Chapter 3: Following the Word of the Page

The summer was getting hotter day by day.

Although the seasons changed, my daily life stayed the same. I worked in the fields, gathered edible plants on the outskirts of the forest, went to the church to borrow books, and helped Lady Maika study. However, one new activity had been added since spring: I started helping Ban in exchange for wild herbs, which he picked up on his hunts.

Basically, I did maintenance for his hunting tools, such as his spears and traps, and helped him dissect and process his prey. I had to admit, though, that until recently I was probably slowing him down more than anything, as he had to teach me how to properly do his work. However, as a result, I now had some basic knowledge of hunting.

He had promised to take me to the mountains sometime in the future. I could not wait to join him and collect wild herbs myself. Since Ban was first and foremost a hunter, he could never bring back too many herbs, but I was sure that was going to change once I tagged along. In summer, there were also supposed to be some very delicious and filling plants, so I was also looking forward to expanding my dinner menu.

And there was one more thing that had changed: I had started looking after a mouse. After some deliberation, I had settled for the name Guinea Pig. And as the name suggested, it was not a pet; I was currently experimenting with the healing effects of aloe on it. I was planning to test other medicine on the little mouse too—he did not have any right to veto.

As someone with past-life memories, intentionally hurting a mouse which I had caught and forcing it to drink a dangerous amount of aloe seemed quite... reasonable. However, for us mice were enemies—they were not weak and pitiful, but rather cunning and formidable foes. They were an odious bunch who did not deserve any mercy.

In my past life, I probably would not have hated them this much, but in this world where we were fighting with hunger daily, mice who ate up the crops in the fields and in the warehouse were mere pests, and eliminated on sight. I did not think it was necessary to torture them in the process of extermination, but I did slightly enjoy using them as guinea pigs for my necessary experiments. When it came to hunger, humans tended to become narrow-minded.

Thanks to my odious Guinea Pig, I had learned a great deal about aloe. It depended on the proper dose, but it seemed to alleviate—or at the very least prevent—festering on all kinds of ailments of the skin, ranging from open wounds to burns and bug bites. Taking it orally seemed to help with stomach aches and constipation.

After experimenting on the guinea pig, I also started experimenting on myself by rubbing the ointment on my right hand, which in turn had become smooth like a baby’s skin. Well, not quite, but all the cracks and hangnails on my hand, which had been quite rough from working day and night, had disappeared, and it had become much smoother. So much so, that my left hand looked shriveled in comparison.

That effect alone would have been enough to sell it as medicine, especially to women. My own mother enthusiastically volunteered as a second human test subject. It seemed that it had made her kitchen work more comfortable, and it warmed my heart to see her smile.

I was going to talk to Mr. Quid and tentatively hoped to have him sell it in the city once I managed to finalize the ointment. I needed to conduct more clinical trials, but as a farmer, I was limited in my resources. In that regard, I also wanted to consult with the peddler and cautiously select my customers. If I managed to gain some money, farming work was sure to become easier too. We could buy farming tools, horses, and cows... or maybe even something better.

I needed to inform myself before making any purchases, though, and the best way to do that was to gain more knowledge by reading more books.

“That looks like a difficult book again. What are you reading this time?” As I was reading in the church, Lady Maika started talking to me with a smile on her face.

By now, she was used to coming here alone, and she was no longer nervous. She sat down next to me and looked at my book.

“Live...stock... ma...nu...al... A livestock manual?”

“Correct. Well done.”

It was still a bit clumsy at times, but her reading had become quite good. If she continued like this, soon she was going to be able to read at the same speed that she talked. At the moment, she was focusing on learning how to write, though. She looked a bit bashful, but happy that she was able to read the words.

“But why livestock? That means animals like horses and cows, right?”

“Yes, any animal that can be domesticated. Chickens too.”

“So, basically meat?”

“Yes, meat.” I agreed with Lady Maika, who was correct on all accounts. As a child, this may have been the only correct perception. “If my aloe ointment is a success, I will make some money. I do not know how much I can make, but if possible, I want to start something new in this village.”

“And that would be livestock?”

“That was one idea. However, it looks like raising animals is quite expensive, so I would need to make a lot of money first.”

It also required a lot of specific knowledge and manpower. It would have been necessary to employ someone with that knowledge. That person and the animals would have also needed shelter in the village, and of course, we also would have needed to buy some animals first. It did not seem very realistic to expect the profits from the aloe ointment to pay for all of that.

The farming horse that had died two years ago had been the last survivor of a group of horses gifted to help develop this village in its early stages. They had been a cheap initial investment, and it had been understood from the beginning that they were not supposed to hold out for too long, eventually destined for slaughter.

At the early stages of development, short-term solutions to overcome the obstacles in front of your eyes may have been appropriate, but now it was necessary to think of long-term solutions. In that regard, livestock—which had a fairly short life span—was not the best investment. It was more cost-effective to buy new farm tools made of iron. Chickens would have been easier to raise, but seeing that there were no walls surrounding this village, there was a real danger of the livestock dying to wolves or maybe even demons.

According to my research, demons were clearly distinct from wolves or other similar harmful beasts. I really wondered what those demons were...

I told Lady Maika some of my more practical thoughts. Even though she was still young, she happily listened to my presumably quite boring ramblings. She was a good person; no doubt she was going to have a wonderful family someday.

“That’s amazing! You are really something, Ash.”

“Do not flatter me yet; I still have not done anything.”

“That’s not true. Your medicine is already amazing. My parents thought so too. Look!” She held out both her hands in front of me.

“Oh, let me see.” Reluctantly, I drew her hands towards me, looked at their front and back, and traced them with my fingers.

It was no sexual harassment; I merely observed the results of my experiment. Lady Maika had been test subject number three. She had noticed the difference between my right and left hand when I was using the ointment on myself. Once I had told her the reason, she had been eager to try it herself. After all, she was still a woman, albeit a young one. After the experiment on myself had ended, I had both her and my mother use the ointment.

“It looks good. I cannot see any rashes or red swellings. How do you feel? Does it hurt or itch anywhere?”

She did not reply when I started my pseudo-examination after touching her skin. I realized what had happened when I saw her staring at my hand holding hers, with a nervous look on her bright-red face.

“I am sorry, I should have held back. I did not mean to be rude towards a lady.”

Even though she was a child, I should have taken into consideration that she was still a girl. In my defense, I had wanted to make sure that there were no bad side effects from my experiment.

“N-N-No. It’s c-completely f-f-fine.”

She was so kind. However, I needed to make an effort to treat her like a lady from now on. I wanted to become a better person than in my past life, and my goal was to become a perfect gentleman in this world. I did not think I could have ever fully grasped a woman’s heart, but I was going to try my best.

Still blushing, Lady Maika continued, “And there have been none of the side effects that you mentioned at the start; my skin has just become really smooth.”

“I am glad to hear that.”

No matter the world, women’s awareness of beauty and cosmetics seemed to stay the same. This was destined to be a success once I started selling it.

“Also, my mom said that she wanted to try it...” She apologetically looked up at me.

That was fine with me—I was more than happy to welcome test subject number four. “Yes, sure. Just make sure to tell her that it is possible there will be side effects, or that it could not be well-suited for her type of skin.”

“And as soon as it starts to hurt, itch, or feel strange, she needs to stop using it immediately, right?”

“Exactly.” As long as she follows that rule, she can use it as much as she wants.

After all, I still owed a great debt to Lady Maika’s mother, Mrs. Yuika, for introducing me to the world of books.

After a bit of small talk, I went ahead and proposed we start our usual studying session. “Let us start today’s lesson, then. Do you want to practice writing again?”

“Before we start, I wanted to ask you about a word that I didn’t understand.”

“Oh, sure. Let us start with that.”

It was still mostly me who was in charge of Lady Maika’s lessons. Stop slacking off, Father Folke.

Maika’s Perspective

Hehe. Ash had held my hand. Hehe.

It had been a while since he had last grabbed my hand, so I had been nervous when he was tracing my palm, but remembering it now, I was smiling. It was amazing how I could be so happy from such a slight touch. Ash was amazing.

“So Ash said you could use it too.” I reported to my mom that Ash had granted her request while putting the ointment wrapped inside a big leaf on top of the table.

If I was honest, I would have preferred to keep using it by myself, since it was a present from Ash, but he had said that my mom could use it too, so I shared it with her. At the end of the day, I didn’t want him to end up hating me because I was hiding it from my mom.

“Thank you, Maika.” My mom did not hesitate to put some on her fingers and rub it all over her hands. “My skin feels refreshed already! I will have to get your dad to compliment me once it’s become softer!” She grinned.

She looked so happy. It was wonderful to see how well my parents got along. Although it was also a little embarrassing with all the children and adults teasing them about it.

“If it works, I will contact my family and... Maybe I can use Quid as a middleman to sell it...” Before I realized it, she had stopped smiling. She had a stern look on her face and murmured some difficult phrases. “But I am sure this will sell; the only problem is Ash...”

“Ash is a problem?” What about Ash is a problem? I felt a little bit offended.

“Oh, you are giving me the death glare.”

Of course. If someone was going to do something bad to Ash, I was not going to forgive them, even if it was my own mom.

As I intensified my stare, she suddenly broke out in laughter. “You are scary, Maika! To think that you were so attached to me and your dad until recently! But I guess your heart is with someone else now...”

You don’t seem scared at all!

“Mom!!”

“Yeah, I know! I’m sorry! I didn’t express myself very well—I won’t do anything bad to Ash! Please forgive me.”

I guess I will forgive you this time. I crossed my arms and nodded to signify my pardon.

“Our daughter is too cute! You have been showing us so many new facial expressions ever since you realized you like Ash.”

“Is that related to Ash?”

“Is it not?”

