After the Storm, Part 3
"I didn't catch a single one..."
"It's always like that at first."
Chester and Monia filled their stomachs with the five fish Chester had caught. Unlike before, when he had struggled to catch them with his bare hands, having a tool like a spear had vastly improved his fishing efficiency. Thanks to that, he had quickly caught enough fish to satisfy them both, and they roasted them over the fire.
"This fish is delicious."
"Is it?"
Even though Monia had wept bitterly over her failure to catch a single fish, she still ate with gusto. Previously, she would have been full and satisfied after just one, but perhaps because she had starved during the storm, trekked through the forest, and even tried her hand at spear-fishing, she happily devoured two whole fish.
While Monia ate, Chester chewed on his own portion and kept a close eye on the river.
The water level hasn't dropped.
If the river's water level had dropped or dried up completely, they would have had to flee the area immediately. A sudden drop meant that water was being blocked and pooling somewhere upstream, creating a ticking time bomb that could burst at any moment and trigger a flash flood. Fortunately, despite the prolonged torrential downpour, the river seemed perfectly fine.
We're lucky.
After finishing their meal, Chester found a suitable stone and handed it to Monia.
"The most basic method is to rest the stone on your knee and strike it at an angle."
"At an angle?"
"Right. Don't think of it as breaking the stone. Think of it as shaving one stone with another."
Chester struck the stone a few times, chipping away at it.
"Repeat this until it's thin enough to be used as an axe head."
"..."
Monia watched Chester's hand movements and tried to copy them.
"Ouch!"
"Watch your fingers."
Without even replying, Monia stared intently at the stone she was trying to shape. Then she looked at Chester, who was tapping his stone with a light, rhythmic clack-clack. Whenever a piece chipped off, Chester would brush away the fragments, inspect the shape, and resume tapping. There was nothing particularly magical about his movements. Yet, unlike Monia, who was struggling, Chester broke and shaped the stone with effortless ease.
Is it because he's a man?
Monia grit her teeth, put her back into it, and began swinging her stone with force.
While Monia struggled to flatten her stone, Chester began sharpening the edge of his pre-shaped stone.
"Urgh...!"
"Don't rush it."
"But still!"
"Rushing and getting hurt is far more dangerous."
Chester began carving a groove into the thick wooden branch he had brought to serve as the handle. Once the groove was hollowed out and smoothed, he would insert the stone blade and secure it tightly with cordage at the top and bottom. By the time Chester had finished crafting a complete stone axe, Monia was still entirely absorbed in trying to flatten her stone.
"Hmph! Yah!"
Monia grunted with every strike, her teeth clenched. Chester handed his newly made stone axe to her.
"Ah... What is this? Didn't you say I should make my own tools?"
"I did, but we can't afford to spend all day on this."
Flushing slightly, Monia accepted the stone axe Chester had made. Having spent her entire life showered with praise and adoration, Monia found it deeply embarrassing that she lacked the ability to accomplish such a simple task. That was why she had been secretly trying to make ropes and chip stones when Chester wasn't looking, hiding her failures whenever she messed up. Her attempts at concealment were so clumsy that they were utterly pointless, though Monia herself remained blissfully unaware of this.
Chester and Monia began roaming the forest, searching for wood to build their shelter.
"The best option is to find branches broken by the storm."
"Is that so?"
"Since we just have to pick them up, it saves energy. We need to conserve every bit of strength we can."
"Um, by the way, how do you plan to build the Beach Villa? The same as before?"
"Hmm."
Chester recalled the layout of the trees on the beach.
Building it exactly the same... won't do.
Back then, Chester had built the shelter with only himself in mind. But this time, he intended to share it with Monia, so he wanted to make it larger and sturdier if possible.
If I reinforce the base with an X-shaped frame, it should be much stronger.
Chester began simulating the construction of the villa in his head.
I want to build a windbreak to protect us in case of future storms or harsh winds.
Envisioning a rectangular frame wrapped in a windbreak, Chester pondered where to place the entrance.
Facing the forest would probably be best.
Even as he turned these thoughts over in his mind, Chester instructed Monia to gather vines and branches. Meanwhile, he swung his axe at a tree of moderate thickness.
Ah, I also need to make sure the campfire doesn't burn the floor when we light it inside. Maybe I can just cover the hearth area with dirt?
He chopped around the circumference of the trunk and then shoved the tree with his leg to bring it down. The tree began to tilt, but its upper branches caught on a neighboring tree, halting its fall midway.
Tsk.
