Chapter 11 – Chapter 1: Last Summer – 1
“Ritz! Good morning!”
A cheerful sound coming into the pharmacy.
“Hello, Tia.”
Now there is no reason to worry about the tattered door.
This is because it has become a routine to leave the door wide open and wait for Tia every morning.
He came to the pharmacy every day.
Gradually, the time I spend at the pharmacy increased, and these days, I almost live there.
Thanks to this, I was able to easily leave my seat and go outside…
It feels strange to see two people in a pharmacy that is always alone.
How did your swordsmanship training go? Don’t even talk.
He picks up the scarecrow from the mountainside and throws it into the barn, where he swings his sword.
I was worried that the medicine cabinet would all be destroyed, but there have been no accidents so far.
After sweating profusely, he would suddenly get bored and throw a tantrum on the rocking chair. When he was bored, he would go outside and play, but he would often look through pharmaceutical books and make a mess.
This guy is really annoying and requires a lot of work.
… But she didn’t just hate it.
No, it was good.
Should I say it feels like we are living together?
Should I say that it feels like we’ve gone back to when we were kids?
We spent the whole day together like this.
Telling dull jokes, taking long naps, and listening to funny stories from the elderly who occasionally stop by.
Like this until winter.
I thought it was the last time for the boy and girl, just waiting for the day of the baptism.
As soon as Tia entered her medicine cabinet, she sat down in a rocking chair and wrapped herself in a blanket.
“Ugh, it’s cold.”
“It’s cold?”
“The day is warm, but the morning might be a little chilly.”
I looked out the window.
The season was already going like that.
The hot summer is gone, and the cool breeze of early fall has arrived.
At this time of year, I automatically realize it.
Winter is not that far away.
Bubble-.
While she was steeping dried rubes in boiling water, Tia came to her side.
“Ritz-what are you doing?”
“Lubes medicine. “The one I hung on the ceiling last week.”
“Oh, that! “I helped you!”
“Okay. “Put it all in here and let it brew until it becomes thick.”
The guy looked intently into her pot as if he was curious.
“Oh-. “This is my first time seeing it actually made.”
“If you apply the prepared medicine to a cloth and dry it in the sun until it dries, it becomes a clean bandage.”
“Bandage… “It was made like this.”
“It just worked out well. You stir it. “My arm hurts, so I’m going to get some rest.”
I handed the stick over to Tia, who had nothing to do, and I lay down comfortably on the chair.
“Now that I think about it, you don’t bring bandages these days? “You took it every day.”
“Ah, hehe-. I know. “I didn’t really need a bandage because I wasn’t going to get hurt.”
“I heard you felt comfortable carrying one around at some point?”
“It did. But I have something better than bandages!”
“Hmm?”
Tia pointed the stick she was stirring at me.
“Ritz!”
“… What the hell. Am I a bandage?”
“Huh! Last time I got a thorn stuck in my arm, I got it out right away! “Bandages can’t do that.”
“Heh. That’s what this body does.”
“So all you need is the Ritz!”
The guy giggled and started swinging the stick again.
Oh, wait a minute. You shouldn’t stir that quickly.
The ominous intuition was right.
The thickened medicine stuck to the stick and the entire pot shook.
“Oh!”
Just as it was about to pour out.
Tia immediately grabbed her pot.
The reaction speed is so quick that you wonder if you were worried for no reason.
But the anxiety is the same?!
“Tia. Because of you, there is not a day that goes by when my heart feels at ease. Please be kind to me…”
Tia lifted her stick and slurped down her thickened medicine.
And then she wanted to clean up the pot.
Chin.
He suddenly jumps on top of me while I’m lying down!
“Now, wait a minute? What are you doing… !”
“Hey!”
“Hey! Hey! Hey! Just sleep!”
Her armchair began to tilt behind her, and as she struggled to keep her balance, Tia seemed even more excited, bobbing back and forth.
Squeak-. Squeak-.
“Aaaaah!”
I felt like I was really going to fall, so I hugged Tia without even realizing it.
It smelled good. Warm body temperature.
And when she stopped shaking, her stiff back also sank.
Tia, who was in her arms, giggled.
“Ritz, were you scared?”
“Don’t play around like that. “What are you going to do if you get hurt?”
“Don’t worry.”
Tia placed her cheek against my chest and whispered.
“Because I will protect you.”
“…”
Something feels strange.
This strange feeling where my head feels dizzy, my heart tightens, and my lower body feels strangely uncomfortable.
For some reason, Tia’s body is so soft.
And the soft breasts pressing against my stomach…
I looked down at her without thinking and our eyes met.
Is it because of the chill? The guy’s cheeks were also red.
Because it’s definitely cold. Oh, no, it’s probably because it’s hot.
Slurp.
The ruby necklace buried in Tia’s chest came out.
The guy hesitated and approached slowly.
Uh, wait. Can I do this? Really?
