Guided by a cheerful Til, we arrived at her field, and it was a truly magnificent sight. I had visited Raz-san’s field behind Kuro’s house several times before; that sprawling, plantation-like expanse felt too vast for a single person to manage, and its scale had always overwhelmed me. Til’s field, however, was easily its equal.
I assumed Til managed this place alone, just as Raz-san did. I knew intellectually that Til was a member of the Six Kings' Executives—a truly formidable existence—but seeing her work the land like this made me fall back on my own common sense.
"This is a very splendid field."
"It can’t quite compare to Raz-sama’s, but this is Til's pride-and-joy field! Over there, I’ve planted some vegetables that Erial-san bought for me recently. Oh, that’s right! Erial-san mentioned she met you, Kaito-kun-san!"
"We happened to run into each other in the city. You two seem to be close."
"Yes! We're great friends!"
"I heard you’re quite skilled with musical instruments."
"I am, I am! Til can play all sorts of things. I know! There’s still some time before Raz-sama gets here, so if you’d like, I’d love for you to listen to a song!"
"Is that all right? In that case, I'd love to."
It was an unexpected turn of events, but Til was going to give me a private performance. As I sat on the wooden chair she provided, she pulled out an instrument that resembled a lute.
The lute was small and charming, but the way she held it showed her experience. She carried a certain air of dignity, an aura that promised a masterful performance.
My intuition was spot on; her playing was nothing short of brilliant. The gentle, folk-like melody of the lute harmonized perfectly with the natural landscape, echoing with a soothing resonance.
I wasn’t particularly knowledgeable about music, but the sound was so beautiful that I found myself completely captivated.
I spent some time enjoying Til’s concert, and before I knew it, a significant amount of time had passed. When Til finished her latest piece and gave a small bow, I realized the performance had come to an end.
Reflexively applauding, I spoke to her.
"That was amazing. I was so drawn in that the time seemed to pass in the blink of an eye."
"Ehehe, you're making me blush! But Til is so happy you enjoyed it, Kaito-kun-san!"
"It was truly wonderful. If there’s another chance, I’d love to hear you play again."
"With pleasure! Oh—Raz-sama should be arriving any moment now."
After smiling bashfully at my praise, Til began to look around restlessly.
"Is she meeting us here?"
"Yes! We promised to meet at the field."
Immediately after Til answered, a familiar voice drifted over from the distance.
"Til~ I’m here~!"
"Raz-sama!!"
Catching sight of Raz-san flying toward us while waving, Til broke into a joyful smile and soared off to meet her with incredible momentum.
"I was waiting for you, Raz-sama!"
"Sorry to keep you waiting~ It’s good to see you’re looking so well, Til!"
"Yes! Til is always full of energy. I’m so glad to see you’re doing well too, Raz-sama!"
"We’re two of a kind~!"
"We sure are!"
The two of them excitedly pressed their palms together and began spinning around and around in the air. It was an incredibly adorable sight. I could almost swear a healing vibration was radiating from the pair of them.
After spinning for a while, they finally came to a stop. Raz-san’s gaze shifted toward me, and her expression turned to one of pure surprise.
"Aya!? It’s Kaito-kun-san!"
"Hello, Raz-san."
"Hello to you too~! It’s quite a coincidence to see you here, but I’m so happy we met, Kaito-kun-san!"
Raz-san flew over to me with a delighted smile. As always, she was incredibly cute.
"But still, what brings you here?"
"I happened to meet Til-san by chance, and she invited me."
"Yes! Til invited him!"
"I see, I see~ In that case, Kaito-kun-san can play with us too~!"
Come to think of it, what had the two of them planned to do here? Normally, you’d expect them to discuss the crops, but based on Raz-san’s comment, they might have just used the field as an easy meeting point to hang out.
Either way, I was looking forward to seeing what would happen next.
"Yes! Kaito-kun-san can play with us, and we’ll eat some veggies together later! My green peppers turned out wonderfully delicious this time, so I definitely want you to try some~!"
"..."
Well, a crisis that could easily be called the greatest of the year had suddenly descended upon me, and I was filled with an immediate, overwhelming urge to go home... What on earth was I supposed to do?