Chapter 31: Grandparents' House
"I'm home!"
When I returned home, my father and mother were busy preparing.
"Oh, you're back quite early. What did you buy?"
"Did you find something good?"
As I entered the house, the two of them stopped their preparations and peeked into the contents of the sack I was carrying.
"I bought hand towels and bamboo water bottles. The hand towels are souvenirs for Grandpa and Grandma, and the water bottles are for Uncle and the others. And I think this water bottle is really convenient, so I bought enough for our family of four."
Saying that, I took out one bamboo water bottle and showed it to them. Both of them looked at it with great interest.
"It's surprising how bamboo can be used like this."
"In the past, this type of water bottle was mainstream, but at some point, it changed to putting water in a leather bag. But recently, it seems that bamboo water bottles have become popular again."
"I see. Thanks for our share as well. Then shall we use this water bottle for tomorrow's outing?"
"Yeah, that sounds good. This one seems more convenient."
With that, the preparations for tomorrow progressed.
The next morning.
"Leon, Marie, wake up!"
Usually, I wake up with the sound of a bell, but today my mother woke me up. It was still dark outside.
"Mother...? Isn't it too early to wake up?"
"I told you we're going to Grandpa and Grandma's house today. If we don't arrive by evening, it will be a problem, so we should leave early."
"I see..."
Yawn... I'm still sleepy...
"Wash your face, change your clothes, and get ready. Breakfast will be ready soon, so eat quickly."
"Yes."
Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I got up. Marie is still being woken up by my mother.
After that, despite moving slower than usual due to sleepiness, I washed my face, had breakfast, and checked our luggage.
By that time, I was fully awake. It seemed like Marie had also woken up and finished getting ready.
"Alright, let's go."
"Roana, make sure to lock the house."
"I locked it. We didn't forget anything, right?"
"We're good. Then let's go."
"Yes!"
We started walking towards the farmland from around the time the sun had just started rising.
Although we had been to the forest before, we had never been beyond that, so we were quite excited!
However, that excitement didn't last long.
*Sigh* I'm tired... Well, I can use body enhancement and my body can handle it, but walking through the same scenery for a long time is mentally exhausting.
At first, I was excited about the fields and the animals raised by people involved in livestock farming.
However, after about an hour, I quickly grew bored and now, as it was almost noon, I wanted to see a different scenery. Since no place provided much shade, the sunlight was also harsh. I wanted to take a break.
While thinking that, my mother said just at the right moment.
"Should we take a break soon? There's a big tree over there. Let's push ourselves to reach it."
I could see a fairly large tree in the distance. It seemed perfect for resting as it had shade. Perhaps it served as a resting spot.
"Finally, a break? I'm tired."
"Marie, just a little bit more, okay? Hang in there."
Marie had been walking without complaining until now, but it seemed she was tired. After all, she was only six years old.
Marie only had her own clothes, but it must have been tough for her. Maybe I should carry her things in the afternoon. With my physical enhancement ability, I could easily carry a small load.
We walked for a while longer and arrived under the big tree.
"Shall we have lunch?" my mother suggested.
Come to think of it, I hadn't thought about lunch today...!
Did my mother and father bring something?
"I forgot about lunch... Did you bring something?"
"Of course. We can't walk without eating."
"But it's not anything fancy because it will spoil."
Thank you, mother and father...!
Thinking about lunch made me incredibly hungry.
"Here, bread and dried meat. One for each of us."
That's what my mother handed to me. It was the usual hard bread and salted dried meat that I always ate.
"Thank you."
We all said "Itadakimasu" (a phrase before eating to express gratitude) together and started eating.
Since it was my first time eating dried meat, I took a bite with some excitement... but I couldn't eat it.
It was so hard!! I thought it might be like salami, but it was twice as hard as I expected and I couldn't bite through it.
I tried again, this time with more determination, and managed to chew through it somehow. Chomp, chomp... The taste was pretty good... It would be delicious if it were a bit softer.
"It's quite tough, isn't it?"
"It's because it's dried meat. It can't be helped."
While my mother and father said that, they continued eating quite normally. I guess adults and children have different jaw strengths.
Marie seemed to be having a hard time.
"Mother... I can't eat this..."
After struggling with the dried meat for a while, Marie finally gave up.
"Marie, it might be better to chop it up finely with a knife before eating. Can you lend me the knife for a moment?"
Mother received Marie's dried meat and began thinly slicing it with a knife. Marie took it back and started eating, seeming to have no problem eating it that way.
Should I also cut and eat it with a knife? ...Or maybe I can eat it by strengthening my jaw?
Thinking it was an interesting idea, I decided to try it right away. To my surprise, the dried meat, which had been as hard as wood just a moment ago, became easy to chew and bite through.
Incredible...! Truly, it's magic!
After finishing lunch, we resumed our walk.
Marie seemed quite tired, so I offered to carry her belongings. With that, we should be able to keep walking. Carrying Marie on my back would be too heavy, after all.
"We're almost there."
Finally, are we arriving? It's already the time when the sun is starting to set. It was farther than I expected, and I'm tired.
On the left side of the road is my mother's family home, and on the right side is my father's family home. They really are close to each other.
It seems we will be staying at my father's family home. They have more available rooms there.
As we arrived at the entrance of my father's family home, my father knocked on the door.
"We're home!"
As soon as my father said that, there was a commotion inside, and after a while, the door opened.
"Jean, you finally came! And Roana-chan, Leon, and Marie too! Welcome, everyone!"
The one who opened the door was a kind-looking woman in her late forties.
Upon entering, there were many people in the not-so-large living room, and numerous dishes were placed on the table.
"Welcome! We've been waiting for you."
We greeted various people, and I finally understood who everyone was.
First, my father side's grandparents, then my uncle, aunt, and their three children.
Also, my mother side's grandparents, uncle, aunt, and their two children.
A total of thirteen people welcomed us. I wondered how they knew we were coming, but it seems they had informed the merchants who come here to buy things.
We spent the day talking with everyone.
We ate delicious food, handed out souvenirs that made them tear up with excitement, surprised them with the deliciousness of pancakes, played with the children, and spent a joyful and happy evening.
Since I couldn't cherish my family in my previous life, I strongly felt that I should cherish this family here.