Rubina looked around.
Yona, who was holding her hand, was chatting with a lady who looked similar to her but had a different complexion. However, Rubina had no interest in their conversation.
There were a lot of kids.
Both boys and girls.
There were plenty of kids in Rubina’s hometown too, but she had never seen kids that smiled so much before.
But most of those kids didn’t play with Rubina, so perhaps it was just her not knowing.
“Wow…”
Then, she suddenly found herself looking out the window.
A lush grassy field stretched across the gently rolling plain.
After seeing the usual grain fields of her hometown, this tall waving grass felt utterly foreign.
Just looking at it made her feel like she could smell the grass, and Rubina unconsciously sniffed.
The wind blew, causing the grass to ripple. Those rippling grasses filled the meadow, swaying rhythmically as they danced with the breeze.
The white buildings scattered around were large and quite grand. They looked much bigger than the house Rubina lived in back in her hometown.
Suddenly, she felt a hand patting her head, and when Rubina looked up, she saw Yona looking down at her.
She appeared to be angry at first glance.
That expression made Rubina hesitate to approach Yona for a while.
Although Rubina was still a child, to the villagers, a child was merely a burden.
She was just a little burden that should grow up quickly to help with village work.
Every adult who spoke like that wore the same expression as Yona.
There was no point in getting closer; only grumpy remarks awaited her, and sometimes even a slap would come her way.
But Yona was different.
It was just her expression that seemed harsh, and her tone was rough, too.
These past few days, Yona had been nice to Rubina, bathing her and putting her to bed.
“How do you like it? Do you like it here?”
Rubina turned her gaze back to the grassy meadow and nodded.
It wasn’t even about liking it.
Rubina knew full well that her time with Yona and Uncle Alex would end here.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
But she didn’t like it.
Rubina wanted to be close to Yona and Uncle Alex.
She wanted to follow them.
But she couldn’t say that.
At just ten years old, Rubina knew all too well that she was just a hindrance and a nuisance to them.
“I like it. I think it would be nice to stay here.”
No.
More than staying here, she wanted to be with her sister.
More than that, she wanted to be with Uncle Alex, Uncle Kai, and Uncle James.
Rubina swallowed those words, holding them tightly inside.
“Hold it back.”
“It just can’t happen.”
“I didn’t want to risk upsetting my sister by bringing it up.”
Rubina held it in tightly.
With her true feelings ready to burst out any moment, she stuffed everything in and locked it up.
“Yes, I think I can bring him in two days.”
“In two days? Alright, understood.”
Yona smiled brightly at the guiding nun.
The guiding nun, who was said to be a junior to Sister Aege, faced Yona with a smile as generous as her stature.
“Even as a healer, a priest is still a priest. Sister Aege really raised her students well.”
If only she didn’t add on such unnecessary titles in front of her.
Yona thought about that but didn’t wipe the smile off her face.
It wasn’t like she hadn’t heard it a hundred times before; just because she was a healer didn’t mean she wasn’t a priest.
“I’ll ensure everything is ready so that he can definitely join in two days.”
“Yes, then I’ll see you in two days.”
Yona bowed deeply as she thanked her.
In turn, Rubina, standing beside her, clueless, clasped her hands together at her belly and bowed deeply as well.
“Little lady, let’s meet in two days, okay?”
Rubina awkwardly smiled back at the guiding nun’s bright grin.
A bit of sweat formed on their clasped hands.
“Well then, I’ll be going.”
“Take care on your way.”
Yona briefly stared at the closed iron gate with her last words of farewell before turning around.
As a small warmth crept into her hand, Yona tightened her grip.
“…Are you hungry?”
“A little.”
Yona held Rubina’s hand as they walked.
Even though they’d just had breakfast at the inn, the road to the cathedral orphanage was quite long, taking them some time to arrive.
Thanks to that, the sun was already high in the sky, and the midday sun was blazing down while the early winter sea breeze gently stirred their hair.
‘…I hope you don’t become a healer, Rubina.’
Honestly, it was hard not to feel a hit to her pride.
The possibility of external manifestation of divine power versus the impossibility.
That’s really just about the extent of the difference, and healers can do all the things priests do anyway…
‘What a stupid thought.’
Yona shook her head, brushing away her stray thoughts.
Trying not to think about it wouldn’t make it happen, and more importantly, there was no guarantee she’d awaken divine power.
Worrying about being a healer or a priest was ridiculous already.
The city was lively at noon.
There was no creasing on the faces of the people, and their voices boomed, creating a bustling atmosphere.
Moreover, carts loaded with fish and seafood roamed around, while water birds flew overhead, chirping and flitting about.
