My Wife Waited in the Wheat Fields

Another week or so had passed since the supply officers’ visit.

And, the weekly papers had brought news of new developments in the Western Front.

The 7th Legion, led by Ignition Ygrett, had taken the capital of Palvan in just three days, just as Elric had predicted.

Well, it would have been more accurate to say that she had burned it to the ground.

Her magic had roasted and reduced the centuries-old city to ashes.

Now, only seven kingdoms and one empire remained fighting on the frontlines, making the situation even more urgent, but there was one place where such affairs were considered a distant thought.

It was Wiven.

“It’s chilly today.”

In contrast to the urgent developments in the Western region, Wiven had a leisurely air about it.

There was not a single major event to speak of, save for the occasional bustle of outside merchants carrying designated trade goods to the area.

With the arrival of winter, the residents of the territory were busy gathering firewood and maintaining various machinery that had been neglected over the summer.

Portman’s mansion was in a leisurely time as they only had to solve major problems that the residents themselves could not solve.

Elric was no exception and enjoyed the tranquil times.

“It seems like the fireplace is running low on firewood. Should I bring more?”

“Well, if it wouldn’t be an inconvenience, would it be alright to keep it as it is? It’s difficult to concentrate on work when it’s too warm.”

In the Portman’s study:

Elric had asked as the room had been filled with a chill that made it necessary to wear a coat indoors, but Tyria had just shaken her head and replied in the above manner.

She had chalked it up to an issue of concentration, but Elric wasn’t entirely convinced.

“It seems like you enjoy the cold.”

“If you’re feeling cold….”

“No, it’s fine. I’m not particularly sensitive to changes in weather.”

Elric had lived a life where, even in the extreme cold when the ground was frozen solid, they would still huddle and sleep on the bare ground. Thus, this level of coldness didn’t hurt Elric’s body, it was just enough to get a little chuckle out of him.

She had asked him out of concern, and was only happy to hear and accept his answer.

“If you get cold, let me know. I can get more firewood for you.”

“Yes.”

Tiria’s white skin had taken on an even paler hue in the light of the winter.

The tip of her nose was slightly red, and her lips were even redder. They provided a stark contrast against her skin.

Amidst this, it occurred to him that the fur cloak draped over her shoulders seemed quite old.

Elric let out a hollow sigh.

‘It all seems a bit boring.’

With all the major paperwork done for now, all that remained was the minutiae of paperwork.

It was something she could handle on her own, and yet the reason Elric was in the office was due to Tyria’s advice to “establish a habit of coming and going.” So, besides observing her, what else could he possibly have to do?

Therefore, naturally, his mind wandered.

It was about a certain feeling he’d had on the day of the supply officer’s visit.

He had felt a pit in his stomach at the thought of her going through the same thing that day alone when he was gone.

It was a feeling that hadn’t quite subsided yet, and it still tormented Elric’s mind.

It was still a small ripple, for now.

However, the ripples were quite annoying to ignore, and Elric often found himself struggling within the same thoughts.

Of course, him pondering about it didn’t mean that the answer would come easily.

For that reason, Elric repeatedly sighed and observed her with his chin resting on his hand. In the midst of it, he suddenly raised his head and met eyes with Tyria.

Hmm–

Elric was taken aback.

Tiria asked.

“Is there something you need?”

It felt too awkward to say that he had just been looking at her.

And so Elric hastily blurted out an excuse.

“No, I was looking at your fur cloak.”

“Oh, you mean this?”

Tyria patted the fur cloak.

“It’s a cloak made from the hide of a monster. It was given to me as a gift from the residents of the territory about seven years ago.”

“Oh, did they?”

“Yes. A beast from the back mountains had descended on the village, and there had been some damage to the houses. That year, the residents went on a hunt, and the hide from the beast they hunted became this cloak.”

It was a nostalgic name.

“The Beast of the Back Mountains… it brings back old memories.”

Elric chuckled, breaking him from his trance.

“I remember that, back then, I was always talking about wanting to see the monsters.”

Behind the Wiven Territory was a massive mountain range with peaks reaching well into the double digits.

The mountains were densely forested, steep, and off-the-beaten-path, so an ecosystem that nurtured monsters was naturally formed.

And, monsters were one of the indispensable enemies in a group of children’s knight play.

It was the same for Elric and his gang.

