Sleepyhead Sees You From 100 Days Ago 78

Chapter 78 – Chapter 3: Training – 2

Ritsu’s body was gradually coming back.

Today, I went to the stream early in the morning to do laundry.

I also had to remove the blood stains on the sheets, so I worked harder than usual.

After washing in cold water for a while, I hung Ritz’s clothes and sheets on the line.

“Ha-.”

She stretched out her back and finally took a breath.
Should we go back and make some stew now?

I think Ritz is hungry because we’ve been giving him too little food lately.

Can I slightly increase the amount?

While I was taking a break while thinking about that, someone approached me.

It was Ruyev.

“Ah, Loop! Good morning!”

“Hello, Tia.”

“Are you going to cut wood today too?”

“I have to go. “A little later.”

Saying that, Ruyev flopped down next to him.

“What about Marie? Are you okay?”

“It’s still okay, though. It could get worse again. In the first place… It’s not like a disease that can be cured.”

I rubbed my blue eyes, feeling a little tired.

“Mari’s ‘physique’ is like that. Unlike us, their bodies were weak from birth. “I’m just lucky as long as I stay healthy.”

“… I see.”

“Did anything happen to you?”

Ruev’s eyes turned to my face.

He nodded.

“Huh. Nothing happened.”

“I see.”

There was no word for a moment.

Ruyev sat on the grass and looked down at the village.

Unlike my house, Aunt Sherry’s house was on a hill, so I could clearly see below.

When I was here, I could see what people were doing.

The scenery is nice too. Moreover, my aunt also took care of the garden, so Ritz and I often rested here.

It’s a cold but quite refreshing windy morning.

Ruyev said.

“I heard the news. “The delivery team that departed two months ago was attacked midway through.”

“Oh, yes.”

“I heard a lot of people died. “What on earth happened there?”

“I am…”

In fact, he simply explained ‘everything’ that had happened so far to the villagers.

He just went to Deseo safely, got medicine, and came back.

All processes in between were intentionally omitted.

In order to properly understand the story I experienced, ‘Uncle Posao’ had to appear.

And the villagers really hated Uncle Posao.

If I said something pointless, it was obvious what would happen.

“So that’s…”

I remembered a memory from two months ago.

There was so much to say.

First, get rid of the appearance of Uncle Posao.

The empty holes in the story were filled with plausible facts.

“I went up the mountain for a while to look for her older sister, who I became close with at her tribute… At that time, bandits attacked. “I happened to survive because I was a little far away.”

“What next?”

“And then… I ran away like crazy. When she came to her senses, she realized that she was trapped in a mountain whose name she did not know. There were a lot of dangerous things, but in the end, I made it through the mountain and crossed the Mess Road.”

Ruyev looked slightly surprised.

When asked how he survived alone in the mountains, he explained that he saved his life by using a method he had read about in 〈 World Adventure Rock 〉.

Dig up tree roots, pick and eat fruit, make your own bow and arrows, and catch small animals.

On the way, he told me that he met an unknown village and stayed there for a few days.

As I took away my uncle’s existence, I somehow ended up becoming more and more like a woman with superhuman survival skills…

Ruyev didn’t really have any doubts.

The explanation was detailed, and questions were answered without hesitation, so luckily I was easily convinced.

Ruyev asked.

“It was a great thing. “Why didn’t you tell us in detail?”

“… I thought it would cause unnecessary worry. And she figured it didn’t matter, because it worked out anyway.”

“I see. It must have been difficult.”

“Lol-. No. “It’s all in the past.”

“…”

Luyev clenched his fists and rested his chin.
And he asked in an indifferent voice.

“Tia.”

“Huh?”

“Have you ever seen Posao when you were at the tribute station?”

“Uh, huh?”

She was startled and withdrew her arms.

Why?

I had no idea that Luyev would suddenly mention Uncle Posao first.

She calmed down her sagging chest and quickly relaxed her stiff expression.
She asked Ruyev who still had an unknown expression.

“What do you mean… ? “You saw Uncle Posao?”

“The day you left town. Posao is also gone. I still can’t see it. I think we probably got stuck in the public service group and started off together. “You really don’t know?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen it…”

Even though I’m lying, I don’t know if it’s right for me to lie now.

How much does Ruyev know now?

Because I had no idea what they were thinking of asking me this question.

Ah, I just thought I wanted to get away.

Ruev, who was staring at me, looked away and muttered.

“I guess he’s dead anyway. “It didn’t show up even after two months.”

“…”

“We finished the village meeting yesterday. I am planning to close the general store in Posao. “You don’t need to come along because you have to take care of Ritsu, but please know in advance.”

“… !”

I took a deep breath.

No.

Uncle Posao is not even dead.

I’m alive and well in Deseo.

And I’ll be back here soon.

“… Why?”

I barely asked as if I was squeezing.

Ruyev turned his eyes again.

Soft blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

But his eyes were as sharp as a wolf, as always.

“‘Why’?”

“Why are you planning to close that general store?”

“If there is no owner, I have to take it out.”

