#89

It was noon the next day.

“Whoa…. I’ve never seen a chair like this before. It looks like something a lord would sit on.”

At the time when the soft autumn sun was gently fading, Alyona, who had struggled to bring in a chair several times her size to the window, wiped her forehead once and exclaimed in admiration. What she had diligently dragged in from the front yard was an armchair with a long, deep backrest and wide armrests properly equipped.

…Why on earth did he get such a thing? Aren’t we people who are about to leave soon? I stared blankly at the huge chair placed at a distance and thought that. It was difficult to figure out Johannes’ intentions.

“Have a seat. Come on, come on.”

Alyona stepped back a couple of steps from the chair and urged me. I, who had been sitting on the bed just watching her work, finally stood up awkwardly and approached the chair. And I carefully reached out and stroked the upper part of the backrest covered with white wool like snow. Then I unconsciously raised one eyebrow.

The feel of the thick, stiff hair strands was rough. In addition, even at a glance, it seemed quite heavy, suggesting it wasn’t particularly high-quality fur. I patted the seat of the chair once and sat down, pushing my back deep into it.

The backrest didn’t wobble, and there was plenty of room left even when I folded up both legs, so it was a relatively comfortable shape to sit in, but it still didn’t feel satisfactory. This was because the cotton stuffed inside the leather was woefully insufficient. Hmm….

“How is it? Is it comfortable? Do you like it?”

Alyona, standing with her hands clasped, kept asking me as she bounced up and down, looking ready to leap on the spot. I smiled wryly.

“Uh, yeah….”

“Ah, I knew it. I knew it. It seems like you could stay up all night sitting here without your bottom getting sore. Ah! I’m so envious. If someone told me to sit here and weave, I’d stay for three days and nights.”

I just smiled a little without any particular response. I couldn’t sincerely agree with the girl’s heartfelt admiration. Rather, I could only imagine Johannes being quite displeased upon seeing the finished chair.

How should I soothe him? He might show his dissatisfaction in front of me. Knowing Johannes’ nature, I thought he would likely sigh when I wasn’t looking. Perhaps he would even apologize to me with a regretful and sorry expression, asking me to bear with it for now as it was the best he could manage in a hurry.

It must not have been easy to quickly procure even this much in such a remote village. I completely forgot my initial doubts and firmly decided to shower Johannes with thanks as soon as he returned, to prevent him from saying anything negative.

Still, if he keeps apologizing, I’ll have to stop his mouth somehow. I absent-mindedly muttered, entertaining idle fantasies like whether I should cover his mouth with my hand, or if he might secretly like it if I pressed my lips against his to silence him.

“You can have it if you want.”

“Pardon?”

At my brief words, Alyona jumped back as if startled. Since her reaction was too big to simply brush off, I turned my head towards the girl.

But, oh my. Alyona’s eyes were wide open like a full moon, and she was even covering her mouth with both hands as if she couldn’t believe it. I hadn’t made the offer with any deep meaning, but I was quite surprised by her unexpectedly passionate reaction.

“Well…. We’re people who are leaving soon anyway, right? Johannes probably didn’t get this huge thing intending to take it with us…. It would be good for us too if you accepted it. Ah, but we should probably ask Johannes first in case he might feel bad…. If he allows it, I’ll make sure it’s yours before we leave. After that, do with it as you wish.”

“…Wow, wow!”

The more I spoke, the wider the girl’s mouth opened. Finally, an exclamation close to a shout echoed throughout the inner room.

“Are you serious? Really? Oh my! Oh my goodness! What should I do! Thank you, young lady!”

The small figure charged forward and immediately attacked me. I was startled by that sudden and familiar contact. I reflexively tried to shrink back against the backrest, but the girl who had wrapped her arms around my neck wouldn’t let me go. She hugged me so fiercely that I don’t know how. My chest was pressed so tightly that I could barely breathe.

“W-why are you so grateful for something we can’t use anyway and are just leaving behind?”

“Still! It’s too much for me. Please, please, please don’t take it back, okay?”

“Take it back…? Think of it as an insignificant token of gratitude…. Taking care of an unconscious person is no ordinary task. No, more than that, your arms….”

“No, no! You don’t understand. It was much easier compared to other work. Thank you so much!”

“…That’s enough. Let go.”

When I grabbed her forearms and pulled them down, Alyona stepped back with a giggle. Then she jumped up and down on the spot and said in a sing-song voice:

“There wasn’t anything I could really call my own in this house! Living faithfully, heaven must be helping me like this!”

“…That’s good. I’m glad for you.”

I stroked my chest once and then slumped to the side, pressing my temple against the fuzzy armrest. My startled heart wouldn’t calm down easily.

Seeing her so delighted by such a small kindness made me feel both flustered and embarrassed, and I felt my face getting a bit hot. As I was thinking that this feeling wasn’t so bad, the entrance suddenly burst open without any warning.

