Chapter 4: Paper Is Mightier Than the Beast

As the busy fall harvest came to a close, I recalled what had happened last year around this time.

Mrs. Yuika had gathered all the children of the village for a storytelling session. She told us an epic tale about the struggles of a young boy saving people and bringing peace to a region plagued by demons. It was great entertainment—full of laughter, tears, and love.

The story had some religious undertones, such as the hero befriending a wolf, a monkey, and a dragon, which were all personifications of the three gods. In that regard, it also reminded me of a folktale from my past life, although this hero did not offer them any kibi dango.

In the end, it had been thanks to that story that I found new resolve to live in this world. This demonstrated how one could never be sure as to what worked as a remedy for one’s life.

Wait a minute. Since I started becoming so enthusiastic after that storytelling session, could it be that I look like a child who just wants to play the hero? How embarrassing!

I suddenly shuddered and felt something warm jump off my lap. Still half asleep, I wondered what that could have been as I opened my eyes and let out a yawn.

“Wha—?”

Oh, right. After finishing today’s work in the fields, I arrived early at the church and decided to take a nap before the study lesson. I must have been much more exhausted than I thought.

Slowly, I lifted up my heavy eyelids and was surprised to see Lady Maika standing right in front of me. She seemed startled too, since she took a step backward with a bright-red face.

Observing her endearing behavior, I greeted her. “Good morning.”

“M-Morning! Sorry for waking you up!”

“No, that is fine. I just took a short rest since I arrived early. I am glad you woke me up for our lesson.” I rubbed my eyes and stifled another yawn.

“I see, Maika... You’ll have to keep trying your best!” Lady Tanya was giggling behind Lady Maika.

“What do you mean by that, Tanya?”

“Nothing in particular!”

Waking up to the playful chatter of two girls was not all too bad.

“I was just curious because the cat was sitting on Ash’s lap!” Lady Maika said.

“Yeah, sure—it was the cat you were curious about,” Lady Tanya joked.

It seemed that the culprit who had woken me up by jumping off my lap was our village’s newest resident, Sir Cat. Using the earnings from the aloe ointment, Mrs. Yuika had brought him back from the city.

For a while, I had been trying to develop rat poison to protect the food in our warehouse, but all of my attempts had failed miserably. I was capable of creating poison that killed rats, but none of them worked as baits. The rats were smart enough to stay away from any lures if they felt something was off, or if they had witnessed one of their own dying from it. It seemed that their wild instincts trumped my shallow wit by a mile.

When I casually brought up my failure in a conversation with Mrs. Yuika, she told me that she had a good idea to deal with my problem. It turned out that her “good idea” was adopting a natural-born rat killer. Sir Cat—or as I called him, Ryūzōji—did not often go near people, so I could see why Lady Maika would have been curious. Maybe he considered us beneath him.

“It has been getting cold outside; he must have used me as a heater.”

Looking down, I saw some of Ryūzōji’s fur on my lap. Why couldn’t he have sat there while I was awake?

Meanwhile, Lady Tanya was tilting her head in response to my comment. “Are you sure? I think he likes you too.”

“Do you think so? I would be happy if that were the case.”

I liked the fluffiness of cats. Hopefully, he was going to let me pet him sometime in the future.

By the way, why did it seem like Lady Maika was writhing in agony while Lady Tanya was smirking to herself?

“A-Anyway, let’s get started with today’s lesson! L-Let’s not lose any more time!” Lady Maika shouted as she covered her burning-red face.

“I guess you’re right...”

Both girls were ready and sat down for their lesson.

“Ash, I have a question. I don’t understand this expression; could you explain it for me?” Lady Tanya asked right away.

Lately, she had been extremely motivated. It was not like she wasn’t engaged from the start, but at the beginning she only wanted to know about beekeeping. However, now she also wanted to properly learn how to read and write, as well as how to do math.

I was not surprised. Anyone who had seen her together with Ban knew exactly why she wanted to study. She wanted to be useful and help Ban however possible. In other words, she was eager to become a good wife. How endearing! I could not help but become a passionate supporter of their love.

At the same time, it felt strange to accompany them as an assistant on their training sessions in the woods. I did not hate it, but I felt like I was in the way. Lady Tanya had the wholehearted expression of a young girl in love, and even the otherwise silent and socially-inept hunter, Ban, was giving off the feeling that he wanted to walk while holding hands or carrying her on his back. I was completely in the way. Being the third wheel to a newlywed couple was the worst of all hells. Well, they aren’t even officially dating yet, so calling them newlywed might be a bit misleading, but it’s not too far off.

In the company of these two lovebirds, my face tended to make the same sour expression as it did when biting into an astringent persimmon. Incidentally, my greatest discovery this fall had been the wild persimmons inside the forest. I was already experimenting on how to dry them, and I had planted several seeds in vacant land in the village. I also intended to investigate several other uses for persimmons, such as making them into dye or vinegar, which I seemed to remember from my past life.

It was strange that, so far, no knowledge regarding the use of persimmons had emerged in this village, even given its current developmental stage. This must have been the influence of the ancient civilization. Farming methods had developed to a point where the villagers sustained a bare minimum supply—however hungry that may have left them—with field crops alone. As such, there was no need to enter the dangerous forest and mountains to cultivate new produce.

At the same time, according to Mrs. Yuika, it seemed that dried persimmons were circulating in the city. In other words, currently, the knowledge regarding astringent persimmons was partially monopolized. Most likely, that knowledge was also part of the remnants of the ancient civilization. Although it was also possible that it had emerged from another region out of necessity.

Judging from the fact that a monetary economy had developed in this world in spite of the poor literacy rate, I assumed that there was a tendency to limit access to knowledge and technology. Keeping such information secret made it much easier to increase the wealth of a specific region.

“Ash is thinking about something difficult again.” Lady Maika staring at my face brought me back to reality.

“I am sorry. I was thinking about persimmons.”

“Oh? The ones my mom keeps going on about? I’m also looking forward to trying them!”

Apparently, Mrs. Yuika was a fan of the characteristically sweet taste of dried persimmons, and she was praying for the success of my experiment. I was hoping that the method which was already used to dry certain vegetables and wild plants could also be applied to persimmons.

“If all goes well, we will have another sweet food for our village.”

“Are you sure that fruit is going to become sweeter?” Lady Tanya showed her skepticism with a wry smile.

I guess that would be the natural reaction of anyone who had witnessed the terrible spectacle of me taking a large bite of a persimmon the moment I found it. I’ll never forget the bitterness of that raw astringent persimmon. Sure, it was in the name of the fruit, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad...

“Unfortunately, the botanical guide did not include any instructions on drying fruit, so I can only pray for it to turn out well,” I responded.

At the very least I hoped to get rid of the bitter taste, even if it did not turn out too sweet. Since I was going to taste-test it myself, I sincerely prayed for it to work.

While Lady Tanya looked at me with pity, Lady Maika, who had not witnessed my agony, changed subjects. “By the way, Tanya, you’ve been going into the forest, right? How is it? Is it as tough as you expected?”

“Yeah, it’s exhausting! It seems that we’ve not yet been into the deep and dangerous parts, but I’m already dead tired whenever I get back home!”

In contrast with her words, Lady Tanya looked extremely happy. I was not surprised to hear Lady Maika murmur that she envied her in response. However, I was also a bit worried; it was true that she had built up a lot of fatigue from those excursions.

“It is indeed exhausting to walk in the forest. If there is ever anything troubling you, do not hesitate to ask me, or Ban, or Maika, or Mrs. Yuika.”

“Thanks,” she said with a smile.

Although I considered it unlikely that she would have chosen me out of these people. If she wanted to talk to someone of the opposite gender, surely she would have picked Ban. And if she wanted advice from someone of the same gender, it was in the hands of the other two.

“There is actually something I wanted to ask you, unrelated to the forest...” It turned out I was wrong; she came straight to me. I wondered what it was. “Although I don’t want to bother you any more than I already have...”

“Not at all. I am not sure how much I can help you, but I will do my best. What is on your mind?”

I wanted to help her to the best of my abilities. As the future beekeeper, she was an important personnel after all. Admittedly, I was slightly worried, though, since my abilities were quite limited.

“It’s about my younger brother, Jigil.”

“What about him?”

Next to me, Lady Maika made a sour face. It was not as sour as the one I had made when eating the astringent persimmon, but it seemed that she was still hostile towards him from our last interaction.

“Lately, he’s not been talking to me. It appears that something’s troubling him, but whenever I ask him any questions, he gets angry or runs away.”

Are you sure he’s not just in his rebellious phase?

However, before I could say anything, Lady Tanya added that she was aware that his behavior was probably normal for his age. “It’s just that, you know, I’m kinda like a substitute parent to him. I think I somewhat fulfill the role of a mother, but that of a father is more difficult...”

“I understand. It must be difficult on your own.”

Even under normal circumstances, child-rearing was already a sea of worries, so I could not imagine how stressful it must have been for a 16-year-old girl raising a teenage boy. Besides, I imagined that it must have been worse recently, since Lady Tanya was busy learning about apiculture and she had not been spending a lot of time with her brother.

“I probably shouldn’t worry too much, since he still has his friends, but I haven’t seen him play much lately either. I’m worried he’s taking it all on himself...”

“I understand your concern.” In the worst case, this was going to negatively affect her work as a beekeeper and her relationship with Ban. “I will try to find out what is going on,” I said.

“Ash! Are you really okay with this?” Lady Maika whispered into my ear after I had taken responsibility.

I was not too pleased about it either, but it seemed that there was no one else who could help Lady Tanya. And Jigil hated me already, so there was no problem if I ended up making him hate me even more.

“It is fine. For now, I will just try and talk to him.”

Lady Maika heaved a deep sigh. “You really are amazing, Ash.”

Thank you, but I haven’t done anything yet?

I had given my word without much thought, but in reality I was not very good at talking to someone like Jigil.

Even if I disagreed with a person mainly driven by reason and interests, I could usually understand their point of view and use that as leverage to make them concede. However, when dealing with someone driven by their emotions, I had no way of gaining the upper hand even if we agreed.

Unfortunately, that meant that I, someone who dearly loved intellect and tranquility, had to resort to a slightly more reckless tactic. Jigil may have perceived it as a threat, but compared to his blatant display of violence from a while back, my words—which could have been considered intimidation tactics—were harmless. Right?

Thus, I warmly greeted Jigil, who was sitting by himself at the riverside. “It is already evening, Jigil. Should you not be at home already?”

He seemed genuinely surprised to hear my voice. Earlier, when Lady Tanya had greeted him, he had not reacted, but now he instinctively turned his head towards me.

“What do you want? Revenge?”

Or maybe he was actually more frightened than surprised. Although I did not see why he needed to be on guard—nine times out of ten he would have easily beat me in a fistfight. Not to mention that, if I really wanted to harm him, I would have taken care of it without alerting him first.

“No, I do not want revenge. I just noticed an acquaintance sitting by themselves at night without moving and checked in on them. Is that strange?”

In a village like this, where everyone knew each other, this seemed perfectly normal. Especially considering that he was close to the river, which added the danger of drowning.

“Get lost!”

“What if you get lost? I saw Tanya going home earlier and she looked worried. Would it not be better if you joined her?”

“That’s none of your business!!”

It showed that he cared about his sister; he reacted quite strongly at the mention of her name.

“You are right, it is none of my business. However, Tanya’s well-being is of my concern. I could not care less about you, but I am worried about your sister.”

Jigil seemed hurt and annoyed as he bit his lower lip. I imagined he took offense that someone who he had challenged to a fight only thought of him as an extra to his sister.

Just as I had planned. For the next part, I needed him to be upset and careless.

“Lately, Tanya always looks so worried. Even when she is going to the forest with Ban.”

