19-Their father's whereabouts

The Nott and Marco brothers' vegetables were growing well.

If I'd grown the seeds myself, they would've grown big by the next day. So it was actually the first time that I've seen newly-grown shoots just poking out of the earth.

From stalks that were as thin as if they were drawn with a pencil, small, round buds of leaves unfurled. The brothers and I felt moved looking at them.

The fact that these tiny shoots would later grow into vegetables was pretty amazing.

"Aww, they're so small and cute," I cooed, poking at them.

Marco berated me, "Big brother, stop! What'll you do if you break them?!"

"Sorry, sorry. They're just so cute I couldn't help myself."

I didn't have any siblings, so I felt that Marco, who'd gotten attached to me, was really cute. And Nott, though he looked like a university student, was still a child on the inside so I found him cute, too.

I thought of them both as my younger brothers.

For these cute younger brothers, I'd visited frequently. While I was at it, I also shared with them some of my vegetables.

And because of that, their mother invited me to their house to thank me.

I'd worried about what to give as a hostess gift, but after thinking about it, the only things I could give were either vegetables, smoked meat, or butter. So in the end, I decided on some butter.

Today was the day I'd been invited, and it seems their mother was waiting for me with some cookies she'd baked.

But before heading in, the brothers told me about the seeds sprouting, so I came to have a look at them first.

Nott and Marco had both worked hard watering and weeding the plants, and they both looked proud as they showed the new growths to me. Nott even looked smug.

"Come on, we should head in soon. Mom's waiting," Marco said.

Oh, that's right. I got completely absorbed that I almost forgot. I wondered what Nott and Marco's mother was like. I felt a little nervous.

"Welcome, Shinobu-san. Thank you for always sharing with us your delicious vegetables. And thank you for treating Nott and Marco well. They haven't been giving you any trouble, have they?"

Nott and Marco's mother was a slender beauty. Apparently, she'd lost a lot of weight ever since her husband had been declared missing. Marco told me that he'd loved how plump his mom used to be and that was why he wanted to grow tons of vegetables: so she'd go back to how she'd looked before.

But that sounded like he wanted her to get fat, so I advised him not to tell her that.

It seemed that their mom had heard about me from the two of them, so she treated me as an adult and greeted me politely.

This was the first time that I hadn't been treated as a child on the first meeting. It made me incredibly happy, so much so that my face might have flushed red.

I said, "Thank you for inviting me. This is just a little thing, but please have this gift. It's some butter I made at home. Please use it as you like."

"Oh my!! Thank you for giving us such a precious thing."

Nott's and Marco's faces brightened. They were familiar with the taste of butter from the sandwiches that I'd made them. Not a lot of butter was currently being made, so it was apparently being sold at a high price at the market.

Their mother worked in the market during the day, and at a pub at night. Recently, the pub where she worked at had started using butter in the food they served. That was how she'd learned of it, though she hadn't had a chance to taste it yet.

She offered me some cookies and tea, and I took them unhesitantly. The cookies of this world were a bit hard, but they were crunchy and really delicious.

And the tea that I'd been curious about since earlier emitted a familiar scent. It was a light green color, and looked very similar to the tea I knew.

Expectantly, I took a sip. I couldn't help but sigh at its enchanting taste. It was the exact same taste as the green tea I often drank back in Japan.

When I'd visited Norn's workplace, I was served something that was similar to herb tea. That was delicious too, but I preferred green tea.

I'd been wanting to drink some green tea all this time. I couldn't believe I'd be able to drink it here at Nott's house!! For a moment, I felt really emotional.

I exclaimed, "This tea tastes exactly like the tea I used to drink back in my world! It's really good! Where can I buy some?!"

"Oh, is that so? This is made from medicinal plants that I picked and dried myself. I can share some with you if you'd like?"

"Yes please! Oh, I'm so happy. I thought I'd never be able to drink this again."

At her encouragement, I proceeded to drink several more cups of tea.

She called, "Nott, Marco. Will you draw some water for me?"

"Sure," Nott replied. "Come on, Marco."

Apparently, I used up all their water with how much I'd been drinking.

The two of them took a large bucket with them as they went to do as their mother asked. Um, should I have held back from drinking a little?

"I really appreciate what you've done for us, Shinobu-san. For the vegetables, and for being so good to my children. They've been sad ever since my husband didn't come home. But now they've gotten a lot livelier."

"Has there been no news about your husband?"

A lot of time had passed since he first went missing. But Nott, and of course Marco, still believed that their Dad would definitely come home.

