327-295 Aise Below (1/2)

The party started in the early afternoon and ended when the sun went down.

The children who had eaten so much, as if they were children who had not eaten enough, must have been full after half a day of eating.

There were still some dishes on the table, but by the end of the day, there were hardly any children left to eat.

Ishka said with a smile, ”Now I have enough for two meals,” so it seems that she really did not eat lunch.

So I gave her the rest of the food and asked her to leave.

The three craftsmen drank all the sake they had prepared and went home with a steady gait, but Diora said she wasn't drunk, but she was still suspicious, so I sent her back with Toya.

Me, Haruka, and Natsuki cleaned up the mess.

Mary and Mitya also offered to help, but they seemed to be too excited or sleepy, so I told them to go to bed and sent them back to their rooms.

In fact, it didn't take much effort to clean up.

All the food that could be eaten had been pushed to Ishka, and once the leftovers were thrown into the compost, all that was left was for Haruka and Natsuki to use the Purify. There was no need to wash the dishes.

Just clear the table and the dishes and you're done.

And when the work was mostly done, I called out to Haruka.

--Can you give me some time tonight?

The sun was setting.

When the sun had completely set.

I was standing in front of the door, waiting for Haruka.

Under the moonlight, I breathed in the cool night air and took a deep breath.

Eventually, the front door opened quietly.

Haruka came out of the door and stood next to me.

”Did I keep you waiting?

”No. No, I was just watching the sky.

There are no clouds in the sky, and the near-full moon is casting its light quietly.

The stars that I've grown accustomed to seeing over the past year are shining, but they're hidden by the bright moonlight.

The moon, it's beautiful.

”...... What?　”What?

It's a great way to make sure you're getting the most out of your time with us.

I also smiled back at her.

”Huh, no. That's just what I thought.

”Not the moon, technically.

Yeah, it is. And there are two of them.

Yes, in fact, our world has a moon - two moons, to be exact.

However, the two satellites are never visible at the same time, and they are almost the same in appearance and size, so I didn't notice them until I was told.

I did not notice them until I was taught. But I never thought that they were really different satellites, because I had experienced the same thing with the moon on the earth: ”Today's moon looks bigger.

Today's moon is the bigger one, so it's brighter.

”A little bit. But I feel grateful for that today. --Thanks to it, I can see Haruka's beautiful face.

Haruka's blue eyes twinkled a little unexpectedly in the moonlight.

What's wrong with you?　What's wrong?

I'm in the mood.　I'm in the mood.

Yes, I am. Well, I'm a woman too, so who's to say I'm not happy?

Standing with her shoulder to me, Haruka also looked up at the sky next to me.

It's been a year since we came here.

Yes, it has. Well, we had a party today to celebrate that.

So I thought it would be a good time.

”...... for what?

Before Haruka looks up at me curiously, I hold out a small wooden box and open the lid.

There were two rings lined up inside.

Haruka gasped when she saw the rings shining quietly in the moonlight.

”...... is this an engagement ring, is that correct?

I'm not sure. It's not possible at the moment, but when things settle down and you're able to live a more relaxed life, will you marry ...... me?

”Yes, it's fine.

It took a lot of courage for me to push out the words, but Haruka simply replied.

I forgot my words for a while as she replied without the slightest hesitation.

...... You answered so easily.

”Oh, should I have bothered?

”No, I don't like it when people delay, but ...... my decision was, you know?

I've been thinking about this a lot.

Should I say it now?

What should I say?

In what situation should I say it?

That's why I was kind of disappointed when Haruka answered so normally.

Perhaps understanding my feelings, Haruka smiled kindly.

To be honest, I've been wanting to do that ever since I was in Japan.

Is that right, ......?

You didn't know that?　--No, you didn't, did you?

Well, yeah. ......

In fact, Toya has been his childhood friend since about the same time, but Haruka has never done anything like that.

If I were to say 'I didn't realize it,' I'd be a better hero than the hard-of-hearing ones.

But I would have liked to have heard a more romantic proposal.

That's not something you can expect from me.

Yeah, I know. I don't mind being unpretentious, you know?

Well, thanks for the ....... Thank you for understanding me.

I hadn't thought about it at all, but I thought it would be better to say it honestly than to try to fix it and fail.

That's how much time we've spent together.

”Well, since we're here, will you set me up, Nao?

”Okay.

I picked up the ring and gently placed it on the ring finger of the left hand that Haruka held out to me.

It's a good idea to have a ring that fits your finger.

”Oh, it's not ...... perfect, is it? Is this Yuki?

”Oh. I'm sure you'll be happy with the results. She said it would be nice if I could give it to you today.

If it was originally planned, the ring itself would have been made a little later, but without my knowledge, Yuki rushed the craftsman to shorten the delivery date.