That was a lie. When Lady Tanya accompanied Ban to the forest, she always looked very happy. So please, rest assured while I trick you.

“Do you realize how dangerous that is? For Tanya to walk around with a troubled mind in a place where the slightest misstep can lead to a big injury?”

“S-She’ll get hurt?”

And so, his hostility towards me starts turning into concern for his sister. I just need to push him a little more. “Yes, it is very likely. I know we have had our differences, but I want to bury the hatchet and talk things out for the sake of your sister. You do not want your sister to get hurt, right?”

This might have sounded like a threat, implying that Lady Tanya was in danger if he did not listen to me, but I had just spoken from the bottom of my heart.

“Of course not! She’s my only family... And I cause a lot of trouble for her...”

As expected, he calmed down out of concern for his sister. Although, like any good rebellious teenager, he was still sulking. Any arguments or feuds seemed pointless in the face of a blood relative being in danger.

A drowning man will clutch at straws, and an anxious one will fall for a vicious cult!

I put on my mantle as the messiah of the swindlers and talked in my friendliest voice. “In that case, we both have the same goal! Do you want to fight together to protect Tanya from any danger?”

“I-I’ll fight!”

This was another (make-believe) holy war! You like terminology like that, don’t you? I nodded with a serious face and firmly shook his hand.

Since ancient times, the handshake had been a symbol of reconciliation and a sign of contract—we had become brothers in arms. Although Jigil seemed to be acting mostly in the heat of the moment.

“For a start, do you know what could be troubling Tanya?”

I knew it was her brother standing here in front of me, but I wondered how self-aware he was.

“Well, it’s...”

It looked like he had some self-awareness after all, as he averted his eyes in embarrassment.

“If it is a secret, I will not tell anyone. I am not even close to any of your friends, so there will not even be any occasions. How about you try telling a fellow man?”

“Do you promise? If you tell anyone, I’ll break off our pact.”

“I promise.”

I thought of promises as something that was meant to be broken, but I did not say that part out loud.

After I tricked him into believing me, he finally started talking. “Well... You probably know already, but lately, my sis and big bro Ban have been getting along very well...”

I probably knew much better than him, but I just nodded along. He too seemed to adore Ban as a brother.

“And at this rate, they’ll probably end up getting married? Or something? I think...”

When pronouncing the word “married,” he was mumbling to a point where I could barely understand him. He must have been embarrassed—how cute.

I guessed that he was probably feeling lonely at the thought of his sister being taken away, and thus rebelled in protest. After all, she was also like a mother to him.

“Are you sad that she is going to leave?”

“No, not at all.” Jigil was shaking his head, and his face became red. It was natural to feel sad in a situation like this, but he did not want to admit it. “It’s not like that... It’s just that the reason why this didn’t happen before is... It was my fault.”

Lady Tanya was still young, but in this village, 16 was a perfectly suitable age for marriage. Especially considering that her parents had died early and she was not financially stable. Nevertheless, she did not even consider it because she had to take care of her younger brother. Lady Tanya must have been worried about what would happen to him once she left. However, Jigil seemed unaware that the biggest reason for her celibacy lay in her love interest.

“I like big bro Ban. I know he’s a good person, even though he can be scary sometimes.”

“Yes, he is not very good at communicating.”

Hearing me agree, Jigil started to smile a bit. “Yeah, it makes him seem scary. But anyway, I know I can trust him to take good care of my sis, and I want them to be together but...” Jigil’s expression stiffened and he clenched his fists. “I don’t want to be in the way! I want my sis to be happy!”

He looked very mature for his young age. He was a determined and independent person caring for others. However, he was still lacking in strength.

“But I don’t know what to do...” he continued. “I want to leave our home, but I don’t know where to go... And I can’t really talk to my sis...” His grip loosened and he hung his head in shame.

“I see. You are wondering what you could do to avoid causing your sister trouble.”

“Yeah... That sounds about right.”

Unfortunately, this had the opposite effect on Lady Tanya. It was ironic, but it made me feel relieved. The siblings were both worried about each other. Even faced with the harsh reality of living in a poor village, they managed to uphold their strong familial bond.

As a hopeless idealist who had regained his will to live from a fictional story, I wanted nothing more than to support them.

“I know what to do. It just so happens that there is a craftsman in this village who is currently looking for a disciple.”

This particular one was so desperate for help that he even told me all his secret knowledge without hesitation.

“Really?!”

“Yes, I heard it directly from him. There has been a shortage of hands in his field for a while now, but lately he has been quite busy, so now he needs all the help he can get.” I can guarantee it to you as the main culprit for his busyness.

Before I could even ask if he wanted to give it a shot, Jigil bowed his head. “Ash, please introduce me to this person! I’ll do any job!”

That was quite brave of him; to agree on the spot without even knowing who the craftsman was. It was the opposite of uncivilized.

“Understood. I will tell the craftsman to pay you a visit in a few days. If he accepts you as a disciple, I assume he will also tell Tanya.”

“Okay! Thanks!” When he raised his bowed head up again, there was a mixture of excitement and nervousness on his face.

I wanted to tell him that he did not need to be so nervous, but I kept quiet for now. I wondered what his reaction was going to be when the silent and unsociable hunter showed up. I really wished I could catch a glimpse of that expression.

Several days later, after Jigil had successfully become Ban’s disciple, I found myself being chased around by the former.

“Come over here! Why didn’t you tell me it was big bro Ban! I didn’t know what to say when he suddenly asked me!”

“You were the one who accepted before I could go into any details. If you had asked me, I would have told you!”

I could not deny that I did not tell him; he just did not ask me.

In any case, everything worked out peacefully. Jigil was going to learn hunting techniques and prepare himself to become independent, Ban would get another person after me to help him on his hunts, and Jigil could also help his sister with her beekeeping work as he became used to the forest.

Once Ban and Lady Tanya got married and moved in together, Jigil could just live in whichever place was left vacant. As both houses would become his family homes, he did not need to refrain himself. All in all, it was a great outcome with no losers.

...So, why did I have to be chased around by Jigil?

“By the way, do you want to join our study group at the church? That way you could learn about beekeeping and help your sister even more!”

“Shut up! Just let me punch you! And I don’t think I would learn anything!”

“If you study hard enough, you will learn! And I would rather not get punched!”

“Please teach me then! Thanks, Ash!”

“You are welcome!”

Although I would have much preferred for him to stop running after me than receiving his thanks. While I had gained stamina from my excursions into the woods, it was still quite difficult for me to keep up with a fit older boy like Jigil.

In the end, I managed to escape by sheer force of will, as I lived by the rule to never submit myself to irrational violence.

Will I have to keep running from now on until he lands a punch on me?

Fall had passed and given way to the harshest season. While there was not enough snow to cover the landscape in white, the forest, the plains, and the fields all resembled the color of dried earth as the green had faded away. The land looked like a corpse whose blood had stopped flowing. It was no wonder that winter was called the season of death in many cultures.

Similarly, the farmers also entered a temporary state of death until the land resumed its breathing. As they could not harvest anything from the fields, they were forced to temporarily change their occupations. Some worked as artisans on the side, while others became weavers. There were also some who turned into temporary carpenters doing easy repairs around the village.

As for me, I had become a full-time researcher. As a result of the past year’s efforts, I was now able to cover the expenses for my experiments in advance. This allowed for much smoother progress compared to the aloe research that I had conducted in spring. I was also grateful that I had the blessing to use all the surplus firewood.

Recently, I had been studying processing methods for materials derived from honeybees. During fall, I had collected some beehives in the forest together with Lady Tanya. I was surprised when I actually managed to make an ointment out of it. According to the book, it had antibacterial properties and, just like the aloe, it could be used as a salve to treat wounds as well as a cosmetic lotion. Currently, I was testing to see if it was possible to increase the effectiveness of both ointments by mixing them together.

In addition, I had also succeeded in making candles from the beehive, which allowed me to work longer at night. It appeared that the honeycombs were made out of beeswax, which was quite useful. But why did bees produce wax? And why was it antibacterial? I had no idea. Whenever I was studying a new subject, I came up with so many interesting questions. Alas, my knowledge was limited, and I did not know the answer. Why couldn’t I have studied biology more seriously in my past life?

“Ash, is the pot supposed to be boiling this much?”

Heeding my mother’s warning, I hurriedly looked up from my study materials.

“Yes, this much is just about right. Thank you for the warning.”

I checked the state of the bark inside the pot and started filtering the broth. My mother stopped sewing and watched my work with great interest.

“It’s strange that this turns into medicine,” she said.

“It is strange indeed.”

This broth was going to become medicine. I could not have told you why, even though I had conducted several experiments on its effects.

According to my reliable botanical guide, the bark that I had boiled had anti-inflammatory properties and it could be used for fever and pain relief. Judging from its shape and effects, it was most likely a variety of what I would have referred to as willow in my past life.

According to my smattering knowledge, willow had been used since ancient times and was related to the famous painkiller Aspirin. However, I did not know how willow broth and aspirin exactly operated so that they had a pain-relieving effect. Why couldn’t I have studied chemistry more seriously in my past life?

I let out a sigh while pouring the willow broth into a porcelain jar that had been disinfected with boiling water.

“Are you worried about Maika?”

“Am I worried? Yes, I guess I am.”

“You care a lot about her.”

I could not bring myself to reply to my happily-smiling mother that my scientific spirit of inquiry was probably a bigger driving factor. But it was still true that I worried about Lady Maika, who had come down with a cold.

In this world, people were still dying left and right from the common cold. I cursed my past-life memories of nanotechnology-based medicine which could have prevented many funerals.

However, this year was going to be different. For the further development of the village, it was vital to maintain and grow the population; I needed to protect the villagers from illness for the sake of my dreams too. On top of that, Lady Maika was not only intelligent and came from a good lineage, but she also was always friendly towards me. It made sense to work my hardest for her well-being both objectively and subjectively.

I packed up the cold medicine and prepared to go out. “I will go to the village chief’s house now. I will see you later, mother!”

“Take care, and say hello to the chief for me!”

After being sent off by my mother, I left the house. My father had been out of the house. He was currently at a gathering with all the useless men of this village getting in the holiday spirit. By drinking spirits.

When I arrived at the village chief’s house, Mrs. Yuika greeted me. She looked a bit tired, since she had been constantly nursing her daughter. Her husband was fulfilling the duties of village chief in her stead—he was the opposite of my father.

“Here is some more medicine. As always, take care not to drink too much at once.”

“Your medicine has really been a godsend. After taking it, she always feels a bit better and regains some appetite.”

“I am glad to hear that. Unfortunately, I cannot cure her myself, so she has to take in plenty of nutrients to fight off the disease.”

Mrs. Yuika nodded.

In this world, no one believed that illness was a divine punishment or due to evil spirits and demons. Or at the very least, no one thought that they could exorcise the disease by merely doing penance. They did not perform any reckless phlebotomies either. The general advice was to get plenty of nutrients, stay clean, and rest as much as possible.

Most likely, this common sense, similar to what I remembered from my past life, was another remnant of the ancient civilization. If only more advanced tools and facilities remained, there may have also been better medical technology, such as antibiotics, vaccines, and anesthesia. Unfortunately, they did not exist, and thus even a common cold easily led to death.

Regardless, Mrs. Yuika kept a positive attitude. “Every winter we expect several people to die, but this year might be the first one where everyone survives.”

“I will do my best. Ban and Jigil have also been hard at work.”

This winter we had plenty of food and cold medicine. Thanks to Sir Cat, there were hardly any rats ravaging the warehouse. In addition, there was a greater reserve of hunting meat and vegetables from the forest thanks to Ban no longer being on his own. Finally, the profits from the aloe ointment guaranteed financial safety too.

