57 — Apples (1)

“Could you give me some more soju?”

“Mr. Benen, aren’t you drinking too much?”

“It’s fine. There’s still some snacks left.”

Well, the clam soup was still steaming. Soju with clam soup. It felt like a street food stall from home, but surprisingly, this combination was quite popular even in this world.

People’s tastes vary across worlds and eras, but the combination of alcohol and soup is popular everywhere.

I handed him another bottle of soju. The man sitting at the bar table, in his late 50s, was Mr. Benen, the owner of an orchard at the base of the hill leading up to the city. He grows apples known as Herolic in this world.

Because of that, Mr. Benen would always bring a basket of apples when he visited the restaurant. Today was no different.

Of course, I would also give him something in return. It’s not right to just receive.

I’ve known Mr. Benen since I first came to Greek City.

My original plan was to buy up the orchard land at the base of the hill.

“I plan to end my life with the fruits of this orchard. This is my home, how could I sell it?”

I offered several times the market price, but his answer made it clear that a deal was impossible, so I gave up. No matter how much I needed the land, I couldn’t destroy someone’s reason for living. It didn’t hinder the construction of the lair or the ranch at the base of the hill anyway.

But perhaps feeling sorry, he often visited after I opened the restaurant.

“I couldn’t sell you the land, so I have to buy your cooking. Or do you not need me? Should I leave? Do you hate seeing me?”

“No, not at all. I’m always happy when you visit.”

“That’s a relief. Haha, anyway, your food is delicious!”

Those were his words the first time he visited. Since then, he became a regular.

That’s all well and good, but recently, it was unusual for him to come by and drink so much. Why was he drinking so heavily?

“Ah, the world is spinning.”

Mr. Benen quickly finished the additional soju, gulped down the clam soup, and staggered to his feet.

“Then I’ll come again.”

Mr. Benen paid and walked out with a wobbly gait. Well, his house was just down the hill, so there shouldn’t be any trouble.

“This red one is sour and sweet!”

Come to think of it, Rurin really liked Mr. Benen’s apples. Even now, she was hunting the apples he brought.

Crunch, crunch!

Rurin’s face was always filled with happiness when she bit into an apple. She ate so heartily that it made me want to eat one too. To Rurin, it seemed Mr. Benen appeared as a red apple, and she would automatically look for apples whenever he left.

“Here’s another! I’ll bring it over!”

With her mouth full of apple, she wiped another apple with her sleeve and handed it to me. I took the apple from Rurin’s hand as she raised her voice once the customer had left.

She rarely spoke when there were customers. She didn’t disturb them. Just occasionally chimed in.

The dragon said that it was most boring when there were customers, but she endured it.

Sigh.

“Ms. Elena, try this. It’s fruit from the orchard on the hill, and it’s very tasty.”

“Oh, the color is beautiful. I know it takes a lot of effort to get this color. We have a lot in the Elf Forest, but we can’t get this color.”

Elena received the apple, which had the vibrant red color of the sun, with a delighted face.

The reason I was with Elena now was that I had stopped by the clinic after going down the hill for morning shopping.

I was sharing the apples I received yesterday with a few close friends.

“By the way, how is the Count?”

“There’s no improvement. It seems that too much time has passed, and detoxification is almost impossible…”

“I’ve heard that… but they’re such unfortunate people that I keep asking. Sigh.”

“Indeed. It was sad even from the little I heard.”

Elena’s white face twisted. Her drooping eyebrows conveyed her sadness.

“But I still check on him every week. I’m even planning to consult the Elf Forest.”

“Going that far? Dylan and Berna would be pleased. As expected, you’re very kind, Ms. Elena.”

“That’s not it. I think good humans should be blessed! I’ll enjoy this!”

Elena started to fidget at the compliment of being kind. In her fluster, she dropped one of the apples she was holding.

“Ah!”

She chased after the rolling apple, and in the process, dropped the other apples, causing them to roll on the floor. Such an innocent elf.

Anyway, there was nothing more that could be done about Count Greek for now. The dragon didn’t know any healing magic.

The dragon could use mental magic, but in the Count’s case, his brain nerves were destroyed. If his brain had been manipulated by magic, it might be possible, but if the nerves were damaged by poison, the dragon’s magic couldn’t do anything.

In this case, we needed to rely on healing magic, not mental magic.

But the dragon couldn’t use healing magic at all.

