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Having decided to go on the picnic, the first thing I did was….
“A picnic?”
“Yes. If it’s not now, it will get cold quickly, so I’m trying to prepare as soon as possible. What’s your schedule like?”
…..to ask all the farm members for their opinions.
As Ryan heard about the picnic, he responded somewhat dejectedly.
“Well, there’s still a lot of work that got pushed back due to our visit to the Red Scales.”
“Ah! I see.”
“I tried my best to handle the work as quickly as possible, but things keep coming in…….”
Ryan smiled helplessly and pointed to the bunch of documents on the desk.
The documents were filled out in three different languages, Demonic, Korean, and English.
Looking at Ryan’s haggard face, he seems to have been working quite hard.
By the way, even the haggardness that he exhibited could not take away his good looks.
While putting aside the jealousy surging within, I expressed my concern by looking at the thick pile of documents.
“It’s going to be hard to attend unless we postpone the picnic, right?”
“No…”
“What?”
“I’ll try to finish the work somehow. I’d like to attend.”
“Will you be alright? Don’t strain yourself.….”
“Don’t worry. I have experience working in a more difficult environment than this. And I was really sad that I couldn’t attend the last outing. I really want to attend this time.”
Ryan was determined to attend the picnic. I was worried that he might be overdoing it, but I nodded silently and cheered for him.
I also felt sorry that he couldn’t be with us at the last picnic, but hearing that he would come with us this time, I thought it would be good to soothe the regrets of the last time.
“Are we going on a picnic?”
“Yes. We’re going to go with everyone.”
“Yayyyy! Picnic!”
After jumping and shouting in joy, Speranza ran around uncontrollably, unable to contain her excitement.
The baby griffins also ran after the fox girl excitedly.
“Nyaa~”
Seeing the celebration of Speranza and the baby griffins, Cheese, who was taking a nap on an extra-large cushion, rose up.
Sitting next to me, he asked.
“Speranza seems to be more excited than usual. What’s going on nyaa?”
“We’ll be going on a picnic. That’s why she is excited like this.”
“Picnic? What’s that nyaa? Is it something to eat nyaa?”
I explained briefly about the picnic to Cheese.
“Hmm. Aren’t we eating together every day anyway nyaa? What’s the difference between eating outside and inside nyaa?”
“It’s kind of a diversion. Isn’t it frustrating to eat at the same place every day? And it’s also an occasion for the members who work together to make fun memories.”
“I don’t understand nyaa.”
Cheese tilted his head as if he couldn’t understand the meaning of the picnic yet. I said with a smile looking at the small figure.
“You’ll know once you see it in person later.”
“Am I going, too nyaa?”
“Of course, you’re a family member. And if you don’t come, Speranza will hold you like before, are you fine with that?”
“Nyaa…”
Cheese trembled as he recalled the painful memories.
This big Karshi was extremely reluctant to be touched by anyone.
The farm members quickly noticed that side of Cheese and did not touch him or tried to hug him forcefully. Those energetic little griffins were also a little quiet in front of Cheese, but…….
There was an exception to this rule.
It was me and Speranza.
I only touched Cheese when he came voluntarily, so he wasn’t bothered much, but Speranza – she had a very different style than mine.
– Where are you, Cheese? Let’s eat some snacks!
– I’m sleepy. Let’s take a nap, Cheese.
– Cheese! Cheese!
The fox girl, who loved Cheese so much, chased the big Karshi all the time.
There were also baby griffins who would always be by Speranza’s side, so it was really tough for Cheese.
But what’s really interesting was that.
No matter how much Speranza bothered and stuck with him, Cheese never became angry or pushed her away.
All he did was wait for the moment to pass by quickly with a resigned look.
I felt so bad for him.….
So, recently, I have refrained Speranza a lot from disturbing him, so Cheese was also enjoying a lot of time alone.
But going back to the old days?
From Cheese’s point of view, of course, it would be a big headache.
I asked with a playful smile.
“You’re coming, right?”
“I’ll come nyaa. Don’t say weird things to Speranza nyaaa!”
“Hahahaha, Okay.”
Looking at Cheese returning to the extra-large cushion as if running away, I forced myself to hold back the burst of laughter.
As I was talking to Cheese, Speranza, who ran around, talked excitedly to the farm members about the picnic.
Looking at such Speranza, Lia and Andras smiled happily.
“Oh, Speranza is excited as if she is going to leave for the picnic tomorrow, right?”
“Lia was also like that yesterday.”
“When did I?”
When Andras grinned and brought up yesterday’s happening, Lia denied it with a slightly flustered expression.
