I was feeling pretty reluctant about this reunion and dragged my feet a bit, but after being persuaded by Father and Nana-san, I reluctantly made my way to the living room.
And there, were Ralina-chan and Ralina-mama.
「Hello」
「Hey there, Alec-chan. It’s been a while… well, not really」
「…………」
Ralina-mama’s casual remark pierced straight into my chest.
Well… yeah.
It was supposed to be our first meeting in two years, so it should have felt like a long-awaited reunion…
「Well, um… I ended up coming back in just two days…」
「I was surprised when I heard the rumors. I thought there was no way that could be true」
「Yeah, well… yeah…」
I was surprised too. I never imagined things would turn out like this.
Wait, rumors? This is already being talked about…?
Honestly, word travels way too fast among elves…
「So, um… what brings you here today? Actually, more importantly… what’s going on with Ralina-chan?」
「Muu! Muu!」
As you can tell from that voice, Ralina-chan was once again tightly wrapped up in rope, with a gag in her mouth.
「…Wait, don’t tell me she’s been like this the whole time?」
Has she been tied up like this since the farewell party…?
To be fair, when I saw her just now, part of me felt a bit relieved thinking, 『Ah, she hasn’t been set loose yet.』. Still, being tied up this whole time would be way too harsh…
「No, no, that’s not it. Sure, you came back quickly, Alec-chan, but she hasn’t been like this the whole time you were gone」
「…………」
Another casual remark that ends up hurting me…
「To begin with, Ralina is under house arrest right now, right?」
「Muu…」
「But on the day you left, I made a special exception and brought her outside」
「Muu muu」
「Then she started saying things like, 『Since today is the special day onii-chan came back from his journey, I should be allowed to go out today too』…」
「Muu! Muu!」
I see, so that’s how that exchange went…
That aside, Ralina-chan is being really persistent.
Even though she can only say 「Muu」, she’s making her point very strongly with just that.
「I told her, 『You barely even went on a journey, so that’s not allowed, right?』 but she started acting up…」
Another offhand comment that hurts me—no, wait, isn’t that just straight-up insulting? Saying 『You barely even went on a journey』 is just an insult, right?
「In the end, I gave in, so I had no choice but to bring her here today」
「Um, then why is she tied up like this…?」
「She was tied up when you left, so it only makes sense she’d be tied up when you came back, right?」
「I see…」
I don’t really get it… It kind of makes sense, but also doesn’t…
For now, I guess it’s not because she’s planning to do something troublesome to me again? Or maybe she’s no longer planning anything? If that’s the case, that would be a relief…
「Muu」
「Hm?」
「Muu muu」
「Yeah, um… Lisaberte-san, what is Ralina-chan saying?」
「No idea」
「Seriously…」
She doesn’t know…
I thought maybe, like how I usually translate for Lemon-chan the giant rat, Ralina-mama might be able to interpret Ralina-chan, but apparently not.
「She’s probably saying something like 『I want you to keep your promise』」
「A promise…?」
「…………」
「Ah, no, yeah. I remember?」
As I tried to figure out what promise she meant, Ralina-chan suddenly went completely expressionless like a noh mask. Honestly, that’s scarier than her just going 「Muu muu」 in protest…
Anyway, what promise? What is she talking about?
Did I make any promises before leaving?
Hmm… The only promises that come to mind are Diana-chan saying 「Make sure you come back in two years」, and Laudette-san saying 「Please come back as soon as you can」…
But… that’s probably not it. If I said that now, Ralina-chan would probably snap.
That said… I ended up keeping my promise to Laudette-san surprisingly well…
「…………」
「Ah, yeah. That promise, right? I remember, I remember」
While I was ignoring Ralina-chan and thinking about my promises with Diana-chan and Laudette-san, I suddenly felt an intense pressure coming from Ralina-chan.
Meanwhile, beside her, Ralina-mama was watching me with a faint grin.
It looks like she’s testing whether I actually remember the promise. She doesn’t seem to have any intention of helping me out…
…Hm? Helping out? Ah, right. The boat.
「You mean the promise about going on a boat together?」
「Muu」
Looks like I got it right. The pressure disappeared, and her noh-mask expression relaxed. That’s a relief.
「I see. So that’s what Ralina is saying, but Alec-chan, did you really make that kind of promise?」
「Yeah, well…」
I did promise Ralina-chan that we’d go on a boat together after I got back from my journey.
…Right, then should we go?
…Well, I didn’t exactly go on much of a 『journey』, but a promise is a promise.
Honestly, I don’t really feel like going outside right now, and going on a boat with Ralina-chan at this timing feels a bit dangerous somehow… but still, a promise is a promise.
The dock in the dungeon’s lake area is already complete, and there are a few finished small boats too. Before we set off again, I’ll go with Ralina-chan.
「Alright then, Ralina-chan, when should we go?」
「Muu」
That doesn’t help…
「Um…」
「I don’t know」
I looked at Ralina-mama for help, but as expected, she didn’t know either. What am I supposed to do?
「Actually, it doesn’t seem like it’s for now」
「Huh? Not now?」
「Apparently, the promise was to go on the boat in summer」
「Summer?」
「Yeah, summer」
…………Summer?
next chapter: Woodworking Series No. 66: Balance Ball
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