Volume 1 - CH 8

Episode 8: Seram is my wife?

"Jin-dono, I'm going for a short walk."

"Alone?"

"Yes, I'm not familiar with the surrounding area. I want to familiarize myself with the area as soon as possible."

I am worried about Seram walking alone, but this is the countryside, not a big city like Tokyo.

She wouldn't get lost walking alone.

"Just be back before work."

"Okay!　Then I'll be back soon!"

After receiving my permission, Seram walked out with her sword at her waist.

Does she always carry her sword, even when she's just walking?

Seram, the knight from another world, wakes up early.

She wakes up very early, even earlier than me as a farmer. Well, that's why she goes to bed as early as a child.

I slowly eat my breakfast alone.

After finishing my meal, I wash the dishes, read the morning newspaper, and turn on the TV to check the weather forecast.

This is how I lazily spend my time until it's time for work, but Seram, who went for a walk, has not returned.

"...... How far is that girl going for a walk?"

I already told her to come back before work...

I had taught Seram about clocks and time in this world, though I hadn't given her a watch. She proudly declared that she could tell the time roughly.

I wondered if she had gotten lost.

"It can't be helped. I'll have to look for her."

I got worried and decided to look for her.

"Jin-chan!"

A voice called out as I was about to get on my light truck in the back of the house.

I turn around and see a gentle-looking old lady standing in front of the house.

"Good morning, Minori-san."

"Good morning, Jin-chan."

This old lady is Minori Sekiya. She is a farmer who lives next door to me.

Although she lives next door, it's about 100 meters away. This place is in the countryside, after all.

She gets mad if I don't call her by her name, by the way.

"I'm old enough, so why don't you stop calling me Jin-chan?"

"No matter how old you are, Jin-chan will still be Jin-chan."

"Is that so?"

Minori-san says with a smile on her face.

Minori-san has known me since I was a baby, and she doesn't intend to change how she calls me.

Getting her to correct the way she calls me still seems difficult.

"More importantly, what can I do for you?"

"Jin-chan's wife, Seram-chan. She's helping me at my house, so I came to tell you that."

"Oh, she's helping out at Minori-san's place .... No wonder she hasn't been coming home---. Huh, my wife?"

I think I just heard a word I couldn't ignore.

When I questioned her with a serious face, Misato-san grinned.

"Jin-chan can't be underestimated. When did you get such a beautiful wife?"

"No, Seram is not my wife."

Seram is a live-in employee at my house. She is not my wife.

"You don't have to hide it. Seram-chan said so, too."

"Eeh?"

I thought that Misato-san was misunderstanding things, but it seems that Seram said so.

"What the hell is going on? I don't understand."

"Can I go check on her?"

"Yes, of course."

I decided to go with Minori-san to see the situation.

After walking about 100 meters down the street, we arrived at a bigger and older house than mine.

Seram is on the roof of the house, tapping on the tiles with a rubber hammer.

"Hey!"

"Oh, Jin-dono. I'm sorry. I'm repairing the roof of Minori-dono's house."

"I was going to ask Jin-chan to help me, but Seram-chan said she would help me, so I left it to her."

I see. I understand why Seram ended up helping out here.

Seram is a knight with a strong sense of justice. I guess she couldn't leave elderly people in trouble alone.

It is certainly difficult work for Sekiya and his wife, who are an elderly couple.

The Sekiya's house has old-style tile roofing, using clay tiles placed on top without nails.

That is why the tiles sometimes shift and fall off over time.

"But seriously, how are you able to repair tile roofs?"

The way Seram shifted the roof tiles with a rubber hammer was quite impressive.

I don't think Seram's world has the same tiled roofs as the Japanese houses.

"Because Shigeru-dono taught me how to do it!"

"Well, I was surprised that someone so young and beautiful could be skillful."

Shigeru-san, Minori-san's husband, is laughing happily under the roof.

"I was also trained as a military engineer. I'm good at this kind of work."

Seram says proudly while puffing out her chest.

It seems that the female knight who has experienced real battles is also skilled in civil engineering work.

She has unnecessarily high specs.

"Military Engineer?"

"No, it was nothing."

Seeing Minori-san and Shigeru-san tilting their heads together, Seram rushes back to work.

I'm the only one who knows that Seram is from another world, so I understand they didn't get it.

I climb up the ladder and approach Seram.

"Hey, Seram. Minori-san told me you're my wife, so what does that mean?"

The moment I asked her directly, Seram hit the roof tile hard.

Perhaps because she was flustered, she hit it too hard, and I felt the tile shift immediately.

I wonder if she's okay?

"Oh, about, about that, it just sort of happens....."

"How in the world did you end up as my wife?"

"I had a hard time explaining my relationship with Jin-dono. Minori-san asked me if I was your wife, and I ended up nodding my head."

"But even if you had difficulty explaining it, you can't just become my wife."

"Then how should I have answered? Minori-dono and Shigeru-dono have known Jin-dono since you were a child, right? I can't make up stories on my own!"

"Ugh, if you put it that way..."

She was a knight from another world, and since she had nowhere else to go, she came to live and work at my place. There was no way she could reveal that to anyone. Even if she did, I doubt they would believe her.