“You can come back, right? I don’t even know if Uncle Posao is really dead…”

“He suddenly disappeared without saying a word. There is no way to know where he is alive or dead, but in the village, such disappearance is considered death.”

“Yeah, but… ! Is it okay to do whatever you want like that? What if Uncle Posao really comes back later?”

“It’s Posao’s fault for not making his whereabouts clear. We just follow the rules of the village.”

Ruev added, speaking in a cold voice.

“And honestly, I didn’t expect this kind of reaction. “I thought you would be happy if I told you that I was going to clean out the general store.”

“I… ?”

“You hated Posao. “You never tried to go to the general store that Ritz visited a few times.”

It was like that.

I truly hated Uncle Posao.

It was like that even before I left this village.

Ruyev is not mistaken.

… But now I have forgiven everything.

I was able to treat my uncle like a friend again.

Although he is a bit stuffy, fat, and lazy.

I saw a warmer heart than anyone else hidden inside.

I clenched my fist.

“Withdrawing the general store… “I would like you to wait a little bit.”

“Hmm?”

“It’s because I don’t understand.”

He spoke in a firm voice.

“People… Since when have you been so worried about Uncle Posao?”

Ruev’s eyebrows twitched.

“… Tia.”

“I have nothing to say because I’m a woman, but is there someone who patrols the general store? Did you invite Uncle Posao every time there was a village meeting? From the beginning, I didn’t even think of them as being from the ‘same’ village. “Why do we apply our village’s rules in times like this?”

I know.

I know why the villagers are suddenly imposing rules and trying to force it.

The village chief passed away, and Ritz fell asleep.

Since there is not enough firewood, Ruyev still has to climb the mountain to cut wood.

In this situation where everything is lacking and insufficient.

He plans to use whatever items are left at the general store to get through the winter.

But.

“This… “Don’t you think it’s too cruel?”

Luyev crossed his arms and closed his mouth.

“…”

He looked quite embarrassed at first, but his eyes soon turned cold.
He took a deep sigh.

He looked back at me with a face colder than ice.

A hard voice rang in my ears.

“I’m sorry for saying this. Tia, you… “I have no right to blame people.”

“What… ?”

“This is why things have come to this point. Because your fault is absolutely huge.”

Kwaak.

It feels like a nail is being driven into my chest.

I felt dizzy and couldn’t move.

“Of course you have been through a difficult journey for two months. You must have gone to a place called Deseo and worked hard. “I must have obtained that medicine solely with the thought of bringing Ritz back to life.”

Ruyev’s heavy voice took my breath away.

“But that doesn’t mean the villagers appreciate you. In any case, what you did was a ‘fix’, Tia. We fought illness for the entire two months you were gone. Taking care of Ritz, who had turned into a stone, was overwhelming, but sick people were popping up here and there one after another. I couldn’t do anything during the fall harvest season. And finally, the village chief and Madrina passed away. “I’m just thankful to my younger brother for surviving that hellish fall.”

“…”

“You had a hard time getting medicine from Deseo? So, did you think they would praise us for doing a good job? Don’t be mistaken. It’s not because people are stupid that they don’t tell you anything. “Because everyone clearly knows that all of this happened because Ritsu fell.”

As if a sentence had been handed down.

A sharp stake pierces the heart.

“The thing that caused the villagers to die… It’s you. Tia.”

It hurts.

My chest hurt so much that I couldn’t breathe.

My throat felt tight because it was clogged.

“…”

He was silent for a moment.

He jumped up from his seat as if he had decided to do something.

“I will try to convince you to withdraw the general store. But keep this in mind, Tia.”

Ruyev slowly goes down the hill.

He left his final warning to me.

“Nevertheless, to the villagers who accept you… “You should always be thankful.”

Hwiooooo-.

With the sound of winter approaching.

The hill suddenly became quiet.

Ritz’s clothes fluttering on her clothesline hit my cheek.
A cold wind seeps into my empty chest.

His tied hair also fluttered and tried to follow the wind.

She lowered her head. He got down on his knees.
Because he had no strength, his shoulders slumped.

Ruyev is right.

I haven’t done anything well.

What I did… It was a nuisance from start to finish.

What on earth have I accomplished on my own?

I’m the one who turned Ritz into that situation.

You were so proud that you brought a DN booth.

… How different did I look to the villagers during that time?

Sabak. Sabak.

Someone else comes up the hill.

I thought Ruev had come back, but it turned out to be Aunt Merid.

My aunt was looking at me between her clotheslines.

“… Ah. There you are, Tia.”

“Yes…”

Aunt Merid’s eyes felt unfamiliar.

“What about Ritz?”

“I’m getting healthier.”

“Okay. “It looks like you have a lot of free time now, right?”

Why?

It seemed like there was a sharp blade hidden in the clear voice.

“Yes. Hehe-.”

She scratched her head and tried to smile.
As she entered her aunt’s house, she said,

“… I also have time to sit and get some fresh air.”

Rattling.

The door was closed.

“…”

How she got her breath back then, she couldn’t remember.