Chapter 28: First Winter (1)
by fnovelpia
Before I knew it, the leaves scattered by the wind had vanished without a trace.
All that remained was a quiet forest tinged with desolation.
With every breath, my exhales grew more visible, and the cold air brushed past my skin.
Winter—
It was sleeping in without any warning.
“Firewood… I should chop some…”
It was time to take care of the chores I’d been putting off.
It had been a while since the firewood had dwindled,
And the child still wasn’t strong enough to endure the winter cold.
An unavoidable season,
And the tedious tasks I’d wanted to avoid.
But now,
Even my laziness had to come to an end, along with autumn.
‘…What a bother.’
I was flipping through the pages of a book when I felt a tug on the hem of my coat.
Looking down,
A small hand was gripping the edge tightly.
The child’s eyes were sparkling,
her lips pressed firmly together as she stared straight at me.
Though we’d only spent a few days together,
I could already guess what that look meant.
The child wanted something.
“Hmm?”
“……!”
Closing the book, I knelt to meet the child’s eye level.
“What is it?”
“……”
The child tugged at my sleeve and pointed toward the door.
This was a signal that the child wanted to come along.
“Oh… you want to go outside? Why do you want to watch me chop wood?”
“……”
“No? Then… a walk?”
“……”
“That’s not it either?”
The child shook her head repeatedly.
“…Hmm, I don’t get it.”
“……!”
The child clenched her fists.
And so, it began again today—
The time where I had to decipher everything from her gestures and expressions.
By now, I was getting used to it.
Conversing not with words,
But with expressions and movements.
“Then… what do you want to do?”
“……”
When I asked carefully,
The child gripped my hand tightly and pointed to the door again.
Then,
The child patted her chest—
Up and down, still holding my hand.
As if determined to get her message across,
The child moved her small body and arms busily.
To fully understand her meaning, I took in every little motion.
“Hmm…”
“……”
“Do you… want to do it together?”
“!”
This time, a definite reaction.
The child nodded her head vigorously.
Her small hands tightly grasped mine.
“…Well, alright.”
“!”
“Let’s do it together. It might not be fun, though.”
At those words, the child beamed brightly.
her grip on my hand tightened slightly.
“Then, let’s bundle up before we go out. Put on your coat and gloves.”
“!”
“And… you’ll have to take the medicine over there too.”
“!!!!!!”
The child averted her gaze.
Her body subtly leaned backward.
But…
Even as the child tried to pull away,
Her hands refused to let go, clinging tightly as if to say she wouldn’t release me no matter what.
Truly, understanding a child’s heart is difficult.
“What exactly does it mean to pull your body away while still holding onto my hand?”
“……”
“You just don’t want to take the medicine, right?”
“!”
“Sorry, but that’s not an option.”
The child’s expression instantly turned sullen.
I get it.
Even though i made it myself,
After tasting it, I knew it had absolutely no flavor.
Using my horn powder as the base,
Mixed with all sorts of bitter herbs and slimy root extracts,
Along with astringent, foul-smelling mushrooms in large quantities…
But—
As tasteless as it was, its effectiveness was top-tier.
The alchemy book I bought for the child—
I must have gone through the chapters on recovery and stamina enhancement dozens of times,
Carefully noting which ingredients were safe for them,
Meticulously calculating the properties and dosages of each component.
I even accounted for potential side effects
And cross-checked every possible reaction when mixed.
Building on that foundation, I infused my own ancient knowledge into every detail.
All for the child’s sake,
To ensure the best possible results.
The taste…
Was simply the unavoidable outcome
After all those calculations.
“Sorry. If I prioritized flavor, the effectiveness would drop drastically. There was no other way.”
“……”
“…So, i’m sorry, but let’s just take it.”
The child’s shoulders twitched slightly.
For a moment, she wore a conflicted expression,
Before biting her lip and looking up at me with hesitant eyes.
“If you take the medicine, you can do whatever you want outside afterward.”
“……”
The child tilted her head,
Then blinked at me as if asking, really?
With a smile, I nodded.
“Yeah. Whatever you want, I’ll let you do it your way.”
“!”
The child tightly shut her eyes.
Then, after taking a deep breath, she nodded.
It was a signal— I’m ready.
I placed the cup containing the medicine into her small hand.
The child frowned, hesitating for a long while, raising and lowering the cup repeatedly before—
“……!”
The child shut her eyes tightly and gulped it down in one go.
“!!!!!!!!!!”
“…Impressive.”
The child’s face twisted as she covered her mouth.
“Ughhh…!”
“Hard to take, huh? Here, some water.”
The moment i handed over the water,
The child gulped it down with an expression that looked like she might burst into tears.
Her small shoulders heaved with each swallow as I gently rubbed her back.
“It’s over now. You did great.”
