You And Flowers (Krish’s POV)

While making my rounds, my eye fell on a flower shop in the market. The shop was filled with colorful large flowers, creating a splendid atmosphere like another world. A woman pointed to one of them and had it wrapped. Perhaps it was a present for someone. She smiled at the scent of the flowers and left happily.

Ladies prefer large, showy, and gorgeous flowers. Therefore, many of the flowers in the shop are showy.

“They don’t have it here either huh?”

The flower I’m looking for is smaller, more modest, dainty, and ephemeral.

It’s pink, small, and has five petals. I thought the flowers would be blooming everywhere, but it’s actually quite difficult to find one.

It was just a whim to go and see the breeding season of the light moss with Shinobu. Hearing my subordinates talk about going out with their families or inviting their lovers, I assumed Shinobu would go with Norn and the others as well.

But it turned out Shinobu wasn’t going.

He spoke happily as if it were his own story, telling me that a young man named Kuju, a childhood friend of Norn’s whom he had met once at the management office, was going to propose marriage.

He said he had a hard time turning down Norn’s invitation so as not to get in the way.

When Shinobu said he wanted to go see it someday, I remembered my shift that day, and thought maybe I could take him.

I happened to be working until the evening that day. It had been a while since I’d been able to go home early, so I thought I’d take an early night to recover from the fatigue of everyday life.

For me, it was an annual event that I’d participated in many times since I was a child, so it wasn’t worth going to see by myself now, but it was Shinobu’s first time seeing the breeding of the light moss in this world. It would be boring to be alone on a night when everyone was spending it with their special someone.

If I hurried back now and finished my work, would I be able to make it in time for the breeding season? It would be a tight deadline if I finished work in the evening and came to pick up Shinobu, but I wanted to show it to him.

However, I didn’t tell Shinobu about it so that he wouldn’t get too excited if I didn’t make it in time.

“Blanche, hurry up.”

I drove Blanche back to town at full speed and somehow managed to finish my work, but it was well past work hours and the surrounding area was shrouded in darkness.

I was furious inside, wondering why trouble always occurred when I’m in a hurry, so I probably looked grim. If I hadn’t been wearing my helmet, I might have frightened the people around me.

Even if I went to pick up Shinobu now, the breeding season would be over by the time we reached the light moss colony. I would be able to make it if I was alone, but with Shinobu, who is not used to riding horses, riding with me would mean I would have to drive Blanche slowly, which would be a bit difficult.

Just as I was thinking that I had no choice but to give up this year, I suddenly remembered something from my childhood. My parents thought it was too dangerous to take me out to a crowded place when I was still a child, so they took me to a small hill that they said was a hidden spot.

Some years, depending on the wind direction, we couldn’t see it, but luckily tonight the wind is blowing westward. If we hurry, we should be able to make it there in time.

The people who go to see the breeding season have already moved on, so now that there are fewer people around, I can make Blanche run as fast as I can to Shinobu’s house.

I jumped on Blanche and crouched low to increase my speed.

Shinobu was surprised by my sudden night visit.

Shinobu was reluctant to go out because he couldn’t see well at night, so I took his hand and helped him onto Blanche. We arrived at our destination just as the spores carried by the wind were flying in.

“Wow, it’s so beautiful. What’s that!?”

Shinobu opened his already large eyes even wider and cheered as a swarm of small particles of light flew in from the east. Although he looked happy, he asked if there was anyone else who would come and see the breeding season with me, which I thought was typical of the kindhearted Shinobu.

When I came of age, my parents left town, saying they were going to fulfill their dream of running an orchard.

Far south of this town is the kukuri growing area. The carefree couple who declared that they would eat the kukuri they grew until they get sick, have still not succeeded in cultivating kukuri even after five years. In the letters I receive several times a year, they write of their determination to “definitely succeed next time!!”

I heard that kukuri is a delicate plant, and that even professional farmers who are skilled in the field have difficulty cultivating it. I think the chances of my parents, who are a bit careless, succeeding in cultivating it are close to zero. Well, they seem to be having fun, so I think they should do as they like.

If the family Shinobu is asking about means the people I currently live with, then I don’t have any family. Of course, I don’t have a lover either. There’s no need to say anything about Annette. We’re just fake lovers that will end in the not-too-distant future.

When I told him I had no family or lover, Shinobu looked happy, but also apologetic. I wonder if he thought that he was asking a lonely person a cruel question. I’m sorry I made you feel uncomfortable.

The flickering spores changed color from white to blue, then to pink, and Shinobu ran off after them. I remembered my childhood and laughed when I saw how he chased after the spores that slipped through his fingers when he tried to catch them.

