Chapter 12 – Vienna (4)

The road to our destination was beautiful, but this place was on a different level.

After breaking through the trees and bushes Vienna pointed out, a small pond appeared.

Fireflies circled over the pond like moving stars in the blue night sky, looking at that mesmerizing scenery only admiration came out of my mouth.

“Wow… It’s really beautiful.”

“… I know.”

It was unfamiliar for me to see Vienna admitting it honestly.

She undid her arms, which had been wrapped around me for a while, and opened her basket.

It was a bit chilly because her arms, which were attached to my bare skin, had fallen off.

Inside the basket was a mat.

Vienna spread the mat on the floor. But she didn’t stop there.

Seeing how thoroughly her preparations were, I was a little surprised, She rummaged through her basket and even pulled out a candle.

“Did you even bring a candle?”

“It’s night, so of course, I did.”

She was the exact opposite of me who had come with only a bare body.

“But how would you light the fire?”

“Ah.”

Vienna, who was placing the candle, hardened. 

'This idiot doesn’t even have the most basic idea.' I thought, seeing her like that 

Lily noona always lit a fire with magic when we were at the party, so she must be too used to it.

At this point, she was ashamed and said, ‘That’s because I just brought it?!’

'But do we really need a candle?' I asked myself.

The moonlight was so bright that everything could be seen.

She, who had been fidgeting for a while, raised her head and looked at me.

Her eyes seemed to have moistened slightly.

“… How could this be..? Starchis…”

“… What?”

“… Light this on fire…”

I was embarrassed by this all of a sudden.

She handed me a candle held in her fern-like hand.

I was curious as to why she was doing this.

Was this even one of her dreams?

Looking at her being emotional about something like this, I was dumbfounded and laughed.

But Vienna did not back down and asked me again.

“...ah ...Startchis...  Please...”

“How can I light a fire here? I have no equipment.”

“… I don’t know… Do what you do…”

“Can’t we just do without it?”

“…”

Vienna's expression suddenly became sullen.

Again, my heart was about to weaken.

I thought it wouldn't be easy if she just got angry. But if she showed this kind of side, it was not easy and nice to refuse her.

'How much more will you fry me?'

I was not sure, but this might be her long-cherished wish. So I scratched my head and looked around.

I took the candle from her hand.

Vienna watched what I was doing with a brightened expression.

I picked up wood chips, thick twigs, and dried grass from the surroundings.

I sat on my butt outside on the mat and gathered the ingredients. Then I started scratching the twig against the wood block.

'You can’t help it. You have to be like a caveman like this.' I told myself sarcastically.

“Starchis…?”

“If you want me to do it. Just wait and see.”

- Swish... swish...

I moved my arms back and forth quickly. It was the first time since I played it as a joke when I was young. At that time, I couldn’t light a fire after all. Will it be different now?

After a long time...

-Tick

Just as the smoke was about to rise, I accidentally push it and the branches came out in pieces.

The rising smoke disappeared like a lie.

“Vienna, this won’t work…”

Wiping the sweat, I looked back at Vienna. She, too, was squatting next to me, hugging her knees. She got sullen again as if my words were expected.

Seeing that expression, I couldn’t bear to finish my words. She was like a younger sister with a big age gap.

'Aa… Why are you doing this to me?'

I closed my eyes and once again started rubbing the wood.

- Swipe... swipe...

.

.

.

I rubbed the wood for a while again. Quite a bit of time seemed to have passed.

At this point, I didn't know if I came here to rest or to light a fire.

'Now that I think about it, wouldn’t it have been quicker to go to the orphanage and get the equipment?'

Ignoring the burning pain in my arms, I continued rubbing it.

- Swish

It had been a long time since the smoke rose this time.

I got used to this and moved consistently without making the same mistake as before. But beyond that nothing happened.

Vienna wiped away my flowing sweat. 

I was thinking of quitting but Vienna's expression and actions all stopped me.

'If the sweat drops, it will to kill the smoke by mistake.'

“… Starchis, cheer up.”

Pretty words come out of her mouth for the first time in a long while.

'Just how much she wanted to light a candle.'

