Homeward Bound (3)
The raft, carrying three people and one animal, drifted steadily down the river.
It glided along with the unhurried current, and Chester kept a sharp eye on the water, using the wooden spear he carried to shove against the riverbed whenever it looked as if they might snag on a towering rock, steering them clear.
There was no need to worry that the slender spear might snap under rough handling. This was the same spear he had used to thrash a bear into submission.
A shaft sturdy enough to dull a machete blade had no trouble taking the rough treatment needed to turn a heavy raft.
Riding the gentle current was pure excitement for the passengers, but for Chester, who had to keep the raft under control, it was a tense affair.
This river’s running fast.
Still, it wasn’t as wild as the mountain streams he had played in as a boy, so that was something to be thankful for.
Back then you didn’t even need a raft to ride the water. If you could just get a decent log floating, you could have all the fun you wanted on top of it.
He could still enjoy a ride on a single log if he wanted to.
“Wow. This is a lot faster than I expected.”
“Right? Water’s a lot stronger than most people think. At this pace we might even make it home today or tomorrow.”
“That fast?”
“Yeah.”
The path that had been such a struggle on foot now slipped past them in a blur as they rode the current.
“Ah, that’s where we slept, isn’t it?”
Monia pointed toward the remains of a campfire and remembered the night they had spent there.
“I kept hearing strange noises when I was trying to sleep. It was so hard to rest.”
“Yeah, that happened. What do you think those sounds were, anyway?”
While the two of them traded memories, Ant bounded excitedly from one end of the raft to the other.
Black Wind dipped his right hand into the water, feeling the current split and rush between his fingers.
A fish happened to brush against his hand; he snatched it up and popped it straight into his mouth, chewing.
He was quietly working on the fish when he noticed Monia staring at him. He tore off a piece and held it out to her.
“Ah, no, I’m fine. Really.”
Monia shook her head firmly. Black Wind frowned, thinking she was rejecting his gift, until he saw Chester’s hand signals.
— Eating raw meat is dangerous for us.
Every time he learned something new about them, he was reminded how fragile they were.
Once he understood she had a reason, Black Wind nodded and offered the torn fish to Ant instead.
He watched with satisfaction as Ant wagged its tail and gobbled the fish down, then went back to chewing his own with loud, crunching bites.
“It sounds so delicious.”
“Doesn’t it?”
The sound of bones and scales being crushed was mouth-wateringly appetizing. Just listening made their stomachs growl.
The raft sometimes rocked side to side as it followed the river’s bends, and sudden drops in the water level would send it plunging, soaking everyone aboard.
“Chester, do you know that story? The one about the lovers who have to part because of their families’ opposition, so they take a little boat out to sea.”
“There’s a story like that?”
“Weren’t you standing right beside me when I heard it? You were my personal butler; you should have been attending me.”
“I never cared much for opera. Whenever you went, I just let my mind wander.”
“What a shame. It’s really good. You should listen to it someday.”
“Maybe. I don’t know anything about it, so pick something you recommend.”
“Then first we’ll need to choose a conductor, a director, a theater manager…”
“You’re starting with those?”
“Everything needs a solid foundation. Even if you go to the trouble of bringing in the finest ingredients, if a cheap cook from a slum tavern prepares them, they’ll still taste cheap. No matter how good the actors are, if the people supporting and showcasing them are second-rate, you won’t get a decent production.”
Chester steered the raft while listening to Monia’s long, excited monologue once the conversation turned to something she loved.
Whenever the river narrowed, he would hop off and haul the raft until the channel widened again.
— This is fun.
— Yeah?
— Give it to me.
The People of the Summit did not live by diving the way those who settled along rivers or coasts did. To them a boat was something you could take or leave.
So his interest was pure curiosity—the delight of a child who has just gotten a new toy.
— I want to try steering too.
— It’s dangerous if you’re not careful.
— I can do it!
Figuring it wouldn’t matter even if the raft flipped, Chester handed the wooden spear to Black Wind once they reached a wider stretch.
“Huh? Wind’s driving?”
“Yeah.”
“……Is that okay?”
“It’s fine. This river’s a one-way path anyway, so we can’t get lost. Worst that happens is we get soaked if it flips.”
Monia trembled with unease at the thought of anyone but Chester handling the raft, but Chester, who had been standing the whole time, settled down comfortably and stretched out.
It was a little awkward without a pillow, but Monia offered her lap, and that fixed it right away.
