episode_0011

“Ritsu! Good morning!” A cheerful voice entered the apothecary.

“Hello, Tia.” There was no longer any reason to worry about the rickety door. Every morning, it had become routine to open the door wide and wait for Tia.

She visited the apothecary every day. Gradually, the time she spent there increased, and these days, she practically lived there. Thanks to her, I could easily leave my post and go outside, but…

Having two people in an apothecary that was always solitary gave me a strange feeling.

As for her sword training… don’t even ask. She had pulled out the scarecrow from the mountainside, stuck it in the shed, and was now swinging her sword there.

I worried that all the medicine storage cabinets would be shattered, but thankfully, there hadn’t been any accidents yet.

After sweating profusely, she would suddenly complain of boredom and whine in the rocking chair. Instead of going outside to play when bored, she would needlessly rummage through pharmacology books, making a mess. She was truly a troublesome and high-maintenance girl.

…But I didn’t completely dislike it. No, I liked it.

How should I put it? It felt like we were living together. How should I put it? It felt like we had returned to when we were children.

We used to stick together like this and spend the day together. Making boring jokes, taking long naps, and listening to interesting stories from the elders who sometimes visited.

Like this, until winter. I thought it was the last time for the boy and girl, waiting only for the day of the baptism.

As soon as Tia entered the apothecary, she sat in the rocking chair and wrapped a blanket around herself.

“Ugh, it’s cold.”

“Cold?”

“The daytime is warm, but the morning is a bit chilly.”

I looked out the window.

The season was already changing. The hot summer was gone, and early autumn, with its cool breezes, had arrived.

Around this time, one naturally realizes. That winter isn’t far off.

*Gurgle gurgle.*

As I was brewing dried Rubus herbs in boiling water, Tia came over.

“Ritsu- what are you doing?”

“Rubus medicine. The one I hung from the ceiling last week.”

“Oh, that! I helped you with that!”

“Right. You put it all in here and brew it until it becomes thick.”

Driven by curiosity, she stared intently into the pot.

“Oh-. It’s my first time seeing it actually being made.”

“Once the prepared medicine is applied to a cloth and dried thoroughly in the sun, it becomes a clean bandage.”

“A bandage… So this is how it was made.”

“Perfect timing. You stir it. My arm hurts, so I’ll rest a bit.”

I handed the stick to the idle Tia and comfortably lay down in the chair.

“Now that I think about it, you haven’t been taking bandages lately? You used to take them every day.”

“Ah, hehehe-. You’re right. I haven’t needed bandages since I haven’t been getting hurt.”

“Didn’t you say it put your mind at ease to carry one around?”

“I did. But I have something better than a bandage!”

“Hm?”

Tia pointed the stirring stick at me.

“Ritsu!”

“…Oh, really? Am I a bandage?”

“Yes! Before, when I had a thorn in my arm, you pulled it out right away! Bandages can’t do that.”

“Hmph. That’s exactly what I do.”

“So, I just need Ritsu!”

She giggled and started stirring the stick again. Uh oh, wait a moment. You shouldn’t stir it that fast.

My ominous premonition was perfectly accurate. As the thickened medicine clung to the stick, the entire pot shook.

“Ah!”

Just as it was about to spill. Tia immediately grabbed the pot. Her reaction speed was so quick, it made me wonder if I’d worried for nothing.

But the anxiety is the same, isn’t it?!

“Tia. Because of you, there isn’t a single day my heart is at ease. Please, just do it properly…”

Tia lifted the stick and let the thickened medicine drip down. And just when I thought she was going to clean up the pot…

*Thud.*

She suddenly swung herself onto me, who was lying down!

“W-wait? What are you doing…!”

“Whee!”

“Hey! Hey! Hey! Wait!”

The armchair began to tilt backward, and I struggled to keep my balance, but Tia bounced wildly back and forth, seemingly more excited.

*Squeak-. Squeak-.*

“Aah!”

It felt like we were really going to fall now, so I instinctively pulled Tia into a tight hug.

A pleasant scent wafted. And warm body heat.

And when the swaying stopped, my rigidly stiff waist also relaxed.

Tia, held in my arms, chuckled.

“Ritsu, were you scared?”

“Don’t play such pranks. What if you get hurt?”

“Don’t worry.”

Tia pressed her cheek against my chest and whispered.

“Because I’ll protect you.”

“…”

Something felt strange. My head felt hazy, my heart tightened, and a peculiar discomfort spread through my lower body—this bizarre sensation.

For some reason, Tia’s body was too soft. And her soft chest pressing against my stomach…

I inadvertently looked down and our eyes met. Was it because of the chill? Her cheeks were also red. Surely it was because of the cold. No, wait, it must have been because of the heat.

*Slide.*

The ruby necklace buried in Tia’s chest slipped out. She hesitated, then slowly leaned closer.

Uh oh, wait. Is this okay? Really? We shouldn’t be doing this yet.

*Rustle.*

And down… below… it felt like her bottom was touching… This way, truly… In that moment, my mind went blank.

