While washing the dishes, Lina still looked gloomy.
Absentmindedly, she brushed her nose with the back of her soapy hand, leaving a little foam on the tip of it. She didn't even seem to notice, so I pointed it out.
"Lina, there's some foam on your nose."
"Mm."
Instead of rinsing her hands, she touched her nose again—only spreading the bubbles even more. I sighed, unable to just watch, and quickly rinsed my hands clean.
"There's still foam on your nose. Let me get it for you."
"Mm."
I dipped my fingers in a bit of clean water and reached toward Lina's nose, gently wiping away the foam.
But instead of telling her it was gone, I mischievously reached out again—and this time, gave her nose a firm pinch.
"Ow! That hurts!"
Lina's eyes went wide in surprise from the sudden sting.
"Stop gloomy already," I said, letting go. "Now I'm feeling gloomy too."
She quickly rubbed her nose, still pouting—but since she hadn't rinsed her hands yet, the foam came right back.
"You've got bubbles again. Wash your hands first, or your nose is gonna keep foaming."
I reached out my hand again, intending to wipe the bubbles off Lina's nose.
But she dodged away from me.
"…Don't you want me to help you wipe it off?"
Lina looked at me uneasily.
"…You're not going to pinch my nose again, are you?"
"If you keep looking so gloomy, I just might."
"Even though you said I could make lunch, I'm scared I'll end up cooking something that tastes awful again."
Lina finally spoke out the reason for her gloomy mood.
But I had already known — I just needed to tell her again.
"I told you, you'll get better. Don't be afraid to fail. Maybe one day I'll even ask you to make me another plate."
Lina fell silent for a moment, then a faint smile appeared on her lips.
Still, the bubbles on her nose were too distracting, and I couldn't resist anymore.
"Alright, let me get those bubbles off for you."
"Okay… but don't pinch my nose."
"I won't."
Lina closed her eyes. Because there was so much foam, I had to wipe several times before it was completely gone.
And with each gentle touch, her face grew redder and redder.
"All clean now. Use a towel to dry off the water."
"Okay."
Lina showed her usual adorable smile, and before I realized it, the words slipped out of my mouth.
"You're really cute."
"Eh!?"
Lina let out a startled sound, her face turning even redder than before.
Then, in a flash, she darted into the bathroom, leaving me standing there, completely confused.
A moment later, I touched my lips and suddenly remembered what I'd just said.
It hit me all at once—those words were definitely not something casual.
My whole body began to feel strangely hot.
(I can't believe I actually said that. I never say things like that normally! But it's just the two of us here—if I don't say it to her, who else would I say it to? Still… what am I supposed to do when Lina comes out?)
Just as that thought ran through my head, Lina came out of the bathroom.
Her face was still bright red, and the moment our eyes met, my own face heated up even more.
I quickly turned my attention to the dishes, pretending to focus on washing them.
Lina quietly returned to my side, helping me finish the rest.
Neither of us said a word. We simply worked in silence until every dish and bowl was clean.
By the time we finished, I'd finally calmed down a little.
After all, I had always known that one day I might accidentally blurt those words out.
So, taking a small breath, I spoke first.
"Let's go check on the farmland."
"Uh… Mm!"
Lina replied in a flustered voice, but she didn't look at me.
So I leaned my head forward, trying to catch her gaze—but she quickly turned her face away, as if avoiding my eyes.
Even though I knew the reason, it still made me feel a little hurt.
We soon arrived at the farmland. It was an ordinary sight—just soil, grass, and rows of seedlings—but to me, it felt full of life and accomplishment.
The corners of my lips lifted on their own, and when Lina noticed, she let out a soft "Wow~."
"From now on, my job will be to draw water from here, irrigate the fields, and take care of the cows and chickens in the pasture," I said.
"That is a long walk. Don't you need my help?" she asked.
"No need," I replied with a grin. "I'll treat it as training to build stamina. But when it's time for the harvest, I'll definitely call you over."
When Lina heard that I didn't need her help, her expression dimmed a little.
But the moment I mentioned she could help during the harvest, her face immediately brightened again.
"I'll definitely help then!" she said, her voice full of determination.
"Actually," I added with a small smile, "the field hasn't been watered yet today. Let's do it together."
The crops hadn't had a single drop to drink all day.
If I let Lina just stand there and watch, she'd probably get bored and start insisting on helping anyway, so it was better to let her join from the start. It would save us both time.
"Mm!" she replied cheerfully.
After watering all the crops, I collapsed onto the ground, completely exhausted.
Lina on the other hand, was only slightly out of breath.
While I'd been running back and forth fetching water and pouring it out by hand,
she had basically turned herself into a walking irrigation system.
By the time I'd watered barely half my area,
Lina had already finished most of hers.
That sight made me subconsciously speed up, and now I was paying the price, gasping for air.
In my mind, I couldn't help but admire water magic. It really was the best.
You needed water for everything—cooking, bathing, farming…
Water magic made all of it effortless. If I could, I'd love to learn it too.
Honestly, I've always been the type who likes staying clean.
The farmland was pretty big. After all, it had to support the entire village's food supply.
Even just walking from one end to the other was tiring.
But now that it was only the two of us, I decided that once we finished the current harvest, I'd reduce the planting area a bit.
After resting for a while, I finally stood up and spoke to Lina.
"Let's go feed the livestock next."
"Mm."
We went to feed the cows and chickens again, making sure they had enough to eat.
After that, we headed back home—
I returned to studying the Melbusolda script,
while Lina found a book about water magic in the study and began reading it.
Having a goal really does make a difference.
I pushed myself to memorize every character as fast as I could, so that one day soon, I'd finally be able to learn a new magic.