My Wife Waited in the Wheat Fields - Chapter 16: Harvest Festival (5)

T/N: RIP Moonbin.

In the end, they worked through the afternoon.

Tyria had finished the rest of the work alone, and she did so with a deadline to meet.

Elric was amazed by her processing speed.

It was an unbelievable sight, seeing her head spinning so fast that she could read a document in 10 seconds.

Anyways, they were now done, and were on their way to the city square in a carriage.

“The sun hasn’t set yet.”

It was just beginning to set, and the sky was dyed more blue than red during this blue hour.

It seemed like everyone in Wiven had gathered in the square, and even this quiet land was now bustling, with everyone having smiles on their faces.

It was peaceful.

Despite living in the same time period, this place was different from the West, and a tranquility found nowhere else washed over the land.

Elric couldn’t help but smile, and he hoped that his beloved hometown would remain peaceful in the future.

Feeling excited for no reason, Elric turned to Tyria.

“Shall we take a look around since we have a little time left before the speech?”

“Are you sure it’s okay?”

Elric chuckled as Tyria’s gaze fell to her lap.

“As long as there’s not too much vigorous movement, I’ll be fine.”

As he was already supporting his body with mana, he could run short distances if he really wanted to. The only reason he only moved whilst leaning on his staff was to reduce the stress on his joint and focus on recovery.

Tyria looked at her knees as if she was considering something, and eventually gave a small nod.

Elric held out his hand.

“Let us go then.”

There was a pause, and in that moment, Tyria’s shoulders trembled slightly.

Elric suddenly realized that he had made a mistake.

‘Oh no… did I act too friendly with her?’

It had been an instinctive action based on the thought that it was the right thing to do as her escort, but upon reflection, it was ridiculous to try and be her escort whilst he was holding a cane.

It would have been more fitting for her to say that she was the one escorting him.

Elric hastily withdrew his hand,

“Just… let’s go.”

But, before he could move away, Tyria’s hand quickly reached out and grabbed his.

Elric’s body stilled, an instantaneous reaction that he couldn’t control as he felt her hand for the first time.

It felt as if her fingers were so slender that they would break if he only squeezed them, and the soft texture of her skin was unfamiliar to him. [1]

Her hand was slightly cold, perhaps chilled by the cold weather.

“Shall we go?”

“Ah… yes, of course. Where would you like to go first?”

Although he had responded to her, Elric’s mind was still in a bit of a daze.

“…Your friend at the restaurant asked us to stop by, so how about we go there first?”

“That sounds good. Let’s go check up on him then.”

With that, he gripped his cane and started walking slowly through the square.

It was a distance of less than 300 steps to the restaurant, but the moment felt too long.

All because of their intertwined hands.

No, it would be more aptly called just a clasping of hands.

Neither Tyria nor Elric put much strength in their hand holding the other’s.

It was more like a form of hooking their bent hands together rather than actually holding onto each other.

The bindings holding them together were loose enough that either of them could break free with little effort.

Yet their hands that wouldn’t easily let the other’s go created a subtle ripple of emotions within them.

It was becoming unnecessarily awkward.

Despite hoping this moment would end quickly due to the awkwardness, he actually slowed down his steps, thinking that it would be a shame to let go of her hand now.

It was a selfish thought, and he scolded himself internally for it, but he still did it anyways.

His attention naturally turned to her.

Was she uncomfortable holding hands and walking like this? What emotions were hidden behind her expressionless face?

Perhaps she had just accepted her situation…?

“The store seems crowded.”

Suddenly―

His thoughts were interrupted.

Elric’s gaze flickered to Bart’s restaurant.

It certainly looked very busy, as Tyria had said. There was a line out the door, and they’d have to wait a long time to get in.

Elric felt both a pang of disappointment and regret at the same time.

“Hmm, would you like to go somewhere else?”

“Would that be okay for you?”

“Well, it’s not like today is the only day we can eat there, and there’s always a next time….”

Next time? Would there be a next time for the two of them?

This sudden thought stopped him in his tracks.

Fortunately, it was only for a brief moment.

Elric pushed the useless thought out of his mind and replied,

“…Then we can come here the next time we’re here together.”

“If you say so.”

Tyria’s gaze swept across the square.

She looked like she was in a painting.

No, it was quite distorted to call it a painting.

For in the midst of the rural cityscape, only she had an alien nobility to her.

Everything about her was very aristocratic and restrained.

She was someone who suited a ballroom much more than a chaotic festival.

While he was lost in thought, Tyria finally pointed to the food stalls and spoke,

“Would you like to try something over there?”

It was street food.

“Are you fine with that?”

“Is there any reason I wouldn’t be?”

“Just, it’s a little unexpected, so I’m a little surprised.”

