It seemed like he wanted me to stay for lunch no matter what. Well, I don’t have any reason to refuse, do I?
“No, I’m fine with anything, but I really did just have a meal, so please ask her for a small portion, okay?”
“Leave it to me! I’ll get you some really yummy stuff!”
But you’re not the one making the food. It’s Nino.
And that’s how I came to be a guest at the home of the village chief.
Despite the luxuriously large outward appearance of the house, the interior was totally average. The dining room that Emil showed me was decorated with old furniture, and the chief’s household seemed to live a modest life just like the rest of the simple village. Actually, I was getting the impression that the estate was just a big plot of land they didn’t know what to do with.
“Okay, have a seat.” Emil pulled out a chair and gestured me toward it, and I sat.
“Thanks. By the way, where is that maid of yours?”
“I wonder… She’ll probably be here soon.”
“And the village chief?”
“He should get here soon, too.”
“What’s with that noncommittal attitude?”
After I spent some time conversing with Emil, I sensed someone coming up behind me. Not in a sixth-sense kind of way, though; I just heard the noise. Anyway, I turned around.
“…Ah.”
There was a young girl. When our eyes met, she jumped in surprise and gave a small, frightened bow. It was really kind of pathetic.
Judging from her clothes, this is the maid in question. She wore an apron dress (the classic maid outfit) that was a little too big for her petite frame.
“How do you do? Might you be from the East?”
Her glossy black hair was pin straight, and her eyes were a deep, dark brown. She resembled a certain apprentice witch whom I had met in another country, also from the East. That apprentice’s hair had been a little bit shorter, though.
“Ah? Uh, um…”
Maybe it was rude of me to suddenly ask where she came from. The bewildered girl glanced to Emil for help.
“Yes, she is. My father found Nino in an eastern country.”
“I’ve heard they’re having you work as a maid in this house?”
The girl called Nino gave a small nod. “Y-yes…the village chief treats me very kindly.”
Her reply was mechanical, as if she was being compelled to read a script.
“Where is the village chief now?”
“Ah, um… He is in his study now, working…,” she said, gripping the hem of her dress. “Um, did you have some business with him?”
“No, not really.” I shook my head.
I’m probably going to meet him when it’s time to eat anyway, so there’s no need to press.
When that little exchange was over, Nino lowered her gaze as if to avoid making eye contact. She didn’t seem particularly good at talking to people.
But the boy who loved her didn’t care at all as he bounded over to her and leaned down to see her eyes. “Hey, hey, Nino, what’s for lunch today?” I couldn’t see his expression because his back was to me, but I’m sure it was a broad smile.
“Ah, t-today is…grilled fish, on request from the village chief.”
“Yay! Say, if it’s all right, could I get you to make some for that girl, too?” Emil pointed at me. Nino looked at me for a moment and nodded slightly.
“See, miss?”
“I appreciate it. Thank you, but I’m not very hungry, so please make mine a small portion.”
“…Y-yes, miss.” As Emil had said, Nino certainly was gloomy. If someone walked in just then and saw her face, they might assume the two of us were bullying her.
“Oh yeah! Hey, Nino, after we eat lunch today, I have a present for you.”
“Ah, f-for me…?”
“Yep. Hope you’re excited!”
“N-no…that’s all right. I-if you give something to a servant like me…the village chief will be angry…” Even beyond the humble phrasing, it was a particularly servile thing to say.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. I’ll explain it all to Father.”
“Oh, but…”
Impatient, Emil played his trump card against the meek girl. “Well then, it’s an order from me. How about that?”
“……”
His feelings must have gotten through to her; after all, he was very direct, maybe overly so. Nino nodded slowly. “If it’s an order…,” she said, then smiled faintly.
He smiled back at her.
I was quite bored for the next little while.
Emil diligently went to assist Nino, leaving the guest (me) all alone in the dining room. I had also headed to the kitchen to lend a hand, but Emil turned me away with a dazzling smile. “You go sit down, miss! The two of us will do the cooking!”
There was no one to talk to and nothing to do but wait for the time to pass, extremely unproductively. I can’t sit still. I want to read a book or something. But I don’t carry books around…
I ended up passing the time doing nothing but sitting in my chair.
I had been waiting several minutes when a plump man sat down across from me.
“Ah, a rare guest.”
He wasn’t especially old or young, possibly late thirties or early forties. Maybe. I guess?
“Good afternoon. Would you happen to be the village chief?” I asked, convinced that he must be.
“Indeed.” See?
“I am Elaina, a friend of your son’s. I’m a traveler. Nice to meet you.”
“A pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Emil’s father.”
I know that. And now he had made his appearance with perfect timing. Exactly when I was in need of something to do.
“Mr. Village Chief, how long have you been in charge around here?”
“Since the very beginning.”
“Is that so?”
“Mm.”
“It’s a lovely village.”
“Mm.”
“Do you have any local culinary specialties that you’re known for?”
