Chapter 28
Chapter 28
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: First Winter (1)
The leaves that had scattered in the wind had finally vanished.
What remained was a silent forest shrouded in a chill desolation.
Every breath now formed visible puffs, and the cold air brushed against the skin.
Winter,
had seeped in without any warning.
"Gotta... chop some firewood...."
It was time to tackle the chores I'd been putting off.
The firewood had dwindled quite a bit,
and the child wasn't strong enough to endure the winter cold yet.
An unavoidable season,
and tedious chores I'd rather avoid.
But,
even my laziness had to come to an end with the autumn.
'...What a hassle.'
As I turned the page of my book, I felt a tug on my pant leg.
I looked down,
and a small hand was clutching the hem tightly.
Her eyes sparkled,
and her mouth was set in a firm line as she stared up at me intently.
Even after just a few days together,
I could already guess her intentions from her gaze alone.
She wanted something.
"Yeah?"
"......!"
I closed the book and knelt down to meet her eye level.
"What's up?"
"......"
The child tugged on my sleeve and pointed toward the door.
This was
her signal that she wanted to come along.
"Uh.... Wanna go outside? Why, wanna watch me chop firewood?"
"......"
"Not that? ...Then what. A walk?"
"......"
"Not that either?"
The child's head shook back and forth repeatedly.
"...Hmm, no idea."
"......!"
The child clenched her fists tightly.
And so, it began again today.
The time when I had to figure everything out from her gestures and expressions.
I'd grown quite used to it by now.
Conversing not with words,
but with facial expressions and body language.
"So... what do you want to do?"
"......"
When I asked carefully,
the child's hand grabbed mine tightly and pointed to the door again.
Then,
she patted her own chest.
While holding my hand, she raised it up and down.
As if determined to convey her intent somehow,
the child busily moved her small body and arms.
I watched every one of her movements closely to fully understand her meaning.
"Hmm...."
"......"
"Maybe... you want to do it together?"
"!"
A clear reaction this time.
The child nodded vigorously.
Her small hands gripped mine tightly.
"...Well, alright."
"!"
"Let's do it together. Won't be fun, though."
At those words, the child beamed brightly.
A bit more strength entered our clasped hands.
"Then, let's bundle up warm before we go. Coat on, gloves too."
"!"
"And, you need to take that medicine over there."
"!!!!!!"
The child averted her gaze.
Her body subtly backed away.
But....
Even as she leaned back,
her hand clung to mine as if she would never let go.
Reading the child's mind was tricky, as always.
"You're still holding on tight with your hand, but trying to slip away with your body—what's that supposed to mean?"
"......"
"First off, you don't wanna take the medicine, right?"
"!"
"Sorry, but no can do."
The child's face crumpled into a pout instantly.
I got it.
I'd made it myself,
but after trying it, I knew it tasted awful.
Based on my horn powder,
mixed with all sorts of bitter herbs and slimy root juices,
plus a heap of astringent, foul-smelling mushrooms....
But—
Its effects were top-notch, matching how bad it tasted.
The alchemy book I'd bought for the child.
I'd pored over the sections on recovery and stamina boosts dozens of times,
carefully noting which ingredients were safe for her,
their components, and proper dosages.
I'd checked for side effects,
and reactions from combinations.
Building on that, I'd woven in my ancient knowledge meticulously.
For the child,
to achieve the absolute best results possible.
The taste was
just an inevitable byproduct
after all those calculations.
"Sorry. If I worried about the taste too, the effects would drop sharply."
"......"
"...So, sorry, but let's get it over with."
The child's shoulders twitched slightly.
A pondering expression for a moment.
Then, biting her lip, she looked up at me with hesitant eyes.
"If you drink the medicine, then outside, you can do whatever you want."
"......"
The child tilted her head,
blinking at me as if to say 'Really?'
I smiled and nodded.
"Yeah. Anything, whatever you want, I'll do it."
"!"
The child squeezed her eyes shut tight.
Then took a deep breath and nodded.
The 'I'm ready' signal.
I handed her the cup with the medicine.
The child grimaced, hesitating as she raised and lowered the cup for a long while—
"......!"
Then squeezed her eyes shut and downed it in one gulp.
"!!!!!!!!!!"
"...Impressive."
The child's face twisted as she clamped her hand over her mouth.
"Ughhh....!"