Without knowledge of my past and social circle, she couldn't make up any excuse for her presence here.

No wonder she ended up nodding her head when Minori-san questioned her.

"Even if I told them you're my employee now, they probably wouldn't believe me."

It's clear from how the Sekiya couple grins at us that they are amused.

They completely know my family background, and I can't claim her as a distant relative.

"....... Jin-dono, do you hate it so much that people think I'm your wife?"

"No, it's not about whether I like it or not. More importantly, how do you feel about it? People are going to think you're my wife."

"I understand it is better not to let people know I am from another world. But I can't think of a good excuse for living in Jin-dono's house."

"Well, that's also true."

"I think that if people know that I'm Jin-dono's wife, they will accept me and not make trouble for Jin-dono."

When she puts it that way, it doesn't sound like a bad idea.

Rural areas are sensitive to newcomers from the outside, for better or worse.

It would be easier for the locals to accept a newcomer by simply telling her she is my wife rather than making a lame excuse and having people think of her as a suspicious foreigner.

"I see."

Apparently, Seram didn't make such a claim without thinking it through.

Although my big concern was whether or not Seram would be uncomfortable with being treated as my wife, it seemed that she had no problem with it.

"However, being Jin-dono's wife is just a cover!　No, no, no physical relationship of any kind!"

"Of course not!　No one is going to touch you!"

"Umm, no problem then. I will trust your reason and conscience."

Using the story of Seram being my wife was just a way to blend in. Still, it would be immoral to take advantage of it and force her into a relationship with me. It's not something a man should do.

Seemingly understanding my thoughts, Seram resumed working without saying anything more.

●

"Okay, it should be fine."

After fixing the tiles with plaster to prevent them from slipping down, the temporary fix for the roof tiles was complete.

"Sigeru-dono, it's done!"

"Oh, thank you!　Thank you very much!"

"But this is just a temporary fix, right?　It would be better to have it repaired by a professional."

"I'll think about it."

Shigeru-san smiles and replies casually.

He probably thinks he can ask us to do it again next time.

He has said this every year but never called in a professional contractor.

"I've prepared cold green tea and snacks for you two."

As we put away the tools, Minori-san arrived on the terrace with a tray, perhaps to thank us for the repair work. Feeling thirsty, I didn't hesitate to accept the drink she offered.

After thoroughly washing my hands, I sat on the terrace with Seram.

"What kind of food is this?"

"This is Yokan. It is made by grinding azuki beans, adding sugar and agar, steaming and hardening."

"I see."

After hearing Shigeru's explanation, Seram nodded in admiration.

Maybe she doesn't understand it because she doesn't know about azuki beans.

"Then, Itadakimasu."

"Please help yourself.

She cut a small piece of yokan using a spoon and brought it to her mouth.

The sweetness of the azuki beans came in all at once.

"This is delicious!"

"Because it's from pretty good beans."

When I express my surprise, Minori-san replies as she laughs.

No wonder it tastes so good.

I thought yokan would be softer, like jelly, and have a lighter flavor, but the taste was more profound than I had imagined.

Soft yokan is not bad, but I prefer it to be as firm as this.

I took a bite and drank a cup of cold green tea, which eased the sweetness.

The yokan's sweetness and the green tea's coolness seemed to soothe my sweaty body after a hard day's work.

While I was eating the yokan, I noticed that Seram was quiet.

When I looked at her, I saw that her expression was relaxed.

"Jin-dono..."

"What?"

"This yokan is very delicious."

"Oh, really?"

"The sweets I used to eat in my hometown were made with a lot of sugar, and one bite was enough to satisfy me. However, I can eat as much as I want of this yokan with its exquisite sweetness and flavor."

It's not so much the yokan but the sweet taste of the world here.

Come to think of it, I remember that the sweets here used to be made of hardened sugar.

If you're used to eating sweets that satisfy you after just one bite, you may think the sweets here are the best.

"Ara-ara, I am very happy when you like it so much!　Would you like another one?"

"Is that okay, Minori-dono?"

"I have some mizu-manju. Would you like some?"

"I don't know what that is, but I want to try it!"

Minori-san and Shigeru-san bring Japanese sweets one after another.

Seram's pure reaction is amusing, so it feels like they're spoiling baiting her.

"By the way, Jin-chan found a good wife too."

"That's true. I can't believe she's so honest and nice, not like most of the young people these days."

Minori-san and Shigeru-san's words almost made me spurt out my green tea.

Although it was just a cover story explaining why we lived together, I was surprised when they said I found a good wife.

From now on, I must behave that way so that Seram can fit in here.

"Yeah, well. She's too good a wife for me."

Seram, who was eating yokan, blushed when I said this.

Hey, don't be embarrassed. You were the one who said it's the most natural cover story.

"Where did you find such a pretty girl?"

"Come on, tell us the story."

Seeing such an honest reaction from Seram, Shigeru-san, and Minori-san asked me about it.

Looking at their expressions, it is obvious that they are enjoying this.

If I made Seram my wife, she could fit in here while hiding that she is from another world.

But when I think about how people around me continue to treat me like this, I can't help but regret that we couldn't come up with a better idea.