Chapter 41 – Chapter 3: Charrak – 1
The hike continued.
Since hunting became possible, more emphasis was placed on food procurement rather than marching.
It mainly targeted small, fleshy animals such as rabbits and birds.
When I found a stream, I washed lightly, filled my water bag, and caught some fish if I had time.
Solving the food problem gave me more freedom.
If the hunt was successful, they were dismantled and eaten that day.
This was because there was no way to preserve the hard-earned meat.
I was able to carry the meat lightly because I learned from Aunt Mary over her shoulder how to prepare meat.
When we found a place to rest, we shared the berries and fruits he picked and the meat I got from hunting.
As food became plentiful, life returned to Uncle Posao’s face.
I also gained more strength and was able to move farther.
It’s been 7 days since we entered the unknown mountain range.
It was a cool, windy evening.
“Tia. “What’s in that pocket?”
Uncle Posao pointed to the belt hanging around my waist.
“Why. “I wonder if it cost money?”
“Oh, no-! I just never used it… Curious…”
Opened the small pocket.
There was a red bundle in it.
To be exact, it is a bandage soaked in Ritsu’s blood.
I picked it up and showed it.
“It’s a bandage. “It was given to me by Ritz.”
“Ah…”
“You look disappointed because it’s not something to eat.”
“Nehaha! No- no-.”
Mr. Posao hurriedly waved his hand and added,
“The Ritz thing… I’m sorry.”
I flinched slightly.
Every time she heard Ritsu’s name or thought of Ritsu’s face, her heart ached.
It was even more so when I heard it in that man’s voice.
When we were young, the three of us played together.
“…”
I feel like a bad memory suddenly comes to mind.
She turned her head and walked forward silently.
The embarrassed Mr. Posao waddled along.
“Tia?”
“Let’s keep some distance.”
“Why, why suddenly…”
I’ve received a lot of help so far, and by working together, I’m somehow able to get through the forest.
‘That incident’ still could not be forgiven.
“I want to be alone.”
“… Okay.”
I walked quietly for a while.
He didn’t bother to appear in front of me or talk to me.
It was so quiet that I didn’t even know I was following.
As expected, I think this sense of distance is the best right now.
There is no need to ruminate on unpleasant memories.
It’s not like we’re really helping each other.
It is just a temporary alliance with the ‘same purpose’ of getting out of this forest.
Because it is better for survival to have that guy than to be alone.
We just exchange the special skills we have with each other.
The moment you arrive at Deseo.
No, I will erase it from your memory as soon as you leave the forest.
If only you touched me again like you did then… I am prepared to cut it with a knife without mercy.
I held Rose Sabel tightly and looked up in front of her.
At that time.
“… Huh?”
The end of the road.
There was a person standing on a nearby ridge.
She was a girl.
The child was also looking down with a surprised face.
I didn’t expect there to be people around here at all.
And at this time when the sun is setting.
She rubbed her eyes, thinking she had seen an illusion, but it was clearly a child. It’s a girl who is a little darker than Marie, but looks about the same age as Marie, with her hair hanging in a long braid.
The child took a step back, her face a mixture of surprise and wariness.
First, I warned Uncle Posao.
“Stay there.”
“Uh, huh.”
Try not to be as surprised as possible.
She approached slowly, alone.
“Hello?”
“…”
The girl didn’t answer.
Still, fortunately, she didn’t make a big warning gesture.
However, our appearance was so dirty, and we were even carrying weapons, so it seemed difficult to call us safe people.
〈 In World Adventure Rock 〉, she heard that there are many villages that hate strangers.
This is especially true in areas where war is frequent.
I don’t know what kind of place this is, but if you want to contact them, you have to prove that you are harmless.
I asked in a soft voice.
“Where are you from? Are there adults nearby?”
“…”
She still blinks and doesn’t answer.
I don’t even know if you were listening to me properly in the first place.
“If there are any adults, please let me know. “I want to talk.”
The moment you take a step closer to the girl.
Crispy!
Suddenly something jumped out of the grass next to me.
Sereung-!
I reflexively pulled out my sword and turned it towards him.
“… Ha. Ha.”
There was another child there, panting, holding her spear up.
This time it’s a boy.
It was an unusual outfit, exposing the entire upper body and wearing only large pants.
Just by looking at the two children’s clothes, you could tell that this was a completely different place from the Dragonez frontier.
The boy shouted.
“Don’t come!”
It’s a unique accent I’ve never heard before.
The boy aimed his spear straight up to protect the girl.
You have to calm down.
“Okay. I don’t plan on going closer. We are… “I’m just a lost person.”
“Go back!”
“Please. I’d like to get a little help. “Can you tell me where the village is?”
“I don’t like it!”
The boy just shouted in a firm and short tone.
He didn’t seem to have any intention of listening to me.
Honestly, if I could… I was able to subdue it in an instant.
Although he seemed courageous, the tip of the spear was trembling, and he was too young to stab a person.
But I didn’t want to do anything unreasonable.
“Okay, I’ll put down my weapon.”
I put the sword and bow on the ground.
Even though they were disarmed, the children remained steadfast.
It really felt like they wouldn’t say anything until we were gone.
A frightened girl hid behind the boy’s back.
And he said something.
The boy nodded and quickly took my weapon.
I thought I was finally letting go of my guard.
The boy backed away from her, still aiming his spear at her.
What is it?
Why don’t they just take the weapons and let them into the village?
“Excuse me? That’s mine…”
“Don’t come!”
It was a moment so absurd that I was dumbfounded.
“… Oh, hi. “Kids?”
Suddenly, Mr. Posao walked out from behind.
The children were startled and turned their windows toward him. The vigilance has become much higher than before.
This is why I told you to stay quiet and not show yourself unnecessarily!
