Our Peaceful Village
I've gotten quite used to wielding a knife.
This world has all sorts of knives, but the ones used in the village are mostly long and trapezoid-shaped.
The villagers, accustomed to knives, use them not only to slice meat and vegetables but also to chop wood like axes.
They swing them to clear paths through dense undergrowth, cutting forward with ease.
I used to get my knife stuck in trees or thick grass when I tried that. Not anymore.
After constant practice and use, I've picked up some technique.
I'm not as good as the others, but I can at least give myself a little credit.
At the very least, my wife seems to think so.
Marguerite's eyes sparkled as her hands fidgeted, as if she might start clapping at any moment.
When she looks at me like that, I almost feel like a master swordsman.
"I think I can do it properly this time."
Marguerite took a deep breath and gripped the knife.
Right now, she's learning how to handle a knife by watching me.
After glancing at me once more with admiring eyes, she swung her knife with all her might.
No, that's not right. You don't bring it down with full force like that.
Before I could say anything, a thin branch flew off to the side with a sharp crack.
My wife moves incredibly fast. Sometimes I wonder if a squirrel has possessed her.
Marguerite's shoulders slumped.
The knife had lodged itself slightly into the wooden stump we were using as a base, instead of the branch.
Not deep—just barely.
When I pulled it out, the knife came free right away.
"It didn't work."
Marguerite sounded disappointed.
"Everyone struggles at first. A little practice and you'll get better."
As I tried to comfort her, voices came from behind us.
"She's just like Teacher. Teacher used to do the same thing at the beginning."
"Dad always said couples start to resemble each other. It's true—they're exactly the same."
Kkoma Daejang and Ji-geu were standing there. I hadn't even noticed them arrive.
Kkoma Daejang puffed out his chest.
"I've been learning how to use a knife since yesterday. Want me to teach you? You can learn from me again, Teacher. I'm the best, after all."
"You little rascals."
Flustered, I ruffled their hair and pressed down on their heads. Marguerite laughed brightly.
My dignity as a husband was in tatters.
"Oh! Teacher, they said the preparations for the stream are all done."
"That's right. Everyone's already gathered. They're waiting for you."
"Alright, I got it."
Today, the entire village is heading to the stream together.
It's to celebrate the completion of the path from the village to the stream.
I thought it would take longer, but the village men had been clearing trees along the route whenever they had time, so it finished early.
The men of our village are truly hardworking.
Summer has only just begun, so the weather is warm and the children are excited.
I'm a little excited too.
Just a short way downstream from the stream is a small pond.
We can bathe and even swim for the first time in a while.
Swimming—I really love it.
There might even be some freshwater snails in the stream, so we could enjoy a rare delicacy.
When we arrived at the village hall, everyone was carrying wooden baskets or wide trays.
Some had laundry baskets on their backs, while others looked like they were carrying every dish in the village.
Marguerite and I had brought baskets for catching snails and doing laundry, but the villagers' baskets were on a completely different scale.
It seemed like they planned to get everything done in one go.
They were practically armed to the teeth.
A few people were wearing backpacks woven from tree branches.
They were large, deep baskets with straps made from twisted vines.
They looked sturdy enough to carry just about anything—heavy logs, rocks, whatever.
Unlike the others, their backpacks were empty.
Surely they weren't planning to fill them entirely with snails.
They must have noticed my expression.
The villagers smiled knowingly.
"While clearing the path, we found some edible trees. People can eat them too, but they're mainly for livestock. Ducks love them."
"Mix in some snails and they'll eat it right up."
"We'll catch fish too. We're thinking of making fish stew for dinner tonight."
So ducks eat snails as well. I didn't know that.
"But can we actually catch fish?"
We didn't have fishing rods. Or nets, for that matter.
"There's a way."
Instead of explaining, the villagers just grinned.
Marguerite gently tugged on my hand.
When I looked at her, her eyes were sparkling with pride.
"I'll teach you how to catch fish. I was really good at it when I was little. My brothers used to call me Fish-Catcher Marguerite."
My adorable wife has so many nicknames.
"Teacher, I don't know how to catch fish either. I've never even been to a stream before. Our village didn't have one."
Ji-geu spoke up, as if to say I shouldn't feel embarrassed.
The other children chimed in, comforting me while carrying Pudding on their heads.
Looks like Pudding is coming along too.
I'm not embarrassed about not knowing how to catch fish, though.
I wanted to say that, but I knew I'd only get lukewarm looks from the villagers.
I've learned that from experience.
I quietly closed my mouth.
After comforting me for a moment, Ji-geu turned to the other children.
"It's my turn now. A hundred steps."
They must have agreed to take turns carrying Pudding every hundred steps.
But we hadn't even left yet, let alone walked a hundred steps.
No one pointed that out.
They probably figured they'd get their own turn soon enough anyway.
When Ji-geu took Pudding from another child and placed it on his head, Pudding let out a soft "kkur-kkur" and flattened itself against his head.
It looked just like a wobbly hat.
Ji-geu seemed to like the feeling and kept shaking his head back and forth.
"Pii...."
Popcorn's wings drooped in disappointment, and he immediately nose-dived straight to the ground.
If he doesn't flap his wings, he can't stay in the air.
Of course, Popcorn sometimes floats without moving them, but still.
Spirits don't seem particularly bound by physical laws.
Fortunately, Orange waddled over and caught him, but Popcorn just lay there on top of Orange without moving.
He must have been really shocked that the children's attention had been stolen by Pudding.
Whether out of pity or simply because Marguerite is sweet to Popcorn, she picked him up along with Orange.
