Chapter 796

Lize Meeting Friends

A few days had passed since Yuna-san and Kagali-chan returned.

Initially, time passed as if nothing had happened in the town, but soon, some people started to feel that something was wrong.

The first people to feel that were those who made contact with other towns.

Incoming supplies were not arriving. Merchants from other towns were also not coming, so the town couldn’t buy or sell anything.

Apparently the Commerce Guild explained the situation to its members, but the people were still skeptical about it.

However, when the ships from other towns didn’t come for days and people who visited other towns to reestablish trade under the arrangement of Commerce Guild were all convinced of the fact, a certain thought gradually began to spread throughout the town.

Though it was initially hard to believe, people were gradually starting to believe that they had been frozen for three years.

As for exchange with other towns, it seemed that it would be difficult to trade supplies in the same way as it was three years ago, but after they learned about the situation in our town, the merchants from other towns decided to be somewhat flexible.

There would be less trade for a while, but they would gradually discuss and decide on what to do next.

It looked like the Commerce Guild and Father would be busy for quite some time.

Next was the mines. I heard that people who went there without knowing anything were surprised by the Ice Dragon’s footprints.

The warehouse had also been destroyed, so they would be rebuilding it first.

Then, as for the bear bath that Yuna-san made, it would be used by the people working in the mines.

Workers were surprised by the bear bath at first, but when they saw facilities inside, they were more than happy.

However, they thought that it would be embarrassing to have such a cute bear design, so they suggested doing something about it, but Father and Grandpa Bende rejected the idea.

Yuna-san made it for us after all.

They wanted to treasure it and keep it.

Speaking of bears, there was a big bear statue outside the town.

That was made by Yuna-san to protect the town from the Ice Dragon’s attacks when she fought it.

Yuna-san said that she would clean it up, but it seemed like she forgot about it when she went home.

Now it had become a mysterious structure for town residents.

I also went close to see it, and there were many people there.

Father said that he would not remove the bear statue, but would leave it as it was.

Was it okay for them to decide about it on their own?

I wondered if Yuna-san would be angry the next time she visits.

But that bear statue protected the town from the Ice Dragon.

Even if the townspeople didn’t know, we knew that the two girls helped the town.

I think it was good to leave the bear statue there, so that we wouldn’t forget that Yuna-san and Kagali-chan saved the town.

If I got married and had children, I’d like to tell them about that time.

Father said that he would negotiate with Yuna-san if she came back to remove the statue later.

I spent my days helping Father and being busy.

No, I pretended to be busy and put off something important.

That was to see my two dear friends.

I have two precious friends.

Fran and Ina.

We’d been playing and running around together since we were little.

I didn’t have the courage to meet them.

I didn’t know what kind of expression I should make when I meet them.

And I was scared of what kind of expression they would have when they see me all grown up.

I was scared that we might not be able to be friends anymore… so I was too scared to meet them.

But it would be the same if I never met them.

Kagali-chan’s words stuck in my head.

I would never forget the moment when Mother and Sister first saw me after three years.

Why was I the only one who had grown up?

If I’d been frozen in time with everyone else, I wouldn’t have felt this way.

Three years didn’t make much difference to adults like Father and Grandpa Bende.

But I have changed greatly.

I’ve grown taller, my childish 12-year-old face was gone, and I was more mature than my sister.

I couldn’t keep running away from this issue forever.

The day had come to face it.

Nia, who looked after me, said, “My dear lady, Fran-sama and Ina-sama are here to visit you. What should I do?”

Nia knew that I was always anxious about meeting my friends again.

“What should we do? Should I ask them to go home?” (Lize)

“…” (Nia)

… I was scared to meet them.

I was not ready yet.

But I knew that I couldn’t avoid seeing them forever.

I took a deep breath.

I’ve decided not to run away anymore.

“… Please let them in.” (Lize)

“Understood.” (Nia)

The door opened and the two of them came in.

Three years had passed, but the two of them were still 12 years old as they were three years ago.

Only I’d grown up.

I realized it all over again.

But when I saw them, a different emotion welled up inside me.

It was nostalgia.

Friends I thought were dead were still alive.

When the Ice Dragon froze the town, everyone thought that they lost their family and friends and cried.

But…they’re still alive.

They’re the same as they were three years ago.

“Lize-chan?” (Fran)

“What’s wrong, you’re suddenly crying?” (Ina)

I had started crying without realizing it.

“No, it’s nothing.” (Lize)

I wiped my tears with a handkerchief.

“You say it’s nothing, but why are you crying the moment you see us.” (Fran)

The two of them come over to me, worried.

And they sat next to me.

“So, why were you crying?” (Fran)

“Were you scared of Fran’s face?” (Ina)

“Ina!” (Fran)

Fran had an angry face.

Seeing that exchange made me smile.

