I was forcibly carried and taken to Lis-san's basement.
My hands and feet were tied, luckily in this era there's no duct tape. If there were, my mouth would definitely be gagged.
Honestly, I'm still curious why I was suddenly captured like this.
——
Lis-san's basement is quite large, but almost all of it is filled with barrels (no idea what's inside) and some stacked boxes.
And, I am currently fighting against those old men.
——
"All of you! What should we do with this perverted guy?" (Said a farmer to the others)
"Just torture him! Strip him and throw him into the river!"
"Shove an eggplant into his—" (Said a muscular old man)
SLAP
The old man next to him slapped that muscular man.
That muscular guy definitely has a fetish, right? He just said shove an eggplant—
Eggplant? Shove? Wait, wait… WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY PLANNING TO DO TO ME!?
"Let's just hand him over to the mayor!"
"We don't have the money to go there."
"We also have to watch the fields so they don't get stolen."
"In that case… let's call Weinz here."
The other farmers seemed to agree with that opinion.
They all immediately left the basement, leaving only one young man to guard me so I couldn't escape.
"Oi, bro… untie me, will ya~" (I said to that guy)
"If you untie me, I'll give you something you want~" (I continued)
He looked at me.
"Begging, huh? I was only told to watch you." (He answered)
"I have no intention of untying you, but if you need someone to talk to, well… I'll keep you company." (He continued)
I looked him up and down. His body looked slim, but up close, he was actually quite muscular.
He was taller than me.
(Yukito's height: 165, while Hime's height: 162, and Yuu-chan is 3 cm shorter than Hime) (N)
His hair was light brown and neatly arranged.
His posture fit more with office workers. (At least, in my eyes)
"Oi, office guy." (I called him)
"Who the hell are you calling office guy, huh!?" (He replied, a little annoyed)
"No, it's just that your body kinda looks like—"
He immediately cut me off.
"Listen, if I worked at the Ulvur office, I wouldn't be a farmer." (He said)
"My body turned out like this just because I used to run too much as a kid. It stuck with me even after I grew up." (He continued)
This guy is the type of person I hate.
Back in my first year of middle school, my body was too skinny—honestly, flimsy.
When I was browsing on my phone, I saw an ad that read: "Run with the passion of your youth!"
That line lit a fire in me.
The next morning, I immediately tried jogging, but I collapsed in exhaustion after only 10 minutes.
That same day in the evening, I tried again, and I only managed 2 minutes.
Before long, I was gasping for air and couldn't continue.
I kept repeating that routine for about a month.
And on the 32nd day, when I tried jogging in the morning—
"Yosh!"
I only managed 4 minutes.
After a whole month of training, I only improved by 2 minutes. To me, that was a failure.
I walked home, dejected.
I collapsed at the doorway of my small house. I stared at the ceiling, not thinking about anything.
All my effort to run… wasted.
While jogging, I often saw people running for a long time.
Some were alone, some with their girlfriends, and… one family was exercising together.
——
I no longer had the motivation to run.
So during PE class at school, my body was the stiffest. To the point my classmates nicknamed me "The Slowpoke."
From that point on, I hated people who liked to exercise. Even if my reason for hating them was illogical.
——
(Back to earlier)
"Yukito, just call me Yukito." (I said to the guy)
"Yukito… for you, just call me Mir." (He said)
"My full name is Mira, but since it sounds like a girl's name… just Mir." (He said, blushing slightly)
I laughed at his name.
"Mi-ra… HAHAHAHAHA." (Me)
His face turned red in embarrassment.
"You're making fun of me, aren't you!?" (Mir said)
HAHAHAHAHA (I laughed)
"No, no… it's just the first time I've heard a guy with the name Mira." (I said in a teasing tone)
He leaned against the wall, then sighed.
"Untie me, Mira-chan~" (I said)
"Stop teasing me like that!" (Mir said)
I could only try moving my hands and feet, hoping the rope wasn't tied too tightly.
But unfortunately, the knots were tighter than I thought.
And suddenly, Hime entered the room.
Hime sat in front of me, carrying a bowl and spoon.