“No.”
“Not at all?”
“Mm.”
“…Is that so?”
I feel like I continued this futile attempt at conversation with the chief in bits and pieces, but I have absolutely no recollection of what we discussed.
To put it bluntly, I learned nothing.
After a little while, Nino and Emil brought in the food. As the two of them prepared the table, my faint feelings of hunger were accompanied by an indescribable unease.
“……”
I could’ve sworn I only asked them for a small portion.
“Huh? We did make it small!” Emil replied, staring at me in puzzlement. “See, the fish is small, and we gave you a little less salad.”
Well, now that you mention it, I can tell you gave me a little less, but I would have been fine with less than half of what you prepared.
“Um…p-perhaps it really is too much…? If you can’t finish it, please feel free to leave some behind…”
“……”
I was silenced before I could say anything.
Standing next to Nino, Emil was glaring at me. And his eyes said, “Don’t you dare leave any behind.”
I ate it. I cleaned my plate, in fact. It truly was a very delicious meal, but I only tasted the first few bites. After that, it became a chore of cramming the remaining amount into my stomach. What a waste.
“Thanks for the meal! That was really delicious, Nino.”
“Th-thank you…very much.” Nino gave an embarrassed little bow. “I’ll clean up the dishes…” She stood up and gathered the plates and glasses. Emil lent a hand, as if it was a matter of course.
In that case, I’ll help, too. I started to stand up, but again Emil turned to me with a smile and said, “Oh, you’re fine, miss.”
As the two of them headed for the kitchen, I posed a question to the village chief. “Where did you
meet Miss Nino?”
After draining the rest of the water in his glass, the village chief answered me. “I bought her in the Orient,” he said, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.
Bought. In other words… “She’s a slave?”
“Mm. I got her several years ago. My wife left us, and for a while, I couldn’t handle all the housework.”
“……”
There was plenty that I wanted to say, but I refrained. Silently, I prompted him to continue.
“Back in those days, I traveled to the East from time to time for work, and that’s where I found her. The price was a little higher than I would have preferred, but she was adequate at housework, and more importantly, she had a nice face and looked like she would grow up to be a beautiful woman. I bought her without a second thought, and it was a good decision. She’s made a fine maid.”
The chief let out a vulgar laugh.
“Does Emil know?”
“I think I told him, but he doesn’t seem to mind much that his playmate is a slave.”
Emil had said the village chief had “found” Nino, so he might not have realized she was a slave.
But even if Nino had been bought, I had a feeling that Emil wouldn’t change his behavior toward her at all. He seemed to treat everyone the same.
Nino returned quietly from the kitchen the moment our conversation broke off, glanced at our glasses to make sure they were empty, and then cleared them one by one from the table. She kept her head down the whole time. I think she had overheard our conversation.
“Hey, Nino, where should I put this big plate, again?”
“Eek…!”
There was an ear-splitting crash.
Emil had suddenly come out of the kitchen, and Nino had collided with him on her way back in, dropping the glasses in her hands. Shards of all sizes were scattered around their feet.
“What the hell are you doing?!” the chief roared from across the table. He stood up in a rage and grabbed the stupefied Nino by the lapels of her apron. “Clean this up immediately, you worthless girl! How long will I have to wait before you can complete all of your tasks perfectly?!”
“I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
“Stop it, Father! That was my fault, wasn’t it?! Don’t just blame Nino—”
“Shut your mouth, boy!” Emil shuddered and hung his head.
Apparently deciding he had yelled enough, the chief let go of Nino and jerked his chin toward the glass. “Clean that up.”
With tears welling in her eyes, Nino nodded and bowed over and over to the two of them and to me. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…,” she repeated, as if the words were a spell to protect her.
This is extremely unpleasant. Really, this is so uncomfortable.
I pushed back my chair, crouched over the wreckage of the glasses, and pulled out my wand. “This isn’t bad at all. As long as you have all the pieces, you don’t need to clean it up.”
I used a convenient time-reversing spell designed to fix wounds and repair things. A white mist-like substance brushed the transparent shards. As time reversed, the pieces gathered together, then returned to their original form.
I handed the restored glasses to Nino. “Next time, be careful not to drop them, okay?”
I could tell she had no idea what had just happened.
“Oh, thank you. You fixed the glasses even after witnessing that disgrace,” the village chief interjected from beside me in a calm voice. “Hey, you thank her, too.”
Wait, you shouldn’t force people to say thank you.
“…I’m sorry.” What’s more, Nino had missed the point and said the wrong thing. She was bowing deeply.
“Don’t apologize, say thank you, Nino,” I said.
Nino raised her head and choked out the words in a tearful voice. “Thank you…very much.”
“I can do spells like that, too, you know.”
After the village chief had shut himself in his study and Nino had gone back to washing dishes, Emil grew sullen.
You don’t have to put on a brave front.
