Chapter 397: Returning Home
After the cruise, I’ll return to Kanum via [Teleportation].
“Got it? It’s the night after tomorrow, okay?”
“Yeah, it’s strange that you’re the only one keeping a cool face.”
Dinoss and Haulon were cornering the butler.
“Even if you say that, I am Ash-sama’s butler. I apologize for not being able to accompany you, but even if I hear the story, I will likely be powerless.”
The butler replied with a pleasant smile.
“If it doesn’t matter whether you hear it or not, then listen! The whole story of Gene’s actions! My complaints!”
“My complaints!”
Dinoss and Haulon were relentless.
“…That’s quite…”
The butler maintained a smiling poker face, but he hesitated slightly. His eyes wandered, catching mine.
“…”
He let out a small breath that was almost a sigh.
What have I done?
“Alright, the night after tomorrow, at Gene’s house.”
“Yeah. At Gene’s house.”
This time, Dinoss and Haulon were smiling too.
“Am I definitely getting dragged into this?!”
“The main topic is you!”
“It’s not something to get angry about, but I want to shout my complaints!”
Haulon, you’re not talking, you’re shouting?
With the promise secured, we parted ways. The Dinoss family headed home, passing by my house at the end of the alley.
I locked up and prepared for [Teleportation]—but first, I should water the plants in front of the house. I returned home every morning, but I hadn’t done this in a while.
I drew water from the well and filled my [Storage] with plenty. Finally, I filled a bucket and watered the plants with a ladle.
“Huh? Are you going out?”
As I was watering, Retze appeared from the back door of the rental house.
“Yeah, there’s someone who’s only around at night. I thought I’d deliver a souvenir while I can.”
Retze was as diligent as ever.
“Take care!”
“Same to you, though you’re just in front of the house. Don’t forget to lock up.”
“Okay! Good night!”
“Yeah, good night!”
How do I give Es the souvenir? It’s definitely something you can’t find in the Fortress City market, right? Well, since it’s Retze, I guess I don’t have to worry.
This morning, I woke up in my own bed for the first time in a while.
“Rishu, good morning.”
I reached out from the bed and petted Rishu, who was in the basket next to me. Inside the basket, there was a cushion placed on a Chilling Plate.
Rishu had a face that seemed to say “Ehe,” lifting her legs to show her belly. Here? Or here? After giving her a good scratch, I got up.
I followed Rishu as she dashed off, checking on the mountain. I cleared away some vines, picked up broken branches, searched for galls, and gathered edible grass.
Since I woke up a bit late today, I had breakfast in front of the field.
Rice, miso soup, pickles, rolled omelet, shishamo, lotus root with plum paste, and simmered eggplant.
I dropped a freshly laid egg onto the steaming rice. A generous splash of soy sauce followed. I mixed it all up, adding plenty of sesame seeds, and sprinkled some nori on top.
Traveling is fun, but it’s nice to realize that home is the best place when I return. While I munched on my rice, Rishu was happily nibbling on some meat beneath the chair.
After breakfast, I tended to the field and orchard. I had been checking on them early in the morning even while traveling, so I focused on the spots that caught my attention.
Flowers had bloomed on the vegetables I had left untouched for seed collection. Since coming here, I learned that cabbage flowers are yellow and daikon flowers are white, but both look quite similar.
Once I finished with the field, I moved on to the orchard. I trimmed unnecessary branches and bent the ones I wanted to grow in a certain direction. I checked on the small fruit trees I had propagated through cuttings. Good, good, once they grow a bit more, I’ll take them to the island.
The absence of pests makes farming significantly easier. The Spirits help out too. In the beginning, they would pluck all the flowers or play pranks, but…
With the Spirits around, the land becomes enriched in the long run. But if it gets ruined before harvest, it’s meaningless. Luckily, I can communicate with them, but I often ask the Temple to drive them away as well.
Tomorrow night, I have an invitation for a card game at Kanum. Dinoss and Haulon were smiling as they got the butler to schedule it.
There’s a hint of a lecture about time differences in the air, but I shouldn’t have done anything wrong… I did meander the Es River, but that was far from any human settlement, and the only damage was a brief surprise when the water receded.
It seems to have slowly returned, and it was so gradual that there were no accidents. If anything, the only issue was that it startled a few people. Yeah.
While sipping coffee and lost in thought, I settled into a chair facing the terrace to read. Today, I’ll knead some sourdough starter and spend a leisurely day at home!