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Chapter 57

"Are you all right?"
I stepped forward and took the man's luggage from him. Looking at the items Dale ‌had carefully packed into the bundle, they were all books.
This man seemed to be someone devoted to learning and study.
A man who appeared to be in his thirties or forties, with soft chestnut-brown hair and a gentle, approachable demeanor.
"Ah! Thank you so much. You're both very kind. I truly appreciate it."
The man moved his left arm, wrapped in bandages, stiffly as he tried to accept the ‌‌‌bundle.
But the luggage was nearly as large ‌‌‌as he was, and ‌‌‌I doubted he could carry it properly.
"Dale."
I gave him a subtle signal, and Dale nodded in understanding.
"We'll carry it to your house for you."
"No, please don't trouble yourselves. It's heavy, and I couldn't ask you to go that far."
"It's what my wife wishes to do."
"Ah...!"
The man seemed genuinely moved, looking at me with a shy smile.
"Then I'll ‌‌gratefully accept your kindness."
‌‌‌‌
* * *

"That's the house."
Where the man pointed, there stood a residence ‌‌‌of considerable size.
I'd ‌‌heard that Saloe Territory was small, with modest houses clustered tightly together, ‌‌‌but this one was different.
The houses here were spaced apart, much like in Grunvalt.
"Oh!"
Thud.
The man who had been guiding us through the door suddenly collapsed, having tripped on a small stone protruding from the ground in front of the entrance.
"He must be ‌‌‌‌‌the ‌‌type who gets hurt easily."
As I muttered this, Dale nodded and helped ‌‌him to his feet.
"Thank you. You're truly kind."
The saying about not being able to spit at a smiling face must have been coined by observing someone like him.
Once we returned to the house, he donned a large pair ‌‌of spectacles ‌and led us to the Reception Room.
The house, which had appeared quite spacious from ‌the outside, proved even more expansive within.
The luggage ‌‌he carried contained many books, and the living room and Reception Room alike were crammed entirely full of them.
"You enjoy books?"
"My wife and I both do. It's a shared interest of ours."
He affirmed this with a gentle smile. ‌
The man retrieved beautiful teacups from a storage cabinet and placed them before us, ‌‌‌‌along with not just tea but an abundance of refreshments.
"My wife doesn't particularly enjoy having guests invited to the house, so you two are rare and cherished visitors."
"That's similar to me."
"So you share that trait as well, ‌‌Miss."
The man was gentle, kind, and serene. Unlike Dale, he didn't seem particularly talkative, yet there was something oddly comforting about him.
Meeting him for the first ‌‌‌time, ‌‌‌‌I had the strange feeling that we might share something in common.
'What kind of feeling is that?'
I couldn't ‌‌‌quite put it into ‌‌‌‌words, but that's how it was.
"Mmm! This is delicious!"
Moreover, his skill in brewing the tea was excellent.
Yet this tea's ‌‌‌‌fragrance seemed familiar somehow... I felt like I'd encountered it before. What was it?
I tilted my head and took another sip of the tea. ‌‌‌‌
It seemed Dale had ‌‌noticed something odd as well. He was looking at me.
As I turned my head in bewilderment, something familiar caught my eye.
"Huh? That book?"
Among the countless books lining the walls, I spotted a welcome name.
'Madame Cozette'
My favorite romance novelist.
The Night Lover, which I'd found most entertaining, the unfinished novel Marriage with a Ghost, and more—in fact, it seemed this collection contained virtually every work by Madame Cozette.
"Whose collection is this?"
"Ah, that would be..."
The Scholar adjusted his spectacles with a smile.
"My wife's books."
"Really? That's quite a collection...!"
Had he been here, I would have loved to have a conversation with him—his taste was truly ‌‌exceptional.
"Dale! You enjoy ‌‌‌romance novels ‌too, ‌‌‌don't you? If this gentleman had been around, it would have been wonderful. Wouldn't it?"
"Is that so?"
The Scholar's eyes widened in surprise.
"Of course. Dale and I share the same hobbies and similar tastes. I'm right, aren't I?"
"That's correct."
Dale nodded and swept his gaze across the House once more.
His sharp eyes seemed to ‌‌‌be searching for something.
"We should be going now. It's getting late. Shall we, Dale? Thank you for your time."
"You're ‌‌leaving ‌‌‌‌‌already?"
The Scholar looked at us with evident reluctance.
Then something came to mind.
"Oh, right—this is an effective medicine from a place I know well. It helps bones heal properly, so if you brew it well morning and evening, you'll recover quickly."
I handed him some medicinal herbs that my family primarily distributed.
His face then brightened with gratitude. ‌‌
"Please wait a moment. Let me pay you for the medicine."
"No, it's nothing."
But he seemed uncomfortable, his gaze lingering on the pouch of herbs.
"It's truly ‌‍‌fine. Besides, this has reminded me of something."
"Reminded you of what?"
The Scholar with his injured arm who couldn't receive treatment, and the Medical Clinic I'd seen earlier.
And now, the abundance of wealth that had come to me.
I finally understood what I could do, what I should do.
"Something that could help ‌‌everyone."

