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Chapter 20: Fated Meeting
🕑 Added 2024-08-04 13:30:02 +0000 UTCThe journey to the village after leaving the city was rather uneventful.
Father was tapping his fingers rhythmically on his lap as he watched the scenery with a wide smile on his face. He seemed pretty happy that I entertained him, so I let him be.
But now, since I had no one to talk to, I was a bit bored.
I looked out the window and tried to enjoy the scenery, but…
Hmm? What’s this?
My unnaturally sharp eyes seemed to enhance every single bit of detail that I saw. The scenery before me, on the surface, was just an empty field with occasional trees passing by.
But, thanks to my eyes, I could truly appreciate the beauty of it. The birds that made their nests on the various branches, falling leaves being blown by the wind, flowers gently swaying along with grass. Insects hopping around here and there.
Even when the carriage moved at a quick pace, I could see and appreciate every detail available in front of me.
My eyes were mesmerized, a seemingly normal scenery looked like a masterpiece before me. I averted my gaze before I got completely sucked in.
This is getting confusing…
The road to the village would take a few more hours, so I decided to rest my mind for a bit and focus on my other self.
—
Dad and Sis were pretty much done with the fieldwork, but I felt awful not being able to help them.
Sitting around while watching others do the work ain’t my style. Besides, I was already lazing around in the carriage as Carine.
I headed inside the house, expecting to find Mom, and there she was, emerging from the kitchen’s storage holding a bunch of bottled spices.
Is she cooking something?
I wouldn’t mind learning how to cook. I was also a bit curious about how cooking in this world works.
I walked up to her and asked, “Mom, is there anything I can help with?”
“Ah, Feyt! Done with helping dad?”
“Well, no... I got tired and Sis told me to take it easy. I think I’m fine now, though.”
“I see, then how about helping Mommy with this?”
Mom headed back inside the storage room and walked back holding a large leather bag. “Here you go!” She gave it to me and I caught it with both of my hands, it almost brought me to the ground with how heavy it was.
“Grrggh!!” I struggled to stand upright while holding the sack.
“Can you be a dear and go to the market and deliver these potatoes to Rosfeld? He ordered this a few days ago and I’m supposed to deliver it, but, you know, cooking calls~!”
“R-right,” I said with a strained voice, my legs’ soreness from the fieldwork and Fray’s constant training returning.
“Oh, don’t forget to take his payment! Ten silver coins and three bronze coins, got it?”
“Uh… yeah, sure.”
…
With the bag of potatoes swung over my shoulder, I began my journey to the village’s market. The bag was… heavy. Really heavy. But I could do it, just had to take it slow.
“Take care, Feyt!” Mom waved from the front door. “I’ll make your favorite soup for lunch.”
I answered her with a forced smile and a small nod and I began my adventure.
The walk to the market shouldn’t take too long, but the bag of potatoes slowed my pace considerably.
Thankfully, I had my memories to rely on for road directions and find Rosfeld’s stall.
After a painfully long walk, I reached the market. I placed the bag of potatoes down to catch my breath for a moment.
“Oh, god… At least I’m here now…”
With my back dying, I slowly swung the potato sack over my shoulders again and began looking for Rosfeld’s stall.
A few minutes passed and I finally found him. A topless man with a beer belly and a dirty beard was happily yelling out his prices.
“Five bronze! Just five bronze and you’ll get a whole bag! Come one, take all!”
The man turned my head towards me and his face brightened up.
“Ah! You’re Rayn’s kid! So the potatoes are here at last! Come! Come! Bring it here!”
“O-Okay…”
I trudged to the back of his stall and dropped the sack in front of him.
“That’ll be… Oh, god….” I leaned on my knees for a bit, catching my breath.
Rosfeld looked at me, concerned. “Boy, you look like an undead.”
“Y-yeah, sorry… Just need to… catch my breath…”
The sores from yesterday are going full force on me right now! God, I need to lie down!
“Look, kid.” Rosfeld pulled out a small wooden chair from a box. “Sit down here for a sec, you’re not gonna make it back home with that short of breath.”
“T-thanks. I’ll rest here for a bit.”
Rosfeld grabbed an apple from his display and handed one to me. “Here, have an apple!”
I raised an eyebrow in confusion. Based solely on my memories, Rosfeld was a rather petty man.
“Is this for free?” I asked.
“Yeah, of course it’s for free! Go on! Eat up!”
If he ends up charging me for this later, I swear…
I normally wouldn’t take the chance with petty merchants like Rosfeld, whether in this life or the past, but I was thirsty and tired as hell, so took the plunge and bit into the apple.
So refreshing~!
“Thank you, really.”
“No problem! No problem! Just rest up for a bit, yeah? Hahaha!” Rosfeld let out a hearty laugh.
“‘Kay, I will.”
And so, I accompanied Rosfeld for a while as he organized the potatoes from the sack onto the display, handled customers left and right, and shouted his prices at the top of his lungs.
His loud voice and my sensitive ears combined to make the perfect headache milkshake for my brain. But, it was surprisingly tolerable, so I just continued to sit silently and waited for my energy to store back up.
As I was resting, a change of scenery brought my attention back to Carine.
—
I began to see mountains that weren’t visible from the high elevation of my bedroom back at the mansion.
I know that’s a weird observation, but I could seriously identify which mountain is which just by vision, and I could see quite a few just from my bedroom’s balcony.
Not that I knew the names, mind you, just that when I saw a mountain I saw before I’d go all like “Oh, it’s that mountain.”
These mountains that I was seeing weren’t visible even with my eyes back at the mansion, so that meant we were already pretty far away from the capital.
But as I continued staring at the mountains from the carriage’s window, a strange sense of familiarity seeped in.
