A Sack of Potatoes
After reaching the river and grabbing the water container, Monia gulped down the cool river water before heading back. This time, she made sure not to forget the container. Back at their shelter, she began sorting through the bamboo. First, she needed to decide on a location for the warehouse she was about to build. She climbed up the ladder and onto the roof of their home, then began navigating from the roof to a branch, and from one branch to another.
"Eek!" "Kyaah!" "Whoa!" Monia shrieked and gasped with every single leap. Down below, Chester, who was busy shaping clay bowls, looked up at her, wondering what on earth she was doing.
Whimper. Ant trotted along beneath the branches, following Monia's movements with a worried look on his face.
"Heh... hehehe." Meanwhile, Monia, who had just leaped to yet another branch, wiped away her cold sweat and forced a laugh. "I-I'm starting to... get the hang of this! Hehehe. It's... it's nothing really!" Though she was shaking like a leaf, she blustered with all her might as she kept moving. She pushed forward, searching for the perfect spot to construct the warehouse.
Having helped Chester build their home and two warehouses already, she had developed a decent grasp of what made a good location. First, it had to be close to the main house. Proximity was key for easily moving and retrieving supplies. Second, it needed to be a spot where she could lay a foundation over as many branches as possible, distributing the weight of the structure and the goods stored inside. As Monia searched for a spot that met these criteria, she suddenly looked up.
"Right... there's no rule saying it has to be at the exact same height, is there?" Expanding her gaze beyond just left and right, she looked up and down, and several prime locations immediately caught her eye. Monia stared at the spaces above and below their home, pondering her options.
What if I build the warehouse above us, and it collapses and crushes our home?! With that terrifying thought, building upward lost its appeal. That left the space below. Hmm, let's see... There were plenty of decent spots below, but they presented a different problem. There are too many branches in the way. The tree they called home was incredibly sturdy. Once the branches reached a certain thickness, a stone axe wouldn't even leave a scratch. While Chester had chosen this tree precisely for its durability, that very strength was now proving to be a major obstacle. Even if I build the warehouse below us, moving back and forth between them will be a nightmare. Then did she really have no choice but to build upward...? Wait, what if I build it directly underneath our house? If we cut a hole in our floor and the warehouse's roof, we can easily move between them! Yes, just like a basement!
The basement of Monia's family estate had been a vast wine cellar. Whenever the duchy hosted a banquet, exquisite wines and spirits would be brought up to grace the tables. It wasn't just about the high-quality alcohol; the bottles themselves were practically works of art, elevating the prestige of any gathering by several notches just by being present. Alcohol... Ah, alcohol sounds wonderful. I really want some wine. Monia actually had quite a fondness for drinking. Part of it was because the Duke had made her train her tolerance from a young age, arguing that she must never lose her dignity to drunkenness, which led to her developing a taste for it. She preferred sweet, smooth wines over the high-proof, burning spirits that noblemen drank to boast of their masculinity. She liked alcohol that felt like a sweet dessert rather than a liquid fire.
I barely got to drink at all once I entered the Academy. The Academy, claiming to be a place of education, had banned even the slightest trace of alcohol. All they had was tea and coffee. And it's not like they even taught us properly! Place of education, my foot! All I remember doing is playing and eating! Of course, that was because Monia had already mastered the entire Academy curriculum at home before she even enrolled. From her perspective, the instructors were merely repeating things she already knew, so it never felt like actual studying. Even if she skipped classes or didn't pay attention, no teacher was brave enough to discipline the daughter of the Duke. If they were going to let me slack off anyway, they should have at least let me drink! Grumbling to herself, Monia examined the branches beneath their home. Deciding this was indeed the best spot for the warehouse, she climbed down to Chester.
"What is it?" Chester asked, looking up as Monia, who had been scrambling around the tree, suddenly approached him.
"Um, I was thinking of a warehouse design like this..." Monia hesitantly explained her concept to Chester. Her plan was to build the warehouse directly beneath their home and connect the two by cutting a hatch through the house's floor and the warehouse's roof. "W-what do you think?"
"Hmm." Chester listened quietly as he kneaded the clay, shaping his thirtieth hollow, hemispherical bowl. He set it down and said, "Not bad. Yeah, I think it's a good idea."
