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The Blazing Silo
There was a great noise from afar. There was a constant sound like the sounds of a stick hitting the back of a pot *kan kan* being heard incessantly. The sounds of a great number of people and angry roars. They are being carried by the wind to reach this place. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
I woke up with a start. It is still the dead of the night. I quietly got up inside a room without a single light. Next to me is my mother and also my father - who was dead drunk as usual - lying down on the bed. They don’t seem to have noticed this unusual event.
Since I turned 2 years old, my physical ability has improved a lot. Not only have I become able to walk, I have also become able to go up and down the steps. But still, the window in this room is a little too high. Though I would be able to climb up to see if there are items of luggage piled up.
I left the room, trying to check the situation. The height of summer has passed, and it’s about time for the air to start to feel cooler. But still, this is the countryside, so we left the windows and doors open. I left the house easily.
Since our house is located on a high ground, the outskirts of the village, I can look out at the entire village from here. Most of all, this is not a world where there are electric lights, so it is impossible to enjoy the night view. You can see the faintly pale roof of the village houses on a moonlit night, but that’s it. But on this particular night, that wasn’t the case.
The center of the village was dyed red. Several tall buildings are engulfed in flames, reaching to the skies. A large number of villagers are drawing water with buckets and splashing it on the fire while clamoring. However, it’s already a waste of time at this point.
But that’s not the important point. Right now, the building that is going up in flames is clearly not an ordinary house. If my memory serves me right, that was.....
I hurried back into the house. I enter the bedroom and shake my mother awake. Before long, she opened her eyes, but clearly she was displeased by my action.
「Maーma, outside, outside」
Pathetically, the language of this world that I can speak is still at this level. Well, of course it is. My parents are not at home and there are few opportunities for me to talk. Even if I have the ability to think as an adult, there are no opportunities to learn, so it is useless.
She follows me outside while ruffling her hair and scratching her head. Then, she saw the center of the village go up in flames. As expected, even her expression changes after seeing that. After standing still in place, hesitating, trying to go ahead or turning around several times, she quickly dashes inside the house and changes into her shoes. After that, she grabbed a bucket under the eaves and ran toward the village at an incredible speed. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
It was a serious crisis she couldn’t ignore, even for an outcast in the village like her. Yes, the building that is burning right now….is the silo with wheat inside.
The next morning, a gloomy atmosphere shrouded the center of the village.
The people of the village are collapsing near the silo that survived the fire. No wonder. Most of the harvested wheat was burned up.
The wheat is important as payment for taxes to the lord who governs this area. The grain yield this year was clearly not as good compared to last year. So naturally, even without the sudden fire, the village didn’t have the means to pay the tax imposed on this village at the start. Although I have insufficient understanding of what they said, I could tell what’s going on if I make out the fragmentary conversations among the adults, the tense atmosphere, and the poor field.
Although things would have still been manageable if this incident hadn’t happened. Apparently, the Linga village chief went to the lord’s fortress to ask for a reduction the other day. It will ultimately be a loss for the lord themselves if the people within the territory were to die from starvation. It seems like they talked about something like that. And sure enough, the lord smiled and acknowledged the tax reduction request in the end.
Incidentally, that all became pointless with this incident. Not to mention the portion to be paid as tax, we don’t even have enough to eat. We can’t even secure the seed rice for next year. The meager supplies each household stores are almost all the food they have for the future. In other words, this village won’t be able to hold on until the next spring and be wiped out by starvation at this rate.
So the village chief called all the villagers since the village has fallen into the worst situation. Talking about how to survive this disaster. However, there was an argument that occurred immediately before they could talk about that.
Two men are glaring at each other. They look as though they are going to jump out toward each other, but the surrounding men intervene and stop them. The cause of the argument was obviously the source of the fire this time, and who was the arsonist.
