Chapter 60: Morning Tasks

After our cozy time in the morning ended, we had breakfast and then we got started on our morning tasks.

The first thing was inhouse cleaning. Since the bedroom was pretty dirty when I cleaned it with Toack yesterday, I expected that the living room would probably be even dirtier since we use that area even more.

And as expected, it was. Flora and I worked together to clean the dirt that had been accumulating in the living room.

When we reached a satisfactory level of cleanliness and finished cleaning, Flora went to get ready to leave for her parents’ house with the radishes that were harvested.

It seemed that aside from wanting to bring her parents the radishes as a gift, she also wanted to bring back some personal items that we don’t have enough of in our home. I think she said she wanted a bit more sewing items such as fabrics in our home as well.

Then once she gets back, she will start to prepare our outdoor lunches. I’m looking forward to it since we said we’re going to have sandwiches for lunch.

It’s been a while since I’ve had sandwiches that are made by her.

As for what I’ll be doing on the other hand-

「Alright, I’m going to go now, okay? 」n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

「Yeah, sure. I will do the crop maintenance and then some gathering after」

Yup, what I should be doing is our crop maintenance. Unfortunately, there was no reason for me to go to her parents’ house with her.

I actually wanted to go with her but I gotta do what I gotta do for our livelihood.

「Since we’ve been together this whole time, it feels a bit lonely even though we’re just going to be apart from each other for a little bit」

Hearing her say that with a somewhat lonely smile on her face made me happy inside.

Ahh, so she’ll also be lonely without me.

「I feel the same as well」

We started to feel lonely for no particular reason and went for a hug.

Then, I felt the touch of her soft skin and her warmth as her sweet scent tickled my nostrils.

Even though I think we are overreacting since she’s just going to be about a 15 minute walk away, I had an irresistible urge to feel her warmth.

After hugging for a while, Flora let go with a somewhat regrettable look.

「I have to come back to make lunch anyway, so I’ll be back as soon as I can」

「Yeah, I’ll finish my tasks as fast as I can too. I want to hurry and go to the field of flowers with you」

After those words, we smiled at each other before our lips touched.

Although our kiss only lasted for a moment, I truly felt her love.

「Okay, I’m going now」

「Yeah. Have a safe trip」

With that, Flora walked in the direction of the town square. When I looked at her from behind, I saw that her ears were really red. It was so cute.

「…*Sigh*, will I be able to leave her behind at home and go hunting in the future? 」

I headed to our cultivated field with such a deep worry in mind.

The field in front of our house was doing good today as well.

The days have been getting hotter, but the crops stayed strong as they grew rapidly. The way their leaves swayed from the breeze looked as if they were welcoming me.

I walked near the vegetables as I listened to the lovely sound of swaying leaves and then I crouched down.

While crouching, I noticed that there were strange weeds growing around them.

They are bad guys who suck the nutrients from my lovely vegetables. I got a grasp of the situation with a piercing glare, then I plucked them out as if I was taking revenge for a loved one.

In addition to plucking out the weeds that were growing on our field, I checked for insects on the vegetables as well.

I examined the leaves one by one, while making sure to check their underside as well.

「…How unpleasant to find them here too」

When I checked the back of a leaf that was sticking out, I found a green caterpillar on it.

I picked up the caterpillar and tossed it far away.

Ahh, a small part of the leaf was eaten. Well, let’s not worry too much about it because like Flora says, vegetables that have insects on them is proof that they are delicious.

But with that said, it doesn’t mean that I’m going to let them get away with it.

After I removed the bug, I drew some water into a water pot and sprinkled the vegetables with an adequate amount of water.

Transparent water rained down on the vibrant green leaves.

I soaked the leaves and soil while being careful that I didn’t overwater them.

「…Oh, you guys have gotten bigger as well」

I confirmed the growth of the vegetables as I watered them.

That’s when I noticed that the radishes have grown bigger again.

Since the second batch of radishes we planted have gotten bigger and bigger, it looks like they can be harvested next week.

Aside from radishes, the carrots, peas, and green vegetables such as the shails have all grown a little bigger.

I only noticed the growth of the fast growing radishes at first, but lately I’ve started to notice the other vegetables growing as well.

Like their leaves have gotten bigger or their stems have gotten slightly longer.

The reason I notice such small changes is probably due to the fact that I check up on them every day.

Becoming able to grasp the situation of the vegetables is something to be happy about.

It has been so fun checking up on their growth like this recently so I couldn’t help doing it every day.

I have become pretty used to the villager lifestyle too.