Chester clicked his tongue and inspected the snagged tree. He pushed with his legs and threw his weight against it, but the branches were hopelessly tangled, and the trunk refused to budge.
What a waste.
He considered cutting the trunk to his desired length anyway, but the angle of the lean was too steep. He would have to stretch his arms to their absolute limit and swing his entire body just to reach the lower part of the trunk with his axe.
Let's give up on this one.
Chester turned to look for another tree.
"Oh? Are you giving up?"
Monia, who had been watching him, asked in surprise. She couldn't believe he was abandoning a tree he had worked so hard to fell.
"Yeah."
"Isn't it a waste?"
"Wasting time clinging to a failure is an even bigger waste. When it's time to give up, you have to know how to do it without hesitation."
Offering this advice, Chester positioned himself in front of a suitable tree and looked up at the canopy.
"...This direction should work."
With that, he began chopping in the direction he wanted the tree to fall.
As his axe blows shook the trunk, rainwater pooled in the leaves showered down, soaking him. Chester ignored the cold water and kept swinging.
Two beds. A hearth. We also need space to store our gear...
With every strike of his axe, the layout of the Beach Villa took shape in his mind. His thoughts soon expanded beyond the shelter itself, turning toward what they would need for long-term survival.
That storm was incredibly dangerous. Another one could hit us without warning. In that case, it would be wise to start preparing preserved food. How did my father make smoked meat again? Was it just slow-cooking it with smoke?
While Chester chopped away, Monia busied herself with her own tasks. Lacking Chester's strength and technique, she targeted young saplings. She aimed her axe at trunks no thicker than a few fingers pressed together.
"Take that! Hya!"
Because her waist and legs were so slender, the weight of the axe dragged her body along with every swing, making her wobble unsteadily.
"Kyaah!"
At one point, she swung at empty air, lost her balance, and tumbled to the ground.
"Ouch..."
After much groaning and struggling, Monia finally managed to fell a single sapling.
Meanwhile, Chester had brought down another tree and began trimming the trunk. Gripping the axe close to the head, he sheared off the branches and scraped away the twigs. Next, he marked the trunk at the lengths he had calculated in his head, then swung the axe with powerful strokes to chop it into logs.
Monia watched him for a moment. Having successfully felled one sapling, she decided to target vines next and grabbed a thick vine hanging nearby.
"Uh, how do I do this?"
Monia first tried shaking the vine vigorously. When that did nothing, she gripped it tightly and pulled with all her might, using her entire body weight. The branch supporting the vine shook violently, releasing a massive deluge of rainwater that had pooled on the leaves above.
"Hyaack!"
Drenched as if she had been caught in a sudden downpour, Monia stared blankly at her soaked clothes for a moment. Then, grinding her teeth, she began to yank on the vine in a fit of rage.
Ah, seriously! I hate this! I hate the forest! It's hard to walk, and there's mud everywhere!
"Ughhhhh!"
Monia shook the vine so violently that a snake resting among the leaves lost its grip and plummeted right in front of her.
"Huh?"
Monia froze instantly at the sight of the strange creature that had suddenly dropped from the sky. Meanwhile, the snake, writhing on the ground, hissed and bared its fangs, wary of the giant creature—Monia—that had suddenly appeared before it.
"U-Uh..."
W-What is this?
A snake. It was a "monster" Monia had never seen before in her life. It had no arms, no legs, no fur, and possessed an unnaturally long body. In terms of sheer volume, Monia was easily over a hundred times larger than the tiny snake, but such rational thoughts were beyond her right now. This "monster" was bizarre, creepy, repulsive, and utterly terrifying.
Monia tried to scream, but her throat was as paralyzed as her body, and no sound came out.
Why... why can't I move?! I can't even make a sound! Why?!
Then, a sudden realization struck her.
Ah...! A demon! A demon! This must be a demon! Am I under a demon's spell right now?!
This horrific "monster" was undoubtedly a demon straight out of a storybook! As she faced this legendary demon, Monia's heart began to drown in despair.
"Oh, that's a pretty plump snake."
Before she knew it, Chester had walked over. He swung a wooden stick left over from trimming the trees, striking the snake on the head. After a few blows to daze the creature, he pinned its head down and used his stone knife to sever it from the body.
Chester lifted the headless snake carcass and looked at Monia, who was still frozen in an awkward pose, half-clinging to the vine.
"What's up? What's wrong with you?"
"Uh... It's nothing!!"
Monia decided she would take the embarrassing truth—that she had mistaken an ordinary creature for a demon and scared herself half to death—to her grave.