Mrs. Yuika had collected all the surplus goods at her house and provided them to the sick residents as needed. For example, she was giving out water mixed with honey and salt, chicken soup, meatball broth, and slightly-bitter dried persimmons. Fortunately, my cold medicine allowed the patients to regain their appetite, so they could take in plenty of nutrients from these supplies.

It did not sound like much, but it was effective. So far, not a single villager had become emaciated and suffered because they could not get any food down. I firmly hoped that we could maintain this situation at any cost until spring.

“Do you want to see Maika?”

“Yes, if it is not troubling her. She must be bored from staying in bed all day.”

“Please go ahead, she also wants to see you. You can take this water I was just about to bring her.”

I took the mug filled with water and poked my head in the room where Lady Maika was recovering.

“Do you mind if I come in?”

“Oh, Ash. Please come in.” She sat up and desperately tried fixing her bed hair.

“Are you sure you can sit up?”

“Yeah, it’s fine. I had a really bad fever, but thanks to your medicine it’s gone away.”

“I am glad you are feeling better already. This is from your mother.”

“Thanks, Ash.”

I handed her the water mixed with salt and honey. This was an oral rehydration solution based on a recipe that I had shared with Mrs. Yuika.

When catching a cold, there was always danger of dehydration because the activity of the immune system often led to fever, which in turn prompted the body to cool itself off via excessive sweating. I attempted to break that vicious cycle with this drink.

The well water in this village was relatively safe to drink, but it was still risky. Especially for an already weakened, sick person, it was highly likely to cause diarrhea, which would have just further exacerbated the dehydration.

We had decided to make the solution in large batches at the village chief’s house, as it required a lot of firewood to properly boil and disinfect the water, and we did not want to burden the individual households. I had also tried mixing in salt and honey.

“I like this drink; it tastes good.”

“I am glad to hear that.”

A warm smile came over Lady Maika’s slightly-flushed face—it looked like she had come straight out of an advert.

The salt honey water was a necessity for the patients, but it was also quite tasty. I was glad to see that it lightened their mood in their painful fight against their illness. Sickness and health started with the mind after all.

Lady Maika happily placed her lips on the mug and drank it all up at once. “Thanks, that was refreshing!”

“You are welcome. Do you want to lie down again?” I asked her as I took back the mug.

“I’m fine! Thanks to your medicine I’m feeling much better!” She smiled.

“Are you sure? Your face is still red; you might still have a slight fever.”

“No, I’m not hot at all. I’m fine, really. Can you stay a little longer?”

It seemed that she was bored. Considering she had spent the past six days in her bed, I could fully understand her, but I also had to fulfill my duty as a nurse.

“I cannot just let you decide that on your own. Let me see if you have a fever.”

“...What are you doing?!”

I put my hand on her reddish forehead. Maybe it was inappropriate to suddenly check a girl’s temperature like this, but I only thought of it as a standard medical procedure. As expected, it was still hot.

“See? It is still a bit hot. Lie down and get some more rest.” I grabbed her shoulders and tucked her in.

“A-Ash... wait...”

“Your face is very red; it looks like you are still not well. You should sleep.”

“Y-Yes.”

As I adjusted the bedcovers, she stopped protesting and obeyed. She was a much more reasonable child than I had ever been in my past life. I keenly realized our difference in upbringing.

“Are you going to leave already?”

“Well...”

She buried her face in the bed covers and gave me a sad look. Being ill was boring, and she must have longed for some company. Besides, Mrs. Yuika looked exhausted from nursing her, so maybe it was for the best if I stayed for a while and let her have some rest too.

“If you want, I can stay and talk with you for a bit. I have made some progress with my research on beehives.”

“Really? What have you been doing?”

“For now, I have managed to make some ointment and candles. I want to see what happens if I mix the former with aloe.”

“You have already made it? You really are amazing, Ash.”

“No, it is only thanks to the wisdom of our ancestors.” I could not have done it without Lady Tanya’s book, which included information on the manufacturing processes. “In the near future, I want you to be a test subject again for the ointment. Can I count you in?”

“Yes! I can start right away!”

“I am afraid you will have to wait. I first need to test it on myself to see if there are any side effects. I want to make sure it is as safe as possible before giving it to others.”

I was especially hesitant about giving it to women without testing it first, since it was a product for the skin. Culturally, a lot of value was placed on a woman’s appearance in this world. Men, on the other hand, did not have to pay as much attention to their looks, so it felt more appropriate for me to be the first test subject.

“Oh, okay. Have you been using it already?”

“Yes, I have been rubbing it on my left hand. So far it seems to work fine. Can you see how smooth it is?”

As I stretched out both hands, Lady Maika reservedly grasped them.

“Your hands... Yeah, the left one is very smooth.”

“With this, your hands will end up looking even prettier again. So please take care of yourself, so you can become a test subject again.”

“Yes! I will do my best to recover as soon as possible!”

Her enthusiastic reply showed that she already had a strong interest in beauty despite her young age.

Similar to the aloe ointment, I anticipated that the honeybee product was also going to be valued mostly as a beauty product rather than a salve for wounds. It was to be expected considering it was still a luxury item, but I felt that in any world there was a tendency for new inventions to unintentionally cater to unexpected demands.

After talking to Lady Maika for a while, I also checked on the other sick people to see if any of them were in critical condition. I wanted to welcome the next spring with everyone and increase our productivity for the new work year.

With a bright outlook on the future, I returned to my frugal home, only to find my father being annoyingly drunk.

“Ajj!! Come seet hiir!!” He did not just slur his words, but it seemed like he was speaking a completely different language.

While I could not understand a word, I realized from his movements and having to deal with him on a daily basis that he wanted me to sit down in front of him. I felt a bit sad to be reminded that I had such a good-for-nothing as my father.

“Yuu olways riid dose bu-uks. But a rial man wahks in da fieldsss!!”

“Yes, fieldwork is a man’s work. But has your work not become a little easier with the knowledge from my books?” I just ignored my father’s usual lecture—or rather grumbling—which I had heard countless times before.

While I had not yet experimented with pesticides, I had divided the fields into smaller blocks and managed manual labor such as cultivation and tending of the land. I had checked the development and wrote down the yields of the harvest. As there were no previous records, it was not possible to make a direct comparison, but it felt like productivity had increased.

“Nansensss! Ye neeed haad wahk en taim... fo gutt riisa...”

“Yes, you need hard work and time for good results, but my management is also hard work. I cannot create my notes without thoroughly inspecting the crops and the fields. And I am not going against the teachings of our ancestors.” I did not agree that just aimlessly working in the fields counted as hard work and time well spent.

I poured some well water in a mug and gave it to my father. I also made use of the occasion to mix in some dried herb powder. According to my guide, it could be used as a tranquilizer, so I wanted to conduct a little experiment. I did not know if it was safe to mix with alcohol, though. I got a bit excited when I saw my father gulp it down at once.

“We-Whyy ahr uu soo smaht?”

“Why am I smart?”

Because I have memories from my past life. It would have been much easier if I were able to tell the truth, but I kept silent to avoid any possible trouble.

“Aah yuu rilly mai son?” My father looked at me with puppy dog eyes.

Was he one of those men who were in constant doubt of their fatherhood because there was no way of knowing for sure? Especially since they weren’t the ones who had experienced pregnancy and childbirth themselves?

It was true that I had another pair of parents outside of this world. And I could not deny that I considered the ones in this world as a more foreign existence than those who had come first in my past life. However, there was no mistaking that I was related to my father David.

I let out a sigh. “What are you talking about? No matter how you look at it, I am your son.”

Of course, that was only my opinion, but it was based on evidence.

Number one, my mother was an extremely virtuous and chaste woman with a sense of duty who would have never cheated.

Number two, you could tell that I had my father’s genes from the outside. While our speech pattern and behaviors might have been worlds apart, our eyes and the shape of our ears were the same.

Number three, well this one was not actually about being related by blood...

“Do you really think I could understand your slurred drunken language if I was not your son?”

“Rilly?”

“Yes. I have grown looking at your back, after all. Although it does not look very gracious when you are drunk.”

Admittedly, his drunkenness had taught me valuable lessons about which paths I had to avoid.

“I ssee... I see.”

My father fell flat on the table and started weeping.

One of his no-good drinking buddies must have teased him saying something like, “Is he really your son?”

You don’t have to worry about that, I’m just special.

I started worrying about the effects of my tranquilizer; he should not have been this energetic still. As I was pondering whether the dose had been too low, my father started snoring loudly.

“Hmm... I wonder if this was the alcohol knocking him out or my tranquilizer working.”

My experiment had failed; I had learned my lesson. It was preferable not to mix it with alcohol. But I was probably going to do it again. I hated drunkards, so it was tempting to conduct dangerous experiments on them.

Seeing that I had inherited quite a sturdy body myself from my father, I was fairly certain that a little bit of fun was not going to kill him at least.

And thus, spring had arrived. Green blood started flowing again through the veins of the land. The wheat that had survived winter stretched itself towards the high noon sun and welcomed the farmers back to the fields. However, before the harvest could officially start, it was time for the spring festival.

In my opinion, the main purpose of the festival was to restore everyone’s spirits by using up the food reserves which had reached their preservation date limit. This year’s festival seemed remarkably more lavish than previous years’, since the warehouse was still full of food, even though a lot had been distributed to sick people over the winter.

One reason for this was the fact that there had not been a single funeral this winter. It was custom to hold a party in honor of the deceased person and to comfort the family members left behind. Luckily, this year everyone had survived, though. I could see why the villagers were all in such good spirits; even the more serious people let loose during the festival.

Everyone used the savings from their side jobs to stock up on alcohol. And of course, my father, who had been drinking all winter, ran towards the alcohol as if he had not seen a bottle in ages. Well, not quite. That was what I would have said any other year, but this year was different.

“How come you are not drinking much?”

“Hmpf... I ain’t young anymore. As your father, I need to be more sens’ble.”

“You are a great father. I am proud of you.”

He snorted and faced away, but I saw his ears blush.

“I support your decision to cut down on the drinking. You will be healthier, which means you can do a better job in the fields, and in turn, be a better man.”

“Ya think? Lately, I’ve been wakin’ up more refreshed.”

The reduced stress on the liver must have improved his health already, leaving him with more strength for his work too.

“I am still weak, so I am glad to have someone as reliable as you with me.”

“Leave it to me! I ain’t gonna lose to ya yet!” He was laughing from his belly. Flattering him was indeed quite easy.

I hoped this would spur him on to work even harder. I imagined my mother was such a good wife to him because she had fallen for his simple and naive personality. Actually, I was almost certain, because she had given me the advice to “manipulate him in the right direction.”

My father, who only had a few drinks, decided to go back home with my mother. They were a good match for each other. However, that meant that it was probably a good idea to stay away from my house for a while.

As I waited, I greeted Ban and his not-yet-official family in the hope of securing smoked meat.

“Hey, Ash!”

“Ash? Today is nice weather, isn’t it?”

Jigil and Lady Tanya greeted me back. While he did not say anything, it seemed that Ban had noticed me approaching before the other two. This showed once again his experience as a seasoned hunter.

“Hello. I have come to greet you and your delicious meat.”

As I smiled, Jigil held out a warm skewer of smoked meat. “I knew you’d come, so I put one aside for you.”

“Thank you! I will repay this debt.” I promptly started cleaning the meat off the skewer. There was nothing better than protein for someone still growing. “This is delicious. I am in heaven...”

“In moments like these, you seem like a normal child.” Lady Tanya laughed heartily.

She sat next to Ban with their shoulders touching. I was glad that they were getting along so well, but I had heard that they were still not dating. And my source was Jigil, so it must have been true. He asked me if that was really what couples looked like, but all I could reply was that it depended on the people involved. And that was true for this world as much as it was for my previous one.

“Ban, what does the forest look like? Foraging season is approaching,” I asked while chewing my delicious meat.

