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WHEN Kazuya and I return to the armor shop, the shopkeeper is over the moon that we accept his conditions. We introduce ourselves again, fully this time, and learn his name is Jabrin and his wife is Marie.
I waste no time changing into the simple, second-hand clothes we bought, which are like any other in town. I have a short-sleeved tunic-type of dress, and Kazuya has a long jacket over loose trousers. Jabrin invites us to gather around a table for dinner, which Marie has made.
“It’s nothing fancy, but there’s plenty of it! Dig in, and don’t go easy on servings!” Jabrin says with a belly laugh. He’s in a good mood.
“Hmph! What do you mean it’s nothing fancy?” Marie cocks an eyebrow at him. She’s spirited with an imposing voice.
Jabrin shrinks in his seat. “No! That’s not what I meant, Marie! Your potato dishes are always incredible! Ha… Haha!” Flustered, he desperately tries to smooth things over.
But Marie doesn’t seem like she was truly angry in the first place, and turns to us with a smile. “It’s true it’s only potatoes. I come from a family of farmers, and they send me what’s about to spoil. I do my best every year to use them so none go to waste. But they should taste all right. Please help yourself. There’s plenty for seconds.”
“Thank you!” I say and dig into Marie’s cooking. There’s a creamy stew with bread and cheese, grilled sausage on a stick, and a huge bowl of steamed potatoes. It looks amazing… Come to think of it, Kazuya and I haven’t eaten anything today.
I slurp a mouthful of the stew. Yep, it tastes as good as it looks! The potatoes in the stew are soft from simmering in milk. The base blends well with the other ingredients, and I can tell its sweet aroma comes from the semolina in the mix.
Huh? How do I know that?
I cock my head, examining the food. When I take a bite of something else, same as before, I sense how the dish was made and what ingredients it contains. How weird. Somehow, I know exactly how to cook our meal, and info on ingredients I don’t remember ever learning.
Could this be a skill?
Cooking is a hobby of mine. At first I just thought it’d make me more popular at school, and on the rare occasion, I’d share dishes I made with boys. They complimented me so much that I got carried away and expanded my repertoire to all sorts of dishes. I even tried my hand at French cuisine. I wonder if those experiences led to me having a useful skill in this world?
“What’s up, Sakurako?” Kazuya looks worried because I stopped eating.
“Oh, nothing!” With a smile I shove the spoon in my mouth again. I’m not used to how having this skill feels, and I don’t completely understand it, but it’s not a bad thing. Not to mention how delicious the food is in this world! And it’s important to ensure the food you eat is delicious!
I feel eyes upon me as I chew and look up to see Marie smiling.
“You must’ve been famished! You’re so petite, but you’re packing it away!”
Wh-Whoops. I guess I’ve eaten a heck of a lot. But it’s delicious… N-No, I should stop. I’ve resolved to be a fragile princess-y girl in this world.
Oh, would you look at that? I accidentally took a bite of sausage… I subtly wipe my mouth with my hand and face Marie with a grin. “S-Sorry, it’s just that it’s really good.”
“It’s nothing to apologize for! Watching somebody enjoy my food makes me feel like it was worth making! Go on, don’t hold back!”
“I won’t, thank you.” I glance at Kazuya, who stares back with a playful smile. I have a feeling he’s going to tease me about this later.
Jabrin then asks a bunch of questions about our uniforms. We dodge giving detailed answers by saying an elderly craftsman in our village sewed them, so we don’t know anything about the specific techniques. Jabrin’s especially interested in the zipper, and he keeps opening and closing it even while eating, until Marie scolds him.
After the fun dinner, me and Kazuya go to the bedroom which used to belong to their son. It’s about 100 square feet and furnished simply with a bed in the center, empty shelves against the wall, and a chair.
“Well, there’s only one bed. You can take it; I’ll sleep on the floor.” Kazuya pulls one of the blankets off the bed and spreads it on the floor, then lays on it.
“What?! That’s not right! You take the bed. I can sleep anywhere. You might catch a cold. I’ve never caught a cold before, so I’ll be fine. Also, I’ve fallen asleep in the dojo before, so I’m used to sleeping on hard floors.”
“It’s fine. I’ll sleep here,” he insists.
“But…” I’m at a loss for words. Kazuya’s being surprisingly stubborn, but that’s why we were even allowed to stay here tonight. I’ve been depending on him all day for almost everything. I’m sure he’s tired, and I want him to sleep well tonight. So he should at least…
“Hey, Kazuya. In that case, wanna hop in bed with me?”
The bed’s not that big, but the two of us will just fit. Kazuya’s pretty slender and I don’t sprawl out in my sleep. At least, I don’t think I do. I’m asleep, so I can’t say I don’t with one hundred percent certainty, but sharing a bed shouldn’t be that bad! Yeah, it’s a good idea!
But Kazuya looks incredibly put out and looks at me like I’m an idiot. What did I do?
“Excuse me? Are you stupid?”
At long last he’s making fun of me with his words, not just his eyes. So cheeky! And not just cheeky. There’s a serious edge to his tone.
“I j-just figured that you’ve gone out of your way over and over again today, so wouldn’t you rather sleep in a bed than on the floor?” I suggest, ignoring his frightening intensity.
Kazuya’s glare grows even sharper. He stands and approaches me where I sit on the bed, then puts his hands on either side of me, pinning me—trapping me.
He brings his face directly in front of mine. Whoa. He’s really close.
“Sakurako. Do you realize what you’re asking by offering that?”
What? What else am I asking? I frown quizzically. “I just want you to be able to rest in a bed, that’s all.”
All I’ve done is explain what I meant leading up to when he snapped. I don’t know what conversation Kazuya was having, because when I tilt my head in confusion, he lets out a big sigh and lies back on the floor.
“What’s wrong?”
He pauses, then says, “Nothing. Forget it, let’s go to sleep already. Me on the floor, you in the bed. If you keep talking nonsense, I’m going to go outside and sleep on the bare ground!”
He’s acting a bit deranged, so even if this arrangement doesn’t make any sense to me, I nod and lie back on the bed to appease him. Yikes. I wonder what his problem is?
I gingerly sneak a peek at him. Even in the dim red candlelight, I can tell his face is red.
Wait, is he embarrassed? I’m like an older sister to him, so of course he wouldn’t want to share a bed with me. But c’mon, when we were little, we used to take baths together, so I figured this would be the same…
Now that I think of it, Kazuya’s also at a difficult age. I didn’t realize he was in his rebellious phase. Aw, that’s precious.
“Kazuya, I’m sorry, my bad. I should’ve phrased it more sensitively. I’ll be more careful next time. But even if you’re in a rebellious phase, whatever you do, just don’t get dragged into anything illegal. Promise me, okay?”
Kazuya turns his head to shoot me another exasperated glare.
Huh? I thought his face was red just now. Did I imagine it? Maybe it only looked that way because of the candlelight.
“Sakurako, if you say anything else, I’m outta here.”
Whoops, okay, sorry. All I’m doing is making him angrier. But I only apologized! Why’s he being so cold?
I nod obediently and lie back down. I don’t understand boys in their mid-teens. When I get a boyfriend, I’ll ask him how you’re supposed to deal with boys when they’re at that age. With renewed determination to get a boyfriend, I drift off to sleep.