episode_0016

Though not currently, the ‘guest’, who was once a resident of this village, was treated with extreme courtesy.

Everyone welcomed Uncle Joseph’s visit, and he, as always, was greeted with a hearty laugh.

The villagers asked how he had been doing.

Uncle Joseph offered a bitter smile.

“I am currently living in Deseo. I’ve been incredibly busy! Haha!!”

And he carefully explained the circumstances that brought him here.

“…I was getting by, but a few days ago, I heard the news that the Village Chief-nim had passed away. There were things in the past, so I can’t say I had a good relationship with the Chief-nim… but still, I wanted to offer my final thanks to the person who warmly welcomed me, who was wandering from a long war, to this Breezedon. That’s why I’ve come.”

Uncle Joseph firmly clutched my shoulder.

“Ritz, I’m sorry to hear that.”

“No, it’s alright. Thank you for your condolences.”

“I’d like to pay my respects to the Village Chief-nim. Could you help me?”

I went up to the grave with Uncle Joseph.

Breezedon’s graves were quite different from other places.

A major characteristic, perhaps, was that there were no tombstones made of stone.

Our village’s traditional funeral custom was to engrave the names of the deceased on pine trees and bury them directly beneath.

We also determined in advance which pine tree we would be buried under.

We called it an ‘Anshiksu’. It meant a tree wishing for peaceful rest.

Tia’s tree and mine stood side by side on the mountainside.

Going up a little further from there, there was a very large pine tree, which was the Village Chief-nim’s tree.

“I’ll go pay my respects.”

Uncle Joseph quietly climbed the mountain and knelt on one knee before the Village Chief-nim’s Anshiksu.

He drew two swords from his waist, placed them neatly beneath the pine tree, and offered a reverent prayer.

What kind of prayer could it be?

The Village Chief-nim hadn’t grieved when Uncle Joseph left.

He hadn’t been angered even when he saw the letter filled with insults.

He had only remained silent, as always. Just like now.

“……”

After he finished his final farewell.

Uncle Joseph neatly arranged his belongings and returned to me.

“I’d like to look around the graves.”

“Yes. Please follow me.”

We walked together through the pine forest.

Uncle Joseph checked each Anshiksu and said,

“Ritz. Outsiders can’t be buried here, right? I lived in Breezedon for about six years, but I never received my own Anshiksu.”

“That’s right. Anshiksu is only given to those born in this village or to outsiders who marry here.”

“Hmm…”

His steps suddenly stopped abruptly.

Uncle Joseph was looking at a name carved into a tree.

New bark had grown, making the letters a little faded, but they were certainly readable.

‘Helina Anshier’.

Another name was carved on the tree right next to it.

‘Albert Anshier’.

“These people are…”

“They are Tia’s parents.”

“…I see.”

Uncle Joseph nodded.

It seemed he had no more to see. We left the graves.

“Where is Tia?”

“Tia is doing well.”

“Do you happen to know where she is right now?”

“She’ll be at home.”

“I’ll go talk with Tia for a bit and come back. And… I’ve been craving our Breezedon specialty, Aunt Merid’s special roasted pork, for a long time.”

“Yes. I’ll tell Aunt Merid.”

“Great! Thank you! Haha!”

Uncle Joseph went down the hill.

And just then, he met Tia, who was coming up from below.

“Oh?”

At first, Tia looked very surprised, but soon after, she ran towards Uncle Joseph with a bright face and hugged him tightly.

“Uncle-?! It’s been so long-!”

“Haha! Yes, yes. It’s been a long time, Tia!”

A chuckle escaped me.

Leaving the two behind, who were sharing the joy of their reunion, I turned and left.

A grand welcome party was prepared.

Aunt Merid sighed upon receiving the order, wondering how she was supposed to get pork right away. Nevertheless, she somehow managed to take out smoked meat and create an excellent dish.

Uncle Joseph, after meeting Tia, toasted with the people and enjoyed the meat.

He shared what had happened since, told funny stories, and chatted excitedly.

As time passed and the atmosphere settled down a bit.

Uncle Joseph suddenly tapped my arm.

“Ritz. Let’s talk for a moment.”

I silently followed him.

After moving for a while, we soon found ourselves in front of the Village Chief-nim’s cabin.

“…First, I want to thank you. Thanks to you, I learned about the Village Chief-nim’s passing.”

He learned about the Village Chief-nim’s passing ‘thanks to me’?

I didn’t know what he meant, but I nodded for now.

“……Yes.”

“And I heard from Tia. That you were badly hurt.”

“Ah, yes.”

“How is your body?”

“I’m much better now.”

“That’s a relief. You’re going to be the Village Chief, so you shouldn’t get hurt.”

He stroked my head with his large hand.

I had missed this gentle touch.

Uncle Joseph looked up at the cabin and said,

“Haha. This place is always the same. It’s so cozy, always consistent.”

“It will be like that in the future too. Oh, you must be tired, aren’t you? I’ll clean up the house you used to use, so…”

“No, it’s alright. I’ll be leaving this place when night falls.”

I thought he would stay longer.

It was a shame, but it seemed he had somewhere urgent to go.