After I finished with the field work, I went to gather small fruits and nuts like goji berries in the woods nearby. In a village like this that has an abundant amount of natural resources, I don’t have to worry about food ingredients because I can find nuts, fruits, and medicinal herbs without even entering the mountains.

Then when I finished gathering some fruits, nuts, and some herbs for spices, I started to head back home to store them.

「Ah, Aldo-san!」

I heard a voice calling for me while I was walking along the river with a basket in hand.

When I turned around, it was Kyle who was carrying a huge bag on his back.

「Ohh, it’s you, Kyle. You’re here to collect some food ingredients too?」

「No. I was told by my teacher to give this to you」

Kyle shook his head and unraveled the cloth bag from his back and handed it to me.

It was heavier than I expected. There’s something long and thin. It doesn’t feel like it’s something that can be eaten.

「What’s this? Is it okay to open it?」

「It’s yours after all」

After hearing Kyle say that, I opened up the cloth bag while making a puzzled expression.

Then, a piece of red cloth came out of the bag.

No, that’s not right. This isn’t a piece of cloth…

「The red bear’s fur…」

「Yup, that’s right. Since you took it down by yourself, its materials all fundamentally belong to you. The villagers are thankful for the meat that was divided among them as well. I think they’ll be paying you back little by little once you’ve settled in」

「…I-I see」

I nodded with a serious expression after hearing Kyle’s explanation.

I remember taking down the red bear, but I have totally forgotten about what happened afterwards.

I see. So in exchange for the bear meat that was handed out to the villagers, they are going to give me something else in return, huh?

If so, then I think I can live a pretty good life for a while by just focusing on the field.

It seems that I might start expanding it sooner than I thought.

While I was thinking about that, Kyle was staring at me for some reason.

「…Don’t tell me, you forgot about the materials?」

「Ummm, I guess it did kind of slip my mind. I just wanted to help Flora at the time so I did not think about getting them at all」

Kyle’s gaze was strangely hurting me, so I justified myself quickly.

「…But I think the materials from a red bear are worth quite a lot though, no?」

…Speaking of which, he’s right, isn’t he? A red bear is still considered a decently strong monster.

I forgot about that because ever since I became active as an A-rank adventurer, the only materials that I would try to get were from monsters that are really stupidly strong.

I feel like we’re a bit out of sync.

As I worried about what to say, Kyle suddenly laughed and said,

「…Well, you’re a person who doesn’t really look for much in life I guess. And now since you have Flora as your bride, you probably don’t even see anything other than her in your eyes」

Even the young Kyle is teasing me in the end.

However, he did listen to my relationship problems during the times we went hunting, so I can’t really retaliate that strongly.

「…Well, you aren’t wrong about that」

The truth is that I have been obsessed with Flora and have forgotten all about that.

「You’re all lovey dovey with her now, aren’t you?」

「Kyle, I’m going to get you back when you fall in love with someone and when the time comes for you to get married, alright?」

That’s right. I’ll get Loren-san in on this for sure, but let’s get the monkey-like villagers that I saw in front of Ergys-san’s home to join in as well at that time. If it’s those guys, they should know exactly how to mess with someone’s heart.

「…I’m getting a bad feeling for some reason so I’m going home」

While I was thinking about such things, Kyle turned around and started to walk away on the road.

「Oi oi, since you came all the way here, come in for some tea」

「I think I’ll pass since you just started living together so you are probably quite busy. Please invite me again after you’ve settled in」

Aisha and Toack came to visit right away though.

Well, Flora isn’t here right now and I’m in the middle of work. That’s Kyle alright to have thought that far since he’s a smart kid. As always, he seems more like an adult than a 12 year old.

After I saw him off, I unfolded the red bear’s fur in my arms.

When it’s fully unfolded, its length goes beyond my height from the ground.

It’s natural since a red bear is a monster that’s bigger than a human, I guess.

I took a closer look at the fur that’s as red as flames.

It was properly processed as there weren’t any weird pieces of flesh or weird odors left on there. It did have a slight animal odor, but it seems to have gone through enough processing.

After confirming the fur’s completeness, I started to think about what I’m going to use it for.

Normally, all of it would be preserved for the winter and then used as winter wear.

It’s natural when you think about how thick the red bear’s fur is.

However, we would stand out quite a bit if we wore red fur in the winter.

And I think the red bear might be a symbol of fear to Flora, so I don’t really want to keep it around. It might remind her of the horrifying scenes every time she sees the red fur.

I don’t want to see her hurt from something like that.

If I were to trade this away, it’ll be the same thing no matter which villager wears it.

「I’ll discuss this with her. Maybe we can sell it to a traveling merchant or something the next time they come here…」

Fortunately, fur is something I can get from hunting animals since I’m a hunter.