Reflection and a decision"Woah, you"ve all been growing well, it"s about time for a harvest."
About a week after the defeat of the monster swarm. The kingdom has returned back to normal, and I was back once again working on the farm.
Apparently, at around the same time as I ran away, the monster swarm on the western side retreated as well.
I know that without the leader, there will be disorder - but it doesn"t make sense for them to retreat this quickly, so I think it was the work of some other demon.
It probably was the demon that was with Romeo, but it"s all over now, and I don"t think I"ll be involved in it anymore in the future.
Furthermore, it seems that Fal hadn"t told anyone about me, so I"ve been carrying out a peaceful life of farming without anybody from the palace disturbing me.
"Well then… it"s about time to…
…Why are you here?"
Having finished my work, I got up and turned around, only to see Fal standing there, grinning widely.
"Tee-hee, I came."
"What do you mean "I came"!?
You"re a princess, right!?
Is it alright for you to be so far away from the capital!?"
"It"s alright. I got permission from my father, of course."
Oh, then I guess it"s fine…
Huh?
"Wait, what did you just say?"
"Tee-hee, I came."
Not that. And don"t repeat the actions too.
"The one a bit after that."
"Do you mean "It"s alright. I got permission from my father, of course"?"
"Yeah that……
What? You got permission from your dad…
What exactly did you say?"
"I just said that I was going to Al-kun"s place and he let me go?"
"Nonononoono! Why did he understand!?
Did you perhaps tell him who I was…!!"
"No, I haven"t said anything to him?"
"What? Then how does he…"
"It"s that robe."
Robe? Oh, the one I borrowed from the chief.
"What about it?"
"Apparently, the village chief here used to be a sorcerer of the palace!"
"That"s a joke, right!? That gentle old man!?"
Hearing Fal, I was quite surprised. It was because the chief didn"t look like someone who could fight at all.
But thinking back to it now, I feel like he did have quite a lot of muscles on him.
"Yeah, about that robe that Al-kun was wearing.
Apparently, it was worn by the chief back when he was still active.
So, my dad quickly contacted him and asked about you."
"………That chief definitely knew what he was doing…"
I gave a loud sigh, and Fal put a hand on my shoulder.
"Well, because of that, I was able to find out where you lived and visit you… So that was good!"
"Is that right. Well, the way home is that way."
"I"m not leaving yet!?"
Dang. I would have been happy if you just left.
"And? Why did you come here?
Perhaps to invite me again?"
"Huh? That"s exactly what I"m going to do?"
Fal said with a blank look on her face.
I closed my eyes, and with a broad smile on my face, said:
"I refuse."
"Right—, but please think about it a little…! Besides, instead of working at the palace, if you at least stay at the capital…"
"If I do, I won"t be able to farm.
Period."
"Uuuu—, Al-kun, aren"t you too stubborn?"
"Fuhahahaha, if you want to persuade me, you better prepare a lot of fields and a very clear sea."
"What a terrible farmer"s att.i.tude!!"
As Fal and I were arguing, the village chief came walking up to us.
"Oh, you were here after all."
"Chief… because of you, my ident.i.ty"s been revealed.
And besides, I don"t have any intention on working at the palace."
"Al."
Suddenly, the chief became serious.
"Wh, what?"
"Go to the capital."
"Ha!? Huh? Wait! Why!?
Are you telling me to stop farming!?
"That"s not what I"m trying to say…
I just believe you should try a life other than farming."
"Why?"
"You still have so much you don"t know. Furthermore, you"re lacking in experience. I believe that it is still too early for you to decide on your future now. So, I want you to go to the capital and experience a lot of different things. And in a few years, if you still want to live as a farmer, you can come back here and work on your field and fish and whatnot. Besides, you might even find something that you like more than farming?"
"…"
I"ve never thought in that way before. Although I feel like the chief wants me to work at the palace a little bit, I can also understand that he"s doing what he thinks is the best for me.
True, I"ve been living as a farmer up until now.
Thinking back to my childhood, there was even a time where I wanted to be an adventurer.
So, isn"t it better for me to experience a variety of different things?
It annoys me that I"ve been convinced exactly to their plan but…
"If it"s like that, I"ll go."
"Really!?"
Fal clasped my right hand between her hands and celebrated.
"Oh, but I"m not going to the palace. That"s an absolute no."
"That"s fine with me."
Huh? It"s fine?
"I"m happy with you just coming to the capital.
So, I"m fine with this for now."
She"s still very intent on inviting me…
"We thought that you might say something like that, so we"ve already prepared a place for you in the capital. I"ll write the place down and give it to you later, so live there properly, okay?"
"I understand, chief."
Anyways, I should start with being an adventurer for now.
Experience a lot, that"s right, a variety.
Before I realised it, I was smiling.
Fal realised this, but she just smiled happily without saying anything.