The Story of a Middle-Aged Knight Who Tried to Live a Relaxed Slow Life in the Countryside, Only for a Duke's Daughter Whose Engagement Was Broken Off to Move in With Him

Sharing a Bed as Husband and Wife

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*****

「Did you enjoy the hot spring, Leonardo?」

Responding to Waldo, who spoke while tearing into a piece of meat, I looked around our current surroundings once more.

The hall was lined with woven grass mats resembling goza, and custom dictated removing one's footwear before stepping inside. Small low tables were set before each person, laden with colorful dishes served in a variety of containers.

While Cistilia and I struggled to master the 'chopsticks' used by dwarves, we thoroughly relished the meal prepared with wild mountain vegetables, river fish, and wild boar meat.

「These chopsticks are tricky to use.」

「Those who aren't used to them always say that, but once you get the hang of it, they're quite handy. It's said their origin lies in the metal tongs dwarves use for blacksmithing.」

Waldo was fluent in the human language. Watta, for her part, seemed to understand it reasonably well when listening. Despite her unabashed personality, she was a girl of few words, likely just taciturn by nature.

「There's something I must apologize for.」

「An apology?」

「Indeed. The unusual surge of monsters this time was caused by negligence on the dwarves' part.」

「What do you mean?」

「We only struck that hot spring quite recently. Because of that, the dwarf village devolved into a full-blown festival. Everyone spent their days gulping down liquor, washing off their sweat in the hot spring, and then drowning themselves in alcohol all over again. Even our monster hunters got swept up in it, which led to them neglecting their hunting duties.」

Dwarves were famous for their love of alcohol, but alternating between drinking and soaking in hot springs to the point of 'drowning' in booze sounded like a recipe for disaster if a human tried it.

「So that's what happened. Is that also why it took so long for you to notice the notice paper?」

「Precisely. Watta always enjoyed roaming the mountains alone, so I wasn't particularly worried about her at first. But in the meantime, the hot spring madness broke out, and so...」

「And you completely forgot about her.」

My eyes narrowed into an unamused stare as I looked at Waldo.

「...Father.」

「I'm sorry, Watta!」

Fixed with an accusing glare from Watta as well, Waldo clapped his hands together in a desperate plea for forgiveness.

「Cruel. Hot spring, daughter—which matters more?」

「You, of course! Without a doubt!」

「...Really?」

「Truly!」

The dwarven father, having severely eroded his daughter's trust, bowed deeply in humble apology.

Cistilia and I exchanged amused glances, chuckling softly as we savored the rest of our meal.

「Thank you for the meal.」

「Thank you very much for the meal.」

「~~~~~~」

Myself, Cistilia, and Watta spoke in unison.

「If you are satisfied, that is all that matters. Speak up if you wish to eat more.」

「I've had more than enough, thank you.」

I had eaten so much my stomach was almost bursting. On top of that, having partaken in the liquor brewed by the dwarves, my head felt a bit light.

(Ah, right. There's something I need to ask.)

I downed the cold water provided by the serving dwarf before speaking up.

「Say, Waldo. About the monsters—we can't afford a repeat of what happened this time. Sure, it was an issue on the dwarves' side today, but our side could just as easily end up neglecting monster hunts due to unforeseen circumstances.」

「Mhm. You speak truly. On top of that, the exact boundary regarding who oversees which area remains somewhat vague. I hear there is an unspoken agreement among the hunters on the ground. However, it is merely tacit. Just as your leadership changed recently, our own structure could shift in the future. Should a handover go poorly and leave blind spots where neither dwarves nor humans are watching, it would be detrimental to both of us.」

As expected of a village chief, Waldo already understood what I was getting at. Given how he'd been chugging alcohol nonstop, I had wondered if he was sharp enough to follow, though.

