Chapter 148.1 : Flora Agony ~Part 3~

Around lunch time... A group of young men gathered at a corner of the village Flora was staying in. The figure of Donner who had guided Flora was also included amongst them.

「Oi, is that true! ?　A real cutie has come to the village chief’s house? 」

Several newcomers came over in a rush and asked the already gathered young men raising the tension in the air.

「Yes, it’s true. Donner was the one who guided her. She looks like a noble and is a real cutie.」

A young man, the representative of the already gathered young men replied to them.

「OOOOH, FOR REAL?　Even Donner’s quite thoughtful sometimes isn’t he?」

「Geez. That Donner.」

「But he could talk to such a cutie? A super cutie on top of that.」

Thus, the young men became more lively befitting of someone their age. But, Donner, being teased by them didn’t seem too happy about it.

「Okay then, let’s go meet that noble cutie too. She must be way cuter than the women in the village.」

「 That’s only natural right? I mean, they were raised alongside us.」

「In fact, she was way beyond them. I can’t think of her as the same kind as us in seeing her extremely well featured face.」

「Yeah, if that’s the case, shall we take a look at her now? 」

Maybe because they were about to meet Flora, the young men became even more spirited. But――,

「Cut it out. Pops already yelled at me when I tried to see her before.」

The young man in his twenties who replied with a proud expression suddenly shook his head while shrugging his shoulders.

「HaaA?? Dang, call us too if you go to see her, Will!!」

The young men who didn’t have the chance to see Flora grumbled with a vexed face.

「Well don’t say such things. I mean we can still meet her.」

The young man called Will tried to soothe his colleagues. But――,

「You say that since you can meet her just by going home, Will.」

「That’s right. We might never meet a noble cutie like her again if we miss this chance.」

「Aah, damn it. I want to get acquainted with a noble beauty too you know.」

「Rather, what if we visit her room at night? 」

「Stop it!　She is a noble. We can’t use such crude methods you know.」

Thus, the young men of the village voiced out their complaints in a half-serious, half-joking manner.

「Hahaha, you guys...........」

The young man called Will smiled wryly as if astonished by their actions.

「Aah, dang it, Will is going to have his meal on the same table as that noble when he gets home.」

「Build a good relationship with her.」

「I mean she was slightly ignorant about the ways of the world. Maybe it’s our chance if we help her when she’s troubled by such matters.」

「Will, you better not steal the march on us. Properly introduce her to us next time!」

The young men of the village forced Will to agree to do so.

「Y-Yeah. I know already. Let’s do our best to approach her as much as possible. ............... Or so I thought, what’s the matter with you, Donner? What’s with that hateful glare of yours?」

Though Will agreed to back down, he noticed that Donner was glaring at him, so he asked that question.

「............ Nothing. Nothing at all. Back to work.」

After saying so, Donner picked up his hoe and went to the fields by himself. While muttering 「The one who saved her.......... Was me.」 With a seemingly uninterested tone.

◇　◇　◇

Later the same day, Flora woke up around evening in the room lent to her by the village’s chief.

「Uhn...........」

The sight that greeted her when she opened her eyes was an unfamiliar dimly lit wooden roof.

（That’s right. I got stranded in this village and was lent a room by the village’s chief............... What did I do after that?）

After recalling the reality of her current situation, in her hazy train of thoughts Flora felt a strange choking sensation. It seemed she got a light fever. Nevertheless, when she tried to raise her body――,

「Ouch.............」

Muscular pain assailed all the joints in her limbs. Her muscles became listless.

（Did I................ Catch a cold?）

Flora guessed so as she had experienced a similar sensation when she caught a cold before. Nevertheless, she forced her body to stand up and left the room with a sluggish gait.

Currently, Flora was on the 2nd floor. After leaving the room, she faced the stairs that went down to the first floor right in front of her. When she started to slowly descend the stairs towards the 1st floor while sticking to the wall as close as possible ――,

「Pops, has that noble beaut not woken up yet? 」

「How do you expect me to know that? She’s been asleep since morning. It seems she was really exhausted.」

「Please introduce me to her. I’m your son after all.」

「You fool! Do you think that she’s going to befriend you? Don’t make such blunders again and again. Worst case, you could get this entire village ruined if you earned the ire of a noble.」

Such a conversation unfolded between the village’s chief and his son, Will.

「Uuhm,.............」

Flora called to them to make them notice her causing the pair of father and son to exchange a surprised look as they saw her.

「I-If it isn’t the noble-sama!　My deepest apologies for letting you see our unsightly side.」

「My name is Will, noble beauty! 」

Between the village chief and Will, one was bowing his head while the other one introduced himself.

「Ah, Yeah. Uhm, About that............. Please don’t be so humble. I’m Flora.」

Flora was confused by their respective reactions and introduced herself to Will.

「Flora-sama, such a beautiful name befitting of you.........」

Will shut his eyes in thought.

「Nevertheless, your personage seems to be under the weather since morning.......」

After glaring at his son, the village chief changed the topic without making a blunder like Will.

「Yes. It seems I caught a cold.............」

Flora honestly told her situation to the village chief.

「I see, that’s troublesome indeed...........」

The village chief had a pensive look on his face. On the other hand――,

「In that case, you should stay in our house until you get better.」

historical

Will made a friendly proposal.

「O-Oi, Will!」

Maybe because he could sense a seed of trouble in her, the village chief expressed his disapproval. But――,

「Isn’t it okay, pops. The cost for our food does increase, but we do have a spare room. We can’t just neglect Flora-sama.」

Will made the request with a resolute face.

「Uhm, I’m sorry. I’ll give my gratitude, may I stay in this house until my condition gets better? 」

Flora bowed and asked them to give her shelter in their house untill her condition got better. As expected, even the village chief couldn’t say no when a noble made a sincere request for it.