“Yay!” Marie cheered as she jumped with joy. “Cown! Cown!”
“Why don’t we have lunch here too?” Luina suggested.
“’Kay!”
“Sounds good to me! I’m starving!”
“All right, give me a moment to set up the blanket.”
Anima laid out the picnic blanket and took off his backpack. As he did so, Shaer landed next to him.
“Are you about to have lunch?”
“We are. Would you like to join us?”
“No, I wouldn’t want to ruin your precious family picnic. Besides... I hate to admit it, but I’ve already had lunch.” She had probably eaten her lunch in the air, as evidenced by the crumbs dotting her cheeks. When Anima pointed it out, she blushed, quickly wiped them off, and looked back at them with a stiff expression. “I’ll take a break a bit farther away. Just call for me when you’re done.”
“’Kaaay!”
“What a lively response.”
Shaer praised Marie before moving to the other side of the road. As she did, the girls shifted their focus to their lunch. The moment Luina opened the picnic basket, their spirited cheers traveled through the plains.
“Nummy!” Marie complimented the sandwiches Luina had woken up early to make.
“These sandwiches won’t last as leftovers, so eat them all up!”
“Don’t worry, I was already planning to do that.”
Anima loved Luina’s cooking; there was no way he was going to leave even a single bite uneaten. If anything, he had to be careful not to accidentally devour the girls’ portions as well.
“Thanks for the meeeaaal!”
The others did the same, then they all started eating. To prevent the girls from getting bored of the sandwiches, Luina had made a plethora of different types—the one Anima had picked up was ham, lettuce, and tomato. The lettuce crunched as he bit into it, and the saltiness of the ham was perfectly balanced out by the slight acidity of the tomato. The freshness of the ripe vegetables completely overtook his palate.
“Seconds!”
“More for me too!”
They had to have been starving after walking all day; the large, well-packed sandwiches were almost completely gone in mere minutes.
“Be careful not to choke.”
“I know! So, anyway, where are we going today?” Myuke asked, her eyes twinkling as she stuffed her cheeks with one of Luina’s delicious sandwiches. Anima took out the map and pointed at the day’s goal just as she swallowed.
“We don’t have any set plans,” he explained, “but we want to reach the next city in five days. If we split the distance into five parts, we should stop around here for the day.”
“It’s that close? That should be a cinch to reach by the evening!”
“You two were moving pretty fast this morning, after all.”
“I can’t wait to see all the cool things they’ve got out there!”
“Myukeyyy, you neber been here?”
“I’ve been around there for work, but it’ll be completely different this time.”
Just thinking about the fact that Myuke was a Hunter almost made Anima throw up. He recalled the jerks who had bad-mouthed her at the top of their lungs, saying all kinds of horrible things. Those pigs had called her useless and bragged about using her as a pack mule, forcing her tiny body to haul all their luggage. He could imagine her dragging their clothes and equipment around all day, dead tired, her head hanging. She must not have had the luxury of getting to enjoy the scenery.
“I’m excited to get to our destination, but it’s nice to be able to relax here for a while,” Anima chuckled. “We’re not in any hurry. You can run and play around all you want after lunch.”
Their faces lit up in an instant and they continued stuffing their cheeks with sandwiches. Before long, the lunch basket was completely empty.
“I’m still hungy!”
Marie looked at Luina, asking for more food.
“Do you want to have dessert?”
“Uh-huh!”
“You mean the dried fruit, right? I want some too!”
The girls excitedly followed Luina’s hand as she reached into her bag, took out the jar of dried fruit, and opened it.
“Eating too much will make your tummies ache, so you can each have three!”
“Twee? But, but, I’m so hungy...”
“Then let’s make it four.”
“Four? Yaaay!” Marie cheered before jumping hand-first into the jar of sweets. At least, she had planned to. As she took a closer look at the jar, she realized that there were multiple different kinds of fruit and got very confused.
“These!” Myuke, on the other hand, immediately picked out her four and ate one. “So good!”
“Me too! I wannit too!”
Marie was getting restless. Feeling like she was wasting her time thinking, she stuck her small hand into the jar and took out four pieces of dried fruit. She then chose one of the four and tasted it.
“Wooow! Shoo shweet! Whassis?”
“That’s a mango.”
“I love mandoes! Myukey, Myukey, do you like mandoes?”
“I do!”
“I gibe you one!”
“Really?”
“Mm-hmm! ’Cause I love Myukey more than mandoes!”
“Thank you! Here, I’ll give you a strawberry for it.”
“Yaaay! I love stawberbies!”
While excitedly bonding over the delicious dried fruit, they each scarfed down their four pieces. After thanking Luina, Myuke stood up, and Marie followed suit.
“Time to make you a flower crown, just like I promised.”
“Yaaay! Thanks!”
Anima watched as Myuke began making the flower crown from the surrounding dandelions. Marie supervised the process, watching with great interest.
“Are you tired?” Luina asked, snuggling up to Anima.
“Don’t worry about me; I’m pretty confident in my stamina. I traversed the world on foot, and even crossed the infamous Desert of Perish once before you summoned me here.”
“I see...” Luina let out a disappointed sigh.
“Sorry,” Anima replied, seemingly worried.
“Hm? What are you apologizing for?”
“I fear my stories might be boring you.”
“Oh, no, not at all! It’s just, umm...” Luina fidgeted, staring at Anima with pleading eyes. “I was thinking about letting you rest your head on my lap if you were tired...”
“Your l-l-lap?! As a pillow?!”
Anima was thunderstruck. They’d done plenty of couple-like things such as holding hands, hugging, and sharing kisses, but this was the first time she had offered to let him use her lap as a pillow.
He had watched as Marie enjoyed resting on Luina’s lap a number of times before. He didn’t want to admit it, but he felt a bit jealous every time that happened. Even so, he couldn’t bring himself to ask Marie to trade places with him. That, coupled with the feeling of awkwardness at directly asking Luina to pamper him, left him cursed to a life devoid of a lap to lie on. Being blessed with the wonder of resting his head on his wife’s lap took his breath away.
“Are you okay?”
Anima huffed and shook his head. “I would love that.”
“Then please, go ahead.”
Luina patted her legs. After a big gulp, Anima carefully laid his head down on her thighs, taking extra care not to stab her with his horns.
Her thighs were like the fluffiest of clouds, and his head was floating on them. Their warmth and softness left him overcome with drowsiness, but he had finally gotten to experience the lap pillow he so deeply coveted, and he wasn’t going to let it go to waste by falling asleep.
“How is it?”
“Incredible.”
“I’m happy to hear that,” Luina said with a smile upon hearing his heartfelt praise. “I’ll keep an eye on the girls, so feel free to take a nap.”
“I don’t want to fall asleep and miss out on this wonderful experience. I’ll stay up.”
“If you’re enjoying my lap that much, I’ll do this for you every day.”
“I appreciate the offer, but your lap would get tired.”
“You’re always so kind,” Luina told him as she ran her hand through his hair.
“No, I’m really not. I just love you.”
“Anima...”
Anima watched as a gentle smile spread across Luina’s face, when Myuke’s voice suddenly cut through the serene atmosphere.
“It’s done!”