episode_0104

Tia dazedly rose from bed.

She hadn’t been able to sleep all night, tossing and turning for ages before finally drifting off, but when she woke, the sun was already high.

It was the first time she had ever overslept this much.

The moment her feet touched the floor, her legs wobbled.

She barely managed to lean against the wall and catch her breath.

She hadn’t slept properly. Her mind felt hazy, as if filled with fog.

Her body smelled. Though much fainter, the smell of semen still clung to her.

Her tangled hair made a dry, sticky sound.

“First… I need to wash.”

She stumbled down to the stream and drew cold water. She washed her face and lightly washed her hair. Thankfully, splashing cold water on herself made her feel a little more awake.

She returned home and was hurriedly dressing when it happened.

Thump thump thump!

Someone roughly pounded on the wooden door.

Tia, her hair still unbound, opened the front door.

“Are you just waking up now?”

Behind the wooden door was Uncle Marvin.

A raspy voice and eyes like a fierce wolf.

She felt it instinctively. He had come all this way to catch her.

Tia hid her nervous expression and offered a greeting.

“G-good morning, Uncle Marvin…”

“Morning? You’re still half-asleep. Does this look like morning to you?”

“……”

“Open the door.”

Tia descended the stairs with trembling steps and opened the wooden door.

“Why are you just waking now? Were you doing something else all night?”

“Oh, n-no. I couldn’t sleep last night. As you know, Uncle, Ritsu’s condition suddenly worsened… I was worried…”

She found herself lying without realizing it. That worry was only one of many reasons she couldn’t sleep.

“Ritsu said he was fine. He even went on patrol last night.”

“……”

“You do useless things, you worry uselessly. You’re quite something.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Uncle Marvin crossed his arms.

“By the way, did you finish cleaning the warehouse yesterday?”

“Huh? Yes. I finished it all.”

“Thoroughly?”

“Yes.”

She could be certain of that much. She hadn’t even eaten dinner yesterday because she was cleaning that vast warehouse.

Uncle Marvin sighed and asked again.

“What if I go and check, and find even one flaw? Can you still confidently say you did it ‘thoroughly’ and ‘completely’?”

“I don’t know what kind of flaw you mean… but I really did finish everything…”

“Say that again. ‘Finished’?”

“Yes.”

“Finished?”

“Yes. I finished it a—”

That’s when it happened.

Slap!

Her vision flashed. Unable to steady herself, she fell backward.

Crash!

When she came to, she was sprawled on the stairs. Her arm and back had hit a sharp edge, and they hurt terribly and stung.

But more than that pain. The impact that resonated in her head hurt more.

I… was slapped?

By Uncle Marvin?

Uncle Marvin warned in a heavy voice.

“Get yourself together, Tia. ‘Managing the warehouse’ has no end. Has Ruyef ever said he’s finished his work? Has he ever overslept until the sun was in the middle of the sky?”

“……”

“Right now, the village is facing a very difficult turning point. It’s so hard it’s unimaginable how we’ll get through this winter. Women get up early in the morning to work, and men tirelessly cut down trees.”

Her cheek stung and burned.

“But Tia. You don’t work for the village, you leave your post without a word, and you brazenly oversleep like a child. How long do you think you can act as you please?”

The heat from her cheek descended to her heart, clawing at it.

“I have treated you while remembering the respected Elder Sister Helina. She asked us to raise you freely, bravely, and strongly just before she passed away. So I let you do whatever you wanted.”

The heat from her cheek rose to her face, warmed her eyes, and brought forth tears.

“But now, I can no longer tolerate it. I will exclude you from this baptism ceremony.”

So this is how it was going to be. She had no intention of resisting a fate already decided.

“And I will not allow your independence. Vacate the main house and return to Elder Sister Sherry’s house.”

“…What?”

“Elder Sister Sherry has also agreed. It means she acknowledges that people no longer have the strength to indulge your whims.”

Tia’s eyes wavered. She knew the baptism ceremony was canceled, but she had never imagined being driven out of this house.

“From now on, no matter where you go, seek permission from the elders and report to them. Attend all important village matters. This is not a warning; it is an order.”

Uncle Marvin’s words… meant he would even take away the tiny bit of freedom Tia cherished and held dear.

A stern voice fell upon her.

“Go back to the warehouse right now.”

“……”

No thoughts came to her mind. She was so terrified she couldn’t breathe, and her whole body trembled.

“Now!!”

Uncle Marvin snatched her small hand.

Dragged outside, Tia saw people gathered on the hillside. The elders murmured as they watched Tia. Aunt Olivia and Aunt Merid were there too. Aunt Sherry was also watching from the hillside, hands clasped behind her back.

Everyone just… watched silently.

Uncle Marvin dragged Tia and shoved her into the warehouse.

