The sweet, fresh fragrance of fruit filled the room, and soft, mashed pulp wrapped around the girls' ankles.
Inside the large wooden basin, a beautiful scene of spring giving way to summer was unfolding.
On the left, purplish-red juice covered Filvis' ankles. Her white socks, soaked through, clung tightly to her slender calves, outlining even her small, adorable toes.
On the other side, Lefiya had taken off her shoes and socks, revealing fair skin. Her beautiful feet looked like a painting rich with artistic color. Her ankles formed the dividing line: above them was a cloud-like luminous white, and below them was a vivid purplish-red, brimming with a young girl's charm.
"It's cool... and it feels so fun~"
Lefiya tried all kinds of movements.
Sometimes she rose onto her toes, crushing the grapes beneath her feet as she listened to the soft rustle of the skins bursting.
Other times she grabbed the corner of the nearby table and hopped in place, freely enjoying the unfamiliar sensation.
"Mmm..."
Unlike Lefiya's lively bouncing around, Filvis moved much more gently.
She used her own weight to crush the skins with precise, elegant steps, letting the purple juice soak into her white socks. The two girls wore smiles of different shades, and in the boy's eyes, even the ordinary Magic Stone lamplight seemed filled with the warmth of condensed sunlight.
"Come to think of it, why do people crush them with their feet instead of processing them some other way?"
Filvis asked curiously.
"...?"
Lefiya did not know the answer either, so she turned her gaze toward the young man.
Bell thought for a moment, then explained, "For one thing, when you crush grapes with your feet, you can use your own body weight, so it saves time and effort. Also, doing it this way won't crush the grape seeds, which would make the wine taste bitter."
"I see..."
Filvis nodded and said with feeling, "Bell really is knowledgeable."
"Well, I do have a rather unreliable grandfather back home..."
Bell replied with a smile.
Savoring fine wine pressed by a beautiful girl's feet, now that was a man's romance!
When his grandfather said those words, there had not been the slightest hesitation in his eyes.
"Mmm..."
Lefiya let out a happy sound as she danced in the wooden basin.
"Huh? I was praising Bell, so why is Lefiya grinning like an idiot?"
Filvis set off the fuse of embarrassment at close range.
"Wh-what?! I am not grinning like an idiot!"
Lefiya denied it flatly.
Feeling overjoyed because the boy had been praised. Was that not exactly what a true lover would do?
"Hmm... all right."
Filvis did not keep teasing Lefiya. She turned slightly and asked, "Bell, what's the other reason?"
Under the curious gazes of the two girls, Bell explained softly:
"Apparently, a certain God liked the sight of beautiful girls stomping grapes, so they spread it as a custom."
"Ugh... Lewd and shameless!"
Lefiya's accusation practically leapt up to the rafters.
"Lefiya-san? That was something a certain great God did. It has absolutely nothing to do with me, you know?"
Bell could clearly see the golden-yellow elf glaring at him, her face bright red.
"Shut up! You just want to get close so you can lick Filvis' feet, white socks, grape juice, and all! Idiot, pervert, permanently horny rabbit!"
Lefiya invented the charge out of thin air.
"Lefiya-san!"
"Wh-what is it?"
At the boy's rare shout, Lefiya's momentum weakened a little.
"I simply cannot accept what you just said!"
Bell's gaze was completely unwavering.
"I... I see? Did I misunderstand you...?"
Lefiya thought back on what she had said and also felt she might have gone a bit too far.
"No, how could you only mention Filvis? Lefiya-san is also a very beautiful and charming young woman!"
Bell pointed out the flaw in her statement with righteous conviction.
"..."
Lefiya froze for an instant.
A dark mist seemed to rise from her long, rich golden hair.
The boy's words may have been a joke, or they may have contained a bit of lecherous intent.
But to Lefiya, the truth no longer mattered.
"You, you permanently horny rabbit!!!!!"
As the girl's embarrassment surged like waves, a string of faintly sweet purple footprints began circling through the room.
"Hehe..."
Filvis continued finishing the grape-stomping.
She watched the two of them run in circles, and the corners of her mouth lifted without her realizing it.
Only after every grape in the wooden basin had been reduced to pulp and juice did the chase finally end with Lefiya's defeat.
"Let's clean up first, then go find the landlady."
Bell looked at the messy footprints on the floor and suggested it.
"Hah... hah... I know... Filvis-san, why didn't you help me?"
Panting, Lefiya picked up a mop and started cleaning up her own footprints.
"I'm not as hopelessly in love as you are."
Filvis teased her softly.
"Ugh..."
Lefiya had no comeback, which made Filvis laugh again.
Amid laughter as light as birdsong, the group finished the grape-stomping process.
...
The landlady poured the grape juice into wooden barrels in front of them.
"Once it's fermented, it can be stored. Come back around this time next year, and you can pick it up then."
She deftly took out a piece of parchment and handed it to Bell. "Write your names here."
"Do we only need to write one person's name?"
Bell asked.
"No. Strictly speaking, with the title [Little Rookie], it wouldn't matter even if you didn't write a name."
The landlady glanced at the two elf girls beside Bell, then continued, "I'd like to bask in a bit of your fame. Who knows, maybe in a year, the parchment with your names on it will become a family heirloom. Besides, leaving something behind makes the memory easier to hold onto, doesn't it?"
"That's true. Let's all write our names together~"
Lefiya's enthusiasm returned at once. "When we come back here this day next year to open the wine, I'm sure seeing this parchment will make us really happy!"
Their promise was only spoken aloud.
But with their names and the grape juice, it no longer felt so fleeting.
No matter how the relationship between the three of them might change by this day next year, as long as they could meet here again, that alone was enough to make the current Lefiya feel happy.
She took the paper and pen from the landlady and cheerfully wrote the name "Lefiya."
Then Lefiya handed the parchment to the boy, and Bell's name was added above it.
"..."
Filvis looked at the two of them, both so full of enthusiasm, and hesitated for a moment.
In the end, she still accepted the parchment and made her decision.
"It's just writing a name, so why did Filvis-san secretly go off to the side?"
Lefiya poked Bell's arm and asked.
"Maybe she's shy?"
Bell watched Filvis' back and noticed something odd in the movement of her hands.
By the time the black-haired elf returned, the names on the parchment had changed beyond recognition.
Lefiya frowned deeply.
Reflected in her blue eyes, three names were written on the parchment.
Filvis, Bell Cranel, Lefiya Cranel.
"Filvis-san, w-what did you write?!!!!"