episode_0008

Thump!

Fosao Ajusshi roughly put down the Rubus herb box. Then he pulled out a large handkerchief and began to wipe away the profusely flowing sweat.

It was so sudden and absurd that I completely forgot what I had been talking about with Tia.

The thought that immediately came to mind was that the current situation was very dangerous. Like a cauldron on the verge of boiling over.

As expected, the reaction came immediately.

“…Ugh, ugh…”

Tia gritted her teeth and shivered. In my opinion, that was an extremely restrained reaction.

Fosao Ajusshi, having wiped his sweat, looked at Tia and gave an awkward smile.

“Ehehe… T-Tia was here too…”

“-Don’t talk to me.”

“Ooh…”

Tia drew a sharp line with a chilling voice. Her expression showed she wanted to escape this place immediately.

Tia, whom even the rude Ruyef called a ‘close friend’, had exactly one person. There was one person in the village whom she not only hated but despised.

That was Fosao Ajusshi.

Tia avoided not only speaking with Fosao Ajusshi but even encountering him. I still didn’t know why, but I figured it was similar to the aversion my aunts spoke of. Like the repulsion felt towards an unpleasant man.

Anyway, this was troublesome.

I had asked for the Rubus herbs to be delivered today. But I hadn’t expected Fosao Ajusshi to come so early in the morning, and the fact that he came when Tia was in the pharmacy made the situation even more awkward.

“Ajusshi. Just leave it there for now. I’ll come by later to pay you.”

“No. I have to g-get paid now.”

“Huh? Why?”

“…Because I have to go down to Tailedon. Ehehe…”

I needed to send him away quickly before Tia got more uncomfortable.

I immediately opened the safe. I had been spending a lot of money lately, so there was nothing left. I rummaged through my pockets. Only dust.

Fumbling quickly, I felt a hard metallic touch near my chest.

Ah. I did have money right now.

The gold coin Tia had given me. I didn’t want to use it if I could help it…

But I had no choice. To quickly complete the transaction, I led Fosao Ajusshi outside.

“Here you go.”

“A gold coin…? I d-don’t have change…”

“It’s fine. For now, just hold onto this. Don’t use it. I’ll come back for it in a bit.”

“Ugh-. Alright…”

The moment Ajusshi took the gold coin.

“Ugh?!”

Suddenly, Fosao Ajusshi made a strange groan and staggered. I was surprised and tried to grab him, but he immediately gasped for air.

“Hoo-ah! Hooo-uh! Hooo-uh. Whoosh.”

He had clearly wiped all his sweat just moments ago, but now beads of sweat were forming on his forehead again.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling sick?”

“Ah, no. Nothing… Ihik. Ihik-. Well then…”

Letting out an unpleasant laugh, Ajusshi went outside.

Whoosh-.

My mood was already bad, and even the wind blew hot.

After finishing the transaction, I returned to the pharmacy. Tia’s expression was still not good.

“Ritsu. Why… did that person come?”

“We ran out of Rubus herbs. I asked for a delivery.”

“Can’t you avoid dealing with that person? I don’t like it when that person comes into the village.”

“Tia. You seem to be misunderstanding something. Fosao Ajusshi isn’t that bad of a person. There’s no need to react so sensitively.”

“……See? Even Ritsu says that…”

Tia sobbed and cried out.

“Ruyef isn’t a bad kid either…! We’re not like that…! You’re the one who needs to stop misunderstanding!”

“Tia. That’s…”

Tia ran out of the pharmacy. I tried to grab her arm quickly, but she fiercely shook me off and ran down the hill.

“Wait! Tia!”

Her red hair grew distant.

Damn it. My teeth ground together. I considered chasing after her, but decided to just let her be. Because if we faced each other and talked again, it felt like we would only fight more.

We both needed time to calmly think.

“Tch.”

I picked up the Rubus herb box on the floor and returned to the pharmacy.

* * *

“You want to go beyond the border too…?”

“Yes, Village Elder-nim.”

He exhaled deeply, lost in thought. A long time passed in silence.

“Is it because of Tia?”

“Yes.”

“I gave Tia special permission, but she caused an incident. Do you think there’s a reason for me to give you special permission too?”

“Tia hurt her leg by jumping off a rock recklessly, didn’t she?”

“Yes. Ruyef said something similar.”

“…I am different from Ruyef.”

The Village Elder-nim’s black eyes looked down at me.

Swish.

A thin, bony hand stroked the armrest. A long time passed again before I heard his voice.

“Ritsu, what do you think of ‘trust’?”

“Trust is… I believe it is a fervent hope that something will come to pass.”

“What do you think its opposite is?”

“…Wouldn’t it be a broken trust?”

Creak.

The Village Elder-nim lifted his upper body slightly. The creaking of the chair even sounded ominous.

“That is called ‘doubt’.”

A gaunt finger pointed at me.

“This world cannot always be trusted, nor can it always be doubted… As long as you are born human, you must constantly live by alternating between these two standards… However, we humans have gained a very precious lesson over thousands of years, and I feel I should tell you about it.”

Affection was etched around the Village Elder-nim’s wrinkled eyes.

