Abnormally Delicious Bread, a Tranquil Spring Village

“Mogu mogu...... mogu mogu......”

Delicious.

“Mogu mogu...... mogu mogu, musha musha......!”

Delicious!

“Mogu mogu, mogu mogu mogu mogu mogu mogu mogu mogu, musha musha musha MUSHAAAAAAAAAA!!”

TOO DELICIOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUS!!!

What is this bread!?

It's abnormally delicious!?

It's absolutely not just because I'm starving!

Simply put, the bread is delicious!

The most delicious ever!!

“Ehehe! It's our family's pride and joy! Even the merchants from the royal capital say they've never had better bread than this, and they praise it to the skies!”

The brown-haired girl saying so with a bashful smile is Fetti-chan.

Apparently, all the bread the people of this village eat is provided by Fetti-chan's family.

Does that make them bakers?

“What a healthy appetite! You must have been terribly hungry!”

The freckled beauty with deep green hair laughing as she says so is Otta-san.

Apparently, she's the owner of this house.

“If you ask me, that's a little too healthy...... how many dozen loaves is that now? By the way, how come the floorboards in this room are torn up and missing here and there......?”

The one saying this with a strained smile is Prough-kun.

A boy with deep green hair tied back, apparently Otta-san's son. He's a hottie.

Whatever had intruded into the house, it turned out to be these three.

Well, intrusion my foot. This is apparently Otta-san's house, so all they did was come home.

Ah, I'm glad I didn't kill them in the heat of the moment!

If they had suddenly flung the door open and burst into the room, I think I'd have torn them limb from limb in spite of myself.

Close call, close call.

From what Prough-kun and Fetti-chan tell me, it seems the two of them found me lying unconscious on the riverbank.

In other words, after I lost consciousness, that chattering black lizard sent me down the river, and where the river led, there was this village.

The two who found me passed out apparently activated their pure goodwill, carried me all the way here, and nursed me.

They were the ones who changed my clothes, too.

No, really, I'm glad I didn't kill them.

They're incredibly nice people.

But anyway, going back to the topic.

What is it? This bread.

It's way too delicious, isn't it?

It even looks all sparkly, and I get the feeling it isn't just ordinary bread?

<Perhaps some kind of divine blessing is upon it......?>

Eh? A blessing? On bread?

<Not so much the bread as the wheat it's made from...... or rather, the land it grew on, perhaps? Gods blessing a land instead of people actually happens fairly often, you know? It just doesn't stand out.>

Huh, so that means this is a land the gods favor?

......What should I do, should I, run away?

Is there a possibility I'll get dragged into some weird “story” again, like with Torch-kun and Sara-chan?

<Hmm, let's see...... zaza...... no, for a while, staying in this village, is what we should consider.>

Why?

<Because this bread is amazing, you know? Perhaps thanks to the blessing, the amount of magic power it contains is extraordinary. For your body, Emi, fresh from mana transmutation and craving huge amounts of magic power, this bread is a godsend. At least until your hunger eases a little, I believe it would be better to live in this village and have them feed you this bread.>

I see?

“Hey! Are you full yet?”

My hand has stopped eating while I concentrate on talking with Omake-sama, and Fetti-chan asks me this with a smile.

Truthfully, I want to eat a lot more, but it wouldn't be good to eat up all the village's bread by myself.

I stuffed the remaining piece in my hand into my mouth before nodding.

“Good, good! ......Now then, Prough. Mom's going to go work in the fields over by the south hill, so I'm counting on you for the rest. Call me immediately if anything happens.”

“I got it, Mom.”

With that, Otta-san left the room.

Left in the room are us 3 little kids: me, Fetti-chan and Prough-kun.

“Hey, hey! What's your name!? Where did you come from!? Why were you collapsed by the river!?”

“............mogu mogu”

Fetti-chan loves to talk.

She keeps chatting away at quiet little me.

“Now look, Fetti, how's she supposed to answer when her mouth's stuffed to bursting with bread?”

Saying so, Prough-kun points at my face, which looks like a hamster with its cheeks stuffed with sunflower seeds, and makes the retort with a wry smile.

“Umm, so, you, understand what we're saying...... right? If you do, could you nod for me?”

I nod. Mogu mogu.

“Okay, well, the adults are all busy in the fields, so I'll explain things instead. You don't have to answer, just listen. We introduced ourselves a minute ago, so we can skip that, right?”

Saying this, Prough-kun straightens his back and sits up properly.

Beside him, Fetti-chan hurriedly copies him.

“Umm, ‘Welcome to Grounoddka Village, the Village of Wheat! A frontier that turns no one away! We welcome you!’”

Prough-kun began explaining the village with a smile, reciting words that sounded strangely like a set phrase, perhaps something he'd been taught by the adults.

◇ ◇ ◇

For the next few minutes, Prough-kun gave me an overview of the village.

That said, Prough-kun is a kid about my age, so his explanation was pretty fuzzy.

