151 - Grenore's Spring
The city of Grenore, protected by the Black Knights, is peaceful. Occasionally an incident or accident occurs and a Black Knight rushes into the Fortress Lord's Residence to report, but disasters never befall me personally like they did in the city of Lagarette. I still rarely go outside the residence, just to go to Menhishumi Church or follow along with Tabitha's shopping, but even when I was inside the hotel in Lagarette, I almost got kidnapped. As expected, the city of Grenore has good public order, I suppose.
As I continued studying Basic Knowledge at Menhishumi Church, by the middle of spring I had become fairly proficient at reading and writing. I am not perfect yet, so I still have Kalisa or Hermine read parts I do not understand to me, but I think it is a sufficient achievement for a nine-year-old child.
...Teo, now that he is actually attending class seriously, is pretty smart, huh.
I also receive lessons from Hermine at the residence, so my study time itself should be longer, but occasionally in the classroom at Menhishumi Church, I learn things from Teo. That somehow felt strange.
...Lusio and Mirshe-chan have not really changed, huh.
Since I witnessed Lusio placing flowers in Mirshe's hair at the Spring Flower Festival, I have been observing the two of them consciously, wondering if that was what it meant, but there has not been any particular change. I had begun to think maybe he simply decorated Mirshe with flowers that were at hand, but when I consciously observe them, Lusio seems to hold Mirshe's hand often when they act together. Whether that is consideration for a younger child or comes from fondness, I could not help wondering, so I consulted the precocious Elke, and she told me it was probably because Lusio's younger sister and Mirshe are the same age. Since Lusio, who aims to become a scholar, left home early and started working at Menhishumi Church, he probably worries about his little sister living with their family sometimes, she said.
While I was overthinking Lusio's actions, Mirshe turned eight. It seems Mirshe's birthday was in spring. If I had known in advance, I could have celebrated, but since I only found out the next day in the classroom, I could not prepare anything.
...She would probably be happy with some candy, but she probably would not accept anything expensive, would she?
Still, when I consulted Leonardo about wanting to celebrate somehow, he told me to give her the clothes I wore when I was at Aurelia's house last year. The clothes from when I was at Aurelia's house were secondhand clothes prepared in a hurry, so they would not feel out of place for a commoner to wear. However, the secondhand clothes I bought after coming to Grenore are well-tailored, so if Mirshe wore them walking around the slums where she lives, they might invite unnecessary trouble. Clothes Leonardo had a tailor make for me would technically be secondhand as my hand-me-downs, but with the tailoring being what it is, that would be out of the question.
...Have I grown quite a bit in a year?
While looking for clothes I could give to Mirshe, I tried on the clothes I wore last spring. I do not usually feel it much, but when I try on clothes from last spring like this, the hems are shorter and the shoulders feel off. My body had grown, and the clothes had become small.
"This one-piece was my favorite deshu, but it deshu't look like I can wear it anymore this year."
Since it is not secondhand, but clothes Leonardo had a tailor make for me, it is a shame, but when I wear it now, the sleeves are too short and it looks a bit uncool. If it were short-sleeved, I might still be able to wear it, but unfortunately, this one-piece had long sleeves.
"...If it pleases you, I can fix it."
Kalisa adjusted the sleeve area and hem, saying if the size is adjusted a bit, it can still be worn. But she said if I want to wear the same thing next year too, I would have to have a new one made, since there is not enough fabric.
"...Young lady, you only have one pair of pants, do you not?"
"It seems Leo wants me to wear skirts."
The one pair of pants I have were prepared by Leonardo for horseback riding. And I have only worn them once, in autumn. He had them tailored to take me on a winter trip, but I refused to go to Mandez, and the way I ended up going to Mandez was an irregular method of being snatched away by spirits, so the riding pants never saw use.
"...Do you like pants, young lady?"
"I do deshu. Because I do not have to worry about my skirt flipping up."
There is a free atmosphere regarding clothing, but Leonardo seems to think girls should wear skirts. Perhaps because of that, all the clothes Leonardo has tailored for me are skirts, like one-pieces and dresses. If I were to add, they are also frilly and fluttery with lace and ribbons.