I-I don’t know. My mom looked satisfied seeing me turn my face away. She put on her victory face.

“Well, putting that aside, earlier I was just thinking that I needed to talk to Ash. We need to properly prepare or things are going to go wrong really fast, considering how amazing this ointment is.”

“Yes! Ash is amazing!”

“Yeah, much more than I anticipated...”

While I had become energized again, my mom had gone silent. That must have been due to Ash’s influence too.

“By the way, Maika. I know that you are head over heels for Ash, but how about him?”

Uhm... “He seems to enjoy himself when talking to me?”

I tried answering as best as I could, but my mom sighed in disappointment. “I will help you too, Maika, but you will have to put in most of the effort by yourself.”

“But... I don’t know what to do... How can I get Ash to like me?”

“...” My mom fell silent.

Don’t put people on the spot if you don’t know the answer yourself!!

“Hm... Yeah, that’s a difficult question,” my mom continued. “But, you know, it looks like Ash quite likes me?”

What?!

“He has a different attitude when talking with me. Could it be that I made him fall for me?”

“Stop lying!!”

“I hope you’re right and it’s a lie.”

She was chuckling like a witch. Her smile was beautiful, but at the same time evil. Why was she talking about stealing Ash’s heart, which was supposed to be mine? I couldn’t believe that my own mother would have been so cruel and wicked.

“I will never hand over Ash!!”

“Is that something you can decide by yourself?”

“Yes! I have decided it!”

“Alright, I’m sorry,” my mom apologized, seeing how angry I was. Still, the smile on her face made me doubt her sincerity. “How about I invite Ash over for dinner as an apology?”

“Ash will have dinner with us?” That sounded good. Having dinner together almost made it seem as if he were part of the family. “He will sit next to me, right?”

“Of course. I have to sit next to your father after all,” she agreed without hesitation.

In that case, I guess I’ll forgive you.

I was satisfied, but my mom was frowning. “Maika, could it be that you don’t know what it means to invite someone over for dinner?”

“Eating dinner together?” Was there something else?

As I tilted my head, my mom touched her forehead and shook her head. It was the same motion that she always did when I covered my new clothes in dirt on the same day they had been bought.

“You see, Maika...” I stiffened upon hearing the irritated tone of her voice. “Unlike breakfast and lunch, dinner is precious family time.”

“Y-Yeah.”

“So, if you include someone from another family, it’s like saying you are okay with them becoming a part of your family.”

“What?!” Becoming a part of our family? Does that mean we would become engaged?

I felt my face blush at once. I mean, who could have stayed calm upon hearing their mom saying something so outrageous?

“D-D-Does Ash know this too?!”

“I am not sure; a lot of parents probably don’t teach these things to children your age,” she pondered, cheekily implying that she, however, had informed me. “Well, it’s mostly an understanding between adults. By extending a dinner invitation, you are informing the other family that your child probably likes theirs. If they accept the invitation, then that means that they think their child reciprocates those feelings.”

“He reciprocates my feelings? Is Ash gonna say he likes me?”

“As it’s only an understanding between adults, it’d only be a preliminary confirmation. You both won’t really have to say anything, but... you like Ash, right?”

“I don’t want to answer.” I was dying of embarrassment. Why did she look so troubled? She was the one that had put me on the spot. “So, does that mean that, if Ash accepts the invitation... Does that mean that he...?”

In that case, I’d peacefully die of happiness. Of course, I planned to actually live to see the dinner! My thoughts were racing, and it felt as if there was a festival going on inside of me.

“I want to say yes, but seeing that we are the village chief’s family, I am not so sure. I don’t think anyone would turn down an invitation from our house.” My mother dampened my excitement with a regretful look on her face. “Earlier you were a bit hesitant when I asked you about Ash’s feelings... Is he as smitten with you as you are with him?”

Those words were like a storm that made the festival inside of me come to a sudden stop. I wondered what my face looked like.

Before I knew it, my mom was hugging me. “It’s alright, Maika. At least we know that Ash doesn’t hate you, so we will do our best to make him your bridegroom!”

“...Yes.” My answer came out in a barely audible, trembling voice.

●　●　●

A while after Mrs. Yuika had started using the aloe ointment, Lady Maika invited me to have dinner with them. At the same time, she also asked for some more ointment, as it had been decreasing faster with two people using it.

The dinner invitation must have been a sort of compensation. Since I also profited from having them take part in my experiment, I had not expected anything in return, but such was the nature of human relationships.

On top of that, my parents had also pressured me to go, so I was currently knocking on the front door of the village chief’s house.

Lady Maika opened the door. “Welcome, Ash.” She seemed nervous.

“Milady, I have come at your request.” I bowed as I tried to relieve the tension with a joke. Once again, I felt like I was making a fool out of myself.

“Hehe, you are talking weird again.” At least this time it seemed that I had managed to calm down Lady Maika’s nerves.

“Your dress looks good on you; you look even more gorgeous than usual.”

It seemed that she had put on her best dress to welcome their guest, even if it was only me. I promptly complimented her to show that I appreciated her effort. After all, all girls loved having their carefully-chosen outfits praised.

In response, she turned bright red. “Th-Thank you! Y-You look great too!”

As expected, the daughter of the village chief had impeccable social skills, and returned the compliment, praising my Sunday clothes, which my mother had made me.

“You look great indeed, Ash—what a handsome gentleman!” Behind the bright-red Lady Maika, her mother Yuika, the most elegant woman in the village, appeared.

“I am flattered by your praise, Mrs. Yuika.”

“Let me welcome you inside.”

“Thank you.”

After being shown inside, I also thanked Mr. Klein, Lady Maika’s father and the village chief, who had been waiting in the living room. Even though the village chief was very competent himself, I considered Mrs. Yuika to be above him in the power hierarchy. After all, she was born the daughter of an influential family from the city. Both in terms of social status and in their relationship, he seemed to be overpowered by his wife. Although it did not even look like he tried to come out on top.

“Let’s get started with dinner, now that our lovely guest has arrived.”

The four of us sat down at a beautiful table. I sat next to Lady Maika, and opposite to Mrs. Yuika.

I was not yet fully accustomed to the etiquette of this world, but it seemed that there was a determined seating order. I just sat down in the seat I had been shown, so there were not going to be any problems. This was the first time in nine years that I had to consider table manners. I was a little nervous, but I tried my best not to look too disgraceful while eating.

“You are indeed a very smart gentleman, Ash,” Mrs. Yuika kindly praised me.

“Oh, I am just learning by imitating your impeccable table manners. By the way, you are a great cook, Mrs. Yuika; this food is delicious. It might not be my place to say this, but I envy you, Mr. Klein.”

“Did you hear, darling? Haha, this young boy just complimented me.”

As expected, Mrs. Yuika was leading the conversation. Her husband nodded enthusiastically in agreement with a big smile on his face. I really envied their passionate relationship.

Next to me, Lady Maika seemed a little upset. I wondered if there were some vegetables she did not like. Some of the wild plants from this area were indeed quite bitter.

“Mom, did you not want to ask Ash something?”

“Hehe, Maika, you don’t have to pull such a face.”

Mrs. Yuika leaned on her husband while talking. I did not know what was happening, but I realized they were deeply in love with each other. While it was still early in the evening, I had a feeling that at some point the food might try to find a way out again. I guessed Lady Maika was feeling similarly about her parents flirting in front of a visitor. She pouted and frowned, but did no longer seem as upset.

“But she is right. Can I ask you something, Ash?”

“Yes, sure. If I can be of any help.”

“I wanted to ask you about your aloe medicine.”

“Is there something wrong with it?” My nervousness showed, as I started speaking a little bit faster.

I had paid close attention to Mrs. Yuika’s hands since entering the house, and I had not seen anything abnormal, so I wondered what it was...

“No, no. Everything is fine—or I should say, amazing. My skin looks so fresh and young!”

“I am glad to hear that!” I leaned back against the chair as I let out a sigh of relief. I would have never been able to forgive myself if any harm had come to Mrs. Yuika, to whom I owed so much. “What was your question then?”

“I have heard rumors that you intend to sell this amazing medicine through Quid. Is that true?”

I honestly replied with a nod. I planned to use my profits to improve the lives of everyone in the village, so I did not intend to hide anything.

“I see... In that case, I am a little worried.” Mrs. Yuika frowned.

“Oh, what is your concern?”

I was intrigued. Judging from the look on her face, it looked like there was some trouble, but even so, I was excited. Living in a dull village like this one, any small thrill was welcomed.

“I am sure your medicine will sell a lot, and as a result, you will receive a lot of money. However, that also means that you will stand out from the other villagers...”

“Ah, I see. Yes, I agree. Having such a clear wealth gap would most likely sow discord among the villagers.” I instinctively admired her concern for the village as the wife of the chief.

She blinked her eyes upon hearing my response. “I have heard Maika going on about it, but you indeed know a lot of difficult words.”

“Only because I am Master Folke’s number one disciple.”

I had learned almost nothing from that priest, but we were still comrades in the pursuit of knowledge. As such, I used him as an excuse for being such a weird child at times like this. It was all Master Folke’s fault.

“Folke must be proud of you. Hehe, I am glad you understand. I also talked to my hus—to the chief.” At this point, she was talking as the de facto village chief. “I applaud what you are trying to do, and I assure you that I don’t want you to stop.” It looked like she was very considerate of me being a child, and did not want to use her authority to suppress me. “However, I would like to help you, so that we can make sure there won’t be any problems later.”

“I greatly appreciate your advice. I now realize that I was about to cause a lot of trouble for the village.” I meant what I said. I had been naive and not thought far enough ahead.

I had not intended to waste the money on my own selfish desires, but I still would have needed to save the money for a while before buying anything. That alone might have been a breeding ground for jealousy if there had been rumors of me stockpiling money without any intentions of using it.

