Chapter 59: CH 59

When I was in junior high school, my P.E. teacher told us that if we took radio exercises seriously, we could lose weight. Thank you, sensei. The skills I thoroughly studied are now useful in another world.

At first, Su and Fikar looked at me worriedly as I inexplicably began doing strange movements, but now that it became a daily morning routine, Fikar learned the movements soon enough and Su was convinced that we were doing some kind of dance. It was a peaceful morning scene, although I had to stop Su from imitating us after she tried the jumping section and caused the ground to shake.

Wearing light clothing, we went out into the forest as the sun rose – it would’ve been uncomfortably hot to exercise any later in the day. Plus, in the forest, we could complete requests from the guild and collect fresh, delicious food for ourselves. Fikar’s wealth was more than enough to get by if we bought everything from the market, but the fruit you pick yourself tastes the best.

Fikar and Su were in charge of finding meat, while I was in charge of collecting vegetables. I asked for a leaner bird today, and I split off to fill the basket on my back with fruits and mushrooms. Somewhere along the way, Himeko the himekoryuu appeared out of nowhere and sat beside me, taking a rest after his meal.

ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-

A ball of thin vines knotted together rolled noisily towards me. I softly kicked it away, and it slammed into and shot up over a thick tree root with a force that didn’t match the power of my legs. Regardless, Himeko similarly shot up and chased after it.

Called a fairy ball1, it was a plant that looked dead at first glance, but it grew leaves and even flowered during the rainy season. Its name came from the way it rolled around on its own, reminding fairies of a ball to toss around.

It was a popular gift for kids, too, for the same reason, and they could get as big as a balance ball if you were lucky.

When I finished gathering enough ingredients to last the next few days, I stretched my arms up high and bent backwards, and I listened as my vertebrae cracked one by one. Sweat had begun to bead on my forehead. Sunlight sneaking through the leaves illuminated the colorful plants around me. The sky rang with the songs of birds, and Himeko held the fairy ball in his mouth.

“Fikar, where are you?”

A moment later, Fikar dropped down from above. Apparently, he’d been catching birds in the trees. I also spotted Su perched at the top of one.

Relieved, I was about to walk over to him, but I stopped dead in my tracks when I realized that the doves in his hands were still alive. A bird is most delicious when it’s still squawking, but I didn’t want to feel guilty about killing them. Luckily, Fikar, with four doves in his hands and three more around his waist, made quick work of them so I didn’t have to. Himeko’s mouth hung open, waiting for his turn to take a bite.

The birds were washed clean, tossed into a leather bag, and later on, they’d be cut into smaller pieces to be wrapped in large aromatic leaves. Prepared like that, they wouldn’t spoil for several days in a cold pantry, even in the dead of summer. At any point, you could also chuck chopped mushrooms and nuts into the leaf-wrap, throw it over a flame, and boom! you’ve got a delicious steaming roast.

Cooking inside caused the house to act like a heat trap during the summer, so people regularly went outdoors to cook over a bonfire. That said, the town restricted where bonfires could be built, so the few eligible areas had to be shared. Fikar and I, however, lived near the forest where there were fewer people around, so we set up a bonfire in an open area as we pleased.

Thanks to the humidity being mild despite the roasting sunshine, we were able to spend time outside, albeit only while hiding in the shadows. Like many of our neighbors, we also put up a tarp over our yard and worked hard to create a more comfortable living space. On the one hand, Anemone-chan spent increasing amounts of time soaking in her vase, but on the other hand, it seemed like the heat was encouraging Su to become more active.

“By the way, did I mention that we’re going to start practicing together today?” I asked Fikar during our lunch break.

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According to Cecile-san’s guidance, the part where I danced in tandem with the Hero absolutely needed to be practiced with him, but I had a firm grasp on everything else. Fikar, with his longer dance, had also mastered the other scenes, so it was time for combined sessions to begin.

Speaking of Fikar, his costume was a more decorative version of an adventurer’s outfit, beautifully lined with bright blue and silver threading. He wielded an ornamental sword, heavier than the one he usually wore on him, and the hem of his long cloak fluttered with each move he made, sparkling as sunlight hit it from various angles. When he first dressed up to check it out, girls swarmed around him, kyaa~!ing before I knew it.

Standing next to someone like him, I was going to need to put a lot more effort into dieting…

On my wrists and ankles, bellfruits jingled. Flowing steps forwards, backwards, to the sides – all in rhythm. Hands up towards the sky, calling the wind and raising the earth. My gaze met Fikar’s as he brandished his sword, and we swung towards each other, touching back to back before leaping apart once more.

“Nicely done. Now then, we’ll show you a sample of the choreography from there. You two sit tight.”

Cecile-san put on the bellfruits, Ludo-san raised his practice sword, and, tracing back the end of what we’d just performed, the two continued on, moving in perfect harmony. 

Although there was only a few years difference between them, they’d never performed at the summer festival together, and yet, they looked as if they’d been practicing forever. There was never a step out of line or a swing out of sync. It was no wonder that these two were the most popular dancers in Tortea, being so sigh-inducingly graceful.

When Ludo-san lunged with his sword, Cecile-san leaned in, and when her bells chimed, he sprang up. With each move, they slowly approached each other, and then, Ludo-san buried his sword into the ground as if there were a demon beast on its last legs underneath him. Cecile-san, using his crossed hands as a stepping stone, took control of her momentum and flew into the air, spinning once and landing magnificently. Shhann, the bellfruits thundered.

I was stunned. The dance had intensified and come to an end too abruptly.

“U…Um, wait a minute, I can’t do that! It’s not possible!”

“That’s why we’re going to practice~”

I shook my head violently and backed away, but Cecile-san swept me away with a beautiful smile.

No, no, no, that’s not something you can get by practicing. What? Backflips? Are you insane? What are you trying to do to an ordinary former high school girl?

As I was yelling “noway–noway–noway–noway–,” *pon*, Fikar patted me on the shoulder.

A nod.

“No, even if you nod, you can’t do what you can’t do!”

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