As the village troublemaker, whenever the adults’ were away, Elric would take the children and head to the mountains to search for monsters.

‘I think I only saw one once…’

He remembered unexpectedly seeing a wolf several times the size of an adult male, and then running away in a panic.

The funny thing was, despite experiencing such a terrifying encounter, he had kept going up to the mountains to look for a monster.

Come to think of it, it was a wonder that he was still alive.

‘Well, no. That’s not something I should be surprised about.’

Perhaps the reason he hadn’t seen a monster again was because of his teacher.

He had lived in the middle of the mountains, so it was highly likely that, due to his personality, he would have cleared all nearby demons in his vicinity.

Now that he thought about it, his teacher used to frequently cook and feed him oddly flavored meat, which he now knew was probably monster meat.

‘It was quite an addictive flavor.’

He initially tasted only bitterness, but as he kept eating the meat, there were times when he longed for that taste because there was nothing else like it.

It was the same on the battlefield.

Whenever nostalgia for his hometown rose, that bitter taste would come back to him.

Elric’s mouth watered.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Tyria staring at him intently.

“Um, I apologize. Was I too caught up in my own thoughts? Mentioning the monsters in the mountains reminded me of old friends. I’ll stop dwelling on memories now…”

“…No, it’s not that.”

Her gaze dropped.

Her demeanor was strangely different from the usual, but Elric couldn’t quite put his finger on what was unusual.

He tilted his head in confusion.

It was at that moment.

Thump–

“My lady, here are some new documents.”

Aldio strode into the office and shoved a waist-high stack of papers onto the desk.

Elric was stunned.

“W-What’s the reason for all these documents?”

“Nothing major, just a large quantity of demands from the residents of the territory that were backlogged and left to accumulate for a while.”

This many demands?

Elric was suddenly filled with dread.

If the paperwork had piled up to this extent in a relatively small territory like Wiven, what happened in the scope of larger territories?

It occurred to him that, perhaps, being a noble was a much more challenging task than it seemed.

Of course, his misconception was quickly dissipated.

“I don’t have to go through all of this.”

Tyria explained.

“I just skim through the minor things. The reason I gather and read through these demands is to understand the state of affairs in the territory. It helps me grasp what types of demands are prevalent and which goods are in high demand. This way, I can ensure the smooth operation of the territory.”

Ah, so that was how they did it.

Elric  chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“You scared me to death. I thought that we would have to go through each and every one of those documents.”

“We are masters, not servants.”

It was a clear expression of intent.

In the midst of talking to him, Tyria swiftly flipped through the documents she had received and pulled out one sheet.

“Of course, there are also tasks that we have to personally handle ourselves.”

“That’s…”

Tiria handed the paper to Elric.

Elric read the contents and his eyes widened.

“Monster hunting?”

It was a request for help with a monster wreaking havoc from the back mountains.

Furthermore, it was also a request signed by an entire village a little ways from Wiven.

The details stated: “Wolf-type monster, about the size of a house,”

“We should inquire about it. In situations like this, it’s faster to take matters into your own hands and approach the village chief to hear what he has to say about the matter.”

Tyria stood up from her seat.

And Elric followed suit, somewhat unsteadily.

“Shall we go together?”

“Your presence won’t be necessary.”

She was going to leave him behind.

Puzzled, he soon realized why.

Her gaze was fixed on his knee.

Elric chuckled softly.

“Don’t worry, I’m in much better shape than when I first arrived.”

“But if a monster were to appear…”

“Did you think that you would have to carry me whilst running away?”

Tyria’s expression hardened.

Even though Elric didn’t know the exact reason why, it was clear from her demeanor that she wasn’t happy at the moment.

Elric resented his light-hearted banter, and he was suddenly overcome with a sense of injustice.

‘…Everyone loves it when Elvis does that.’

Elvers Graham liked to make these kinds of self-deprecating jokes in the company of women his own age.

As a result, the young ladies would feel awkward but blush and nod their heads in response.

Why did he succeed wherein Elric didn’t?

Elric’s head hung low in frustration.

“…It was just a joke. Let’s just go.”

“Uh, okay.”

Elric didn’t know that,

In Tyria’s mind, not understanding the joke, she had imagined herself carrying him while he groaned. And then, due to her frail stamina, both of them would end up becoming prey to the monster.

Until he had told her that it was, “Just a joke,” Tyria had seriously contemplated getting in some physical training into her routine.