I, as a former S-rank adventurer, could easily tell the nature of the person I was facing, especially when we met for the first time and exchanged our first few words. It might be because I had spent more than a decade as an adventurer.
Well...you learn to read people when your life depends on it. The shift of their eyes, the tension in their shoulders, and the way they pause before answering. Small details often revealed more than words ever could. I had met all kinds of people like bandits, liars, desperate merchants, frightened villagers, and etc.
Which was why I could say this with certainty.
That the person in front of me right now...
...
[Really?! The city must have been very taxing on your mind if you decided to settle down in this town?] (Olivia)
...is genuinely kind.
[Yeah. Pretty much] What a lame answer...If only I could tell her about my adventures, but I have to keep my identity to make my peaceful life come true.
She leaned forward slightly as we chatted, her tone full of curiosity and energy. To put it simply, she was cheerful. Not the overwhelming kind that drained your social energy, nor the fake kind people used to hide their true intentions.
No. Olivia's cheerfulness felt natural like it's sunlight, warm, bright and effortless. Talking to her somehow made everything feel lighter. It's like you're talking to a long lost friend.
[So what did you work before~?] (Olivia) Oh boy, here it is.
[....I....well....I was an adventurer-] It is hard to lie to such a pure person, anyway...
So I told her the parts that are boring and avoided talking about the other moments where I almost died, that time I killed a Calamity dragon, or that time where I escorted the hero and her friends to have a peace talk with the demon king. Anyway, the only other thing that I told her was that I traveled a lot.
[-And I traveled a whole lot. It's like the only other significant thing that I could remember. That is why one time I came across this place] Roughly it was around when I was still a low ranked adventurer.
[Hmmmm?? Around when?] (Olivia)
[Hmmmm...I think it was around a decade or something ago, why do you ask?]
[Oh nothing~ It's just that a lot of adventurers have come and go at this place even before I was the one to handle the vineyard myself] (Olivia)
Somehow, I also found myself sitting on the porch of her house while talking to her. I still had no idea how that happened. One moment we were standing by the vineyard fence, and the next, she had already insisted that I sit down while she brought out toasted bread, grape jam, and tea.
I was supposed to head into town to buy something for breakfast and now I was here.
Eating breakfast with a winery owner with bombastic proportions.
Life is good. Man... countryside hospitality sure is dangerous.
[This vineyard is huge. It's amazing that you're managing all of this.] That transition was awful.
But hey. It worked.
[Yep! I inherited it from ma and pa. They're getting too old to manage everything, and my older siblings all moved to the big cities. There's only me and my little sister here now] (Olivia) Hmm. I immediately imagine that the youngest also has the same inherited traits.
I see now, so it is the classic "oldest child that stays behind inherits the family land" situation.
I couldn't relate.
I grew up in an orphanage. I never knew who my parents were. Never saw them. Never even learned their names. So in a way...she was lucky.
Then again, if life had not dumped me in that orphanage, I probably never would've ended up here.
Funny how life worked.
[I imagine working here must feel peaceful compared to the city.]
[It is, that is why I did not left to the city to find work because I fell in love to this place] (Olivia)
I looked out toward the vineyard. Rows upon rows of grapevines stretched beautifully beneath the morning sun. The breeze carried the scent of soil, leaves, and sweet fruit. It was calming; a sharp contrast to the chaos I used to live in.
Then my gaze shifted toward another structure nearby. A separate building stood beside the vineyard, with empty barrels stacked outside.
That must be the winery itself.
[Erm... I know this might be a weird question, but... could I get a tour of your winery?]
Olivia blinked.
[I'm curious about how wine is made. I only ever bought the bottled ones.]
She smiled.
[Sure! I'd love to!] (Olivia) Before I could even finish my second toasted jam bread, she pulled me towards the winery for a tour.
The winery shed was surprisingly large. Honestly, it was nearly the size of my house minus the barrels stacked outside.
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[Wow... so grapes aren't mashed the way I thought.]
I had heard traditional winemaking involved people stepping on grapes barefoot inside large basins. When I first heard that in the city...
I nearly swore off wine forever.
Gross.
[I heard from pa that we used to do that, but it takes too much labor and there may be impurities mixed in, so we switched to simple machines powered by mana stones.] (Olivia)
She pointed toward a machine nearby. It was essentially a press. A mana stone sat embedded in the side, acting as its power source. By channeling mana into it, the mechanism activated and compressed the grapes with a piston. The liquid passed through a grated filter and poured neatly into waiting, sanitized barrels.
[After pressing, the grape juice goes into fermentation barrels] (Olivia)
She gestured toward several wooden barrels lined neatly together. They weren't very large. If I had to guess, each barrel probably made around ten bottles.
[Then after that, it's mostly waiting, right?]
[Yep~] (Olivia)
[Usually around a year if winter ends early. Even longer if the cold season drags on.] (Olivia)
She placed her hands on her hips proudly.
[Some people age wine after bottling too, but I personally think that's unnecessary if it was already aged properly in barrels.] (Olivia)
Oh.
That was interesting.
[Wait. What about all the leftover stuff? The dead yeast and grape sediment?]
[Oh! Come, I'll show you.] (Olivia)
She excitedly led me to the bottle storage. Rows of wine bottles rested on angled racks with the neck facing downwards. She grabbed one bottle carefully, then brought over a basin filled with water and a wand embedded with an ice magic stone.