“Don’t even think about coming out of here until evening.”

Slam!

The warehouse door slammed shut.

Silence fell. The darkness, devoid of light, and the musty smell of dust settled upon her slender shoulders.

“……”

She raised her head.

Inside the large warehouse. Objects older than Tia herself stood upright.

Tia let out a sobbing breath.

Every time she saw this place, Deseo came to mind. People said that city swallowed everything. They spoke fearfully of it as a city stained with greed, indiscriminately sucking in people and objects.

But to her, this ‘Warehouse of Breezedawn’ looked like that. Objects that entered here only accumulated layers of dust, never managing to escape on their own.

People were the same. If one didn’t have the courage to leave abruptly like Ruyef, they were doomed to be trapped in these mountains forever.

Because that was the fate given to her.

Breezedawn. The place where the wind lingers. The red wind that flowed out to the distant coastline where it met the sea, then returned to the mountains.

Ultimately, it ended up trapped in this dark, cramped space.

Yet, why didn’t the wind scatter into pieces and turn to dust?

Perhaps it was because of the single name she held onto in her heart.

“Ritsu…”

Yes.

This was punishment. The punishment Ritsu had given her. The time had finally come to pay for the sin of harming Ritsu’s body and mind.

If Ritsu could feel even a little relieved by her remaining in this small, shabby warehouse.

Then she would gladly do so.

Because that was the ‘Tia’ Ritsu wanted.

* * *

Thud.

Tia sat down on the cold warehouse floor. Her body wouldn’t move. She blankly raised her hand. She didn’t even have the delicate strength to move a single finger.

It had been a long time since she felt this exhausted. She thought she had grown accustomed to this level of helplessness through her adventures.

Perhaps not.

She raised her head. The warehouse had changed again, unlike yesterday.

She understood Uncle Marvin’s words: ‘There is no end.’ She had to somehow create new tasks and do them. That was what ‘no end’ meant.

If it was flawlessly perfect, she had to create flaws. So she overturned the warehouse and reorganized it again. This time, more perfectly. So there would be no flaws.

But tomorrow, she would have to reorganize it anew again.

It was just an endless repetition of meaningless work, but if Uncle Marvin was satisfied and Ritsu was relieved by it, wouldn’t that be enough?

She slumped down in front of the neatly stacked firewood.

Ah, I’m tired.

Because I couldn’t sleep… I’m so tired.

Tia pinched her arm hard. It woke her blurry mind, but only for a moment. As the pain faded, the fog rolled back over her eyes.

If people saw her sleeping… she’d get scolded.

I have to get up.

She pinched herself even harder, but now she barely felt the pain.

Swish.

She rolled up her sleeve and looked at her arm. She had pinched herself so much that there were blue bruises.

Pinching wouldn’t work for much longer.

Would it be better if she stabbed herself with a knife?

Tia shook her head. What… what am I thinking right now? I’m so sleepy I feel like I’m going crazy.

She looked at the window. Beyond the mountain ridge, the setting sun was visible. Her eyes, staring at the beautiful red light, slowly seemed to be stained orange.

“……”

Get a grip.

It’s all my fault. I acted as I pleased, and because of what I did, the village is struggling.

I should be grateful instead. The villagers have been patient with me for so long…

She hugged her knees. Uncle Fosao came to mind. His voice, always promising to help her when she was hurting and struggling like this, came to mind.

“……”

She knew.

…The more she did that, the more Uncle would ask for.

Uncle Fosao willingly gave her what she wanted, and in return, he carefully made requests. He said she didn’t have to grant his requests if she didn’t want to.

But every time she refused, Uncle would make such a pitiful expression. Feeling like a coward who only took and ran, she eventually granted his demands.

Honestly, she hesitated. Not knowing what Uncle would demand, she had hesitated a little last night too. But she couldn’t overcome her hunger and ended up going to the general store.

Also, though he hadn’t actually touched her yet. When he massaged her legs, it felt like he kept trying to move his hand below her lower abdomen, which scared her.

Perhaps it was truly time… she shouldn’t go to Uncle anymore.

She gripped her ruby necklace. The more she thought about Uncle Fosao, the more she missed Ritsu.

It felt as if it had been too long since she last saw Ritsu.

She missed him. She wanted to hug him.

So… to meet Ritsu, she had to gather her strength again…

Thud.

Tia tried to get up but her body was too heavy, so she sat back down. And then she closed her eyes.

“Tia. Snap out of it.”

How much time had passed? She didn’t know. Her ears tickled. For a moment… she thought she heard Ritsu’s voice.

“Snap out of it!”

Jolt!

Suddenly, her whole body was shaken.

“…Ah?!”

She lifted her head. Through her blurry vision, she saw a familiar face.

Ritsu.

It was Ritsu.