The city’s color was a dull gray.
The sound of the blue sea could be heard from anywhere in the city, and the buildings touching the sea were built with gray-painted bricks, firmly holding their ground.
Yona and Rubina walked hand in hand through the bustling streets filled with people.
“What should we eat?” Yona looked around.
No matter where she looked, all she could see were fish restaurants.
“…Rubina, have you ever eaten fish?”
“Fish?”
“Yeah.”
Yona glanced up at Rubina, whose dark eyes were rolling around as if she had no clue what fish was. So, Yona decided to elaborate.
“It’s something that lives in the water.”
“Ah… No, I’ve never had it.”
Well, that rules out fish dishes then. Yona hadn’t eaten fish since coming to this world either, but she had enjoyed it plenty back in her original world.
Cooking skills had advanced to the point where they could get rid of the fishy smell, but people’s preferences for fish dishes still varied. And considering this world’s cooking, she didn’t want to hope for any odor-free fish dishes.
So, if they served a dish with fish that she had never tried before…
‘That would surely be a waste of money.’
Holding Rubina’s hand, Yona wandered around the streets some more.
After walking for a while, they unexpectedly found themselves in a plaza.
Looking around now, it seemed the city itself was circular.
There was a plaza with a fountain in the center, and buildings were arranged in a large circle around it.
Moreover, the plaza was so vast that you had to squint to see the buildings on the opposite side.
In the plaza, carts that looked like street vendors were busy setting up shop, all in a flurry.
Among them, there was one cart that had already started selling; it had a small grill set up. A large chunk of meat was hanging over the grill, and the owner was diligently turning it by hand.
‘Would that be okay?’
The dripping greasy chunk of meat looked pretty well cooked, the surface turning a nice brown.
No matter how she looked at it, she didn’t think that was fish, so Yona, still holding Rubina’s hand, approached the cart.
“What kind of meat is this?”
“Welcome! This is pork!”
Yona, observing the young man who answered cheerfully, frowned internally.
Pork, huh.
That didn’t seem right.
Pork wouldn’t be cheap enough to sell at a street vendor like this.
Well, a wild boar is still a pig, right?
Yona decided to think that way.
“Two servings, please.”
As soon as Yona placed her order, the owner picked up two buns from the display case and skillfully sliced them open with a dull knife.
Then, he slathered a mysterious red sauce all over the opened buns and generously sprinkled a white powder on top.
She generously sprinkled some colored powder.
Then, with her mouth wide open, she left the bread sitting there and started thinly slicing the meat cooking over the grill with a knife.
Very thin pieces of meat flowed down like sheets of paper. After slicing for a while, she began to stuff the meat between the bread.
The sight was so familiar that Yona couldn’t help but think, without realizing it, that she should’ve just bought something else instead.
It was annoying to constantly eat that meat sandwich, but she didn’t expect to end up eating it here as well.
“Two fairy tales, please!”
And they’re pricey, too.
The long breakwater looked pretty good.
It wasn’t a solid stone breakwater, but although it was wooden, it was firmly secured with big rocks on top, so at least it looked decent.
Tourists seemed to come quite a bit, as there were wooden benches on the breakwater. Yona and Rubina sat side by side on one of those benches and each picked up a sandwich.
Rubina was staring blankly at the sea while holding her sandwich in one hand.
“That’s the sea, huh…”
Thinking about it, Yona realized she had never brought Rubina to the sea before.
Having been born and raised by the seaside, Yona didn’t find the sea particularly fascinating. Of course, seeing a sea with so few ships was a first, but the sea itself was nothing special. For Rubina, however, it must be quite a sight.
Rubina was so amazed by the sea that she didn’t even think about eating the sandwich she held, just staring wide-eyed at the water.
“Isn’t it amazing?”
“There’s just so much water, it’s incredible…”
“It’s your first time seeing the sea, isn’t it?”
“I think it’s bigger than our village’s ten reservoirs…”
Ten, huh? It’s hard to imagine how big that tiny village’s reservoir could be.
Rubina was probably just saying the highest number she could think of.
No need to point that out, so Yona just took a bite of her sandwich and chewed.
“And it has this weird smell…”
“That’s called fishy smell.”
“Isn’t it the smell of the sea?”
“Um… yeah, sea smell. Saying it’s the smell of the sea is better.”
“The smell of the sea…”
Finally remembering, Rubina bit into her sandwich.
After chewing the sandwich a few times and swallowing, Rubina turned to Yona with a bright smile.
“I think the smell of the sea is nice! Every time I smell it, I will remember our meals together here, sister!”
She’d probably think about it all the time.
Yona muttered to herself.
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