Home Visit (7)

The next day.

Tap tap—light footsteps crossed the hallway, and someone knocked on the door. 

As I buried my head in the pillow and mumbled something close to annoyance without meaning, the bed rocked once, and someone moved beside me. The presence that had been at the door returned with two people. From the small footsteps, I guessed it was Vittorio.

"Isaac."

"Uh, Vittorio? Good morning."

I turned my head slightly to the side, still messy, and smiled at him. Vittorio gently pinched my cheek with his finger and brushed my tousled hair back from my face. He mentioned it was already close to lunchtime while looking back and forth between Leonardo and me.

"I went looking for you… but you weren't in your room. Did you sleep here last night?"

Technically, it was a question directed at Leonardo. After all, this was my bedroom.

"Well, that is…"

I recalled last night with a mumbled sound as my cheek pressed into the pillow.

***

After comforting Leonardo, the unavoidable time had come. No matter how tired and annoyed I felt, after going to the tunnels, I had to wash up and get some rest.

Washing up was nice. It meant I could wash away the fatigue of the day and end my routine on a pleasant note. But to do that, I had to boil water, carry and transfer it in buckets, pour it, and keep refilling the bathtub. A lot of hard labour awaited me. Noticing my reluctance, Leonardo offered to prepare my wash as well, since he needed to bathe too.

"Ah, then let's wash together since it'll be a hassle to prepare bathwater twice, if you're okay with it."

So, I ended up washing in the bathroom attached to Leonardo's room. The size of the bathroom was just barely enough to accommodate both of us. It was just big enough for us to fit, but the bathtub wasn't spacious, so we had to squeeze our bodies together quite a bit.

Steam billowed up, and I could see the shape of the vapour pushing against the breath escaping through the cracks. Our wet knees slid together in the tub. It was narrow and cramped, but the small discomfort was bearable thanks to the advantage of offsetting the annoyance.

I slightly opened my eyes, trying to avoid the steam sticking to my eyelids, and mumbled, "It feels refreshing…"

"It doesn't mean the water is cold; it means the fatigue is easing," he replied.

"You remember that? You've done your review well."

Leonardo brushed his wet hair back, a faint smile appearing on his face. It was reassuring to see him regain some spirit, especially since he had seemed somewhat weighed down since arriving in El Dante.

After finishing the bath, I felt pleasantly drowsy. As I headed back to my room, noticing Leonardo looking for the lamp I would need for the dark hallway, a cold, lonely draft swept down my spine. Startled, I turned around to see the tapestry hanging on the wall fluttering loudly as if possessed by a ghost.

"Is your room always like this?"

"Oh, that? It was less of a problem before. While exploring deeper into the tunnels, I had to break through a few blocked areas, and since then, the wind has been flowing more freely."

So, it's like a natural air conditioner?

Last time, Leonardo had spent the entire night in my room instead of his own, and now it made sense. No wonder he seemed to have trouble sleeping soundly here.

"Wouldn't it be better to switch rooms?"

"There isn't a bathroom in the spare room. Most of the beds are pretty worn out too…"

"Ah."

I looked at the creaking, ghostly tapestry fluttering in the draft, and at Leonardo, who was fumbling around for the lamp. I asked, "Then how about you sleep in my room for now?"

At my suggestion, Leonardo turned to look at me, tilting his head in confusion. I tilted my head as well. I hadn't given it much thought when I said it, but it didn't sound like a bad idea.

Even when we had to squeeze into the cramped cart while traveling, we never disturbed each other's sleep. Since then, we had often found ourselves sleeping side by side out of necessity, and I had grown accustomed to it.

Moreover, before we had washed up and chatted together, I had definitely sensed a certain awkwardness left behind by the original Leonardo.

In the darkness, with Leonardo's figure appearing somewhat blurred, I didn't feel it at all. My scenario's power charger only works when it makes contact. However, every time I tried to reach out for it, I flinched, startled by my own movements. This unease or wariness, whatever it was, certainly needed to be addressed. I had found a way to alleviate that discomfort, and now it was just a matter of executing it.

"What do you think?"

I proposed the idea, believing it to be a good one. Leonardo stopped searching for the lamp and approached me, saying, "Sounds good."

That was our reason for sharing the same bed.

***

[Scenario weight 33.5%]

Hmm. My choice was indeed not wrong.

Vittorio nodded in understanding and then leaned onto my pillow, pressing his cheek against it and sinking down.

"So you slept well. That's a relief…"

That phrase sounded as if I hadn't slept well at all, which puzzled me.

"Yeah? I usually don't notice even if someone carries me off as long as I'm asleep."

"…Has someone ever carried you off while you were asleep?"

"Ah. Well, um, maybe?"

Did Leonardo do that? It was just a saying I threw out there, but thinking back, it turned out to be a personal anecdote, which made me feel a bit silly.

