Chapter 73: Do I look scary?

As soon as Elias left Mira alone with the two Nocturne ladies, Evelyn and Elysia felt a little awkward.

How could they not? Mira was glaring at the two of them with wide eyes, like she wanted to swallow them alive.

To break the awkwardness, Evelyn finally tried to start a conversation with a wry laugh.

"Ahaha... Looks like we never properly introduced ourselves before. So, what’s your name?"

"..."

Mira didn’t answer. She just kept staring at the two girls with the same expression.

’Ugh... This is gonna be tough...’

Even so, Evelyn tried to stay optimistic. After all, she wanted to build a good relationship with Mira.

’No matter what, she’s my sister-in-law... Future...’

While Evelyn was lost in her own thoughts, Mira noticed her face slowly turning red. The girl frowned a little before taking a few steps back.

’What’s wrong with her?’

"Don’t you two already know my name? Why are you still asking?"

Evelyn was startled. Mira was right, so she had a hard time coming up with an answer.

"W-well... That’s..."

She then glanced at Elysia, like she was asking her sister to say something too so she could get out of this awkward situation.

But Elysia just turned her face the other way. She had no intention of helping her sister at all.

’E-Elysia?! Why are you...?’

’Don’t drag me into this, Big Sis.’

Seeing how the two girls were acting, Mira finally let out a long sigh before walking over and crouching down in front of them.

"Watch how I pull up these potatoes, Ladies."

Evelyn and Elysia were a bit startled. They looked at each other before crouching down next to Mira.

"How to pull potatoes so they come out nice is pretty simple."

Mira picked up a garden fork that was lying next to her.

"First, you have to loosen the soil around them so the potatoes are easier to lift. For that, we need a tool called a garden fork."

Evelyn and Elysia carefully watched the garden fork in Mira’s hand.

"Stick this fork into the ground. Try not to go too close to the potato stem."

"Ah, why’s that?" Evelyn asked.

"Hmm... Maybe so the potatoes don’t get hurt?" Elysia tried to answer.

"Right. If you go too close, you could stab the potatoes."

Mira then drove the garden fork into the ground and wiggled it a few times to loosen the soil around it.

"After that, lift the plant slowly."

Mira lifted the potato plant along with its roots. A few pretty big potatoes were hanging between the roots.

"This is how you do it."

"Wow..."

Evelyn and Elysia’s eyes lit up when they saw the result.

"Alright! I can definitely do it now!"

Elysia nodded confidently before picking up the garden fork next to her. Then she stuck it into the ground and followed the steps Mira had just taught.

"Wiggle it a bit... Then lift..."

Elysia mumbled as she watched the potato plant in front of her.

Once she felt the soil around it was loose enough, she started lifting the plant slowly. A few big potatoes finally showed up between the roots.

"Wow, you did it, Elysia!"

"Yeah, I did it."

Elysia looked at her work with sparkling eyes. The potatoes she’d lifted this time looked way better than before.

"Alright! My turn now!"

Evelyn quickly grabbed another garden fork. Feeling a little nervous, she started sticking it into the ground.

"Wiggle... Wiggle..."

She kept mumbling with total concentration. Sweat was even starting to bead on her forehead because she was focusing so hard.

Once she felt the soil was loose enough, Evelyn yanked up the potato plant with all her energy.

But the result wasn’t what she hoped for.

A few potatoes did come up with the roots, but most of them were still left in the ground.

"You still need to learn more, Big Sis."

Elysia looked at Evelyn’s work and shook her head a little.

Evelyn tilted her head and scratched her cheek in confusion.

"Huh? But I felt like I did it right..."

"Nope, something’s still wrong. Here..."

Mira walked over to Evelyn’s side and held her hand that was gripping the garden fork.

"Stick the fork in a bit farther from the stem. Then wiggle it slowly until the soil loosens."

Mira guided Evelyn’s hand, moving the garden fork little by little.

"Like this. Don’t rush it."

"Ah... Like that?"

Evelyn nodded a little as she watched how their hands moved.

"Once the soil is loose enough, lift it slowly. You don’t need to use too much strength."

Mira then helped Evelyn lift the potato plant. A few pretty big potatoes were hanging between the roots.

"Oh! I did it!"

Evelyn smiled brightly when she saw the result. Mira let go of Evelyn’s hand before explaining the mistake she’d made earlier.

"Your mistake was not making sure the soil was really loose. You pulled it way too hard, so some potatoes got left in the ground."

But Evelyn just smiled at Mira. That left the girl confused.

"What? Is there something on my face?"

"No. I was just thinking that you know a lot about gardening, Mira."

Mira let out a small sigh at Evelyn’s words. She’d thought the girl was going to say something important, but it was just a tiny thought like that.

She crouched down again and started digging into the soil for potatoes while talking.

