GalaxyTL
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“munch munch……munch munch……”
Delicious.
“munch munch……munch munch, mush mush……!”
Delicious!
“munch munchmmunch munch munch munch munch munchmush mush mush mushahhh——!”
Too deliciouuuuuuuuuus!!!
What is this bread?!
Abnormally delicious?!
It’s not just because of my hunger!
The bread is simply delicious!
Incredibly delicious!!
“Ehehe! It’s our village’s famous bread! Even merchants from the capital say they’ve never tasted better bread, they really praise it a lot!”
The brown-haired girl saying that with a shy smile is named Fetti-chan.
Apparently, all the bread the villagers eat is prepared by Fetti’s family.
A bakery, I suppose?
“What a hearty eater! You must have been really starving!”
The beautiful freckled woman with deep green hair laughing as she said that seems to be the mistress of this house, Otta.
“Too hearty an eater, I’d say……how many loaves is that already? By the way, why are there floorboards missing in various spots around this room……?”
The one showing a wry smile as he said that was the deep green-haired boy named Prough-kun, likely Otta’s son. A good-looking lad.
These three were the ones who had “intruded” into the house.
Well, not intruded per se, since this is apparently Otta’s home, meaning they had simply returned.
Ah, I’m glad I didn’t kill them in my frenzy!
If they had suddenly flung open the door and barged into the room, I likely would have instinctively torn them to shreds.
That was dangerous.
According to Prough-kun and Fetti-chan, it seems I was discovered lying unconscious by the riverside and they helped me.
In other words, after losing consciousness, that chattering black lizard dumped me into the river, which led to this village located further downstream.
Spotting my unconscious self, the two acted purely out of kindness by carrying me here and nursing me back to health.
They’re the ones who changed my clothes too.
Ah, I’m really glad I didn’t kill them.
They’re very good people.
Speaking of which, going back to that.
What’s with this bread?
It’s way too delicious?
Its appearance is shimmering too, so it doesn’t seem like ordinary bread, right?
<Perhaps some divine blessing is involved……?>
Eh? A blessing? On bread?
<Not the bread itself, but rather the wheat……or the land it was cultivated on, I’d imagine? Gods bestowing blessings upon the land rather than people is a fairly common occurrence, though not a prominent one>
Oh, so this is a land under the gods’ watchful eyes?
……Should I flee, then?
Is there a chance of getting dragged into some weird “story” like with Torch-kun and Sara-chan?
<Hmm……Zzzzz, well…… Zzzzzz, no, I believe we should consider staying in this village for a while>
Why?
<Because this bread is incredible? Thanks to some blessing, its mana content is off the charts. For your body craving mana after that mana transformation, this bread is like a godsend. At the very least, until your hunger subsides a bit, I think living in this village and having you eat this bread would be best>
I see…?
“Hey! Is your tummy full yet?”
Fetti-chan calls out to me with a smile as I stop eating the bread to converse with Extra-sama.
While I still want to eat more, devouring the village’s entire bread supply alone would be rude.
For now, I stuff the remaining bread in my hands into my mouth before shaking my head.
“I’m glad, I’m glad!……Well then, Prough. Your mother will be working in the southern hill’s fields, so take care of things here. Call me right away if anything happens.”
“Got it, mother.”
Saying that, Otta left the room.
The ones remaining were me, Fetti-chan, and the little Prough-kun, a trio of kids.
“Say, say! What’s your name? Where are you from? Why were you collapsed by the river?”
“…………munch munch”
Fetti-chan is quite the chatterbox.
Constantly talking to my silent self.
“Now now Fetti, how can she respond with her mouth stuffed full of bread like a hamster?”
Prough interjects with a wry smile while pointing at my chipmunk-cheeked face packed with sunflower seeds.
“Umm, so, you can understand words……right? If you can, nod your head up and down for me.”
*nod* munch munch
“Alright, so since all the adults are busy in the fields, I’ll explain things instead. You don’t need to respond, just listen, okay? We already introduced ourselves earlier, so that part’s done, right?”
Straightening his back as he said that, Prough corrected his posture.
Fetti hurriedly mimicked him beside him.
“Ahem, ‘Welcome to Grounoddka Village, the Village of Wheat! This is a frontier that rejects no one! We welcome you here!'”
Prough began explaining about the village with a smile while reciting what sounded like rehearsed lines an adult had taught him.
* * *
Over the next few minutes, Prough-kun provided me an overview of the village.
Though Prough-kun is around my age, so his explanation was quite vague.
This Grounoddka Village is a pioneer village located in the Tezonka country, with wheat as its primary crop.