* * *

I rested my chin in my hand, lost in thought.
Even after returning to the House, my mind remained preoccupied.
"The Saloe Territory is smaller than Grunvalt, ‌‌isn't it?"
"Yes. It's a small territory—less than one-fifth the size of Grunvalt."
Though the plaza and residential areas were modest, the textile produced there was of excellent quality, and with its elevated terrain, the charming village had ‌‌‌developed a ‌‌‌thriving pastoral economy and small-scale craftsmanship.
I settled comfortably onto the sofa in the Reception Room alongside Dale, and we conversed.
"Even the Scholar I saw today had quite a distance between the Medical Clinic and his House. It took about thirty minutes on foot."
"Yet the Medical Clinic was closed, so it proved useless."
"Exactly. It's a harsh environment for someone to travel while ill."
The people of Saloe Territory seemed to make the journey repeatedly just to visit the one Medical Clinic that existed there.
Whether walking was difficult or their arms were impaired, they had no choice but to make the trek for treatment.
"But Dale, what is that?"
"Ah, this is..."
I noticed Dale setting down quite a large basket from beneath the table.
"Since I mentioned spending leisure time with Enya, the Servants at ‌‌‌‌the House asked me to bring this along."
"A picnic basket?"
I opened the basket that ‌‌‌Dale had kept hidden without unpacking.
It was brimming with food and delicacies.
"But why didn't you mention it earlier? Brendi's cooking is absolutely delicious!"
Brendi was the ‌‌‌Servant who managed the cooking at our ‌‌‌House.
She was a Servant Dale had brought ‌‌‌with him, and ‌‌‍‌she excelled not only at meals but also at preparing desserts.
Her skill was so remarkable that she could have secured a position as a chef in the Imperial Palace immediately.
"It rained, so a picnic was impossible."
Light rain had fallen during our carriage ride, leaving the ground damp.
Though ‌‌‌‌it wasn't heavy ‌‌‌‌rain, spreading a picnic mat would have soaked our ‌‌‌clothes through.
"Then shall we eat now? The food inside is the kind that tastes good even when it cools, isn't it?"
The food in the picnic basket was meticulously wrapped for easy consumption, and the ‌‌‌contents were securely sealed in bottles to prevent spillage, making storage convenient.
I reached ‌‌‌for the food nestled ‌‌in the basket.
"It may have spoiled."
At that moment, Dale gently covered my mouth and took the first bite of the sandwich himself.
With an unbothered expression, he bit into the bread that had touched my lips.
"It hasn't spoiled, but it's slightly ‌‌‌soggy." ‌‌‌
"Wait, I was eating that... Are you sure it's fine?"
"If it's food you wished to eat, I would rather prepare it fresh for you instead."
Dale seemed to have misunderstood my startled expression and began to rise from his seat.
"No, it's fine. You can eat it. Are you sure you're okay? It touched my lips."
"I'm fine with it."
"Fine with it?"
"What I mean is..."
Dale's face flushed crimson in an instant.
"It's... well, not so much good as acceptable. Yes. ...Whatever works is fine."
"Ah..., Dale is quite unflappable about such things, isn't he?"
A relief. I'd eaten it unconsciously and worried he might dislike it.
It seemed he was simply averse to wasting food—whether it had passed through my lips or picked up something along the way didn't matter to him.
"Dale, you're truly kind."
To be ‌considerate even about this. I've never met anyone quite as angelic as Dale.
"...Storage?"
Then a brilliant idea suddenly struck me.

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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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