### Chapter 16: The Storm Approaches
As the first light of dawn crept in, I opened my eyes.
Ugh… my head felt a bit achy.
It seems this body has a terrible tolerance for alcohol… the Abyss monsters are so weak! Not only did I get knocked out with one drink, but Aunt Flo also decided to pay me a visit.
This is not what we agreed on!
I think I missed some key events last night—what did I even do?
I shook my head vigorously, trying to piece together the fragments of memories.
Hmm… someone was fighting… Aili came to chat with me… pre-wedding anxiety… then I went to the bathroom, and then what?
“Really… what should I say?”
Suddenly, that familiar voice echoed in my mind, and I startled wide awake!
Last night, I met the Bearded Swordsman!!
Cold sweat instantly beaded on my forehead.
What happened!?
I hurriedly patted my body down… head still attached, arms and legs all intact.
I’m alive! Why didn’t he k*ll me? How did I even get back?
He… I think he said something to me. What was it?
Can’t remember.
With a creak, the room door opened.
“Little Shay, you’re up! Breakfast will be ready soon!”
Grandma Claire’s voice rang from outside the door.
“…Oh.”
I sat at the table looking all deep in thought.
“Little Shay, what’s on your mind? Your food’s about to dive into your nose at this rate.”
“Grandma. How did I, get home last night?”
“We were going to ask you the same! You scared us half to d*ath, you know!” Aili, who had been silent at the table, suddenly slammed her palm down, “What’s with going to the bathroom so far away? I waited until the party was nearly over and you didn’t return! People were freaking out looking for you!! They said… they said you might have been carried away by wolves…”
Her tone was unusually stern, and she even had teary eyes by the end.
“I’m sorry.”
Seeing the fear hidden deep in Aili’s eyes, I couldn’t say anything more and quickly apologized.
“It’s not your fault; it’s mine. I was drunk too, and I let you go off by yourself…”
Her sternness quickly shifted to a self-reproaching whisper.
“Little Shay, you can’t drink anymore from now on.”
Barry, sporting a swelling bruise on his face, frowned as he spoke, his voice a bit croaky.
“Barry, your face?”
“…Don’t you remember?”
I shook my head.
“…Forget it; it’s nothing. I just got into a fight.” Barry’s gaze darted away, quickly changing the topic, “Little Shay, I couldn’t stop you yesterday. You’re a girl; you can’t do that.”
…You’re the one who’s a girl.
“Where did you all find me?”
“We didn’t find you; Grandma did. You looked like a cat, curled up and snoozing at the door.”
“I… came back… by myself?”
Where’s the Bearded Swordsman? Didn’t anyone see him?
“Yeah! I guess you just stumbled back in after getting drunk. You really don’t remember anything?”
“I… don’t remember…”
“Alright, alright, let’s drop it. What matters is that you’re safe. Come on, Little Shay, open up.” Grandma scooped a spoonful of vegetable soup, blew on it a couple of times, and brought it to my mouth. “If I hadn’t gone out to gather the laundry, I wouldn’t have known you were sleeping at the door. What would I have done if you got sick?”
“Leave that brat Ryan to Doug for a good talking to.”
The warm soup settled in my stomach, banishing the remnants of last night’s drunken haze.
The humble dining table radiated the warmth of home.
Sometimes, it’s hard to tell if someone is lying to you, but you can always recognize a heartfelt truth.
“From now on, I won’t.”
After multiple assurances, we moved past the topic.
After breakfast, I grabbed some coins from Grandma and ran over to Uncle Dole’s place to get some meat.
I was greeted with many friendly comments along the way.
“Hey, Little Shay, you good?”
“Little Shay, you really had Barry worried sick yesterday! Hahaha.”
“Little Shay, you better watch out or Grandma will spank your b*tt!”
“Little Shay, come here! Uncle will take you to watch wrestling.”
…Just ignore the last one.
“Sorry, Little Shay. I was out of my mind with drink yesterday.” When I met Uncle Dole, he scratched his head a bit sheepishly, “It’s a relief nothing happened; otherwise, I wouldn’t know how to explain to Grandma Claire.”
“Uncle, I’m fine.”
I gave him a sweet smile that only made him more embarrassed.
“Here, this is fresh wild boar leg meat from yesterday, look at that! So savory and still warm, haha! It’s for you!”
Uncle Dole proudly held up a large pig leg and offered it to me.
“Uncle, I don’t have enough money.”
“Don’t worry, it’s a gift from me to you. You don’t know how badly I got chewed out by your aunt yesterday for letting you go! If you don’t take it, I’ll probably get chewed out again tonight!”
“Really, I can’t…”
“Take it!” Seeing me hesitate, Uncle Dole stuffed the pork leg into my arms, “By the way, Aili is getting married soon. I don’t have much to offer, so this is like a premature blessing for her! That brat Allen is a good kid; his father and I have been friends for ages, so don’t be polite!”
In the end, I couldn’t resist Uncle’s insistence.