Both in my past life and in this one, it was easy to be perceived as a devil when money was involved. Furthermore, I was certain that my father would have used part of the savings to buy alcohol, making everyone aware of our growing wealth. In that case, we may have even been ostracized.

“Hmm... Well, in that case...” I wondered what could have been done.

Besides not knowing how much I was going to make, the money was most likely only going to come in in small chunks, since I produced the ointment all by myself. However, if I wanted to buy something that would benefit the village as a whole, I needed to save a lot of money.

“What to do...” While I was absorbed in my thoughts, I felt a figure next to me suddenly stand up.

“Don’t bully Ash!!” That figure was of course Lady Maika, who was glaring at her mother with a bright-red face.

I’m not being bullied. On the contrary, your mother is extremely kind.

“Oh my, are you defying your own mother, Maika?”

Mrs. Yuika, why do you smile like a movie villain? I mean, it suits you. And it might even make me fall for you... But still.

“I won’t forgive you if you are being mean to Ash!”

“Why? Ash was going to cause trouble.”

I had no comeback, as my actions would probably have destroyed the social relationships in the village if Mrs. Yuika had not intervened.

Regardless, it seemed that Lady Maika had plenty of things to say. “That’s not true! Ash was going to buy livestock for everyone, or farm tools! He was researching day and night to find out what would benefit the village most!”

“Oh, is that so?” Her mother forgot her villainous smile and put both her hands up to her cheeks in surprise.

However, Lady Maika, who was desperately trying to defend me, did not notice her change in attitude. “Yes, it’s true! Ash only wants the best for the village! He’s an amazing person!”

“He is wonderful, isn’t he?” Mrs. Yuika casually asked.

“Yes!!” Lady Maika reflexively agreed on the spot.

“I am a little bit embarrassed to be praised this much.” As I quietly murmured with a smile on my face, Lady Maika froze.

Her face turned redder than I thought was possible and she collapsed into her chair. I hurriedly caught her shoulders, but it looked like she had fainted. While I was shocked, Mrs. Yuika covered her mouth before breaking out in discreet yet hearty laughter. She was joined by her husband. They were like two peas in a pod.

“For a moment, I thought some sort of theater play had started,” I said.

“Our Maika is very cute, isn’t she?”

“Yes, she is lovely, but I was taken by surprise.”

“Were you? To be honest, I expected you to become just as flustered as her.”

Seeing the impish look and mischievous smile on her face, I almost wanted to be in the palm of her hands. However, the look of her husband brought me back to my senses. He seemed spellbound and devoid of any free will as he admired his wife’s facial expressions. I could not yield to temptation if I wanted to prevent a similar fate for myself.

“Putting all jokes aside, were you really thinking to use your money for the benefit of the village?” she asked.

“Yes, I feel that life in this village is quite hard, so I wanted to make it ever so slightly more bearable,” I answered with a serious look on my face, only narrowly resisting the temptress.

“In that case, couldn’t you just buy fruits or tools from Quid?”

I smiled politely at her suggestion. She was most likely trying to seduce me to test my commitment.

However, my past life memories were too vivid and plentiful for me to be satisfied with such minor improvements—I wanted life to be as comfortable as I remembered it. I did not want to achieve the best possible outcome under the current conditions; I wanted to raise the living standards to a whole new level.

I realized this was a pipe dream straight out of a fantasy book; it was impossible to achieve my ideal society within my lifetime. However, if I wanted to come as close as possible to fulfill my dream, I had to rely on the help of society as a whole. If it was impossible on my own, I had to rely on the combined strength of 100 people. And if that was not enough, I had to gather the strength of 10,000 people. I wanted to try my best at achieving this impossible dream.

“I am not going to pretend to be a saint and say something tacky like ‘Everyone’s happiness is my happiness.’” My lips started to form a smile. “However, it looks like the luxury life I desire requires everyone to be happy.”

Mrs. Yuika’s expression seemed to stiffen as she saw my fierce smile, fueled by my ambitious dreams. I wondered whether it looked vile or sinister. I did not know, but I did not care either—this was my way of life in this world.

On the other end, Mrs. Yuika asked with a firm voice, “What luxuries do you seek?”

“It is just a normal, child-like dream. I want to live a convenient and plentiful life as it is described in the stories of books, such as the legends from the ancient civilizations.”

I wanted water and sewer services accompanied by sanitary housing, air conditioning, and new clothes. I dreamed of filling my belly with delicious meals and alcoholic drinks. I prayed for machines to help with all the hard manual labor, and I yearned for a global mode of transportation faster than horses. I drooled just thinking about the conveniences of my beloved ideal civilization.

I did not know the principles, the structures, or the applications of these fruits of human knowledge. By myself, I was never going to complete the process all the way from discovery to material supply and production; I needed a lot of help. I needed the help of competent people.

Mrs. Yuika, you said earlier that you wanted to help me. In that case, I want you to show me a way for a greedy dreamer like me to keep on running without falling.

“So, would you be willing to get in on my business if I promised to donate the proceeds for the benefit of the village?” If you join now, I’ll make you an executive manager, and you can expect a large share of the profits. I invited her with my most charming smile, although I imagined that it must have looked like a deal with the devil to her.

“I have to admit that you are a lot more interesting than Maika, but also scarier,” she said.

“I am sorry for being so eccentric, but I assure you I am not some sort of plague god.”

“I am glad that you made this proposal as the developer of this new product. I will gladly help you,” she answered with a smile beautiful like a flower, which immediately turned into the business-like smile you would see from a prolific manager being interviewed for a magazine.

“The pleasure is mine,” I closed the deal.

While there had been a blind spot on my part, it was fortuitous that I had been able to talk with the village chief this early and make her my ally. With this, it was also going to be easier to negotiate with Mr. Quid, and there was a possibility to make use of the chief’s personal connections in the city as well. Besides, I could count on her to point out any other weak points in my plan.

Of course, I also wanted to contribute myself. As proof of my sincerity, I decided to write down the recipe for the ointment and thro—give the manual to my new companion.

“I will write down how to make the ointment on a piece of paper and give it to you as soon as possible.”

“Are you sure it’s okay to give out your recipe so easily?”

“Of course. If you are going to help me, I will provide you with all the information I have.”

As it was quite a hassle to make the ointment, I was prepared to just hand over the copyright. As both Mr. Klein and Mrs. Yuika were able to read, I was confident they could recreate it as long as I handed them the instructions.

If the life of the village was going to become better in general, I did not mind only getting a bare minimum compensation. Honestly, I just wanted to repay Ban for buying me the pen and paper, as well as Mr. Quid for giving me a good deal. If I then could also get back the money for all the goods that I had used for my experiments, such as paper and pots, that would have been more than enough. Anything more would have been a lucky bonus, which I could use as a deposit for Father Folke to buy new books.

“If it is going to sell well, we could always get the villagers to help us make the ointment; the process is not too difficult. But we should not get too ahead of ourselves—I will just leave it to your judgment.”

“Alright. And what are you planning to do after this?” Mrs. Yuika asked.

I’ll go home and maybe curl up with a book.

I was joking. I knew that was not what she asked. She wanted to know what I was planning to do after so easily giving up my aloe recipe. I wished she treated me more like a child and was not so cautious.

“I will help Ban and Father Folke. I also need to read more books so I can gain new knowledge; there are a lot of things I want to do.”

Having created a medicine, I wanted to try my hand at poison next. Saying it like that made it sound quite dangerous, but I was talking about pesticides and rat poison. The latter was an especially high priority.

In fall, we were going to start stocking up the warehouse of grains in order to get through the short-but-tough winter. If I managed to devise a plan to deal with the rats by then, surviving winter was going to be much easier. I was not going to spare any effort to make our lives more bearable.

During summer, I was able to fulfill my wish of accompanying Ban on a weeklong hunt. It was exhausting to silently push on towards the depths of the forest, but it was a treat to eat a hunter’s meal after setting up a simple tent made out of natural resources and starting a fire. The food, which was made out of freshly-gathered ingredients, always included some sort of meat, be it bird, land animal, or fish, and it rivaled even Mrs. Yuika’s cooking.

At night, we both listened closely to the sounds of the forest. I had only known Ban since my accident a while ago, but I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the silent hunter. It appeared that he was not silent because he did not know what to say, but rather because it was essential to his job. Just like a carnivorous mammal that stopped its breathing and sneaked up on its prey, a hunter also tried to eliminate all sounds. As a result, he had become bad at conversation over time. It was a sort of occupational disease.

However, his silence was filled with ample knowledge; he was able to distinguish every single plant in his surroundings. From traces in the soil and vegetation, he was also able to tell which animal had been there how many days ago, and in what condition they had been. He also had full knowledge of all the food ingredients available in and around the spots where he placed his traps. Inside the woods, I followed his lead and kept silent—his motions taught me everything I needed to know.

At campsites, where it was okay to talk, he explained the meaning of the traces we had seen that day, and he taught me everything he knew about the wildflowers we had gathered, even though he was not used to talking. He was like a living book. While he never initiated any conversation, he always patiently shared his wisdom with me when I asked him a question. It was even fun to slowly decipher his quite peculiar handwriting.

Ban was the essential strategy guide for the woods; I definitely wanted to write down his knowledge on paper. If the village ever experienced a bad harvest, it was conceivable that many villagers would enter the forest in search of food even knowing the risks. In that case, having a strategy guide surely would drastically increase the survival rate and prevent reckless damage to the forest.

Thinking about the potential benefits for the village, I asked Ban—who was the copyright owner of this knowledge—for his approval. After all, those were important secrets of his job. If he seemed to be even a little hesitant to give them up, I was just going to make some notes for personal use.