I don’t remember much about it myself, but apparently I was a restless child who would run around everywhere whenever I had free time. I would get some kind of injury every day, but still run around without learning my lesson, and my mother secretly worried that I was a little crazy.

Watching Shinobu behave in the same way I did when I was a child, sure enough, his foot got caught in the grass and fell over. There was no sign of him getting up, so I pushed aside the grass to look for him, wondering if he’d been injured, and found him lying on his back, looking up at the night sky.

Shinobu looked up at the night sky, widening his big eyes as if he had forgotten to blink, as if he didn’t want to take his eyes off me. At the same time, he was shedding tears with a look that was heartbreaking to watch.

The Shinobu I knew was always smiling. I’d only seen him cry once, but other than that, he was always smiling.

It wasn’t because he was genuinely enjoying himself, but perhaps it was just a way of getting along with the people around him. It occurred to me then that I didn’t understand anything about Shinobu.

It’s only natural that he’d be lonely away from home. In this world with so few people to rely on, it’s only natural that he’d feel anxious. I visited Shinobu every day after the gate disappeared, but seeing him as usual, I thought “He seems fine.” I was really stupid.

What do you mean, “I want you to at least spend your time peacefully”? What do you mean, “I want you to smile”? That’s just my selfish thoughts being forced onto him.

What Shinobu needed was someone to be by his side and support him when he was sad or lonely.

I wonder if it’s too late. Can I become someone that he can cry on?

When I realized it, I was touching Shinobu’s cheek. Shinobu looked puzzled as I held his cheeks in both hands and wiped away his tears with my thumbs, and he blinked slowly.

“There were spores on it.”

What a poor excuse. Upset by my own uncharacteristic behavior, those were the only words I could come up with. If it were Gilbert here, he would comfort him with sweet words that would make everyone melt.

“In my world. There was a tree that bloomed pink flowers called sakura. They bloom all at once and then fall off immediately. When I saw the pink spores flying away earlier, I thought they looked similar, and I got nostalgic.”

Sakura. Sakura. What kind of flower is it? What shape is the flower that Shinobu feels so nostalgic about and what kind of scent does it give off?

I repeated the name “Sakura” in my head over and over again, engraving the name into my mind.

Shinobu’s hometown that he can never return to. The things that Shinobu talks about that he misses, the beautiful things, the ugly things. I will hammer all of that into my head and remember it. I don’t think this will save Shinobu’s feelings, but I will be a living witness that the world you were born into definitely exists.

When you’re old in the distant future and you talk about your nostalgic hometown, saying, “There was this too,” I want to be someone who can nod next to you and say, “That’s right.”

On the way home, I asked Shinobu about sakura.

“What kind of flower is sakura? Tell me again.”

“Well, it’s a pink flower with five petals. About the size of my fingertip. They bloom all over the tree branches.

If you look up from below, you can see so many flowers that you can’t see the sky. When the wind blows, the petals fall off one by one, fluttering to the ground, and the whole place turns pink.

It’s so beautiful. It’s the flower I liked most in my old world. I’d love to show it to Krish-san.”

The only small pink flower I know is the Tree of Life. I’ve never been interested in flowers before, and I don’t know the names of any others. I know quite a few edible wild vegetables, though.

If I could find something similar to the flower Shinobu liked most in his hometown, would he be happy?

“Krish-san, is there something wrong with that florist?”

I remembered that I was on patrol when my subordinate spoke to me. It seems that time had passed while I was thinking.

“No, nothing. Let’s go.”

Now that I think about it, I think this subordinate’s girlfriend said that she liked flowers. Maybe she knows about flowers too.

“Do you know about little pink flowers? They’re about the size of a fingertip.”

“Oh, are you going to give Annette-sama a bouquet of flowers? No, you can’t. If you’re going to give her a bouquet, it has to be big and showy. Annette-sama will be happier that way.

My girlfriend also likes flowers, and I gave her a big bouquet of big, bright red flowers one time, and she was so happy…”

“No, never mind. Forget it.”

It seems I asked the wrong person. Is there someone out there who knows about small flowers?

After this, I asked a few people the same question, but no one knew of any flowers similar to the sakura I was looking for. It was a mistake to ask rough knights in the first place.

“Krish, you’re looking for flowers? I heard the knights talking about it. Are they a gift for me?”

Lady Annette came to see me while I was writing my morning work report.

“Don’t worry. It’s not a gift for you, Annette-sama.”

