Reina of Hanneau (English)

TRUTH IN ONE’S EYES

“Hurry! Hurry!”

Kayomi jumps enthusiastically in the middle of the woods while waving vigorously. She repeatedly calls out to Reina and Mitsuei, who are falling behind the trail. It is taking them forever to keep up with her.

“Come one. It is not that steep. You’ve been here before,” Kayomi pouts, mumbling to herself.

The distance between them is unbelievable. She is ahead of them by probably less than half a kilometer. 

When you think about it, it is not that far of a distance. But judging from their pace, it would take them a while to reach the destination.

Well, part of this is because of Reina’s overwhelmingly large abdomen. Any of them hardly noticed when her belly exactly grew bigger than before. And as time went on, she keeps having a hard time moving around, especially walking. The weight of another life inside her makes it difficult for her to balance herself. 

With that, her father barely leaves her side. Whenever Reina attempted to move, whether it was simply standing up or walking to another location, he would hurry to her side. And just like right now, her father is walking alongside Reina while steadily holding her hand. Despite having long legs, he manages to keep his strides short to match Reina’s slow pace.

Seeing them in that situation gives her some kind of amusement. She never knew a couple of adults would look so adorable. 

So while waiting for them, Kayomi opens the basket that she has been carrying the entire time. She found the perfect spot. The large open space surrounded by trees is a comfortable spot. She had admired it since discovering it.

She secures the area before unfolding the sheet from the basket and arranging it exactly where she wants it. She then takes out the thermos of hot tea, as well as the glasses they had taken from the house. She simply wishes she could prepare the foods herself, but they are all under her father's grasps. 

With nothing else left to do, Kayomi sits on the thick blanket that she painstakingly arranged for all of them. She puts one hand under her chin as she continues to watch her parents' slow approach.

“Look at them having their little world,” Kayomi smirks while observing them.

She'd be lying if she said she didn't feel jealous or lonely just looking at them. But she is way past her childishness. So whenever she feels such emotions again, she will think of the times they spent together. After being reminded of their love and concern, she would eventually feel better. 

Moreover, she isn’t that heartless to go between them and break two people’s happiness. 

If she is, to be honest, she never saw her father’s eyes shine like that. The way he looks at Reina is different from when he talks to somebody else. And that includes her. 

The emotions resting behind his eyes go beyond care and concern. And she knows that her father is falling in love, slow and hard. Not that she is well-informed of such matters, but everyone around them said so. Especially the adults.

Aside from people’s observations, she has her list of proof for that matter. She would often catch Mitsuei smiling wistfully at Reina when she is not looking. The fact that he relentlessly craves for her touch also defines how he views her right now. It is like he would freeze to death if she was ever away from him for a long time. 

He'd always find a way to touch her, even if he didn't have a reason or a goal in mind. And Kayomi believes he is particularly addicted to Reina's hair. He enjoys touching her hair and will often offer to tie it for her.

In conclusion, her father is behaving the exact opposite of her mother. It is like she is seeing a whole different side of him.

And Reina doesn’t seem bothered by her father’s gestures. She looks like she enjoys the attention so much. 

Long gone were the days where they both try to avoid each other. She will miss seeing those moments where either would steal glances of each other. Time made all of them grow. 

“Haaah! That didn’t feel this far before.”

Kayomi leaps in her usual excitement when she heard Reina’s voice. They have finally reached her! 

“That was some exercise, eh?” Kayomi responds, immediately taking the other basket off her father’s hand. 

Reina is still trying to regain her breath as Kayomi places their food on the spot she had prepared ahead of time. Mitsuei then gently brings Reina to a sitting position on the clean blanket.

Holding her back, Reina slowly lowers her body to reach the sitting position. She throws her back on the stump behind her when she finally manages to steady her breathing. 

“Here, have some tea,” Kayomi offers, holding a cup of piping hot tea from the thermos.

“Thank you.”

After serving tea for her father, Kayomi gets their food ready. The sun is too high up in the sky and she is thankful for the surrounding trees that shield them from the heat. They could enjoy their lunch without getting sunburn. 

She takes one dish at a time and arranges them in the small space in the middle. It isn't windy right now, so eating outside won't be a problem. There aren't many critters, either. All they can hear are birds chirping as they pass by.

