Chapter 6 – Chapter 1: Something Only I Didn’t Know – 1
“Ha.”
Even after returning to the pharmacy, my head still hurt.
Good.
I really, really decided to be generous and use all my patience to understand this situation.
If Tia’s safety is a priority, Ruev is the right person.
The village chief must have sent two people with that intention.
But…
I saw it clearly.
When Ruev came to Tia’s house, the wooden door was open.
“That bastard knew the password to the wooden door.”
Why?
They never told me.
Why did Tia give that guy the password?
“…”
Honestly, it’s trivial.
I’m so offended by things like this that I feel childish for staying quiet.
If you think about it, since Ruyev was helping with remodeling the house, it was highly likely that he just gave the password for convenience.
To begin with, Tia is someone who doesn’t really care about such things.
But…
“Hey, I don’t know. “Let’s just do my thing.”
I need to stop thinking about useless things and do something first.
I thought that would make me feel better.
I went back into the barn and took stock of her.
I knew it. As expected, there was a huge shortage of Rubes herbs.
Rubes herb is not only used to make bandages, but is also needed to make medicine, so it has always been in high demand.
“I guess I should save some.”
Villagers would go up and down the mountain paths to find grass, flowers, deer antlers, tree sap, etc. And bring them back, but the amount was so small that it was difficult to expect.
In cases like this, you should go to a store that handles miscellaneous goods.
Rattling-.
I came out.
The sun was almost setting.
It’s time for people to finish work and return to the village.
I had to hurry a little because the general store also closes at night.
As I was busy coming down the road, there was a girl squatting in front of the trough wearing a straw hat.
Ruev’s younger sister, Marida.
It’s hard to see her face.
Marie stayed locked up in Ruyev’s house all day. She is weak, so she says
She is still a small girl, and she is not healthy enough to help.
She was very ill and rarely went out.
But for some reason, the sun was nice today and Ruyev wasn’t in town.
He came out quite a distance and sat leisurely.
She waved her hand as she passed by.
“Hello, Marie.”
“Ah. Ritz oppa!”
Marie also recognized me and waved her thin hand.
Unlike Ruev, Marie was a very kind child.
She was pure, well-spoken, and obedient to everyone like a puppy.
They say they’re brother and sister, but I’m really glad they don’t look alike.
As she got closer, she suddenly blurted out something.
“Do you want to eat too?”
“Huh?”
There was a biscuit in her small hand.
Marie had been chewing until just now.
But this… It’s a very familiar color.
“Ginger biscuits?”
“Yes!”
“Is that delicious?”
Marie shook her head.
“But why do you eat it?”
“It tastes bitter, but it still makes me feel good.”
Tia definitely said that.
Marie says the same thing.
Do ginger biscuits have a unique taste that only girls know?
But how did you get those biscuits?
Come to think of it, the last time I went down to Taildon, Ruev found ginger biscuits.
Did you mean to buy it for Marie?
But the biscuits were all sold out, so I just went back. Did I end up buying them somewhere else?
There were a lot of questions, but she didn’t want to ask them.
It would be bothersome if he even heard that I asked this.
“The sun will set soon, so go in quickly.”
“Yes, Ritz oppa too.”
“Okay. “I’ll be back soon.”
I walked down the road again.
The general store was located in a remote location a little far from the village.
It was located close to Taildon to make it easier to trade goods, but even so, it was located in the forest, so accessibility was not very good.
So, even though the general store owner ‘Mr. Posao’ was a resident of our village, he was a very difficult person to see.
I wonder if customers would come to visit if I set up a store in such a remote place.
Surprisingly, that store has been operating well for decades.
When I was young, we often visited that store.
It was the perfect place to hide away from the nagging of the elderly.
Uncle Posao also welcomed us warmly.
I would take a nap there with Tia, and when it got dark, I would wake up and go back to the village.
At that time, I saw a few customers, but I didn’t feel like business was going well.
From what I heard, there is a merchant that conducts transactions on a regular basis and that is how it operates…
The villagers don’t know any more details than that, so you can believe it or not.
