Cut wood and join it in a T-shape. People hold the long horizontal part, and at the end of the vertical piece, a blade of diagonally cut wood is attached and fixed. A wooden plow is complete.
‘Haah… I need iron, but there’s no way to process it here, and there doesn’t seem to be any iron around. Can’t even put iron on weapons, so we use wooden spears or ones with bone stuck on the end—bear-tooth spear is the best—
There’s no way I’d have iron for a plow. Don’t even know where to process it.’
They said there wasn’t even a blacksmith in Novar Village, where the chief I’d visited before lives.
“Gather around. This is very important now. We’re going to prepare for farming with this.”
“But what is this? You told us to make something, so we made it, but…”
“Now, Radek, press down on that end so it sticks into the ground properly. Marek and Milo, hold that side. I’ll hold this side alone. Radek, keep pressing down? Alright then, let’s go.”
Among the trio of old men, I have Radek—who has been getting unusually healthier and sturdier lately—do the pressing, and the rest of us take our positions.
“?????”
“Let’s go. Move forward. This is how we turn the soil over. No, we must turn it over. So the fertilizer we prepared and spread over the winter mixes well, and the crops we plant can grow properly.”
Since it’s two against one, maybe I look like I’m struggling, because Lena comes to my side to help hold it.
“Ah, Lena, you have other work to do besides holding this. Hold that. Nina and Anya, you hold that too.”
I want to make a proper hoe, but unable to preserve that elegant curve, I point at a crudely made wooden hoe and have them hold it.
“After we drag this through and it carves a groove, pile the soil slightly to the side to form a ridge. If there are any stones, move them aside. It shouldn’t be too deep, and it’s no good if it’s too shallow either.
About the size of Lena’s hand should do. Yes, about that much.”
“Now, you’ve all eaten a lot of meat lately, so put some strength into it. You even ate bear meat. Come on, let’s get started.”
It works. This actually works. Honestly, I was a bit doubtful, but to think we’d till this wide field with human strength. The people participating are all half-dead.
After leveling the field over several days, we catch three ducks for lunch, boil duck soup, and decide to rest for the remainder of the day.
‘I should go to the hot spring.’
I pack sweatpants and soap in a bag and head for the hot spring.
‘I have plenty of time, so I should bathe thoroughly.’
While heading up, I pick pine needles and clean my mouth out fairly well. I arrive at the hot spring and wash my body clean with soap.
All the accumulated unpleasantness, filth, grime, fatigue—all those indefinable feelings—seemed to melt away. As I’m lying down looking at the sky after washing,
“As expected, you’re using a mysterious power again. What was that foam covering your body just now? Who are you?”
I hear a voice and turn around in surprise—it’s Lena. Wow… she’s been following me around persistently, and she even followed me here. Damn.
“The power to make water hot. If you had used this in the village earlier, we could have lived much more comfortably. Is there a reason you must hide it?”
“This is just warm water springing from the ground.”
“I’ve never heard of hot water coming from the ground.”
“Have you ever been anywhere besides here and Novar Village?”
“No.”
“See? There are many places in the world where hot water springs from the ground.”
“I also saw you pull up a dead bird with nothing before.”
“That was a trap made with fishing line. You saw me catch fish. The line I use for that.”
“When you caught the wild boar, and the bear, I saw light coming from your hands. What was that?”
“It must have been reflecting moonlight or sunlight. I’m not someone who uses mysterious abilities. I just know a lot about farming, that’s all.”
“What was that foam on your body I saw earlier?”
“I’m just washing. You could wash similarly by adding a bit of oil to lye water; this just smells a bit nicer and makes a bit more foam. It’s nothing particularly amazing.”
‘No, but why are you coming in naked? I thought you were dirty, but you really are dirty. But was your body this good?’
“Then how do you explain this? After eating the mysterious food you gave us, I developed a bountiful chest like the nobles. Not as big as mine, but Nina is the same.”
“That’s because you’ve been eating meat well lately; it’s probably just what couldn’t grow before, growing again.”
“Only my sister and I are like this. The others didn’t turn out this way.”
“I don’t know. Anyway, I’m not someone who uses that kind of mysterious power.”
“Hmph. Let’s say that’s true. Do that foam thing for me too.”
“Here.”
I hand her the soap.
“If you rub it on your skin, it’ll foam up. It lathers better on places with lots of hair or fur.”
She rubs the soap all over to work up a lather, and sure enough, the foam comes out well on hairy parts. Her hair too, and other places.
‘Oof… this is a bit stimulating.’
While she’s washing, I go pick some pine needles.
“Here, use this to clean your teeth thoroughly. Chew it a bit, but don’t swallow. Hold water in your mouth, gargle, and spit.
No, that water is dirty. Use the water flowing down from over there!”
Looking at her grimy back, I decide this won’t do.
“Come here, turn around, and sit.”
“Hehe, why? Do I look pretty now that I’m washed?”
“Stop messing around and sit. I need to wash your back too.”
As I wash her back,
‘Still, maybe because she’s a woman, it’s really soft and smooth. I definitely used to see tough muscle before, but her skin is so smooth? Was it just dirt? Ah, shit, gross.’
Fortunately, that thought makes me cool down instantly. I could have crossed the line for a moment there, but I held back well.
After washing her back, thinking about it makes me feel weirdly uncomfortable, so I wash myself once more. I had planned to do laundry too, but I ended up not doing it.
