episode_0005

The dark clouds gathered little by little, making it seem as if the sun had set early, and suddenly it began to pour down rain. Villagers who were going out to check if their crops were damaged by the wind and rain passed by the houses, each wearing a raincoat made of woven grass. And behind them, people passed by in a line, carrying long poles and tents. Ray, who had been sitting by the window to listen to the sound of the rain, raised his head at the sight.

‘Another year has already passed.’

It was the day of the peddler’s visit to the village, which came almost exactly once a year. Thinking that’s how they prepare when it rains, I craned my neck out the window and watched them set up their makeshift stalls in the open space far away, oblivious to the fact that their hair was getting wet. And soon, just as expected, the village children gathered in groups of three or four to greet the cart entering the village, and the sound of their chatter began to mix with the sound of the rain.

Ray, who had spread out his raincoat and put on his boots, went outside. When he stopped in front of Latia’s house and was wandering around, Latia’s father, who was picking out snails that had come out to wet their bodies in the rainwater in the small garden, got up and greeted Ray. Latia’s father wasn’t that tall either. He was similar to Latia, who was thirteen years old, or judging by his growth rate, it seemed certain that Latia would be taller next year.

” Hi, Ray. Are you here to go sightseeing with me? ”

Latia’s father, who always has a puppy-like face and a big smile, is a friendly person who often says he wishes he had a son like Ray.

” Yes, Latia went out first? ”

” No? I’ll be home, ”

Latia bursts open the door at the sound of Ray’s voice outside the house. She helps out with odd jobs in the village and brings a sack of dried fruits she collected one by one just for this day. Her expression, which had been blank before, is now quivering with anticipation for the cart.

” Let’s go quickly, quickly!! ”

Latia is running around like crazy. Unable to resist the temptation, Ray turns his steps towards the stall, but Latia’s father grabs his daughter’s wrist from behind and pulls her towards him, giving her several warnings. Never go near the drain, you are responsible for Ray’s safety, and be careful not to buy useless things at high prices because merchants are good at lying.

Suddenly, Ray looks back from afar because he feels no sign of people, and only then does he see Latia running towards him.

” Did you leave something behind? ”

” Dad’s nagging all the time. ”

In front of the stall, there were mostly children and just a few townspeople who were bored and came to look around. Among the townspeople, there were things from Fraua*, and things from other regions, but the townspeople usually used the pronoun Fraua to refer to some unsightly place.* Some people say that it is useless, but regardless of the era, there are old-fashioned old people who have a hard time accepting new things.

A woman wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a vest dyed a vibrant red stands in front of a stall, showing off the items she has brought and explaining some of them.

” This is a handkerchief that every Frauw people have. It is easy to fold and store in your shirt pocket, and it is made of a luxurious material that can be easily washed in water and reused if it gets ink or paint on it. ”

The villagers, who have no shirts, no ink, and no paint, and are more accustomed to wiping sweat with the top of their tunics, blink as they listen to the lengthy explanation.

” Was the hole in the curtain the one above the tree stump you mentioned last time? ”

” It’s just the right size for writing. ”

” Can this be changed? ”

A village elder who places a sack containing delicious crops in front of a merchant, who digs out the insides and steams them to eat them.

” Wow.. Curtains?? Well.. This is silk! Silk! It’s a high-quality fabric that shows through like this. ”

The merchant explained confidently, spreading out his handkerchief and holding it against the back of his hand.

” If it rains, it won’t work even as a curtain, ahaha. ”

Latia bursts into laughter next to him.

” Is there anything to eat? ”

Before I knew it, the children had gathered around the stand and were looking through the items.

” Oh my… That’s porcelain from across the ocean. You have to handle it carefully, it’ll break. ”

The merchant sister shouted to the village children and gave them snacks and such from the city, exchanging them for bags of mushrooms or herbs. Latia also joined in and looked around, spreading out a large cloth with colorful embroidery. Ray, whose smile never left his face as the simple country feeling seeped into his heart, also started looking at the items on the stall. It was also fun to read the tags that each item had written on them, such as where it came from and who it was purchased from.

Then Ray picked up a round glass ball among the clockwork-like junk and looked at it closely, but stopped for a moment. Inside the thin glass sphere, there was a squiggly line that was broken in the middle and was attached to something that looked like rusty metal. At first glance, it was a primitive light bulb. He quickly turned the glass ball over and checked the tag attached to it, and it said Fraua, Algaet.

” You have to be careful with glass decorations too! ”

The merchant sister shouted at Ray, who was lifting the light bulb to examine it.

” This is the one that’s shining brightly… right? ” Ray says, not taking his eyes off the tag.