After silently thinking about it for a while, as usual, he nodded.

“Are you sure? You were quite quick to agree.”

“We need more.”

What did we need more of? There were so many things here that were lacking that I was not sure what he meant. The most lacking thing of all was his words.

“Hunters.”

“Oh, you want more hunters?”

He nodded.

Apparently, the animals were bound to ravage the village’s fields once the forest ran out of food for them. In recent years, this had not been a problem, but eventually it would be. In that case, we needed to hunt a lot of animals, or the villagers would starve to death. Therefore, we required more hunters. Even now, Ban was slightly overwhelmed as the only person taking care of the forest.

“So that is why you have been teaching me so thoroughly.”

“Just in case.”

When push came to shove, he expected me to help. I had wondered why Ban was willing to go into such detail, but this explained a lot. Sure, he was kind to begin with, but he also had his own personal reasons.

“I will help however I can. Having our precious harvest destroyed will affect everyone.” Besides, it aligned with my goal to improve the lives of the villagers.

As I nodded several times in agreement, the silent hunter smiled and patted my head. He had a gentle expression about him, as if he was looking at his younger brother or son.

He was such a cool person; I did not understand how he was not married yet. It had to be because he was so silent.

Maybe Mrs. Yuika could help him find a partner. And then, hopefully there would be two or three more hunters next generation—everyone would win. ...As long as marriage did not become his tomb, that is.

After spending an unusually pleasant summer frolicking in the woods, I had to face the busy reality of farm work again in fall.

At the same time, I had received my first revenue from the aloe ointment. Mrs. Yuika said that she had first sent a sample to her parent’s house in the city. As a result, it looked like the first local export from our village had become an expensive product popular among the upper class. My first share consisted of one copper coin, and that was only a part of the earnings. I wondered what the unit price was. Mrs. Yuika seemed extremely satisfied when she told me that she planned on continuing to sell the ointment as a rare limited product for a while, among other reasons due to the slow manufacturing process.

When Mr. Quid visited the village again, I lost no time to use the first earnings of my life as a token of gratitude to him. I wanted to compensate him for the losses which he had made when selling me paper and pen.

“Don’t be ridiculous! You don’t have to pay me back for that small amount! Use that money yourself on something you like! By the way, do you need any more paper or ink? Has your pen not broken yet?”

After refusing my proposal, he sold me some more under-priced paper and ink. I happily obliged, but I was also a bit worried that he held back too much. It would have been bad for me too if he went out of business.

“Are you sure it is fine to give me such a good deal?” I asked him.

“Yes, no problem at all! Thanks to you, business is booming, so this is the least I can do!” Was that so? Since I had distanced myself from the aloe ointment business, I was not aware of the circumstances. “Thanks to you, I have been able to make deals with the Amanobe family, who in turn introduced me to other rich families in the city! It’s a dream come true!”

I did not know the proper noun for this situation, but it seemed that he had become a merchant who was able to do business with upper-class families. It was a big upgrade from being a small peddler who traveled all around the place, and as such he was generous with his prices today.

“Oh, that is great! I am glad to hear your business has expanded!”

If he was happy, then so was I. And I would make sure to benefit from it as much as possible.

Thinking ahead, I was sure there were many things I would want once I received more money to use for myself. In that case, it would also be useful to me if Mr. Quid expanded his product range. It was indeed a splendid relationship from which both of us profited.

Next on my list was Ban, but he also refused to accept my money. He even gave me some plants which he had just picked up in the forest.

“Thank you, Ban. But I feel a little bad to always just receive and never give anything back.”

“You do enough.” He uttered these words and proceeded to pat my head.

I persisted in my efforts to pay him back, but Ban just suddenly started talking about hunting techniques. Wait, why are you talking so much more than usual today? There’s so much to remember I have no time to think about the money. This seems important; I have to take notes on the paper I just bought.

When it was time to go back home, I had not only failed to repay my debt, but it had become even bigger. I needed to think of a different way to pay him back, as it did not seem likely he was going to accept money.

“So, as no one wants to take the money, could you please keep it safe for me?” As a last resort, I decided to hand the money to Father Folke.

“Are you mistaking the church for a bank?”

“How about you consider it a donation that I can withdraw at any time?”

“That wouldn’t be a donation!!”

Why are you resisting? I don’t want to waste my time convincing you.

“You want me to keep it safe, but how can you be sure I won’t steal it? I’m not that pure and honest.”

Is that something a priest should say? At least the honesty was befitting of his profession, but otherwise, that was quite the statement.

Still, even disregarding his priesthood, I would have been perfectly fine with Father Folke stealing the money.

“I would rather you steal the money than keeping it at home, where my father would inevitably find it and use it to buy alcohol.”

“You would rather I steal it? I’m not sure if that means you trust me or not...”

“In a way I do. At least I know that you will not use the money on alcohol, but most likely on books or writing materials for your research.”

“Hmm... To be completely honest, I’m currently broke because I’ve been buying too many things. So, I’m afraid I will have to rely on your donation...”

My dear study nerd, this is why you are still single.

Generally, he was a very earnest and nice person, but when it came to studying, he lost track of everything else. Moreover, I was not sure if the fact that he was aware of his flaws worked in his favor or if it was just a sign of how far gone he already was.

“In that case, please use my money as you like. If you buy new books, or if it helps advance the decipherment of the ancient language, I will also be happy in the end.”

“Are you sure?”

Father Folke suddenly showed an expression of joy more childlike than any of mine—those of a literal child—had ever been. A smile like that would have been popular with many women, but unfortunately, it did not change his personality.

“Oh... but... Wouldn’t it look pretty bad from the outside if I used your money?” he asked in realization.

“I did not realize you cared about the opinions of outsiders.”

“I mean, I’m a priest after all.”

Then, could you please explain to me why you turned into a zombie priest for such a long time? “Well, if you worry about appearance, how about we consider it to be shared research funding? Both you and I can use the money as long as it is for research purposes.”

“How would that be different from your previous proposal?”

“It would not; it would just appear different. As it is a shared research fund, we would also share the rights to the money.” I tried convincing him that fixing the appearance was going to be good enough to address the trivial problem of public opinion.

Father Folke was racking his brain. “A shared research fund is indeed an interesting thought. It would have been nice to have something like that when I did research in the capital...”

“Research is expensive, after all.”

I imagined it was difficult to get a patron for plain research like deciphering ancient languages—it must have been tough for Father Folke and his fellow researchers.

All of a sudden, a knock interrupted our talk in his private study.

“Sorry for interrupting. I heard Ash’s voice, so I just let myself in. Is he here?”

“Hi, Maika! Is it already this late? It looks like it’s time for today’s lesson, Ash!”

“Yes, yes! I wonder if the day will come when Master Folke actually teaches a lesson.”

“I’m glad to have such a prodigy as you as my disciple.”

How dare he smile like that.

As I walked with Lady Maika towards the chapel, she looked discouraged. “I’m sorry I’m so slow at learning...”

“No, you are not slow at all.” I was surprised by her sudden apology.

Lady Maika was very quick at remembering new information. She was also very good at reading and writing already, even though she had an amateur teacher like me. I was sure she would have even been able to continue her studies without any more help from me—there was nothing she needed to apologize for.

Then, when I asked her if something had happened, I realized that our conversation just now was the reason for her discomfort.

“If this is about our conversation with Master Folke just now, I did not mean to imply that I dislike teaching you. I was just wondering why he has never taught you anything even though he is the actual teacher.”

“Oh, I see... I’m relieved I didn’t cause you any trouble.” She held her chest and let out a big sigh. She was such a kind person to worry about something like this.

“You are a very sagacious person, so it is easy to teach you,” I remarked.

“Sagacious... That means clever, right? Hehe.”

As you could see, her vocabulary had also expanded immensely. Some day she was going to be a very bright and talented beauty.

Lady Maika smiled bashfully and tilted her head. “But you were much faster at studying.”

“That is not true. I might have been fast at remembering once I took up lessons, but I had been studying in preparation before.” I was referring to my past-life memories. However, since I could not really explain that to her, I just rephrased it like that.

“Oh, I didn’t know that; you really are amazing.”

“I am just lucky.” I had never heard of anyone else having past-life memories. As such, I considered myself pretty lucky.

“No, it’s not just luck—you’re amazing! Even my mom is relying on you!”

“I am flattered.”

I was happy to hear her bring up someone as sharp-minded as her mother when complimenting me. Of course, Father Folke was also very bright, but in a different way.

“By the way, my mom told me to give you a message.” She lowered her voice. I guessed she must have been a bit jealous of her mother praising another child.

“What is the message?”

“My mom wants to make more aloe ointment, since it’s selling so well. She wants to enlist the help of other villagers, but what do you think?”

“I will leave it to your mother’s judgment.”

I had no clue in regards to management and business, so I completely entrusted those matters to the much-more-capable Mrs. Yuika. Even if she betrayed me, I would have just been in awe of her competence. Although I was not entirely sure if you could have called that trust.

“Okay, I’ll let her know!”

“Please do! I am sorry to have you relay the message.”

As I politely bowed my head, Lady Maika hastily shook her head and hands—she was flustered, but also happy. “Don’t worry about it! I don’t mind at all! You are always teaching me, so I’m happy if I can help you out in any way!”

I had learned from my mistake last time; I no longer treated her like a child, but rather as an individual woman.

Unexpectedly, she seemed happy when I thanked her for the message she had relayed. It once again showed how important manners were no matter who you were facing.

“Let us start today’s lesson, then! Have you encountered any problems in your studies?”

“Since starting to help with the ointment, I realized that I’m not very good with numbers.”

“Oh, yeah, that would indeed be a problem.” The recipe included different ratios, so I imagined it must have been difficult for her current level. “How about we focus on math today? We can use the aloe ointment recipe as an example.”