I saw an old sign.
[Modales Miscellaneous Goods]
It was written that way, and there were also pictures drawn for those who couldn’t read.
Has the road not been swept once this year?
The leaves that fell last winter are piled up, and the sign is rotted in places and on the verge of falling over.
As I climb through the fallen leaves, I finally see the store.
Hwiiing-.
A breezy wind is blowing.
The Modales General Store had two floors.
Products were mainly sold on the first floor, and the second floor was where the uncle lived.
Well, looking at it now, it’s an unnecessarily large store in the mountains.
Rattling.
A broken brass vessel caught on my foot.
From the entrance, there are a lot of strange miscellaneous things piled up, but I have never once seen Mr. Posao touch it.
Perhaps the man had forgotten the concept of ‘organizing’ or ‘cleaning’.
I opened the door, being careful not to step on any junk.
Geek…
A dark and damp room where not a single ounce of light enters.
There is an unidentifiable air mixed with a musty smell of dust and a fishy smell that is unique to this store.
No matter how many times I come, I can’t get used to this smell.
Should I call it the smell of boiling rotten mushrooms? The atmosphere was not very pleasant.
And in the darkness, a creature that could not be either a pig or a bear was snoring loudly with its huge belly exposed.
“Grrrr. Puhu-.”
“Mister.”
“Grrrr! … Fuhuu-.”
“Uncle Posao!”
When he hit the table, the owner opened his eyes.
“Puruk! Uh-huh? “Who?”
“It’s me. Ritz.”
“Uh oh… Ugh! It’s Ritz! W-what’s going on… ?”
A fat lower abdomen, a pockmarked face, and thickly fat limbs.
He even has a timid personality and a habit of stuttering or trailing off.
In this way, Uncle Posao was the complete opposite of the strong and cheerful village people.
Because of that, he had a bad reputation in the village.
The aunts looked disdainful, saying they got goosebumps when they heard the name ‘Posao’.
According to an old anecdote, he was treated with all kinds of contempt because he was fat and ugly.
It seemed like he deliberately lived a little away from the village, probably because it hurt him.
Even though he is well over 40, he still lives alone without a wife.
Even if you are a loner, it really doesn’t make sense.
“I came to buy some Rubes herbs. “I ran out.”
“Lubsu Herb…”
Uncle Posao slowly got up and started rummaging through his things.
I took out a few boxes, but even that was difficult, and I was sweating profusely.
Since it wasn’t organized in the first place, it would take ages to find it.
Even if you find it, there’s no guarantee that it will be in good condition.
Still, I decided to take a gamble and wait calmly.
“Whew, wow… I found it.”
Surprisingly, Uncle Posao found it quickly.
Although there was some dirt on it, the Rubes herb was fresher than expected.
After looking through it, I don’t see any problems. A happy voice came out spontaneously.
“Did you dig it up yourself?”
“Uh, uhm… I collected a little bit every time I went for a walk. Ugh…”
“It’s okay. Thanks to you, I survived. If you have anymore, please give it to me.”
Okay. This is why I visit this general store.
Everyone in the village hates Uncle Posao, but if this old man didn’t collect the items, the village would be in quite a bit of trouble.
Also, if you really talk about him, despite his appearance, he was a good person at heart.
As the owner of a general store, I knew a lot.
Of course, I never talked to him for a long time because of that stuffy tone, but he wasn’t a bad person to the extent that my aunts hated him.
If I had taken better care of myself when I was young, I could have gotten married.
By now, he seemed to have completely given up on getting married and had no interest in women.
He is a poor person.
“I’ll look for it… Wait, wait.”
Uncle Posao sighed heavily and rummaged around somewhere else.
While waiting, I leisurely looked around the store to see what was available.
There are all sorts of things.
A wooden birdcage, an obsidian bracelet, a long piece of paper with an unknown character written on it.
There are basic tools, and looking at clean, dust-free pieces of silk hanging, it seems like they have been importing something until recently.
Then, I found something unusual in a corner.
“What is this?”