“I have heard from Kiyoko that you cooked these, Kayomi,” Reina blurts out with glee as she takes one bite after the other. 

“Yes. How is it to your taste?” Kayomi questions in worry.

“It’s delicious! It seems I need to learn from you. I can only prepare simple meals.”

“Stop the exaggeration,” Kayomi shyly exclaims.

Reina giggles at her, looking so content while still nibbling her food. 

Truth be told, Kayomi feels uneasy seeing her family eating the food she made. She had Akari to teach her, but she isn’t that confident of coming up with the flavor. 

“You have improved well in cooking.”

Kayomi abruptly stops chewing after hearing her father’s comment. He may not be smiling in delight while eating, but his eyes say he is satisfied with his meal. And she knows that he wouldn’t lie to her.

“I’m surprised father can tell,” Kayomi laughs jokingly. 

“Well, you have been preparing meals on some occasions whenever the others are busy. And even if you don’t tell me, I can tell your cooking apart from the others. You might not have caught the flavor, but you are getting there,” Mitsuei smirks, teasing Kayomi.

Kayomi turns red knowing that her father discovered her little secrets. She actually did it quite a few times, especially with the snacks and dinner. She would ask Akari for instructions, but she can't seem to get the taste right. 

“That’s wonderful, Kayomi. You are getting good at this. Has Shiro tried one of your cooking?” Reina mutters, joining the conversation.

“And why would she want that?” Mitsuei’s brow raises in discontent. 

“Well, they are friends, aren’t they?” Reina retorts.

“Isn’t it enough that she makes food for us? That boy doesn’t need to know how her food tastes like.”

“Oh, come on. What’s so wrong with that? They seem to be getting along well.”

“I still don’t see the need for him to be included in this conversation,” Mitsuei strongly insists, ignoring reason while munching his meal.

“I see nothing wrong with that. Even if Kayomi eventually learns to like him.”

“Reina!” Mitsuei rebukes.

Reina overlooks her husband’s complaints and merely shrugs her shoulders. She continues with her meal before stealthily winking towards Kayomi. She seems to be enjoying the provocation. 

Mitsuei picks up some peaches that are proudly dangling from nearby trees after finishing the lunch they brought. Surprisingly, even in the late autumn season, these sorts of peach trees continue to bear fruit.

The fruits it yields are beautiful red-blushed, varying from small to larger sizes. 

Kayomi peels the fruit with the small knife, exposing a yellow flesh inside. The smell gives off is so sweet that you can already feel it melting on your mouth even without taking a bite. 

“Oh my! These peaches taste better than those I had in Haran,” Reina exclaims after having her first bite.

“We should probably bring more. Then, we can share it with everyone in Hanneau,” Kayomi mutters in excitement. 

“Precisely. They would love this,” Reina agrees.

“Okay, okay. Just tell the tall man to get what you need.”

Kayomi and Reina laugh at Mitsuei’s comment. Despite the grumbling, Mitsuei gets on his toes to obtain the peaches they desire. He plucks a number of them, plenty enough to fill their basket.

Unfortunately, they cannot bring a lot of them since they only have a little space in their basket since they still have the dishes and thermos. 

“We can always come back here to get some more. And it looks like these trees aren’t going to stop producing any time soon,” Mitsuei sighs after seeing the pout on Reina and Kayomi’s faces.

“Jeez. I was going to give some of the peaches to Shiro,” Kayomi slumps her shoulders. 

“Silly! We can always share it with him. How about you invite him over?” Reina smiles, trying to appease the little girl.

“And tell me, why do we need to invite him over? I can just hand them over to him by the door.”

Reina shifts her gaze to Mitsuei. She frowns at him, looking disappointed at his statement. 

“You know, you are just like my father on times like this. Seriously, what is wrong with her liking someone?”

“What? Kayomi, do you like Shiro?” Mitsuei abruptly turns to Kayomi with a furrowed expression. 

“Of course, he is my friend.”

Kayomi stands up and slowly walks off on her own, leaving Mitsuei dumbfounded. Reina, on the other hand, is giggling from enjoyment. She was only trying to imply things and see how Mitsuei would react. And he did reach her expectations.

‘Are all fathers like this with their daughter?’ Reina wonders.