"...Then let us make pants within a range that does not deviate too far from Leonardo-sama's preferences."
Saying that, what Kalisa made for me was a culotte skirt. Since the crotch is sewn closed, it is technically pants, but at first glance it also looks like a skirt. Even Leonardo, who seems to want me to wear skirts, did not complain about the culotte. He just smiled wryly and worried, "I hope it does not make her tomboyishness worse..." so I encouraged him with custom shoes as usual. When Leonardo, rubbing his shin, saw the one-piece inspired by cherry blossoms that Kalisa had made, he seemed to forget the pain in his shin right away. He had me change into the elegant cherry-blossom-colored one-piece right away, telling me to show him.
...Wow. I look like a refined young lady.
I could not help letting out an admiring sigh at my reflection in the mirror. The one-piece, said to be inspired by double cherry blossoms, was a luxurious dress made of multiple layers of elegant, near-white cherry-blossom-colored fabric. The hem moved beautifully too. It was lovely. It truly looked like I was wearing double cherry blossoms.
The skirt fluttered and spread out every time I moved, and as I twirled around in place, Leonardo made a face like he could not let me go outside. Lately, Leonardo's big brother foolishness has been getting worse and shows no sign of stopping.
"Come to think of it, I have only worn the pants Leo had made for riding once."
When I stopped moving, the petal-like skirt wrapped around my legs. Then it swung in the opposite direction with the momentum and fluttered open, and I could tell it was pleasing Leonardo's eyes.
...He has got a face like he would grant any wish I made right now.
For my brother, it is a pathetic face.
"When Tina wore pants..."
Leonardo showed a slightly thoughtful gesture and seemed to catch what I was getting at. His face, which had been slack and goofy, returned to a somewhat presentable state.
"Want to go check on the pioneer village sometime?"
"It is a promise deshu!"
While making a promise to go check on the pioneer village where Jean-Jacques and the others were, the topic turned to practicing horseback riding when I turn ten. I had thought Leonardo wanted to raise me as a refined lady, so was he not? But I was a little interested, so I refrained from pointing it out.
I am glad I can now send letters to Aurelia without going through the Sedovara Church, though I wonder what method they used. Since it is the Black Knights who transport food and other supplies to Aurelia, the replies from Aurelia also no longer go through the Sedovara Church. Aurelia seemed to feel liberated by that too, and I felt her letters had softened just a little.
...Mm, I was praised.
The handkerchief I had been embroidering over winter to give to Aurelia ended up becoming someone else's, so I made a new handkerchief and gave it to her. Aurelia told me it was neatly sewn. I could feel my cheeks relaxing with happiness. Hermine said I had the same face as Leonardo. Even though we are not blood-related, we are like siblings who take after each other, she said.
...I guess the Sedovara Church finally changed their methods too.
In Aurelia's letters, besides her recent news, there was also content like a report on the training status of her apprentices. According to that, before they had been sending excellent pharmacists as apprentices, but this time there were two apprentices. One was a person already complete as an excellent pharmacist as before, and the other was a complete novice who had never even studied under a pharmacist before. It seems that when she had me help with some material preparation last year, I turned out to be unexpectedly useful, which was the trigger for them to send a novice. Rather than someone who, having become a pharmacist with their own pride, resists Aurelia's guidance, a novice who knows nothing and has no choice but to absorb everything obediently.
...The novice learned faster, and the other one, whose pride was wounded, could run away at any time, she said.
I wondered if more bones would be added to the rock wall at the edge of the forest. Thinking about that, I hoped the pharmacist would somehow manage to stay without running away.
The puppy (Kokumaro) who became a member of the residence in autumn had, by spring, grown to be almost indistinguishable from an adult dog. Compared to an adult dog, he was perhaps one size smaller. I heard he was born in summer, same as me, so he will soon be one year old.