” Huh? Well… the glass does sparkle, but it wouldn’t be a good idea to put it by the window, because it could catch fire. ”

Even the merchants who buy the goods from all over the country have no idea what this thing is. Either Ray is coincidentally witnessing a fragment of the historical moment when an eccentric inventor first brought electric lighting to this world, or… .

“How much are you selling this for?”

Ray, who had originally planned to just look around, asked. Latia put down the object she was looking at and came to Ray’s side.

“They say glasswork is a bit expensive for children to play with.” The merchant glanced at the light bulb Ray was holding, then turned his head away and spoke. As if he wasn’t interested.

“I have it. It’s valuable”

Latia puts a sack of dried fruit on the stall at the merchant’s words. The merchant lifts the sack and checks the contents, then covers his mouth with his hand as if thinking about something and rests his chin on his hand to hide his laughter. It is the only specialty product that can be found in a small rural village where the value of silk is unknown. The only people who know where this snack with a thick fan base in Fraua is produced are those who are from this village or merchants with a wide network of connections. A woman who leans against the stall and acts as if she is thinking hard.

“This is almost like a craft next to a jewel… .”

It wasn’t a craft at all. It was a historical item that helped humanity overcome the dark night. Ray gulped as he observed the merchant’s expression.

“Well… The more transparent the glass craft, the more valuable it is… But since it has impurities mixed in, I’ll sell it at a loss as best I can. Since no one does business with a conscience like I do, consider it good luck.”

The merchant said, picking up a sack of dried fruit. Latia picked up the light bulb and handed it to Ray.

“Oh… You bought it for me? This? I’ve been collecting it for a really long time… .”

“Take it quickly. I want it.”

“Ugh… Thank you.”

Although he liked the sudden gift, Ray, who knew how clumsy Latia was in courting him by giving him presents without hesitation, had a lot to say, but he decided to keep his mouth shut. Ray took off his outerwear, wrapped the light bulb in his arms, and stayed behind with Latia, helping the merchant fold up his stall and take down his tent. While the merchant, who had achieved his goal, walked away with light steps, the two boys and girls chatted on their way home.

” Ray is a boy too, he likes shiny things. And he can’t even eat them. ”

Latia scolds Ray, who is fiddling with the light bulb while staring at it intently.

“… What do you think it would be like if people didn’t have to worry about not being able to see their feet at night? ”

” What? Hmm… Well, if you have to go somewhere at night, you have to have a torch. ”

“On rainy days, you can’t use things like torches because they get wet.”

“Then what can I do? If I light a fire inside a glass ball like that, it will go out quickly. If the fire is bright even when it rains at night… I won’t have to go to bed early and I can play more.”

“You can also cross the mountain path at night.”

As he said that, Ray turned his gaze away from the light bulb and looked at Latia’s face. The night, the mountain path, the wild beasts, memories of childhood that will not be forgotten even as time passes. When their eyes met, Latia coughed and walked away, looking at the floor.

” I heard that you pretend not to remember, but you go around bragging to other kids that you caught it. ”

” That… I’m not lying, I definitely hit the rock and made him stumble back then. ”

“You said you hung the leather at home.”

Ray giggles as he recalls Latia raising her hands and bragging in front of the kids.

” Is that true? But, uh… I put it in storage. ”

It was the first time I heard that Latia had hung a beast skin in her house when she went to play on a holiday. When Ray tilted his head and looked up at Latia’s face, she avoided eye contact. From those eyes, I felt a childishness similar to when I was in elementary school and bragged to my friends about how I was level 200 in an online game but couldn’t log in and show them because my uncle was borrowing it for a while.

” I like honest people. ” Ray said in a tone similar to that of an elementary school teacher, his gaze fixed on Latia’s eyes.

” Ugh… There’s… nothing like that. You know that too.”

Ray often had fun like this since he found out that Latia liked him. Whenever she would throw a tantrum or bully the neighborhood kids in her early puberty, it always worked out great. He remembered his childhood in his previous life, when he was like a cross between a beagle and a schnauzer, and how he would follow his favorite elementary school teacher’s orders like a law, and he ended up having even better guiding power than Latia’s parents.

And as time went by, the height difference between the two grew to almost a head. Latia’s chest began to swell, and Ray felt that his neck was a little more stuffy than before.

” I’m back, Dad. ”

Ray, whose voice easily flips over when you speak with a slightly higher intonation these days, spoke with a squeak. Her father glanced at Latia, who was passing by with her head poking out over the fence, then wiped his hands on his apron and stood in front of Ray. Ray, who must have done something to deserve a scolding, thought about it as he thought about it at lightning speed, and then glanced at his own clothes.

” … It’s about time I told you. ”

Ray intuitively realized this from the tense look in his father’s eyes, the joy he felt at seeing his son grow up so quickly, and his slight hesitation.

‘This is… clearly sex education.’

They both swallowed at the same time.