It brought back memories. It was similar to how we exchange normally a long time ago.

“I was scared to meet you two. But more than that, I’m happy that you two are alive because I thought I’d never see you again.” (Lize)

Even if they looked at me strangely, I was happy that they were alive. I was happy to see them.

“That’s right. We were frozen for three years.” (Fran)

“From Lize’s point of view, we were dead.” (Ina)

Not only Lize’s mother and sister, but Fran and Ina, were also frozen.

“But when I look at Lize, I realize that three years have really passed.” (Fran)

“She’s grown.” (Ina)

I looked at them and realized.

They remained the same as I remembered.

“It’s strange.” (Fran)

“We really were frozen for three years.” (Ina)

“Do you believe it?” (Lize)

“Our family operates a business, you know? Father heard about it from the Commerce Guild.” (Fran)

Her family owned a fairly large business company.

We met when we were young because of my father’s work, and we became friends because we were the same age.

“At first, my father said he couldn’t believe it. And I felt the same too, of course.” (Ina)

“But not a single ship from other towns came.” (Fran)

“That’s when people started to notice that something was going on.” (Ina)

“Well, Ina’s father and my father got on a ship and went to the trading town. My father said that the people there had told them just as the Guild Master had said. That was a big problem, and my father was worried that all trade had stopped.” (Fran)

“It’s the same thing with us. We’re not getting the goods we used to trade.” (Ina)

“They knew about our situation, so they told my father that terms of trade won’t be the same as they were three years ago, but they will resume trading with our town once more.” (Fran)

“But my father said that trade volume was less than half of what it was before.” (Ina)

My father said something similar.

“And then I heard about Lize.” (Fran)

“Lize has been watching over the frozen town for three years.” (Ina)

I wasn’t watching over it.

I was not really doing anything for three years.

“When I heard that story, my heart felt like it was being squeezed.” (Fran)

“It was painful even to imagine it.” (Ina)

“So after talking it over with Ina, we came to see you.” (Fran)

They held my hands.

“Actually, I was worried if it was alright to meet you two. No, rather, I was scared.” (Lize)

“You mentioned that before, but why were you scared?” (Fran)

“I thought about how you two would look at me who have completely changed.” (Lize)

“Lize, you’ve become beautiful.” (Fran)

“Yes, you’re beautiful.” (Ina)

“That’s not true. I didn’t take good care of my hair for three years, so it was messy, and look, my hands are rough.” (Lize)

My mother prepared various treatments for my hair, and it’s getting beautiful, but my hands were not so easy to heal.

I smiled and showed them my hands.

They held my hands.

“These hands are the hands that worked hard.” (Ina)

“Looking at these hands, I can see how hard your life was. No, it was probably harder and more painful than I thought.” (Fran)

“If anyone makes fun of you, I’ll get mad at them.” (Ina)

She said the same thing as my mother and sister.

That made me so happy.

The tears started to flow down my eyes again.

They haven’t changed. They were my kind friends.

“But I’m the only one who’s grown up. I wanted to grow up with you two. I wanted to become an adult with you two.” (Lize)

I couldn’t control my emotions.

And I didn’t mean to say it in a bad way.

I knew that if I said so, it would cause trouble for them, but I still did.

“Your body has grown, but inside, you haven’t changed.” (Fran)

“I feel relieved.” (Ina)

“That’s not true. I have grown in mind as well.” (Lize)

I could now fillet fish, I could prepare fire with firewood, and I even helped everyone during the three years when we were doing our best to survive.

“I’m already a big sister now.” (Lize)

“Hehe…” (Fran)

“Haha…” (Ina)

They both laughed.

“Fran? Ina?” (Lize)

“It’s only been three years. I’ll catch up soon.” (Fran)

“I will also grow up quickly and be on par with Lize.” (Ina)

“Lize won’t grow up that much anymore, but we’ll grow up.” (Fran)

“I’ll grow up even more.” (Lize)

I was only 15, so I should still continue to grow.

However, when I went to the doctor, I was told that I might not grow as much because my nutrition was unbalanced.

Although I was certainly bigger than the two of them, I was a little small for a normal 15-year-old.

I might be overtaken in height in three years.

But if I ate well and took good care of my health, I was sure I would grow up even more.

“Besides, when we grow up, the difference of three years won’t matter much.” (Ina)

“Yeah. 30 and 33 are pretty much the same age.” (Fran)

“60 and 63 are also pretty much the same age.” (Ina)

When I heard that, I felt like things wouldn’t change much.

“So, please wait for us.” (Fran)

“We’ll catch up with you soon.” (Ina)

“Yes, I’ll be waiting. Catch up with me soon.” (Lize)

“Let’s become grandmothers together.” (Fran)

“Yes, let’s grow up together.” (Ina)

My precious friends.

We would continue to be friends together.

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