Chapter 145: A Strange Self-Introduction
After we parted with Kojirou at the riverbed, Roomba and I cross the bridge on the street and started walking casually as we originally intended.
As we walked for some time, even the residential area gradually became deserted, and eventually, we saw a lot more paddy fields and mountains than people.
Apparently, this seems to be some sort of agricultural area, perhaps we had left the central part of the city.
Seeing these sort of paddy fields spreading before my eyes instead of wheat fields feels very nostalgic.
And perhaps Roomba has never seen this sort of rice fields, he looked interested in them.
「Oh? There is some kind of red building over there」
Roomba pointed forward and said, as we walked in the agricultural area for some time.
As I look at the place ahead of us just as Roomba said, there was a mountain ahead, and I can see a shrine-like red building on that mountain.
It was located at quite a high place, there are hundreds of steps leading to that place.
………perhaps, you would need to climb those hundreds of steps built on that steep slope to get to that place.
「Yeah, it’s red and beautiful. There seems to be nothing to see here, why don’t we return to the city?」
「No no, wait a minute Al. Aren’t you curious about that red building over there?」
「I’m not, so let’s go back」
「But, I’m interested in that building. That’s why Al, let’s go over there」
Even when I flatly denied his suggestion, Roomba pulled my hand starts walking.
Roomba completely ignored my wish, isn’t he?
「Ehー!? Climbing stairs on such a steep slope is tiresome you know. I’ll get absolutely exhausted! Roomba, it’s still not too late to so think again!」
「Just when I thought that you really dislike the idea to that extent so it’s because of that, huh? Then how about I’m climbing the stairs while carrying you on my back?」
「Yeah, then that’s fine」
「Somehow Al is easy to understand」
Roomba says that as he easily let go of my hand and told me that.
No no, everyone will make a similar decision when they saw those endless-looking stairs. You can’t simply go to that kind of place just because of a slight bit of curiosity you know.
When you try to climb it in practice, it will be the kind of pattern where you will regret it and said 「Ah, this is even more tiring than I thought」.
When I’m walking with that kind of thought in my mind, we passed the area of the fields, and reach a fore-like place where there are all kinds of trees growing in it.
But, there is a shrine-like building at the top, and the road is well-maintained and easy to walk on, maybe because people are using this road regularly.
Plenty of sunlight is shining on the ground through the trees, leading to the end of the road. As if to lead me and Roomba further and further inside, and as we make our way on the road that was visible due to the sunlight shining down, soon we passed through the forest.
We arrive at a flat open place that was changed from a slope-like road. Further at the back is the lined-up stairs that we saw from afar before, leading to the shrine-like building.
It was an amount that already makes my head hurt just by thinking about the effort needed when we climbed up. The stairs in front of me look to have more steps than when I look at it from afar.
「Yosh, well then we’ll climb it I’m going to carry you now!」
「I’ll leave it to you, alright」
He seemed to remember his promise as Roomba say that and then he easily lifted me up and put me on his right shoulder.
After that, he set his eyes on the distant peak ahead of us, and started climbing the steps that seem to continue without end.
Maybe because Roomba’s legs are big, he climbs and skips over two steps at once.
Compared to the seven years old kids like me, it’s interesting to see because we proceed so smoothly. With only Roomba’s one, two steps, we quickly moved away from the ground, and our line of sight steadily become higher.
Moreover, it eventually shakes when we climb the stairs, so I got a little scared as I am facing behind and am being carried on Roomba’s shoulder.
But, it’s not bad since I can see into the distant scenery as we continue to climb the stairs. I can clearly see the cultivated fields and forest that we walked, the bridge, and the dry riverbed where we met Kojirou.
It’s scary to look down since the slope is somewhat too steep, but it’s fine if I don’t see them and I’m glad that Roomba’s arm is holding me tightly.
「Fuu, as expected, your legs will feel tired when you climb this many steps without pause.」
Roomba muttered while he breathed out as I was watching the distant scenery, maybe because he finished climbing the stairs.
Though he doesn’t look tired at all despite him saying so. It is strange, even though he should have skipped two steps of stairs with an unchanging pace the whole time.
As I’m being surprised at his seemingly inexhaustible stamina, Roomba lowered me to the ground.
「Oohー, such a beautiful scenery」
Roomba shouts in admiration as he turns his look to the front.
What’s ahead of us, is the shrine with its pillars being beautifully painted in red. The roof is also big and beautiful, and just by seeing it alone, the building itself gave off a somewhat solemn atmosphere.