“Busier than usual.” Ban scratched his head with a slight look of concern on his face.

I was not sure what he meant by that, but... “That does not sound good. Having dangers lurking in the forest while working is a nuisance, especially in regard to the beekeeping.”

“Yeah, I’m worried about the beekeeping, but more than anything, I’m worried about Ban and Jigil.” Lady Tanya looked anxious as she considered that her whole family was working in the forest.

Seeing this, Jigil, who looked more mature these days, spoke in a bright tone. “We are going to be fine, sis. Right, big bro?”

Ban simply nodded in agreement to his apprentice’s words.

I decided to help them too; there was no point in just worrying. “Ban is always very thorough and never lets his guard down. And with Jigil as a backup, I am sure they will be fine.”

I knew the silent hunter’s precautions all too well. If he felt like even the slightest thing was off, he observed the situation for several hours, and when faced with something unfamiliar, he preferred to retreat. Considering he was facing off wild animals, I do not think it would have been too far fetched to say his instincts were on par with theirs.

“I also believe in them,” Lady Tanya murmured.

Being able to trust them while at the same time being worried was human nature. I understood why Lady Tanya could not bring herself to fully smile. No matter how advanced a society was, protection charms never went out of fashion.

“You will have to take extra care to put Tanya at ease. If you need any help, please call me. I am also a bit worried to hear that the forest is busy. Besides, I need to gather some spring plants and vegetables.”

“Just make sure you don’t hold us back, Ash!” Jigil provocatively slapped my shoulder.

“For now, I think I am still better at navigating the forest, though,” I sheepishly replied, realizing that by summer this was probably not going to be the case anymore.

I was currently a farmer, hunter apprentice, pharmacist, linguist, productivity researcher... Anyway, I was trying my hand at so many things that interested me that I was not going to outclass someone like Jigil, who focused on becoming a hunter.

On top of that, in his newfound enthusiasm, my father had taken over Lady Tanya’s field, as she was prone to being absent due to her work as a beekeeper. Therefore, I had to take care of yet another field, increasing my work as a farmer. However, I was looking forward to it—I had been told that I was allowed to conduct some simple experiments on the fields.

I laughed from the bottom of my heart. “Hahaha... This year I am going to be busy.”

The Ban family members looked at each other before the silent hunter spoke. “In moderation.”

Why is this family so anxious?

After the spring festival, the villagers mostly returned to being serious farmers who spend their days in the fields. One of the exceptions being the two hunters and the beekeeper who worked happily alongside each other in the forest. Another exception was me—I conducted an experiment on companion plants in the field that Lady Tanya had entrusted me.

Companion plants brought about benefits when you planted them with the crops or near the fields. For example, you could use plants that contained an ingredient that repelled pests to protect the crops. According to my botanical guide, one of the flowers growing near the fields had such a repelling effect.

In the village, these flowers had been known as “the guardian deity of the fields,” which had received a magical blessing from the monkey god, the god of wisdom. Therefore, the farmers knew that the flowers had a positive effect, but they had not made proper use of them. This was probably yet another example of knowledge from the ancient civilization being turned into folklore.

While thinking about reporting this discovery to Father Folke, I planted the flowers into different sections.

“Ash, is this okay?”

“Yes, that is perfect.”

Next to me, Lady Maika, who had come to help, was sweating profusely. She did a great job as she carefully prepared the soil exactly like I had noted it down in the instructions. One of the problems of this village was the fact that many people were incapable of doing work like this.

“Thank you for helping.”

“Don’t worry about it. You helped me when I was sick, so I’ll help you however I can!” She nodded with an energetic smile. “Besides, my mom told me I should help you too.”

“Is that so? Thank you for helping me out so much.”

“But you’ve done so much more!”

“Not at all! I am only doing what I want for myself. And I could not have done it by myself.”

I realized that the whole village had benefited from my activities. However, it also had to be said that I did all of it out of selfish reasons to fulfill my own dreams. I worked hard, I produced results, and everyone thanked me for it. While our interests may have aligned, the people who helped did not do it solely for me. That was why I had to be grateful. Otherwise, I was going to end up conceited, stumbling, and falling on my own. As I had once told Mrs. Yuika, I was no saint. Regardless, it appeared that pretending to be one was effective.

I re-evaluated my actions as I kept planting the flowers. Next to me, Lady Maika had stopped working and stared at me.

“Maika?”

“Ah, yes! Uhm... I-I was just... You really are amazing!” She praised me with watery eyes. Did she get some dust in her eyes? “I’ll do my best to catch up to you!”

“I am honored you would say that. But that means I will also have to try harder to become an appropriate goal for you.” Inspired by Lady Maika’s ambition, I smiled back at her. There was nothing more pleasant than friends mutually encouraging each other.

As we prepared the soil while engaging in light-hearted talk, a shrill metallic sound rang through the village. Lady Maika’s expression suddenly changed.

“Just now... That was...”

“The emergency bell.”

It was the sound of our village’s emergency bell, which was in place to alert us of fires and attacks from wild animals and bandits. There was also the occasional child who rang it as a joke, but none of them did it a second time after receiving a severe scolding.

At the sound of the bell, the villagers rushed out of their houses and left the fields to hurry towards the church, which was the designated gathering point. On the way, people were letting each other know what had happened.

“What happened this time? I hope it’s not bandits. That’d be bad with the chief gone and all...”

“No, it appears to be a bear attack.”

“A bear? Has someone been attacked?”

“No, it seems everything’s fine. The children who were out foraging saw it from afar and came back in a panic.”

The villagers seemed relieved that the situation was not too serious, but there was no time for optimism either. While it was not the worst situation, it was still bad.

“It looks like it is a bear... Maika, please go to the church. I will stop by my house first.”

“What? No! I’ll go with you!”

“I am afraid I cannot let you come. I need you to go to the church and let everyone know that I will arrive after making some arrangements at my house. Otherwise, they might end up throwing a funeral again if they think I have gone missing like last year.”

I said it as a joke to lighten the mood, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. Lady Maika looked like she was about to cry.

“I am sorry, that was a joke. But I do need to go to my house to get the spear and bow and poison that I use for hunting. I want to be prepared before going to the church.”

Unfortunately, Ban and Jigil had left for the forest only recently. At the earliest, they were going to come back the day after tomorrow if they managed to catch a prey right away. As a result, I was the only one left in the village who knew how to handle hunting equipment.

“It is going to be fine. I am Ban’s best disciple after all; he has taught me how to deal with bears.”

“Yeah, but...”

“You go join the others and make sure they stay quiet. If we do not agitate the bear, it will probably just scavenge the warehouse for food and go back. You have an important job to fulfill.”

The villagers were most likely aware of this already, as bears and boars had appeared in the past. In fact, everyone was relatively quiet on their way to the church—my comment was meant to convince Lady Maika.

If I ran into the bear, I was confident I could take care of it, and if I could not... Well, then that was it. Either way, I did not want to involve the village chief’s precious daughter.

I tried giving a final push to Lady Maika, who still looked as if she wanted to tag along, by speaking in a more commanding tone. “Listen closely, I need you to inform everyone at the church. That is your duty!”

“And you will come right away?”

“Of course. Who else is going to protect you?” I once again tried to put her at ease, but this time I went for a more pompous line, rather than a joke.

Apparently, it worked—Lady Maika blushed and agreed to get to safety.

Personally, I thought it was embarrassing, but to a girl like her, it might have sounded cool. I guess ultimately it depends on the person, but I’m glad I passed the test this time.

“I am leaving then.”

“You have to promise to come back! Take care!”

I agreed by waving my hand while running off.

When I rushed into my house, I discovered that the stove had already been extinguished. It appeared that my parents had already evacuated. I needed to join them as fast as possible.

In a hurry, I took out a small bottle filled with poison and added a little water. Ban had given me this poison, which he used to hunt with. It was stored as dried powder, and you had to mix in water before using it. While it could be used as a powder too, it lacked the necessary adhesive power to apply it to the spear.

I checked the poison’s viscosity and grabbed two spears and a bow before running back out again.

If the bear only wanted food, I probably would not have to use my weapons. Mostly, I kept them for protection in case it reached the church and started attacking people. Since I had no experience fighting bears, I wanted to avoid an active fight without Ban’s assistance. Still, if worse came to worst, I was prepared to take up arms.

As the church appeared in the distance, I came across a large black figure. I had hunted boars before. I had stared down snakes. I had even dealt with wolves. And all of them had been formidable enemies that made me fear for my life... However, chills ran down my spine when I realized that none of them had been as threatening as the giant wild bear slowly walking towards the church before my eyes. Its mere appearance gave off a terrifying sense of intimidation. Moreover, it was heading straight for the church filled with people.

Bears were omnivores—they ate plants as well as other animals. While they only rarely ate people, it was said that, once they tasted the flesh of a human, that was all they were going to eat.

It seemed to me that this particular bear, drooling from its huge mouth, had just woken up from hibernation and was prioritizing food. As it noticed me and turned to look at me, this impression only grew stronger. His hunger had turned into a primal bloodlust, and the only thing it was thinking about was food.

I regretted not preparing the strings for the bow at home. It did not look like I was going to have any time for that right now, so I gave up on it. I threw the bow away to the ground and planted one of the spears in front of me. While stealthily covering the other spear in poison, I greeted my enemy, which was glaring at me.

“Welcome to the village, Sir Bear. What can I do for you?”

My friendly greeting was answered with a ferocious roar. It might have been intended as a nice reply on its part, but unfortunately, I did not speak bear language, so it just sounded like a frightening threat to me.

“Let us calm down a bit. If you are just hungry, I am not your enemy. I am willing to let you have some of our reserve food.”

The bear looked around to check its surroundings. It appeared as if it was scouting the area for other hunters.

“Does that not sound good? You can fill up your belly and then go back to the forest. That way both of us would be happy.”

After seemingly confirming that I was the only person around, the bear stood up and let out another threatening roar. It rang so loud that my ears hurt—my entire body vibrated from head to toe. My heart froze. It was frightening. However, threats did not work on me; I had become resilient after knowing fears far worse than this.

“It looks like you do not want to just quietly go back home. Well, I am not going to sit back and let this village get destroyed either.”

This was my village. That may have been an exaggeration, but it felt like mine. Ever since literature had resuscitated my hope, I had embarked on a journey to transform this village into the place of my dreams by interweaving the will and the knowledge from all sorts of books. At present, my ideal village was still far, far away. If this were a book, my story so far would have only filled the first couple of pages. This was the epic tale of my village.

“Sir Bear, I am warning you.” A murderous impulse was shooting from my brain and through my spine, filling up my whole body. “If you attack my village, then I will kill you!”

The bear started charging at me, as if it had sensed my intention to kill. Before I had any time to marvel at the giant’s incredible speed, its rough arm came striking down. I managed to reflexively evade it by throwing myself forward under its right arm. If I went backwards, I would have only ended up being killed; it would have run over me.

I was fine. Even when faced with a murderous wild bear, I kept a cool head.

The bear noticed that I had moved to the side and stopped its charge. As it changed direction on its four legs, I quickly readied the poisoned spear and rushed to its flank. After running as fast as I could, I thrust the spear at the turning bear and pierced its right arm. The beast let out yet another roar—not in menace, but in pain.

As its body kept moving in my direction, the spearhead broke off, shaking me in the process. I was left stumbling a few steps forward and found myself wide open in front of the bear. At the same time as its left arm came down upon me, I swiftly took up a defensive position, shielding myself with the broken spear’s shaft.

Everything that followed went so fast that I did not fully realize what happened. All I knew was that the shaft had been smashed and that I had been blown away. There was a shivering coldness in my right upper arm. It seemed that my shield was not able to resist the attack. As a result, my small body had been sent flying through the air. The coldness in my upper arm must have been due to direct nerve damage from the bear’s claws ripping open my flesh.

