We straightened our messy clothes and hair, then followed them outside and saw Yuu-chan and Hime eating bread with fruit jam.
The tent that Luke and I set up last night for the two of them seemed to have been tidied up by them. Because the tent was no longer there.
The same went for the campfire, leaving only black traces of burnt wood, while the firewood had disappeared.
Maybe they had thrown it away, but I didn't know where they put it.
Then, the two of them were not sitting on the ground, but on a large wooden object that was sturdy enough to be used as a chair.
Even though we only stayed for a few hours, they immediately found wood like that.
Wait, how did they find it? Especially at night… even Luke and I couldn't find wood like that… whatever.
"How did you sleep?" asked Yuu-chan.
"Soundly… Maybe too soundly, because you let us sleep until morning," I replied.
"Hime and I just felt a little sorry for you two, so we let you sleep," said Yuu-chan.
"I don't know what happened… but I already feel like my body is refreshed," said Luke while scratching his arm, maybe because it was itchy.
Hime then took a piece of bread from inside the basket, then spread jam on it.
"Here, you two must be hungry, right?" asked Hime while giving the bread to us.
… I spaced out a little when Hime handed the bread to us, but in the end, I still took it.
"Thank you…" I said.
After I took the bread from her hand, Hime took another piece of bread and spread more jam on it, then gave it to Luke.
"Enjoy," said Luke.
Crunch.
The bread tasted better than before, surely thanks to the jam, which made the bread have more flavor.
"Where did you get that jam?" I asked.
"Oh, this? We were checking the things inside, and suddenly found a basket filled with bread and jam," answered Hime.
"I don't remember Charles-san bringing that basket… maybe I just didn't notice it at the time," said Luke.
—
After such a delicious breakfast, we began to prepare again to leave this village and continue toward Vannis.
But before that, there was something Hime and I had to do.
"We're giving this?" I asked while showing the basket to Hime.
"This is just a gesture of gratitude for letting us stay in this village for a night," said Hime.
This basket was of course different from the one we used earlier with the bread.
Hime put some fruit and bread inside this basket, and we intended to give it to the village elder.
We arrived in front of his house, which didn't look too tall, but quite spacious, with a yard so wide that it was used as farmland.
Knock, knock.
Hime knocked on the door several times until it finally opened.
A woman wearing simple clothes greeted us from inside the house.
"You're… the adventurers from next door, right? What do you need?" the woman asked.
It seemed she had already heard about us from the people who stopped us at the village gate last night.
It's impossible that they wouldn't tell the village elder about us, right?
"Ah, here's a little gift from us. Since we were allowed to stay overnight in this village," I said while handing her the basket.
She immediately took the basket from my hand, and I could feel that she was pleased with the gift.
"Oh my, going through all this trouble… you must want to meet the village elder, right? Unfortunately, my husband is still asleep right now," said the woman.
Well, I wasn't surprised. I had already suspected that this woman standing in front of us was the wife of the village elder.
Wait—if that's the case, then she's also the village elder, right?
"It's fine, in that case, we'll take our leave," said Hime in a very gentle tone while smiling at the woman.
"You're leaving already? But I was just about to invite you inside, I just made some cookies… wait here," said the woman, quickly heading into the house with a slight run.
Hime and I looked at each other and smiled. The reason was because we knew what was going to happen next.
"Yukito-san, don't hesitate, alright?" she said.
"I won't. In fact, I'm happy to get more food," I said.
Not long after, the woman returned, carrying the basket we had given her.
However, the contents were different from before. There was no bread or fruit, only cookies that looked very delicious and sweet.
She handed it to me, and I immediately took it back.
"I have plenty of baskets like these, so just take it with you," said the woman.
Hime and I simultaneously bowed slightly and thanked her.
"No, no, you were the ones who gave me something first, so now it's my turn," said the woman with a smile.
"Alright, we're leaving now," I said.
The woman nodded, meaning there was nothing left she could do to stop us.
"Take care on the road," she said.
We slowly walked away from the house, and once we were outside the yard area, the door had already been closed.
"Hime, don't you think these cookies are too many?" I asked.
"In my opinion, they're just right. Besides, if Yuu-chan and I get full, there's you and Luke to finish them," said Hime.
"Hmmm… that's true," I muttered.
——
We returned and were greeted by Yuu-chan, who approached us and asked why we brought the basket back.
"I see…" said Yuu-chan.
I handed the basket to Hime, then climbed up next to Luke to get ready to pull the wagon again.
"Yukito, what's that?" asked Luke.
"Snacks. The kind village elder gave them to us," I said.
Hime and Yuu-chan had already climbed into the room, and I heard the door being locked from inside, preventing anyone from entering directly.
Luke and I grabbed the ropes, and the wagon began to move again.
——
We left the village, with no one stopping us anymore. In fact, we even met kind villagers on the way.
Well, I really liked a village whose people were that kind and friendly.
"You two, here," said Hime from inside while handing us a plate of cookies through the window.
I immediately accepted it and placed it between Luke and me.
"These cookies?" asked Luke.
Before answering, I took one and ate it.
"Just eat it, it's really good," I said.
He also took one and finished it in two bites.
"You're right, the sweetness is just right," said Luke.
"Right?" I said.
If possible, I'd like to eat these cookies every day, because they're the perfect snack for moments like this.