“…….”
Even after finishing the water, as if it wasn’t enough,
The child stuck out her tongue and wiped it vigorously with the back of her hand.
“Want more water?”
“…….”
The child shook her head.
Instead, she stretched both arms toward me, as if asking to be held.
Smiling, I pulled the child into my arms.
“You really love being hugged, don’t you?”
“…….”
“Since you kept your promise and took the medicine, now it’s your turn to do what you want.”
“!”
Her eyes sparkled.
As if the child had never been on the verge of crying,
The child’s expression brightened instantly.
“There’s something you want to do, right?”
“…….”
The child glanced around,
Then stretched out her short arm as far as she could, pointing somewhere.
There lay a crudely made wooden box we had assembled a few days ago,
Along with the writing tools Hubert had given us.
“Ah… you want to draw again?”
“!”
The child’s eyes narrowed into happy crescents.
I glanced outside the window.
The sun showed no sign of setting yet.
After chopping firewood,
There would still be plenty of time to draw.
“Alright. Let’s do it.”
“!”
“As for clothes…”
Before i could even finish speaking,
The child began crawling toward where her clothes were kept.
I stared blankly at the floor.
The medicine seemed to be working properly.
Unlike before, there were no bloodstains on the ground.
Not too long ago,
The child had needed knee pads— clumsily made at first,
Then later, long pants.
Now, the child could crawl bare-legged without getting scraped.
‘Thank goodness.’
I watched with a smile as the child carefully picked out her clothes.
But already, a dull ache pulsed in my head.
‘…Drawing.’
Ah, another moment akin to deciphering a code has arrived.
A short sigh escaped me.
…This must be my karma.
I was the one who first suggested drawing to the child.
There was only so much I could understand from her gestures and expressions.
At first, i handed them a pen and paper, encouraging them to try writing—
“?”
“Hmm?”
“……?”
But after thirty minutes of watching them dot the page aimlessly, it dawned on me:
The child didn’t know how to write.
I wanted to teach them, but—
How do I even explain this?
“……?”
Maybe if the child just looks at a book first…?
Over time, she might naturally pick up the structure of letters.
And so, after three days of this—
I realized another truth: modern humans don’t instinctively absorb written language just by staring at it.
That’s when I turned to drawing.
Drawing, at the very least, didn’t require letters. It was pure expression.
But soon, I discovered something else.
This was even harder.
The child’s drawings… We’re less about expression and more like puzzles begging to be solved.
I wish i could have guided them properly, but—
“???”
It’s a rabbit.
“??????”
…kinda looks like one, right?
“??????????????”
The real problem?
I was hopeless at drawing too.
The more I tried to teach, the more we confused each other.
Instead of ah, i get it!,
We were both stuck on what even is this?!
So in the end, I gave up on drawing as well.
But the child?
She loved it.
Every time I picked up a pen, she’d inch closer, eyes fixed on my hands, then take the pen and mimic my motions, scribbling earnestly.
Her drawings were… Abstract, to say the least.
But the focus in her eyes was unmistakable.
When the child finished, she’d quietly slide the paper toward me and watch my face, waiting.
“All done?”
“!”
“Yeah. You did great.”
her eyes would curve into happy crescents, face glowing with pride over her latest masterpiece.
Each time, I’d smile and ruffle her hair—
And the child had light up even more, diving back into her art with renewed enthusiasm.
The result was that most of my stationery ended up being claimed by the child, but…
‘…At least this one pen is left.’
Still, it was fine.
Because the child liked it.
I slipped one pen into my pants pocket.
Today, it seemed she wanted me to join in the drawing too.
“……!”
“All dressed?”
The child, clad in outdoor clothes and a coat,
Fidgeted before proudly pulling a hat low over her head and looking at me.
The buttons were crooked,
The outfit was a mess,
And the scarf dragged along the floor—
But her expression was brimming with confidence.
I walked over to them with a smile.
I redid the buttons and adjusted the slipping scarf.
“Yeah, you did a good job.”
“!”
“Better than last time.”
The child’s eyes widened before quickly crinkling into crescents.
I hurriedly threw on my robe.
As soon as i did,
The child stretched out an arm as if she’d been waiting.
This time, only one arm was extended—
Because nestled in her embrace was the box we had made together.
Smiling, I lifted the child into my arms.
“Alright. Let’s go.”
“!”
“We have to chop firewood first. Still okay with that?”
“…….”
The child nodded with a grin.
Already excited, she began humming a tune even before we stepped outside.
‘…Are you that happy?’
Though terribly off-key— wherever she’d picked it up—
Just hearing it made me smile without realizing.
Just like that little hum,
The child’s drawings were probably still a mess too.
But—
Even if I couldn’t understand them,
I’d pretend like I did.
Today, too.
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