“I know that. There’s no reason for Krish to give me flowers. But if you’re looking for flowers, do you want me to help you?”

I have a bad feeling about this. There’s no way Annette-sama would do something like this just out of kindness. I feel like she’ll definitely want something in return.

“I know more about the flower shops in town than Krish, and I know of a house with a beautiful garden. I think if I ask, they’ll let you take a look. In return, I’d like you to do me a favor.”

As expected, I prepared myself. Annette-sama’s requests are always unexpected and troublesome.

But there’s no one who can be more powerful when it comes to finding a specific flower.

“What do you want me to do?”

“A date.”

“Huh?”

What is this? I feel like I just heard an impossible word.

“Come on, we’re pretending to be lovers now! It’s not unnatural that we haven’t been on a date since Krish returned.

Father told me that we did not even go out together during the light moss breeding season, so he was wondering if we’re really dating. He’s suspicious of us.”

Well, I suppose so. It’s one thing for the townspeople to feel that our relationship is unnatural, but for those close to us, it’s inevitable.

It was impossible from the start. Annette-sama is, to put it nicely, honest, but to put it bluntly, simple-minded, and terrible at lying.

No matter how hard she tries to pretend to be a lover, one can tell by looking into her eyes that she has no feelings of love.

“Why don’t you tell your parents the truth? You’ve reached your limit of deceiving them. I can’t help you any more. I hear there are rumors in town that we’re getting married. If that story becomes reality, what do you intend to do, Annette-sama?”

“Just wait a little longer!!”

Annette-sama clutched the skirt of her fine dress so tightly that it was wrinkled, and looked up at me desperately.

“I know that I’m causing trouble for Krish. But if I tell the truth, father will surely blame you. They’ll say, ‘What do you dislike about my daughter that makes you refuse?’

They’ll use their power to force you to marry me. But I don’t want that to happen.

I know how much it hurts to be forced into marriage. Because that’s what happened to me. You can’t start a family with someone else when you already love them.

I don’t want you to go through the same thing as me. After all, he still loves his late wife.”

Gilbert-dono’s wife passed away six years ago. Not from an accident or illness, but from old age. She was 40 years older than him.

It’s a famous story, when Gilbert-dono started working at the management office at the age of 17, he fell in love at first sight with his boss at the time, who was 40 years older than him, and it took him three years to woo her. A couple with such an age difference was rare even in this world, and apparently became a hot topic at the time.

They were a loving couple, and it was enough to make one blush when they saw how devoted her husband was. I have heard that Gilbert-dono was at home with his wife when she passed away.

It seems that these circumstances were also a factor in Gilbert-dono’s ability to coldly push Annette-sama away. He once said that when he saw Annette-sama, “It was like seeing his past self, desperately trying to woo his wife.”

The age difference between Annette-sama and Gilbert-sama is 30 years. He said that he was reminded of the memories of when he chased after a loved one who was 40 years older than him.

“Whenever I tell Gilbert-sama that I love him, he always says the same thing. He says, “Look for a man your age.”

Even if we get married, I will definitely die first. He says he can’t accept my feelings because he knows the pain of being left behind.

But I just can’t love anyone other than Gilbert-sama. Even if we only have a short time to be together, I can’t think of anyone else. So please, just a little longer is enough. At least lend me your strength until I come of age. If that doesn’t work, I’ll kill myself and marry someone else.”

This is a problem. I have a weakness for Annette-sama’s crying face. Since I’ve known her since she was little, I can’t help but think of her crying face as when she was a toddler. I don’t have any siblings, but I wonder if it would be like this if I had a younger sister.

It’s only a few months until Annette-sama comes of age. It will be difficult to change Gilbert-dono’s feelings by then. As you can see from his wife, Gilbert-dono has a taste for older women. There is almost no chance that Annette-sama’s feelings will be conveyed, as they are the polar opposite of his preference, but I will continue to cooperate for a few months until she is convinced.

“Annette-sama, the flower I am looking for is pink and has five petals. Do you know what it is?”

Annette’s expression brightened as she realized that her request had been accepted.

“Is it such a small flower? It’s difficult. But we must find it!! Let’s start looking for it today. Let’s find it during Krish’s one hour lunch break.”

“Wait, I can’t do it during the day…”

“I can’t do it at any other time. I am only allowed to go out past the evening on special days. I will come and pick you up later!!”

What a quick change of heart. Where has the demure Annette-sama, who was crying just a moment ago gone? I may have made a mistake in my response.

“I guess I won’t be able to patrol during the day for a while.”

But there is also the issue of thieves. I’ll have to think of some other solution.