The weather was great, despite the early summer sun. It was strong, but not yet blinding. The vegetables in the fields took this sunlight in and grew rapidly. Chickens raced around, while the shepherds led their dogs to the nearby fields where they had left their sheep and goats to roam. After squatting down to pluck some weeds from the furrow, Belgrieve, with sweat glistening on his brow, stood and stretched out.
“Ah... So hot.” Summer had yet to enter full swing, but it felt much hotter when he moved his body. The sunlight did not help.
Before long, Kerry’s son Barnes rushed over in a panic.
“Wh-What are you doing, Mr. Bell?!”
“Hmm? Barnes? Well, as you can see, I’m weeding...”
“No, you’re not! Our farmhands can do that!”
“I had time to spare...”
“Our folks are going to run out of work at this rate.”
“Yeah, well, that’s true, but...”
“C’mon. My old man told me to get you. Over here, come on.”
Belgrieve had a wry smile on his face as Barnes herded him under the shade of the gazebo. Kerry was working there, looking through his ledger. He was quite a bit rounder than he had been in the past, a full-bodied man in high-quality clothing. By now, he was a manager rather than a farmer, and he would rarely work in the fields himself.
Kerry was known as the wealthiest man in the village. His fields were sprawling; his sheep numbered a hundred and fifty, his goats one hundred; and he had opened workshops to produce textiles and cheese, providing work for the rest of the village. It was in Kerry’s field that Belgrieve had been plucking weeds. He hadn’t been hired to do so, but he would often help with other fields when he wasn’t busy with his own, and Kerry’s was one of them.
Kerry grinned when he spotted him. “Yo, Bell. Let me guess, you were weeding our fields again.”
“Pretty much. I saw it needed tending, so I...”
“Ha ha ha, don’t worry about it! But, you know, Bell, you don’t got to work the fields anymore, you get me? We’d all gladly chip in to feed one more mouth. Between your work in the mountains, and with the fiends—hell, you teach the kids too. We’re all grateful.”
Belgrieve awkwardly scratched his head. “I didn’t really do it for that.”
“Aha ha ha, that’s what I like about you! Oi, Barnes! Fetch the wine, would you? Cheese too!”
His son rushed off.
“Hey now, you’re drinking in the middle of the day?”
“I’m not slacking off. I tried a new process on the cheese. That peddler who dropped by town told me about it.”
“Hmm... Then what about the wine?” Belgrieve asked, looking at the earthenware jug Barnes brought in. It didn’t have a label.
Kerry laughed. “Truth is, I’ve been raising a grapevine for some years now. Thought it might be the birth of a new industry here.”
“Wait... You mean on that new plot!”
“Now you’re getting it!” Kerry chuckled as he poured the glass. The crimson liquid leaped and bounced around the glass.
Six years prior, Kerry had devised a plan to cultivate a patch of wasteland near the village. The soil quality was terrible and a lizard fiend had appeared in the middle of the process, so many thought the plan had reached an impasse. However, the fiend was dealt with by Belgrieve and Angeline. The wasteland was steadily cleared and cultivated until it had become a splendid field, though Belgrieve never knew it would be for grapes.
The wine was a bit too tart, but the flavor was deep and enjoyable. “Not bad at all.”
“You think so? Then do you think it’ll sell?”
Belgrieve took another mouthful and swished it around his mouth. “It’s a bit too sour. But just a little work, and it’ll sell fine.”
Kerry looked quite happy to hear that. “That’s a relief. The grapes are still small, and I’ve not got a lot of them, but I think I’ll plant a few more seedlings this year. Could you help me then?”
“Of course I will... The cheese is pretty good too.”
“Isn’t it? Have as much as you want.”
For a while, the two forty-year-old men munched on cheese and sipped wine across from one another. Then, Kerry spoke up as if it suddenly occurred to him: “How’s Ange doing?”
“Can’t say. Haven’t heard much this past year.”
“Hey now, you okay with that? Sounds pretty iffy.”
“No news is good news, as they say.”
“I see... You trust her a lot then.”
“Ha ha. I mean, last year she mentioned that she’d become S-Rank. Haven’t got another letter since. I’m sure she’s busy as all heck.”
“Is S-Rank something amazing?”
“Yeah, that’s the highest in the guild.”
