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A Walk In Midwinter
Recently, the frequency of Nina coming to my house to play has decreased.
While I was staying in Howling village, she would come by almost every day, though not quite daily.
We will then relax and chat while drinking warm tea or soup, going to play in the forest or outside, or taking a walk somewhere.
We played across a wide range of time, from short periods between work to long hours of free time.
But recently, the frequency of that has suddenly decreased. Specifically, it has been four days since her last visit.
It’s not strange for this to happen if you’re with your friends, but considering that she came over almost every day, it makes me worried.
I can’t help but think that.....Nina has come to hate me, but I hope that’s not the case.
I will cry if such a good kid comes to hate me.
Could it be that she has fallen ill? The temperature drops significantly in winter, and snow piles up on the ground. There’s a high chance that Nina - being a child - caught a cold.
In that case, that will explain why she has not come to play.
「Guess, I’ll go check on her」
I want to give her some nutritious food if she really caught a cold.
I have my Space Magic, so I store vegetables and fruits from all seasons, as well as medicines for emergencies. That should be able to help Nina.
I can have peace of mind if she were simply just busy doing a side job at home.
I decided to put on my winter clothes and head toward Andre’s house.
Going outside, the snow had only accumulated to the point of slightly burying the soles of my shoes.
I stored the snow in my subspace every time snow fell on the ground around my house after all.
Still, what should I do with the massive amount of snow in my subspace, I wonder?
It contains too many impurities to be used in cooking, and even if I filter them, there’s no need to use them in cooking since I can use normal water.
In that case, I can use it in the summer to cool off, and the other use will be to build something like an ice house underground.
I arrive at Andre’s house while thinking about how to use the snow.
Although there’s some distance between our houses, it only take a short time since we’re neighbors.
Knocking on the door, there’s a cheerful voice replying from inside「Comingー!」.
It’s Nina who opens the door and comes out. I’m relieved to see that she’s fine for the time being.
I can see Andre and Stella in the living room through the gap in the door, and what appears to be a lot of cloths and threads on the table.
「Hey, Nina. Are you well?」
「Waa! Kureto!? Sorry! Wait a minute!」
When I greet her, Nina flusters in panic and quickly shuts the door.
A noisy sound of feet running echoes from inside, and before long, Nina comes out wearing a dark green poncho.
「Thanks for waiting! Why don’t we go for a walk since you’re here?」
「A, aah. Okay」
I have the impression that she doesn’t want me to enter her house, rather than her inviting me to go out, but it’s probably rude to point that out.
I feel like there’s something off with the situation, but I decide to just nod without pursuing the matter.
The two of us start walking aimlessly without any particular destination in mind.
「It’s unusual for Kureto to visit our house, isn’t it?」
「I hadn’t seen Nina in a while, so I was worried you caught a cold or something」
「Ahー, I’ve been busy with work at home recently……」
Nina’s gaze wanders around as she scratches her cheek with her index finger.
Being inherently honest, Nina is bad at lying or deceiving others.
Having Nina not say anything means she wants to keep something secret.
Well, it’s Nina, so I don’t think the secret is anything bad.
「That kind of work brings income during winter after all. I see. I’m glad you’re okay then」
「U, un. Sorry to make you worried」
I decide not to bring it up any further while knowing there is something she hides.
After we leave our house, the road is covered in snow.
「There’s a lot of snow piled up around here」
「Only the area around our houses don’t have snow at all」
Looking back, there’s only bright white snow around, but only my - and Andre’s house - is visible.
That scene makes me feel a little strange.
Stepping on the thick snow makes a gyumu sound.
Walking through soft, hardened snow feels a little fun.
「Kureto’s footprints are huge!」
「Hahaha, I’m an adult after all」
Nina’s mouton boots step over my footprints on the hardened snow.
Perhaps it’s because of the clear footprints on the snow that the difference in size between Nina’s footprints and mine is clear.
She follows my footprints for a while, but maybe she gets bored and heads off to step on softer snow.
「You might trip on the waterway and fall if you walk around too much, you know?」
「It’s fine! I can tell even if I can’t see it because of the snow!」
Nina smiles with full confidence and continues to walk around when I voice out my concern.
As Nina says, having lived here for many years, it seems she knows the way even if it’s buried in snow. She continues to move along nimbly, showing no sign of uncertainty.
「How about you, Kureto, are you okay? The ground is all white and you almost can’t see the road」
「Thanks to being a magician, my awareness of space is sharper than ordinary person. So even if I don’t remember the road like Nina, I know the terrain」
「Heeー! So it’s like that!」
My awareness related to space has become sharper thanks to the special characteristics of Space Magic.
Thanks to the special characteristics of Space Magic, I can understand what the road is like even if it’s covered in snow.
Thanks to that, there’s no need to worry about missing my footing by stepping on the waterway or a slope.
Conversely, I probably will not be able to go for a walk like this without having a grasp of spatial awareness.
There are a few buildings in Howling Village - different from the royal capital -, and there’s mostly only wide open space, so you can’t tell the terrain if snow piles up on the ground. Fallen snow in the countryside is an unexpected inconvenience.
「Kureto-san! I’m sorry, but can you please help me clear the snow on our roof?」
As I walk along and am lost in thought, a villager calls out to me.
I don’t interact with her that much, but she's quite an elderly woman.
Clearing the snow on the roof must be a difficult job for the elderly.
「Sure. Leave it to me」
I immediately reply and cast Space Magic, then store the snow on the grandma’s roof into my subspace.
Expanding the subspace opening, I also store the snow around the house.
「My! I’ve heard the rumor, but it’s really amazing magic, isn’t it! Thank you!」
「You’re welcome」
「Please accept this if you’d like. A token of my gratitude」
The grandma takes a jar from her chest pocket and gives it to me.
「Dried fruits!」
Nina - who leans in to look - happily exclaims.
The jar contains various dried fruits such as berries and oranges.
「Thank you very much. Feel free to ask for my help again if you need anything」
「Yeah, I will ask you again later」
After lightly bowing to thank me, the grandma happily returns to her house.
「Sorry, Kureto. Can you also help clear the snow on my house?」
「Can you also help me too? My husband has hurt his back and it’s hard for him to climb the roof」
Just as I am about to continue our walk, another villager comes out of their house and calls out to me.
As expected, clearing snow is probably tough for them with this much snow falling every day.
「Sure」
Just like the grandma’s house earlier, I use Space Magic to store the snow.
This completes a task that requires hours in an instant, so Space Magic is really convenient.
「Thank you, that helps a lot! These are our homemade sausages. Please have some」
「I will also give you our homemade cheese」
Once I finish cleaning up the snow, the villagers give me something as thanks.
I’m happy I can be of use to the people who usually take care of me.
「You got a lot of food」
「At this rate, I’ll probably receive food from everyone in the village」
I receive so much food I can’t carry it, so I store it in my subspace.
But, I keep the jar from that grandma behind with me.
「Sorry to keep you waiting. Do you want some dried fruits?」
「Yes!」
I share the dried fruits with Nina as compensation for waiting.
I’m also feeling hungry so this is just perfect timing.
I put the dried, shriveled berry into my mouth.
The dried berries the grandmother gave me are perfectly dried, and their sweetness and sourness are packed tightly inside. The flavor seems to ooze out each time I chew, it’s delicious.
「It’s sweet and delicious!」
「Right」
It’s so delicious that Nina and I reach out for the second and then the third one together.
There are various fruits inside, so we can enjoy different flavors.
Since everything is so delicious, Nina and I can’t stop moving our hands for a while. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
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