16 - End of the First Day in the Valley
While I waited for Leonardo to finish his bath, Aurelia braided my hair into a half-up style. When she finished her work, Aurelia nodded with satisfaction, but when someone suddenly starts messing with your hair without a word, it's only natural to be startled. I wish she'd at least said something, even if I couldn't understand it.
...Well, since it seems she did it up cutely, I guess it's fine.
I can't see the result without a mirror, but when I touched the back of my head I could tell an intricate braid had been woven in. I'm absolutely confident I could never braid it myself.
...Speaking of hair, since we washed it, all of Leonardo-san's bangs came down.
Leonardo's bangs, which had been swept back and held in place with some kind of hair product, now fell softly over his face. His slightly wavy long bangs hid his dignified brows, and the intimidating face that had looked like it belonged to someone in his late twenties now seemed like nothing more than a young man in his early twenties. When I asked his age again, Leonardo casually told me he was twenty-one. So his hairstyle really had been making him look older.
...So it wasn't that he had a baby face, he really was young. Also, he said he was an important person at the fortress, but isn't he too young?
Can someone this young really become an "important person at the fortress"? Being nearly sold as a slave as a child, becoming a knight, and then an important person at the fortress, that's Leonardo's career as far as I know. I'm aware this is prejudice, but getting promoted requires things like connections to superiors and social status more than personal ability. I can't imagine parents who would sell their child as a slave having the financial means to offer bribes or connections to people of rank. Which means becoming an "important person at the fortress" at Leonardo's young age should have been considerably difficult.
I lowered the hand that had been exploring the back of my head and gazed at Leonardo's back as he talked with Aurelia. The two of them were conversing in words I couldn't understand, so even listening in at their side was nothing but boring.
"—Tina"
His discussion with Aurelia apparently over, Leonardo picked up the basket he carried on his back and called to me. Carefully, so I wouldn't trip in my oversized sandals, I ran over to the beckoning Leonardo.
"I'm going out to replenish the firewood we used for the bath. Tina..."
"Together, go. Help, will."
I can't carry a basket as big as Leonardo's, but I can at least carry a little firewood. If there's something I can do, I want to help as much as possible. Just being taken care of without paying anything in return is quite uncomfortable in its own way.
"You can wait here with Aurelia, you know?"
"Firewood gather, two people do, faster. Also, Aurelia-san, cannot talk with."
Leonardo seemed to understand the language Aurelia used, but I was still shaky even with this country's language. I wanted to avoid being left alone with Aurelia, who handled a language I couldn't speak, let alone understand, because the silence would be far too awkward.
"Tina doesn't understand English, huh."
...What did he just say?!
At the words that slipped out from Leonardo's convinced expression, I was so shocked I literally did a double take. What did he just say? I stared at Leonardo's face so hard it felt like I'd bore a hole through it. English, that thing. My generation started learning it in middle school, but in recent years it became a topic because they changed it so elementary schoolers learn it. It's a language that Japanese children are practically forced to learn, the gateway to foreign languages. There's this grandiose talk about it being the world's common language and whatnot, but writing aside, correct pronunciation is difficult for the shy Japanese, and in the end, the only people who can actually handle it are an extremely small number of prodigies, those who've received elite education and have ears that can pick up the pronunciation, or the shamelessly brave who aren't afraid of failure and can just speak up. And I was a typical Japanese person who was neither. Naturally, I can't speak English, let alone understand it.
...So those words like "Family" that I sometimes felt I could pick out in Aurelia-san's speech really were English after all.
Thinking of it as English, I felt like I could catch bits and pieces of Aurelia's speech. If I got her to repeat the same thing several times, I might be able to understand a little of what she was saying.
"Eh-go, what?"
If there was a difference between the "English" I thought of and the "English" Leonardo spoke of, it might cause trouble later, so I decided to confirm it just in case. Feigning innocence, I tilted my head adorably.
"English is... a relative of the Nihon language. The language that reincarnated people use, the language of the country where the reincarnated person lived in their previous life."
I see, so "English" really was "English." If there are Japanese reincarnated people, it wouldn't be strange for British or American reincarnated people to exist too.
...Wait? Which means, Aurelia-san is...?
"Aurelia-san, why Eh-go?"
Could it be that Aurelia-san is also a reincarnated person? I asked whatever came to mind. To my overly straightforward question, perhaps being a reincarnated person isn't something to particularly hide, Leonardo answered right away.
"Hmm? Aurelia was a reincarnated person, but while she was secluded alone in this valley, she apparently forgot this world's language. Now she can only speak English."
...Are reincarnated people just casually popping up everywhere?
I was also surprised that she'd been secluded alone in the valley long enough to forget the language. A reincarnated person twenty years ago, two hundred years before that, and three hundred years ago there was Yuuta Hiraga. I thought there was a reasonable gap between them, but I never expected to encounter another reincarnated person this quickly. Reincarnated people really might just be around everywhere, only not coming forward.
...Wait? Then, since Leonardo-san can speak English, is he a reincarnated person too? But he said he was sold by his parents?
Questions kept arising one after another, and my head reached a state of saturation. I didn't even know where to start asking, and I felt like clutching my head.
Let's unravel the questions one by one. What should I ask and how to not sound strange? I should have been thinking about that, but the question that came out of my mouth was a blazingly direct question.
"...Leonyaldo-san, reincarnated... person?"
"Me? What made you think that?"
From the way Leonardo's eyes went round and he blinked, I could tell that the Leonardo-equals-reincarnated-person theory was apparently wrong. Leonardo looked genuinely puzzled, like he'd been asked something he'd never even considered.