Thick tree branches protruding unnecessarily above the display case.
It looked good for pulling down rather than hanging something.
Just like Tia’s wooden door.
It feels like a secret smell.
As if led, she stretched out her hand and pulled the branch.
Geek!
Then, there was a clicking sound and the display case itself felt like it was slightly raised.
Looking down, there was another space under the display case.
When I pushed the display case to the side…
Slurp-clunk!
The backspace was revealed.
I couldn’t help but be surprised to see what was there.
“… “Book?”
“Uh, uh-uh. Ritz!”
Uncle Posao rushed over in a hurry.
There were thin books on the bookshelf.
There were quite a few. About 30 volumes.
Compared to the 〈 World Adventure Book 〉 that Tia bought, it is only a copy that is much smaller and made of cheaper material.
Considering the value of books, they are definitely an awkward item to have in this mountain general store.
The man explained urgently.
“I hid it because it was expensive…”
“Sorry. “I didn’t know there was a book here.”
“What I heard recently…”
“Are all those for sale?”
“There are things for sale, there are…” …”
“Then can I just look at one?”
“Yeah, yeah…”
I lifted my heel and looked to see what books there were.
〈Deseo Special Dishes 30〉
〈The runaway hermit and the young princess〉
〈Travel to Rottenbahn and Charrak Mountains〉
〈Basics of hunting starting with bow and arrow〉
They say it’s a general store, but they only have miscellaneous books.
It feels like everything was taken haphazardly from somewhere in the market.
I couldn’t find anything particularly interesting to read.
〈Rottenbahn and Charrak Mountains Travelogue〉 was a title that Tia might like.
She stretched out her arm and took out a book.
Palak-.
When I unfolded it, the storage condition was not as good as expected.
It was full of hand stains and dust, and the print had a lot of smeared parts, so I didn’t think there would be a positive response even if I bought it for Tia.
When I returned the book, Uncle Posao asked.
“I don’t like it… ?”
“I was thinking about giving Tia a gift, but I don’t have anything suitable.”
“… Tia.”
The man, who was thinking about something for a moment, asked again.
“T-Tia… Where is it?”
“I’m in the mountains now.”
“With Luev… ?”
… !!
It feels like I got hit in the back of the head with a hammer.
How does this person know that?
As if reading my thoughts, the man immediately explained.
“Nana… I saw it during the day. In the mountains… Tia and Luev… We were together… Hehe…”
“That’s right. She said she was going to Behe Mors.”
“However… It was a little strange…”
“It’s strange?”
Uncle Posao testified with a very serious expression.
“Luev… To Tia… I did it.”
“Yes? Please tell me in detail.”
My breathing became difficult.
What on earth did Ruyev do?
Uncle Posao’s black eyes looked straight at me.
“Membrane… Don’t hug, don’t touch… It was the same.”
“… “Really?”
“Really…”
I suddenly feel like my head is spinning.
At the same time, the blood in my entire body boiled.
The man continued to say.
“Luev holding Tia’s hand…”
“Stop. “Wait a minute.”
I can’t breathe.
It feels like I’ve forgotten how to breathe.
Know. About that much.
Tia and Ruev went to Behemoth.
I couldn’t cross the line, and it was the village chief’s will, so I could understand it.
However, an indescribable feeling of discomfort rose up at the part where Ruev ‘hug’ Tia.
Why? Tia is not mine either.
Why am I so mad?
Likewise, Tia… I don’t know what Tia was thinking, but she never told me not to be alone with Luev or to hold her hand.
… But, it’s so dirty, annoying, and unpleasant that it makes you grind your teeth.
Have I ever felt this angry lately?
It’s nothing to be angry about. Why so…
You want to go up to the mountain right now and separate those two, right?
Before I knew it, my feet were turning.
“I’m sorry, but I’ll go now.”
“Naaah- Lee, Ritsu! What is Luvsu herb?”
“Please bring it to the pharmacy tomorrow.”
“Hey, drugstore? Hehe… Ah, Okay!…”
As soon as I left the general store, I immediately ran up to the village.