This is Grounoddka Village, a pioneer village in a country called Tezonka, and its specialty is wheat.

That much, at least, I got. Not much to go on!

But then again, I only gave a self-introduction on the level of “Emi. Traveler,” so we're even!

If anything, I'm the one coming up short!

......I mean, I've barely talked to anyone in over half a year, ever since I entered the demon realm.

It's like, I don't know what I should say, or, how does talking even work again? Or something......

Yeah, I've forgotten how to have a conversation.

I'm strangely nervous and can't speak well.

When I was in Yoshanka, I was starting to be able to talk a bit, though.

I'll just have to get used to it again, little by little.

Now then, anyway, back to the topic.

So, you see.

The two of them said ‘We'll show you around the village next!’, so I'm taking them up on the kind offer and walking around outside behind them.

The season is spring.

The winter cold has eased, and the sunshine pouring down is toasty and warm.

Along the edges of the country road we're walking, brown sprouty things like horsetails and green sprouty things like butterbur buds poke their heads up out of the ground, and they look so delicious.

Looking left and right, all I see are wheat fields.

Short green seedlings are planted all around, and they look delicious.

On and on, on and on, the wheat fields spread out.

The faint scent of soil wafting through the air, the voices of delicious-looking little birds singing pipipi.

Amidst all this, I walk leisurely while listening to Prough-kun's explanations.

“Umm, the ones spreading out this way are our fields. And over there is Uncle Hark's field, and beyond that is Tonnaru-san's field.”

Mm-hmm.

“And then, if you turn right on this road, there's Tardatta-san's field, and if you turn left, there's Saressa-san's field!”

Mm-hmm.

“If you go straight a bit more, it's Kakkone-san's field, and further beyond that are the fields of Ronte-san and Itakk-san, which were just made recently!”

......Mm-hmm.

There's nothing but fields!

He's only introducing fields!?

Normally, isn't this where you tell me where the village meeting hall and the general store and that kind of stuff are!?

You can tell me this is so-and-so's field and that's so-and-so's field all you want, I can't muster a shred of interest!?

But well, I suppose it can't be helped.

Because, really, there's nothing here besides fields.

The Countryside, capital T.

<There should at least be a bakery, but...... za that's odd, isn't it.>

Judging by the houses, the size of the fields, and the sheer amount of bread they gave me, they seem to live overwhelmingly better than that Trash Village, though.

“Oh my, young Prough, you've brought along a face I don't know, eh?”

And at that moment.

With gentle smiles, an uncle and a granny walked toward us from the fields.

“Ah! Uncle Hark! Granny Grute!”

“Hello!”

Prough-kun and Fetti-chan greet them energetically.

I can't help...... bracing myself.

This, is combat preparation.

Mental combat preparation.

Fortunately, Prough-kun and the others were people like the previous Sara-chan, the type who didn't discriminate against me for my looks.

But what about these people?

I'm sure the insults will start flying any second.

That's just how it is.

The people of this world are just built that way.

I know, so I'm fine.

I won't be hurt by something so trivial.

Uncle Hark and Granny Grute walk toward us, unhurried, straight on.

And first, Granny Grute brought her face close to mine and said:

“Well, look at you~~~! My stars! Just like a little doll~~~! This old granny, ain't never seen such a darlin' child~~~!”

............Eh?

“......I was surprised too. Young Prough, a cute girl like this, where'd she come from? You've already got Fetti-chan, and you're cheating on her?”

“N, no! This is Emi, she says she's a traveler! Fetti and I saved her when she was collapsed by the river!”

............Huh?

“Ahh, a traveler. When you're this little? ......That must have been hard on you.”

Uncle Hark narrowed his eyes and lowered his brows kindly, and with his rugged, big, hand, he, slowly, patted, my, head.

............Why?

“Emi-chan, my name is Hark. This is my mother, Grute. As long as you're at Otta's, you shouldn't have much trouble, but if anything's bothering you, come talk to this uncle about anything, alright?”

“Real nice to meet ya~~~!”

“See ya, young Prough, Fetti-chan. Make sure you give Emi-chan a proper tour!”

“Yeah! Bye, Uncle Hark, Granny Grute!”

......With that, Uncle and Granny went back to their fields, smiling.

........................

........................?

I............ wasn't rejected?

<............You weren't.>

“Come on! Why are you spacing out? On with the touuur!”

Smiling, Fetti-chan takes my hand and tugs me forward.

Prough-kun and Fetti-chan are chatting to me about something with big smiles, but at the time I was totally spaced out and didn't hear a word they said.

I............ wasn't rejected, right?

<You weren't.>

Is this............ a dream?

<No, this is reality. It is not a dream, Emi.>

After that, I continued to walk along the cozy, warm country road, sticking close to Prough-kun and Fetti-chan.

I was introduced to various villagers.

To my astonishment, every single person, all of them, didn't reject, me.

Cursed child.

Even that word, never came up.

Everyone, with smiles, accepted me.

Grounoddka Village was.

This place was.

............heaven.