The bear twisted around in an attempt to get rid of the spearhead, which must have been painful. I saw that as my chance to tear off the ripped sleeve and use it as a makeshift bandage. I wrapped the cloth around my right arm so that the knot came under my armpit. Supposedly, applying pressure to the thick veins in the armpit was an excellent way of stopping the bleeding in that area. I was about to find out how true that was. If I survive, I’ll have to write it down in my experiment journal.

“Are you ready to go again?”

Almost at the same time, the bear readied itself to fight. Unlike me, it had not given itself any first aid, of course. It had trouble walking, since the spearhead was still sticking out of its now-powerless right arm.

Apparently, the poison had started to have its effect. Nonetheless, it was going to take some time until the proud, giant bear fell. According to Ban, who had conducted extensive experiments with the poison, it took on average three minutes for it to fully work. This meant that I had to hold out for at least two more minutes. I was probably not going to last much longer anyway due to my bleeding. Even now, my feet felt as if they had turned into jelly.

“It looks like we both can no longer use our right arm, and we are running out of time. I do not suppose you want to declare it a draw?”

While a retreat would have probably increased my chances of survival, the bear had nothing to gain from it. By the time it reached the forest, it would be dead. I wondered if the beast was aware of this. Either way, it did not show any signs of retreat.

The giant bear came running towards me. In response, I acted quickly yet carefully in accordance with my plan. I threw the remains of the spear that I was still holding in my left hand at the bear’s face to create a diversion, which I used to sprint towards the second spear. As soon as I readied the spear and turned around to face my opponent, its giant figure once again charged at me.

I won’t run away this time. I planted the butt end of the spear in the ground and directed its head at the charging bear.

This is what the pikemen must have felt like when waiting for the enemy cavalry to attack. My only weapon against this ground-shakingly heavy beast was a mere stick. I’ll admit I’m scared.

Even if my opponent ran straight into the spear, its momentum would likely make the giant beast fall on top of me, leading to a possibly fatal injury. Anyone would have been scared at the prospects of such a disadvantageous gamble. Even the bear must have also been scared—he was storming towards a sharp blade capable of killing him. In other words, it was a test of courage. The fear of waiting for death while it charged at you versus the fear of running towards it.

I steadied the spear with both my arms, even though the right one was close to useless. For the rest of the strength necessary, I was going to borrow the force of the ground to pierce the heavy beast. My heart was racing, and my breathing became heavy as my body started consuming more oxygen due to my nervousness. Still, my hands were not shaking. While I was on the verge of death, with the Grim Reaper approaching me head-on, I had experienced much worse.

Brave Sir Bear, living in the wild, you might’ve suffered from a serious injury. You might’ve even stared death in the face before. But I bet you’ve never experienced death.

Back then, I had felt my last heartbeat. My lungs stopped working as I took my last few breaths. The world was fading in front of my eyes. For the first time, I heard the pure sound of the wind, free from the background noise of my inner organs. One by one, my conscious thoughts disappeared. Anyone who had experienced death was bound to become fearless. The same terror that had accompanied me in my last moments had now become a shield against my fear of death. This gave me an enormous advantage over the bear, and it ended up being the deciding factor between life and death.

As the beast was one step away from crashing into me, it stood up on his hind legs, exposing its giant body.

“Looks like you lost to your fear!”

In the last moment, the bear had given in to its fears and slowed down to evade the spearhead by taking a turn. However, it was not able to stop the momentum of its giant body weighing close to one metric ton, and thus fell onto the spear. All I had to do was point it directly towards its heart.

After the impact, I felt the raw sensation of piercing through a thick layer, followed by a gentle pulse. The bear brushed against my body as it sank to the ground together with the spear, which had broken. The beast managed to complete its intended right turn with the help of the spear... After it was too late.

I was the one who survived. Now I just had to make sure I stayed alive. The wound on my right arm was deep. While the bleeding had slowed down, it did not stop. I had lost a lot of blood already, and the wound was festering. I needed treatment and medical procedures to prevent an infection.

Before I realized it, I was sitting down on my knees. This is bad—I’m about to lose consciousness. I need to stay awake.

I felt like there was someone nearby, but I could not see properly; my eyelids were too heavy to lift. This injury was not something I could treat on my own. I needed help.

“Please do not take off my bandage until the bleeding stops.” In this world, it was not possible to have a blood transfusion, so I had to make sure not to lose any more.

“And please use the ointments... the medicine at my home to treat the wound.” Both the aloe and beeswax helped reduce and prevent infections.

“If possible, please stitch the wound. Once it looks like the bleeding has stopped, do not wrap the bandage too tightly.” If the blood flow stopped completely, the wound was not going to heal.

Was I forgetting something?

“Oh, and I poisoned the bear. So, if you want to eat it, you have to cook it thoroughly.”

Wait. That was irrelevant.

I mean, it was important, but my body’s wellbeing was more vital right now.

I hoped they would take the bear meat. I wanted to eat some once I got over my injuries. I wanted to survive and eat the bear that brought me close to death. I was going to live for you, Sir Bear. There was no way I was going to die here. There were so many things I still needed to do.

I will live.

On a nice spring day, the warm sun rays tickled me awake. I was still half asleep and felt exhausted. As a wise poet once said, ‘In spring one sleeps a sleep that knows no dawn.’ At least that is how I remembered it from my past life. I wanted to lie in, but that went against my duties as a resident of this impoverished village. Besides, there were so many things I needed to do in this world.

Filled with hopes and dreams, I shook off my fatigue and opened my eyes.

“Ah, I feel rested!”

While rubbing my eyes with my left hand, I tried propping myself up with my right arm only to find myself in excruciating pain.

“Ouch! That hurt!” I’m ashamed to say I even cried a little bit.

As I took out my right arm from under the bedcover to look at the source of the pain, I saw that it was wrapped up in bandages.

“What happened?”

I tried remembering if I had gone to bed like this, but my memory from last night was gone, and I did not even know how much time I had slept. Even though the sharp pain had fully woken me up, I was feeling heavy-headed and absentminded. No matter how I looked at it, this was not a regular morning.

“How did I end up here?”

I realized that I was not at my house. The bed was much cleaner and more comfortable than mine had ever been.

“I feel like I have been here before... When was that? ...Oh, right!”

I remembered this room from visiting Lady Maika when she was ill. This was the bedroom of the village chief’s daughter. However, I still did not know why I was sleeping here.

As I was thinking with my drowsy head, the door opened. Lady Maika and my mother entered holding aloe ointment and bandages, as well as a tray with wheat porridge. It appeared that the latter was made with chicken-based soup stock—it emitted an appetizing smell.

Embarrassingly, my stomach growled, so I got straight to the point. “Good morning. I have a lot of questions, but most of all, I am hungry.” Can I please have the porridge now?

In response, they both hugged me while crying.

This felt like a déjà vu. It was the same reaction as last year, when I had gone missing. Had I been pronounced dead a second time? Do all reincarnated people die twice? Well, I suppose that at the very least they die once in their previous life and once in their new one. For some reason, I could not form a logical thought.

After they had finished crying, both women explained to me what had happened.

“Ah, yes! I remember. There was a bear.” As I was eating the porridge, my senses came back to me. The chicken soup was delicious.

Apparently, after my fight with Sir Bear, I fainted from losing too much blood and stayed unconscious after developing a fever from my infected wound. According to Lady Maika, who was now wiping away her tears, I had still been responsive and even spoke a few words, but I was only half-conscious.

Thanks to both of them, I was able to remember everything up until the moment I defeated the bear, but I had no memories of the time I was out with a fever. Hopefully I had not suffered any brain damage. I needed to check my cognitive abilities once I was able to move again.

“Mother, Maika, I am sorry for causing you trouble. Thank you for rescuing me.” As I bowed, my mother put her hands on mine and started crying again. I felt bad for making her worry so much.

“Y-You need to stop being so reckless!!” Lady Maika got angry while heaving with sobs. Faced with her concern for me, I could not help but feel ashamed.

“I will try my best,” I replied earnestly.

“Don’t just try!” They both opened their eyes wide and shouted in unison.

“Well, but depending on the situation, I might have to...”

“No! That’s irrelevant!”

“Yes! You’re not sorry at all!”

I am sorry.

I was reflecting on my actions, but I did not see how I could have stopped Sir Bear without risking my life. Just looking at the beast’s eyes, I knew that it lusted for human flesh. What if I came across another situation like this?

Before I could even try to explain myself, Lady Maika continued scolding me. “Just look at you! You show no signs of remorse! At all!”

“I promise I regret it, but the situation called for...”

“Ash! Don’t make any excuses!” My mother joined in too.

Wait a minute. Hear me out!

At that moment, Mrs. Yuika peaked in through the door.

Please help me!

These two must have been stressed from nursing me, so I hoped for a third, calmer voice to diffuse the situation... but she just averted her eyes and ran away.

“Don’t look away when I’m scolding you!”

“This is already the second time now! I won’t let you get away this easy!”

It seemed that I had no choice but to obediently listen to them. I resolved myself to take in their fierce attack in the same way that I had faced Sir Bear.

Maika’s Perspective

My mom was right. I firmly promised that I’d protect Ash.

After scolding him together with Mrs. Sheba, he still showed no signs of regret. If he ever found himself in a similar situation, he would surely risk his life again. How heroic! ...I mean, how reckless!

Of course, I realized that he didn’t really have another choice back then. And thanks to Ash, no one else got hurt and all our food was safe. In the end, everything was fine. But not for me. I’ll end up dying from worry if he keeps doing things like this.

Naturally, I didn’t want to die yet. I hadn’t even told Ash that I liked him. Also, I wanted him to say it back, so I had to protect him for my sake too.

“That’s why I will protect Ash!”

My mom nodded firmly in agreement. “It’s great that you’re saying this yourself now.” She looked at the wooden sword in my hand before continuing. “But do you remember what I told you? Protecting Ash doesn’t mean fighting his enemies with a sword!”

“Yeah, I remember,” I replied while tightly gripping my practice sword. “But this time around the danger was an enemy that needed to be cut down!”

If only I’d practiced my sword skills more, I could’ve accompanied Ash and fought together with him. If I’d been as strong as my dad, I could’ve prevented his injury.

“As I said, I will protect Ash!”

“Wait, calm down, Maika! That might have been the case this time, but that’s not what I was trying to say!”

“It’s okay, Mom. I’ll protect him just like you said.”

“No, that’s not what I meant...”

My mom was about to cry. I had never seen her like this before, but I didn’t really care at the moment. I had to become stronger. I had to practice with my sword to protect Ash.

“Listen, Maika. I want you to take care of Ash’s personal relationships.”

“I’ll do that later! First I have to protect him with my sword!”

Since Ash was so smart, it was going to take a long while before I could be of any use in that regard. In the short term, sword fighting was more helpful than studying. I was taller than him, and I’d been practicing with my dad before. However, I needed to become much, much stronger than Ash. If I were just decent at it, he’d be too kind to rely on me. Luckily, my dad was apparently the best swordsman in the country, and while I didn’t know how true that was, he was a great teacher.

Just wait, Ash! Next time I’ll protect you!

“Maika! Please listen to me! You can still practice with your sword, but it’s more important that you learn about social etiquette in the city!”

Don’t get in my way, Mom!

●　●　●

Even after I had woken up, I was strictly ordered not to leave the bedroom. I wondered how my absence was going to affect the busy farm work, my experiments in the fields, and the progress of the beekeeping operation.

For the farm work, my father proudly said to leave it to him when he came to visit. Lady Maika and the village chief graciously assured me that they were monitoring my experiments. Finally, when Ban brought me some bear meat, he cautioned me to rest well, since the beekeeping was going according to plan.