She looked like she planned to carry him the whole way.
She had been holding my hand just moments ago.
My hand felt empty.
"...."
Losing to Popcorn, of all things.
For some reason, it annoyed me.
As if sensing my mood, the spirits flying around us laughed in bell-like tones.
After confirming that no one was missing, we set off toward the stream.
The path was narrow—barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side.
We walked in a long line, one after another.
The children in the middle took turns carrying Pudding on their heads, while Popcorn occasionally flew over and kicked Pudding with his feet.
Each time, Pudding shook his body as if mocking him with a "ppuru-ppuru."
The children laughed in delight, and Popcorn drooped in gloom.
Then Marguerite would pick up the dejected Popcorn again.
Thanks to that, my hand stayed empty the whole time.
We're newlyweds—how did it come to this?
Even though we'd cut down so many trees, the undergrowth on both sides of the path had already grown thick again.
The spirits following us dove into the bushes and slid down the leaves.
It looked just like they were going down a slide.
Sometimes spirits bumped into each other.
Whenever that happened, they either burst into giggles or started bickering.
Popcorn isn't the only one—most spirits seem to have innocent, childlike personalities.
A few spirits took advantage of Popcorn being distracted by the children to sneak over and perch briefly on Marguerite before darting away before he noticed.
The villagers who couldn't see them just passed by, but Marguerite and I exchanged glances and smiled each time.
Having someone who sees the same things and enjoys them with you is a wonderful feeling.
A strange, almost emotional sensation welled up inside me.
When no one was looking, I leaned in and gave Marguerite a light kiss on the forehead.
Her face turned bright red, and after a moment, she reached out and took my hand.
Marriage is a good thing.
It's really, truly good.
The villagers showed me the edible trees they'd discovered.
They cut one down on the spot. The inside looked just like an onion.
When I tried it, the texture was... how to describe it? Like crisp, square cheese.
This is delicious.
When I showed my appreciation, the children joined in and tried some too.
"It's good!"
"It's weird."
The children's opinions were divided.
I thought everyone knew about it since they said it was for the ducks, but many people hadn't heard of it.
It must not grow in every region.
Marguerite said she'd never seen this kind of tree before either.
She took one bite, made a strange face, and spat it out.
Popcorn and Pudding seemed to like it, though.
When they each received a small piece, they munched away happily.
As soon as we reached the stream, the children stripped off their pants and jumped into the water.
The sweat they'd built up on the walk disappeared the moment they dipped their feet in.
The water was quite cold, but the children didn't seem to mind.
They'd insisted they were only coming to work—catch fish, gather snails for the ducks—but children are children, no matter the world.
They were completely absorbed in splashing and spraying each other.
The adults left the children to play and got to work.
Some did laundry downstream, while others cut down edible trees along the banks.
The rest of us were tasked with catching fish, snails, and freshwater snails.
Before starting, the fish team wasted a bit of time on purpose.
They rolled up their pant legs or gathered their shoes together, dragging things out.
In the meantime, Marguerite took my hand and led me into the stream.
She must have been waiting so she could teach me how to catch fish.
Marguerite was so excited she didn't notice what the others were doing.
She looked around in the water for a moment before settling on a target.
A large, flat rock.
"Fish hide under here. You stun them."
After saying that, Marguerite picked up a slightly larger rock with both hands and approached.
"Be careful, it's slippery."
When I voiced my concern, Marguerite smiled brightly.
"Don't worry. I'm used to this sort of thing."
With that, she hurled the rock she'd been holding at the large target rock.
There was a loud crash, and the rock she threw split in half.
She must have thrown it with all her strength.
"Yes! It worked."
Marguerite sounded proud.
When I lifted the target rock and flipped it over, Marguerite placed a flat wooden paddle there and scooped up a handful of mud.
Then she gently rinsed it in the water.
Amazingly, inside were a few small rocks and fish that looked like they'd been knocked unconscious.
After she taught me, the villagers smiled and started catching fish the same way.
Stunning fish to catch them—how novel.
We'd been catching fish, snails, and freshwater snails for a while when we heard the children's voices.
"Teacher! Teacher! Something terrible happened!"
"Pudding... Pudding died... What do we do?"
"He melted in the water."
"What if he doesn't come back to life... Waaah...."
The children came running, crying.
In their hands were several pieces of what used to be Pudding.
Pudding had been fine when he first went into the water, but after playing for a while, he'd suddenly gone all soft and melty.
All his firmness was gone, and even I was a little surprised.
When the crying children placed Pudding in my hands, the limp creature twitched and started moving.
His body slowly began sticking back together.
Pudding wriggled and licked my hand.
He hadn't been dead after all.
Being in the water for so long must have weakened his cohesion a bit.
"He's alive!"
"Pudding!"
"Did Teacher save him?"
"Was it magic?"
"No, that's not it. He just got a little soft from being in the water."
The children gathered around Pudding, sniffling.
"Thank goodness."
"Don't go in the water again."
"Stay on my head, Pudding."
Before the children even finished speaking, Pudding dove straight into the water with a splash.
Watching him swim around energetically and eat fish, it didn't seem like he was in any danger.
He just got soft if he stayed in the water too long.
The children started wandering around with Pudding again, claiming they were going to catch fish.
"Pii...."
Popcorn lay floating on the water, letting out a small whimper as if sad that everyone had forgotten about him.
Marguerite, who had gone back to catching fish, slipped.
Fortunately, I caught her, but we both got completely soaked.
The villagers smiled knowingly, and the children surrounded us, laughing uproariously.
It was a peaceful day.
If every day could be like this, how happy we would be.