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A Small Step
「Looking down from here again, it’s quite high, isn’t it」
「Yeah」
Mina says, so I also try to look down as well and it was quite high up. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
「

I wonder how high is this?」
「I’m certain that it’s around ten meters from the water’s surface」
「Waah!」
「Kyaaa!? What happened!?」
When I was thinking about how high the bridge is, Eric suddenly screamed behind me so I got surprised and yelled myself.
Then - as if she got affected by a scream -  Mina also yells in surprise.
「

what the, why are you raising your voice so suddenly」
「Don’t suddenly shout from the back like that. I thought you’ll push me down」
「Who would do something like that! Besides, what do you think that fence to prevent people from falling is for?」
I mean, that’s certainly so but even if I know about it, it is still scary.
Or rather, should I say that it’s the result of many years of experience knowing that the person who comes around from behind in this kind of situation is usually someone up to no good?
「Well, I was thinking of pushing your backs a bit though, indirectly.....」
See, sure enough, this guy was thinking of doing something bad. At such a time, the person who came from the back is usually not thinking of doing good things.
But, I also have the same thought in my mind, so I can’t openly criticize him.
So I and Mina take some distance from Eric for the time being.
「This river, it looks like the current is flowing fast」
「Yeah, when you look at it from afar it seems like it’s flowing gently, but it’s flowing quite fast when you look at it up close. Moreover, it is also deep so no one swims there 」
「Oh well, there is a safer sea ahead after all」
You’ll be able to find the safer sea if you just walk a bit from here after all. From the villager’s perspective, they might see the sea as a more attractive place than the river. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
「Ah, children are gathering over there」
When I looked toward the place Mina pointed to, I saw children gathering and hanging out on the riverside.
Don’t tell me, they are not entering the river trying to play, right? I’m worried about them since the topic we were talking about just now was just that, a topic of conversation unlike them.
「Let’s goăƒŒ! Toryaa!」
「UwaaăƒŒ! Tornell's amazing! The stone bounces off three times!」
As I was worriedly looking at them, I saw the children getting excited after seeing Tornell showing his stone-skipping.
「

the heck, it’s just Tornell doing stone skipping」
Not only Tornell, but Kuina is also there when I look closely.
Since Tornell has harpoons equipment on him and Kuina has a large basket, they might have been on their way back after they finish gathering materials for decorations.
「Is that Alfried-sama’s acquaintance?」
「Ah, that was when Mina and Sylvio-niisan were down. We built the sand castle together and became friends」
「Alfried-sama, somehow or another, you have good communication skills don't you」
「Well, this guy doesn’t have that noble-like air around him after all. So it’s probably become easy for people to talk to him」
「Ah,  I see!」
「Hey you two, you picking a fight?」
Even I also want to have a little more dignified air around me, but there’s no helping it with this kind of face. Putting my facial features aside, it may be hopeless with these sleepy eyes. But, these are my natural eyes so there’s nothing I can do about it. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
And even when I tried to dress myself, it was hopeless since it doesn’t suit me.....
「Ahh! It’s Alfried-sama and Eric-sama! OoăƒŒii!」
As I was thinking about such a thing, Tornell waved his hand toward us, perhaps he noticed us here.
Freely exposing his missing front teeth, Tornell innocently smiles at us
And maybe Kuina also noticed us as she put down her luggage and quickly bowed in our direction.
As for the children around them, they were looking at us blankly, not knowing what to do.
And so we walk toward Tornell and the children while lightly waving our hands.
However, Eric - who had a long history of being alone - stop in his track and nervously ask.
「O, oi, are we going over there?」
「Tornell and Kuina are our acquaintances, so it’s fine, isn’t it? And we’ll be going to those two’s place after this so it would be easier if we have a light chat with them while we’re at it now」
「I, is that so. Guess you’re right」
I feel sorry since the commoner children are playing happily like that, but we also have some business with Tornell.
Well, we’ll just chat for a bit and leave if it seemed that it’ll become annoying.
After Eric was convinced of that, he continue walking with a relieved expression on his face.
「Hello」
When I arrive at the riverside, Kuina greeted us politely and then the children followed suit.
「Hello. But as I said the other day, it’s fine to keep it casual」
「Y, yes」
「Right, right!」
Even when I told her that, it feels like Kuina is still not used to that and keep being polite. But, looks like Tornell doesn’t look like he minds it at all. The exact opposite siblings as usual.