"Please keep this a secret from my children. The truth is, I heard about what happened to my husband. My husband...fell down a ravine. The person who told me about it only heard it from the other porters so they didn't know the details, but... If he fell down a ravine, then I'm sure that he's not alive anymore."

"No way......"

But the brothers said they'd protect their mom until their dad came home... Even without her asking me not to tell them, I wouldn't be able to anyway. They shouldn't hear this kind of thing from me.

"I know I have to let them know someday. When I first learned of it, I couldn't believe it either. And while I was still shaken up, days and months passed, and it got even harder to tell them. I'm thinking of telling Nott once things have calmed down a little more. Marco... that boy is still too young.

It might be shameless of me to ask this of you, Shinobu-san, but will you support Nott and lend him an ear once he learns about his father?"

I couldn't do anything but nod in agreement.

Nott and Marco were like little brothers to me. The only thing I could do was lend them an ear, but if that would help Nott even a little...

Once Nott and Marco came back inside, we couldn't continue with the conversation.

I didn't know what expression to make, so I was probably acting suspiciously.

That confused Nott for a moment. Thankfully, he seemed to have decided that I'd gotten too nervous being alone with his mother, and it all ended with just him smirking at me.

I stayed over for dinner before leaving. On the way home, sat in my wagon, I absentmindedly thought about things.

With only 1,100 yen in my pocket, I had basically been clutching at straws when I came to this world. I was sure that I could make things work and I could survive here. But this place wasn't paradise.

There were some things that were inconvenient, like not having a way to contact each other. And there were some sad things, like the people not being able to have children, or Nott's dad going missing.

I knew that something like everyone I've met living happily ever after only happened in fairy tales. But still.

I hoped that Norn and Couge would get married and live happily. And I hoped that Nott and Marco's father was alive and safe.

If that wasn't possible, then I couldn't not pray and hope that their hearts wouldn't break once they learn of the sad news.

Soon, Krish-san will probably go with Firks-sama on his trip.

They'll go through dangerous, beast-filled forests, and cliff-edged roads.

To me, Krish-san was like a hero; a dazzling man in his shining armor whom I admired greatly. But inside that armor, he was still human.

He could still get hurt, or get sick.

If they were looking for a plant that could replace the trees of life, they'd have to walk on unpaved roads and push their way through thick foliage.

Then, didn't that mean that they would have a riskier journey than porters?

My legs trembled as I imagined Krish-san and Firks-sama in his gorgeous coach box falling down into a bottomless ravine.

If that happened, there would be no one to ask me how I was doing in a gentle voice, or hold my hand in their callused one. The idea of that was too scary.

Nott and Marco's mother was a dab hand at cooking, and dinner had been delicious, but I didn't eat my fill since both bottomless pit brothers were there. So I was sure that I hadn't eaten too much.

Yet somehow, my stomach felt heavy. As if it was packed full of stones.

I still felt restless when I got home. Even when I got in bed, I couldn't sleep.

No matter how many times I tossed and turned, breathed a sigh, squeezed my eyes shut, or tried to relax, I couldn't fall asleep.

Finally, I got up, pressing a hand to my chest. My heart was going haywire. I definitely wouldn't be able to go to sleep like this.

This must be what anxiety was.

I couldn't stand being alone in the house anymore, so I wrapped the blanket around myself and went out.

As soon as I opened the front door, the soothing chirping of insects stopped. It might be normal, but it still spooked me. I hurried towards the barn.

Though the rest of the animals were asleep, Pochi noticed me and raised his head.

Snugly wrapped in my blanket, I went to lie down beside Pochi and buried my face in his fur. At last, I could feel my racing heartbeat start to calm down.

Even though I woke him up in the middle of the night, Pochi didn't make any noise. He just sniffed at me and rested his fluffy tail on me.

I felt a bit hot with his tail on top of my blanket, but when I thought about how it was warmth from another living being, my body relaxed. I finally felt sleepy.

I didn't know of any gods of this world. So I didn't know who to pray to.

Instead, I'll pray to my grandpa and grandma.

Grandpa, if Nott and Marco's dad has really gone to the same place as you, then please guide him.

Grandma, please watch over everyone so that they can live in happiness. I'll be fine even without your protection, so please protect everyone else instead.

That was the first time that I didn't spend the night alone ever since I moved here. Though the barn was a little smelly, surrounded by Pochi's soft fur, I was able to fall deeply asleep.

When I woke up the next day, the anxiety that'd had my heart in turmoil was gone. Perhaps because last night, I dreamed of my grandpa and grandma smiling at me and nodding.