Why did everyone insist so strongly that I should not work? It was not my intention to push myself over my limits. Did I really look that eager to get back to work?

As I asked these questions to Father Folke, who had visited me with a book in his hand, he burst out in laughter. “I mean, you’re always up to something strange when no eyes are on you.”

“You are making it out as if I were a problem child.”

I always planned ahead and acted towards achieving my goals, so why that image of me?

“I don’t think you realize it yourself. You probably think you are walking at a normal pace, when in reality you are running at full speed.”

“Hm... Well, I am aware that I sometimes act strange.”

“It’s good that you at least recognize it. Or maybe that’s actually worse?”

I recollected saying something similar about Father Folke, who was now heartily laughing. Thinking that I was in the same category as this guy, I started to feel a bit remorseful. Ever so slightly.

After chuckling for a while, he handed me a book. “This is for you—you must be bored. I just picked one which I think you haven’t read yet, but if there is any specific book you want to read, let me know.”

“Thank you. You know me well.”

Father Folke snorted in response, as if to say, “Of course I do.”

Since my body was still recovering, all I could do for now was taking care of my health. In that case, I wanted to use this time to read as much as possible.

“Although it looks like you’re almost done reading all the books in the church.”

“Yes, I am not sure what to do about that. Since I read all the notable books first, there is not too much of interest left.”

We both folded our arms and groaned in thought.

It was not like I was dissatisfied with the books at the church. Especially the fiction books were one of the few sources of comfort in this village. However, it seemed unlikely that I was going to gain anything more from reading the guides and other non-fiction books. For example, the ones on agriculture talked about fertilizer like this, ‘The necessary nutrients for the field are [something I could not read the name of] and [something else]. When spreading them out you need to take care to do this thing.’

Relying on my limited knowledge of agriculture from my past life, I guessed that the words I did not understand were related to nitrogen. I remembered hearing that nitrogen was important when it came to fertilizing. And as you may have realized, even if I was right, I had no idea how to produce this fertilizer.

According to the guide, you had to use the “high-pressure, high-temperature method” to create a certain substance, which you had to mix with something else to generate a chemical reaction to then finally obtain what I assumed was nitrogen. But there were no details regarding the “high-pressure, high-temperature method,” and I did not have enough knowledge of chemistry to know what the “certain substance” or the “something else” could have been. I needed to study this world’s periodic table of elements.

In addition, this village lacked the necessary equipment to produce said substance. The stoves only heated up to relatively low temperatures and were difficult to adjust. On top of that, there were no laboratory instruments such as flasks or cylinders that could have withstood the chemical changes. I also would have needed a solid pressure cooker to create the required high pressure. Not to talk of the measuring equipment to determine the precise weight and temperature needed for the chemical experiments. In some cases, it might have also been necessary to rely on an amount of power unachievable by humans or other organisms to create a large dynamic force output.

It’s pretty clear that none of these exist in this impoverished village. I’m not even sure I could get everything in the capital.

Until now, I had always been able to act by gathering stuff from the village, but from here on out, I likely needed to look outwards.

“Father Folke, may I ask you if it would be possible to acquire new books?”

“Hmm... Getting one or two new ones shouldn’t be a problem. But it’s not like you just want to read whatever is available, right?”

“Yes, you are right.”

It would not have mattered if it were purely for my reading pleasure, but I wanted books that helped improve our daily lives. As a researcher, Father Folke understood the importance of data, and he was worried that he could not procure any books fitting my standards.

“If you go to the temple in the city, you can ask Mother Yae to look for specific books, but I’m not sure he would necessarily understand what you’re talking about...”

“I know, that is only to be expected.”

After all, at the current stage of this civilization, even professionals based their understanding of bacteria and viruses on the knowledge that “it has always been this way” and “it was discovered by our ancestors.” If I asked them for a book “explaining the fundamental concepts relating to the invisible particles which make up all materials,” they would not have known what I was talking about. Although maybe at the capital it was possible to find a researcher specializing in a related field.

“It looks like we are at a stalemate for now,” I said.

“In your case, it might be better to think about a way to get to the capital right away.” Half-jokingly, Father Folke made the best proposal.

“I guess that is what I need to do. I wonder how many years it will take me to save up enough money to visit the capital.”

As I started coming up with a plan, he patted my head. “See? You immediately get caught up in new projects.”

“But it is not anything strange, is it?” My desire to visit the capital was comparable to a young country boy wanting to work in the city in my past life.

“Yeah, there are a lot of people who have the same dream, but I don’t know anyone who started calculating travel expenses on the spot. I’m sure that, if it were possible, you would’ve already dashed out of the door.”

“I think I have enough common sense not to rush out the same day.”

“But you’re not planning on staying here either,” he countered. I did not have any comeback to this declaration hitting the bullseye. “That’s why people who are given to worry cannot let you out of their sight.” Father Folke laughed as if he was definitely not one of them.

“Should you not worry a bit more about your cute little disciple?”

“Worry? About you?” Father Folke laughed hysterically. “Don’t be silly! I’ve told you before—you won’t be killed so easily!”

“As a matter of fact, this time around I was on the verge of death...”

“No, I’m even more certain now after seeing how you handled your high fever.”

Why? What kind of person looked at a half-conscious child suffering in pain and concluded that that person was not going to die?

“Do you not remember what you said during the height of your fever, when other people were crying from worry?”

“No, I do not remember anything from that period. What did I say?”

“I was very impressed by your words.” He wiped off a tear from his eye before proudly continuing. “You said, ‘I won’t die. Not from this. I’ll survive. I’ll live.’ And you kept murmuring these phrases over and over again. No wonder the god of death who came to take you would give up and just return.”

I was at a loss for words. But was it really that funny to see my desperate will to live?

In the evening, after all the visits had finished, Mrs. Yuika appeared with a delicious-smelling dinner in her hands.

“Thank you so much. I am sorry you have to go through so much trouble for me.”

“Don’t worry about it. That’s the least I can do for the brave little hero who protected the village.”

“You are exaggerating.” I felt embarrassed. My mental age was a bit too old to enjoy being treated like a child.

Mrs. Yuika replied with a loving smile to my red face. Was that her motherly instinct or was she teasing me?

“How is your stomach? I thoroughly boiled the bear meat we received from Ban, but it might still be a bit too heavy.”

“It is fine. I will take care to chew well and not eat too much.”

I took the plate of bear meat and vegetable hotpot. She had taken great care to cook the vegetables as soft as possible so that I could eat them.

“It is delicious.”

“I’m glad you like it.” Mrs. Yuika smiled while watching me eat.

What a privilege to eat such a delicious homemade meal while having someone as beautiful as Mrs. Yuika looking at me. I wish I could be in a similar situation with a single woman. If only my body was more developed... I indulged in my impure thoughts while fully awaiting some form of divine punishment.

“You can continue eating, but there is something I wanted to tell you.” Mrs. Yuika brought me back from my wicked thoughts with her gentle voice.

I nodded while chewing the bear meat. I wondered what it could be.

“This winter, I plan on sending Maika to my family in the city,” she declared.

Oh, that was indeed a surprise. I assumed she was going to stay with her extended family to learn more about life in the city. It was going to be Lady Maika’s high society debut.

“To be honest, Maika is doing perfectly fine studying here at the moment. She learned how to read and write, and she knows how to calculate... But I want her to learn different skills in the city,” Mrs. Yuika continued.

“I understand. Interpersonal relationships are important, and there is no harm in studying in a different environment than this village.”

She clapped when she heard me agree. “Exactly. Once she comes back, she’s going to stand out simply by having visited the city. However, as I said earlier, Maika is smart enough that she doesn’t need to go to the city. That’s all because of you, Ash.”

“Not at all. It is because of her own efforts. I only responded to her curiosity.”

It was true that I only taught her the things that she wanted to know. If she had not asked me, I would not have responded. In that sense, I was the same as my beloved books. As long as she did not take the book into her hands, flipped the pages, and read the text, they were nothing but a useless lump of fibers. Although I felt that once I started enjoying our lessons together, I had also talked a lot from myself and taught her things without her asking.

“Even if you think like that, as her parent, and as a member of the village chief’s household, I’m deeply thankful to you. Please accept my gratitude.”

There was no way I could have refused after such kind words of gratitude. She really used sweet and soft language. “I am honored by your words. Of course, I accept it.”

“Thanks, Ash.”

I was honestly happy. It felt good to be thanked by a charming person whom I admired. I almost brazenly smiled.

In order to fulfill my own dreams, I was prepared to involve as many people as necessary, run at full speed, stumble, fall over, and even break. It was heart-warming to hear others thank such a selfish person as myself.

Mrs. Yuika seemed to have a good understanding of human emotions. Her gentle eyes were whispering to me, “It’s not bad, right? The undeniable appeal of gratitude and praise from other people.”

“Ash, please continue to let us be grateful towards you,” she added.

Or to put it differently, she wanted me to refrain from anything that would make her or the villagers shout abuse at me. She was cunning to bring up this plea after feeding me the sweet lure of her gratitude.

“You got me. There is no way I could do anything that causes trouble after hearing your words.”

“If you think like that, then I guess it’s my win.” She showed me the brightest smile I had ever seen.

I had completely fallen for her. Even though she had put shackles on my mind so I would not go on a rampage, I did not feel bad. This is what dogs must have felt like when they were put on a leash to go for a walk.

“I have nothing to add—you beat me completely.”

“Hehe. But I’m sure there would’ve been no problems even if I didn’t prod you like this.”

“I wonder if you are right.”

I had never thought about needlessly causing harm to anyone else, since I had assumed that the most efficient way to achieve my goals was to pretend to be a saint. However, my reasoning did not necessarily align with my emotions. There was a possibility that I would have stopped considering others when overcome with emotions. Then, maybe I would have acted on impulse. I did not think of myself as a purely logical person capable of preventing such a scenario.

Thus, Mrs. Yuika drove a wedge into my emotions as a precaution. Undoubtedly, she had only pretended to be such a charming person for her plan to work. It would not have been as effective to receive words of gratitude and respect from a plain person without any allures. Quite the contrary, it might have even been repulsive. I wondered when exactly she had conceived this plan, and if there had been any other victims. I was excited just thinking about it. I think I might like Mrs. Yuika a bit too much.

“I think you would’ve been fine. After all...”

“Yes, I will take extra care to not cause any problems from here on out!” Please don’t tighten the ropes any more.

“Hehe. I think I’ve tamed you enough for now.”

“I agree. Please spare me if you are truly grateful.” Seriously. I’m not sure I can go on living if I’m going to be bound hand and foot.

“It looks like it worked better than expected. But don’t worry, I just have a little proposal.”

“Oh, what is it?”

“Would you like to accompany Maika to the city?”

“Yes!” I reflexively replied without thinking.

Mrs. Yuika looked understandably a little concerned. I had just run wild, immediately after promising I would not do anything like this. I was really sorry.

I opened my mouth to apologize. “When are we going to leave? I have heard that there is a temple on another level compared to our church. I cannot wait to read all the books they have!” My logic circuit was unresponsive. Without a doubt, I was on a rampage. “Oh, and there will be different produce from that area as well as trading goods from other cities. As a base of distribution, the city is bound to have exciting new goods, technology, and knowledge! I will be able to conduct new experiments!”

For a while Mrs. Yuika folded her arms as all my desires spilled out, then she burst into laughter. “Well, I don’t even know what to say anymore. You exceeded my expectations once again.”

“Not at all, I still have ways to go. I am just honest about my feelings.”

“I think you’ve already come a long way. I thought of several ways to convince you, like saying that while it wasn’t the capital, the city was going to bring you one step closer to the former.”

“I see! That is indeed another point of attraction.”

I could not wait to go. When talking to Father Folke, I should have prioritized the closer city over the capital. After all, there were still a lot of holes and flaws in my plans.