“That abandoned kid, eh... She’s really something.”
“Yeah... I’m proud to be her father.”
It had been five years since Angeline left for the capital city of Orphen. Belgrieve was about to turn forty-two. While Kerry had grown fat, his own body had firmed up instead, and his muscular build did not give off the slightest sign of age getting to him. However, the wrinkles in his face were deeper; his hair had grown out, and he now bundled it in the back. His red beard and mustache grew thicker each year.
Barnes shuffled towards them in a hurry. “The caravan’s here, pops! Also, there’s a letter for Mr. Bell! It’s from Ange!”
“Oh! That’s wonderful! Good timing, eh, Bell?”
“Ha ha, almost like they planned it.”
Belgrieve took the letter with a wry smile and broke the seal. Kerry and Barnes anxiously watched him read it to himself.
“I see... I see.”
“Wh-What did she say? How is she? She doing well?”
Belgrieve lifted his face with a grin. “She’s been given an extended break, so she’ll be returning at the end of the month.”
“Oh...!” Kerry shot to his feet. “Big news! Great news! I gotta prepare something.”
“Hey, hey, don’t make such a big deal out of it.”
“What are you saying, Bell? It’s the first time in five years. You should be a bit happier.”
“Ha ha, it just doesn’t feel real to me.”
But still, he tried picturing it. If five years had passed, Angeline would now be seventeen. She was surely taller by now. What about her short hair? Had her face grown a little more adult-like? Did she have a boyfriend now? He had always enjoyed watching how all of the village’s children grew, but even more so his own daughter. Then it was, indeed, cause for celebration.
Once the joy had hit him, Belgrieve filled his glass again and held it high.
“Cheers. To Ange.”
“Praise be to the spirits, and the Great Goddess Vienna!”
Maybe it wasn’t so bad to drink midday after all. At least, that was what Belgrieve was starting to think.
○
In the city of Orphen, at the counter of an adventurers’ guild at a downtown street corner, a black-haired girl was laying her anger bare. The lady running the desk was pale, quivering. The building was filled to the brim with adventurers, yet every one of them seemed on edge, silent with stifled breath.
The black-haired girl was also an adventurer, wearing light armor for mobility and bearing a sword at her side. Her hair, which was long enough to fall to her hips, had been artlessly tied back, and her eyes—somewhat droopy and sleep-deprived—were the same shade of black. Those black eyes were seething, as she made no attempts to conceal her rage; her glare pierced right through the receptionist.
“I remember you saying I could take a break tomorrow,” the girl growled after a moment.
“N-No, um.” The receptionist seemed to be scared out of her mind. “Th-That was the plan, but there have been numerous reports of a Calamity-Class fiend around the town of Garuda...and Angeline, you’re the only one who can handle it...”
The black-haired girl was Angeline. It had been five years since she left Turnera. Now seventeen, she was taller and had begun to look rather grown-up, though some childlike innocence still lingered on her face.
Ange continued to rage, “Why do I have to go? It’s just a Calamity-Class; any A-Rank and above should manage. You’d go so far as to revoke my precious holiday just to rope an S-Rank in?! This is tyranny...!”
“Th-Th-The thing is, an AA-Rank party headed out a while ago, but they failed...”
Angeline slammed her fist against the counter. Cracks spread across its marble surface, reaching as far as the floor. The receptionist had nearly fainted by then, but she just barely held on.
“Such incompetence... Each and every one of them... They’re all dragging me down because of their failures...!” Emanating a pitch-black aura, Angeline muttered what sounded like curses under her breath. “S-Rank? So what? It’s been one hard request after the next... I don’t even have time to write to dad, never mind returning home! Now my long-awaited time off is crushed by a sudden request...! I’ve been doing this nonstop for almost a year now! Why do Calamity-Class fiends keep popping up...?! And why are they left unchecked...?! What the hell are the rest of them doing?!”
Angeline looked over the other adventurers, who were silently trying to make themselves look scarce. They awkwardly turned their backs to her and averted their eyes.
She violently scoffed, then smacked the counter again. The cracks spread even further.
“This is pathetic!”
“H-Hold on, Ange. Calm down.”
“Sh-She’s right. There’s no use in taking it out on her.”
Two girls who had been anxiously watching the exchange finally stepped in to stop her.