“Mister! I told you to stay behind…”
“Here… ‘Cha, charrak’ right?”
Then the boy nodded.
“That’s right.”
The man said.
“Cho, I want to meet the village chief. Can you help us… ?”
“Uhm… Okay.”
I couldn’t believe it.
Why did the boy who was so stern towards me let down his guard so easily towards you?
It was even stranger that he knew the name of this unfamiliar village.
“Mister. Did you know? If only I had known earlier that there was a village here…”
“I-I saw it somewhere too. But I didn’t know it was this town. Wow, it’s a coincidence.”
“…”
〈 There was no village called ‘Charrak’ in World Adventure Book 〉.
The boy gestured.
“Follow me.”
We quietly followed the children.
After going over the hill twice, the village began to come into view.
My heart was pounding.
Could the shape of the house and the fields cultivated by people be this welcoming?
As we entered the village, people looked at us with curious eyes and murmured.
Uncle Posao whispered.
“It’s smaller than Brisden…”
“I guess so.”
At first glance, there are only about 30 people.
Since it was night, everyone would have gathered in one place, so this would be everything.
The boy took us to a house in the middle of the village.
There was a man sitting there.
To anyone who saw him, he looked like the chief of this village.
“Who are you?”
I explained everything that had happened.
While following Gongnapdae – this old man didn’t even know what ‘Gongnapdae’ was – he told me that he was shipwrecked in an unknown mountain range by bandits, and that he wandered around like that and stumbled upon this village by chance.
It seems that the detailed story was well communicated.
The village chief looked suspicious.
“This place is ‘Charrak’. It’s the same as the name of the mountain range you passed through. It’s okay to stay for a while, but it won’t change much.”
“No. “Thank you for giving me a place to rest.”
“… Hmm.”
The old man cleared his throat and looked back at Uncle Posao.
“Now I want to talk to you for a moment.”
“Neaa? Yes… ! Please speak comfortably…”
I waited to see what he was going to say to the man, but the village chief cleared his throat again.
“Let’s go out there now.”
“Yes? Ah… Yes.”
I hurriedly left the village chief’s house.
Something felt bad.
Was I just ignored?
Why do you want to talk to Uncle Posao alone?
And was there any reason to kick me out?
As I was waiting outside with an uneasy feeling, the girl I met a little while ago approached me hesitantly.
A girl spoke to me.
“Sister. Let’s go take a bath.”
“Bath?”
“Huh. They say it smells a lot. “Her mom took a long bath.”
“Ah-. Haha…”
Was it a very strong smell?
Could it be that you mistakenly thought it smelled like Uncle Posao?
… I think that’s true, but it’s true that I haven’t washed my body properly recently.
First, I followed the girl.
I thought I was going into a bathtub somewhere to take a bath, but suddenly I started going up the mountain.
Even in the dark forest at night, this girl is not afraid and runs around.
Just when you wonder if this is really the place.
I suddenly felt warm and humid air.
As she cut through the bushes, a small pond appeared before her eyes.
A thick fog settles beneath her feet and an acrid smell stings her nose.
Oh my god.
It was a ‘natural hot spring’ that I had only read about in books.
“Wow…”
“Sister! Come in!”
The girl took off her clothes and jumped into the hot spring.
When I lightly dipped my hand in it, it was a lot hotter than I thought.
Isn’t this the whole meat being cooked?
Aside from that, that kid is just playing around and splashing around in the water.
Well, I guess it’s okay to go in… ?
She unfastened her belt and took off her top and pants. Finally, she let go of her hair and was completely naked.
Enjoying her long-awaited feeling, she slowly put her feet into the hot spring.
“Ugh-! It’s hot!”
“Haha! Sister, you coward!”
“I’m not a coward-!”
“Come in quickly!”
She closed her eyes tightly and placed her body in the hot water.
“Ugh…”
At first, I thought she would just mature like this.
She soaked her body for a moment and immediately felt lukewarm.
Ha. Good.
It feels like all the fatigue accumulated in her body has been completely relieved.
She slowly washed her skin while enjoying the hot springs.
I also washed her hair.
I felt refreshed as the dust and dirt on her disappeared.
The girl asked.
“What’s your name?”
“I’m Tia. “And you?”
“Chii.”
Chii was a girl with short brown hair and freckles on her cheeks.
The pure smile just resembles Marie.
Also, she seems to be more active than Marie.
Chii said in a happy voice.
“Tia is the first woman from outside the village.”
“Okay? “Then do a lot of men come to this village?”
“No. “It’s been a while since you came here.”
After listening to the story, the village of Charrak looked like this all along.
A small town that few outsiders visit.
Chii said the reason was ‘her mom and dad ran away from somewhere.’
It was easy to guess.
Uncle Joseph said that there were many people living in hiding all over the world.
Most of them were serfs who ran away because they could not withstand the tyranny of their lords.
It is said that they settled deep in the mountains and lived without anyone knowing.
Charrak also seemed to be a village created that way.
“Are there any kids your age?”
“Huh. Fache.”
“Fache… “Ramen, the boy you were with?”
“Yes.”
“What about the other kids?”
“Doesn’t exist. “I only stay with Pashu.”
There were only two children in the village.
The siblings said no.
Brisden was like that too.
There were four of us, but Riev and Marie were brought in by Uncle Joseph, so if things were to go as they were, Ritz and I were the only ones born in the village.
There is nothing we can do about small mountain villages.
In each generation, four or five people become friends and marry each other.
In this way, the village is maintained by having four or five children and repeating the process.
“It’s similar! Just like Chii, I also have a boyfriend like Pashu.”
“Really?”
“Huh. We’ve been together ever since we were born.”
“What’s your name?”
It’s a name.
I closed my eyes and called the name I missed.
“Name is… Call it ‘Ritz.'”