Whether he noticed her anxious glances or not, Black Wind alone was having a grand time, humming through his nose as he swung the spear around wildly.
He stuck his rear out and swayed, making the whole raft rock.
“……I can’t lie here like this.”
“Ahaha.”
Water came surging up between the logs and soaked them; Chester sat up.
“I really wish Wind would put some clothes on. It’s indecent.”
“Is it?”
“Yes. There’s just… something about it! That’s all.”
It was smaller than Chester’s, so it wasn’t exactly shocking, but still.
No, I mean… that is… well…
She found herself comparing Chester and Black Wind.
Chester was taller than most men. His build was smaller than a fully armored knight’s, but in pure height he would tower over most of them.
Black Wind, though, made even Chester look like a child. Even hunched over with bent knees he was nearly three meters tall.
Compared to the beasts of the upper levels he was on the small side, yet he still dwarfed Chester.
So why… why is it smaller?
Why?
Is Chester the strange one?
The thought struck Monia, and she looked at Chester with a sudden flicker of fear.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Ah, it’s nothing!”
“Something feels off.”
Monia kept glancing back and forth between Black Wind and him.
Sensing something strange, Chester frowned at her, but nothing concrete came to mind, so he let it go.
I… I’ll have to work hard!
And Monia quietly steeled herself with a resolve only a woman would understand.
It won’t tear, right?!
There are moments in the relations between men and women when a woman needs far greater resolve and courage than a man.
“We’re here.”
Riding on Black Wind’s back and scanning the distance, Chester spotted the familiar terrain near the waterfall and steered the raft toward the bank.
“One at a time.”
At his signal Black Wind stepped off first, then Ant leapt lightly after him.
Once Monia was ashore as well, Chester hopped down lightly onto the riverbank.
Black Wind caught the raft as it began to drift away and hoisted it up with ease.
— Taking it?
— You don’t need this anymore. So now it’s my bed.
Apparently he planned to use it as a bed. Maybe he meant to float it and sleep on top of it.
— Fine. Take it.
After giving the raft to Black Wind, the four of them walked only a short distance before reaching the waterfall area.
— Why are there no living things here?
— We stop them from coming this far.
— What?
The sense of wrongness Chester and Monia had felt when they first climbed to the upper level—the eerie emptiness of the cliffs, completely free of any animal sign—found its unexpected answer. Chester’s eyes went wide.
— Why?
— If upper-level beasts go down, the lower ecosystem is destroyed.
That was true enough.
Every creature of the upper levels was enormous and powerful. Monsters that could smash even the huge, hard trees that grew up there without trouble.
If even one of those monsters reached the lower levels, the ecosystem below would be shattered.
No—that wasn’t quite right. They wouldn’t rampage and wreck things, so “shattered” wasn’t the right word.
More accurately, they would be wiped out.
Considering how much food an upper-level beast needed each day, the smaller, weaker creatures of the lower levels would be eaten into extinction just by becoming meals.
— The lower levels are our land too. They’re weak, so even if something happens it doesn’t become a big problem, and we don’t need to manage them as carefully as the upper levels. But we still protect them.
That was why the People of the Summit had always killed any upper-level beast that tried to go down.
After long years of that, the beasts of the upper levels no longer set foot near the lower reaches.
That was why no living traces remained near the cliffs.
Chester explained it all, but Monia was simply gazing at the bamboo aqueduct that led home.
Seeing that, Chester grinned and pointed at the bamboo.
— Follow this and you’ll come to a tree so huge you won’t believe it’s on the lower level. That’s our home.
— Understood. Then take care.
— Yeah. Don’t forget.
Chester waved the ore in farewell; Black Wind grinned and waved the raft and rope he had received in return.
They linked their ring and little fingers in greeting. Once the farewell was done, Black Wind shouldered the heavy raft and vanished like the wind that was his namesake.
“Huh? He’s gone?”
“Yeah. Shall we go too?”
“Yes. Um… should I go down first?”
“Hm? No, let’s go down together.”
“What?”
Monia’s eyes went round at the suggestion. Chester grinned, first tying their luggage to the rope hanging down the cliff and lowering it all.
Once the packs were safely below, he scooped Monia under one arm and Ant under the other.
“Heave-ho.”
“Huh? Kyaaaaaaa!!”
— Kiiing! Kiiiiing!!
And with that he leapt straight toward the lake at the foot of the cliff.