Night Shift

The three of them continued working hard into the night.

The hour soon got late so they decided to call it quits and head back in, although part of the field they had started on still wasn’t finished yet.

Since they had worked late Johannes had already returned home and gotten started on preparing dinner, but when they got back Lillianna took over and finished the rest.

Thank goodness, Haruki thought to himself, the only thing Johannes can cook half-decently is beans.

For dinner they had a simple meal of some Rindwyr stew and cornbread. Johannes and Lillianna chatted about the harvest, but Haruki didn’t contribute much.

After dinner was over and the dishes were all washed, Haruki went back outside, grabbing his sickle and heading back over to the field they were working on.

Earlier that day, Johannes had asked the three of them to finish that field together. Maybe it was just a bit too much for them to get done in a day, but since Haruki was so slow he felt it was partly his fault they didn’t get it done earlier.

He resolved that if he couldn’t do the work as fast as them, then the very least he could do is put in the extra hours to make up for it. It’s his duty to prove to Johannes and Lillianna that he is worth keeping around.

He hoped to finish up the rest of the field tonight, but just working by himself it may take a couple more hours, and working in the dark didn’t make things any easier. He wished they had flashlights in this isekai world, but as it stands he could only rely on the light of the moon overhead.

Swish… swish… swish…

The noise of his sickle slicing through the grains produced a rhythmic sound in the silence of night. Combined with the steady hum of the summer cicadas in the distant treetops, this made a lulling song that was slowly making Haruki tired.

“How long are you going to stay out here chopping away like that?” a girl’s voice asked from behind him, startling Haruki.

He turned and saw Lillianna standing before him.

She took a few steps closer, “I noticed you weren’t in the house after dinner, so I figured you may be out here. Either that or you gave up and ran away, but I think you’re better than that.”

“I just thought I’d finish what we started earlier today. Johannes asked us to finish this field, and I felt like I wasn’t as much of a help as I should have been.”

“Honestly, we’re making good time on the harvest. Staying up late like this will just tire you out tomorrow.” She paused for a moment, “But if you’re going to sneakily stay up past your bedtime like a little kid, then at least let me join you.”

She grabbed a handful of stalks and slashed at them with her sickle.

“Alright, but don’t get mad at me if we’re both yelled at tomorrow morning for not getting up on time,” Haruki jabbed back.

“You don’t have to worry about me, I’m always good about getting up early,” she responded. “You’ll be the only one getting yelled at.”

They worked together in silence for a while, an awkward air stifled between them.

Lillianna suddenly spoke: “Haruki, I wanted to ask you about where you came from. What you said earlier today about it, plus your black hair and funny name, all of it makes me wonder what you meant. Are you maybe some rich kid who was forsaken by his family or something?”

Haruki chuckled. “No, no, nothing like that. I certainly was never rich before coming here. You probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you the truth about where I came from.”

“Try me.”

Haruki told her about the world he came from and the futuristic country of Japan, as well as how he died and suddenly found himself lost in this world.

“You were right, I don’t believe you,” Lillianna responded, after Haruki finally finished telling his tale.

“I told you so,” Haruki retorted.

“But you know what? That was a good story, and it makes me want to believe you. Whether or not you truly came from some world outside of our own where magical metal contraptions do everything for you, it doesn’t really matter. I think I understand a little bit more about you.”

“So how about you? Why don’t you tell me something I don’t already know about you?” Haruki said.

“Hmmm… I’m not sure what to say. I guess, if there’s one thing I’ve never really told anybody about, it would be that I want to write a book one day,” she said, her face becoming visibly embarrassed just a bit.

“Oh really? Back in Japan I used to read a lot of books.” Or really more so anime and video games, Haruki thought to himself, but that’s close enough to the concept of a story, I guess. “What type of book were you thinking of writing?”

“I have no idea, but I’ve always wanted to write one. My father taught me how to read and write as a child, but I’m the only one I know who can do those things. Books are very expensive because they have to be hand-copied, and people around here don’t have much use for them.”

“Well, if you ever do write a story, I would very much like to read it, assuming I can even read and write in this world’s scripts.” That was something Haruki had never thought to check so far.

She giggled. “Alright, when I finally write one I’ll make sure you’re the first person who gets to read it, even if you’re on the other side of the world at that point. You can tell me how bad it is compared to the books from your world.”

“Okay, but I’m sure that no matter how bad it is, you’ll write something interesting,” he said back, also halfway laughing.

Together they eventually finished up the field, and then headed back home. The feeling of accomplishment sat heavy within Haruki’s chest, even if he may come to regret it the next morning.