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Picnic With Everyone
The gentle wind caresses my cheeks. The air is moist and warm. Looking at the far side of the grassland, I can see the short grasses bend towards me - one after another - from a distance. And just as they reached my feet, I was hit by a gust of wild spring breeze.
White clouds are floating scattered in the sky. But it is a clear blue sky. Looking up at the unobstructed view, the sky is truly vast. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
Today is the twentieth of the Emerald month. I was allowed to go outside the facility for the first time. Come to think of it, I was brought to the housing facility when I was 2 years old and was kept there for 4 years. Of course, I flew around outside by transforming into a bird, but freely walking with my own feet touching the ground like this really feels like it has been a long time.
We had free time to move around the town last time so this time it was a picnic. There are several pretty spots not far from the housing facility. This place is also one of those spots as it is a high ground close to the sea. It is a grassland on top of a hill. The wildflowers are small and lovely, but they bloom in various colors. The reflection of light on the undulating sea surface is also pretty, but if you turn your back to the sea, you will see the forest, and beyond that is a lake.
Actually, I have known about this place for a long time. It was because I dropped by here several times when I was taking a walk as a bird. And because of that, the emotional impact of seeing this place may have been slightly decreased.
「Yosーhh, you guys! You are free to do your own thing until noon! I will be here! Call me if anything happens!」
Jusa serves as the one leading the children this time. Just by looking at his face alone, he may seem like a frightening person but he is actually a surprisingly kind person and all the children know it, so even Myluc assigned this job to him.
「Osshaaaa! Let’s go! Come on!」
There is no need to ask where. Kovol is really easy to understand. He has several fishing rods in his hand.
「You still haven’t learned your lesson?」
Wyst has a sarcastic smile on his face. Kovol went to fish with Wyst on the previous picnic. They decided to have a match on who can fish more than the other but the result was pitiful. Even though Wyst had caught over 10 fish, Kovol only managed to catch 1 fish at the last moment, and that was a small fish.
「What about you, Noor?」
I looked around the surroundings when Wyst asked. What to do. There are Dona, Dee, and even Tamaria a little distance away.
Yes, this time even Tamaria participated. Soon she is likely to be sent to the brothel, but as expected, Myluc is probably just being considerate. There is a shadow in Tamaria’s expression even now. I am sure that he must have thought that she would somehow recover if she had some contact with the other children.
So I thought, maybe I need to pay attention to her and be near her. But, in the meantime, they have run to the field of flowers together. There is no problem then.
「Then, I’ll join you」
「Yossha! It’s a match!」
Kovol happily shouted.
Well, certainly...., Kovol might be a good match with me. In my previous life, I had challenged myself to fish in the 36 years of my life before I died, but I have never caught a single fish throughout my life. Not only in the rivers or the sea, even in fishing ponds. Naturally, I have zero achievement even in this world.
The 3 of us sat on top of a large, round rock by the cool lakeside. Each of us casts our fishing line far. The fishing hook creates ripples on the water's surface, and once they disappear, the surroundings are enveloped in silence. Occasionally, we could hear the chirping sound of birds in the distance. The air is so clean, it is refreshing, and even the lake surface at my feet is incredibly clear. Perhaps it is also due to the wind directions that cause this. This is such a luxurious time.
「Oh, right away, a hit」
As expected of Wyst. Even though he did the same thing as us - as far as I can tell -, I wonder if it just comes down to skill after all. The float is twitching. He reels in the fish with practiced movements and eventually catches it. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
「Already. Amazing」
「I was just lucky」
With a broad smile on his face, he casts his fishing hook into the lake again. The sound of it hitting the water's surface can be heard a distance away. Round ripples appear on the water surface, which was previously like a scratchless glass window. That too, also disappears quickly.
「……something.....I wonder what.....」
Wyst was trying to put his feelings into words but was at a loss.
「What?」
「Ahー....no, I mean, this place, it is such a beautiful place」
「Un」
「The town we went to the other day was not this beautiful but it had a lot of interesting places instead」
「Un」
「Are we, happy? Or are we unhappy? Even though we should live in such a beautiful place, why does it always feel so suffocating?」
That is too philosophical a question for a 7-year-old kid to think about.
But, as someone with me previous life, I can give him the answer to that question. Although the answer may not be what he wishes for. However, Wyst is clever. In fact, it is to the point where I think he is twice his actual age.
「Try looking up at the sky」
「Hm?」
Hearing that, Wyst - and for some reason, Kovol too - looked up at the sky.