“Eek.”

Alyona, who had been unable to hide her excitement until then, turned around with a start. I too sat up groggily in my seat.

Since there was only one person who would come to my room anyway, I felt happy before even bothering to check the visitor’s identity. The one who entered the inner room and immediately scanned the bed directly opposite was, of course, Johannes.

“Oh, you’re back?”

Alyona, standing awkwardly, greeted him with a noticeably awkward tone. Johannes turned his body towards Alyona but kept his gaze fixed on the bed, only nodding his head slightly. However, as what he was looking for wasn’t on the bed, he soon turned his head towards us.

“Johannes.”

I called out to him as I stood up. Johannes, who had been glancing down from the top of Alyona’s head standing near him, finally noticed me.

“Welcome back. You’re early? Weren’t you supposed to be la-la-late today?”

I tried to approach Johannes, but I ended up retreating after just a few steps. It was because Johannes, who had reached me in an instant with his large stride, didn’t stop even right in front of me.

A distance so close as if he might pull me into an embrace at any moment.

Due to such a narrow gap, my view was entirely filled with Johannes’ ash-gray outer garment. As I made a foolish sound like “Uh, uh?” and was about to fall backwards, Johannes supported my waist with one arm to keep me upright. After pushing me so frantically, he quietly murmured to the top of my head, which had become somewhat dazed:

“Are you alright?”

It was a question I couldn’t understand at all. I hastily asked back:

“Me? Right now?”

“I’m sorry. I went too far.”

“W-what?”

“I’m sorry.”

Sorry. He gripped both my shoulders and bowed his head deeply, apologizing repeatedly. Surely he’s not reacting like this after seeing the chair? Feeling very flustered, I pushed my arms up into Johannes’ side and hugged him. I looked up at him while buried in his embrace.

Despite his urgent actions, his brow remained neat and his eyebrows formed a gentle curve, not contorted at all. Although there was no expression as such, I noticed a faint trace of anxiety shadowing his eyes. What’s going on? Though I didn’t know the circumstances, I felt I should calm him down first. I stroked his back and asked again:

“What’s wrong? Johannes.”

“……”

“What are you sorry for? Tell me.”

“……”

“Hmm?”

“…I.”

“Yes.”

Johannes, with an unusually pale face, hesitated for a moment before moving his lips.

“Last night, I troubled you too much….”

“W-wait…!”

I almost jumped at his words. So surprised, I suddenly covered Johannes’ mouth, which had just opened, with both my palms. And then, all of a sudden.

“I!”

Alyona, who had been standing behind Johannes all this time, shouted at the top of her lungs. It was a voice that could deafen one’s ears. Looking over Johannes’ arm while in his embrace, I saw Alyona with her face flushed red up to her eyelids, her hands clasped at her chest.

“I, I…!”

“……”

“That… is…. I’ll be going now. I… remembered something to do….”

“Uh, okay….”

“If you need anything, call me then, I’ll come back… No, then you two, by all means…. No…. Yes….”

“Alright, you can go….”

Still covering Johannes’ mouth, who had his gaze fixed only on me, I gave permission for Alyona’s departure as she noticeably rambled. Shouting “Then, goodbye!” to the empty air, she bowed deeply at the waist and then ran out without looking back.

Only after confirming that Alyona’s small figure had disappeared from the unclosed doorway did I look up again. My eyes met once more with Johannes, who had been staring at me constantly with his covered lips. I took a deep breath with my eyes wide open, trying to calm my startled feelings.

“Um… look, I’m fine. As you can see, I’m perfectly alright.”

“……”

“You… seem to think I’m made of salt or something….”

“……”

“And you, I don’t think you were like this when you were younger, but you seem to be the type to act first and regret later? It’s really unexpected. When I used to just watch you from afar, you always looked so calm that I had no idea.”

Johannes couldn’t respond at all to the awkward joke I deliberately made. He finally furrowed his brow guiltily and carefully lowered my wrists. Then he raised his remaining hand to brush his eyes and forehead, letting out a long sigh, “Haa….”

Ah, only then did I realize that Johannes had been in a situation where he couldn’t respond even if he wanted to, and I smiled sheepishly. Johannes murmured as if talking to himself:

“…Even a salt figure would seem stronger than you right now. You pushed yourself too hard.”

Hearing this, it seemed he had returned out of worry for me. I too understood to some extent the anxiety he was subtly showing. However, I couldn’t continue speaking. In truth, at that moment, not only my eyes but also from my nape to my knees were turning bright red. Because it was embarrassing and somehow even felt sorry.

I don’t know how many times I had reached climax alone the night before. No, to be precise, we had only coupled once, but still….

Anyway.

That night, Johannes was somehow different from usual.