Chapter 11
Chapter 11
YUKI learned she was more of a child than she realized when compared to Rifaenotis. Their ways of thinking and different perceptions played a role, but craftiness and cunning punctuated the difference between their lives.
“But will they even agree to let me join them?” she muttered during lunch.
“Actually, I’ve already brought it up with them. They will decide after introductions, but I’m certain you will pass any tests, dear.” Rifaenotis grinned.
What was he thinking? She had no idea what went through his mind.
“What are you talking about?” Est asked in a much better mood.
“Vigo and Selena.”
“What? You’re going with those guys?”
Yuki had never heard those names before, but assumed they were who Rifae spoke of, and nodded.
“Heh… They’ll decide when they meet you, huh?”
“Don’t you think she will be fine, Est?”
“Yeah…Selena’s the type to pamper a lost kitten.”
Rifae chuckled.
“So, when are they coming?”
“Last night they said they would arrive within three days.”
“Then we can expect them the day after tomorrow.”
Last night? Something nudged at her mind. Rifae only told her to go with them that morning.
“Hey, Rifae, did you already know?”
A mischievous grin crept over his features. “About what?”
First Vivi, now Rifae. I’m seriously surrounded by people I can’t read. I’m in awe…of Witches and their sons.
They ate their lunch of fluffy, vegetable filled omelets.
***
YUKI spent her days helping Est and Rifaenotis as she waited for Vigo and Selena to arrive. Just past noon, Est would take his sword and disappear somewhere beyond the forest line. When she asked Rifae about it, he answered, “It seems like Est wants to become a Knight.”
She stopped herself from asking whose Knight after she glimpsed Rifae’s wooden leg—the answer was obvious.
Rifae lived life indulging his whims. He read and compounded tinctures and herbal medicines. Occasionally, he entered the kitchen to use the fire pit, leaving it a black mess for Est to fume over as he scrubbed it with a wet rag.
“You see, nearby is—well, it’s not all that nearby, but close enough—anyway, there’s an orphanage. I often give them medicine,” Rifae explained. The entire time Yuki watched, he mixed the same ingredients together for the same end product.
On the third day, when his friends were supposed to arrive, there were no signs of them even as the morning turned to noon and noon to afternoon. Est returned from his daily training and proceeded to his next chore of chopping firewood. Yuki continued to assist Rifae in mixing medicines.
“…You’ve been making the same medicine this entire time. What is it for?”
“The Ten Day Fever.”
“But you said there’s no way to counteract the Ten Day Fever…”
“Indeed. But Vigo—the doctor who’s supposed to come soon—seems to have succeeded in making a medicine. It’s not a miracle potion that will cure people—it can, however, reduce the chance of death,” he answered, grinding various herbs, flowers, and seeds together until they turned to a powder.
But isn’t creating any medicine to combat the Ten Day Fever an amazing feat?
“I need one more ingredient than what I have to complete it. Vigo is bringing it here. I wanted to make as much of the base medicine as I can until then.”
“What kind of person is this Vigo? What’s his relationship to you, Rifae?” Yuki asked, handing him a more delicate herb that had to be added in the last minute of grinding or its effects would be nullified.
“Vigo is a doctor and a researcher. He’s an acquaintance from the days I used to live in Rvydom. Currently, he’s wandering the world with Selena searching for anything that can be used to make medicine.”
“And he was researching the Ten Day Fever’s medicine at the same time? He sounds amazing.”
“Apparently so. Well, I’m happy as long as I get work.”
“…Excuse me?”
Yuki’s hand stopped in the middle of crushing a nut. She glanced at Rifae as he ground his mixture. Noticing her gaze, he lifted his face from his work and smiled bewitchingly.
“Look at it this way. Without work, I can’t survive.”
“Oh. That’s true. You need work to survive.”
She returned to her task even as an unsettling feeling niggled at her. The sudden awkwardness made it a little uncomfortable to work beside him.
***
EVENING came. Yuki went outside to bring in the laundry, which had become one of her chores over the past three days. With the help of a long stick, she retrieved the clothing she had hung out to dry on a makeshift clothesline between two wooden poles. Yuki loved smelling the clothes that were still faintly warm from the sun. As she breathed in its fresh scent, her expression softened.
Behind her, she could hear Est chopping firewood. The occasional sound of a clean chop echoed through the woods. Pulling down the clothes, she tossed them one by one into the laundry basket. The sense of accomplishment at a job well-done spread throughout her. She took pride in her chores.
As if chasing away the deep red of the setting sun, indigo filtered through the trees from the east. Suddenly, a strong gust whooshed through the woods, lifting a white shirt from the laundry basket into the air.
“Oh no!”
She stared in horror at the shirt swept away by the wind. Before she knew it, she was running after the shirt, the stick she used to take down the laundry thudding on the dirt behind her.
I have to get back the shirt before it falls!
Fluttering away like a butterfly, the shirt blended with the colors of the sky, turning purple. Suddenly, someone’s hand reached out for the runaway shirt and pulled it out of the air. Surprised, Yuki stopped and warily stared at the two horses neighing in front of her.
“…When did this place become a nursery?”
On one horse rode an armor-clad woman; on the other, a man with a frumpy beard and a fatigued expression gripped the shirt.
“Yuki, are you okay—Vigo?! Selena! You’re late!” Est shouted, running to catch up to Yuki from behind. He waved to the riders.
“Oh, shortie! You’ve sprouted up like a beanstalk,” the man said contradictorily, but amusement still colored his tone.
The setting sun bathed the visitors’ faces in red. Yuki’s eyes met the woman’s. She quickly dropped into a low bow, receiving a smile in return.
“U-Um! I might be in your care in the coming days! I-I look forward to getting to know you! A-Also, thank you very much for catching the shirt,” she greeted in a single breath.
Crickets filled the silence between them after her comment. No one answered her. She quizzically lifted her head just as the armored woman—Selena—leapt from her horse, landing right in front of Yuki.
Startled by how close she was, Yuki retreated a step. Selena’s arm shot out and wrapped around her. In a second, she pulled her into a hug with such speed it left her dizzy.
“Eh? Huh? Um?
“Awww! How cute are you?!”
Selena’s arms tightly squeezed Yuki against her cold, armored chest plate. To top it off, her strength was no joke—it felt like her ribs were going to pop.
“Aah, I knew it,” Est said, triggering Yuki’s memory of his earlier comment.
“Yeah…Selena’s the type to pamper a lost kitten.”
…Is this what he was talking about? Most kittens would die if they were squeezed this hard!
“Vigo, we’re taking this girl with us! Let’s make her the oasis of our travels! All I ever get to see every SINGLE day is your ugly mug. I’m sick of it!”
“Well, sorry about my face. Est, will you lead her horse to the cabin for now?”
“Sure.”
“Vigo, listen to me! I mean, isn’t this girl just so lovable?! Did you see her little bow just now?! Aww, geez, it was too cute!”
Selena strengthened her grip on Yuki.
Geh…I’ve met some troublesome people.