My status as a guardian was slipping. Ever since the Count scolded me last night, I've been more aware of my responsibilities, so I cleared my throat and changed the subject.

"So, you came here looking for Leonardo since he wasn't in his room?"

I asked about the reason why Vittorio knocked on my door. He had just finished washing up and was gathering his soft, black hair, trying his best to tie it up, and when I asked, the boy nodded.

"I came to get my homework checked… I woke up, did some warm-up exercises, and ran around the lake. Three laps."

Vittorio held up three fingers. His number studies were progressing steadily. I wrapped my hand around the wiggling boy's fingers.

"Oh, so you really are getting serious about your training."

"Yeah. I ran the whole way and washed up well, but when you didn't come out, I thought something was wrong. Turns out you just slept in…"

At that, I glanced at Leonardo. Among the three of us, I usually ended my day the latest, so I would often mix in with Vittorio and Leonardo after they had already started their morning activities. But today, it sounded like even Leonardo was sluggish and stuck in bed.

"Right? Strange, isn't it? Did I catch it from you?"

I gave a sheepish smile as Leonardo, having changed his clothes, approached and sat on the bed. As the mattress dipped, Vittorio's body slid slightly toward him, and Leonardo lifted him up effortlessly, like picking up a kitten. After setting Vittorio upright, he extended his hand to help me sit up properly.

"I didn't want to wake you. Since coming here, it's been a while since I slept comfortably, so I ended up sleeping in a bit longer."

Well, judging by what I saw last night… it made sense.

"The little one must be hungry. Let's whip up something for breakfast and lunch."

Since we had the rare chance to sleep in and Vittorio had just come back from exercising, I thought it would be best to prepare something quick and easy. We quickly washed our faces and then headed to the kitchen, walking side by side.

As I placed the sausages I had bought at the night market last night onto the pan, the sizzling sound filled the kitchen. The sausages browned nicely, releasing grease that made the pan shine. After flipping the sausages to cook the other side, I pushed them to one side and cracked fresh eggs into the empty space. When the bottoms of the sausages and eggs were nicely cooked, I added a spoonful of water.

Vittorio tilted his head. "Why water?"

"Oh, adding a bit of water helps them cook more easily. It's a little trick."

It's one of my small habits. If I cover the pan with a lid, it steams the food while frying, trapping the sausage juices and cooking the eggs to a perfect soft-boiled state. Once the sausages and eggs were done, I transferred them to a plate and added bacon to the pan to render more fat. I then tossed in fresh tomatoes and mushrooms to lightly sauté.

After preparing one serving, Leonardo took over the pan and started making the remaining two servings, which turned out to be about six servings in total. In the meantime, I went to the storage room with Vittorio to get some buckwheat flour.

It seemed that since El Dante was in a mountainous area, buckwheat was quite popular. Mixing the buckwheat flour with two eggs, a cup of water, a generous amount of syrup, and a pinch of salt, Leonardo naturally took the bowl to mix the batter evenly.

The sound of the spatula barely made a noise as it struck the sides of the bowl, smoothly mixing the batter as if there were a blender. It was impressive how Leonardo was handling everything, given the limitations of kitchen tools in this medieval setting.

The buckwheat pancake batter had a soft, chocolate-like brown colour, quite different from those made with regular flour. When I poured the batter into the pan and bubbles began to form, I handed the spatula to Vittorio, who took it with a nervous expression and flipped the pancake cleanly in one swift motion.

"Wow."

"Nice!"

Leonardo and I clapped in admiration, causing Vittorio's ears to turn bright red. 

A little while later, each of our plates was stacked with sausages, bacon, fried eggs, roasted tomatoes, mushrooms, and buckwheat pancakes. After creating a pyramid of sausages on Leonardo's plate, our late breakfast began.

Juicy, plump sausages bursting with warmth, crispy bacon, fragrant sautéed mushrooms, bright tomatoes with condensed flesh and juices beneath their charred skins, and the nutty, subtly sweet buckwheat pancakes made for a delightful spread.

"It's delicious…"

"Eat up. If you want to keep up with the training Leonardo is putting you through, you'll need to eat well!"

"Hmm."

…Will he end up as mini-Leonardo eating the same amount of food?

Well, Vittorio is in his growth phase, so it's good for him to eat a lot. Then again, there are plenty of young adults who eat a lot even outside of their growth spurts, so it's not really a problem.

Lost in thought, I took a big bite of the sausage when suddenly, I heard the sound of the drawbridge being lowered outside.

'Déjà vu?'

It felt like a similar situation to the previous day with the chicken stew. I set down my utensils and headed outside. Just like the last morning, Ferdinand was standing there.

"Good morning, Isaac…"

He looked rather deflated.

'What's up with him?'