As I was about to go upstairs after breakfast, Meena called out to me as I walked through the doorway.

'Ah, Alfried-sama!　Thor invited me yesterday!　He wants me to come home.

　Yesterday, Nord's father and mother Erna went to explain to the village chief and warn the villagers about the nobles coming for the harvest festival.

　I'm sure Thor said at that time, since Meena was also following him at that time.

'Heh, what's the date?'

Today.

　I think that guy thinks I'm a bored guy for inviting him yesterday and today.

　Well, it's fine, I can get the time to do it.

What about time and stuff?

'Well, he ran off before I could ask...'

　I ask, and Meena replies with a chuckle.

　It's about Thor. I guess I've been satisfied with that, pressing him on a random errand or something.

　If you haven't specified a time, that means you can come any time.

　But it's better to go early than to go late and be complained about. You can skip a lot of work that way.

All right, I'll go now. Well, I'm going to go now.

'I understand!　Have a good day!

　I stop going upstairs and walk out, with Meena seeing me off.

　As I step out into the garden of the mansion, a pleasant sunshine streams in.

　Not long ago the sun used to blaze down on me, but now that we're halfway through September, it's become very mild.

　I guess I can still wear a little more short sleeves in this one. However, some people who are sensitive to the cold may want to wear a cloak in the early morning or evening.

　The temperature shows that the season is changing little by little.

　We walked through the neatly manicured courtyard and went through the gate to a single street.

　It's not hot and not cold, just the right temperature. Autumn is a wonderful time of year, after all.

　We can go outside without worrying about the daily temperature.

　A nice breeze is blowing from the grasslands again today, and the plants and trees are rustling their leaves.

　It's still early autumn now, and the roadsides are filled with bright flowers.

　But as autumn deepens and we gradually approach winter, they are dying off.

　As time goes on, we won't be able to see these beautiful flowers for a while.

　It's a pity, but the seasons don't stop for us.

　However, autumn and winter have their own merits, and the flowers will sprout up again in spring.

　This is how a year goes by.

　Everyday life is fun because there is change.

　But it's sad that we won't be able to see them for a while, so we have to keep them in our minds while we still can.

　As we walked along the road observing the scenery and flowers, we could see the wheat field gradually turning golden.

　The villagers are busy checking the fields to make sure they are ready for harvesting.

　The autumn harvest festival is slowly approaching.

　Perhaps because it's a once-a-year festival, the villagers have a high sense of expectation.

　But apart from that, there was a sense of buoyancy in the air today.

　Under the trees by the field, men like Roland and Westa are gathering together.

I've heard that this year's harvest festival is going to be attended by a nobleman.　And a lady!　They say he's not a bitter man!'

"Oh, no, what if I get sued or something?　It means you're going to be a nobleman, right?

"Don't worry, it's impossible. If you were going to be a nobleman, I'd be royalty already.

"What?　You can dream a little bit, though. You're getting on with it just because you have a wife...''

　I see, it seems that the villagers are talking about it all the time when they hear that a nobleman is coming to the harvest festival.

　It was only yesterday that the information was circulated, but as expected of the countryside, it's very quick to get around.

　However, Wester. The young ladies are around 4 and 12 years old.　

　Nevertheless, they are both famous dukes. You won't be asked to marry by mistake, will you?

　With a sullen look in my eyes, I headed to Thor's house.



　◆



'Oh!　That's what I'm talking about, Al!　I knew you'd set my intentions and come to me in the morning!

　As we were walking through the fields near Thor's house, he noticed us and squealed with delight.

　Sure enough, he was pleased as we headed into the morning, when he would be doing his work.

'Ah, good morning, Master Alfried,'

　As I had slightly mixed feelings about Thor's joy, Sister Emma called out to me.

　Sister Emma, with her cool blue hair fluttering and a smile on her face, is dazzling today.

　However, before I can fawn over her, I say hello.

''Good morning, Emma. Are you working in the fields today?

'Yes, I'm helping out in the fields today, since I'm not training with the vigilantes today.

'It's great that you're helping out at home on your day off from vigilante training,'

　If sister Elinora doesn't have practice, she'll either practice on her own or get me and brother Silvio involved. I wish she would learn a little more from big sister Emma and help Nordo dad with his work and be quiet.

'No, I don't think so. It's only natural for a family to help out in the fields.'

You're lying. You're in the habit of getting spanked by your mom when you try to skip work.

　Thor mumbled something, and then suddenly he began to make a mysterious, strange noise.

'Thor, you've got mud on your ass, don't you?　We're in the presence of Master Alfried, and we need to do a little better.

Oh, oh, yeah.

　After being admonished by the kind sister Emma, Thor hurriedly panned the soil down.

　It's true that he was just working on the farm, so there was a little dirt on him.

　In comparison, Emma-sister had almost no dirt on her.

　I'm sure that Thor must have slapped the dirt off his clothes before he came in contact with her, screaming like an idiot. No wonder Emma-sister's greeting must have been delayed by one tempo.

　As expected of Emma-sister, she's much more girlie than Elinora-sister.

So don't give Al a job because he's here.

　I was somehow about to open my mouth to have some more conversation, but Thor interrupted me.

　Hey, what the hell is this guy? It's been a while since I've seen Emma and I was hoping to enjoy some more conversation.

'Yeah, okay, I get it. Alfried-sama, I know it's an empty place, but please go ahead and take your time.

Yes, thank you, Emma.

　There was no way we could carry on a conversation like this, not with what we had to do.

Let's go, Al. Let's go call Asmo.

'You could have let me have a few more conversations with you...'

Give me a break. I can't keep my ass in the water if you're talking to your sister.

　Huh?　Why doesn't Thor's ass hold up when me and sister Emma talk to each other?　It didn't make sense to me at all.

　Thor walked hurriedly while I wondered.

'Hey, I don't mind waiting at Thor's house.

'That's not good enough. I can't bring Asmo in.

Why?　I thought you could get most of the jobs off if I was there?

　I wonder, and Thor looks bummed out.

　I doubt it. This is something that's gone wrong, isn't it?

　I look at him questioningly, and he looks away.

'Ya, stop. Don't stare at me like I'm a dead fish.

"Dead fish eyes, that's rude!

　I'm sorry that I persisted in coming around, but I don't have the right to be verbally abused like that.

"..........didn't you skip work by using my name?

　I said, and Thor shuddered blatantly.

'Well, well, I guess that's why.'

　It's this guy with bad ideas. He probably skipped work because I didn't even come to visit him and said I came to visit him.

　And as he repeated it several times, Murat-san and sister Emma found out about it. This guy really is a bad boy.

'We're at Asmo's field!　Hey, Asmo!

　I looked at him in dismay, and Thor said to change the air.

　Well, okay. It's Thor, so I'll forgive him.

　I turned my attention to the field that Thor was pointing at, and I saw Asmo and Sheila-san there.

　It seems that my brother and sister are also in the middle of working in the field.

I'm so glad you're here already. So, sis. I'm going to Thor's house.

'Mmm!　Only Asmo cheats!　I want to call Elinora-sama and skip work too~!

　Asmo stops pulling weeds and removes his gloves, Sheila-san puffs out her cheeks and buzzes the weeds out like an eighteen-year-old with her cheeks puffed out.

'I'm not a handy item to take a break from work...'

Well, well, now that we have all three of us, let's go home!

'Uh-huh, yes!　And I picked some nuts and stuff for today!

　I headed to Thor's house, feeling somewhat delicate.