At least, that much I understood. Not enough information!
But I only introduced myself as “Emi, a traveler” too, so I can’t complain!
Rather, I’m the one lacking there!
……Well, it’s understandable since I haven’t really spoken to anyone for over half a year since entering that demon realm.
Like, I don’t know what to say, or how to converse anymore……
Yeah, I’ve forgotten how to have conversations.
I’m weirdly tense and can’t speak properly.
I had gotten a bit better at conversing back in Yoshanka, but still.
I’ll have to get used to it again gradually.
Alright, enough digression.
So, anyway.
The two say, “Next, we’ll give you a village tour!” so I’m obediently following behind them outside now.
It’s currently spring.
The winter chill has subsided, and the sunlight pouring down feels comfortably warm.
Lining the country road we walk are brown and green shoots poking out of the ground that look delicious, like bamboo shoots or fuki buds.
Looking around left and right reveals endless wheat fields.
Short green sprouts planted as far as the eye can see, looking scrumptious.
The wheat fields stretch endlessly in every direction.
The faint earthy scent wafting through the air, the twittering of delicious-looking little birds.
Amid such scenery, I leisurely follow along listening to Prough’s explanations.
“Umm, over there is our field. And that’s Uncle Hark’s field, while that one belongs to Tonnaru.”
Yeah.
“So if we turn right here, there’s Tardatta’s field, and a left turn takes us to Saressa’s field!”
Yeah.
“If we keep going straight a bit further, there’s Kakkone’s field, and even further ahead are the brand new fields of Ronte and Itakk!”
……Yeah.
It’s just fields!
The tour only covers fields?!
Shouldn’t you introduce places like the village meeting hall or general stores and such?!
I couldn’t care less whose field is whose when you just list them off?!
Well, I suppose it can’t be helped.
Because really, there’s nothing here besides fields.
This is THE countryside, after all.
<At the very least, there should be a bakery around, though……how odd>
Judging from the housing, large field sizes, and the substantial amount of bread provided to me, their living standards seem overwhelmingly better compared to that Trash Village.
“Oh ho, young Master Prough, you’ve brought an unfamiliar face I see.”
At that moment.
An elderly man and woman calmly approached us from the fields with gentle smiles.
“Ah! Uncle Hark! Granny Grute!”
“Good day!”
Prough-kun and Fetti-chan greeted them energetically.
I instinctively……became wary.
Combat readiness.
Mental combat readiness.
Fortunately, Prough-kun and the others weren’t the type to discriminate based on appearances like Sara-chan.
But how about these elders?
They’ll probably hurl insults right away.
That’s just how it is.
That’s how people in this world tend to be.
I know that, so it’s fine.
I won’t be hurt by something so trivial.
Uncle Hark and Granny Grute slowly approached us in a straight line.
Then, Granny Grute brought her face close to mine and said:
“Oh my~~~ Well now, how unusual! Why, you’re like a little doll~~~! Granny has never seen such an adorable child before~~~!”
…………Eh?
“I’m surprised too. Young Master Prough, where did you find such a cute girl? Cheating on little Fetti-chan, are we?”
“N-No! This is Emi, she’s a traveler! Fetti and I found her collapsed by the river and helped her!”
…………Huh?
“Ahaha, a traveler. At such a young age?…..You must have had it rough.”
Uncle Hark gently narrowed his eyes and lowered his brows as his large, rough hand slowly stroked my head.
…………Why?
“Little Emi, my name is Hark. And this is my mother, Grute. If you’re staying with Otta, you’ll be just fine, but if any trouble comes up, feel free to ask this uncle anything, alright?”
“We’re counting on you~~~!”
“Well then, young Master Prough, little Fetti-chan. Make sure you give Emi a proper tour now!”
“Yeah! See you later, Uncle Hark, Granny Grute!”
……Saying that, the uncle and granny returned to their fields with smiles.
……………………
……………………?
I…………wasn’t rejected?
<…………Indeed, you were not>
“Come on! Why are you spacing out? Let’s continue the tour!”
Fetti-chan grabbed my hand with a smile, pulling me forward.
Prough-kun and Fetti-chan seemed to be talking to me with smiles, but at that moment, I was too dazed to hear what they were saying.
I……wasn’t rejected, right?
<You were not rejected>
Is this…………a dream?
<No, this is reality. Not a dream, Emi>
After that, I continued walking alongside Prough and Fetti down the pleasantly warm country road.
They introduced me to various villagers.
Remarkably, not a single person rejected me.
The word “cursed child” never came up.
Everyone accepted me with smiles.
Grounoddka Village was.
This place was.
…………Heaven.