I watched curiously as she tilted the bottle downward and aimed the wand at the neck.
[First, we freeze the neck.] (Olivia)
Frost quickly formed.
Then—
[You dip it in cold water and open it gently.] (Olivia)
She uncorked it. A small burst of pressure escaped, and the frozen plug containing dead yeast and sediment shot out cleanly. Then she immediately corked it again.
I blinked.
That was cool, literally.
[Then we store them in the basement. The cold stops fermentation because the yeast eventually dies.] (Olivia)
Just like that, I learned most of the winemaking process.
Huh. Who knew retirement would involve learning random things like this?
Not bad. Not bad at all.
[You're a surprisingly very attentive listener. Most people's eyes glaze over halfway through] (Olivia) She smiled warmly.
Yeah I could see why their eyes glaze over it.
[I used to study monsters, terrain, and enemy behavior for a living. So in a sense, listening carefully became a habit] I shrugged.
[That sounds intense] (Olivia)
[It was, very]
Silence then followed but comfortable where it is the kind where neither side felt pressured to fill it.
Then Olivia suddenly smiled.
[You know...You don't really feel like someone from the city] (Olivia)
[Oh, really?]
[You feel calmer. A little tired. But peaceful] (Olivia) That caught me off guard, because she was right, I was tired.
So unbelievably tired. Tired of fighting, tired of expectations and tired of being needed only when things went wrong.
But peaceful?
Maybe?????? I don't know how she came up with that, but maybe for the first time in years I was finally feeling peaceful.
I looked out through the winery window toward the vineyard swaying under the sunlight.
Then I smiled.
[Maybe this town is exactly what I needed]
The two of us stepped out of the winery shed, greeted once more by the warm morning sun and the gentle breeze flowing through the vineyard. It was peaceful.
Well it was, then chaos happened.
[KYAAAAAHHHHH!] (??)
A scream echoed from somewhere near the vineyard. A girlish scream...?
My body moved before my brain could even process what was happening. Years of instinct immediately kicked in. Danger, I immediately identified it as someone in distress. Possible there is a hostile individual but there shouldn't be because the outskirts of this place is patrolled by the empire's soldiers.
In a single motion, I stepped forward, pulled Olivia behind me, and reached for the dagger hidden beneath my coat. My senses sharpened instantly as I scanned the surroundings.
No visible ambush.
No mana signatures.
No blood.
But I could hear someone's frantic shouting.
[HELP! SOMEBODY HELP! HE'S GONE OUT AGAIN!] (??)
Beast attack? Possessed monster? Rogue familiar?
I narrowed my eyes as the ground suddenly trembled beneath us.
Something was approaching fast.
I shifted my stance, slowing my breathing as my muscles tightened. I was ready.
[Tom...?] (Olivia)
Then—
A white blur exploded from behind the vineyard.
It charged straight at us with terrifying speed.
I reacted instantly, tightening my grip and preparing to strike.
Then I saw it.
...
A goat?
A very angry (?) goat.
....
....
[MEEEEH!!!] (??) A goat??????!!!!!
[...What?] What?
The goat barreled toward us like a demon possessed. Behind it, a young girl sprinted after it with tears in her eyes.
[MEEEEEEEEHHH!!!] (??)
[STOP HIM!] (??)
The goat lowered its head and continued charging with horrifying determination.
Still fast.
Still terrifyingly fast.
[Why is it so fast?!]
[OH NO—IT'S BASTION!] (Olivia)
I froze for half a second.
Why did the goat have a name?!
And why did Olivia sound terrified?
[Scott, move!] (Olivia)
Too late.
The goat launched itself.
I sidestepped on instinct, reflexes honed through countless life-and-death battles kicking in effortlessly. The goat missed me entirely.
Unfortunately...
It slammed straight into a wooden barrel behind us causing it to tip and roll
And somehow, it rolled directly into Olivia.
[Wah—?!] (Olivia)
She stumbled backward. I lunged forward without thinking, catching her by the waist just before she hit the ground. I then stopped the rolling barrel with my legs, and it was heavy.
Silence followed.
The barrel finally stopped rolling.
The goat stood proudly atop another barrel like a victorious warrior surveying its battlefield.
The girl chasing it collapsed onto her knees while breathing heavily.
[I'm so sorry...but...] (??) Olivia blinked.
Then I realized something. My arm was still around her waist and our faces were so close to each other we could feel our breath.
Her face slowly turned red and into very red.
[...Tom....ummm] (Olivia)
[Yes?]
[You can let go now] (Olivia)
I immediately stepped back.
[Right]
Before we could even process what just happened, the goat mockingly bleated .
[Meeeeeh!] (??)
I stared at it. I had slain wyverns, killed giant trolls, survived dragon hunts and yet somehow the goat felt more disrespectful than all of them combined...Fucking hell....
Olivia let out a sigh.
[Bastion has...to say it simply, a personality.] (Olivia)
[That goat is evil, one day we will turn him into meat] (??)
Olivia burst into laughter.
Real laughter.
Bright, uncontrollable laughter that made her clutch her stomach.
Only in Goldenvale would a peaceful morning wine tour end with an attempted goat assassination.
Yep.
This town was definitely different.
[MEH!!!] (Bastion) The goat bleated again.
Well okay, minus the goat.