It was just past noon, one week to the day since Tigaro had moved in with us. We had just finished a request, received our reward at the guild, and were stepping outside of the hall to be greeted by a clear, blue sky.
“Tiga is probably starting to feel lonely right about now,” Frieze said.
“True, considering we had to stay somewhere else last night,” I said.
The previous morning, the three of us had accepted a request to slay a wyvern, which had required journeying to a rocky mountain far away from the city. Despite our best efforts, we had been unable to find our mark before the sun set and thus had been forced to spend the evening in the nearest town. It wasn’t until this morning that we had been able to complete our task. Although we had been able to take a few trips lately, it was the first overnight job we’d had since Tigaro’s hiring. Just in case, I had told her that there was a possibility we’d have to spend the night somewhere, but she was probably still getting worried.
We considered taking the usual route home but thought that we ought to invite Tigaro along if we were going to go shopping and, as such, decided to head straight home first. As we approached our quiet neighborhood, Oltea suddenly spoke up as if remembering something.
“Oh, right. Hey Kaito, do we have any cheese at the house?”
“Cheese? I don’t remember buying any... How come?”
“I wanted to eat some with wine,” she said. “Actually, come to think of it, we still haven’t had a welcome party or anything for Tigaro. I think that having some delicious cheese on hand would go a long way to liven up something like that.”
“That’s a great idea! The wine we’ve let sit for a week has almost definitely aged nicely by now,” Frieze said.
“I’m sure Tigaro would love that too! In that case, we definitely need cheese,” Oltea said, looking quite excited at the prospect of drinking our wine with some nice cheese in her hands. When she’d gotten a chance to try some at Clié’s house, Oltea had devoured it, saying, “It’s so good!” repeatedly throughout.
Tigaro would almost certainly be delighted to have us throw her a welcome party. There was no reason for me to refuse.
That being said, I had my concerns. I didn’t want to rain on their parade, but...
“That welcome party—will it be all right if I come too?” I said.
“What do you mean?” Frieze asked.
“There’s no reason you wouldn’t be able to,” Oltea said, confused. Neither of them seemed to have any idea what I meant.
“Well, Tigaro seems cautious around me,” I said. When speaking to Oltea and Frieze, she smiled naturally, but when she interacted with me, her expression stiffened. Even though she replied, she would avoid eye contact. Other times, I would sense her gaze and turn around to meet it. When she saw me looking, she always quickly averted her eyes.
Perhaps it was overstating things to say she was cautious of me, but she certainly didn’t seem all that fond of dealing with me. She might enjoy the party more without my presence. I would, of course, have to think of an excuse for not attending so that she wouldn’t feel uncomfortable.
“You’re overthinking things. You’re always kind to her, aren’t you? Nobody could hate someone like that. I’m sure Frieze would agree, right?”
“I’m sure she doesn’t ‘hate’ him, but I also think he might not be her favorite. Tiga doesn’t really do well with men.”
“Did something happen with a man in her past?”
“The opposite, actually. She’s barely interacted with them, so it’s become a weak point. She’s always been cute, and a lot of men have tried to hit on her, but she always put taking care of me first and never went on dates or anything.”
“So you’re basically saying that she’s shy, then,” Oltea said.
“Basically, yeah,” Frieze said. “But, well,” she continued, as if trying to ease my worries, “she’s been able to talk to the men around the neighborhood, and her discomfort around men is just something from the past. She’s not a kid anymore, you know. I think if the two of you spent some time together, she could get used to you.”
She was suggesting something akin to shock therapy. I felt awkward about the prospect of forcing someone to get familiar with me, but if nothing was done, then Tigaro wouldn’t be able to live her life feeling safe and secure. It would be better for her to get accustomed to me soon.
“In that case, we’ll have to come up with some kind of pretext to get the two of us alone,” I said. We had slept in the same room on her first night, but the very next day, I had gone and bought another bed for her, which I’d moved into Oltea and Frieze’s room. That first day was the last time the two of us were alone together.
“How about this: we use the party as an excuse,” Oltea said.
“You mean the welcome party we were discussing just now?” I asked.
She nodded. “We tell Tigaro, ‘We want to throw a surprise party for Kaito since he’s always taking such good care of us,’ and then ask her to keep you busy while Frieze and I go out to buy the cheese.”
“Oh, I see! That way we’re able to make it a surprise for Tigaro too!” said Frieze.
“That’s a great idea!” I said.
Oltea looked shy as both of us praised her idea. With our plan decided on, we headed back home.