"Yukito-san, you must be hungry, right? Let me feed you~" (Hime said)
"Is that really what someone who got me tied up like this should say?" (I said)
I wouldn't be tied up like this if Hime and Yuu-chan had just been honest and told them I was their friend.
While I was still wondering why Hime suddenly came, my eyes shifted to Mir.
"Mir, what's wrong? Your face is red." (I said)
He immediately turned his face away.
"You're just imagining things!" (He said)
"Yukito-san, aah…" (Hime fed me)
I had no choice but to be fed by Hime, and besides, I was already starving.
But since Hime started feeding me, Mir kept watching us.
Whenever I glanced at him, he quickly turned away.
At that time, honestly, I didn't yet understand what Mir was doing.
——
After a few warm spoonfuls from Hime, the soup was finished.
"Yukito-san, what do you think of the soup? Umm… was it good?" (She asked)
The soup Hime gave me was still warm, so it tasted good. The seasoning was just right—not too sweet, not too salty.
The potatoes and carrots were also soft, making them pleasant to eat. Overall, the soup was pretty good.
"It was good, good enough for me… why are you asking though?" (I asked)
"T-that soup was made by me… though Lis-san helped me a lot..." (Hime said, her ears turning red)
I was surprised by what she said. She made that soup?
"Hime, you can cook? I thought you couldn't—" (Me)
"I-I can… a little." (Hime)
Hime immediately stood up and took the bowl, then left the room.
CLACK (The door shut)
I sighed the moment Hime closed the door.
Suddenly, my collar was grabbed.
"What the hell did you do with that girl?" (Mir)
"Answer me!" (Mir shouted)
"Mir, what's wrong with you—" (Me)
Suddenly, Mir lifted me up by my collar. What the hell is his problem!?
If he wants to fight, he should untie me first… then we can fight properly!
Mir stared at me for a while, then let go of my collar.
He walked toward the door, seemingly about to leave.
"Yukito, if you dare try anything… I won't hesitate." (Mir)
He turned his back to me, then left the room.
At first, Mira seemed like a normal guy, right? Why did he suddenly get so aggressive?
Was it wrong for Hime to feed me? Maybe he thought I didn't deserve food or something?
I was honestly glad to have Mira around. If it's like this, then who am I supposed to talk to?
"You are not alone, young man."
I turned and only saw a box.
"My mind's starting to go crazy, huh?" (Me)
"Don't ignore me, hey."
I turned again and saw the box move!?
I blinked multiple times. Maybe because I was too exhausted, I started hallucinating weird things.
But the box kept moving.
"Young man, why are you trapped here? This is only a place for discarded people." (The box said)
I sighed lightly.
"I just got into a bit of trouble. Wanna chat for a while?" (Me)
The box nodded.
"Then, want to hear one of my little jokes?" (Me)
"What's that?" (The box said)
"Why—..." (Me)
I kept chatting with the box, and we went back and forth exchanging jokes.
The atmosphere in the room felt livelier than before.
"Box-san, why are you here?" (I asked)
From the way he talked, he sounded like he had a lot of experience.
"Ten years ago, I was brought to this house along with the other boxes."
"At first, my friends and I were used to carry harvests from the fields."
"But after a small hole appeared in my body… I was no longer used."
"I was placed here, and since then I've never been used again."
——
"If I may ask, what did you carry inside you?"
"Ringo." (He answered)
Ringo? That's apple, right? In Japanese, Ringo means apple, doesn't it? Lis-san also mentioned Ringo earlier.
"Ringo is a special fruit from Ulvur, perfectly round with reddish-purple skin." (He explained)
"Its taste is slightly sour, but mostly sweet. Lots of people sell Ringo in the market."
"How do you know what it tastes like?" (I asked)
"I once overheard farmers talking while putting Ringo inside me." (He said)
"Maybe that's how it tastes. Since you're here, why not try one yourself?"
"That's a good idea!" (Me)
——
Beside the basement door where Yukito was tied, there was a small window he hadn't noticed.
Not long after Hime left earlier, Yuu-chan secretly peeked inside to see what Yukito was doing.
And when she saw Yukito almost get attacked by Mira, she banged on the wall.
——
Yuu also saw Yukito talking to the box. Though to her, it only looked like Yukito was talking to himself.
"Yukito-sama….." (Yuu said)