TWELVE Ch 13

Along with the food the five of them had ordered, the waitress placed a plate of crackers that smelled of cheese and pine nuts on the table. She said it was a special treat for Romeo’s group since they hadn’t visited in a while, but both Valeria and Marco knew it was actually because of Romeo. This was despite the fact that Romeo didn’t even know what her face looked like, other than the fact that she wore her reddish-brown hair tied up high.

“When he said ‘Have you eaten?’ with a face like that, how could I not be shocked? It sounded as if he were speaking with someone else’s borrowed voice.”

Having had some alcohol, Marco was chatting away pleasantly. Giovanni had many questions for the trio of Romeo, Valeria, and Marco; Romeo thought that Giovanni was quite adept at carrying on a conversation with strangers.

Not long after the food arrived, Giovanni complemented Valeria on her beautiful hair color. He asked her about military life and if she had any hobbies, then told Marco that back when he worked as a doctor, he had a patient whose voice was so exceptionally good that he still remembered it to this day, praising Marco’s voice as being just as impressive as that patient’s.

Romeo felt that Giovanni led the conversation with light expressions of surprise like “I see,” “Is that so?” or “That is amazing,” and prompts like “So what happened then?” or “And then?” Furthermore, he realized that the man enjoyed complimenting others regardless of who they were, which resolved a lingering doubt he had held.

Serafina was a woman of few words, so while the other three talked, Romeo silently drank wine with her as she sat across from him. During this, Giovanni asked him if his hometown was somewhere other than Bacci. When Romeo asked why he was curious, he answered like this:

“I felt it during the last interrogation. There was one specific intonation in your speech that felt unique. I remember what it was, but seeing Captain Musoyo’s expression, it might be better if I do not say. Look at him, he is enjoying this far too much. If it is not rude to discuss such things, may I ask where your hometown is?”

In the conversation that followed, Romeo spoke about his hometown, Neve. A southern region that took three full days to reach from Bacci by carriage alone, Neve had a unique dialect with not only different intonations but also slightly different spellings.

“Since I started using the Bacci dialect, no one has asked about my hometown. I thought I had corrected all of my Neve speech, but I suppose I was wrong.”

When the topic of the dialect came up, Marco told Giovanni several stories from the time of Romeo’s commission. Giovanni found them interesting, but Romeo felt somewhat bashful, as he always did when old stories were brought up.

“I knew the southern dialect was strong. About how long after your commission was it that you were able to use the Bacci dialect perfectly?”

“I believe it took about two months.”

“Two months? You changed it quickly.”

“Captain Marlo gave me a lot of help.”

At Romeo’s words, Valeria laughed as she picked up a cheese and pine nut cracker. She remembered Romeo’s manner of speech and behavior, which had been more characteristic of a Neve native than anyone else’s at the time of his commission.

“There was always at least one person who would burst out laughing whenever the Captain opened his mouth, so I could not help but assist. It wasn’t that the Neve dialect was funny. It was the opposite. Everyone liked the Neve speech. However, if he did not fix his way of speaking, he was essentially introducing his place of origin every single moment he spoke, which often put the Captain in awkward situations.”

Giovanni took a sip of wine and asked Romeo in a curious voice.

“I am curious what was the most difficult thing for you when you first started living here. Is there anything you remember in particular?”

“Well. There was nothing particularly difficult other than the fact that I was a stranger here. I did not find city life difficult.”

“You lived here alone while leaving your younger siblings back in your hometown, so you must have been very lonely.”

Romeo felt his tension gradually loosening without his realizing it as he recalled the old days. Giovanni’s words overlapped with his old memories, evoking nostalgia.

“I did not think so at the time, but looking back, I think I missed my hometown a lot.”

“When was the last time you went to Neve?”

“It has been more than five years.”

“You must think of your hometown often?”

“Yes. Compared to Bacci, Neve has different weather, different people, and different food. I am reminded of Neve whenever I discover habits that have been ingrained in my body since childhood. Things like the habits I have because I was born and raised in the countryside.”

Because he was forgetting the scenery of Neve, he missed it all the more. The memories of the wide, green fields, the small farmhouses beneath every hill, and among them, his own home—the coziest and warmest of them all—reminded him of the passage of time and seasons. The red roofs, the smoke rising from the chimneys, and the candlelight inside the house that could be seen from afar in the evening were gradually fading away. This was partly because it had been too long since he had visited, and partly because his eyesight was failing.

He had to go to Neve before his eyes lost their sight completely. He needed to climb the highest hill in the village to take in the panoramic view of the town, and he had to stop by the graves of his father and mother.

“It seems having a hometown to return to has lessened the loneliness of living here for you, Captain. This is the most relaxed expression I have seen on your face so far. The one you are making right now.”

Giovanni picked up the wine bottle and poured it into Romeo’s empty glass. As the empty glass was filled with a pale purple light, Romeo looked at Giovanni. He knew the man was smiling. He also knew that he was not making proper eye contact with him.

He thought that whatever was felt in Giovanni’s voice would also be contained within his gaze. With that guess, he fumbled his hand to grasp the wine glass.

“But…”

Giovanni put down the wine bottle and pointed to the plate placed in front of Romeo. A piece of pie remained on the plate.

“You have not eaten anything at all.”

Romeo had only managed to eat half a piece of pie while drinking three glasses of wine.

“I am not particularly hungry.”

Romeo looked at the plates of lamb and pie placed on the table in turn. For the sake of his poor eyesight, the waitress always placed the food in that specific order. The duck and veal that Giovanni and Serafina had ordered today were placed side-by-side next to the lamb and pie plates.

He could not see the golden-brown color of the cooked meat or the appetizing red color of the seasoning. He knew there was food on the plate, he knew what that food was, and he could guess what it tasted like. Because various food smells were mixed together inside the pub, he could not distinguish the unique scent of just the lamb or the duck. Even if a cat were served on the plate instead of lamb, there would be no great visual difference to him.

“If you need, I can describe the foods here for you.”

Giovanni leaned toward Romeo and rested his arm on the back of the chair Romeo was sitting in. He brought his long, elegant fingers to his mouth, rubbed his lips with his fingertips, and then tapped the lamb plate.

“If I describe the ‘soft and tender texture,’ or the ‘brownish leg meat soaked in seasoning,’ or the ‘plate pooled with succulent juices,’ your appetite will return. Because you, Captain, cannot see how delicious the food on the table looks right now. Since you cannot see it well, naturally the thought of wanting to eat would not occur to you.”

At Giovanni’s words, Romeo furrowed his brow slightly. It was the truth. Being unable to see affected one’s appetite. When one could not smell, it was the color and shape of the food that made one’s mouth water. Since he could not bring his eyes close to the plate at every meal to see the food, he had to rely on the help of others. It was only natural that the less familiar the food was, the less he felt like eating it.

But how could Giovanni have such a thought?

“Is there a blind person like me among your acquaintances?”

Romeo revealed a pure curiosity he had never shown before. It was at that moment.

Crash!