「This person is also a noble, right?」
「Ou, that’s right! He’s the person who made the sand castle together with us. He can easily build a castle with magic」
「「Youre lyingăƒŒă€ă€
Tornell introduces me with the sand castle as the topic to illustrate what I’m capable of, but it looks like the children can’t believe it at all.
「I’m not lying. It’s true! Right, Alfried-sama!」
Then Tornell says that as though asking for my opinion but the children’s eyes are full of suspicion.
Despite their innocent age, these children are so distrustful. Maybe it’s due to the influence of the adults around them, or maybe because of their lack of trust in Tornell?
I thought that they won’t believe me with just words alone, so I cast Earth magic in front of them.
I raise the soil on the ground and reproduce the Misphilt castle for about one meter.
「「Uuooooohhhh! Awesome!」」
If I actually make it, the distrustful eyes of the children will disappear and they will immediately change into those of the pure eyes of children.
The change in attitude is amazing. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
The children then shuffle toward the created sand castle to observe it.
「It’s Tornell who said it, so I thought it was a lie!」
「I told you, I keep saying it’s not a lie」
「Well, even if you said that you made that sand castle with your friends, everyone would usually not believe it」
Mina says while smiling wryly after seeing the exchange between the children and Tornell.
Oh well, no matter how you think about it, it’s hard to make a sand castle of such a scale without a magician.
「By the way, are Alfried-sama and Eric-sama taking a walk?」
「Un, were Tornell and Kuina on your way back from gathering materials for your decorations?」
「Ou, we’ve been diving in the sea since morning!」
「These are what we gathered today」
After Tornell answers like that, Kuina takes the hint and brings the basket containing their freshly picked materials today.
Inside the basket were seashells with beautiful colors, large pieces of magic core fragments, coral-like things with bright colors, pearls, stuff like monster fangs, and raw materials of various colors.
The glittering materials inside the basket look as though it was a jewel box of the sea, it’s beautiful.
「WaahăƒŒ! They are so pretty!」
「Yeah, this is beautiful stuff. It’s probably difficult to gather so many of them, right」
「That’s right. Especially today, since we got so many things in good condition. Touchan and kaasan will also be happy with this」
I can’t say anything about it since I’m not familiar with the sea, but it looks like they got quite the fine, freshly gathered materials from the sea. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
So it should be right that they are so beautiful. We’re lucky we were able to see something like that.
「And you are going to process these into things like ornaments, right?」
「Yes, there are of course necklaces and bracelets, but if there are requests from customers, we can also produce things like sandals or a hat」
Kuina casually shows me her sandals while explaining them to me when I ask.
There is something highly transparent, glittering with light blue color embedded on the insteps of the sandals.
「Ahh, the sandals have something glittering on them, it’s beautiful!」
「It’s true. Are those magic stone fragments?」
「Yes, I fix it on the sandals」
HohăƒŒ, so they can even process the likes of sandals, not only bracelets and necklaces, amazing.
「Tornell, the one from before, do it one more again!」
While I’m still admiring Kuina’s sandals, one of the children pulled Tornell’s arm and said.
It appears that they have lost interest in looking at the sand castle. Well, most children will be like that after all.
Even I got fed up after a few minutes of looking at temples and shrines during my trip as a child in my previous life. It’d be impossible to keep on looking at them if you don’t like the things related to the history of the structure or genuinely cool buildings.
「Oh? Aah, okay」
「This ‘the one from before’ is stone skipping, right? Let me join too」
「Oh! Sure!」
I’ve done it quite a bit in the river of Koryatt village, so I have some confidence in my stone skipping.
Though I said that, I got overtaken by the beginner Eleonora-neesan in a few minutes, but that person is an exception.
Tornell and I walk around the place, looking for a suitable stone to use for the stone skipping.
As I pick a stone with a flat and a good feel to it, Tornell seems to have already prepared to throw, maybe he had found a stone faster. He has a similarly flat stone in his hand like mine.
As expected from someone who does stone skipping, it looks like he knows a suitable stone to use.
Tornell and I fearlessly smile at each other, then we take our position so that our thrown stones won’t hit each other.
「Now then, the one who can make the stone bounce the most will win」
「Un」
I silently stand ready to throw my stone in response to Tornell’s statement.
Immediately after, Tornell also similarly stands ready and,
「Go!」
With that signal, I threw the stone in my hand into the river.
Yosh, the stone is turning around stably and nicely. I’ve seen that it will bounce quite a few times, based on my experience. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
The stones Tornell and I threw hit the water of the flowing river. The stones bounce off as though sliding on the water’s surface without sinking.
