It was April, and spring had brought a vibrant energy to Kaina Village.
With the season of budding greenery and sprouting fields upon them, the village children were preoccupied with playing outdoors. Meanwhile, the adults were busy tilling the earth and preparing to plant their crops. The wheat sown the previous autumn had grown tall, making the constant task of weeding the fields essential.
"Hanna-chan, there are tons over here!"
"Well, I've already picked this many!"
Hanna and Patty, a girl a year her junior, were busy gathering wild herbs along the banks of the Erme River. They were collecting angelica, cress, and kryptona—herbs that even children could identify easily. Since there were no poisonous look-alikes in the area, they could forage without any worry.
Angelica was a fragrant herb, while cress added a delightful piquancy to porridge or zousui. Kryptona, on the other hand, was perfect as a garnish for soup.
"Ah, I found you, Hanna-chan!"
The voice belonged to the tomboyish Jessie, who came jogging over to join them.
During this season, the village girls were always busy foraging. They visited every place where the green was returning—riverbanks, open fields, and the edges of the forest—to gather nature's bounty. By enjoying the spring hills overflowing with life after the long winter, they replenished the vitamins their bodies had likely lacked during the cold months. Even without understanding the science behind it, the tradition of spring foraging had been passed down from parent to child and child to grandchild for generations.
The children gathered herbs until the long spring day began to fade, stopping at the hot springs to wash away their sweat before heading home.
"Ahhh, that feels so good..."
"Hanna-chan, I’ll scrub your back for you."
"Yeah, thanks!"
Inside the baths, the children took turns washing one another.
Shortly before Jin had left the village, he had taught them how to use Rita fruit to wash their bodies and clothes. The fruit ripened in autumn, but because it was known to be toxic if eaten, no one had ever touched it.
"This is just soapberry, isn't it?" Jin had muttered back then. He had gathered a large quantity, dried them in the sun, and crushed them into a powder. When a bit of water was added and the powder was rubbed, it produced a lather that stripped away dirt.
"If you use it every day, your skin will get irritated, so try to use it only when you're really dirty," he had advised.
Until then, the villagers had used wood ash lye for laundry, but the powder made from the Rita fruit was far more effective. It hadn't taken long for the entire village to start gathering the fruit for themselves.
"I'm home, Grandma!"
"Welcome back, Hanna. My, you’ve gathered quite a lot."
Martha narrowed her eyes affectionately as she looked at the basket full of wild herbs Hanna carried. "I'll make all sorts of things with these for dinner tonight."
"Yay! I can't wait!"
That evening, they enjoyed wild herb salads and boiled greens, accompanied by bread made from finely sifted wheat flour.
"It's so good."
"Well, Hanna picked them herself, so of course they’re delicious."
The dinner hour passed in pleasant conversation.
Night came early in Kaina Village. In most households, bedtime arrived shortly after the sun dipped below the horizon. As for illumination, torches and animal fat lamps were considered a luxury, so few families used them regularly.
"Goodnight, Grandma."
"Goodnight, Hanna."
At Martha’s house, they ate dinner at five in the evening and were tucked into bed by seven. In exchange for the early nights, everyone rose early. They were out of bed as soon as the sun began to rise.
"Morning, ma'am."
"Morning, Hanna-chan."
The villagers gathered at the communal well to rinse their mouths and wash their faces.
"Onii-chan..."
Whenever she pumped the handle to draw water, Hanna always found herself thinking of Jin.
"...I wonder if he’s doing okay."
Later that day, Hanna set out for the mountains to gather more wild vegetables, riding the Golem horse, Mint. Her companion for the trip was the golem, Gen. Of course, Gen's return was still a secret, so he moved through the shadows, ensuring neither Hanna nor the other villagers would notice him.
With the rhythmic clip-clop of hooves, Hanna headed toward the peaks.
"Ah, look, it’s Hanna-chan!" the other children called out when they spotted her.
"Hanna-chan is so lucky!"
Hanna was the only one in the village with her own private horse. The others had to share the five communal Golem horses: Ein, Zwei, Drei, Quatre, and Cinq. While they could borrow them by asking the Village Chief, everyone envied Hanna for having her own companion.
"Onii-chan made Mint just for me," Hanna whispered, stroking the horse's neck.
Mint didn't slow her pace as they left the meadows and transitioned onto the mountain paths, treading upward with steady, powerful strides. They reached the summit of the small mountain in about twenty minutes—more than twice as fast as traveling on foot.
Kaina Village looked tiny in the distance below. Hanna remembered coming here last year with Jin to gather medicinal herbs. But she couldn't dwell on the past forever.
"I need to find those vegetables."
Dismounting from Mint, Hanna immediately began her search. One of her targets today was lily bulbs. Usually, these were harvested in the autumn after the foliage had withered, but they hadn't been able to come up last year due to the mountain deer incident.
The other target was mountain leeks. These were prized as wild vegetables but were also known to be excellent for nourishment and stamina—perfect for a body slightly weakened by the long winter. Hanna knew exactly what to look for. In particular, there was a poisonous plant that looked very similar to the mountain leek, but she knew the secret to telling them apart. Hanna was a clever girl.
She continued her foraging until just before noon, stopping once her basket was full. After tying the basket securely to Mint, she climbed into the saddle for the return trip. The descent was even faster, taking less than fifteen minutes.
"I'm home!"
"Welcome back, Hanna. Good work. You didn't get hurt, did you?"
"Nope!"
"Good. Lunch will be ready soon, so go wash your hands."
"Okay!"
After unloading the basket from Mint, Hanna headed to the well to wash up.
That afternoon, the merchant Roland’s carriage arrived in the village.
"Ah, Mr. Roland, we've been expecting you."
"Mr. Giebeck, it’s been a while. It’s certainly gotten warmer, hasn't it?"
"Yes, it truly has."
His last visit had been a month and a half ago during the dead of winter, so the atmosphere was quite different now.
"Still no word from Jin-san?"
"No, he hasn't returned yet."
Roland had this same conversation with the Village Chief every time he visited.
"I see... I was really hoping to stock up on those rubber balls."
The rubber balls Jin had crafted and sold had become quite popular. However, since Jin was the only one who could make them, there was no inventory to be had.
"Well, can't be helped if they aren't here."
Following their usual routine, Roland sold food, salt, and seasonings to the village and purchased fire magi-stones in return. Hanna watched the exchange from a short distance away.
Soon, night returned.
A slight breeze had picked up, so Hanna went to close the window. As she did, she remembered that these windows with the mica panes were also something Jin had made for them.
Four months had passed since Jin had disappeared, but Hanna still couldn't bring herself to forget him. Through the window, she looked up at the night sky, where the stars were twinkling brightly.