Chapter 27: Piece of the Jewel

This is a story from about ten years ago, when I was still making money using healing magic.

The weather was slightly past spring.

Cotton-like clouds floated by in the endless blue skies.

Cordelia and I walked along a path across green fields.

“Hey-hey, Lute? Isn’t it fun?”

Cordelia was already five years old, it was just before she was chosen as the hero.

Smooth crimson hair, and clear white skin.

A perfect face which seemed like a western doll turned into a human.

However, a five year old is a five year old. There was a childlike innocence or rather, since she had lost her front tooth, she had an aura of clumsiness.

“Hey, hey? I’m asking if it’s fun?”

“Yeah, that’s right. It’s fun.”

Today was the day the peddlers came.

Peddlers try to sell their rare and interesting wares at obviously high prices, it was a bad way to put it as expected.

They travel around the entire country using their legs to gather precious objects, then sell it with a slightly overt commission for their efforts, well it was something like that.

Of course, since this location was a country-side even among country-sides, the arrival of a peddler would become quite the event.

I am being called the genius of playing in the mountains.

So, I go to the mountains making the excuse of collecting rare herbs or something, and return home with the money I make from selling them.

And so, I have a lot more money to spend among the people from my generation.

Well, I was actually using healing magic to make a killing, so I am ridiculously rich even amongst the adults, but let’s put that aside for now.

And so whenever a peddler arrived at the village, Cordelia started treating me like a treasure.

Cordelia loved having those honey sugar candies, but they were somewhat expensive.

In fact, the price of one was close to half my allowance.

From the peddler’s perspective I must’ve looked like a reckless boy spending most of his allowance on his childhood friend.

As proof, the peddler’s father was always half-laughing whenever he saw my face.

“Isn’t Moses’ family going to come?”

“The harvest last year was bad so they’re living minimalist lives right now.”

“Mi-ni-mal-ist?”

“It means they’re trying not to spend uselessly.”

“Oh, I see.”

My house made beans, but last year’s weather was truly horrible.

The other bean-making households are in a state where they were forced to sell their sons and daughters as slaves to keep themselves from collapsing.

Well, we have the genius of herb collecting, well it’s really embarrassing calling myself that. Anyways, I’m there so we’re barely getting by.

Even my parents are starting to become suspicious of my herb-finding abilities.

Then, Cordelia asked me a question.

“Hey, hey, Lute? Why don’t you try saying ‘sunburn’ ten times?”

“Sunburn sunburn sunburn sunburn sunburn sunburn sunburn sunburn sunburn sunburn.”

“Then, then? What does a chicken give birth to?”

Cordelia gave a big smile.

It was truly a face that was planning something-

“Egg.”

-I immediately crushed her plans.

Originally, one would naturally respond ‘chicks’, having said ‘sunburn’ so many times, to which the questioner would laugh and reply that it’s ‘eggs’, but I didn’t fall for that trick. 1

I’ve already experienced that trick several times in Japanese elementary schools.

She was pretty childish for a future hero.

“Gununu~”

“You’re ten years too young to play a trick on me.”

Seeing me elated in my victory, Cordelia made a face like she’s about to cry.

“B-but, you might not win the next time, right?”

“Hou… Fine, fire away? What is it?”

“Then… With the meaning of ‘like or hate’, try saying ‘like’ ten times?”

Was it a trick using the ‘like’ from plowing tools? 2

Thinking so, I did as she asked.

“Like like like like like like like like like like.”

“………”

Everytime I said ‘like’, Cordelia’s face turned redder and redder.

Finally, as I said the last word she blushed red like an apple.

While looking at the ground, her feet suddenly stopped and she froze.

“… So?”

“………”

Cordelia stayed silent for a while.

And then, she said shyly.

“I was so happy when you said that… I forgot what I was about to ask.”

Oh my, what a cute kid.

As expected, even I couldn’t help letting my expression change.

So, I tried sorting out my feelings regarding Cordelia right there and then.

It was as though she could be my childhood friend, my little sister, my daughter or my niece as well.

Setting the current moment aside, I know what she was like when she was fifteen years old… At that point too, it felt a bit different from a romantic feeling.

But there’s no mistaking the fact that she’s important to me.

I’ve thought about this several times, but I don’t know what to make of it myself, as expected.

Then Cordelia and I reached the target square.

At the same time, a smile as bright as a sunflower bloomed on her face.

“Will the usual honey sugar candy be fine today too?”

“Lute, wait here for a bit!”

Saying so, she ran alone towards the peddler’s stand.

“Oi, Cordelia?”

It was still early so there were only a few people around.

Cordelia said something to the peddler before handing something over.

The peddler handed over a pastry in return, and she came back to me.

“…?”

Cordelia holds the pastry out towards me.

“Today, I bought a return gift for Lute, you know?”

“Eh?”

“Th-that is, I’ve been saving up some money.”

This pastry should’ve cost a lot.

I don’t know how much of an allowance she had been getting, but at the very least, I know this wasn’t anything cheap for her.

“What for?”

“That is, today is Lute’s birthday, right?”

“Ah…”

I had completely forgotten.

Every year, my mother made a huge uproar around this time, but this year the harvest was bad so there wasn’t much she could do.

My affectionate mother didn’t even hold a small party for her son.

No, she hadn’t even brought it up… now that I thought about it.

-It was probably the harvest. It must have been pretty bad to push people this far.

During such a time, Cordelia must’ve carefully collected the money safely in her house, in order to not get found out.

A sigh threatened to break free as the number of headaches I had started increasing, but I desperately held it back.

A face that didn’t look happy after receiving a present wasn’t very polite.

“Happy? Is Lute happy?”

“Yeah. Thank you, Cordelia.”

I smiled as I stroked Cordelia’s head.

“Ehehe.”

An innocent smile with incredible destructive power assaulted me.

Somehow, watching her smile naturally made my cheeks loosen up, it was quite problematic.

“Then, shall we go?”

Then, I looked at Cordelia with a blank expression.

In response, she cocked her head and puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction.

“Eh? Why are you leaving already?”

“Hmm? We bought what we wanted… Isn’t our work here already over?”

“My part…”

“Eh?”

With an expression that looked like it would burst into tears any second, Cordelia said.

“Honey sugar candy… I… Didn’t get any.”

Ah, my present was a separate thing, and her portion, was also separate, huh…

This girl in the future, she’s definitely the kind who’ll say there’s a separate stomach for sweets.

Shrugging my shoulders, I pulled out my wallet and started walking towards the peddler.

-By the way, the fact that I bought a larger candy than usual, couldn’t really be helped.