*Thump thump.*

I heard someone walking up the hill. Tia was startled and immediately pulled herself away, entering the shed.

*Clink!*

The person who came in was Ruyef. He seemed to have run in a hurry, breathing heavily. There was no reason for him to visit so early in the morning. I was considerably flustered as well.

“Ruyef…?”

“Go to the Village Elder-nim right now.”

“-What?”

“The Village Elder-nim is gravely ill! Hurry!”

I immediately went down to the Village Elder-nim’s hut.

The villagers were talking with serious expressions around the area. I overheard their conversations. They had gone to find the Village Elder-nim about expanding the village mountain path and found him collapsed on the floor.

Lately, I had felt that the Village Elder-nim had become considerably weaker. Now that the season was also changing, it seemed his body had been overstrained.

I entered the hut. The Village Elder-nim was quietly lying in bed. He was always sitting in his chair, so seeing him lying so listlessly was unfamiliar.

I checked his condition. His breathing and pulse were normal. There were no major injuries other than abrasions on his arms and knees from the fall. If the weather improved and he recovered his strength well, he seemed like he could get back on his feet soon.

The Village Elder-nim exhaled with difficulty.

“Huu…”

“You just need to avoid overexerting yourself. Do you need anything?”

“Come closer.”

Called, I approached him. The Village Elder-nim looked up at the ceiling.

“It seems it won’t be long now…”

“Oh, come on. Don’t talk like that. You’re fine. You don’t even have a chronic illness.”

“No… I can tell. To have lived this long is already more than I deserve…”

The Village Elder-nim was the oldest elder in this village, having lived over 70 years. Although he had lived a long time, he had never said he was going to die soon. In fact, he was so robust that it seemed he could live at least another 10, or even 20 years.

Just by touching his dry, withered fingers, I could feel the powerful life force within them.

The Village Elder-nim said, ‘I don’t have many days left.’

“I… have lived too long.”

“Yes. You’ll be celebrating your 74th birthday soon.”

“74th… I see. I’ve only lived that much in this world…”

For a moment, I didn’t understand.

A moment ago, he clearly told me he had lived long, but now he said 74 years of life was ‘only that much’? Was he perhaps losing his sense of time from being confined in the hut for too long?

The Village Elder-nim let out a long sigh and gazed indifferently at the ceiling. His wrinkled eyes looked like the gnarled twists of an ancient tree that had lived for a very long time.

“Ritsu…”

“Yes, Village Elder-nim.”

“Do you know why Breezedon could remain Breezedon?”

“Yes. It’s because we are an ‘autonomous territory.’ Village Elder-nim, you resisted Deseo and were granted peaceful self-governance.”

“That’s right. Here… unlike other places, all the residents are effectively the owners of this land.”

The lower village of Taildon, Regilton beyond the mountains, and the Golden Plains of Goldburk too. Those who governed those places had to perform military service at the ruler’s call or pay regular tributes and taxes.

Once a year, there was a ‘tribute caravan’ that passed through Taildon. It was a massive procession of carriages carrying tributes from each territory, heading to Deseo.

This Dragonez mountain range is also part of Deseo’s territory. Originally, we should have offered tribute to that caravan, but Breezedon had never sent anything to Deseo until now. Even though we hadn’t paid taxes for nearly 50 years, Deseo said nothing.

People jokingly said they might have forgotten us, but seeing knights occasionally visit and return after meeting the Village Elder-nim, it seemed they hadn’t forgotten this village. And that ‘money-crazed’ city wouldn’t just leave land alone from which it could extract even a penny more.

All those strange things were accomplished by the Village Elder-nim. An old man from a mountain village had defeated Deseo by himself. So the villagers greatly respected the Village Elder-nim, but at the same time, they feared him.

How on earth did he do it?

“But… this land, we didn’t gain it by resisting them. They… confined us here.”

“What? Confined…? Why?”

“Because they feared me.”

“Why on earth would they fear the Village Elder-nim? How could Deseo be afraid of this small village?”

“Haha… hahaha…”

An empty laugh escaped him. As if it were an answer he was giving himself, looking back on his entire life.

“It seems I’ve lived for over 200 years.”

“…What?”

“I have seen all stories. I… have lived watching an endlessly vast past… Dozens of lives born and dying. The stories of people moving between laughter and sorrow… I could see them all.”

His heavy voice was faded, like the passage of time.

“That’s how Breezedon has been able to exist until now. In this era engulfed by madness… like one person silently watching the past, and you all, looking toward the future from atop it.”

“I… don’t understand what you’re saying.”

The Village Elder-nim didn’t speak. He seemed very tired.

“I’ll prepare some medicine for you first. You’ll feel a bit better after taking it.”

“Ritsu.”

Suddenly, the Village Elder-nim tightly gripped my hand.

“When I die… come back to this house…”

No more words returned. The Village Elder-nim slowly closed his eyes, as if falling into a deep sleep.

Was he dreaming a sweet dream? Only pleasant breathing sounds could be heard.