Volume 8 Chapter 5 Soaked, Stranded, Breadcrumbs
I'm completely soaked.
I wonder if anyone else comes to dig bamboo shoots and ends up this wet, besides me and Sir Roxas.
"...Lydia, sorry. I'm wet."
"N-no, it's fine. More importantly, we need to figure out how to get back..."
There was that time I went mushroom picking with Mr. Lucian, and we got lost──well, not really lost, but I did fall into a ravine.
Mr. Lucian can soar through the sky on Fafnir and start a fire with fire magic, so it was kind of fun roasting mushrooms and having a little campout.
I can use cooking magic, but I can't use basic elemental magic.
If it were Sir Ciel, he could use purification magic to dry my wet clothes right away.
"I'm only able to use a bit of ice magic besides Soul Stealing. I might be able to dry my clothes by stealing time, but I can't handle magic that delicately. If I cast magic on my clothes, there's a risk they could disintegrate into tatters..."
"If your clothes disappear, that would be a problem..."
"Yeah, I guess so."
Sir Roxas crossed his arms and shook his head.
He looks really down, poor Sir Roxas. Eir-Eir and the others are looking up at us with worried expressions.
I squeezed the hem of my wet skirt tightly and quickly tidied up my disheveled clothes.
If I get down, Sir Roxas might feel even more responsible and get even more upset.
We just got a little lost in the bamboo grove and fell into a stream. We did gather a lot of bamboo shoots, so we accomplished our goal.
It's not that cold, and my clothes will dry soon. Yeah. It's fine.
"Sir Roxas, it's okay. I'm sure we can get back. The bamboo grove is flat and open, unlike the forest, and we didn't fall off a cliff."
"Lydia..."
"Please don't be sad, it's going to be okay."
I squeezed Sir Roxas's hand tightly and looked up at him with a big smile.
"...Actually, I've been keeping this to myself, but I'm not really cut out for outdoor activities."
Sir Roxas said this in a secretive voice, as if confessing a secret.
Yeah.
I know.
"My brother and the servants told me not to go to the mountains, sea, or rivers alone. It's not like I intend to, but I usually end up falling. Into the water."
"Is that so..."
The ground grabs Sir Roxas's feet, and the water pulls him in. Nature really loves you, Sir Roxas.
"And, it's not that I'm particularly bad with directions, but I get lost. ...I wanted to be seen as a reliable man. But, I guess not, huh?"
"Sir Roxas, you're plenty reliable, it's okay. I have my own flaws too... so, let's find our way back, okay?"
"Roxas. You're still young. You don't have to do everything perfectly. I'm the only one who's perfect. I'm cute."
"Right, Dad."
"Ah."
Dad also encourages Sir Roxas. Eir-Eir and the others always tease him, but they seem to notice his lack of energy and are now sitting on his head and shoulders, gently poking his face.
"...Getting cheered up by puppies and small animals. Even I, of all people."
"Even you, Sir Roxas..."
"Did you just make fun of me a little, Lydia?"
"I didn't, I didn't! I just thought it was a bit funny..."
Seeing Sir Roxas, of all people, being called "pumpkin pudding!" "Tarte Tatin..." "fried horse mackerel" by Eir-Eir and the others and getting poked at is a bit amusing, but I'm not making fun of him.
"...Oh!"
While I was wondering what to do, I spotted a large heart-shaped pretzel lying in the bamboo grove.
The pretzel looks delicious with its sprinkle of salt.
A pretzel in a bamboo grove? Why?
"Pumpkin pudding!"
"Ah, Eir-Eir, you can't eat that, don't eat things that are lying around...!"
Eir-Eir and the others hopped over to the pretzel, so I chased after them.
Sir Roxas is chasing after us. With Ms. Famine on his head, he's holding Nel-Nel and Dad in his arms, and he's also carrying a bag full of bamboo shoots, so I feel light and free.
Sir Roxas is strong, so that's more than enough to rely on.
Bamboo shoots are heavy.
"Ah, Eir-Eir, if you eat something off the ground, you might get a tummy ache..."
"Pumpkin."
Eir-Eir is munching on a pretzel that's bigger than her body. When I point it out, she puffs out her belly as if to say she's fine.
Maybe she is, but still, eating off the ground isn't good.
At the tip of the first pretzel, there's a big chocolate muffin lying there.
Eir-Eir spots it right away and starts bouncing over.
"...Why is there bread?"
Sir Roxas mutters suspiciously. I clap my hands and open my mouth.
"Once, in a fairy tale that Sir Stefan read to me, there were 2 siblings abandoned in the forest. The older brother drops breadcrumbs to find his way home. But the birds eat them all."
So, Eir-Eir is like the bird that eats the bread. The breadcrumbs... or rather, the pretzel, chocolate muffin, strawberry Danish, cinnamon bread, and salt croissant are the bread that the older brother dropped.
"Sir Roxas, we made it through the bamboo grove!"
As I chase after Eir-Eir, we successfully get out of the bamboo grove. Ms. Octavia, who was waiting at the bamboo shoot digging site, looks surprised when she sees us.
"You two took your time... but why are you soaking wet after digging for bamboo? Did it rain just where you were?"
"We fell in the river."
"River? Was there a river in the bamboo grove...? Oh, right, there is. But you'd have to go pretty deep to find it. That's not good, Lyd-Lyd. You should only dig for bamboo where the commercial union guards are... but I'm glad you're safe."
We got lightly scolded by Ms. Octavia for thinking we could easily navigate the forest, even though we got lost in the bamboo grove.
Then she took us to the campfire to dry our wet clothes.
Eir-Eir stuffed herself with bread and, feeling full, crawled into my chest and fell asleep.
Sir Roxas still seemed a bit down, but at least we made it back safely.
Still, that bread.
The kind big brother who showed us the way home was definitely Sir Rail.
He must have been worried about Sir Roxas getting lost and was watching over us.
I'll make sure to thank him the next time we meet.
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