“Oh no, I’m sorry. In that case, you didn’t need my help at all.”
“No, I did, because I couldn’t do anything. Thank you, miss.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“But just so you know, I can do that.”
“……”
It must be embarrassing to have your weakness exposed in front of the girl you like.
“You don’t really have anything to worry about.” I clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Anyway, right now, Nino must be very upset. Isn’t this your best chance to give her your present?”
“Miss, you’re a genius…”
“Oh-ho, do go on.”
His hopes rekindled, Emil’s mood improved immediately. He’s such a simple child. It’s adorable, really.
Hiding the bottle behind his back, Emil waited for Nino to finish her work.
“…Ah.” Nino trudged out of the kitchen and cringed in surprise when Emil suddenly appeared before her, like a small animal. Maybe she remembered running into him earlier.
Emil took a step toward her. “Nino, I told you that I had a present for you after lunch, didn’t I?”
“…Y-yes,” Nino answered hesitantly.
“Here. This is your present.”
Emil held the bottle out to her. Nino stared, nonplussed, at the squirming white haze inside. She clearly had no idea what this was.
“This here is a bottle that I’ve filled with happiness.” Emil put his hand on the cap. “Inside it’s full of happiness. I went all over collecting it from people.”
“…People’s happiness?”
Nino tilted her head in confusion, and Emil grinned.
“You can only see it once, so watch closely, okay?”
With a satisfying shunk, he uncapped the bottle. Now that it was free, the white mist flew out of the bottle, up to the ceiling. When the ceiling was completely covered with white clouds, small particles began slowly swirling around in the mist.
Like shards of glass, the particles sparkled with reflected light to create a fantastic display. The shining particles were the fragments of happiness Emil had collected, projecting the scenes that had inspired them.
Joy at the birth of a child. The contentment of viewing a picturesque landscape. The subtle delight of finding a pretty flower. The satisfaction of overcoming a hardship. The quiet pleasure of sprawling out in the sunlight to read a book on a day off and dozing without a care.
“The outside world is full of so much happiness, you see.” Emil took Nino’s hand. “So don’t be so sad all the time. I’ll be here to make you happy, too.”
As for Nino, she watched the shining lights in amazement, and before long she was silently weeping. She held a hand over her mouth to stifle the sound as the tears trickled down her cheeks.
Emil smiled, a little confused, and gently embraced her.
The tears flowing down her face glittered just like the fragments of happiness.
“You could stay a little bit longer.”
We were at the two trees that stood in place of a gate. Emil had come to the edge of the village to see me off, and he was pouting like an abandoned puppy. Next to him stood the maid, Nino. She had never been very expressive, so I couldn’t tell whether she was saddened by my departure.
I shook my head. “Sorry, but I can’t take it too easy,” I said, taking out my broom.
“…Come see us again then, okay? Nino and I will cook for you again, and it’ll be even better next time. Okay?”
“Y-yes…we’ll be waiting.” Nino gave a little bow.
I got on my broom and rose into the air. “Okay. I’ll come again. Someday—definitely.”
When my travels are at an end, perhaps.
The two of them waved at me as I receded—Emil waving both arms around wildly, and Nino waving calmly and delicately.
“……?”
I accidentally m
ade eye contact with Nino.
Her eyes were like deep darkness, and I mean more than just the color. They were longing, desperate, as if she were in a state of unimaginable despair. As if she were already dead. It was nothing like when we’d first met in the village chief’s mansion.
…I wonder why.
I was within sight of the next road when I remembered the ending of that book I read long ago.
The story of a husband who walked around outside, magically capturing beautiful vistas the moment he saw them, and taking them home to show his sick wife, who couldn’t leave the house.
I wonder how I forgot about it until just now. It left such an awful aftertaste.
The story ended when the wife, who yearned to see the scenery for herself, forced her weakened body to move and died even sooner than she was supposed to. It was a fable, and the moral was “The things we think we do for the sake of others are not always what’s best for them.”
What was Nino thinking after she saw the contents of that bottle, I wonder? What decision would she have reached? She couldn’t possibly—
“………”
No, no way. She wouldn’t.
When I looked back, the wind was running through the broad meadow of brilliant green. The wildflowers shone in the sunlight, like the surface of still water swaying in the wind.
It really was a beautiful place. But I had no reason to ever return.
If I did, I would just end up feeling sad.
CHAPTER 7
Before the Match Begins
I arrived at a certain country in the morning. I had found it by coincidence while flying over the plains on my broom, so I had absolutely no idea what kind of place it was.
In villages too small for a gate, an immigration inspection is unnecessary, but whenever you enter a country that has some territory to it, the gate guards always have questions for you. That said, unless something unusual is going on, they always ask the same ones.
“Name?”
“Elaina.”
“Country of origin?”
“The Peaceful Country of Robetta.”
“Reason for entry?”
“Sightseeing.”
“Length of stay?”
Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina, Vol. 1 Page 8