"Aurelia-san, English... only. Leonyaldo-san, Aurelia-san with talk, can."
Since he could converse in English, Leonardo must be a reincarnated person too. Perhaps thinking I'd simply arrived at that conclusion, Leonardo gave a wry smile.
"English is part of the general education for knight rank and above. Apparently it was the common language in the world of the reincarnated people."
Reincarnated people with useful knowledge are often placed under the protection of rulers. To gain knowledge from reincarnated people, smooth communication is essential, and if the other world has a common language, it's better to learn it, so among royalty and nobility, research into English has apparently been conducted in preparation for reincarnated people who might appear at any time. Of course, not all nobles have mastered it perfectly, but Black Knights, who might otherwise be looked down on due to their origins, have learned it to a practical level partly for self-defense.
...Sorry, Leonardo-san. English was supposedly the world's common language, but it's not like everyone can speak it. Especially Japanese people are catastrophically bad at English.
At the very least, it'll be nothing but an obstacle when talking with me.
After wandering the forest around Aurelia's house for about an hour, we filled our prepared baskets with firewood. Leonardo used a hatchet to trim the larger pieces to size. With both arms full of firewood, I headed around to the back of the house. The firewood used for the bath had come from Aurelia's house. It would be better to add it back.
As I was wondering whether to pile it where we'd taken it from earlier or carry it to a shed where other firewood was stored, Aurelia appeared from the direction of the cliff behind us carrying a bundle.
"Ah, Aurelia-san. Firewood, where put, good?"
The very person who would use the firewood had come at just the right time. The best thing would be to ask her where was convenient. So I thought as I asked, and then I remembered.
...Ah, Aurelia-san can't understand unless it's English, right?
How should I say this? Gestures, for now? But how do I communicate about where to put firewood? As I stood there at a loss, comparing the firewood in my arms and Aurelia's face, Aurelia pointed with her cane to the side of the bath boiler.
"...Bath, place, is it?"
I asked for confirmation in response to Aurelia's approach, and she gave a small nod.
"Then, bath place, put."
After seeing Aurelia's back as she entered the house through the back door, I piled the firewood beside the bath boiler. Gradually I moved the firewood Leonardo had gathered to the same spot, and after even putting away the carrying basket, I suddenly realized.
...Wait? Does Aurelia-san understand this world's language?
Leonardo had said she'd forgotten the language, but maybe she's the same as me. She can understand it when spoken, but speaking it is difficult. So Aurelia uses English. That might be a possibility.
Dinner was prepared by Aurelia. The bundle she'd been carrying earlier turned out to be wrapped meat. According to Leonardo's explanation, there's a small hollow in the cliff, and they use it as a storehouse. The wagon cargo had apparently been stored there now. While I was leisurely taking a bath, Leonardo had apparently carried everything in by himself. He was surely driven to it by Aurelia's cane.
...It doesn't have much flavor, does it...? Is Aurelia-san a bad cook?
I held the bland vegetable soup she'd prepared in my mouth and voiced a leisurely impression, only in my mind, of course. I wouldn't be foolish enough to say it out loud. I'd never thought food in this world tasted bad, but maybe it was just that Mother and Aunt Ulary were good cooks.
...Well, but Leonardo-san's vegetable soup was normal too, so is it just that Aurelia-san is a bad cook after all?
I secretly peeked at Aurelia's plate and saw her adding something that looked like a red condiment, maybe ketchup, into her soup. Then, wondering what Leonardo was doing, I turned my gaze to him and saw he was also adding a yellow mustard or horseradish-like condiment to his soup.
...So basically, everyone seasons their own, is that it?
After observing the two of them eating, I tried adding the same yellow condiment to my own soup.
...Questionable.
Maybe I was being too timid, so this time I added a bit more.
...It tastes like nothing but the condiment.
This was definitely a failure. So, what about the red condiment Aurelia was adding? I tried adding about the same amount as the previous condiment.
...It tastes like another world.
Nothing fits the phrase "don't mix, dangerous" (T/N: reference to the well-known Japanese warning label on cleaning products, 「混ぜるな危険」) better than this. Looking back, the initial bland soup was the most decent in terms of flavor.
"...Tomorrow, I'll cook."
As I was forcing down the otherworldly-tasting soup, Leonardo muttered quietly. He'd been eating with a composed face, but it seemed even he had his thoughts about the flavor.
"Help, will."
I refuse to have a dining table where rock-hard bread dried to preserve it and meat simply grilled without even salt and pepper seem like a feast. Aurelia seemed to be self-aware as well, and had no objection to Leonardo's proposal.
After the meal, it was time for a fact-finding session with Leonardo acting as interpreter. I answered Aurelia's questions about the village's epidemic to the extent I could. Most of the questions were the same as what Leonardo and the others had asked me, but as expected of a medicine specialist, there were also several questions I was being asked for the first time.
...S, sleepy...
I know I can't go to sleep until the discussion is over. But a young girl's body has less stamina than an adult's. The active hours of a day are naturally limited, and in short, right now I am intensely sleepy.
...Not yet... talk... not over...
He must have noticed my head nodding drowsily, because Leonardo's large hand covered my forehead. Dragged along by the warm body heat, my consciousness took one step backward.
...Ah, no... sleeping...
I know I still have to stay awake, but I couldn't win against the temptation of drowsiness and the warmth of another person's body heat.
[Author's Note]
I plotted out Chapter 2 planning for nine parts total, but that one part ended up being this far (idiot). There's no way it's wrapping up in nine parts.
I'm not sure if I can update tomorrow.