Finishing at the hot spring, I put on clothes while still fairly wet and head down. I’ll light a fire at home to dry them anyway.
“Ouch!”
Lena falls on the way down.
‘Ah, is this brat playing around?’
“Can you walk?”
“No… *sniffle*”
‘Ah, shit, why is she bawling like that? Making me soft-hearted.’
I lift Lena up in my arms.
“???”
“You said you can’t walk. We’ll go like this.”
‘She’s lighter than I thought?’
As we’re going down, Lena suddenly attempts a surprise kiss, but my rejuvenated reaction speed doesn’t just take it. I quickly lean my head back and dodge.
“Ah, shit, what are you doing? Do you want to walk after all?”
Getting angry and scolding her makes my excitement subside a bit.
‘That was dangerous. As I was carrying her, I just wanted to drag her into the woods.’
Without any further conversation, we arrive at the village. I just took Lena home and came back, but it seems the villagers saw it differently.
That day, a large amount of lice, fleas, and various filth became a hotel buffet-level meal for the creatures by the lakeside.
We’ve been steadily catching birds with snares, and as a result of diligently collecting feathers, a feather mattress of sorts has been completed.
The hardness of the floor is felt directly on my back, but there’s a slight coziness? Softness? as well. If the ducks grow quickly, I think we can finish it faster.
They say the bow made from the sinew of the wild boar we caught before is complete. Finally, the village has a ranged weapon that isn’t a wooden spear.
We take turns shooting it,
“You remember the gloves I gave you before? Try shooting with those on.”
‘Ah, right, didn’t he say he originally made those gloves to wear when shooting a bow?’
“Yes, just a moment.”
I go inside and come out wearing the gloves.
“I’ll try shooting once.”
‘Oh… is this the effect of the gloves? Somehow I feel like I’ll hit the mark perfectly.’
I draw the bowstring and fire an arrow at the target tree.
‘Wow, shit, what is this.’
The arrow embedded itself in the tree with destructive power I hadn’t imagined, exactly where I aimed.
“Marek, what are these gloves? It makes no sense that I can shoot a bow this well. This is my first time shooting one since I was born.”
“Do you remember me saying I was kicked out because of these gloves?”
“Ah… yes.”
“Do you happen to know people called Elves?”
“Uh, Elves?”
“Judging by your surprise, you do seem to know them.”
‘No, are these the Elves I know? The ones who shoot bows, are exceptionally beautiful, and use magic?’
“No, I don’t know them.”
“Then why are you so surprised?”
“I just heard other people talk about them. What kind of people are these Elves?”
“You see that mountain range far away? They say people live up there. They entrusted us with leather and commissioned work, so I made them shoes from leather…”
In other words,
Originally, Marek was a craftsman specializing in leatherwork in Novar Village. People called Elves requested shoes be made, and Marek made them well. He thought it a waste to throw away the remaining leather, so he made archery gloves. When he tried shooting a bow wearing them, they showed tremendous destructive power. He presented that to the lord and delivered the boots to the Elves, but they were enraged that he had used the remaining leather they had given without permission. Being compassionate people who didn’t wish for unnecessary killing, they prevented him from working and kicked him out of the village, so he came here with Radek and established a slash-and-burn village. These gloves were made from collecting the leftover leather scraps from that time.
“That’s the story, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Then do these Elves use magic and such?”
“What is magic?”
“Well, what should I call it—a mysterious power that shoots big fireballs, or causes earthquakes that shake the ground.”
“Is that what you call magic? But I’ve never heard of them using such abilities. However, just looking at these gloves, there’s no doubt they can use some kind of mysterious power. You tried them too, don’t you know?”
“Then how do I go to meet these Elves?”
“The chief of Novar Village goes occasionally. He’s a capable man. A scary one, too. You could say he’s the one who connects the lord and the Elf village. But if you go there, thick fog spreads within their sphere of influence, and unless they open it, you cannot enter. If you enter carelessly, you’ll lose your way and starve to death, or fall off a cliff and die. But do you really not know them?”
“No, I don’t know them at all. I was wondering if they might know why I came here.”
“If it’s them, they might know. They are mysterious people, after all. How about asking when you go to harvest crops and pay taxes later?”
“That would be better.”
‘I’d like to meet an Elf once.’
I went to check on the ducks, and two weasels had been caught in the traps….
‘Wow, so these guys really do come to eat the ducks. That was close.’
I check if the ducks are okay, and wow—eggs. They’ve finally started laying. The fact that they’re laying eggs here means they recognize this place as their home now, so if we just protect them well from predators, it means our lives can become more prosperous.
I reset the snares, gather three eggs, and return. I give the weasels to Marek, and call the three kids over to make them fried eggs. Without a proper spatula, half of them ended up scrambled.
‘Ah, I didn’t sprinkle salt. Is it a bit of a waste to use it here? There wasn’t much left.’
“Wow. It’s so delicious. Is this what we can eat if we raise ducks?”
Iba asks.
“Yes. Chicks will hatch later too, so Iba needs to take good care of them. Got it?”
“Yes. But what’s a chick?”
“Yes. A duck’s baby is called a chick. They’re very small and weak, so animals trying to eat them will target them. Iba must protect them.”
“Yes. I’ll protect them well. Haha.”
The child’s bright smile always makes me feel good. Even though she’s so scrawny.
When the weather gets a bit warmer, I should take the kids to the hot spring together. Ah, of course, Iba will go with her mother.