They are arguing ‘You were the one causing the fire, weren’t you?’. But, thinking normally, would anyone use fire right next to completely dried wheat? Suppose that was so and there was a fire, what action would the person who made the fire take? Unless you were really drunk, you would have shouted and called for help. This is not something where it’s okay as long as the culprit was not found. Even if there were suspicions among people, the whole village would inevitably starve.
Looking closely, I can see that even my father was being accused in the corner. That was probably because he was still half asleep and didn’t come to the actual scene of the fire. But there’s nothing he can do about that. He was isolated in a house on the outskirts of the village so it shouldn’t be possible to easily notice any sounds.
But it’s unproductive to search for the culprit right now. Knowing this, the village chief didn’t bring it up in their discussion. Even so, the villagers are quarreling among themselves so he silently observes everything while combing through his long white beard.
He took a step forward at a suitable time and loudly shouted. With that, the commotion in the area suddenly changed and fell completely silent. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
There was nothing that could be done.
Up until last year, they hadn’t suffered such a bad harvest but.....from what I hear - though from smattering words I could understand - the lord’s taxes were heavy, and either way, it will probably be impossible even if people were to save. The village has no food supplies. Including the taxes, everything was completely burned up. Naturally, we have no money. We will be completely wiped out if we do nothing.
As far as I could understand, the village chief’s arguments were roughly as follows. Resolutely asking for a full tax exemption from the lord. But the debt will be paid in installments starting next year onward. Even if everyone does that, the villagers will still have no food. So the unmarried village girls will be sold as slaves as a necessary measure if possible. Of course, it’s the same for men, but if they reduce the number of people too much, it will have an effect on the productivity for the next year onward. If you put it that way, reducing the number of young women would mean there wouldn’t be enough marriage partners, but…..in the end, we can just bring in brides from another village, and even if marriages are delayed a little, it will be much better than having the village being annihilated. And for that reason, only men who volunteer to leave the starving village should become slaves.
It was a cruel decision, but if you ask me if there are other ways to get out of this situation, there are none. Besides, even the young women who got sold off can at least survive. As there is no way people who couldn’t afford food and drink would want a slave.
In addition, the village chief commanded that each house contribute food and funds. Of course, there are voices of opposition to this, but it was immediately silenced. It is something people could figure out with a little thought. This is a small village. There’s nowhere to escape to. Even if they hoard just enough food for themselves and their families, once the starvation progresses, looting will inevitably occur. So there won’t be any fight if it is redistributed equally. Of course, people can convert their household belongings into money and use that money to buy food.
After the talk was settled, the village chief immediately departed from the village, riding a donkey, bringing with him the strongest man and a small man.
Silence dominated the square after that. No one tries to move. Occasionally, a low groaning sound can be heard. Everyone was crouching down on the ground with a vacant expression.
Among them were the figures of parents and children embracing each other in grief. That’s understandable. The village girls will probably be sold off soon. We have a little time together left. I still don’t quite understand what kind of status a slave in this world has, but even if they have no problem getting something to eat, they would probably be unable to see their family’s face again, unless they were blessed with extraordinary luck.
Meanwhile, I was thinking about myself. As you can see, this body is that of a 2-year-old kid. Will my parents or the adults around protect a powerless child like me? No. It doesn’t seem to be that way, judging from the current atmosphere. My parents were troublemakers in the village; moreover, I am a child born of adultery.
So would I get sold off? I’d prefer that to happen. For the past two years, ever since I was born, I have been abused by the folks in this village, including both of my parents. Of course, not everyone was abusing me, but there were no such things as people who protected me. So I don’t have any lingering attachment even if I were to leave this village, as the environment as a slave might be much better than here.
But, after all, I’m 2 year 2-year-old kid. I’m speech-impaired, and my body is also small. I wonder if I have any market value if I don’t can’t do any work? www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
The most frightening scenario in this situation is not becoming a slave. If I got unsold as a slave or was never even considered for sale in the first place.....then I’m going to be abandoned, quietly, silently, and as if it was natural. Moreover, I won’t be able to take any measures against that situation. There’s no way someone at this age would say something like 「Please sell me」.