'Just stick with me, please…'

And at that moment, a bright fire was born.

“Uh..!”

Vienna was started.

I was also surprised and threw tree branches and picked up pieces and shook them gently to light the fire. As the fire grew a little more, the wind blew weakly.

Next to me, Vienna waited with bated breath.

With Anger, in an instant, a fire broke out.

“It’s okay… It’s okay!! Look at this!”

“Wow..!!”

The sense of achievement was greater than I expected.

I put down the piece of wood that was on fire and watched it rise.

Once ignited, it bloomed surprisingly fast and large.

“Right!! Bloom more!!”

'Primitive people must have tasted this sense of accomplishment, right?'

Thinking of them, I danced a little beside Vienna that they would have done.

“Vienna..! Look at this!!”

I shook my head and danced around the fire. I hoped Vienna will come soon and dance.

But even after waiting for a long time, it seemed that I was the only one dancing.

I turned and looked at Vienna.

She was looking at me with her mouth slightly open.

“.. Vienna?”

I thought she was delighted too.

I felt ashamed for nothing at her eyes, that stared at me with no reaction. The hand I was waving also scratched my head, excited legs slowly loosened up.

I stopped dancing.

“Ah… Am I a little too excited?”

“Uh..? Uh. Ah… It doesn’t matter if you dance a little longer…”

She acted like a person who suddenly woke up.

“That… No. Let’s just light a candle.”

I picked up the candle I had put down on the floor and put it on my own small fire.

“…You’re so cute…”

I heard Vienna say something behind me.

“Uh? What did you just say?”

“Uh? Oh, oh, I did not say anything.”

There were 5 candles in total. She took out the remaining candles from the basket one by one. It was lit and placed on a mat.

After completing everything, it looked like she was about to memorize a spell. But as long as she didn't have such silly thoughts, it was really impressive.

Okay. It was definitely pretty.

Vienna must have imagined this. I thought I could understand why she wanted to light the candles so much.

Vienna sat down on the mat with a smile on her face.

She looked very satisfied.

“Ugh… Thank you.”

Pushing her hat down, she thanked him.

“Sit down quickly too, Starchis.”

I was pleased with her thanks and sat down as she said on the mat, slightly away from her.

I sat down and twisted my weary arm a little.

After a long intense workout, I felt relatively calm now. Vienna crept up to me and crosses her arms with mine again.

“It’s cold.” She said briefly.

Still, she massaged my arms little by little.

'I guess she knows it was hard.'

“The atmosphere is good.”

She also shared her personal impressions. Something she would never normally do. It had been a long time since she looked so happy.

With candles that brightened the surroundings and a small pond of clear water with Fireflies flying over it, the moonlight shone on me and Vienna.

Stars hung in the sky were innumerable, and the cool wind...

It seemed that my tired body felt a little lighter.

It would be nice to see such beautiful scenery with a lover.

“I must come here later with my future lover. Right Vienna?”

Vienna hardened at my words. Pausing for a moment, she spoke again.

“…You want to do that too. Are you not satisfied with what you have seen once…?”

“… Oh okay. I get it.”

She put on such a satisfied expression earlier, there was no law that my words were not easy to affirm.

Was it really that hard to just say ‘yes’?

“Ah!”

She suddenly called out. Then she untied the arms and rummaged through her basket again.

I felt ominous.

“Did you have a hard time lighting the fire…? I’ve made this for you.”

'Haha. The time has finally come.'

She handed me a snack.

To think I had to work hard to light a fire and even eat this. It was like giving a bottle of poison.

“Um… What is this?”

It looked like bread. Other than that, I didn't know anything.

“It’s a sandwich. There are not many ingredients so…”

“Oh, is it a sandwich?”

When I asked again, Vienna got angry.

“Ah, because it was in the basket, so it’s out of shape.”

If I looked closely at the bread she gave me, I could see that there were ingredients in between.

'Eggs… What is this? Sweet potatoes.'

The bread was hard which children ate earlier.

As she said, it was modest.

Still, if she thought of sharing this food with children, it would look like a delicacy to them.

“That… Thanks, Vienna.”