「It is this bright and light shining everywhere. But, look, this time look at the trees in the forest」
The 2 of them did as they were told and looked at the row of trees. This forest probably has quite a long history. The type and height of trees in those rows are almost the same. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
「They’re lush green」
Wyst says, admiring the beauty of the forest. But, that is not what I want him to see.
「We look at the forest and think, ‘what a nice place’. But, from those trees' standpoint, it is quite difficult. ‘Everyone is so tall. If I also don’t grow that tall like the other trees, I won’t be able to get sunlight. I will wither if I that happened.....’, that’s why all of them stretches above as far as they can. It is also the same with humans」
It is obvious with Kovol, but even Wyst looked at me with a strange look in their eyes. Well, that’s how it is. This conversation is not something that can be understood quickly.
「Meaning.....the reason why the trees in the forest have the same height is that, there will be some sort of disadvantage if they grow higher than that. Maybe they won’t be able to maintain a strong trunk, or it will require an incredible amount of nutrition….but, if you think about it, it is actually pointless. If everyone were equally short, they would be able to get the same amount of sunlight even if they didn’t make the effort and work hard to grow taller. In other words, you don’t have to work that hard, and you can just play around and have fun」
「O, ou」
Kovol tries to show that he is somehow keeping with the conversation while tilting his head thoughtfully. But, I am sure from his face that he doesn't understand even half of it.
「Human is also like that. Although we are born with a lot of things, we have used most of them just to compete in order to survive. Farmers working all day long, soldiers fighting with their lives on the line, and merchants buying the next goods using their fortune. Everyone is like that, right? Even at the border of the Esta Forestia Kingdom, our status as a slave, everything, is based on that kind of balance. But, that is also a lot of pointless effort」
I talk about each of them in turn, giving concrete examples. So if you think about it carefully, even children should be able to understand.
Back in my previous life, when I told the adults this kind of talk, most of them did not understand. Why? Because they did not want to understand and comprehend it. But, even though we are talking about the world they live in, they showed no interest in it....so to me they are just sleepwalker. Furthermore, I firmly believe that I am sane.
Often, children who have no strange misconceptions or are serious about life are more capable of understanding this kind of talk.
「We want to be happy. But we are good at living, not at being happy. This is my opinion about Wyst’s question」
Wyst fell into the deep sea of his thoughts after I told him this. But after a while, he look up and let out a sigh along with a voice of admiration.
「You, really, sometimes I don’t know who you are, y’know? Where did you get those kinds of ideas in your head anyway?」
To him, I might look like a genius. But, from my standpoint, Wyst is smarter. As for me, I have the knowledge I learned over many years from my previous life that I am able to have this kind of conversation. And yet, Wyst sticks to it. Frankly, despite being a grown adult in my previous life, I was unable to even understand well the workings of the capitalist economy or the basics of evolutionary theory.
「Oh……oi, Noor」
Kovol exclaims. Looking at the water surface of the lake, my fishing rod was really shaking.
「Ooh, I caught one!? Yosh, let’s reel it in!」
This is nice. This is the first time I have caught a fish in my life, my previous life included. I refocused and adjusted my fishing rod’s position.
At that moment, there was the pitter-patter sound of footsteps from behind.
「Here, look!」
「It fits!」
My vision was blocked for a moment. Something rough was covering my head and eyes. When I tried touching it with my hand, it felt a little damp. Looking to my left and right, I saw that both Kovol and Wyst were wearing flower wreaths. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
I see, looks like it is the girls’ game. They picked out flowers with Tamaria.
「……did you make these?」
「Un, I taught them that, you know?」
Tamaria puffed out her chest. And that chest, although very slightly, they were starting to bulge. Well, now, should we celebrate the budding flower that has just begun to show itself? She will continue to grow to be a woman whether she likes it or not. And as a woman, she will end up living in a brothel.
She looks well at a glance. Indeed, coming here may help refresh her a little. But, it will not do if it is temporary. How can we make her happy?
That is, I am sure it is her own problem. Doing her best with a sense of purpose for her younger brother is praiseworthy but.....speaking bluntly, that is the same as not being herself. Now she has to seriously think about how she wants to live for herself now that Detel has passed away.
「Ahー……」
Wyst let out a lifeless voice. He suddenly pulled up the fishing rod.
「……they only took the bait」
How unfortunate. Looks like my first catch will have to wait.