We can’t do this yet.
Sigh.
Which… Under… It feels like my butt is touching… As it is, it’s really….
The moment when your hair turns white.
Jump and jump.
I heard someone coming up the hill.
Tia was so startled that she immediately pulled her body away and went into the barn.
Slam!
The person who came in was Ruyev.
The guy who had rushed over was breathing heavily.
There’s no way this guy will come by early in the morning.
I was quite embarrassed too.
“Luev… ?”
“Go to the village chief right away.”
“-What?”
“The village chief is in critical condition! Come on!”
I went straight down to the village chief’s cabin.
The villagers were talking with serious expressions around them.
I briefly heard the story.
It is said that they visited the village chief due to problems with expanding the village mountain path, and he was found lying on the ground.
It felt like the village chief had become increasingly weak these days.
But now that the seasons have started to change, it seems like it’s taking a toll on my body.
I went inside the hut.
The village chief was lying comfortably on the bed.
He was always sitting on a chair, but it was unfamiliar to see him lying down like this.
I checked the status.
Breathing and pulse are normal.
There were no major injuries other than abrasions on his arms and knees when he fell.
It seemed like she would be able to stand up again as soon as the weather cleared up, and she regained her strength.
The village chief exhaled with difficulty.
“Huh…”
“Just don’t overdo it. Do you need anything?”
“Come here.”
I received the call and came closer.
The village chief looked up at the ceiling.
“I guess it won’t be long now…”
“What the. Don’t be weak. You’re fine. “I don’t even have a chronic illness.”
“No… I can tell. It’s already too much to buy this much…”
The village chief was the oldest person in the village, having lived to be over 70 years old.
Although he lived a long time, he never said that he thought he would die soon.
From the beginning, I thought I could live at least 10 more years, at most 20 years, by correcting the original body.
Just by touching this dry finger, you can feel the strong vitality within it.
The village chief says, ‘I don’t have time left to live.’
“I am… “I’ve lived too long.”
“Yes. He will soon be celebrating his 74th birthday.”
“It’s the 74th… I see I can only live so long in this world…”
I didn’t understand for a moment.
You said earlier that I have lived a long time, but 74 years of life is only ‘that much’?
Have you been cooped up in the cabin for so long that your sense of time goes back and forth?
The village chief let out a long sigh and looked at the ceiling calmly.
The wrinkled eyes looked like the distortion of an old tree that had lived for a very long time.
“Ritz…”
“Yes, chief.”
“Why was Brisden able to remain Brisden… Do you know?”
“Yes. This is because we are an ‘autonomous territory.’ The village chief resisted Deseo and was recognized for his peaceful autonomy.”
“Okay. Here is… Unlike other places, all residents are the owners of this land.”
The lower village of Taildon, Legilton beyond the mountain, and Gordburg on the Golden Plain.
Those who ruled there had to perform military service at the ruler’s call or pay certain tributes and taxes.
Once a year. There is a ‘tribute line’ that passes through Taildon.
It was a huge carriage procession heading to Deseo carrying tribute from each territory.
The Dragonez Mountains are also included in Deseo’s territory.
Originally, we would have had to pay tribute to that tribute, but Brisden has never once sent anything to Deseo.
Even though no taxes were paid for nearly 50 years, Deseo said nothing.
They jokingly say that they have forgotten about us, but it doesn’t seem like they have forgotten about this village as the knights occasionally come by and meet the village chief before returning.
There is no way that a city that is ‘crazy about money’ would leave land where it can extract even a penny more.
All these strange things were accomplished by the village chief.
An old man from a mountain village defeated Deseo all by himself.
So, while the village people respected the village chief very much, they were also afraid of him.
How did they do it?
“But… This land was not obtained by us resisting them. They… “They imprisoned us here.”
“Yes? Confinement… You say? “Why?”
“Because I was afraid.”
“Why on earth are they afraid of the village chief? How can you say Deseo is afraid of this small town?”
“Haha… Hehe…”
A hollow laugh flowed out.
It seems like this is an answer to yourself after looking back on your past life.
“I feel like I’ve lived for over 200 years.”
“… Yes?”
“I saw all the stories. I am… I have lived while observing an infinitely vast past… A lifetime of being born and dying dozens of times. Stories of someone who goes back and forth between laughter and sadness… “Everyone could see it.”
The heavy voice has faded as the years have passed.
“That’s how Brisden has been able to survive. In this era engulfed in madness… “Like one person who silently watches the past, and you who look at the future from above.”
“How… “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The village chief didn’t say anything.
He looked very tired.
“I’ll make you some medicine first. “If you eat it, you will feel a little better.”
“Ritz.”
Suddenly the village chief squeezed my hand.
“If I die… Come back to this house again…”
There were no more words returned.
The village chief slowly closed his eyes as if he was in a deep sleep.
Am I having a sweet dream?
The only pleasant sound of breathing was heard.