“Just wait a little bit, Ash. You will go to the city, but for now, can you wait?”

“I am sorry for getting ahead of myself. I am just excited.”

I cooled down after seeing Mrs. Yuika’s pale face regain color. Although, on the inside, there was still a hot fire burning, ready to burst out at any moment.

“So, when are we going to... Oh, right. You said Maika will leave this winter.”

“Yeah, I want you to join her then. Until then, there are still a lot of things to do, like talking to your parents and finishing your jobs.”

“You are right. I also have my field experiments which I left halfway through. I need to finish those.”

In that case, I had to complete as many tasks as possible while I was still in the village. I also needed to write up all my research results. Maybe it would also be useful to look for materials here which did not exist in the city.

“It looks like I am going to be busy.”

“I’m happy, albeit a bit concerned, to see you like my proposal.”

Why are you concerned about a ten-year-old in high spirits?

And so, it was decided that I was going to the city in winter. There was no doubt that this was a significant turning point in my life in this world. I just hoped that the city was cleaner than the ones from the Dark Ages in my past life.

Next to the church was a public burial ground. Fifty years after the foundation of this village, we were only the fourth generation, but it was unclear how many hundreds of people were buried here. They likely had not been able to afford proper funerals for all of the deceased.

The graves were very modest. In the middle of the cemetery, there was a mound of earth surrounded by wooden poles. Each pole represented a deceased person whose ashes had been buried inside the mound. I joined my hands together in front of one of them and lowered my head.

“My beloved, may the wolf god’s invitation drive off any hardships, may the monkey god’s guidance result in harmony, and may the dragon god’s protection guarantee peace,” I prayed for their soul.

I repeated this in front of several other newer poles.

They were not necessarily grave markers of people whom I had known well, but rather children who were born in the same year as me. That was all that connected us. I did not think they had even considered me to be special or talented. However, I remembered them—or rather their death—quite vividly.

For example, one day I noticed this girl missing from her usual group of friends. I heard that she had caught a cold, and five days later received the news of her death.

The boy over there broke his leg after he tripped while cheerfully running around. His parents even took him to a doctor in the city, but his leg became necrotic and he returned only in the form of ashes.

The girl over there disappeared while foraging for edible plants. Ban brought back what was thought to be her arm, which was then cremated.

The newest grave marker had been erected when I was eight years old. After complaining about suffering from a toothache, the boy’s cheeks swelled up and he developed a high fever. He fainted and never woke up again. Most likely, some bacteria from a cavity had traveled through his body.

I did not think of those deaths as disasters that could not have been prevented by human hands. Each one of them could have been saved given the right resources.

Each grave shouted out the final thoughts of the deceased at me.

“What a poor world!”

“What a dangerous world!”

“Why is no one helping me?”

Their deaths had covered me in ashes of despair.

At first, I had felt deeply sorry for them. But I realized that was rude towards their resting souls. There was a better approach.

Yes, this world is poor. Yes, this world is dangerous. That’s why I need to change it.

I should not have dwelt in despair, but rather taken this as a trigger for my determination. One misstep could have landed me in this grave instead of them. All that had separated us was a bit of luck. In the end, they had turned into ashes simply because they had been a little unluckier than me. In that case, it may have been the fate of the survivor to be buried in the ashes of the dead.

Or so I had thought. I now felt that it was our duty to rise from the ashes and sow seeds among them. I did not know if this was the right way to mourn the dead, but as someone who was eventually going to join them, I would have wanted something to grow out of my ashes.

It had taken me ten whole years to gain such a positive outlook. How negligent and cowardly I had been.

I announced my departure to those who had turned into ashes in my place. “I will leave the village this winter, so this is a goodbye.”

I did not know how my journey was going to end. And I was not sure if their deaths had been in vain. Still, I felt a sense of responsibility.

“From here on, I will do everything in my power to change this world.”

In that moment, I had sown the seeds among their ashes. While I did not know whether they would grow into flowers, wheat, or trees, I was certain that something was going to rise from the ashes.

“It is time for me to go now.”

This was the last time I was going to smolder among the ashes. I was ready to face the unexpected in the city and light up my dream in a magnificent fire.

Yuika’s Perspective

Maintenance of the graveyard was an important part of the village chief’s duties. The rituals were of course still held by the priest, but as the person in charge, it was my utmost responsibility to pay respect to those who had supported this village.

I would have been lying if I said that it was an easy task. Especially immediately after someone had died—my heart felt heavy. It felt as if the newly added ashes were pressing down on my body and soul.

However, this year, the weight was lighter than ever. And I knew why. All thanks to that boy who I thought was a little strange, and who turned out to be extraordinarily strange, in fact. Over the past year, Ash had managed to dramatically reduce our death toll to a point where no one had died last winter.

As I headed towards the graveyard with a light step, I unexpectedly found another visitor. And coincidentally, it was the person who I had just thought about. Ash was praying in front of a grave marker that didn’t even belong to his family. This reminded me of the day I had visited the same graveyard in the fall two years ago.

Heading towards the graveyard, my body had felt heavier than usual. The negativity shackling my feet and my legs didn’t just come from the extraordinarily cold weather, considering it was still the beginning of fall. Only a few days ago, a child Maika’s age had been buried at the graveyard. It would’ve been weirder if I was light-footed. I let out a sigh heavy enough to drop like a rock on the floor, but it was immediately swept away by the fall breeze, making me even more miserable.

The graveyard was so deserted that even the wind sounded loud. Not even the grieving parents of the deceased child had visited the grave. But I could understand them. Death was all too present to keep on mourning. It constantly lurked beneath our thin layer of skin, ready to swap positions with the living as soon as they showed a moment of weakness. There was no need to visit the graveyard; death was constantly with us. Normally, this was the philosophy of the villagers, but that day I found a shadow standing among the graves.

For one brief moment, I thought—or rather I sensed—that I had seen a ghost. He was about the same height as the boy who had died, and stood right in front of his grave marker. He looked emotionless, and his eyes were paler than those of someone on the verge of death.

“Mrs. Yuika?”

As a result, I froze when that shadow of a person talked to me.

“Are you here to clean the graveyard? Thank you for your services.”

However, I composed myself again right away. He showed a mature yet gentle smile. I was relieved to see that it was just Ash.

I politely greeted him back. “Hello, Ash. You don’t have to thank me. It’s my duty as the wife of the village chief.”

“No, I insist. Everyone is grateful for your work.”

What an accomplished child. Even many civil officials in the city didn’t show as much consideration as he did.

After his polite greeting, Ash offered to help me. Of course, I refused at first, but since he insisted that he was going to stay here anyway, I gave in. We split up to clean the graveyard and I glanced at him several times. He seemed the same as always, but I couldn’t forget his earlier expression.

I was originally born into nobility as the daughter of a feudal lord. I received the best education in order to surpass everyone else. In that environment, I was always praised for my ability to see what people really felt and thought. I could tell someone’s true intentions just by analyzing the faint movements of their faces, their little gestures, and the content of their speech. Because of that ability, I had realized for a while now that Ash’s smile was not as gentle as it seemed on the surface. It was an expression of despair.

Since he was such a smart boy, I had no doubts that he was always anticipating pain and suffering more than the average person. Most people didn’t think about tomorrow’s empty stomach until they felt hungry the next day. However, Ash anticipated the hunger and started worrying about it in advance, leaving him with a tired mind once he was faced with the reality of the empty stomach. That must have been painful for a young child like him.

I was surprised he had been able to normally interact with his fellow villagers until now. I felt that his ghostlike expression from earlier, with eyes deader than those of a corpse, was his real self. It made me feel powerless as the village chief’s wife—I wanted to do something for him. However, that was easier said than done. Providing enough food to prevent an empty stomach sounded simple enough on paper, but I didn’t know if I was capable of it.

My father and the civil officials serving under him had always called me a genius and expected great things from me. Therefore, when I decided to marry Klein and move to Noscula village, my father was vehemently opposed. He said, “You will only waste your talent in a rural farm village like that. There is better work waiting for you!” Back then, I perceived it as a statement from a jealous father who didn’t want to lose his eldest daughter, and so didn’t give it any second thoughts. I wanted to support my beloved husband, and some day, turn the village into a prosperous town. I was keen about my prospects, but once I started living here, I realized that my father had been right. I didn’t have any skills that were useful in a farm village.

My talents, which had been praised in the city, were skills related to human interactions. For example, I realized that the official in charge of finances looked exhausted. When I talked to him, I found out that he was equally skilled at math and literature, but disliked the former and liked the latter. No matter how skilled someone was at their job, if they disliked it, they weren’t going to make any progress. Therefore, I proposed he change positions, and he ended up becoming much happier as a diplomat. I came to the conclusion that one of my strong points was determining what position suited people doing administrative work.

Obviously, in order to use my talent for human interactions, I needed human resources. In the city, there had been a lot of people, but in the village not so much. I might have even gone so far as to say that there were no people who could’ve benefited from my talents. But in order not to reopen my wounds too much, let’s just say it was lacking in human resources. Most residents were farmers who weren’t in a position to switch to a job more suitable for their skills. There was no meaning in simply assigning them to a new field.

That being said, I did implement some changes. Together with my husband, I revised and optimized the resource management of the village warehouse, the use of farming tools as community property, and the surplus reserves in the case of a bad harvest. We tried slowing down the decline, but it didn’t seem to work. The last remaining workhorse collapsed, the couple in charge of beekeeping died, and only one hunter was left.

Each winter children and adults alike were dropping like flies. Our generation was still fine, but I worried about my daughter’s generation. Was my cute baby girl going to be able to raise her kids in this village? If I had to be honest as an administrator, I could not say yes. There weren’t enough human resources. All I could do was interact with and manage people.

My husband Klein was very talented with weapons, and specifically with his sword, but neither of these skills was useful in the current situation. This village didn’t need someone who managed the existing resources or someone to protect the people. This village and my daughter needed someone who created new things. Unfortunately, the solution wasn’t going to fall from the sky. I couldn’t help but force a bitter smile.

However, there was a sliver of hope left—Ash. He was known as a weird yet mature person. While he was a child, he looked just as, if not more, calm than most adults. I had hoped for him to one day become a leader among the farmers. However, I knew I was wrong the day of Maika’s eighth birthday.

By chance, Ash was helping to arrange the warehouse and I saw him casually calculate the number of wheat bags. To my surprise, he used multiplication, which no one had taught him! I got excited at the appearance of an unexpected human resource. I was in awe. With a little training, he could become much more than a leader of the farmers. I could see him being an assistant to the village chief. I wondered how much more he would blossom once he started receiving a proper education, considering how smart he already was. Maybe—just maybe—there was still hope.

Back then, I had felt such hope for Ash, but his own intelligence was wearing him down. There would have been no better medicine than providing him with a plentiful life, but alas, that was impossible. I shook my head. If I couldn’t reward him materially, maybe I could at least create some diversion.

Let’s see... He’s not the type to run around, so how about reading out some stories? I could choose a hero’s tale; that should be interesting for a boy too.

I was just a bit worried that he would think of it as mere child’s play, considering his mature demeanor. Still, it didn’t hurt to try.

I decided to invite the other children too and create a lively and fun atmosphere. I remembered a story about a lone hero who saved a suffering village, which seemed exactly right. I smiled at my choice. This sounded more like an encouragement for myself than for Ash. After all, I wanted him to become a hero who saved our village.

The recital went down very calmly. All the boys and girls loved it and got excited, but Ash, my guest of honor, was just listening very quietly. Since it was after sunset, I didn’t see his face properly, but he seemed unresponsive. I had failed. To Ash, it must have seemed like mere child’s play after all. I had been too naive.