Uncle Joseph turned his eyes to me.

“But I’ll be back soon. At most, within half a year. Ritz, I have one favor to ask until then.”

A favor?

Uncle Joseph was asking *me* for a favor…?

“The opening of the village is an unstoppable trend. You know that, right?”

“Yes. I know.”

“When bridges are built and roads are maintained, many people will soon come and go. The burdens you, who have just become Village Chief, will have to bear will increase, and things will become chaotic.”

Suddenly, Uncle Joseph spoke with a serious expression.

“However… you must still protect Tia.”

“Of course.”

“I emphasize it once more. You ‘absolutely’ must not let Tia leave this village. Understood?”

“……!”

When I heard the repeated request, I realized this wasn’t something to be taken lightly.

Uncle Joseph was saying something completely different from Ruyef.

Ruyef had said Tia should be driven out, while Uncle Joseph said she should be kept in this village and protected.

Naturally, neither of them told me why.

But seeing that they both mentioned ‘Tia’ in common, I could only guess that something undoubtedly related to her had happened.

There’s something.

Something quietly happening, excluding only me.

But it felt like I was stuck between them, floating alone, unable to grasp any context.

What on earth… is going on?

“Uncle. Of course, I’ll do that, but why are you asking?”

“I’m sorry. I can’t tell you that yet.”

Uncle Joseph closed his eyes.

“I hope you won’t tell Tia that I said these things. But if I can make one promise, I swear to the Divine Dragon-nim that when I return to you, I will definitely bring ‘good news’.”

“……Understood.”

“Good. Kid, I trust you!”

Uncle Joseph tapped my back and returned to the villagers.

*Sigh.*

My mind was confused, but.

Well, I decided to just accept this situation.

Nothing would change anyway.

Tia just needed to stay here until Uncle Joseph returned.

That was something I would naturally take care of, even without him asking.

Anyway, for Uncle Joseph to give me a secret mission….

It was a strange feeling.

Before long, the sun had set.

Uncle Joseph said it was time for him to leave and bid his farewell.

The regretful elders prepared gifts for him, but he adamantly refused, saying he had no hands to carry them.

Finally, as he greeted each person.

Uncle Joseph requested a handshake with me.

“Ritz! You must stay healthy!”

“Yes.”

*Firmly.*

The moment we shook hands firmly.

Something foreign was caught in my hand.

Startled, I raised my head, and Uncle Joseph only grinned widely and winked.

I kept my fist tightly clenched and put my hand into my pocket.

“Then I’ll visit again! Elder brothers, elder sisters!”

The great mercenary thus set off on his journey again.

Leaving behind the short but intense encounter, another day in Breezedon came to an end.

As everyone dispersed.

I took out the object Uncle Joseph had given me from my pocket.

“……?!”

I hurriedly covered my mouth.

It was a ring.

And a ring with a very large ruby embedded in it.

I was so surprised that I quickly hid it and looked around.

Fortunately, no one seemed to have seen it.

Even though I had only seen it for a moment, I knew.

That ‘ring’ was no ordinary ring.

It was a ring intricately crafted with slender rose stems, one that only the highest nobility could use… no, it was an object likely to be used by the Deseo royal family.

Why on earth would he give *me* such a terrifying object to even possess?

My heart pounded wildly.

What did this mean?

Was it a reward for protecting Tia?

The value was absurdly high for something like that. What did he want me to do?

I wanted to chase after Uncle Joseph and ask him right away, but his back had long since disappeared.

“Ritz! What are you spacing out for-?”

“Gasp.”

Tia tapped my shoulder.

Though goosebumps spread all over me, I barely managed to squeeze out my voice.

“Uh-uhm? Ah, no. Nothing.”

“Go inside quickly. It’s cold. You’ll catch a cold.”

“Alright. What about you?”

“Me? I’ll go to the medicine shop and be back in a little while!”

“Okay. Don’t stay too long, come back right away.”

“Okay-!”

Tia swayed her red hair as she went up the hill.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t been to the medicine shop since waking up.

Vowing to definitely go tomorrow, I returned home.

* * *

Today, I had planned to ask Tia to go up to the medicine shop with me.

Of course, I knew she had been taking good care of it on her own, but I also needed to check on how my precious workplace had fared during that time.

“Ritz! I’m here-!”

Tia knocked on the door as always, and I welcomed her warmly.

And I talked about today’s schedule.

“……You want to go to the medicine shop?”

“Yeah. I need to check if it’s been well-managed all this time.”

“It’s fine, but-. I don’t have confidence I’ll get praised by Ritz. Hehe…”

“It’s just a quick look. I have no intention of scolding you.”

“Then let’s go now!”

It was while I was putting on thick clothes and getting ready to go out.

*Burst open!*

Suddenly, the door burst open roughly.

It was Mister Marvin.

He was breathing heavily and abruptly asked us,

“Have you two seen Ruyef?”

“Huh? No, we haven’t.”

“*Sigh.* This brat isn’t even at home. Where on earth did he go?”

“What’s wrong?”

Mister Marvin gritted his teeth.

“Today, Ruyef didn’t show up.”