“Huh.”

I said it bluntly, but she looked at me with her fidgety face.

'She must be curious about my reaction.'

I had already eaten Vienna's food a few times before. But I didn't have any good memories.

Reluctantly, I looked at the sandwich the way Vienna looked at me.

I opened my mouth and turned around, wondering where to start.

It took a long time to open and close my mouth and muster up the courage. But in the end, I took a small bite.

The sour taste rose sharply.

There was nothing else to come up.

It was not that the food wasn't tasty, it wasn't even food.

'Oh, Are you kidding me?' I stopped chewing and looked at Vienna.

I looked at her with a serious smile on my face, saying ‘If you’re joking, tell me now’.

But instead of following me and laughing, Vienna's expression suddenly brightened.

She looked very happy.

“Eh... Is it delicious?”

'Did she understand my smile that way?'

But if that was the case, that meant she was not kidding.

Although this was tasteless, it was made with care.

I used my wits to finish chewing the food in my mouth.

“Oh well. Would you just eat some too?”

As for Vienna, she only ate the food she made.

She didn't notice there was a problem.

To let her know that her food was not good...

‘You try it too.’ I would give it back, but she would just eat it well.

'So if I divide it like this and reduce my share, I can relieve the pain.'

“Nope. You haven’t eaten dinner, so eat them all.”

But the rope of salvation did not come down.

I looked at the remaining sandwich in her hand. They felt bigger than before.

“Uh… Are they more… Delicious than what Lily made?”

Vienna asked cautiously.

'Will it ever taste better than the one Lily noona makes?'

'If I look at it, she is very good at making absurd fights.'

But still, I couldn't say that.

The peaceful atmosphere that came from sitting in front of the beautiful scenery now. I didn't want it to be cold.

“Hmm… Both are delicious. Hey, Look over there!”

I just stretched my hand out in front of me. Vienna's gaze followed. I called whatever I saw.

“Wow, those fireflies are really pretty.”

I tried my best to change the topic of the conversation.

'Why are you trying to compete with Lily noona's food?'

I took a big bite this time.

It would be better to get rid of this quickly and clean it up.

*****

Time had passed.

The candles had all melted and disappeared, but it was still dark.

As I got used to the beauty of the pond, my drowsiness returned.

My stomach was full, and the topic of conversation was off, making it harder not to fall asleep.

It had been quite a while since I kept my silence.

'Wouldn’t Vienna be sleepy at this point?'

I saw her holding my arm inside, saying it was cold.

Her hat was also off to the side of her, so her face was clearly visible.

She was staring blankly at the pond.

“That… Vienna.”

She looked up at me without answering.

“Would you like to go back in now…? There’s nothing more to talk about, I’m tired and… Ah. It’s cold too.”

“Cold..?”

She didn't answer the other parts, but she answered only the last word.

She unfolded her arm and moved her body to fall back into my arms.

“I was cold too, but it’s fine.”

'No, isn’t it right to go in?'

'Why do we two have to be cold here?'

'But it’s a little warm because she’s like this.'

“Can’t we just… Go inside?”

“No.”

“Why? There’s nothing to talk about right now, you’re bored too.”

“I am not bored.”

She was sitting in my arms, so I couldn't see her expression.

I didn’t know what she was thinking when she said this.

“I’m really tired right now… “

“Then will you give me another wish ticket if we going in?”

“…Uh?”

“You didn’t stay up all night with me when we went in. You didn’t make my wish come true.”

My thoughts just stopped at her words.

'Do I have to follow this again?'

My action just stopped. 

'That’s never going to happen.'

“No. Okay, let’s stay up all night.”

.

.

.

Even after that, I was able to watch the sunrise with her quietly without a word from her.

My back hurt from enduring the Vienne who kept leaning on me.

Back at the orphanage, the children were waking up. From the moment the children fell asleep to the moment they woke up, I was with Vienna.

My eyes were hurting more than anything else. It also came with a headache.

As soon as the children woke up, they clung to my body, saying let’s play.

In my dizzy head, my older brother’s advice…

'Just say you have a girlfriend.'

...hovered more and more clearly.

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