Unable to talk to Banning, Avril felt a bit dejected.
In truth, she didn’t have anything in particular to say to him, but for some reason, she just wanted to be closer to him.
(Am I… am I trying to confirm the “rumors” with him…?)
(No, no, no! How could I possibly say something so embarrassing in person!)
(If it turns out to be a misunderstanding, I might as well just die on the spot! I’ll never be able to face anyone again!)
(Sigh…)
Avril wrestled with herself internally, as the itch in her heart became unbearable.
“Forget it, let’s just eat something.”
“Ugh… these roasted potato slices… so good…”
The delicious food provided some comfort to Avril’s mood. She sat alone with her back to the lively crowd, eating roasted potato slices, eggplant, corn, and green peppers. As she enjoyed her meal, memories of giving water to Banning and being saved by him at the dilapidated house surfaced in her mind. Avril ate and gradually drifted into a daze.
Just then, someone tapped her shoulder from behind. Avril turned around, but strangely, there was nobody there. She turned back, ready to continue eating her roasted mushroom, only to find Banning standing right in front of her, smiling at her.
“Ba-Ba-Ba-Ba-Banning!Wh-wh-what are you doing here?!”
Avril was so startled that she almost screamed.
Fortunately, she managed to hold it in. Unfortunately, her excitement caused her to fling the roasted mushroom out of her hand. The mushroom spun in the air and hit Banning squarely on the head, bouncing off with a “duang~” sound before finally settling on the ground, lying flat and unmoving.
Avril: “…”
Banning: “…”
Roasted mushroom: “…?”
Despite the sweltering heat of the barbecue gathering, Avril felt the air between Banning and her now seemed cold enough to freeze…
“Haha, it’s fine. Just rinse it off with water, and it’s still good to eat. I’ll take it.”
Understanding Avril’s embarrassment, Banning was the first to break the silence. He picked up the roasted mushroom and then handed her a skewer of roasted bird meat.
“Sorry for startling you just now. This is my apology.” 𝚘𝓋𝓵xt.𝒸𝓞𝑚
It was only then that Avril snapped back to reality. A skewer of roasted meat had suddenly appeared before her, and her eyes widened.
(Wow, it’s meat! It smells so good!)
Avril hesitated, feeling a bit embarrassed to accept, but her mouth couldn’t help but swallow in anticipation. After all, it was meat! The kind they could only eat once a week!
“The village chief said one skewer per person, to celebrate everyone’s survival today.”
Banning seemed to notice Avril’s embarrassment and offered this explanation. With his reassurance, she reluctantly accepted the skewer of roasted meat.
With the meat skewer exchange complete, the two looked at each other. Avril had a lot to say but didn’t know where to start.
“Um, well…”
“Banning, the village chief is calling you!”
Just as Avril had gathered her courage to speak, someone’s loud voice drowned her out.
“Ah, sorry, it seems the village chief is calling me. We can talk next time?”
“Mmm… Yes.”
Avril could only nod blankly and watch Banning leave, standing there in a daze.
(I haven’t even told him my name is Avril yet…)
(Sigh…)
As she looked at the shiny, well-cooked meat skewer, Avril wanted to take a big bite to comfort herself. But she suddenly realized something and paused to look around. She discovered that Banning’swords had been a white lie; not every villager had a meat skewer to eat.
(That’s right, our village couldn’t possibly have that much raw meat in reserve…)
(So that means… he deliberately brought the meat skewer for me to eat…?)
(But… why?)
(Could it be… could it be that the rumors are true, and he actually… li-likes me?)
Just thinking about it made Avril blush uncontrollably. But no matter how much she thought about it, she believed it couldn’t be possible. She assumed Banning was simply repaying her for the bowl of water she had given him at noon, and she was overthinking it.
Since not everyone had a meat skewer, Avril couldn’t bring herself to eat it in peace. She found two villagers who had been seriously injured in the fire and couldn’t attend the barbecue gathering. Avril gave them the skewer of meat and told them about the new young man in the village, named Banning, who wanted them to have the meat.
“Thank you, Avril.”
“Please pass our thanks to that Banning,” the injured villagers expressed their gratitude to Avril, but her attention wasn’t there.
“Huh? Sorry, I didn’t hear you clearly…”
The voices of the villagers seemed to come from far away to Avril, and she felt as if her soul was floating outside her body.
She could sense that something was off about her condition, and she had never experienced anything like it. She would occasionally space out, and sometimes she felt tightness in her chest, as if someone was clutching her heart.
(What’s wrong with me…?)
The girl didn’t know that her heartstrings had been touched by the young man.
·
“Mr. Village Chief, when winter comes, people will want to burn charcoal indoors for warmth. At that time, you must warn everyone to maintain proper ventilation. If not, the toxic substances produced by charcoal can be lethal.”
“Ah? So charcoal has such dangers. We can’t let everyone use it casually then.”
Tyler simplified the concepts of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide poisoning, knowing that the villagers wouldn’t understand. After spending half a day together, Tyler believed that the village chief, Woodall, was a reliable person.
“Yes, I suggest it would be more appropriate for you, Mr. Village Chief, to manage it.”
Following the topic of charcoal, Tyler and the village chief talked for a long time. They chatted until the barbecue gathering ended but still hadn’t had enough.
As night fell, the village chief arranged an empty house for Tyler to spend the night. The former owner was a solitary old man who had passed away a few years ago, and the furniture inside was still in good condition.
Tyler checked the items in the house and chose a rusty kitchen knife, a sturdy hemp rope, and two flintstones. Then, he quietly slipped out of the house with these items.
(Silly Nissen: It’s late-o, and it’s dangerous to go out-o with these things, Tyler! Don’t you need-o any sleep?)
(Tyler: What do you think I’m going to do?)
(Silly Nissen: You… you’re not planning to kidnap-o Avril, are you?!)
(Tyler: Are you crazy? I’m going to the Ira Forest.)
(Silly Nissen: Huh? Have you gone mad-o? What are you going to do in the forest-o at night?)