Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: #3 Harvest Festival (5)
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In the end, they ended up working straight through until the afternoon.
Even then, from the midway point, Tiria had finished up alone, racing against the deadline.
Elric gaped in astonishment at her processing speed.
In this world, who could go through a single document in under ten seconds? It was unbelievable even seeing it with his own eyes—her mind must have been spinning like lightning.
Anyway, after all that, they were now riding in the carriage toward the city center.
“The sun hasn’t set yet.”
It was about time for the sunset to begin, but the sky was still more blue than red.
It felt like everyone in Weibin had flocked to the square, turning this quiet land bustling, with smiles blooming on every face.
It was peace.
Even though they shared the same time, this place was drenched in a tranquility utterly different from the West.
A smile was inevitable, and so was the wish that this beloved hometown could remain peaceful just like this.
Caught up in the excitement, Elric said to Tiria,
“Some time left—shall we take a look around?”
“Is that all right with you?”
Elric chuckled at how her gaze flicked toward his knee.
“As long as it’s not anything too strenuous.”
He was supporting his body with mana in the first place, so if he really wanted, he could even run short distances. The cane was just to minimize strain on his joints and focus on recovery.
Tiria stared fixedly at his knee as if pondering, then gave a small nod.
Elric extended his hand.
“Shall we?”
At that moment, Tiria’s shoulders flinched.
Elric inwardly winced.
‘Oh no… did I come off too familiar?’
He’d just instinctively offered an escort, but on second thought, it was ridiculous—him, hobbling on a cane, trying to escort her.
It’d be more fitting for her to say she was escorting him.
Elric hurriedly tried to pull his hand back,
“…Let’s.”
But faster than that, Tiria’s hand reached out.
Elric froze. It was an instinctive reaction he couldn’t control.
Her slender fingers, so fragile they might snap if gripped tightly, and the soft texture of her skin felt utterly novel.
Perhaps due to the cool weather, her hand was a bit chilly.
“Family Head?”
“Ah… right, we should go. Where to first?”
He steadied himself and asked, but Elric’s mind was a bit disordered.
“…A friend from the restaurant said to stop by. How about there?”
“Sounds good. Let’s check it out.”
Thud—he planted his cane.
They began walking slowly across the square.
It was less than three hundred steps to the restaurant, but that moment felt endlessly long.
Because of their clasped hands.
Or rather, could this even be called clasping?
Neither Tiria nor Elric was putting any strength into it.
It was more like they’d hooked their bent fingers together like hooks.
A loose bond that either could break with the slightest pressure.
Yet their hands didn’t part, stirring subtle ripples within him.
It felt awkwardly embarrassing.
He hoped the moment would end quickly out of awkwardness, but then imagined regret if he let go, so he slowed his pace.
He even chided himself for such selfish thoughts, but they didn’t quite land.
Naturally, his attention turned to her.
Was she uncomfortable holding hands like this? What emotions hid behind her expressionless face?
Perhaps, she had accepted…
“The shop looks crowded.”
Jolt—
His thoughts snapped.
Elric’s gaze turned to Bart’s restaurant.
It certainly looked busy, just as she said. There was even a line at the entrance, so dinner would mean quite a wait.
Elric felt both regret and relief.
“Hmm, shall we try somewhere else?”
“Are you sure?”
“It’s not just today. Next time…”
Next time? Was there a next time?
The sudden thought halted his mind for a split second.
Fortunately, it passed quickly.
Elric pushed the needless idea aside and replied.
“…Next time I come to visit separately.”
“If that’s the case.”
Tiria’s gaze swept the square.
Her profile was like a painting.
No, calling it a painting felt off somehow.
Amid the rural town’s scenery, she alone exuded an alien nobility.
Every element of her was quintessentially aristocratic and refined.
She suited a formal banquet hall more than this chaotic festival.
Lost in such thoughts, Tiria soon pointed to a stall and said,
“How about trying something from there?”
Street food.
“You sure?”
“Is there any reason not to?”