Elric chuckled quietly.

“I would have never thought that you would like that kind of thing too.”

“I don’t dislike it.”

“Alright then. Let’s go eat.”

With that, Elric followed Tyria’s lead through the festivities and enjoyed it to its fullest.

The food was delicious, the sights were enjoyable, and the tranquility of everything, the pureness of everything, brought him great satisfaction.

And, their loosely clasped hands never let go of each other up until the sun set and the speeches began.

Neither of them had tried to release that grip.

While he did not know what was in her heart, Elric’s own thoughts were remarkably clear, even to himself.

If he had let go of this hand here, he would have never been able to hold it again.

The sun had set.

Tyria stood on a dais in the center of the square, whilst Elric listened to her speech with Aldio a few feet away.

“Since the harvest has safely ended this year…”

Though her tired voice was quite low and gentle, her distinct enunciation made it easy to understand her.

That might have explained why, in the presence of so many people, everything and everyone but her was silent.

This might have been an exaggeration, but even the breeze that blew felt like a messenger spreading her voice.

“It suits her.”

Elric said unconsciously.

“She looks very fitting up there on that dais.”

“Yes, I often think that if she were a man, the Wyverns would not be as poor as they are today.” Said Aldio, mirroring Elric’s thoughts.

It was certainly plausible.

She was regal but not arrogant, elegant but not flamboyant.

Elric knew of only one other person who carried themself with such restrained authority.

It was his friend, Elvus Grayman.

Take away all frivolity or vapidity from him, and you’d get someone like her.

However,

“Well, I don’t think I’d like a man.”

It was just a sentiment.

Elric chuckled and added,

“If that were the case, then I don’t think we would have ever been friends, much less husband and wife.”

Even if he wouldn’t have liked her in some, there was not even one hypothetical scenario that he would feel ashamed of.

Tyria Wyvern… no, Tyria Portman was a woman he admired.

She was a woman who was not only beautiful but also exceptionally talented.

That was what Elric thought.

“Even you, Milord…”

Aldio smiled faintly.

Elric raised a questioning eyebrow, but received no answer.

Finally, Aldio lowered his head and spoke.

“I will go to the carriage first.”

“Did Deryn not come here with you?”

“It’s a festival, isn’t it? We promised to break bread together.”

“Alas, be it so.”

The coachman, Deryn, had been the Portman’s coachman for over twenty years now, since his father’s time.

He was close in age to Aldio, and it was a well known fact that the two were close friends, so there was no reason to inquire further.

“Well, have a good time then.”

“What good time?”

Aldio walked away with a smile on his face, one with a hidden meaning that Elric couldn’t quite put a finger on.

Tyria’s speech was over by then.

“Then we’ll begin the lighting ceremony.”

She raised her hand, and several men with large torches stepped forward.

In the center of the square, beside the dais, was a building-sized pile of logs.

The torches were stuck into the straw underneath the logs, and with a roar, the firewood burst into flames.

“Wow!!!”

A shoat echoed through the air.

The sound of drums thundered.

One by one, the gathered people held their significant other’s hands, starting the dance.

Someone raised a glass high in the air and proposed a toast.

The final flame of the festival had risen.

Elric turned his gaze away from the scene and looked at Tyria.

She was approaching him with slow but steady steps, her back straightened.

Her distinct features grew sharper as she drew closer.

Her face, slightly reddened by the flames, seemed especially alive in this moment.

When she was within earshot, Elric spoke.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“How was the speech?”

“I could not have done it as well as you did.”

“I’ll help you… for next year.”

His lips felt dry, and he hesitated to say that there was no need for her to teach him.

It was for a different reason than his past wrongdoings.

Perhaps it was due to the burning flames, the sounds of peoples’ laughter, or the strange emotions he had felt throughout the day.

“I think you would be better at it no matter how much I tried. I’ll just watch you from the sidelines again.”

It was a promise that he wasn’t sure he could keep.

Her gaze flickered to the dancers.

“Okay.”

Elric followed her gaze to see what she was looking at.

There was an old couple.

Around them, young children were mimicking the old couple with gusto, and somewhere in a corner, a young man and woman held hands in shyness.

Although there may have been small differences in the emotions they felt, the overall spectacle exuded a senseof pure happiness.

As they quietly watched, almost unconsciously, Elric suddenly said,

“Would you like to dance?”

He turned his head to look at Tyria.

And her gaze slowly moved to meet his.

Elric tightened his grip on his cane.

It must have been the flames.

They must have been the reason for why her face was redder than usual, for why her eyes were sparkling.

It must have been.

T/N: Things are finally heating up, both literally and figuratively… Ahhh, so satisfying.

[1. I honestly expected 50 more chapters before they would get to this point.]

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