I figured I could kill two birds with one stone by focusing on it. For one, it was easier to remember using a familiar example, and at the same time, it was also going to help her prepare for the increased production system.

After leaving the decision to the manager, Mrs. Yuika, she chose to increase the production of the aloe ointment.

As the process was manual, it naturally involved hiring people. However, since the number of jobs was still limited, Mrs. Yuika decided to allocate the positions to villagers who were in financial distress. For example, families whose breadwinner had passed away or who had to deal with illness.

On top of that, she singled out the women who were not cut out for more strenuous physical labor. This was a way to maintain harmony in the village and take care of the weaker links before they started affecting the whole social structure. It was the same idea as a public project.

I was deeply impressed by Mrs. Yuika’s abilities as a business manager. Thus, I accepted the invitation to be part of the team teaching the manufacturing process of the aloe ointment to the new recruits without hesitation.

As none of them knew how to read, the plan was that I and Mrs. Yuika were going to teach them the basics of the process before handing over supervision to Lady Maika. In a first step, we had the villagers create the ointment while we attentively showed them how it was done. It was not any more dangerous than cooking, so there were no incidents.

...Until after we finished.

One of the villagers, who had shown great interest in the test sample, murmured the following words, which I just could not let go.

“That reminds me of something my mom used to make.”

Oh? Had I heard that correctly?

I investigated the direction of the voice to find Lady Tanya. She was a rustic girl with freckles in her late teens.

“Tanya, could you tell me what you mean by that?” I asked her.

“Hm? Oh... No, it just looks similar, but it was something completely different, so you don’t have to worry.”

I’m afraid I can’t let you off so easily. How similar was it? How was it made? I was intrigued.

I had come up with the manufacturing process for the aloe ointment on my own, so it was quite likely that there was still room for improvement. My current recipe only required you to boil the aloe with tallow, mix it all together, and then let it harden. If there had been any books on medicine, I was sure the process could have been simplified.

“Unfortunately, you have piqued my interest. Why did it remind you of something your mother used to make?” I followed up.

“I’m not sure why...” Lady Tanya did not know how to reply and just smiled awkwardly.

“I am sorry to put you on the spot. Let me rephrase my question: what did it remind you of?”

“Uhm... Let me see...” She tilted her head while slowly thinking out loud.

While she was not a fast thinker, she was very agile and quick to act. She was the type of person who would act immediately after careful deliberation.

“My mom often made medicine that you could rub on your skin. You could also use it on wounds, but it was mainly to soften the skin.”

“Oh, that is wonderful; that sounds indeed a lot like my aloe ointment. And how was it different?”

“Hm... The ingredients were different.”

“Do you remember what ingredients she used?”

Lady Tanya nodded with a smile. “Yes, she used honeycomb!”

“Honeycomb? Not honey?”

“Yes, directly from the hive; we used the honey separately. I think there was one other ingredient, but I don’t remember what it was.”

“Honeycomb...” I once again murmured in surprise.

It was possible to make an ointment not from honey, but from the hive. How? Wasn’t the hive made of a hard substance? What substance was it, anyway? It seemed strange at first, but the surprise was lessened by the realization that I did not know the components of a beehive. Was it possible that it was another carefully-crafted, magnificent creation by the bees, just like their honey?

“It seems strange that you could use a part of the beehive to make something similar to this aloe ointment,” I said.

“To me, it seems stranger that you could make something similar out of leaves.”

“Haha, you may be right.”

“Haha, yeah.”

Very interesting. I wanted to learn more details, but it did not seem like Lady Tanya knew much more. Her mother surely could have taught me more, but unfortunately, both her parents had passed away—that was the reason why she had been recruited.

“By the way, Tanya, I have also seen you collect honey.”

“Yeah, my dad was a beekeeper. But I’m not good at it...”

It seemed that her father was the one who knew the beekeeping techniques. After he had deceased, her mother tried to keep up with the work, but unfortunately, she also died shortly afterwards.

The only ones left were Lady Tanya and her little brother, who had not had the opportunity to learn much about apiculture. As for Lady Tanya, all she knew how to do was to collect honey from beehives she happened to come across.

Apparently, Mr. Quid bought the beehives. However, since that only brought in some small pocket money, her main job had been working in the fields. The knowledge and techniques which had probably been passed down from the ancient civilizations were thus bound to come to an abrupt end.

“That is a shame...”

“I’m sorry. If only I had helped out more... But my mom always stopped me, saying that I wasn’t as good as Dad; she told me to go work in the fields.” She had a wistful smile on her face.

Of course, it was not her fault, but rather that of this horrible agricultural community. Lady Tanya was a victim who had been robbed of her parents.

“It is not your fault at all,” I said. “It is just that honey is nutritious and delicious. And especially if there is also a use for the honeycomb, I would be very interested in learning more about beekeeping.”

“It looks like you’re having an interesting conversation over here.” Mrs. Yuika had noticed my excitement and joined us.

“You have come at the right time.”

“Hehe, I overheard you. Beekeeping is indeed an essential occupation in this village. When Tanya’s parents were still alive, they not only made honey, they also produced candles—that helped us a lot.”

That was amazing. Learning that you could make candles from beekeeping got me even more excited. If we had access to cheap candles, we could have stayed up and been active much longer at night—it was a chance to increase our productivity. Although it also created the danger of excessive overtime.

“What do you think, Mrs. Yuika? We do not have enough money to buy livestock such as horses or cows, but beekeeping seems like an achievable goal.”

“I agree with you, Ash.”

It was a splendid thought that a single occupation could produce multiple products at once. Besides, honey was easy to store and sold for a high price. It would not have been any problem to cover the expenses. It appeared that sweetness was a strong weapon in any world.

“Then, it is decided! The next step in improving the living standards of this village is going to be researching beekeeping!”

“I know we can count on you, Ash,” added Mrs. Yuika.

Don’t speak too soon. I did not remember seeing any books on apiculture at the church. I needed to check with Father Folke, but it did not seem like there were any resources in this village.

“First, I will need to get my hands on a book. Until then, I am just a powerless little child.”

“I wouldn’t say you are powerless at all, but you’re right; the first step still seems a way off. I will contact my family in the city and try to gather information on beekeeping too.”

Both Mrs. Yuika and I smiled reservedly as we wondered when we were going to be able to start.

Bees started working in spring, and it did not look like we were going to make it in time for next year. I hoped that we could be ready for the year after next.

“By the way...” Lady Tanya slowly spoke up while tilting her head. “My dad had a book which he always kept close to himself. It had an image of a bee on the cover.” The girl with the freckles captured both mine and Mrs. Yuika’s gaze with this statement. “Do you think it could maybe help you?” she hesitantly asked with a shy smile on her face.

That sounds like a lifesaver. I had not been aware that there were any books in this village apart from in the church.

I carefully, wholeheartedly, and passionately asked Lady Tanya if she could let me see the book. She was quick to agree, but when I pressed her to see it right away, she hesitated, and she did not know how to reply. She said something about her house being a mess.

How is that relevant to the book? Books were always the same no matter where you read them, be it on a snow-covered mountain or on the stormy ocean. Unwaveringly, they told the stories and provided the knowledge enshrined in them. Although, the reader would have most likely wavered in such life-threatening situations.

As I tried explaining these thoughts to her, Mrs. Yuika and Lady Maika also jumped in to say that I could not just visit someone’s house without warning. It looked like I was overpowered.

In that case, all I could do was hold back my tears and give up...

“What if I read it outside?”

...Or I could try and find another way! I will not give up that easily! I will persist until the bitter end!

“Outside?” she asked.

“Just outside of your house, I mean. Please let me have a look!”

“Do you really want to read it this bad?”

I was offended by her question! “Of course! Why do you even need to ask?”

For some reason, Lady Tanya looked away from me. Mrs. Yuika also started slowly shaking her head. And even Lady Maika was giving me a cold stare.

“Are you still not going to agree? Why? What do I have to do to get a look at this book? I will do anything you want!”

“Okay, okay! ...You can have a look,” she finally accepted, as she should have done from the start. I calmed down by taking a deep breath. “Uhm... Would you just come to my house then?”

“Yes, I will go right away! I will see you later, Maika and Mrs. Yuika!”

I wanted to go as soon as possible to make up for the time I had wasted on trying to convince her, so I went ahead by myself. While I had never visited her house before, I knew where she lived given how small the village was.

“I always thought Ash was much quieter,” Lady Tanya remarked.

“I think that’s the impression most villagers have,” Mrs. Yuika said.

“But that’s just another one of his charms. Ah, can I tag along too, Tanya?” Lady Maika asked.

Behind me, I heard the women talk to each other. Just hurry up and come along.

After sitting cross-legged and eagerly waiting in front of Lady Tanya’s house for three minutes, I finally got my hands on the book. However, the moment that I saw it, I started to get nervous.

It was more damaged than I had expected—the binding was in pieces. It did not look like it had been handled roughly, so I assumed it was natural deterioration. I should not have had her bring a book like that outside.

With a feeling of regret, I turned the pages. I knew that it would have been better to carefully read it somewhere inside, but I could not wait to open it. I intended to remember as much information as possible; it was time to focus all of my motivation, willpower, and persistence.

Judging from the title, it looked like I had guessed right. It was slightly blurred out, but it read, “Introduction to Practical Beekeeping.”

“This is amazing!”

The explanations were so detailed that I was tempted to call this a super-technology, given the development of this village. It described which types of bees were best suited for beekeeping, including their activity radius and ideal temperatures expressed in precise numbers. Of course, it also went into detail about the correct treatment of the bees, how to collect the honey, and how to prepare them for hibernation. There were even pages on the processing of the honey—this book alone had enough information to start a beekeeping business by yourself.

