouth.
Mrs. Tomoda: “At your age, squabbling is very normal. I’m sure it was his hot temper that provoked you. After all, he… he’s too impulsive sometimes; giving him a little lesson isn’t unreasonable.”
So, he closed his mouth again.
“But I really couldn’t tell. I thought you would be the one getting bullied. Ya hits quite hard… I was worried you might get hurt.”
She looked him up and down, showing a smiling expression.
“If you don’t mind me being long-winded, would you like to hear me talk a bit more?”
“About Megumi.”
He nodded.
“A few years ago, a terrible epidemic and famine broke out. That was when she lost her family, and her original house was burned down by villagers terrified of the plague.”
Mrs. Tomoda said: “I once had the thought of adopting Megumi, but my husband happened to be ill at that time… It’s a pity I couldn’t help her with anything. Thankfully, that child survived like a stubborn wild grass, even without relying on anyone…”
“She looked after her home and the fields all by herself. Even I might not have been able to do it, and she was at such a young age. No one ever thought she could possibly survive; it was simply a miracle.”
Mrs. Tomoda watched as the youth slowed his pace, slightly tilting his ear to listen.
“It shames me to say, but when I intended to adopt her, I was refused. No one reached out to her when she was most needed. Just thinking about whether she blamed us for our coldness makes me feel sad.” She covered her mouth. “I’m sorry, I seem to have said a lot of irrelevant things. These years, we always thought about making it up to her, but…”
He suddenly interrupted. “She didn’t blame you.”
Mrs. Tomoda was stunned when she heard this. The youth, who wore uniquely shaped hanafuda earrings, said to her: “She lives positively. Toward you, Mrs. Tomoda, toward the people in the village, toward me, and even toward the smallest, most fragile lives, she possesses the purest kindness and compassion.”
“She once told me that the people in the village were kind to her. It was only after that feeling was passed on that she made the decision to take me in.”
“Moreover, Mrs. Tomoda, you are needed.”
Her tears fell uncontrollably, and she covered her face and wept. “I truly, truly regret it…”
Tsugikuni Yoriichi’s gaze slowly softened. “Mrs. Tomoda feeling this way is because you are too gentle.”
“Did she really say that?” She wiped the tears from her eyes with her sleeve and sighed. “Was I too narrow-minded? That child is kinder than I imagined, Yoriichi.” After putting away her tears, she asked, “I don’t know, I heard you are staying. We all hope she can live a happier life. How you view her is very important to me.”
He couldn’t understand the complexity in Mrs. Tomoda’s eyes at all, only recalling their first meeting: she had been crouching among the weeds and wildflowers, her slender fingers reaching into dark water rippling in circles. Her bright eyes reflected vibrant green, full of interest and vitality, brimming with a spring-like compassion and benevolence.
He blinked and answered, “She is a goddess from the heavens.”
“Achoo!”
I was rolling dough at home and turned my head to sneeze after accidentally inhaling some flour.
I happened to look out the small window for a moment. “Strange, does it really take this long?”