It’s not as dazzling as the castle or the royal castle whatsoever, yet it seems to give off a feeling of holiness despite being in harmony with nature.
「Is this the mansion of Kagura’s high-ranking person? Even so, there are no servants or guards here, so people can easily enter this place by chance」
Roomba seems to get the wrong idea that this place is the mansion of some big shot.
Guess it can’t be helped if they have such a misunderstanding if someone who doesn’t know anything about them saw this.
「The place is not particularly fenced off, and there are no guards in the area, it’s not the mansion of some great person……most likely」
「That’s right, isn’t it. Then, just what the heck is this building?」
Roomba looks around the place while tilting his head in thought. When I also look around the place like him, I saw a girl appearing from inside the shrine-like building.
She has a young and well-ordered round face with big black eyes. Her hair was cut at the shoulder and it was reflecting the sunlight, appearing to look glossy.
She is wearing red-based Kagura clothes, and she is around my age.
The girl doesn’t look scared when her gaze met mine as she’s staring at me, perhaps it’s because she found my appearance strange.
「………Roomba, there is a kid over there」
「Ooh? You’re right」
When Roomba stares at her, the girl is dismayed perhaps because she’s a bit surprised by Roomba’s frightening face. And yet, she’s not running away and stared at Roomba intensely.
I wonder if it’s her curiosity that won over her fear.
Since our hair and facial features are different from the people of Kagura.
「To think that there is a girl who is not running away after she saw Roomba, how unusual」
「Al, what’s that supposed to mean?」
「You will understand it if you look at the mirror, you know」
For there to be someone not being scared confronted with a man having such a large figure with a frightening face, wearing an eyepatch, and looks like a pirate in front of them, that’s rare.
Roomba and I stared at the girl who appears from the building while having such a conversation.
「Oi, Haru1. What are you looking at in such a place?」
Just when we were staring at each other in silence for some time, we heard a boyish voice coming from the other side of the door from where the girl looks at us.
And then, a boy with a face that looks similar to the girl suddenly appears.
「Hm? That’s an unfamiliar hair color and looks. Are they foreigners?」
A boy with short black hair and black eyes. The boy is wearing blue Kagura clothes, and he looks a bit sharper, maybe because he’s older than the girl.
Looking at their similar facial features, I wonder if those two are brother and sister?
When I was having such a thought, the girl who was staring at us and approached us.
「Hey, Haru?」
Even when the boy who seems to be her older brother calls her to stop, the girl is not listening to him as she keeps on approaching us.
And then she stood in front of me and opened her mouth.
「I’m Haru, eight years old. You?」
She only said her given name, and the girl who introduced herself as Haru directly ask me that.
Those black eyes are not wavering, they are looking straight at me.
I wonder what is this feeling? I feel that she got the kind of willpower and presence that you couldn’t think of her as a normal girl.
「……Alfried, I’m seven years old」
When I tell her my name and age in a similar, direct manner, Haru happily smiles in satisfaction.
「I’m the older one then!」
「Aah, yeah. That’s right」
I think it’s merely one year of difference, or maybe it’s only several months difference but, she’s probably at the age where she wanted to look at someone younger than herself and put on airs.
People with such personality tends to have a lot of relatives who are older than them. The previous life's me also had such a period.
「Do you really understand what that means? I’m older than you, y’know?」
「Un, I know exactly what that meansー」
When I reply while thinking about that kind of thinking and smiling pleasantly at her, and maybe Haru become curious at that answer for some reason that she looked at me with a suspicious look on her face.
Nevertheless, she’s a really brave girl since she’s not scared of people she met for the first time, not to mention those said people came from a foreign country. Though somehow she looks a little self-important like a noble, she’s an interesting kid.
「I’m Roomba! I’m thirty-six years old!」
「U, un」
Haru reply vaguely, maybe she didn’t expect Roomba to similarly introduce himself.
Though she’s not doing something like running away after seeing Roomba’s face, it seems that she’s a little scared when he approaches her.
Or perhaps I should say that, I feel this is basically the first time I’ve heard about Roomba’s age.
But well, I’ve heard that he’s from the same generation as Nord-tousan and Elna-kaasan, so I guess he’s around that age then? He doesn’t look that age at all.
「How about you?」
Then Roomba turns toward the boy who appeared after Haru.
「Me?………uhmm, my name is Shuichi, I’m eleven years old.」
「Gahaha! You’re younger than me then」
「Eh? Ooh, that’s right」
Shuichi replies while being slapped on the back by Roomba *bashibashi*.
Though I don’t really know about this, thanks to Haru it became a strange self-introduction.
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