It was as if I had seen these mountains before, quite frequently even, despite it being my first time seeing them.
Sort of like a déjà vu.
Then, another change of scenery. I began seeing stone walls and small outposts and towers in the far distance.
They too looked familiar.
What’s going on here?
“Carine,” Father spoke up, turning my head to him. “We’re nearing our destination, are you alright?”
I nodded. “Yes, Father.”
I turned my attention back outside at the village in the distance and began to see the houses and buildings of the village, along with the small open village gate.
Another sense of déjà vu kicked in.
“Father, is this really our first time here?”
“Hm? Why yes, this is both your and my first time visiting this village. Why do you ask?”
“...Nothing.”
Why? Why do I feel like I’ve been here before, yet haven’t?
It would still take several minutes before we even reached the gate, my eyes were just sniping it, so I sat back down and waited for the carriage to stop.
—
As I felt my energy returning to my legs, I decided it was time to head home before lunch. I hopped down from the chair and bowed to Rosfeld. “Thanks, Mister Rosfeld. I’m ready to go now.”
“Sure thing!” He flashed a sly grin and grabbed another apple from his stand, tossing it my way. I caught it mid-air. “Have a snack and be safe, alright?”
“T-thanks!” I said, taking a bite of the sweet apple.
This guy’s alright after all! Was my past memory of him flawed?
After waving goodbye to Rosfeld, I headed back home.
With a half-eaten apple in one hand, I navigated the bustling market street, but it was so crowded it felt like being packed into a sardine can.
The walk home should’ve been quick, but the throng of people had other plans.
As a 15-year-old surrounded by adults, just seeing where I was going was a challenge. I pushed through the sea of elbows and backs slowly but surely.
As I was pushing through the crowd, it hit me—something crucial was missing.
“Oh, don’t forget to take his payment! Ten silver coins and three bronze coins, got it?”
“Aaaaaaaaghh!! I forgot the payment!!”
I was so relaxed I forgot to charge him for the potatoes!!
“Dammit! So that’s his plan!”
That sneaky, clever bastard! I may be fifteen, but I wasn’t letting him get away with it!
I shouldn’t have trusted him in the first place! I’m an idiot!!
People like these reminded me of my old boss, and that just added to my rage fuel.
Fuming, I made my way back to Rosfeld’s stand.
—
“Carine?” Father’s voice was laced with concern. “Are you sure you’re alright? You look a bit bothered.”
“A-ah! No, just… lost in thought, that’s all.”
I was pissed off, sure, but I shouldn’t let it leak to Carine’s face.
Okay, calm down, calm down. Keep the rage inside Feyt, nothing more.
The carriage soon came to a halt.
A knight approached our window and asked, “Papers, please.”
Father pulled out his briefcase, fished out two sheets of paper, and handed them over. After a swift glance, the knight nodded and returned the documents. “Welcome to the village of Adolias, Lord Sareid.”
Adolias? Where have I heard that before?
“Unfortunately, we can’t let your carriage through,” the knight said apologetically. “There’s a massive sale at the market right now, and the road’s too congested.”
“Ah, that’s alright,” Father said, turning to me. “I guess we’ll head to the inn on foot. Are you okay with that, Carine?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” I nodded.
“Are you sure? The road might be muddy, and it could stain your shoes.”
Why would I care about that? It’s not like they can’t be cleaned.
“Like I said, Father. I’m fine.”
“Haha, I was just testing you. Forgive me.”
Seriously, quit joking around! I wanted to get things done quickly and focus on Feyt to deal with that scheming merchant!
Father stepped out of the carriage, and I followed. As soon as we entered the village, we were bombarded with noise.
The air was filled with shouting, and the chants sounded maddeningly familiar—something about apples going for only five bronze coins a batch?
“Is that commotion from the market?” Father asked the gate captain.
“Yes, it’s quite packed today,” the captain replied. “Unfortunately, the inn booked under your name is right inside the market. If you’d like, we can arrange for some guards to clear the road for you.”
Father shook his head. “No, that’s alright. We can handle it ourselves.”
Really? I’m already trying my damnest to push through a crowd as Feyt, now I’m supposed to do that as Carine too??
It wasn’t like I had much of a choice.
Father looked at me and asked, “Isn’t that right, Carine?”
I nodded reluctantly.
“Don’t worry, as long as I’m here, no one will dare bother you.” Father patted my head reassuringly.
“Right…”
We walked a short distance into the village, and the market soon came into view. It was as crowded as the gate captain had described.
But seeing the people inside the market, the buildings surrounding it… Once again, I felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
I was sure I hadn’t been here, yet everything seemed oddly familiar. It was an unsettling feeling, like I knew this place without knowing it at all.
Am I getting sick?
Father and I made our way through the crowd, gradually pushing our way through as people bargained for the best deals on apples and potatoes.
Some of them seemed to realize who we were and stepped aside to clear a path. Father thanked them, but there were still plenty of people too absorbed in the stalls to notice us.
As we continued our trek through the market, a familiar face caught my eye.
Rosfeld was manning a stall, energetically shouting about the best prices for potatoes.
…Wait, Rosfeld?
—
As Carine’s gaze was locked on Rosfeld, I focused on pushing through the crowd as Feyt. Suddenly, I bumped into someone who was roughly the same height as me in both bodies.
““Ow!”” Both of me and the person in front of me yelped in unison.
I looked up and saw... myself?
““Who the heck placed a mirror here?”” both me and the “reflection” said simultaneously.
We stared at each other, my mind racing as it slowly pieced things together.
““Wait, are you?”” I asked, pointing a finger at the person before me as they did the same.
As our fingers touched each other’s cheeks, the simultaneous sensation confirmed it.
Both of my bodies had met each other for the first time.