"Because I grew up in the village. So of course I know a lot about stuff like this, unlike you two."

’Ah!... Good point...’

For some reason, Mira’s words stung the two girls a little. Evelyn could only smile wryly with a drop of sweat on her face, while Elysia went silent, lowering her head toward the potatoes below.

The mood instantly turned quiet when Mira stopped talking and just focused on the potatoes she was pulling.

Evelyn and Elysia ended up pulling potatoes too without trying to start any conversation. Even though, earlier, they’d both confidently told Elias to go.

The truth was, both of them were really scared to talk to Mira. From the very start, Mira’s impression of Evelyn and Elysia was already bad. She’d even shown killing intent toward them.

It was only natural for Mira to be angry at Evelyn and Elysia. Her brother had just come home after working as a Caretaker, and he’d lost his left arm.

And that wouldn’t change even if their positions were swapped.

Just as the two of them started to feel suffocated by the awkward situation, Mira suddenly opened up a conversation while still working.

"Did my brother do his job well over there?"

"He did really well!"

"He always prepares whatever we need even before we wake up."

Mira nodded slightly after hearing Evelyn and Elysia’s explanation.

"Oh, I see..."

After that, she went silent again. The mood turned quiet and awkward once more.

’I wanna cry...’

’I wanna get out of this situation.’

Even though their faces looked calm, Evelyn and Elysia were actually struggling to hold in the pressure they felt. Evelyn was even close to tears, while Elysia was starting to feel suffocated and uncomfortable being there.

"Are you two scared of me?"

Hearing Mira’s question, Evelyn and Elysia were startled. Evelyn could only laugh wryly without answering.

Realizing they really were scared of her, Mira frowned before putting down the garden fork and standing up to face them.

"Does my face look scary?"

Evelyn and Elysia shook their heads hard when Mira asked that.

But that was obviously a lie. Mira’s face was flat, but to the two of them, that expression felt like a hidden threat.

Even though they were experts at reading a person’s heart from their face and how they breathed. Yet, strangely, Mira’s totally plain, flat face was what they found scary.

*Gulp.

Evelyn and Elysia swallowed hard, sweat dripping down their faces.

Noticing something was off, Mira put both hands on her hips, leaned forward a bit, and puffed out her cheeks.

"Now I’m mad. Do I look scary?"

Seeing Mira make that face, Evelyn and Elysia could only stay silent.

"..."

"..."

The two of them looked at each other for a moment before looking back at Mira.

’...Adorable.’

’...So cute.’

The same thought suddenly popped into both girls’ minds.

Mira, standing in front of them with both hands on her hips and her cheeks puffed out, didn’t look scary at all. On the contrary, that expression just made them want to pinch her cheeks.

Evelyn even tilted her head a little without realizing it, while Elysia just stayed quiet, her gaze slowly softening.

"...What?"

Mira frowned a little when she noticed the two girls looking at her with expressions different from before.

"Why are you both just standing there? Answer me, do I look scary now?"

Evelyn and Elysia just nodded without really listening to what Mira said.

"Yes, you look really, really scary right now," Evelyn said with a smile.

"Stay like that so we get even more scared."

Elysia said that with a faint smile and sparkling eyes. Mira immediately dropped her expression and scratched her head in confusion.

"Is what Big Bro said true, then? That my face is scary."

"Huh? Why do you say that?"

"When I scold Big Bro, I usually make a face like that. And he always says my face is super scary then, while smiling just like you two."

’Ah...’

’Elias enjoys it too...’

Evelyn and Elysia instantly understood what Elias really meant. They could only smile wryly at Mira’s story, and then she continued in an innocent tone.

"Should I stop making this face?"

Hearing that Mira wanted to stop making that expression, Evelyn and Elysia panicked and shot to their feet.

"No need! If you stop making that face, then the next time Elias does something naughty, he won’t listen to you anymore!"

"Big Sis is right! So keep making that cu— I mean scary face so Elias and we won’t do anything naughty!"

"U-Uh...?"

Mira felt a little weird seeing Evelyn and Elysia’s faces glowing like that. I mean, who looks like that when they see something scary?

Even though she was still confused, Mira finally nodded.

"O-okay, if you insist... But seriously, you two are weird, Ladies."

Evelyn immediately hugged Mira’s arm with a wide smile.

"Eh? Is that so?"

Meanwhile, Elysia pinched Mira’s cheek with great enthusiasm.

*Pinch.

"I’ll be weird if that means I get to pinch your cheeks."

"Don’t touch my face! Your hands are dirty!"

Mira shouted in annoyance when Elysia pinched her cheek so affectionately. She then crouched down again and went back to pulling potatoes.

On the other side, Evelyn just laughed at Mira’s behavior, while Elysia kept teasing the girl by trying to pinch her cheek again.

* * *