"Rough, huh? Here, water."
The moment I handed her the water,
she gulped it down desperately, her face on the verge of tears.
I gently stroked her back each time her small shoulders heaved.
"All done now. Good job."
"......"
Not satisfied even after finishing the water,
the child stuck out her tongue and rubbed it vigorously with her hand.
"More water?"
"......"
The child shook her head.
Instead, she stretched both arms toward me, asking to be picked up.
I smiled and scooped her into my arms.
"You really love being held, don't you."
"......"
"You kept your promise and took the medicine, so now it's time for what you want to do."
"!"
Her eyes sparkled.
As if the pout had never happened,
her face lit up instantly.
"You have something in mind, right?"
"......"
The child looked around,
then stretched her short arms as far as they could to point somewhere.
There was the crude wooden box we'd made together a few days ago, and the writing tools from Mr. Hubert.
"Ah.... Wanna draw again?"
"!"
The child's eyes curved into crescents.
She glanced out the window.
The sun showed no sign of setting yet.
After chopping firewood,
there'd be plenty of time to draw.
"Alright. Let's do it."
"!"
"Clothes...."
Before I could finish,
the child started crawling toward her clothes.
I gazed down at the floor impassively.
The medicine seemed to be working properly.
No bloodstains on the floor like before.
Until recently,
she'd worn knee pads I'd clumsily made,
then long pants.
Now, even crawling barefoot left no scrapes.
'Good.'
I smiled, watching the child's back as she carefully picked out her clothes.
But my head was already starting to throb.
'...Drawing.'
Another session of code-breaking awaited.
I let out a short sigh.
'...Karma, I guess.'
I was the one who'd suggested drawing to her.
Gestures and glances had their limits for understanding her.
So at first, I gave her a pen and paper and told her to write it out....
"?"
"Yeah?"
"......?"
After watching her poke dots on the paper for about 30 minutes,
I realized she didn't know how to write.
I wanted to teach her,
but....
"How should I teach her?"
"......?"
"...Wanna look at a book first? You'll pick up the structure eventually."
After repeating that for about three days—
I also realized that humans don't automatically learn character structures just by looking at books.
So I tried drawing.
Drawings
could express things without knowing how to write.
But,
I soon learned
this was even harder.
The child's drawings....
were more about interpretation than expression.
If only I could teach her drawing....
"???"
"It's a rabbit."
"???????"
"Kinda looks like one, right?"
"???????????????"
The problem was, I had zero talent for drawing either.
The more I tried to teach,
the more confused we got staring at each other's scribbles.
Not 'Ah, I see,' but
'What the heck is this?' simultaneously.
So,
I gave up on drawing too.
But the child seemed to enjoy drawing.
Whenever I used a pen,
she'd sneak over and watch intently,
then grab one and scribble on the paper imitating me.
Hard to make out, but her eyes were serious.
After drawing,
she'd shyly hold the paper out and watch my face closely.
"All done?"
"!"
"Yeah. Looks good."
The child's eyes curved like half-moons.
Her face brimmed with pride over her earnest creation.
Each time, I'd smile and pat her head,
and she'd get even more excited, drawing diligently.
As a result,
most of my writing tools were now hers....
'...Just this one pen left.'
But it was fine.
She liked it.
I slipped a pen into my pants pocket.
She wanted me to draw together today, it seemed.
"......!"
"All dressed?"
The child, bundled in outdoor clothes and coat,
fidgeted as she pulled on her hat and looked at me proudly.
Buttons crooked,
clothes a mess,
scarf dragging on the floor....
But her expression was full of confidence.
I smiled and approached her.
Redid the buttons, straightened the scarf.
"Yeah. Dressed well."
"!"
"Better than last time."
Her eyes widened, then curved happily.
I hurriedly put on my robe.
As I did, the child stretched out her arm,
as if she'd been waiting.
Just one arm this time.
Because she was hugging our handmade box tight.
I smiled and picked her up.
"Alright. Let's go."
"!"
"Gotta chop firewood first. That okay?"
"......"
The child smiled and nodded.
Already excited, she started humming a tune even before we left.
'...That happy, huh.'
No idea where she learned it, totally off-key,
but hearing it made me smile unwittingly.
Like that hum,
her drawings would be a mess today too.
But—
Even if I couldn't understand them,
I'd pretend I did.
Today as well.