A little while after the recital, rumors started going around the village that Ash was acting strange. His visits to the church and his relationship with Father Folke dealt a double blow to the villagers. On paper, the church was a place for studying, but the number of residents who had actually used its services was zero. However, now Ash was attending church regularly. That was the first blow. On top of that, he was talking to Father Folke, who was known as a difficult person to deal with. That was the second, even bigger blow.

Ash must have had amazing communication skills. Father Folke almost never left the church. He looked extremely pale and talked in a gloomy voice. No decent person liked talking to him for longer than necessary, especially since he openly admitted that he found it bothersome to meet other people. Hearing these rumors almost made me want to introduce Ash as a candidate to become a diplomat. Still, they were just rumors, and I didn’t know what was Ash actually doing at the church.

But it didn’t stop there either. As I decided to observe Ash’s actions, Maika also started behaving strangely.

It all started on a day when we were supposed to clean the warehouse. I told Maika to come help after she had come back home from playing with her friends. I went ahead by myself and waited for her, but she didn’t show up even after we had started work. I was sure she had run into one of her friends on the way and went to play with them. I wished she had a bit more self-awareness as the daughter of the village chief.

I had already prepared a lecture for her, but when Maika arrived at the warehouse, she seemed different somehow. The first thing she said was that she was sorry for being late. Usually, she came up with a simple lie or some silly excuse, but this time she just apologized. I wondered if she had maybe eaten a strange fruit. As I seriously worried and asked her questions, she pouted. That was my bad.

Apparently, she had run into Ash on the way to the warehouse. Remembering how efficient his help had been during summer, she tried inviting him to lend us a helping hand. That in itself was normal. Anyone would have probably done the same.

“Then, is Ash coming today?”

As if to confirm my thoughts, one of the girls interrupted our conversation. “Not today.”

He wasn’t going to come. It seemed unlike Ash to turn down a request for help. The other children agreed and started a discussion. Half of them worried about Ash and the other half lamented his absence. Ash was known to be a weirdo, but also very smart. And he seemed to be popular with a lot of girls, as demonstrated by the noise in the warehouse.

Maika grew more and more annoyed at the situation and raised her voice. “Aren’t you all supposed to work?” She tried putting an end to the topic with her loud rebuke.

Oh my. Could it be...? That my little Maika has developed an interest towards him?

Previously, when I’d been impressed by Ash’s mathematical abilities, I’d asked Maika if she was interested in taking him as a groom. That would have been the fastest and most reliable way to secure human resources. Besides, even I had to admit that Ash was likely going to grow up being a very fine man. Although he never could’ve outclassed my darling Klein, of course.

Considering how popular he was with the girls, I had expected Maika to be on board, but...

“I’m sorry, Mom. I don’t like Ash...”

While saying so, she seemed sad, as if she were looking at a little bird with a broken wing.

“I mean, he always pretends to smile, but he looks like he’s in pain. Seeing him like that hurts me...”

I recognized that. Just like me, Maika had the ability to see through people’s real thoughts and emotions. That’s why she flinched at his pain and suffering. I had been careless; she was still too young to carry such a heavy burden.

In addition, I was now worried about Maika. Similar to a lamp, an ability like ours had the power to shine light into the darkness, but at the same time, it also cast shadows. In this village, she was bound to encounter only the shadows. In the absence of any real applications for her talent, people might have ended up antagonizing her or becoming jealous.

Consequently, now I was worried about both Maika and Ash, and both problems didn’t seem to have any quick solutions. First of all, in my duty as a mother, I needed to make sure that Maika wasn’t going to suffer from her talents. In the meantime, I had to shelve my plans for Ash. Although it seemed that soon enough they would unexpectedly come falling down again from that same shelf.

Months went by and a lot of things happened, including Ash’s funeral and his miraculous return. That felt like a once-in-a-lifetime incident, since the village was usually quite peaceful otherwise.

One day, after studying at the church, Maika came back with a smile so wide that I thought her cheeks might fall off. She looked extremely cute to me, but I wondered what she was thinking.

“I touched Ash’s hand!”

So that was the source of her smile.

Until recently, I had been worried that she was too busy playing around to fall in love, but now she had fallen head over heels. Luckily, her crush was the serious and mature Ash, otherwise I might have become anxious again.

Maika went on to talk excitedly about what had happened. When she explained why she had touched his hands, my presence of mind was blown away by a storm. Ash had developed a new medicine which he had seen in a book. That’s a joke, right? I thought.

Discovering technologies from the remnants of ancient civilization—that would’ve been the job of researchers affiliated with temples. And not just any temples either; these people usually worked in the capital. How could a little child have accomplished something like that?

When I hurriedly questioned Maika, she told me that he called it “aloe ointment.” Originally, it was supposed to be a salve to treat wounds, but it also softened rough skin. Apparently, Ash’s hands were smooth like a baby’s. Maika said that he had gladly shared some with her after seeing her interest. I want some too... I need to make some negotiations later.

Anyway, if this was true, it was big news. This ointment was definitely going to sell. Men and women alike were suffering from rough hands, so there was already a demand. Especially, women were likely going to become dependent on it. I was going to become dependent on it. All women had the instinct of wanting to stay beautiful. Even more so when they were in love.

And contrary to works of art, the ointment was going to run out—it had to be bought over and over again. Suddenly, this village had a new exclusive local product which didn’t even exist in the city, whereas previously it had none. We had been getting by sparsely using a minimum of resources, but now there was a completely new source of income.

I was dazzled by the sudden ray of hope shining into this village whose future had been uncertain. All my doubts became mere shadows of a dream, and I no longer cared that such results seemed impossible considering his age, or how impressive his use of source materials was. On the frontier of discovery, the most important thing was the results. As such, the focus should’ve been Ash’s accomplishment. Or, as I was tempted to call it, his miraculous blunder.

Next, I thought about the ramifications. How much could we make? How effective was it? Did it spoil? There was also the problem of how much raw materials were available. The price could wait for now. I also needed to procure some for myself... Admittedly, my thoughts were running a bit wild; I was getting ahead of myself.

Ash’s words spoken by my daughter brought me back to reality. “Ash said to use it carefully because it’s still an experiment.”

“Experiment?” I scratched my head at this unfamiliar word.

Maika replied once again using Ash’s explanation. “Uhm... It means testing a medicine before giving it out to a lot of people, and using it to see if there are no side effects.”

“I see... An experiment.”

Indeed, results often differed from expectations. My husband always said that it was difficult to swing his sword the way he imagined it, and my father had often talked about the impossibility of moving troops as expected. It must have been the same for the effect of the medicine. It sounded convincing coming from Ash, who was himself something like an incarnation beyond expectations. I wondered if I could conduct an experiment on Ash. To see how he was going to move next, and if he was going to exceed my expectations.

For now, I decided to start by observing this ointment experiment. I needed to find out what Ash’s intentions were before discussing any plans. A strange mix of suspense and relief overcame me when thinking about dealing with Ash as a business partner. I was sure that he was going to surprise me again. On the other hand, I didn’t have to fear any ill will from him. Both were guaranteed. I feared, yet at the same time looked forward to my conversation with Ash. First, I was going to ask Maika to procure me some ointment too. “Experiment,” huh? It sure has a nice ring to it.

My discussion with Ash over dinner had been a success. As expected, he surprised me and he didn’t have any ill will. However, I couldn’t really say he had good intentions either.

“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,” he had said.

He showed a smile filled with hunger and thirst, as if he were a poor person in front of a fine banquet, or a fool who wished for everything. One misstep in his word choice and he would have sounded crude, but he was radiant. I can see why my daughter fell in love with him.

There was no room for any good or evil intentions—they would have just burned to a crisp faced with the fiery passion of his desire. He was focused on his dream and he smiled because he enjoyed pursuing it. Any human had experienced this feeling before, but this boy expressed himself with such fervor. Even now I still had goosebumps. He was a monster. An unworldly human monster who did human-like things.

The most frightening aspect of this monster was his extraordinary charm. Anyone would have followed him if they’d seen how happily he pursued his dreams. Anyone would have wanted to see his dreams. Anyone—including me. I was convinced that this boy was a monster... but that didn’t matter.

This was not the tale of a hero who exterminated the monster in the end. I was not going to allow that. I had become a full-fledged ally; I had turned into the witch who protected the monster from any heroic plans. I was not going to run from him, and I was not going to fight him either. In my story, I would cut his too-sharp nails so that he could hold hands with humans. All the while I supported the girl who had fallen for the monster by sometimes gently—and sometimes strictly—pushing her towards becoming his bride. How wonderful.

It would have been even better if the monster turned back into a human once he received a kiss from the girl. I wondered if my daughter was capable of such magic. Either way, it seemed still a long way ahead. First, I needed to cut the monster’s sharp nails and make him hold hands with the girl.

I wanted to believe that I had been successful in cutting his nails. Softly and gently, I had tried to make him understand that maintaining human relationships wasn’t all that bad without actually using those words. According to Ash’s personal statement, who had been injured from his fight with a bear, my technique was in fact so effective that he didn’t want me to elaborate too much. However...

“Mrs. Yuika? Are you here to clean the graveyard? Thank you for your services.”

He greeted me in the same way as on that fall day two years ago. His soft albeit not childlike smile and his offer to help also echoed that day. But this time it was different.

“Thanks. But are you sure you should be here? Shouldn’t you be packing to go to the city?”

“Actually, yes. Quid has set up a store in the city, so I do not have to take as much luggage with me, but wrapping up my experiment in the field has been harder than expected. When concluding, I came up with several new ideas that I want to try out.”

My one question was met with a gust of wind. Lately, Ash was so energetic that it sometimes felt like I was about to be blown away. I thought I had succeeded in cutting his nails, but at the smallest opportunity they started growing back. I didn’t know anyone worthier of the name “Ash” than him. Maika had told me that the name originated from a god who revived from the ashes. That definitely sounded like Ash.

The boy, whose eyes were paler than those of a corpse only two years ago, was now talking about his dreams with a fiery look. Similarly, the village, which had an uncertain future ahead two years ago, was now prospering with the appearance of new industries. This may indeed have been a miracle from the god of resurrection.

“Well, anyway...” Ash smiled, slightly embarrassed after seemingly realizing that he had been talking too much himself. “Please let me help clean the graveyard. I am still greatly in debt with you.”

“Because of your upcoming studies in the city? Don’t worry about that! I’m glad Maika won’t have to go alone.”

I replied with a reassuring and friendly smile, but Ash shook his head.

“Of course, I am grateful for that too, but that is not what I meant.”

“Are you referring to the aloe ointment?”

Once again, he shook his head. “No, what I am most indebted to you for is the recital you held two years ago in the fall. I really enjoyed that,” Ash said with a plain, childlike smile.

“Oh, I’m glad you liked it.” I’m really glad. I managed to help you back then. If I saved your carefree smile, then there’s nothing I’m prouder of. I’m sure that smile will go on to help many more people.

“But talking to you now, I realize that I will never be able to pay back all my debts to you,” he said.

“Don’t worry about it.” You have helped me out too, and I’m still planning to rely on you in the future.

“No, you always help me out. One day I will repay you.”

“I’m looking forward to it.” And I’m a little bit scared.

I wondered how big that repayment was going to be. I found myself giggling at the thought.

“What do you want to do in the city, Ash?” I asked him about his future while cleaning the graveyard. The same future which had been wrapped in uncertain darkness. I was glad I could talk about it with a light heart now.

“There are so many things I want to do that I am not sure where to start. I definitely want to read loads of books!” he replied joyfully.

Ash resembled a bird spreading its wings and taking off on a journey. A bird rising from the graveyard’s mound and scattering around the ashes while flapping its wings. He was shining bright in the sky, catching everyone’s eyes while flying into the distance. I couldn’t fly myself, but I was prepared to follow his brilliance to the end of the world, together with a myriad of other people.