So we had to rely on those who knew healing magic, like priests who serve the gods or forest-dwelling races like elves, but even they didn’t seem to have any solutions.

It’s a pity.

I picked the apples up together and left the clinic. As I walked, I saw a familiar person in front of me.

It was Mr. Benen.

I wondered why the man who was always busy with his orchard was here. Watching him, I noticed his behavior was a bit strange. He was walking back and forth in front of a building with some clothes in his hand.

I quietly approached and saw that Mr. Benen was loitering in front of a small shop called Miel’s Tailor Shop.

Eventually, he sighed and walked towards the hill, disappearing.

Curious, I peeked into the shop Mr. Benen had been lingering around, and saw a woman in her 50s sitting inside.

I had heard that Mr. Benen had lived alone all his life. He had never married and naturally had no children. The woman seemed to be around the same age. Could he have started a late-in-life crush?

I couldn’t tell anything just from this.

Anyway, I went to Mr. Knoll’s butcher shop and the vegetable market before returning to the restaurant.

And that night.

“Could you give me the same thing as yesterday?”

Mr. Benen, the first customer to arrive, asked for alcohol again.

“Sure.”

Mr. Benen sighed as he drank again. It seemed that the reason he had been drinking so much recently had something to do with the woman from the tailor shop I saw earlier.

So I subtly probed.

“I saw you in front of the tailor shop earlier today… Are you drinking because of that?”

“What? What are you talking about? No, it has nothing to do with that.”

“Okay, if it has nothing to do with it, forget I asked.”

I didn’t want to pry if he didn’t want to talk. I quickly served Mr. Benen clam soup. Steam rose from the clear broth.

Mr. Benen, watching the steam, seemed to be pondering something before he spoke to me first.

“Well, you see…”

“Yes?”

“I was going to say since you saw it… but no, never mind!”

Then he lowered his head and started drinking again. He kept drinking. By the time he finished another bottle and ordered another, he spoke up again.

“You wouldn’t understand since you have a wife… I’ve lived alone all my life. But… there’s a story behind that…”

“Yes?”

Whether it was because I saw him hesitating in front of the tailor shop.

Or because of the alcohol.

Or both.

Mr. Benen, still pondering, finally began to speak. But there was one line I couldn’t overlook. Here was another person who saw Rurin as my wife.

Why did everyone who came and went from the restaurant see Rurin and me as a couple?

It’s a curious thing.

“You see… I actually met Miel 50 years ago…”

“Is Miel the woman sitting in the tailor shop?”

“Yes. I’m a pathetic guy. I’ve been in love with her for 50 years but never confessed.”

“50 years?”

It’s a scale that’s hard to comprehend, whether to call it grand or foolish. It’s mind-boggling.

“We were childhood friends. The feelings I had as a child lasted a lifetime. People would usually laugh at that. It’s laughable, but it’s true. I really only loved her for 50 years. Isn’t that foolish? I thought about living a normal life, getting married, and having kids like others, but I couldn’t like any other woman…”

“That, Ms. Miel, did she get married?”

“She got married 30 years ago. She moved to a neighboring city but soon returned. Knowing she was married, I still couldn’t do anything. When I found out she had separated from her husband and returned to Greek City, I was overjoyed, even though it was unfortunate for her. They had no children, as she herself told me. Selfishly, I was happy. She was good at sewing since she was young. So I helped her set up a small tailoring shop. And I would tear up perfectly good clothes just to have an excuse to visit. That alone was enough for me. I’ve grown old and don’t expect much more. Just growing old together and helping each other like this is enough…”

After his long speech, Mr. Benen took another drink of soju.

There’s no purer devotion than this. As Mr. Benen said himself, he was too single-minded. It certainly seemed foolish. He should have confessed at least once.

“Oh, but it wasn’t like there was nothing.”

“There was something?”

“Before her marriage, I asked her to meet me, saying I had something to tell her. No matter how much I liked her, I couldn’t just let her get married without doing something. So I asked her to come out for a moment. But she didn’t show up all day. I thought she understood my feelings and not showing up was her answer, that I was rejected. But I couldn’t forget her, and even now, it’s the same.”

Good grief.

The feeling of liking someone that much.

I looked at Rurin, who was dozing off, lying down. How would it be for her? If I were gone, would she wait this long for me?

Fifty years is a short time for Rurin. She would wait that long. Maybe for her, I should consider about 500 years?

I bit my lip. What was I thinking about all of a sudden?

I shook my head and focused back on Mr. Benen’s story.