The journey to Wheats was rather pleasant, all things considered, at least until the very end. You see, in spite of my eagerness to travel the entire world one day, it seems my body and mind don’t really align on that front. That’s right, I got sick from all the topsy-turvy driving the wagon driver was doing. Moreover, the dinner we had last night certainly wasn’t helping out my situation. Anna, of course, couldn’t help but make fun of me for it.
“Aww, does little Luney need a break?” She jeered as I tried my best not to throw up in the wagon.
“Come on, Anna. That’s not funny.” Ed defended me, “He’s seriously not feeling well. I think we should tell the driver to stop for a bit.”
“No!” I yelled out in my nauseous state, “We’re so close to Wheats anyways, so stopping now would just be a waste! Urk, we’ll continue as planne-!”
And with another gag more, I quickly realized I had already passed the point of no return. So, in my haste, I went to open the window and popped my head out of the speeding vehicle to hurly my guts out. Damn, just seeing all the piece of food inch farther and farther away as the wagon continued without stopping made me kind of sorry for anyone who would inevitably step one it.
“Damn, that really helped.” I went to chug some water to wash away my mouth of the leftover throw-up, “Huh, why are you guys looking at me like that?”
“You… Did you just…?” Anna was at a loss for words.
“Did you just stick your head out of the window to throw up?!” Ed donned a horrified expression, “Grim! That was super dangerous! What if you fell out of the wagon?!”
“Oh come on, it was either that or I covered the floor with vomit!” I pouted as I folded my arms, “Pick your poison.”
“Ugh, whatever.” Ed sighed, “I guess we should just be thankful that everything went as well as it did. We should be nearing Uncle’s place too, so after we find him, make sure to eat a proper lunch again, okay?”
“Yeah, need to replenish my energy.” I agreed with him, my stomach rumbling from the hole that has just formed in it.
And with that, we had made it safely to Ed’s Uncle’s house! It was this little cottage painted a pretty aged white color, and the walls had some pretty noticeable cracks at some places. This isn’t to say the person living here was poor or anything, it’s just that I imagine he has no reason to make it look all that presentable in the first place. After all, his house is pretty far away from the rest of the village, located near the foresty hills just across his wheat field.
“Knock knock!” Ed braced himself before knocking.
“Hm? Who could that be?” A young man’s voice could be heard as he opened the door to greet the surprise visitors, “Eh? Eddie, is that you?”
Eddie? What’s with that nickname? Honestly, I’d make fun of Ed for this, but a large part of me truly believes no one deserves to be called such a strange nickname. No offense to anyone who likes it, I just think it’s a bit too childish for my tastes. Ed is fine enough, I’d think.
The man who called him that was actually a rather youthful one himself. Given his position as Ed’s Uncle, I had envisioned a more burlier and older fellow, but this guy looks like he’s just a decade older than us or something. That’s extremely young, all things considered. Must be Ed’s dad’s younger brother or something. Appearance wise, he’s pretty slim, with short brown hair and a full beard to boast about. Ed mentioned that this guy reminds him of me, but I honestly don’t see the resemblance at all. Look, even his Iro is Brown!
“Yep, it’s me!” Ed grinned, “Nice to see you again, Uncle Ridge!”
“Whoa! Look how much you’ve grown since I last saw you!” He immediately closed in for a hug, “You were like… this tall, I think. And now look at you! Why, you’re almost up to my chest by now! Tell me, how old are you right now?”
“Thirteen!” Ed boasted, “Oh, but I’ll be fourteen in just a month!”
“Damn, has it already been that long?” He sounded a bit melancholic, “In any case, let’s not keep your friends waiting! You can tell me everything about why you’re all here inside, over a warm cup of tea. How’s that?”
“Thank you very much!” Anna and I both answered back all politely.
The interior of the house wasn’t all that different from the outside, actually. The walls were painted the same cold white color, and the doorframes were pretty beaten up. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think a solid punch would knock the hinges right off. That being said, the house was rather compact in its design. It had 5 rooms, not counting the hallway, but they were all pretty cramped. The place screamed “loner” in a way, as it seemed like it’d be just perfect for one person to inhabit it at a time, but even having one guest over, much less three, would only spell trouble.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“Ah!” Anna spilled her teacup as she went to grab the sugar from across the table, “I-I’m so sorry!”
“Anna!” Ed hissed at her, “Sigh, sorry about that, Uncle…”
“Haha! What’s got you walking on needles like that, Eddie?” Mister Ridge burst out laughing, “A teacup’s a teacup, but isn’t yelling at a girl an even ruder thing to do?”
“Ack, you’re right.” Ed sheepishly glanced at the panicky Anna, who was now frantically wiping the table off, “Sorry for yelling at you earlier, Anna…”
“Huh? Who cares about that?” She was all too quick to accept his apology, “Now come on, help me out here. I think I’ve stopped the tea from spilling on the floor, but I need some more napkins pronto!”
