Remina
“Then, I will show you how to eat bread while explaining it.”
“Ah, please do.”
When I said that as an introduction, the woman with the wine-red hair responded that way, so I held the bread in my hand and said,
“As I explained earlier, first you hold the part made of wheat like this with your hand.”
As I explained that while showing the woman with the wine-red hair sitting next to me how I was holding the bread, she looked at my hand holding the bread and awkwardly picked up her own bread.
“L-Like this?”
“That’s right, and then you bring it close to your mouth and eat it as it is.”
Saying that, I took a bite of the bread and swallowed it.
“…I will try eating it as well, but if I do anything strange, please tell me without hesitation.”
“Understood!”
When I answered that, the woman with the wine-red hair looked at the bread in front of her and, with an awkward motion, slowly brought her face closer to the bread.
Then, opening her mouth slightly, she bit off a piece of the bread.
“…”
After swallowing the bread, she turned toward me and spoke.
“…Is this correct?”
To the woman with the wine-red hair who asked that nervously, I replied clearly,
“Yes, that’s correct!”
“R-Really?”
“Really! With this, I don’t think you’ll have any trouble eating bread anymore!”
When I told her that, the woman with the wine-red hair spoke with a slightly relieved expression.
“I see… that is good.”
“Well then, since we’re at it, let’s eat together like this.”
“I will do that.”
After we had eaten more than half of the bread together, the woman with the wine-red hair said,
“It is my first time eating it, but bread is quite delicious.”
“Yes! It’s really delicious!”
Then, after the two of us finished eating the bread, the woman with the wine-red hair said,
“I truly cannot thank you enough.”
“N-Not at all! I only taught you how to eat bread, so it wasn’t anything significant…”
“It may not have been significant to you, but to me, I have gained unknown knowledge, and not expressing gratitude for that would go against morality… Now then, could you tell me your name?”
“My name is Lux Rodwell.”
“Rodwell, huh… I will remember that.”
Originally, I had not planned to ask for her name, but since she asked for mine, I decided to ask somewhat naturally.
“What is your name?”
When I asked that, the woman with the wine-red hair paused for a moment before saying,
“Just call me Remina.”
“Understood!”
“…By the way, are you from this country?”
When Remina-san, the woman with the wine-red hair, asked me that, I shook my head and said,
“No, I’m here on a short trip.”
“I see. I am also here in this country for work, but I must return to my homeland tomorrow… Since you are also traveling, does that mean you have limited time?”
“Yes, I’ll probably be leaving tomorrow as well, but… I’m not particularly busy now, so I was just wandering around the city.”
“I see… If you do not mind, would you keep me company a little longer?”
“…Huh?”
When I was slightly puzzled by Remina-san’s sudden request, she spoke with a faint blush on her cheeks.
“It is a little embarrassing, but I… do not know much about things outside my field. If it is about study or work, I am confident I can take the best possible action in any given situation. But on the other hand, because I have never done anything outside of those, my knowledge of such things is probably far below that of an average person… And in fact, I was planning to go to a clothing store now, but I do not know anything about clothes… So I would like you to help me a little with choosing clothes.”
Because she has been so devoted to what she should focus on, she has little knowledge beyond that… How one feels upon hearing that probably depends on the person, but to me, it really made me feel that Remina-san is a serious and sincere person.
If there’s something I can do to help someone like that…
“I’m not particularly knowledgeable about clothes either, but I can at least tell you whether something looks good on you, so if that’s enough, I’d be happy to help.”
“Thank you, Rodwell… You are kind.”
“N-No, not at all!”
“There’s no need to be modest. Considering your attire and the fact that you’ve come traveling to another country, I would guess that you are a noble, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“It is rare for someone of noble status to possess such kindness… And also…”
Remina-san took my right hand and looked at my palm as she spoke.
“When we ate the bread earlier, I noticed your hand, and now that I look again, I am certain… You seem to have been properly practicing swordsmanship.”
“You can tell something like that just by looking?”
“I have studied swordsmanship to some extent as well… Once you pass a certain level, you can tell the amount of effort and even some measure of ability just by looking.”
Hearing that, I glanced at Remina-san’s hand and voiced what I thought.
“Now that you mention it, I looked at your hand, Remina-san, and all I see is the impression of a beautiful, supple woman’s hand. It’s hard to imagine it belongs to someone who handles a sword.”
“…!”
When I said that, Remina-san turned her face away from me, stood up from the bench, and said,
“…If you are calling my hands beautiful, then you still have a long way to go in your training… We have wasted enough time with idle talk. Let us head to the clothing store.”
“Understood!”
I stood up from the bench just as Remina-san did, and together, we headed to the clothing store said to be in this city.