“Are you okay?”
I walked over to him and picked up the man's luggage.
The things Dale sorted and put in the bag were all books.
This man looked like he was learning and studying something.
The man looked to be in his thirties or forties, with soft, light brown hair and a gentle facial expression.
“……Ah!
Thank you, you two are so kind, I really appreciate it.”
The man stiffly moved his bandaged left arm to take the things.
However, the luggage was as large as his body, so she doubted whether he could carry it properly.
“Dale.”
I shot him a glance, and Dale nodded.
“I will carry it to your house.”
“No, my luggage is heavy, and I would really appreciate it if you wouldn’t help me carry it that far.”
“This is what my wife wants me to do.”
“Oh……!”
The man, who seemed somehow affected, looked at me and smiled sheepishly.
“Then please do me a favor.”
* * *
“This is home.”
There was a fairly large house where the man pointed.
I knew the Salo estate was small, with small houses huddled together, but this house was different.
The houses were spaced apart, just like in Grunwald.
"Yes!"
The man who opened the door and let us in fell to the ground.
He tripped over a small stone in the doorway.
“I think he is vulnerable to injury.”
She muttered, and Dale nodded and helped him to his feet.
“Thank you, my friend.
That’s very kind of you.”
When we got home, he put on big glasses and led us into the living room.
The house was very big on the outside, but it was even bigger on the inside.
He had a lot of books in his bag, and the living room, parlor, and dining room were full of books.
“Do you like books?”
"My wife and I both love it.
It's a shared interest."
He smiled softly and emphasized it.
He took a beautiful teacup out of the cupboard and placed it in front of us.
Not just tea, but a whole range of snacks.
“My wife doesn’t like having guests at home, so you are the first guests we have had in a long time.”
“You look like me.”
The man was agile, active and kind.
He didn't seem as talkative as Dale, but he was strangely relaxed.
That feeling you get when you don't know someone, but you somehow feel like you have something in common?
'What is this feeling?'
I couldn't quite put it into words, but it was there.
“Yummy!”
Not only that, but the tea was served with great skill.
By the way, I think I've smelled this tea before.
It looked familiar, but what was it?
I scratched my head and drank my tea again.
Dale seemed to feel something strange, too.
He was looking at me too.
I turned my head in confusion, then something familiar caught my eye.
“Huh?
What about this book?”
Among the many books lining the walls, I spotted a familiar name.
“Madame Cosette.”
She was my favorite romance novel author.
The novels I enjoyed watching the most were “The Night of Lovers,” the unfinished “Married to a Ghost,” and so on.
Not only that, it seemed to me that there was a whole collection of Madame Cosette novels.
“Who is this group for?”
“Oh, it's for…….”
He polished his glasses and smiled.
“These are my wife’s books.”
“Really?
That’s a lot……!”
She had such good taste that I would have loved to talk to her if she were here.
"Dale likes romance novels too.
It would be nice to have you here, wouldn't it?"
"truly?"
The man widened his eyes as if he was surprised.
“Yes, Dale and I have the same hobbies and similar tastes, am I right?”
"This is correct."
Dale nodded, his eyes scanning the house.
His eyes looked sharp, as if he was searching for something.
"Well, maybe we should go, it's getting late.
Come on, Dale."
“Are you two leaving already?”
He looked at us sadly
Then I remembered something.
"By the way, this is a good medicine I know.
It's supposed to help keep your bones together.
Take it morning and night and you'll be on your way to recovery."
She handed him some of the medicinal herbs that our family usually distributes.
His face lit up with emotion.
“Please wait a minute, I will pay for the medicine.”
“No, it's no big deal.”
But he looked annoyed at the bag of herbs in his hand.
“It's okay, really, I just had an idea, thanks to you.”
“An idea, what is it?”
The man with the injured arm and the medical center you saw earlier.
And the money I have now is in abundance.
Now I know what I can do, and what I need to do.
“Something that will help everyone.”
* * *
I thought deeply.
Even after I returned home, I had many thoughts.
“Salo’s estate was smaller than Grunwald’s, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, it is a small area, less than a fifth of the size of Grunwald.”
It was a small village, with few yards and few houses, but the quality of the cloth produced was good, and the land was high enough to support grazing and small handicrafts.
I sat with Dale on the sofa in the lounge and we chatted.
“The man I saw today was about a 30-minute walk from the clinic to his house.”
“But that was useless because the clinic was closed.”
“That's right, it's a tough place to pull a sick body out.”
It seemed that people in Salou were going back and forth on the road several times to get to the only health centre.
Even if they can't walk, even if their arm is hurt, they have no choice but to go there for treatment.
“By the way, Dale, what is this?”
“Oh, this…….”
I noticed that Dale had put a rather large basket under the table.
“The people at home gave it to me to take when they heard I was going to spend time with Enya.”
“Is it a picnic basket?”
I opened the basket that Dale had hidden without taking it out.
It was filled with lots of food and snacks.
“Then why didn’t you tell me earlier?
Brandy’s cooking is so good!”
Brandi was the cook in our house.
Dale brought her in, and she did a great job preparing the food and desserts.
She could get a job as a cook in the imperial palace.
“It was raining, so a picnic was out of the question.”
During the carriage ride, the rain was light and the ground was wet.
The rain wasn't heavy, but it was enough to get the clothes on the picnic mat wet.
“Should we eat now then?
Even if it's a little cold, it's still delicious, right?”
The food in the picnic basket was neatly packed and easy to eat, and the bottles were sealed to prevent spills.
I picked up the food in the basket.
“It may be corrupt.”
Dale covered my mouth slightly and took the first bite of the sandwich.
I bit into the bread that touched my lips with an indifferent expression.
“It's not rotten, but it's a little damp.”
“No, I was going to eat it...is it good?”
“If this is what Enya wanted to eat, I would rather make it again.”
Dale, apparently misunderstanding my surprised face, tried to get up from his seat.
“Are you sure you're okay Dale, you touched my mouth?”
"I'm fine."
"fine?"
"namely……."
Dale's face turned red in an instant.
“Good……., yes.……It’s all good.”
“Ah……, Del doesn’t like this kind of thing.”
'Dale is so cute'
I can't believe he's so cute.
I have never met someone as angelic as Dale.
Then an idea came into my head.