When I got home carrying the pig leg, Grandma was discussing the upcoming wedding with Aili.
“…I wonder if Father Merlin can spare some time. He’s so busy; I hate to bother him… Ah! Little Shay, where did that wild boar leg come from?”
Aili’s eyes lit up as she spotted the meat I was holding.
“From Uncle Dole.”
“Uncle Dole is really nice!”
“Little Shay, put the pig leg away first.” Grandma shot me a sideways glance, then pointed at Aili, “Don’t sidestep the topic, my little darling. A wedding without a priest’s blessing isn’t worth it. Tomorrow I’ll head to the town to find the priest; even with my old face, I have a bit of pull.”
“Please no, Grandma! Allen’s father has already talked to someone from the church; it’ll be fine to have a cleric officiate the ceremony!”
“A cleric? And a priest? Who’s closer to the gods? If possible, I’d even like to invite the Pope!”
“Grandma! At your age, why are you running about like this?”
“What do you mean ‘running about’? Who are you calling a little girl? You should care a bit about your own wedding!”
“Isn’t Allen handling that? Just leave it to him.”
Aili pouted.
“Grandma, I’ll go tomorrow.”
I placed the meat in the kitchen and chimed in.
“You’ve never been to the town; you don’t even know where the church’s door is. What do you know? No more of this! I’ve decided!”
With that, Grandma took out a long, light blue dress.
In this world, blue symbolizes loyalty. The dress was quite simple, simple compared to the intricate styles of modern dresses, but it was hand-sewn by Grandma and was meant as wedding attire for Aili.
“Aili, try this on.”
“Wow~ So beautiful! Thank you, Grandma!”
Aili joyfully ran into her room, holding the dress.
“Little Shay, how’s the singing practice going? Don’t strain yourself too much!”
I had told Grandma that I’d be leading the wedding song for Aili’s wedding, and I had been practicing every night. Despite my pronunciation issues making it tough, I could finally sing it through. At the wedding, everyone in the church would hopefully join in the chorus, and they wouldn’t notice my mistakes.
“Yeah! I can do it!”
“Little Shay, you’re so good.”
Grandma patted my head, and I promptly closed my eyes and snuggled into her embrace.
No matter what happened, even if I messed up, Grandma never scolded me; she always gave me the best first.
This must be what it feels like to be loved.
“Grandma! Little Shay! Come quickly, look how I look~”
Dressed up, Aili bounced in front of us, lifting the hem and twirling around, her graceful figure radiating pure joy.
“Aili, you look lovely.”
It wasn’t exactly stunning, but this simple, unpretentious happiness made my heart race even more than pure beauty.
“Hehe.” Aili hugged me tightly with glee, “No way! Our Little Shay is way prettier!”
“Aili, you’re not… still worried, are you?”
I recalled the bits Aili had shared with me last night.
“Stop it! Little Shay remembers what I said… I was just drunk, but I really do like Allen a lot…”
Aili rarely showed such a shy expression.
“…Is your shoulder a bit wider? Don’t move; I need to measure. I’ll hurry and make some adjustments in the next couple of days.”
“Grandma~ Can’t you just give me a compliment first?”
“Beautiful, beautiful, of course my Aili is beautiful~”
“Thank you, Grandma~” Aili planted a big kiss on Grandma’s cheek.
“Aili, here, this is for you.”
I took out a blue satin ribbon with a bow from my little room and handed it to Aili.
“This is handmade by Little Shay! I poked my fingers a few times; what a little fool I am.”
“Really? Thank you, Little Shay.”
Aili also gave me a big kiss on the cheek.
“Aili, be happy.”
“Yep, I definitely will.”
………
There are just two days left until the wedding.
Grandma Claire went to the neighboring town early in the morning, and Aili headed to Allen’s house.
“Little Shay, do you think Aili will like this headband?”
Barry flipped the headband he was holding back and forth. He had gone out of his way to the neighboring village yesterday to have this made, planning to put it on Aili during the wedding.
“She will. You’ve asked that, like, eight times.”
I looked at Barry with a hint of impatience.
“…Alright. Even if she doesn’t like it, she can’t say it. Otherwise, I won’t talk to her for the rest of my life.”
“Aren’t you… going to find Aili?”
“Right! There’s so much to prepare; I need to hurry and help. Aren’t you coming, Little Shay?”
“I’m going to pick flowers.”
For the next two days, I’d be wandering into the forest to gather enough flowers to make bouquets for decorating the church.
The task volume is quite heavy.
I planned to make the prettiest flower crown to place on Aili during the wedding, to make her the most beautiful bride in the village.
“Oh, then be careful! I’m off!”
Barry waved goodbye.
With my bamboo basket in tow, I hummed a little tune as I headed towards the forest.
By noon, the sunlight and gentle breeze enveloped the peaceful little village.
I walked along the muddy path.
As I neared the forest, I gradually slowed my steps, puzzled by a presence not far ahead.
There, I sensed something.
A very familiar, comforting aura.