Just as important—or maybe even more important—was the date of the book. It looked like a handwritten copy of a very old monograph. Judging from the characteristics of the letters, I guessed that it was the descendant of a copy of a book from the late period of the ancient civilization.

To be clear, it was such a precious and archaeologically-relevant specimen that I could not believe it originated from this village. I wanted to show it to Father Folke, who was sure to become ecstatic.

“This is truly amazing.”

“Really? So... do you think it’ll help with beekeeping?”

“Definitely. I will have to read it in more detail, but with this book, we can start keeping bees. The rest we can learn through experimenting and actually engaging with the work.”

I carefully closed the book; I was too scared to read any more in this spot. Although I had to admit that it was also a pleasant feeling to have this book in my hands.

“Tanya, do you happen to know how your father got a hold of this book?”

“If I remember correctly, he used to say that it’s a family treasure.” I was not surprised to hear that—this truly was a treasure. “It seems that our ancestors got a hold of this book and started a beekeeping business, which was really successful. Apparently, they were well known... But that’s only a family legend.” She smiled hesitatingly. It seemed that Lady Tanya, a remaining descendant, did not believe the tale.

“I am sure it is true. I wonder how your ancestors were able to read this book; the beekeeping techniques written inside are highly advanced.”

There was surely still some trial and error involved, but the success rate must have been very high. The author had based his information on numerous experiments carried out by either themself or other pioneers.

“Besides, this is an extremely valuable ancient book. It is really not an overstatement to call it a treasure,” I added.

“What? But it was just lying around at our house.”

“It truly is a family treasure. Your ancestors must have taken good care of the book and protected it until now.”

I softly put my hand on the cover. I wondered how many years this silent sage had lived. How many people had profited from its knowledge? It must have been a long time since Lady Tanya’s family was able to read the book. But even so, they kept this silent sage as a family treasure and protected it from the tyrant called time until it ended up right here in my hands.

It must have been bothersome to painstakingly protect a book that you could not read; a seemingly meaningless task that you could have easily abandoned. However, this book had persevered up to now. At a point in time where Lady Tanya had lost sight of the teachings of her ancestors, it resurfaced. I felt in it the resolute and brave will to resist the tyrant called time.

“This is a family treasure that several generations of your ancestors and your parents kept protecting over the years; I am sure the contents want to be passed down to you.”

“The contents?”

“I mean the beekeeping techniques that have been passed down in your family. Don’t you want to try it yourself?”

“Me, a beekeeper?” she murmured with a stunned face, as if she had been swept away by a dream. “But... I can’t read...”

“That does not matter.” If you can’t hear the voice of this silent sage, I’ll use my voice instead.

In that moment, I was sure that this was my calling. If there was such a thing as the meaning of life, then surely this was it. There was just one question left.

“Tanya, do you want to learn these lost techniques or not?”

All you needed was the will to fight against the tyrant called time. It was a choice between letting the knowledge get swept away by the flow of time or firmly holding on to it to save it from such a cruel fate, and preserve it for the next person.

“I absolutely want to learn them! It’s been my dream forever!” she replied without any hesitation. She must have been considering this already for a long time. It seemed that she had an admiration for her parents, which had only grown stronger after their death. “I want to do it; I want to try becoming a beekeeper, just like my dad and my mom.”

Welcome, fellow dreamer. And thank you. I offered a prayer of gratitude to Lady Tanya and her ancestors. Their longstanding fight had finally been rewarded; their knowledge—which was on the verge of disappearing—had found an inheritor.

“This means we are about to get busy!” And just as we are about to enter the important fall harvesting season too!

However, if we prepared as fast as we could, it was possible to finalize everything for next spring. Since we needed a small test run anyway, it did not need to be flawless as long as it was quick. Done was better than perfect.

“If you do not mind, I would like to borrow this book. Since it is your precious family treasure, I would keep and read it at the church.”

“Uhm... If you are going to take good care of the book, I don’t mind.”

“Of course! I will personally make sure that anyone who handles this book too roughly ends up dying a horrible death!”

For example, I could use them as a test subject for one of the many poison recipes I’ve developed in my attempts to create an effective rat poison. I know how much kills my guinea pigs, but so far, I haven’t yet attempted any human experiments. Hopefully one of the recipes is fatal. According to my reference book, some of them have the potential to be substitutes for anesthesia or cardiotonic drugs, so I can try to drag out their suffering for as long as possible.

While I passionately thought about the best ways to administer justice to such abominable criminals, Lady Maika and Lady Tanya both looked at me with a slight look of fear in their eyes. Please rest assured; I’m not a bad guy.

While retaining some dread on her face, Lady Tanya gladly handed me over the book. I could not wait to show it to Father Folke. It was severely damaged, but I hoped that, as a trained librarian, he was capable of mending it or at least preventing further deterioration.

I wanted to run towards the church, but as Lady Maika was beside me, I made an effort to walk slowly.

“Maika, could you relay a message to your mother for me?”

When I asked her this question, her face lit up. “Sure, no problem!”

“Can you tell her that we will be able to start beekeeping and that Tanya will be in charge of it? Just those two things. We will probably need to hold a meeting in a few days’ time.”

“Okay, got it. Can I also read this book?”

“Of course! There may be some difficult passages, but if you manage to get past those, your reading will improve a lot very quickly. I am sure you will enjoy it.” I looked forward to sharing this wonderful knowledge with her.

I looked at Lady Maika with a big grin on my face and she reciprocated with a mildly embarrassed smile. It was good having friends; it made me feel all fuzzy inside.

Suddenly, another voice interrupted this peaceful atmosphere.

“Hey, Ash!”

The displeased voice belonged to Lady Tanya’s brother, Jigil, who was two years older than me. He had been one of the members of my group when I had the accident in the forest.

He was accompanied by the second member of that group and another boy who often hung out with them. They were all lively young children who loved to play in the dirt and always ended up getting scolded at home.

“What is it?”

“Come over here for a moment.”

I wondered if he exceptionally wanted me to play with them. However, judging from his angry look and the unfriendly attitudes of the other boys standing behind him, it looked like very rough play.

I had already experienced it in spring, during the foraging, but it seemed that the children of this village, or more specifically the boys, hated me.

“I am afraid I have to take this important book to the church. But please invite me again some other time!” I politely declined. I did not have time to deal with bullies in this world.

“Are you afraid?”

“Yes, I am.” In response to his cheeky provocation, I acknowledged my fear with a smile.

I did not want to unnecessarily get hurt in a village without any doctors. Even a light scratch could easily turn fatal here due to the likes of tetanus. I was not too afraid of Jigil himself, however.

It seemed that he had guessed my inner thoughts, as I saw his face quickly turn red in anger.

“Let us go, Maika. I do not want to leave this book out in the open air for too long.”

“Ash, you coward! Don’t run away!” As Jigil was shouting in rage, his friends unanimously joined in.

They were throwing some charming insults towards me such as “weakling” and “loser,” but my spirit was not going to break that easily—at most, it had some minor cracks.

Before I found myself responding to them, I turned my back and pressed on. I also did not want Lady Maika to be late, but when I looked at her, she was sulking and seemed more annoyed at the abuse than me. It was cute, but I was not sure if that behavior was befitting of the village chief’s daughter.

“Are you just going to let them insult you like that? I know that if you get serious, you could beat them to a pulp!”

Considering they outnumbered me, I was not confident I would have won in a fistfight. I was not even confident I could have taken on Jigil by himself, as two years’ difference meant a lot at this age.

As Lady Maika was whispering her complaints into my ears, their shouts seemed to get worse. At the same time, her face turned grimmer.

“I’m going to tell them off!!” she yelled.

“Just let it go, Maika.”

If it had been possible to calm down humans with a simple phrase like that, they surely would have been much nobler and more advanced creatures. My attempt had seemingly made her angry towards me too now, so I tried defusing the situation with a forced smile.

“You look cute when you are angry too, but I prefer you when you are smiling.” So please let us hurry to the church.

When I grabbed her hand and pulled her towards me, her face—and for some reason Jigil’s face—turned bright red. That reaction was a little unexpected, but since she had calmed down, I briskly walked with her hand in hand towards the church. The situation had not been resolved, but at least I had not engaged in any stupid behavior while holding onto the rare book.

But unfortunately, it seemed that I had spoken too soon.

As I felt movement behind my back, I turned around to see Jigil picking up a small rock. I briefly pondered the meaning of his motions and arrived at a conclusion that sent chills through my spine—this was nothing less than an intent to kill.

I instantly made Lady Maika hold on to the book and stood in front of her as a shield.

“I hope you are not intending on throwing that rock.”

“Do you have a problem with that?!”

Obviously, I do.

I did not know why he hated me so much, but I was not going to forgive him if he ended up damaging the book. If worst came to worst, I would have to get Lady Maika to protect the book to death.

However, I wanted to avoid that scenario, so I tried to calm him down. “I warn you: if you are going to use that rock, I will consider that a declaration of war without any restrictions and I will fight back with any weapons at my disposal!”

I tried to sound as tough as possible in an attempt to have him recognize me as an unbeatable enemy.

“I will repeat myself: I will fight back with any means possible. I will use spears, traps, and even poison. I will continue fighting you in every conceivable way for the next several years or decades. If you are going to throw that stone now, I will never forgive you.”

While I talked about my means of attack, Jigil flinched. Maybe he remembered that I was learning the ways of the hunter. I kept staring at him for a while to make sure he did not make any strange movements before turning my back on him once again.

I was sure that he would have ended up running away at some point, but I broke our staring contest first because I could not be bothered much longer. Most of all, I wanted to get the book indoors as soon as possible.

