“Just as I thought...”
When she unwrapped the cloth around Kururu’s knee, Adriana found the wound was slightly festering.
“Dirt has gotten into the injury. If we leave it like this, we might even have to take the leg off, you know?”
“What?! No! I don’t want that!”
At Adriana’s playful scare, Kururu’s eyes began to tear up. Adriana hurriedly moved to soothe her.
“C-Calm down. I’m going to treat it right now so that doesn’t happen.”
“Sniff... Really?”
“Yes, really. It might sting a little, but please try to be brave.”
Adriana spoke in a gentle, persuasive tone. The older sister, Maruru, squeezed her younger sister’s hand.
“Kururu, big sister is right here with you.”
“Okay...”
With that settled, the three of them moved to the dirt-floored entryway.
“Alright, let’s get you fixed up....‘Condense.’”
She began by producing clean water to wash out the wound.
“Ow, it hurts!”
“Bear with it. It only hurts for a moment. ‘Kurasshi’ (Classification).”
Since she couldn't easily remove the sand that had worked its way into the wound, Adriana decided to try her Craft Magic, ‘Kurasshi.’
“...There, it’s out.”
While Craft Magic generally doesn't affect living organisms, sand is inanimate, allowing her to extract it successfully.
“‘Sterilization,’ ‘Cure.’”
She followed up by sterilizing the area and applying Healing Magic...
“It doesn’t hurt anymore! It’s all better! Amazing! Ado, thank you!”
Hearing the commotion, the mother, Baise, peeked into the entryway to see what was happening.
“Oh, Mom, look! Ado healed my leg! See!”
Kururu pointed proudly to her perfectly healed right knee. After a moment of surprise, Baise smiled warmly.
“My, that’s wonderful. Ado, thank you so much.”
“No, you’re very welcome.”
Adriana felt a swell of pride; she was glad she could help.
“Ado, thank you. Let’s go to our room next!”
“Sure.”
At Maruru’s invitation, Adriana headed toward the girls' room.
The Village Chief’s house was a single-story building. It was reasonably spacious, containing a dirt-floored entryway, a kitchen, a dining room, a living room, a reception room, a guest room, and the family’s private quarters.
The sisters shared a single room. That said, it was a large space, roughly the size of twelve tatami mats.
“Do you both go to school?”
“School? What’s that?”
The younger sister, Kururu, asked in return, while Maruru tilted her head in confusion.
“Well, it’s a place where they teach you things like reading, writing, and math...”
As she explained, Adriana realized that such institutions didn't exist in this village—and likely didn't exist in most of the world.
“I can read! I can even write my name!” Kururu chirped.
“In this village, our parents teach us how to write our names at the very least. As for math... I think I can manage addition and subtraction,” Maruru explained.
Adriana reflected for a moment, wondering if she had asked something insensitive.
“U-Um, about how many people live in this village?” she asked, quickly changing the subject.
“I believe I heard there are forty-one houses,” Maruru said.
“And there are 172 people living here!” Kururu added.
Both of them were well-informed, as expected of the Village Chief’s daughters. Adriana didn't have much experience socializing with people her own age, but thanks to the friendly sisters, she was able to learn a great deal about the village.
＊ ＊ ＊
While they were chatting, Baise poked her head in.
“It’s a bit early, but lunch is ready.”
“Okay, Mom!”
“Yay! I’m starving!”
Watching the sisters run toward the dining room, Baise turned to Adriana and gestured for her to follow. “Please, come join us.”
“Um, me too...?” Adriana asked hesitantly.
Baise nodded warmly. “Of course. You are our guest.”
“Thank you very much...”
The four of them took their seats at the table. The Village Chief, Meuto, was out working and was not present for the meal.
“Ah, Moule Pot! Mom, I love this!”
Seeing that lunch was her favorite dish, Kururu beamed at Baise. Maruru also looked delighted.
“It’s a bit chilly today, after all. Just what I’d expect from you, Mother.”
Adriana had never known a mother of her own. Watching Kururu and Maruru laughing with Baise, she felt a small pang of envy.
The ‘Moule Pot’ was a stew made with local vegetables and a mix of fish, shellfish, and seaweed caught in the nearby sea. It was somewhat similar to the Ishikari stew of modern Japan.
The seasoning was simple salt, and no proper dashi stock had been prepared beforehand. Even so, the fish, shellfish, and seaweed provided a wonderful natural broth that made the dish quite delicious.
“Oh, it’s my first time having this, but it’s wonderful.”
When Adriana spoke her thoughts aloud, Baise smiled at her.
“Is that so? There are second helpings, so please eat as much as you like.”
The fish was so tender it fell apart at the touch of a spoon, and the vegetables were cooked to the perfect point just before they would have lost their shape. In contrast, the shellfish was plump and chewy. Having never tasted a home-cooked meal like this before, Adriana ended up having three helpings.
“Thank you for the feast.”
Hearing Adriana’s phrase after she finished, the three family members tilted their heads in unison.
“Oh, this is just a custom in my house,” Adriana explained. It was a habit she had been taught by Shuuki.
“Huh. Come to think of it, you said something like ‘I humbly...’ before we started eating, didn't you?”
Kururu had sharp ears; she had apparently caught the whispered “I humbly receive” Adriana had muttered under her breath.
“Yes, I say ‘I humbly receive’ before the meal. I was taught that both phrases are meant to show gratitude to the person who prepared the food and to the ingredients themselves.”
“‘I humbly receive’ and ‘Thank you for the feast,’ huh? Yes, those are lovely words.”
Maruru nodded with a bright smile. Kururu and Baise were equally impressed.
“They’re easy to say, too.”
“They really have quite a deep meaning, don't they?”
However, there was one thing that bothered Adriana throughout the meal. While she didn't mind that the spoons were wooden, the forks only had two prongs.
Furthermore, the prongs were rounded. They were essentially two wires twisted together with the tips split and sharpened; because of this, when she tried to spear the soft fish, it was difficult to bring it to her mouth without it falling apart.
Adriana didn't know it, but the three- and four-pronged forks common in the future were designs proposed by Shuuki that had not yet reached rural areas.
She eventually gave up and used her spoon to scoop up the fish and vegetables that crumbled under the fork, but it continued to nag at her.
(Maybe I’ll try consulting the blacksmith master later...) Adriana thought.
By the time they finished, the rain had stopped, the fog had lifted, and the blue sky began to peek through.