'Sorry, please!

In the kitchen of the inn, I was preparing breakfast early in the morning as usual when I heard a cheerful girl's voice.

Isn't that Yuna-chan? Let's go see.'

Once the fire in the kitchen is extinguished, my father and I move to the front door.

There we see Yuna, a girl with brown hair in a side-tail, and Elina, a girl with semi-long hair and a very similar face.

Oh, good morning! Mr. Abel, Tori!

'Ohayo! Uncle Tori!

The one with the polite tone is my sister, Elina.

She has a soft face and makes you feel soft just by talking to her. She is twelve years old like me.

On the other hand, unlike her sister, Yuna is the younger one who speaks in a broken voice and is full of energy. In contrast to her sister, she is characterized by her high-spiritedness. She is two years younger than me at ten. She is the same age as Letty.

Oh, good morning. Have you come to deliver vegetables again today?

'That's right! My dad is pulling a cart around the patio!

Yuna shows us a man, Mr. Carls, who is pulling a cart filled with various vegetables in the courtyard.

Oh, Karlos! Did you get any good vegetables today?

'Yes, we have a lot of fresh vegetables today.

Yes, Mr. Carls' family is a villager who lives in a village a short distance away from the city of Lubera. They usually live a self-sufficient life cultivating their fields, but when fresh vegetables are gathered like this, they bring them to the inn. He is an outside supplier to my inn.

Tori, you look sleepy, don't you? Are you sleeping well?

Did you wash your face?

'I slept well and washed my face.

'Well, that's good.

When I answered, Elina patted her chest as if she was relieved.

This is a far cry from my mother, who silently slaps me and blackmails me.

Aren't you sleepy over there? It takes quite a while to get from the village to Rubera, doesn't it?''

'We're used to it, we'll be fine. It's just a bit chilly in the spring to get up in the dark.

What the heck time do you think you're getting up in the dark? .......

'......How long does it take you to get here?'

'We always leave before dawn, so it's about a two-hour walk? Right, Yuna?''

Yes, I don't have any luggage on the way back, so it's a little bit faster.

Such a small girl walking two hours to the city with her luggage. And she doesn't seem to be bothered by it. Children in this world are tough.

Come visit the village sometime, Tori!

Yuna smiles innocently and invites me to join her, but I feel that it's a little too physically and mentally demanding for me.

'...... hmmm, I'll think about it when I get settled down at work.

'When you get settled down, you're an innkeeper every day. When is that?

I smiled vaguely and tried to muddle through, but Yuna wouldn't let me go.

She kept looking up at me and asking.

Well, hey, hey?

When did you say, 'Hey, hey, hey'?

'Well, well, well, Una. Tori, you're busy too, so don't ask too much of me.

Perhaps sensing my distress, Elina gently stops Yuna.

She is indeed a kind-hearted Elina. Thank God.

You brought us a variety of vegetables today, too.

I shift the subject to the vegetables you brought to change the topic of conversation.

The truck was filled with cabbage, lettuce, asparagus, celery, burdock root, tomatoes, peas, and many other colorful vegetables.

Some of them still had soil on them, so they must have been picked just this morning.

I recommend these, but today I have a special vegetable for you!

Elina took out a small box not from the cart but from a bag she kept beside it.

When she opened the lid, there was a layer of wood chips as a cushioning material, and when she moved them out, a number of brightly colored round spheres appeared.

The brightness and fineness of the spheres reminded me of cherry tomatoes, but they were a little more pointed and oval in shape than cherry tomatoes.

I have seen many kinds of tomatoes in the market, but this one looks a little strange to me.

What kind of tomato is this? I've never even seen them in the market. ......'

'This is a pritch tomato . They are more fragile than normal tomatoes because of their thinner skin, so they don't turn up at markets like the one in Lubera. But when they are roasted, they are much sweeter than other tomatoes!

'Pretty much everyone in our village makes them, though.'

Yuna adds to Elina's line.

The market demands food of consistent quality. Naturally, such a peculiar foodstuff is difficult to distribute.

There must be a lot of ingredients that I don't know about, but are not yet available in our neighborhoods.

Hey, hey, Carls! If you've been making that stuff, bring it down to my house!

'As you can imagine, there's no way to get enough to serve in a restaurant. We'll be crushed before we get here. Elina brought it specially for your family to eat. Be thankful for her kindness.

You said it would take two hours to walk here.

Elina went to the trouble of carrying it for us, even though it was fragile and difficult to carry.

You brought something so difficult for us, didn't you?

'Yes, Tori's family has always been good to us! Above all, I wanted you to know how good this tastes.

Elina says these lines sincerely with a kind smile on her face.

What kindness! Her smile warms my heart, and my heart is warmed by it.

Karlos and his friends are going to the market to sell food, aren't they? What are you going to do for lunch?

As I am being touched by Elina's kindness, my father comes over and puts his hand on my shoulder.

'Oh, I'm going to eat here as usual?

'Then me and Tori will cook up some of these pritch tomatoes and feed them to you! Look forward to it!''

I'm casually thrown into the mix, but that's okay, since I'm the one who's going to prepare the lunch anyway.



I'd like to return the favor by cooking for them as well.

'Really, Uncle? If it's grilled skewers, I'll eat them at home a lot, so I don't need them!''

'Yeah, I got it! I'll make you eat something other than grilled skewers!''

As one would expect from someone who harvests and eats them, they seem to be experienced in eating them in a simple and delicious way.

I wonder if they become sweeter when they are grilled. I'd like to try skewers roasted with gusto at least once.

Well, come back when it's lunch time. I'll try to cook with it.

'Thank you! Well, I'm looking forward to lunch!