「We should coordinate the patrol ranges between Ascot Village and the dwarf settlement.」

「I agree. It would be best if our patrol ranges overlapped slightly. Drawing too rigid a line might cause either side to hesitate, potentially giving monsters room to spawn.」

「I think so too. The only problem is...」

「I know. You speak of the national border, do you not? Patrol ranges are strictly for patrolling, not borders. Let us state that explicitly in writing.」

「That helps immensely. I appreciate it. I heard dwarves don't usually pay much mind to borders, though.」

「Even we know humans are keen on clearly demarcating their territories. Were dwarves more numerous, we might end up in similar disputes as well.」

「We should arrange a meeting involving hunters from both sides.」

「Indeed. Still, many dwarves remain wary of humans.」

「So we'll both need to be careful with who we select.」

「Please do. Let us have a temporary hut built somewhere near the midpoint and use it as our meeting ground.」

If we marched into the dwarf village or if dwarves marched into Ascot Village, either move would provoke the other party. Furthermore, if the visiting side felt pressured, it could negatively impact negotiations.

(Negotiations, huh? On the human side, we'd want access to water sources, timber, and pastureland. The dwarves would likely want mining rights for ores.)

Although this incident had brought us one step closer, a layer of mutual distrust still lingered between humans and dwarves. Reconciling our respective interests under those circumstances was bound to be a tough job.

At that point, Cistilia spoke up hesitantly.

「Um... In that case, why don't we put at least the patrol agreement into writing?」

「Hmm... How would that work? We have yet to iron out any concrete details, after all.」

「I believe a simple statement would suffice—something along the lines of 'To prevent the outbreak of monsters, Ascot Village and the dwarf village have agreed to coordinate their patrol ranges.'」

「If it is just that much, it should be fine. It saves us the trouble of a 'he said, she said' dispute later on.」

「I understand the dwarven tongue, and Master Waldo understands the human language. If we draft it in both languages, there should be no misunderstandings.」

「If that is the case, I shall have it prepared. You have a remarkably prudent wife, Leonardo.」

「Like I said, she's not my wife...」

I panicked for a second thinking she might have offended him, but as expected of a chief, Waldo understood the importance of formal procedures.

After that, our conversation turned to various topics until, considering our fatigue, the gathering drew to a close before it got too late.

Cistilia and I were shown to a guest room.

It was a room laid with grass mats similar to the hall earlier.

The problem was...

「Why are we in the same room?!」

「When they asked if we preferred separate rooms, I told them we were fine together,」 Cistilia said proudly.

(Leaving the interpreting to her might have been a mistake...)

In the dwarf village, Cistilia was steadily becoming recognized as the magistrate's wife of Ascot Village.

In the middle of the room, two futons were laid out side by side.

Staring at the intimately arranged futons, both Cistilia and I fell silent despite ourselves.

「...S-Seeing it like this is a bit embarrassing, isn't it?」

「They totally think we're in that kind of relationship!」

「I want us to be in that kind of relationship!」

「And I keep telling you, I don't!」

Well, if asked whether I wanted to or not, of course I did. But if I let on even a hint of that atmosphere, Cistilia would push things all the way.

「Honestly, too much happened today and I'm exhausted. I don't have the stamina to do 'that kind of thing' right now.」

「T-That kind of thing...?!」

「What, you're the one who pushed for it! ...Wait, even if I had the energy, I still wouldn't do it, got it?」

「No, well... I'm actually quite drained from using secret magic myself. Less physically, and more mentally, but still.」

「Then let's just go to sleep.」

Cistilia and I blew out the lantern and crawled into our futons.

「...Just to be clear, don't cross over to my side from the boundary, alright?」

Cistilia, who had been stealthily trying to creep over, froze.

「Isn't that line usually reserved for women?」

「It's reserved for whichever person is being targeted.」

Perhaps due to how tired we both were, the conversation lulled there, leaving a brief silence between us.

I softly turned my head to look at her. Cistilia happened to be looking back at me at the exact same moment.

In a soft, gentle voice, Cistilia spoke.

「...Good night, dear.」

「Stop saying silly things and go to sleep already.」

I turned over to face the other way, burying my reddened cheeks into the blanket. The futon, not yet warmed by body heat, felt pleasantly cool.

「Good night, Cistilia.」

Managing to murmur just that much, I rapidly drifted off into deep sleep.

*****

I refrain from complaining since paddy field actually exist in southern europe.

Tried holding back while teppou or flint gun kinda common in western fantasy setting.

But this dwarf village is just onsen ryokan. chopstick? futon?

Three-strike sloppy setting. OUT.

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