“Just… unexpected.”
Elric gave a small laugh.
“You like that sort of thing too?”
“I don’t dislike it.”
“Got it. Let’s eat.”
And so, under Tiria’s lead, Elric toured the festival.
The hometown food was delicious, the sights enjoyable if not abundant, and the peace brought utter satisfaction.
Even as the sun set and the speeches began, their loosely clasped hands never parted.
Neither let go.
He didn’t know her heart, but Elric’s feelings were clearer than he’d expected.
It was the nagging thought that if he let go now, he’d never hold it again.
*
The sun had set.
On the platform at the center of the square stood Tiria, while Elric listened to her speech from a spot a little removed, alongside Aldio.
“With this year’s harvest safely concluded…”
Her voice was soft and measured, but her clear enunciation made it easy to follow.
That must have been why, amid the crowd, everything else fell silent except her.
It might be an exaggeration, but even the breeze seemed like a herald carrying her voice.
“She suits it.”
Elric murmured absently.
“She looks right at home up there on that stage.”
“Yes, I’ve thought that sometimes. If the Lady were a man, the Weibin family wouldn’t be as poor as it is now.”
It did seem plausible.
She was dignified without arrogance, elegant without ostentation.
Elric knew exactly one person with that restrained authority.
His friend Elbus Graham.
Strip away Elbus’s levity and frivolity, and you’d get someone just like her.
But,
“Hmm, if she were a man, I might not like it.”
It was just a feeling.
Elric chuckled and added,
“Sounds unlucky. We probably wouldn’t be friends.”
A hypothetical, but even that didn’t sit well.
Tiria Weibin… no, Tiria Portman was better as she was.
She was exceptional as a woman, overflowing with excellence.
That’s what Elric thought.
“Young Master, really…”
Aldio gave a small laugh.
Elric raised a puzzled look, but got no answer.
Aldio bowed his head and said,
“I’ll head to the carriage first.”
“Didn’t Derin come out with you?”
“It’s a festival. We agreed to grab a bite together.”
“Ah, go ahead.”
Coachman Derin had served the Portmans as coachman for over twenty years, since Elric’s father’s time.
Around the same age as Aldio, their friendship was something Elric well knew, so there was no need to pry.
“Then have a good time.”
“Good time, what’s that.”
Aldio departed with a smile that tugged at something inside for some reason.
Around then, Tiria’s speech ended.
“Then we’ll begin the lighting ceremony.”
She raised her hand, and several men emerged carrying large torches.
Beside the platform at the square’s center loomed a pile of firewood as tall as a building.
They touched the torch to the straw beneath, and whoosh! The flames roared to life.
“Waaaaah!!!”
Cheers erupted.
Drums thrummed.
The gathered people began dancing, hand in hand.
Someone raised a glass high, toasting.
The festival’s final blaze ignited.
Elric turned from the scene to look at Tiria.
She approached with straight posture, neither slow nor fast.
Her features sharpened into focus as she drew near, captivating his gaze.
Her face, flushed perhaps from the firelight, brimmed with vitality.
As she came right up to him, Elric said,
“Good work.”
“How was the speech?”
“I couldn’t do it like you.”
“I’ll help you.”
Her lips parted slightly.
The words “no need” were swallowed again.
For a different reason this time.
The blazing fire, the people’s laughter, or perhaps the subtle sentiments of the day.
“You suit doing it. I’ll watch.”
He made a promise even he wasn’t sure he could keep.
Her gaze turned to the dancers.
“…Yes.”
Elric followed her eyes.
An elderly couple was there.
Children innocently mimicked them, and in some corner, shy young lovers clasped hands.
Their emotions varied in small ways, but the big picture was happiness.
Gazing on, Elric suddenly said, without knowing why,
“Shall we dance?”
He turned to look at Tiria.
Her gaze slowly shifted to him.
Elric gripped his cane tighter.
Surely the fire’s glow.
The flush on her cheeks beyond the usual, the tremor in her eyes.
It had to be.