As the two started working together to clean the mess Anna made, I couldn’t help but think that all of this could’ve been avoided if Mister Ridge had just bought a bigger table. Though of course, I wouldn’t dare point that out to him right now, as it’d only sound pretentious of me, so I instead steered the topic into a more actual one.
“By the way, Mister Ridge, I’m Lune Grimheart.” I thought to extend my hand to give him a handshake, but quickly stopped after recalling what just happened to Anna, “I’m Ed’s friend. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Rather polite, aren’t we?” He joked, “C’mon, boy, we’re not in any place fancy to call for such pleasantries! That being said, nice to meet one of my nephew’s close friends! Thanks for getting along with him.”
His country accent started getting a bit more prominent as he seemed to have gotten used to us, which led to our conversations operating a bit more smoothly than before. Mister Ridge poured another cup of tea for Anna, and even thought to put the sugar smack dab in the middle of the table for further ease of access. Even still, she was a lot more apprehensive about taking the sugar this time, not even reaching for it once and instead drinking the tea bitter. Ed noticed this, so he tactfully took some sugar for himself, before casually asking if she’d like some as well.
“Hm?” She tilted her head, “Yeah, sure. But Ed, you don’t usually sugar your tea?”
“Ah, that’s…” He looked away, his ears bright red, “This tea is just really bitter is all! Seriously, stop asking unnecessary questions and drink your tea!”
It didn’t take long at all for good ol’ Uncle to quickly realize what was going on between those two, so with a devilish smile he thought up a proper way to tease them. Hopping over to the kitchen, he quickly pulled out a bottle of a pinkish red juice before plopping it on the table. Confused, we had asked what was going on.
“Here, drink this.” He poured a glass for Anna and Ed, however skipping me.
“Um, okay?” They both glanced at each other before taking a proud swig, “Whoa, this stuff’s pretty sweet! But what is it?”
“Humu…” He smirked, “That there was a love-testing potion!”
“A what?!” We all jolted in our seats, “What the hell is that?!”
“Simply put – it tests your love level.” He elaborated, “If the juice tasted bitter, then you two hate each other, or at least won’t end up together. However, if it tasted sweet, as you described it to be…!”
“Eh?” Ed glanced back at the now bright red Anna, “H-Hold on a sec! Why are you blushing so hard all of a sudden?!”
“M-Me?!” She turned the focus back onto him, “It’s you that’s blushing like crazy right now! Don’t you dare get the wrong idea!”
“S-Same here!” He retaliated.
As they continued to bicker, Mister Ridge poured me a cup of the same pinkish juice. Worried about how it’d end up tasting for me, I declined, but he quickly chuckled before explaining to me in a whisper that it’s actually just sweetened rose juice. Seriously, now that’s what I call a prank!
***
Waking up early the morning after, the last thing I had expected was to get kicked in the face by Ed’s foot as soon as I woke up. Really, I just can’t get over how cramped it is in here. Well, seeing as I’m already up, I guess I’ll just go outside for some fresh air.
“Huh?” I noticed a familiar face tilling the fields just outside, “Mister Ridge? What are you doing so early in the morning?”
“Ah, this?” He looked at the hoe in his hands, “Why, I’m tending to the crops of course! Gotta get up early to do it, ‘cause the Sun’s gonna heat up and make it impossible to work with later. Sorry if I woke you up, you can just go back to sleep.”
“No.” I took a spare hoe from the ground and approached him, “I’ll help. I’m interested in how making wheat works exactly.”
“What’s this? A Green Iro wondering how something works? You wearing contacts or something?”
In regards to what he said, he was alluding to the fact that a Green Iro is typically only ever interested in finding something new, without ever bothering to ask how such a thing works. As for the contacts joke, he’s basically asking if my Eye Color is really Green and not Blue, which would be the standard for anyone curious enough to ask “How” instead of “Why”.
“Who cares about all that?” I started haphazardly tilling the ground, “Let’s just get this over with...!”
“Hold your horses, son!” He took the hoe from my hands, “This ain’t something to rush, y’know? To start with, you’re not even hitting it at the proper angle. Then there’s the strength to account for – you can’t just put all your strength into it, otherwise you’ll tire out before even ten minutes passes.”
Wow, to think there’d be so much strategy into something as simple as agriculture. He looks like a simple man, but Mister Ridge really is a hard worker.
“Hey guys!” Ed called out to us from the house as Anna rubbed her eyes next to him, “What’re you doing this early in the morning?”
“Why don’t you come here and find out?” Mister Ridge shot back with a smile.
“Ugh, my shoes got all dirty…” Anna complained as Ed guided her through the fields, holding her hand through each step, “Why, oh why did we have to stop by at a village of all places?”
“Hey now, it’s not so bad.” Ed chuckled as we spent the rest of the day working for absolutely free.