“Doubt those who are far, and trust even more those who are near.”

It felt as if he saw right through me. It felt like I was kneeling naked before the Village Elder-nim, without a single piece of clothing.

The Village Elder-nim knew everything. Even though he had never stepped a single foot out of this hut. He knew everything.

After a long sigh and deep silence. A resolute voice was heard.

“Since this is a responsibility you spoke of yourself, you will be able to prove it.”

“I will take responsibility.”

Permission was granted to go beyond the border. It was just as I was about to stand up.

The Village Elder-nim added one more thing.

“……Always trust and love the people who are close to you.”

Thud.

I closed the hut door.

As I walked down the hill, I replayed the Village Elder-nim’s words in my mind.

Indeed… I couldn’t understand myself why I had pushed Tia so hard. Perhaps the accumulated grievances had exploded all at once, becoming uncontrollable.

The more I dwelled on it, the more pathetic I found myself. Lost in thought, I walked until I eventually arrived at the general store. It was to pay the amount I had promised in the morning and retrieve my gold coin.

Fosao Ajusshi seemed to have finished his business in the lower village and was just opening the general store door. He said he needed money urgently, so I thought he was stocking up on something grand. But what he held in his hand was a small bundle.

“Ajusshi. I came to get the gold coin I gave you this morning.”

“Hoo-. Y-yes…”

We entered the general store.

Ajusshi put down the bundle and breathed heavily. As I handed him the money pouch, he slowly began to count the herb price.

Meanwhile, I looked around the display shelves. I saw a necklace set. It was a necklace decorated with minerals of various colors. The raw gemstones were only included in powder-like amounts, so it was embarrassing to even call it a jewel necklace. But it seemed appropriate enough to wear once for a baptism.

“I’ll buy a ruby necklace. Please deduct it from the change.”

I tried on the necklace. Such ornaments were usually worn by women, so it felt a bit awkward on me. But since I wasn’t going to use it anyway, I decided to just buy it.

“Ritsu. The change is h-here… And the gold coin too…”

Fosao Ajusshi held out a gold coin. I could feel the scratched part. It was definitely the same gold coin Tia had given me.

“Thank you.”

“Ihik- Come again next time…”

“Yes.”

As I shoved the necklace into my pocket and was about to leave.

Thud.

I accidentally knocked over the bundle.

Clatter!

Round objects tumbled out from the loose knot. The general store was dark inside, but the moment I saw their familiar shape and color, I realized what they were.

“…Ginger biscuits?”

It wasn’t just one. More than ten seemed to have spilled onto the floor.

What he had gone down to the lower village to buy… was merely ‘ginger biscuits’?

Fosao Ajusshi came thudding over.

“Nooo! My biscuits…!”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I’ll compensate you.”

“No… I-it’s fine. Don’t worry about it…”

Watching Ajusshi prostrate himself on the floor like a pig to pick up the biscuits, I knew it was rude, but I almost laughed.

But now, were ginger biscuits so popular that even this Ajusshi was buying them? At this rate, all the ginger in Tailedon would dry up.

“Ajusshi. Did you buy that to sell?”

“Ah… No, not exactly…”

“You’re going to eat all of that by yourself?”

“Uh-huh…”

What an appetite. No wonder that huge belly never shrinks.

Well, perfect timing.

“I’ll buy one. You need to lose weight, Ajusshi. If you’re healthy, my work decreases.”

“Ehehehe-. Really…?”

In the end, I bought a ginger biscuit too and left.

But it felt a bit unfair. In Tailedon, one costs 90 copper, but he charged 3 silver. Where in the world is there a merchant who rips you off by charging three times the price for a mere biscuit?

Still, I decided to think of it as the price of my apology to Tia.

I spent the remaining time idly in the pharmacy. It was a day where waiting felt tedious.

In the middle, I met Marvin Ajusshi and asked him for an update. Ruyef received a disciplinary suspension for yesterday’s incident. It was an unprecedented incident, but considering his contributions to the village, he was only suspended for a week. Marie seemed rather happy, saying she could be with her brother all day.

Tia received a minor warning. It seemed the conclusion was that Ruyef was entirely at fault. Apparently, Ruyef himself had strongly desired this outcome, which was the main reason.

The sun set, and I went to eat dinner, but Tia was still nowhere to be seen. When I asked Aunt Sherry, she said Tia hadn’t been feeling well and had gone to rest early.

I waited for the night to deepen. Only when it was late enough for everyone to be asleep could I move again.

Rustle.

It had been a while since I had crawled through the grass in the pitch-dark night. Even as a child, I used to sneak out like this to meet Tia. Now it was a memory.

It was too dark to see ahead, but amazingly, my body remembered the way. Letting my body be guided by the flow of the wind, I crawled up the hill, and before I knew it, Aunt Sherry’s house came into view.

I approached carefully. Tia’s room was in a conspicuously protruding part of the house. Pressing close to the wall, I quickly rounded the corner and peeked towards the window.

“…Gasp!”

I nearly died of surprise.

Tia was propping her chin on the windowsill, staring fixedly at me.