An A-Ranked Adventurer's 'Slow-living'

Chapter 42: Radish Harvest

The next day, after the night I spent together with Flora, we changed into our regular clothes after we got out of bed and went to harvest the radishes that we’ve been long anticipating.

She taught me how to grow them, but it was still my first time growing vegetables with my own hands.

It makes me happy when I think of how things have finally gotten to this point.

It took about twenty six days for them to actually fully grow. It was only a bit longer than the supposed twenty days, but it felt like such a long time.

I had never never put my hands on tools like a hoe before and I had no idea what to do since I’ve only swung a sword around. However, I was able to get here thanks to Flora. I couldn’t thank her enough for excusing my ignorance and teaching me with so much patience.

The red bulb that I could see when I took a peek at the earth was small, but my heart was filled with big expectations.

I gently pinched the stems that were growing out of the red bulb in the soil mound.

From there, I took a deep breath. The smell of the soil and the unique smell of greenery tickled my nostrils.

「Alright, I’m going to pull it out, okay?」

「Okay!」

Flora, who was next to me, replied with a bright smile on her face.

Even though she wore her usual gentle expression on her face, she looked somewhat antsy as she watched the radish in my hand.

It made me happy to think that she was feeling just as excited as I was about this.

Things are so much more fun when there’s someone who can share your happiness with you like this. Especially when it’s the person you love.

I put strength into my fingers and pulled out the radish that was buried in the ground.

「Oof!」

Then, the radish came out of the ground as the fresh, red-colored bulb lay in front of our eyes.

「Uwah! It’s got such a beautiful shape!」

Flora said to me happily after I lightly brushed away the soil on the radish in my palm.

The radish had a beautiful round shape, and what looked to be its roots were growing out from the bulb.

I was filled with a strong feeling in my chest when I looked at this vegetable that I’ve grown with my own two hands. It was an indescribable feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment. It felt completely different compared to how it felt after defeating a monster. This definitely is a much happier feeling.

…Is this what they call the joy of harvest?

I wondered to myself as I cherished this warm feeling in my chest thoroughly.

I watched happily as the radish rolled in the palm of my hands. Then, I touched the stems and leaves that were extending out from the bulb. The way its roots were poking out below the bulb was also kind of cute.

I was in pure bliss just from seeing this vegetable that I’ve grown myself being right in front of me…

While I was immersed in the sense of accomplishment from doing a harvest by myself, I heard a giggle coming from next to me.

When I looked in the direction that came from, I saw Flora there with a cheerful smile on her face.

「Ehehehe, I know how you feel right now, Aldo-san. I felt like that the first time I harvested the vegetables that I’ve grown myself as well」

I felt a little embarrassed as Flora told me that with a grin.

Her eyes were very warm.

It was like she was giving me the look of someone who just saw a young adventurer come back from killing a goblin for the first time.

I quickly replied to her to hide my embarrassment.

「Next, why don’t you give it a try as well, Flora?」

「Are you sure?」

「Of course. We grew these together. I planned to harvest them with you together from the beginning」

Yup. I’ve thought about harvesting these together back when we first planted them. Having that dream come true right now makes me very happy.

「Okay then, I won’t hesitate…Eiiii!」

Flora happily pulled a radish out of the ground with a cute shout after I replied to her with a smile.

The radish that she pulled out was also round and in a beautiful red color like the one I pulled out earlier.

「It’s a beautiful radish, isn’t it?」

Flora rubbed off the soil with her white fingers as she smiled at it.

The way she was smiling at the radish was so lovely that it naturally put a smile on my face as well when I saw that.

We rinsed the two harvested radishes with the water from the water bucket that I brought out from inside our house.

They were radishes that we went through much hard work to harvest, so I wanted to taste them while fresh.

We washed the soil off them thoroughly, renewing their gloss and their original vividly red color. They looked very pretty as the sunlight shined on them.

「Now then, should we quickly try them out?」

「Yah!」

With that said, Flora and I both took a bite of the freshly harvested radishes.

A nice, crispy biting sound echoed. Then, an abundant amount of moisture filled my mouth. The juice from the radish’s flesh contained a delicious sweetness that was unique to this vegetable, and it left a pungent aftertaste on the back of my tongue afterwards.

「It’s sweet and a little spicy」

「But it’s good, right?」

We continued to munch on the radish that had a juicy taste and a bit of spiciness.

Flora was also taking small bites at it as if she was sampling her radish. Her movements were like a small animal’s and it was very cute.

Thanks to it being freshly harvested, the sweetness that was seeping out of it was especially delicious.

It was a refreshing feeling when my mouth was filled by its moisture. That feeling made me feel like I could go on eating this forever without stopping.

We ate as we shared our impression of the taste. Then, the radishes in our hands quickly disappeared, as we were left with only their stems and leaves.

Since those parts of the radishes could be used for cooking, we put them neatly into a basket instead of disposing of them.

I look forward to it because Flora told me that they could be used in a wide variety of ways for cooking, such as stir frying, boiling, and salads.

「Well then, shall we harvest some more for breakfast?」

「Yah!」

◆

After we harvested a lot of radishes, we returned home to have breakfast.

We firmly got rid of the soil on our clothes before we entered our home.

「Ojamashimasuu…. Ah」

Flora gave her usual polite greeting behind me with a red face when we were about to change into our slippers before going inside.

I know she did that because she was used to the habit of being polite, but I decided to still tease her about it.

「Hahaha, this isn’t someone else’s home now, right?」

「Mou! It can’t be helped. It still was yesterday…」

Flora replied as she pouted

That face of hers was also really cute and funny, so it made me laugh more.

「What about you, Aldo-san? Will you be able to enter my house naturally as if it was your own home from now on as well?」

Ugh. I have no comeback if you ask me that.

To enter Ergys-san’s house like my own… It would still be impossible. It would be way too embarrassing.

I was an orphan so I’ve never had a family until now. There were young kids and of course, the sisters taking care of us at the church’s orphanage, but it’s completely not the same.

If I entered Ergys-san’s home right now I would be greeted with a gentle smile. That’s what it’s like over there.

It’s a place that gave me a warm feeling that’s hard to describe. I understand that it’s a good thing but it’s really embarrassing since I have never got used to it.

「Yeah, you’re right. Sorry, sorry」

When I prepared her the slippers for her to put on as my apology for teasing her, she smiled at me happily and put her feet in.

Then, we brought the basket with the radishes into the kitchen and she started to fill a pot up with water from the bucket in order to wash them.

There were quite a lot of radishes, so it would be quite difficult for her to wash them all by herself.

「I’ll help out as well」

「No, um… I’d like you to help me wash something else」

I called out to her and offered to help, but she asked for my help on washing something else instead.

Hm? There were no dishes left to wash and I thought there shouldn’t be anything else that needed to be cleaned…

When Flora saw the confused look on my face, she said to me while her face turned red,

「…Um…that…T-the bed we slept on together yesterday…」

From the way she replied with a voice that was fading out as she avoided eye contact, I understood what it was she wanted me to wash.

Now that she mentioned it, I washed my body when I got up but I still haven’t washed the bedsheets yet.

「Ah! Oh, right! I’ll go wash those」

「S-sorry. I’m too embarrassed to…」

I hurried and went toward the bedroom as I heard her apologetic voice coming from behind.

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