We learned about Jack from a girl named Suya.
Suya seemed to admire him, remembering his kindness in saving us. He wasn’t a bad person, I wondered.
“I’m sorry, I talked too much. I’ll be going now.”
Before I could stop her, she turned and headed back towards town. Just as her figure disappeared completely into the forest, Jack returned.
“What excellent timing,” he said.
“Shut up,” I replied.
“Hey, why can’t you get along with her? She clearly likes you.”
He stopped walking and pouted.
“That’s why. She shouldn’t be with a country bumpkin like me.”
I see. It was quite frustrating. With that, he went back to working in the field. Wasn’t he overworking himself without decent meals? I followed him silently, intending to help.
“Ah, you’re back. We’ve been waiting. We’ll help with the farm work too!”
At his field were Philiana and the others. It must have been because they finished cleaning the house.
“Women don’t belong in the fields!”
Jack’s angry shout echoed across the field. My companions, who had been smiling, fell silent at his words.
“Hey, you! What’s with all this ‘women shouldn’t do this’ and ‘women shouldn’t do that’? Are you looking down on us?!”
Nina demanded, her eyebrows furrowed. I stood between the two, telling them to calm down. Honestly, Jack was truly terrible with words. He probably didn’t mean it that way.
“Hehehe, don’t worry. Getting dirty is normal for us. Thank you for your concern.”
Ignoring their argument, Philiana started working. Sharin silently pulled weeds. Nina snorted and began working alongside them. He grumbled and went back into the house. That’s right, he hadn’t eaten lunch. I wondered if there was any leftovers from yesterday.
When I entered the house, Karubene was sitting at the table. She grinned when she saw Jack.
“You’re hopeless, aren’t you? A clumsy man like you will lose her.”
He ignored Karubene’s words and headed to the kitchen.
“Are you going to live alone forever like this? Stubborn old donkey.”
“Shut up. Can’t you see? We’re different races.”
Without meeting Karubene’s eyes, he began eating the leftover soup and potatoes.
“I see. But, you like her, don’t you? Isn’t she waiting for you to show your manliness?”
The sound of clashing dishes was unusually loud.
“Is it okay if she’s held by another man?”
“I told you to shut up! Why do you guys meddle so much?! This is my problem alone!”
Jack slammed his hand on the table. Dishes jumped. Karubene responded with a confident smile.
“Hehehe, see, you’re kind after all. You didn’t tell us to leave. So why are you so stubborn? Are you afraid she’ll be gossiped about by those around you?”
It was a clear hit, and he fell silent. Karubene then suddenly offered him a single rose.
“Here, give this to her tonight and confess. Don’t say it’s impossible right away. After all, you’ve apparently been doing this for years.”
He glared at Karubene, as if asking how she knew. Seemingly defeated by her smirk, he reluctantly picked up the rose from the table.
“Then I need to prepare to confess. Surely I can’t go in these dirty clothes. Don’t worry, I have a companion who’s a good tailor.”
Karubene patted him on the shoulder and left the house. Left behind, I didn’t know what to do, so I decided to have lunch with him for the time being.