On the way to the church, I held on to Lady Maika’s hand, who had frozen.

“Thank you, Ash... For protecting me back there,” she murmured while looking away.

“I just did what anyone would have done.”

The book on beekeeping is a precious resource, after all.

Maika’s Perspective

Ash had been amazing today! He was always amazing, but he showed me a side of him I hadn’t seen before.

To begin with, I didn’t know he could become so excited. When he asked Tanya to show him the book, he expressed a selfishness like you would expect from a boy his age. Although he still used the same difficult words as usual.

It seemed that Ash pressed on until he got his way once he became absorbed in something. It was the same intensity as the river in our village when it overflowed from heavy rain; everyone knew that it was futile to try to stop such a force.

I wondered if he was also going to go after me like that once I got him to like me. I hoped so! I felt excited just thinking about it.

Still, though, he shouldn’t have directed that energy towards Tanya; it’s not good to just suddenly want to visit a girl’s house. I wouldn’t have minded it myself... although I probably would have needed to clean up a little bit.

But then, it had been even more amazing when Ash got angry! When Jigil tried to throw a stone at us, Ash turned against him so angrily. I’d seen him get bullied before, but I didn’t remember seeing him respond like that. He had been furious.

I’d always thought that my mom was the scariest when she got angry, but Ash might have been even scarier. And in his anger, he had stood in front of me. He had given me the precious book he had borrowed from Tanya in order to protect me from the rocks. Even though he was shorter than me, looking at his back in that moment made him seem so reliable; I felt like a princess being protected by her knight.

When I got back home, my mom asked me how things had been with Ash, so I happily told her everything. However, for some reason, she focused on Jigil and his friends rather than on how cool Ash had been.

“Why are you asking about Jigil and his friends? They’re always like that.”

It seemed that they hated Ash. They always bullied him, but he never responded because he was so mature.

“Maika, please listen to me.”

“What is it?”

Why was she so serious?

“Do you still like Ash?”

Don’t ask me something that makes me blush all of a sudden! I was embarrassed, but she didn’t look like she was teasing me; she had a severe look on her face.

“Yeah, I still... or maybe even...” I think I like him more every time we meet.

“You don’t have to say anything more.” I didn’t manage to get the words out properly, but my mom was sharp, and she knew what I was thinking. “Let me tell you then what I think you need to do in order to stand next to Ash.”

“Stand next to Ash? Do you mean as his wife?”

“There is a good chance that might happen. When I previously talked to you, I wasn’t sure what to do myself, but now I know one thing that you need to do for sure.” That sounded important. I straightened myself in preparation for her advice. “I think there will be many more people like Jigil who appear in front of Ash in the future.”

Really? I instinctively frowned.

In the end, Ash had scared them off, but before, Jigil had tried throwing a rock, and he and his friends said many horrible things to Ash, who hadn’t minded at all. I knew that I was wrong, but it bothered me so much that I had gotten angry in his place.

“As you know, Ash is amazing—even I am surprised. And I’m sure he will do many more amazing things.”

Although she was praising him, her expression seemed a bit scary—I felt a tingling on my back. I expected her to tell me to not get too excited, as she usually did.

“A lot of people will focus their attention on someone as amazing as Ash. Unfortunately, not all of them will be supportive like you and me. Many of them will be like Jigil; they will dislike him.”

Why can’t everyone just support him? That was my reflexive thought, but I quickly realized that things would most likely go the way my mom had said. I felt sad. As the daughter of the village chief, I knew what it felt like to be the center of attention as someone who is privileged.

“I think I understand...” I said.

“As a parent, I regret that I have to make you realize this.” She had a melancholic expression that quickly turned into her usual fierce look. “But at the same time, the fact that you have enough experience to come to this realization means that you have the potential to stand by Ash’s side.”

I hope that’s true.

“Maika, you need to gather all the people who support Ash and make sure to cut everyone else off.”

Cut them off? Does she mean...? “With a sword?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean you should do it your father’s way. You know how we keep the perishable things separate in the warehouse? I meant it like that.” Cutting them with a sword would have been much faster, but apparently that was a no go. “Anyway, you need to protect and support Ash, so that he can pursue his passions!”

“I need to protect him?”

I needed to protect Ash, who was more mature and reliable than myself?

“It may be difficult now, but the time will come when he needs someone to look after him. And that person will become the closest to him.”

I didn’t see it that way, but until now, my mom had almost always been right.

“If you say so...”

“I wish I could do it for you. Hmm... I wonder if I should give it a go?”

“No! You stay back!” I’ll do it myself! I’m not going to let the person who sto— I mean, who almost stole his heart, get any closer to him. I will protect Ash! From my mom!

As I threatened her by raising both my hands, my mom responded with a gentle smile. I didn’t expect that. At first, I thought she was going to tease me again, but she was serious.

“Yes, please take care of Ash. I’ll teach you all I know about protecting someone.”

“...Thank you.” I didn’t know what got into me, but I just thanked her.

My mom gently patted my head. It looks like she wants me to do my best.

It looked indeed like a lot of work was ahead of me. This meant protecting the same Ash who had pressed Tanya for the book today, with the force of a river overflowing from heavy rain. I felt a chill go through my spine. I’ll give it my best! ...But I wonder if I can do a good job.

“Wait, but that means that I’d need to play the role of the knight in the fairy tales! I would rather be the princess!”

I wanted to feel like I did in that moment, when Ash stood in front of me today.

My mom started giggling and broke the serious mood when she heard me complain. “Can’t you ask him to treat you like a princess after you get married?”

“...You’re right.”

Once again, I realized how clever my mom was.

●　●　●

Several days later, I met up with Mrs. Yuika and we decided to have a trial phase for beekeeping next spring.

It was on a small scale—the members involved were Lady Tanya as the actual beekeeper, me as an adviser, and Mrs. Yuika, who provided the funding. Lady Maika also volunteered to help, which we all gladly welcomed.

As a result, Lady Tanya also joined our study group at the church. She was not going to learn how to read and write, but she had to remember and understand all the information on beekeeping from her book by next spring.

However, I still taught her some reading and writing as well as math, since I figured it did not do any harm. As she had some experience observing her father, she was quick to understand the techniques from the book. It was heart-warming to see how happily she nodded her head whenever she learned about a new aspect of her parents’ job.

“Hmm... My dad left me some simple tools which we could repurpose after some repairs.”

“I am sure Mrs. Yuika would appreciate that. Can you check what we have for next time? The rest we can just buy from Mr. Quid.”

“That leaves us with the question of where to put the beehive box.” Lady Tanya tilted her head with a slightly worried look.

It seemed that her father had placed the boxes on his own, and neither she nor her mother had received that knowledge. As honeybees operated in a wide range, it did not really matter where you put the beehive if your sole purpose was to collect honey. However, if you intended to obtain high quality honey in large quantities, you needed to select the location carefully. According to the book, it was normal to change locations each season too.

“The best place would be near the fields.”

As I murmured, Lady Tanya in front of me agreed right away. Lady Maika next to me thought about it for a while before she was convinced too. It was proof that both of them understood the contents of the book.

As for permission, it was pretty much guaranteed that we could place a box near the fields, since farmers always welcomed bees, which pollinated their crops. They eagerly prayed for an increase in the harvest of summer vegetables, as well as wild strawberries, which grew in the outskirts.

“And I guess inside the forest,” I added.

“Yeah, that would be ideal. My dad used to enter the woods each season to replace the box, but since it’s dangerous, my mom never did it herself, and she didn’t let me do it either.”

Since summer, I had started to regularly go inside the forest with Ban, and it was harder than I had expected. As there were no humans entering at all, there were only animal trails, many of which you could not even use. The thick vegetation and vines did not give away any hints; on the contrary, they often obstructed the way. No matter how often I slipped, I never got used to that feeling of having a plant touching me and getting shudders down my spine.

“If we limit ourselves to the village, we can indeed only conduct it on a small scale. That is probably why your father was prepared to enter the dangerous forest.”

“Yeah, I think so too.”

“I will ask Ban, our forest expert. He might know a place that is comparatively safe and can be used for beekeeping.”

It seemed that among the places that he had not shown me yet, there was a spot where different fruits were growing. That seemed like a suitable environment for the bees. There was also a spot that turned into a flower field depending on the season. Once, I visited it myself, and I had been in awe of its incredible beauty when first seeing it.

However, I did not want to place the beehive there. While the flowers looked pretty, they also carried poison often used for hunting; I did not want anyone to collect honey in such a place.

“I met with Ban the day before yesterday, so today...” I was trying to remember his hunting schedule to determine whether he was in the village today or not when Lady Tanya looked at me wistfully. “What is it, Tanya?”

“You are very close to brother Ban, right?”

“Yeah, he is taking care of me... Wait, did you just say ‘brother Ban’?”

I had never heard the silent hunter talk about a sister, nor had I ever heard any rumors like it.

“Oh, no; we are not related. It’s just that he used to visit our house often when I was a child.”

Her face had turned as red as a ripe apple. It was the first time I saw this charming expression of hers. I noticed that Lady Maika’s mouth was open, as if it had piqued her interest too.

“Do you not agree that is convenient, Maika?”

“Yeah! That’s lucky!”

At times like these, when she wholeheartedly agreed with me, I felt that we had become much closer over the past year.

“Wait! We are not related!!”

“I know, I know.” Anyone would have agreed with a cute young lady like her; her embarrassment made it only more adorable. “But you have known Ban for a long time, right?”

“I guess so? But it’s more like our parents were colleagues, since they both often went into the forest and Ban was the son of the hunter.”

“Ah, I see. Both your parents were connected through their work, which led them into the forest. In that case, Ban might still know the locations where your dad used to place the beehives.”

“Do you think so?”

