TFOA Chapter 8

Niksi looked around his room, which was overall a subdued chocolate color like his hair, and sat on the bed.

"Do we have to have a good time now?"

"No!"

This looked suspicious to anyone watching. She'd misunderstand, wouldn't she? She would misunderstand. Gilbert pressed his forehead.

But it had really been an urgent situation.

"What do you mean like a younger sister?"

"That's..."

Gilbert pulled over a chair and plopped down across from Niksi.

He brought up the conversation he'd had with Helen at the general store.

How Helen had teased him saying Gilbert and Niksi seemed to get along quite well.

Helen was mischievous by nature, so if he gave her any opening, she'd obviously needle him about it endlessly—that's why he'd cut her off by saying Niksi was like a younger sister.

"So what's this now? It's even more suspicious. Anyone would think you just shooed her away so we wouldn't be disturbed during our 'good time.'"

"......Did I seem that rude?"

"Yeah."

Gilbert let out a long sigh.

The reason he'd suddenly covered Niksi's mouth was because Niksi was about to bring up the painter.

"......It's better not to talk about the painter... I mean, Benjamin in front of Helen."

"Why? Did they date and break up?"

"No..."

The relationship between Helen and Benjamin was somewhat complicated. They'd never exchanged a single word, but it was a subtle relationship.

"You know Richter was drafted for the Battle of Gergonne, right?"

Niksi recalled what Gilbert had said when she first met Benjamin.

[He came to the village two years ago and is... quite a sensitive person, you understand? Please understand. Richter is someone who was drafted for the Battle of Gergonne and came back alive.]

[Ah, the Battle of Gergonne.]

[You know about it?]

[Of course I do.]

"Yeah. You told me before."

"Actually, Richter is German. Not French."

Ah. Niksi let out a short exclamation. No wonder his speech seemed stiff.

That explained why he was distant from the villagers.

Just half a year ago they were fighting to kill each other, so it would be stranger if they got along well.

Actually, it was impressive that the painter had survived without getting shot until now.

But how did a German soldier end up drifting to a rural village at the edge of France?

Niksi scratched her head.

'So that's why he asked me to take him to the Louvre Museum. The Louvre is in Paris...'

"Helen's husband died in the Battle of Gergonne. He was killed instantly by a German bullet. That's why Helen avoids Richter. We also don't bring up Germans or Richter in front of Helen."

"I had no idea... So that's why you suddenly covered my mouth?"

"I couldn't suddenly tell you not to say anything in front of Helen."

Thanks to that, he seemed to have caused a big misunderstanding. Gilbert let out a long sigh.

Niksi twisted her hair.

A German soldier. Since he said he'd been drafted for battle, she'd naturally assumed he was French.

But of all battles, the Battle of Gergonne.

The Battle of Gergonne was one of the battles where the French army achieved a great victory over the German army.

That battle marked the beginning of the German army's retreat, and it wouldn't be wrong to say it was the battle that most influenced the end of the war.

It was also the battle that earned her a medal.

'A surviving remnant from such a battle.'

Niksi had no intention of telling anyone in Auvers that she'd been a soldier from the beginning. But now she had even more reason not to tell him.

Because that battle had been won thanks to the biochemical weapon she'd created.

—Tap tap.

The sound of raindrops hitting the window began again.

"I'll go home now."

"What about the dinner bet?"

"I decided not to eat dinner starting today."

"I see. Let's do the bet another time."

Gilbert walked her to the front door.

Because Niksi hadn't brought an umbrella, Gilbert had to get an old parasol from the storage.

It was a fancy, pretty parasol with frills that his younger sister had used when playing princess.

Gilbert didn't ask why Niksi had suddenly become gloomy. Usually, people's moods couldn't be explained with words anyway.

War stories aren't pleasant topics, after all. That's all he thought.

"Oh right. Niksi, take this."

Gilbert called Niksi back.

"What is it?"

"Pepper. I bought it today. It's delicious when you mash potatoes, add mayonnaise, and sprinkle this on top."

"Sounds delicious. I should try it tonight."

"For dinner tonight?"

"Yeah, for dinner tonight."

Gilbert chuckled and put whole peppercorns and a pepper grinder together in a straw basket.

"It's raining hard. I'll walk you to the stone bridge before it gets flooded."

As always, Gilbert said he'd walk her only as far as across the stream beyond the wheat field. Niksi slung the unnecessarily fancy parasol over her shoulder.

They pushed through the muddy ground and made their way along the path.

Since any conversation would probably be drowned out by the rain anyway, Niksi and Gilbert didn't exchange much talk.

Gilbert quietly listened to the sound of rain on the umbrella and looked up at the sky.

People get depressed when it rains because they can't see sunlight—when it rains, you can't see the sun.

'Is that why I'm feeling down right now? Because there's no sunlight?'

"Gil."

"Hm?"

He snapped out of his reverie.

Niksi handed him the umbrella she'd been wearing.

"Why all of a sudden... you'll get soaked. Won't you use it?"

"When it rains, it makes tapping sounds."

That was obvious. Of course umbrellas make tapping sounds when rainwater hits them.

Gilbert just blinked at Niksi's meaningless comment.

"I hate that sound. It makes me depressed."

"Depressed?"

'Not just down, but depressed? Then what am I depressed about right now?'

Niksi said she disliked the regular tapping sound of rain on umbrellas.

Still a completely inexplicable reason.

"Alright."

Gilbert took the princess-style parasol.

So what was making him depressed?

Was it because this noisy neighbor was unusually down, unlike her usual self? Or was it because he'd brought up his younger sister?

Because he'd talked about forgotten wars? Because he'd seen his younger sister's beloved princess umbrella after so long?

His younger sister, who died five years ago in a German bombardment?

"Then take this umbrella. It's a cheap umbrella, so even when it gets wet, it absorbs the water so it doesn't make much noise."

Gilbert offered the umbrella he was holding.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks."

The two walked the path again.

Ironically, while both held umbrellas, neither used them as they walked. Thanks to that, unlike before, they could walk while chatting.

"But why do you only walk me to the other side of the stream?"

"Hmm... there's no particular reason. Why? Would you like there to be a reason?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm... I'll have to think about it."

"How about... because I'm like a younger sister to you?"

"If you were my sister, I wouldn't have cared whether you got home safely or not."

"That's surprising."

Niksi was shocked by Gilbert's rather cold brotherly love.

Somehow Gilbert seemed like the type who would carry his sister to her destination no matter how old she got.

"I told Helen you were like a younger sister, but..."

Gilbert looked at Niksi.

Her red eyes were clearly different from his long-dead younger sister's brown eyes.

His younger sister had been a young girl with dimples when she smiled.

She didn't have yellow hair either, and was shy and quiet.

"Actually, you're more like Coco."

"Coco?"

Fearless, liked to bark loudly, and ran around restlessly all day.

With a tiny throat but such a big appetite that she swallowed a chicken bone and died. A Cocker Spaniel.

Niksi tilted her head, wondering who that was. Gilbert said it was a secret and chuckled.

"Well... she was also like a younger sister to me."

"What the... I don't know what it is, but I feel strange. Like... a dog."

"Still depressed? Want to play a game then—name your favorite things? Whoever runs out of favorites first buys dinner tomorrow."

"Okay."

He and she opened their mouths competitively.

"Cabbage salad," "Jazz," "Mustard salad," "Cinnamon apple tea," "Lettuce salad,"

"Niksi, are you planning to name every salad in the world?"

Before they knew it, they'd reached the stream in front of where they were supposed to part ways.

They decided to continue the game tomorrow at Raul's bar.