Goodness. My death in my previous life was a traffic accident. And that was an instantaneous incident, and I didn’t feel any pain since the shock was too great. But what about now? This time I’m in a situation where I can’t escape and to slowly starve to death.....
I wonder how long I've been worrying about the current situation. As the sun was already risen right above our heads and our shadows had become smaller and darker, we heard loud, agitated noises coming from near the village’s exit.
I casually looked back, wondering if there was another fight going on. And sure enough, a man with a face covered in bruises and clothes stained red in various places came into my sight.
Just as I was thinking coldly ‘who’s causing such a flashy fight at this time’, a jolt like an electric shock ran through my back. That.....isn’t that the village chief!
Half of his prized beard was cut off. And it appears that he was also missing several teeth. The other short man who came with him also had an awfully swollen cheek, perhaps he was severely hit by someone. As for the other large man, he was nowhere to be seen. Come to think of it, I don’t see the donkey either.
What’s the meaning of this? The three of them were heading to the castle where the lord lives, weren’t they? Even if it’s just a one-way trip it should have been a distance that would take more than a day. It had been about two hours since the village chief gathered everyone, gave out instructions, and then set off, maybe more.
The village chief is yelling something in a hoarse voice. Unfortunately, I can’t clearly hear it. But judging from the villagers’ expression in my surrounding, I could grasp that they were startled and in despair. I wonder if it was a bad news.
The mother and daughter pair who had been crying and embracing each other nearby until just now stood up with a stunned look on their faces. The hands that were once tightly held each other, never letting go, are now weakly separated. And then, with unsteady steps, they start to return to their house. What the heck happened?
Suddenly, I saw my parents also walking - staggering - toward our house on the hill. And it’s like they even register me in their eyes. It was pointless, even if I called them, so I ran after them. I wonder if they’re going to tell me if I ask about this situation. Seems difficult.
If that’s the case, then I will think about it in my own way. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
What is the goal of the group heading out of the village? We were unable to pay the tax even after it was reduced due to the sudden fire. So, they went to seek even more mercy from the lord.
But then, an incident happened two hours after their departure. The village chief, the big man, the small man, and the donkey set out of the village, but people returning were the village chief and the little man, covered in wounds. The lord’s castle should be farther than that, so a trouble occurred before that.
Thinking of it this way, who is the most suspicious among them? Probably the large man. In order to escape from the starvation that was about to strike the village, I’m sure he must have also feigned preparation by taking all the valuables from his house and then, along the way, beaten up the two people and stolen the village chief’s donkey to escape.
Indeed, that was a piece of sad news. Violence had already broken out in the looming famine.
While I was thinking about this and that, I somehow arrived at my house alone. A brutal showdown was taking place there.
My father and mother are fighting for the jar filled with wheat. Using his physique to his advantage, he snatched the jar from my mother, and he kicked her down as she tried to cling to it. Apparently, my father also chose to take the same path as that large man.
According to what the village chief said before setting off, all food supplies will be managed collectively, moreover, all household belongings that can be sold will be converted into money. So, trying to hog all the food for themselves will be considered an act of treachery to the entire vilalge at this point.
But for some reason, my father didn’t try to escape after snatching the jar, but withdrew to the back room. What does that act mean? No way, could it be my mother was the person who tried to make off with the food?
Recovering from the pain and standing up, my mother crawled to the back of the kitchen without looking at me and dragged out a jar of liquor. Hearing the noise, my father comes half running. Seeing that, she raised the jar above her head. It was a declaration of her intent, ‘I will smash this if you come closer’.
The two of them were glaring at each other for a while, but in the end, my father reluctantly withdrew. And so, my parents paid no attention to me as they shut themselves in a separate room while protecting the food they obtained.
Even after waiting until evening, the strange thing is that the situation remained the same. No one came to our house to collectively manage food or money. I wonder why no one carried out the village chief’s order?
I step out of the front door and look down on the village. There were no signs of people walking around. An ominous silence enveloped the village. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
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