However, she couldn’t hide her embarrassment, so she stuttered and blushed.
Not wanting to continue on the topic, she quickly brought up a different subject.
“Sihyeon, then will everyone attend this picnic?”
“There’s one person left whose opinion I haven’t heard yet.”
“Who… Ah……!”
Lia opened her eyes wide to ask who it was, but she soon succeeded in recalling the one person.
Andras patted me on the arm and encouraged me.
“If it’s Sihyeon, you can do it.”
“I’ll try to persuade him this time, too. It’s fun only when everyone is together, right?”
I mustered my energy as I thought about the farm’s final Boss.
“Picnic?”
“Yes. It’s been a while since we went on the last outing, and the things that need to be done urgently on the farm have also been sorted out to some extent, so there is time to spare.”
“Hmm… Has it already been that long?”
Like everyone else, Kaneff also briefly recalled the rapid pace of the time.
“Andras and Elaine couldn’t come to the Red Scales village together, right? Of course, we went there on order from the Demon Lord Castle, but the two were very disappointed to hear about the fantastic hot springs and delicious foods.”
“Well, the hot spring was good and the food was delicious. On top of that, the liquor…….”
Kaneff paused and frowned.
Emotions of regret, lamentation, and anger lingered in his eyes.
Probably he was thinking about the alcohol that was taken away by Bellion in the Vision world.
I quickly brought up something else so that the atmosphere wouldn’t be clouded.
“So, I’m thinking of preparing a picnic to soothe the two who are sad. What do you think, boss? You will come to the picnic with us, right?”
“…….”
“This time, Ryan said he would attend, too. It’s better for everyone to get together, so why don’t you join us as well?….”
I examined Kaneff’s complexion, finishing my words carefully. He looked expressionless, and I had no idea what he was thinking.
I started to get a little nervous thinking it might be a negative reaction.
As I thought, I need to put in a little bit more effort to convince him…….
“I’ll come.”
“……what?”
“What kind of reaction is that? Didn’t you ask me to come to the picnic?”
“Huh, that’s right”
Kaneff said he would come without any hesitation.
I was stunned by the unexpected response.
“What’s wrong with your expression? Don’t tell me you don’t want me to come?”
“Oh, no! Absolutely not! I didn’t expect you to accept this easily.….”
“Isn’t it an opportunity to drink hard in the middle of the day without receiving your nagging? There will be a lot of delicious food on top of course.”
Kaneff explained the reason lightly, but I felt that something was missing.
From my experience so far, there was no way he would readily accept to come to the picnic simply for that reason.
I looked at him silently, thinking there would be more.
Sensing my gaze, Kaneff muttered, scratching his cheek.
“Before you came, Speranza was here.”
“Speranza?”
“Yeah. She was so excited about the picnic. And….”
“……?”
“She asked me if I was coming… with eyes so bright that… I couldn’t refuse.….”
“…….”
“…….”
“………Hah!”
“…….”
“Hahahahahaha”
I endured it for as long as I could, but eventually, I squeezed my lips and burst into laughter.
Kaneff’s face quickly turned ugly at the sound of my laughter. However, the laughter that burst once did not die down easily.
My laughter continued in the room for a while, and Kaneff, who had kept a fierce look, sighed as if he had given up.
“Hey, don’t you think you should stop now?”
“Oh, my. Ha… I’m sorry. It was so out of the blue that I suddenly burst into laughter.”
“I feel bad right now because of you, and I’m seriously considering not coming.”
Kaneff uttered mean words for no reason, but the smile didn’t disappear from my mouth.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“You’ve changed a lot.”
“If you’re going to talk nonsense, get out right now. Because you’re making me tired all of a sudden.”
He turned his back completely and shook his hand a couple of times. It was a concise expression that there was nothing more to say.
I quietly left the room without saying a word, worrying that he would really not come if I made any more fun of him.
Preparations for the second picnic went smoothly.
Lia and I worked hard to prepare ingredients for the delicious foods to have on the picnic, while Andras and Lilia locked themselves in the workshop again saying they would make the things we needed at the picnic.
Alfred looked at the horses and the long unused wagon.
Ryan, who was unclear whether he would attend until the last day, overcame the tremendous intensity of work and confirmed his attendance at the picnic.
I could feel how great his tenacity was from his noticeably thin appearance.
As the date of the picnic approached, everyone’s faces were filled with excitement.
The cumbersome preparation process was rather enjoyable.
Time went by slowly, and soon, the morning of the promised picnic day came to the farm.