"Ah!" Monia's face lit up instantly at his praise. Though cutting a hole in the floor will probably create a draft and make it freezing in the winter... Still, he didn't want to rain on her parade when she had worked so hard to come up with the idea. Once it was built and she realized the issue, they could just patch it up or modify it. Chester smiled as he watched Monia grunt and strain, dragging the bamboo pieces down the tree.
Before long, Ant trotted over to Monia's side. As if trying to "help," he hopped right onto the bamboo she was dragging and barked happily. Woof! Woof! "A-Ant, don't climb on the bamboo...!" Monia groaned, her arms trembling under the added weight of the pup. But Ant, taking her struggles as encouragement, began playfully bouncing up and down on the stalks. Woof! Grrr! "Please don't bounce...!"
"Hmm." Ant isn't stupid enough to think he's actually helping. Watching the pup bounce around, Chester chuckled, instantly reading the situation. He wants to play. It made sense. Monia, who usually doted on him, had been ignoring him all day to run around planning her warehouse. Still, she's reaching her limit. Unlike their usual routine, Monia had been working entirely on her own today, which must have taken a massive toll. That was why she was wobbling so much just trying to drag a few stalks of bamboo.
Woof! Woof!Groan... "Eek! S-save me! Please!" Chester stopped what he was doing and walked over to them. He grabbed Ant by the scruff of his neck just as the pup was happily wiggling his butt on the bamboo, lifting him into the air. "That's enough." Once Chester set him back down, Ant trotted off to play quietly. He certainly has boundless energy. All that training since he was a baby was paying off.
"You should rest too," Chester said.
"What? I can still keep going!"
"No, you can't." Chester snatched the bamboo from her grasp and lightly poked her thigh.
"Ah?!" The moment his finger made contact, her utterly exhausted muscles seized up in shock from the unexpected stimulus. "Kyaah!" Monia collapsed to the ground. When she placed her hands down to push herself back up, she realized her hands were shaking violently.
"Huh?" Not just her hands—her legs were trembling so much she couldn't even stand. "Wh-what's happening? Why is my body doing this?" Monia blinked in sheer panic, staring at her unresponsive limbs.
"Because you pushed yourself past your limit without realizing you were exhausted," Chester explained, looking down at her. "Your body reacts instantly when you overwork it. Pushing yourself like that without drinking enough water is especially dangerous."
"Water..."
"Now do you understand why I kept telling you to drink water regularly?" Monia nodded quietly. "There was no need to rush like this."
"B-but..."
Chester nodded, showing he understood what she was trying to say. "I was the same way when I went on my first solo hunt. I made so many stupid mistakes I'd never normally make." Back then, Chester had felt so incredibly disappointed in his own shortcomings.
"When you start doing things on your own, very few people get it right on the first try." There was no need to blame herself or feel discouraged over a few mistakes. "Take your time. It's better to go slow and steady than to rush and make mistakes." With those words, Chester leaned down, sliding one arm behind her back and the other under her knees.
"U-um? What are you doing all of a sudden?"
"How else do you plan on getting back up to the house? Excuse me for a moment." As Chester braced himself to lift her, Monia's eyes widened as a sudden realization struck her. Th-this is...! She had never experienced it herself, but she had heard of it countless times during afternoon tea gossip! Th-this is definitely that! The romantic gesture my friends always ranked near the very top of their lists! Secret trysts in a hidden garden. A prince on a white horse riding to the rescue in a moment of crisis. A tragic love story between warring noble houses! And alongside those classic tales, there was always... The princess carry! This is a princess carry!! Monia's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
"Up we go."
"Kyaah!" With his hands under her knees and back, Chester stood up in one swift motion, pulling her body upward. Wait, what?! But instead of cradling her, he caught her waist with his shoulder. "Ack!" Like a sack of potatoes, Monia was slung unceremoniously over his shoulder. "Alright, got you."
"..." Slung over Chester's shoulder, Monia could only watch the ground recede as he grabbed the ladder and began to climb. As she swayed with his steady steps, she let out a quiet sigh. "Haaah."
"What's wrong?"
"Hmph. It's nothing." Hmph....I knew this would happen, deep down. Since he had to climb a ladder, there was absolutely no way he could carry her up in a princess hold. If she had used her brain for even a second, she would have realized Chester would never do something so impractical. She knew that. I knew that, but still!Thump, thump. Monia weakly pounded her fists against Chester's back, venting her silent disappointment.