Extraordinary – Ordinary – Soap! c2

Part two of three, in which we meet Celes and a lot of worldbuilding! The Holy Saint’s namedropped at the end, but she doesn’t show up for a bit yet.

 

CH2: LUCIA EATS LUNCH WITH CELES

In the interval until the laundry finishes drying, the laundrywomen are given a moment’s rest. During that time there’s a necessity to finish things like your meals. But, in this type of day with great weather, I’ve decided to go to a certain place.

“Well then, Mrs. Kikka, I’ll be back before the 1 PM bell.”

“Going outside to eat again? It’s fine that you’re feeling good, but I guess you’ve also got something to like too, eh.”

“What’s all this about liking something?! Umm, ahh-“

“…… Something about outside?”

“Eh? Yeah! Y-yeah, that’s right! Yes, I like the outside – the outside!”

“…… you were also a girl too, huh.”

Showered with Mrs. Kikka’s tender yet slightly infuriating gaze, I hastily wrapped up my sandwich with a napkin, grabbed a hold of my bottled tea, and in no time flat was running away at the speed of light.

”Sir Celes!”

The person who I was referring to had already came.

“Lucia, it’s fine if you don’t run! You’ll fall down like that!”

Blond hair as brilliant as the sun, and cerulean eyes the same exact shade as the clear blue sky right above us. Sir Celes is unbelievably handsome-looking today as well.

Something like “liking”, um, it’s not that type of awe-inspiring thing. He’s a friend, just a friend. Although… being friends is also kinda astonishing?

Well, there’s nothing I can do about it! It’s because Sir Celes seems to be a knight! I heard this somewhere a while ago, but according to someone he’s a jack of all trades… er, rather, he’s something like a member of the Third Corps.

My strong work ethic as a laundry girl usually keeps me away from those types of people. In this way, isn’t it hard to believe that we have a relationship like this – where we eat lunch together? Even I can’t believe it occasionally.

Our relationship began from that fateful encounter, on a fiercely windy day three months ago.

 

At the time, the clothespins had unfastened from their lines and all the hanging laundry flew off into the distance. And on that day, while chasing after all those clothes, I had ran into the castle’s rear gardens.

The shirts flying away were just base layers the regiments wore underneath their uniforms. However, I couldn’t afford to lose even these.

I chased after the undershirts in desperation, and in the instant when I had finally caught them… I had crashed into Sir Celes, who had been standing underneath this very same tree.

From the outset, Sir Celes had made a surprised face from a laundry girl suddenly going and b.u.mping into him. But after peering closer at my face, at that moment his expression increased in astonishment. And yet it wasn’t only him – rather, I was startled as well.

“You – you were the soap girl from that time, right?!” Sir Celes directed that towards me, who was standing stock still in astonishment.

From the beginning of this encounter, I thought something was strange. It was because I didn’t have any recollection of meeting with this type of sparkly, dazzling handsome man.

But, by hearing his speech I remembered.

He and I, we’ve met before. During Sir Celes’s return from the monster extermination expedition –

Come to think of it, that one time when I had been harvesting Mother’s medicinal herbs, I had encountered a group in military uniforms by chance. Their entire outfits were stained in blue, so I cast “Soap” on them. That’s the extent of my recollection of the matter, but it looks like Sir Celes has a good memory that went as far as reliably remembering my face.

After that, it became this kind of relationship where we eat lunch together during nice days with hints of a light breeze.

To humbly speak with a prestigious knight, how awe-inspiring!

I had stiffened up out of respect for the differences in our ranks, but then – “If you don’t come, then I’ll go to meet you instead.” With Sir Celes saying such a dreadful thing with a grin, located in that shining face was an unnamed threat.

Before I knew it, we were chatting together without reservation. Our relationship naturally became like that.

“Lucia? What’s the matter? It’s not like you to be s.p.a.cing out.”

”Ah, I was doing a little reminiscing…”

“Reminiscing? About what?”

As I was wrapped up in a daze that wasn’t improving, Sir Celes looked over this way. A worried expression was floating up onto his graceful face.

“Are you tired? Do you want to lie down and rest?”