Chapter 86

"Alright. Then, let's do this. The one who wins the fight will be Papa's wife. Got it?"

"Sure. As the best warrior in the village, no, as a woman who has fallen for Reta, I'll show you I can win this!"

"Huh, don't show Papa your female face! I'll tear your face to shreds!"

"Alright, that's enough!"

Reta hit the heads of Luna and Hildegarde, who were glaring at each other with their foreheads touching.

"I don't remember making either of you my wife. Besides, why are you fighting at a welcome party? Be nice, come on, shake hands."

I can tell that they have feelings for me, and I'm flattered.

But I can't have them fighting over me.

(I guess my indecision is part of the problem... but I can only say sorry.)

To Reta, Luna is a dear family member.

I know that her feelings for me are romantic.

But for him, seeing Luna as a romantic interest is problematic both in terms of age and position.

Hildegarde is also straightforward and doesn't hide her feelings.

She is a comrade and a friend.

Reta once had a lover.

To be honest, it's questionable whether they were really lovers.

It wasn't a romantic relationship; it was more like drifting into a relationship out of loneliness.

He was heartbreakingly dumped by that lover, so at the time, he thought he was done with relationships.

Now, he's honestly not sure.

Reta has no experience with romantic relationships.

When he was farming in the countryside, there were no women his age, only older or younger women.

He interacted with older women as a younger brother and with younger women as an older brother, so nothing ever developed into a romantic relationship.

In other words, he's happy about their feelings but doesn't know how to handle them.

It's simply a matter of inexperience.

"…If Papa says so. Hmm."

"…You don't have much charm, do you? Sorry, Luna. Call me Hilde."

"It's fine. Nice to meet you, Hilde."

The girls shook hands.

—But both of their hands were tightly clenched, with veins bulging.

"Hey, are you in pain? I'm not using that much force, you know. If it hurts, you can let go. I don't have a habit of holding hands with anyone other than Papa."

"What do you mean? I'm fine. Oh, but I think you're tearing up?"

"What? Am I? Maybe it's just my imagination? Besides, Hilde, aren't you clenching your teeth? Are you using force? With this?"

"—Hmph. Fine. If you're going to be like that, we should settle this once and for all."

"Sure. I'll crush your dry, mummy-like, rough hands."

The atmosphere isn't hostile, but it seems that Luna and Hildegarde won't be satisfied until they settle this.

"Ha… Here we go again."

They aren't fighting, but they're putting all their strength into the handshake.

It must be painful; both of them have teary eyes.

"I'm full! Thank you for the meal! Papa, let's go to the bath?"

Ignoring her bickering sisters, Mina, who had finished eating, took Reta's hand and tried to lead him to the bath.

Reta, aware that he was dirty, nodded without much thought.

Then, the two who were left behind panicked.

"Hey, Mina! It's cruel to leave your sister behind! I'm going to the bath too!"

"Mu—Since this is my welcome party, Reta will wash me all over, right?"

"We don't offer that kind of service!"

They stopped fighting and chased after them, but Reta thought to himself:

(Maybe Mina planned to go to the bath?)

If so, he was saved by Mina.

However,

(We're not really going to take a bath together, are we?)

He felt a twinge of unease.

This inn has a family bath.

It's not very large, but it's big enough for the four of them.

After that, the girls tried to drag him into the family bath, but after a fierce struggle, Reta was able to enter the men's bath peacefully.

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