Staring at the bouncing stones, I saw Tornell’s stone sink under after four times of hitting the water’s surface, while mine sank after seven times.
「It’s my win」
「Wh, what the heckăƒŒ!」
Perhaps he didn’t think that he will lose to me, Tornell's mouth opens wide as he yells.
「OoohăƒŒ! Noble-sama is amazingăƒŒ! You’re better than Tornell!」
And the children also look at me with sparkling eyes, guess they’re impressed with my stone skipping.
「To think I would lose to the noble Alfried-sama.....」
「Fuhh, so you looked down on me just because I’m a young noble, huh? I tell you, there were times when I play stone skipping until it gets dark in the village’s river. It bothers me that look down on me 」
「Darn it! One more time!」
And when I told him that with a very triumphant look on my face, Tornell searches for more stone while saying that and looking frustrated. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
「Hahaha, how about you try it next Eric?」
「Hmph, what’s the fun of throwing rocks into the river anyway」
Even when I encourage him, Eric crosses his arms and turns away from us.
「It’s because of such a high and mighty attitude of yours that you can’t make friends」
「What you say!」
「Then, try this stone skipping」
「...........」
When I pick up a new stone and present it to him, Eric’s gaze is fixed on the stone.
「Umm, Eric-san. Don’t tell me, you can’t do stone skipping?」
「That’s ridiculous. Just throwing a stone and making it bounces is easy!」
And when I say that as though looking down on him, Eric becomes irritated and takes the stone from my hand like he’s snatching it.
「Tornell, you’re going to have a match with me next」
「Oh? Oooh, okay!」
Not being surprised over Eric’s participation, Tornell accepts his challenge.
After that, the two of them - Eric and Tornell - take up their position.
「Then, let’s go! Soryaa! 」
The two of them threw their stones at the same time as Tornell shouted at almost at the same time.
In my line of sight, I saw Tornell’s stone bounce off as it hits the water’s surface. Whereas Eric’s stone didn’t bounce on the water’s surface as it makes a splash *dobon* and sank.
「Naaa!?」
It would be natural for Eric to shout in surprise like that. His throwing motion was awful and there was hardly any horizontal rotation from his stone. As for the result, it’s Tornell’s overwhelming victory with four stone bounce.
「Eric-sama, you suckăƒŒă€
「Y, you!」
A small child who doesn’t understand the circumstance of a noble blurts out, the surrounding children turn pale, and Kuina covered her mouth. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
The cheerful atmosphere completely changes and the place suddenly turns quiet.
Only the sound of the flowing water can be heard.
The dumbfounded Eric slowly turn around,
「Mu, then are you better than me?」
and asked with a soft smile on his face. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
From my point of view, that’s a terribly clumsy smile he made, but perhaps it fully conveyed the feeling that Eric was not angry that the kid say,
「Un! I, can make the stone bounce three times at my best」
「I see, sorry but can you teach me a little? How can I make my stone bounce nicely on the water’s surface?」
「Umm, you certainly need a flat stone and.....this, you throw the stone to make it like it slides horizontally like this――」
Seeing the exchange between Eric and the small kid, Kuina and the other children heaved a sigh of relief.
「Hahaha, Eric-sama won’t get angry with that kind of remark」
「U, un, you’re right」
Tornell heartily laughs and Kuina and the other children also smile as though they were relieved.
「Oi, I threw it as you told me but it didn’t bounce y’know?」
「That’s not how you do it Eric-sama! You throw it from here, like this!」
「From here, like this?」
That’s how Eric received the advice from the kid, but then he started to be able to slowly throw the stone in a better form.
And then, the stone he threw bounced on the surface of the water twice.
「Ooh! It bounced! It bounced twice, see! Did you see that!」
He looks so happy that you can’t think he’s the same guy who said ‘what’s the fun of throwing rocks into the river’. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
And perhaps the other children also gather around because they were attracted by Eric’s innocent joy.
「Eric-sama, let’s have a match with me nextăƒŒă€
「Me tooăƒŒă€
「Aah, sure!」
Oh well, the most important thing is that he was able to take a first step toward making friends.
Author note :
I started a new work.
It’s a story about an innkeeper's son who has a slowlife while working in a rural town.
Do read it if you’d like.
『I Become An Inkeeper’s Son When I Was Reincarnated. I’ll Live A Slowlife In A Rural Town』