Day 2 (Evening)
Hot Spring and Herb

 

Author: Kaeruda Ameko (蛙田あめこ)
Raw: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n2671fc/8/
Translator: AYA Translation

 

The reason, why that time I took that hand—

---

The mountain path is full of the smell of trees. That made Fuuka, who grew and raised in the capital, took a big deep sigh while looking at the back of Miyako — her former rival in love.

Why?
I wonder why I took that hand?

*    *    *

 

“We almost arrived, Fuuka-chan.”

“Jezz, why this mountain road…”

“It’s absolutely nice, an open air bath!”

 

Open air bath.
Fuuka could only shrug her shoulders when she heard something that foreign to her ear.
She didn’t realize when they were still a rival in love, but somehow, this woman named Miyako is really eccentric.

 

“Today, let’s warm ourselves with a hot spring and then quickly sleep! It seems the weather is going to collapse today.”

“That’s from ‘clairvoyance’?”

“No, the west sky.”

 

Miyako pointed her finger toward the sky.
The west side of the sky is darkened.

 

“The weather is moving from west!”

“Hee…”

 

Maybe you can read the sky?
Sky reading is one of the white magic techniques. In this country, white magic was a favourite magic for girls from good families since long ago, but these days most people bought its mastership license with money.
Even the Hamilton family was no exception. “If you have time to training for white magic then go buy a dress or something!” and so her father was saying.
“If you don’t get the power on your own then there is no point to have a mastership license!” was rebellious Fuuka’s reply.

Maybe, when she thought about it now.
And she thought that also not something that pleased her father.

There’s no meaning in something that you can’t win by your own power, Fuuka thought so.
And she believed there was nothing wrong in that.

 

“It’s still a bit far, let’s hope the weather is still fine until we reach home.”

 

To smoothly use white magic knowledge easily like this, Fuuka must be a hard worker, more than what Fuuka thought.

 

“…Fufu, Miyako also do it well.”

“Hnn? Maybe Fuuka-chan praises me!?”

“Not at all.”

“So? Too bad.”

 

It was pretty straightforward.
Right.
That time when I took Miyako’s hand, I was losing myself.
I was a little tired.
Living here, there were a lot of things that you can’t experience in the capital.

The field works that you always want to do.
Cooking that was actually more difficult than what you thought.
Even continental language that you always studied, today was the first time that you really used it.

“You will be a good merchant yo~” it can’t be helped that you become excited when someone tells you that, even if you know it was just lip service.
The effort that you did by yourself is paying off, in the real world, by your own power.
It was so exciting… to the point where all of your fatigue was blown away.

 

“Yeah, I’m just a little bit tired.”

“Hn?”

“It’s nothing.”

 

Yeah, I was just a little bit tired.

 

That’s why I took the hand that stretched from the window where the wind blows.
The white and powerful, Miyako’s hand.
Just tired, surely, just tired.
That’s why, just this two week, just for this two week, let’s take a break.

‘The deadline is two weeks. By that time, make me say I’m happy’.
Even if I said that, I have no intention to say I’m happy.
This was, this two week was just a mischief.

 

Suddenly,
Some plants that grow on the river banks were caught by Fuuka’s eyes.

It was herb that she only ever saw from the reference books.

 

“Moonlight grass?”

“Hnn? What is it Fuuka-chan?”

“It’s a rare herb. Under the protection of moon goddess, thi herb have high ability to cure any kind of diseases.”

“Hee, want to take it?”

“It’s fine.”

 

Fuuka shook her head.

 

“The moonlight grass is known for its preservation difficulty, we don’t want to waste it right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

 

Tap tap tap, the two were walking.
Tap tap tap tap.

 

“…”

“…but, there won’t be any bees if we closely look at it right?”

“Fufufufu, I think so, Fuuka-chan!”

 

Because if she returned to the capital there is no way she could see natively grown moonlight grass for the second time.
It can’t be helped, it can’t be helped.

 

Fuuka happily decent to the small river without knowing the destination of her feet was muddy.

…splash.

 

*     *    *

 

Steam. Warm. Hidden hot spring.
Fuuka shook her body with a restrained voice.

 

“Aaahh~~ it feels niceee.”

 

Ah, it’s warm. The cold body is warmed from the heart.
Or rather, it’s very very nice.
What is this? This good feeling, something that I never know.

 

“Well, it’s nice right? There is a bath nearby!”

“Miyako, why do you have a nosebleed?”

 

Fuuka gently made a distance with Miyako who wiped her nosebleed while laughing.