Leonardo said he intended to make the grown Kokumaro my guard dog in the future, and entrusted him to a trainer at the fortress. Once it comes to this, he cannot come back to the residence until training is over so he does not develop spoiled habits, and I am apparently not allowed to go see him either. The ugly cat cushion, which had now completely become Kokumaro's bed, looked a little lonely without its master.
When I said I was lonely without the puppy who was always at my feet, Leonardo invited me to go on a trip. Let us go check on the pioneer village like we promised, he said. When I asked if it was alright to leave the research materials of the saint Yuuta Hiraga unguarded, he said Alf would stay at the residence like when he went to Mandez in winter.
"Are not the bags a bit too much?"
I felt a little strange about the mountain of luggage tied to the horse's back. When I came to check on things in autumn, there should have been less luggage.
"The main luggage is Tina's snacks, Tina's candies, and Tina's snacks."
"I cannot eat all this deshu."
The pioneer village is a one-day ride by horse, so even thinking with some leeway for the round trip, it is a three-day short trip. A mountain of snacks so large it feels strange is suspicious.
"If you cannot finish them, you can just leave them there."
"They are souvenirs for Jean-Jacques and the others deshu?"
If that is the case, I wished he had said so from the start, I puffed out my cheeks in protest. Was I not being treated like some kind of snack-loving monster or something, past being a glutton, with such an unreasonable amount of snacks? If they were souvenirs for the former patients living in the pioneer village, the amount made sense.
The state of the pioneer village was quite different from when I came to check in autumn. Before, there were only three buildings, but now about ten new houses had been built. There should have been black scorched ground visible in places, but perhaps thanks to the spring season, wildflowers and weeds had grown, covering the black ground.
"There are sprouts in the fields too deshu."
Leonardo helped me down from the horse, and I checked the fields. Irregularly shaped ridges had been made, with new sprouts growing on them. Some were densely clustered, some sparse, with poor balance.
...Generally good?
As far as I could tell, there seemed to be no problems. However, it seems the pioneer village was not functioning entirely without issues after all, and the reports coming to Leonardo had some unsettling things mixed in. During winter, the residents' mood deteriorated especially due to the cold and the sense of confinement, but when letters from family and acquaintances living in Grenore were delivered along with food supplies, they apparently regained their composure.
...The lover of that man from the memorial service was doing well too.
The letter sent by the man who had been searching for the soul-calming light of a woman named Rosario apparently became the catalyst that calmed the residents in winter.
After I had been bantering with Jean-Jacques about whether it was 'Jacques' or 'Chack', Leonardo returned from finishing his reports.
"Last time we went to visit the graves at Mey Village..."
He asked if I wanted to go to Mey Village, and I shook my head in answer.
"It is alright deshu. Because I was able to properly say goodbye to Father and the others."
"...When was that?"
"During the Divine King Festival, Father and the others accompanied me all the way to the return path."
Things from when I was taken by the spirits are sometimes remembered, sometimes not. But strangely, this is the only thing I can say with confidence. That day, I was able to meet my parents. And I was able to say a slow goodbye, too.
When I told him I did not need to go to Mey Village, Leonardo smiled with a slightly relieved expression.
"...Huh? Is not the direction wrong?"
We were supposed to stay overnight at the pioneer village and then head back to Grenore, but somehow it felt like the horse was going in a strange direction. I do not have a great sense of direction, so it might be my mistake, but even I can tell when the horse is heading in the opposite direction from the way we came.
When I pointed out the road was wrong, Leonardo grinned meaningfully and said it was a rare trip out. I said I did not need to stop by Mey Village, but was he planning to go there anyway? I wondered for a moment, but it did not seem like he intended to go to Mey Village either.
After two days of camping, around the time I started thinking Alf might be worried about us, I realized where Leonardo was heading. The season was a bit different from when I came before, so the trees looked different, but when I saw the watchtower and the fog that appeared to block the view, I recognized the place.
For the first time in a year, I had come to Waiyakku Valley, where Aurelia lived.
[Author's Note]
I passed through spring at a quick pace. Tomorrow's update is a break.
I will fix typos when spring comes. I fixed the typos I found.