There were a lot of things to consider, and I had a lot of questions to ask Ban the next time I saw him.

“I will ask him when he is available. It looks like it might be a long meeting.”

I sent a glance towards the quick-witted Lady Maika, who agreed. “Yeah, it looks like we have a lot of things to talk about. I’ll ask my mom for advice too, so we can decide how to discuss things.”

Lady Maika was not very good at putting on an act. As the daughter of the village chief, the skill to properly express yourself with words and gestures seemed important—I needed to report this to her mother.

Recently, the astute and beautiful Mrs. Yuika had been asking me about her daughter’s performance. However, she was not just asking about her studies, but also about her behavior and mannerisms, most likely in preparation for high-society parties in the city. She said that I should report anything which caught my attention. Since then, I had been paying close attention to Lady Maika’s actions. If she was going to be successful at socializing in the city, I was sure that it would also have a positive effect on this village.

Putting aside Lady Maika’s social skills, a few days later she delivered a message from her mother saying, “Negotiations are best held in a comfortable setting while eating food. How about you have dinner together with Ban and Tanya while reminiscing about the past?”.

Lady Tanya did not become flustered when she heard that message. She looked uneasy, but showed us a bright smile beaming with happiness.

When I explained the situation to Ban, he asked me to accompany him on a hunt. He was busy, and in order to set aside some time for a discussion, he had to tighten his schedule inside the forest. It was not impossible to do it by himself, but he wanted me to help him.

I could not refuse. It was the best for our beekeeping venture, but also for the pure Lady Tanya. And of course, I also wanted to help out Ban, who was still single despite being such a good man. This was a bit selfish of me to say, but I wished for him to contribute to the population growth of the village.

“Thanks for coming.” At night, sitting around the bonfire, the silent hunter started to speak. This was my favorite time. “We got a big prey with the deer walking into the trap,” he added.

Our dinner consisted of blood stew with deer innards, flavored with early autumn wild plants. It was a hearty hunter dish where you cooked the organs of the deer with the prey’s blood—it was extremely delicious.

Some people might have been disgusted at the mere smell of it, but I was addicted to the rich flavor. The moment I put it in my mouth, it felt like the food was becoming one with my body. It was such a satisfying pleasure to wholly consume the life of another living being.

“For myself, a deer is too...” the hunter began.

“It is too much to eat, right? I imagine you would have been eating a wolf, or maybe a boar, like the one we caught yesterday.”

We had not caught the boar in a trap, but rather we had followed its tracks and finished it off with a spear. It was not very big, but extraordinarily fierce, and its headlong rush had been an impressive sight. Without Ban’s precise teachings, I would not have been able to kill the boar with a spear.

We ended up eating its organs last night. However, since the spear had been covered in poison, we had not been able to use the blood, and it was only possible to eat the organs once they had been well cooked.

Ban’s poison became neutralized once you heated it up. As I had no experience with poison in my past life, I was not entirely sure, but I guessed that it was a type of wolfsbane.

“I am glad that I could help you, and that you are such a great hunter.”

As I cheekily implied that I very much enjoyed eating so much meat, Ban patted my head. I was no longer at a mental age where I enjoyed having my head patted, but I was happy to receive praise from someone whom I admired. During the hunt, he was a trustworthy superior, after all.

“Tanya...” he muttered.

“Yes, what about her?”

I had become used to his pattern of speech. Most of the time, Ban did not finish his sentences, so I had to make an effort to extract the rest out of him.

“...wants honey.”

“Are you talking about beekeeping? Tanya’s family had a wonderful book that will allow us to revive apiculture in this village. Oh, and she wants to become a beekeeper herself too. I think she was proud of her parents’ work from a young age. Moreover, we also have the support of the chief, since it is a very important occupation for the village.”

I was talking while checking Ban’s reactions, and since it looked like he wanted to hear more, I just kept talking by myself. Although he was a good listener, it was rare for Ban to ask for information.

“Ash.”

“Yes?”

“Thanks.” The unsociable Ban spoke with a blunt expression, yet in a gentle voice.

From this exchange, I finally understood why he had been single for so long. If my hunch was right, he must have felt abashed.

Lady Tanya did not do any beekeeping in the forest and mainly worked in the field. On the other hand, Ban mostly spent his days in the woods and did not know anything about field work. Even if they liked each other, there would not have been many opportunities for Lady Tanya to interact with this poor talker. The news that she had volunteered to become a beekeeper was a chance for the two to reconnect.

“I am glad I can be of any help, however little it may be.”

I had to report this to Mrs. Yuika as soon as I got back—we were going to produce a new marriage. My current goal was to improve the productivity of this village so that our lives would improve. In turn, with increased living standards the population would grow, leading to an increase of the labor force and once again circling back to an increase in productivity. It was an important part of the plan to realize my dream. But even putting all that aside, I was happy to support both of them.

“I bet you cannot wait to talk to her.”

Ban was slightly flustered while scratching his head.

“It is going to be fine. To Tanya, you are an important collaborator who has a deep knowledge of the forest; you are the perfect partners to work together. This is a cooperative of fate.” And since I knew how Lady Tanya felt, I added the following, “Besides, Tanya is afraid to go inside the forest by herself. Even Mrs. Yuika said that she wants you to accompany Tanya whenever possible. We want to ensure the best environment for the beekeeping business; it is an essential part of developing the village.”

I had not yet talked to Mrs. Yuika about this, but I was going to bring it up in the near future. Ban and Lady Tanya were made for each other, so I wanted them to end up together as soon as possible.

The first formal marriage meeting—I mean, the meeting to discuss the beekeeping cooperative between Ban and Lady Tanya—took place at the village chief’s house. On one side of the table were Ban and his interpreter, me, and on the other side were Lady Tanya and her supporter, Lady Maika. The leader of the meeting was the seasoned Mrs. Yuika.

Jigil was not present. Lady Tanya had talked to him about reopening their beekeeping business, but he was going through a rebellious phase and gave a negative answer. At this stage, his absence did not pose any problems at all. Once we entered the production phase, I hoped he was going to cooperate as a worker.

“Come on, Tanya, you have to ask first.” Lady Maika was whispering to the nervous Lady Tanya, whose shoulders had stiffened.

“Uhm... yes... so... It has been a long time, brother Ban.”

“Since the day before yesterday.”

“Ah, yeah, right.”

That was not a long time at all, but in a small village like this, you were bound to run into each other. Even more so considering that Ban liked her.

This was bad. Lady Tanya, who messed up, did not know what to say next. For Ban, I had not had any hopes from the start.

Thus, I stepped in to keep the conversation moving. “But I imagine it must have been a while since you were last able to talk in a relaxed setting like this.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

Ban just nodded in agreement after Lady Tanya’s statement.

“So, you both have been acquaintances from a young age?”

“Yes, our parents often talked to each other,” she said.

“Played a lot.”

Lady Tanya flustered at Ban’s words; she seemed happy to hear him share his memories.

“It is nice to see old acquaintances join forces to help the village after growing up—that is a wonderful relationship. Don’t you think so too, Maika?”

“Y-Yeah! It’s wonderful! I’m even a bit jealous of them.”

It seemed that, while Lady Maika had tried to encourage the two young lovebirds, she was now embarrassed over her own words. Her face turned bright red.

I did not know whether my words had given her a push or whether she had found new resolve herself, but Lady Tanya suddenly looked up and gazed at Ban.

“Brother Ban! I’m really grateful that you’ve always taken such good care of me. And I’m a little embarrassed to ask more of you, but...”

Ban was listening closely to her desperate plea. The silent hunter replied with brief nods while looking at her directly in the eyes.

“I want to try becoming a beekeeper like my dad and my mom! Can you please help me?”

“Sure.”

Lady Maika looked a bit worried, as Ban’s short reply probably sounded cold to someone who was not accustomed to his pattern of speech. However, her concerned expression gave way to a look of surprise as he continued on with an uncharacteristically long utterance. Even I had never heard him speak so much at once.

“I remember where your father used to place the beehives. There are some other good places in the forest too. It will have to be when I’m free or as a detour while I’m out hunting, but I’ll gladly help you, if that is what you want.”

“Thank you! Thank you so much, brother Ban! I...”

“You don’t have to thank me.” Ban gently patted Lady Tanya’s head. She was overcome with emotion and covered her mouth. “I just want to help you.”

Seeing them interact, I gave a signal to Lady Maika and her mother—all three of us had reached the conclusion that it was time to leave the two lovebirds alone.

“We will go prepare the food,” Mrs. Yuika pronounced with a quiet voice before we all got up and swiftly left the room.

It was extremely uncomfortable to be a third wheel. Their strong affection for each other was filling up the room and exerting an osmotic pressure on our minds to a point where we almost turned into dried fish. Even though I had only been there a short time, I was mentally exhausted.

On the other hand, as a married person, Mrs. Yuika seemed unaffected as she laughed cheerfully. “Hehe, I’m glad it turned out alright.”

“Indeed. But it is strange how such a trivial occasion led to such a huge push forward.”

It was even stranger that nothing had happened until now.

“Well, that’s the way things are. Emotions are easily moved up and down with one casual gesture or word. Isn’t that so, Maika?”

“What? Me? Uhm... Yeah, I guess so.” Oh? Lady Maika blushed as she agreed with her mother.

Even though she was young, she was still a girl, after all. It seemed like she had some romantic experience too. It was heart-warming to observe a girl of her age. Although, physically speaking, I was the same age in this world.

“Maika, could you please help me prepare the food? Ash, you can just rest. And let’s just leave those two alone and eat among us here separately.”

“With pleasure,” I agreed.

It was an honor to be treated as if I was a part of the family at the village chief’s house. While it may have just been a matter of convenience to give those two lovebirds space for themselves, it felt like a hearty welcome.