And soon after, Wyst kept raising and lowering the rod. Kovol and I have a gloomy look on our faces. But, by the time we were leaving, Kovol caught 2 fish in one pull. And the girls were leisurely watching us.
「Heeー, how surprisingー」
Tamaria said in astonishment. But, everyone has a field they are not good at.
「Noor is bad at fishing, eh」
「Eh, well」
Honestly, even I don’t understand why I’m so bad at fishing. I’ve thought about all sorts of things, though.
Like, for example, a heavy stomp to the ground is much more noticeable to the fish compared to someone speaking loudly. That’s why I have been carefully paying attention not to make any big shock in the ground.
Also, shadow. It seems like fish will become wary if a shadow from land falls on the water's surface. And so, I have been conscious of the angles of the sunlight.
Even so, Wyst clearly has no such consideration, and yet he achieved such a result many times. It is incomprehensible.
「It’s about time for lunch. Let’s leave the fish to Jusa」
We all stood up at Dona’s urging.
The moment Dee saw the paper box containing our lunch, Dee let out a scream, almost like a shriek. The paper box has a mark that looks like a deformed royal castle.
「T, this! This is from Dang’s shop! (ダング) ! I can’t believe this!」
She was not the only one surprised. Jusa also seemed not to be told about it, as he looks bewildered.
That is not surprising. Dang’s shop is the best cake shop in Esta Forestia. But do not underestimate it just because it is a cake shop. In a world where chefs have a lower status, it is one of the few high-class confectioners to have been recognized by the king and received a medal. In the 500 years since the founding of this nation, the number of shops granted such honor can be counted with the fingers on one’s both hands.
So, it is quite difficult to obtain the cakes from the Dang shop. It is not just a matter of paying money to buy the cake. They are being fully booked with orders, and even if there is the slightest chance to order, countless lower-rank nobles and wealthy merchants will try to swarm them with orders. Still, the royalty and upper-rank nobles have their own first-class chefs, so they rarely rely on such shops but….the Dang shop rivals them in status. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
That was why, it was such an extraordinary situation to have their bread and cakes here. The royal capital is in the northwest, across the mountain range, and a little further inland. Naturally, the Dang shop is located in the royal capital. However, it will take too much time to make the cakes and transport them here, no matter how you think about it. And unlike my previous world, there are no preservatives to be added to food in this world. There are also no railroads or airports. But in exchange, there is magic, although there are only a few people who can use magic. In other words, they had the shop’s pastry chef go to the nearest city and have them make it there. To get away with something self-indulgent would need quite the amount of money.....and also serious connections.
「Th, wha, I mean, this, no way right? I haven’t eaten it either before, y’know? It was the first time I’d even seen it! Oi, how many gold coins will it take to get these? Surely they didn’t send it by mistake or something, right?」
Poor thing, Jusa was completely shaken. Even if you panic right now, it is already too late anyway. They will probably expire even if you transport it to the nearest town now.
Even though I know the situation behind this, I am still a little surprised and dumbfounded. Certainly, Myluc said to me.
『It is thanks to everyone here that I’ve been able to prove my innocence this time.If possible, please allow us to eat as many sweets as we want next time』
But that doesn't mean it's like this.
I am sure the bunch of wealthy people in the royal capital are probably making quite a bit of commotion right now. Like, ‘Just who was it that made the heir of the Necamel clan try to treat us by snatching our food?’. No one will think that it was all to fulfill his promise to his young, boy slave he owned.
「Anyway, let’s eat it now, or it will just become a waste」
Lights lit up in the children’s eyes.
「That’s right! We can’t waste food!」
「This, I wonder if I can become a knight if I eat something like this every day?」
「Every day is impossible, isn’t it? Maybe once a year at most?」
「Commoners, usually won’t have the chance to eat this their whole life……」
Unaware of Myluc’s thoughts, Jusa resolved himself despite cold sweat running down his forehead.
「Yo, yosh! One box per person, right? Don’t rush, okay? And don’t fight, you hear? Also, don’t rush since you can drop it, okay? Line up!」
A line formed in an instant. Of all the children who got the paper box, some raised them high in joy, some hugged them tightly so they would not drop it.....each of them fluttered with joy at the unexpected present.
「Hey, where are we going to eat?」
Dona asks, unable to hide her joy.
「Let’s go to the flower field!」
Dee said. Everyone nodded to each other and naturally started walking at a quick pace, and ran off toward the bright, open area. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
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