kscans

Chapter 10 - Chapter 7. A Picnic on the Cliff's Edge

Seven days had passed since our unofficial, unsanctioned disaster preparedness meeting. The sky was clear. A pleasant breeze caressed my skin. Before me, I could see the green stalks of wheat swaying in the wind. The scene of a perfectly ordinary farming village, transitioning from spring to summer, spread out before my eyes.

It was the kind of idyllic scene that would make an Impressionist painter reach for their brush. But my state of mind was anything but.

"So this is a field of bread," the apprentice priestess beside me said.

Not a single bead of sweat dotted her fair face. Her blue-silver hair peeked out slightly from her hood. Her dark blue, obviously worn-out dress was rather frumpy. But her very being betrayed her minimal effort at concealment. Ah, I see. So the privileged possess a different kind of charm even when they try to hide it.

In fact, her approachability only increased her magnetic pull, making me want to reach out... Is this like how village girls always look cute in fantasy RPGs?

"That’s a rather problematic statement, so please refrain from saying it, Lady Alfina," I warned the girl, who seemed more suited for the French Revolution than for French Impressionism.

"Is that so? More importantly, Ricardo-kun. You have to call me Fina."

"That’s a bit too obvious for a fake name... All right, F-Fina."

"Yes, Fina it is."

Al-Fina beamed. Her unusually high spirits were probably just traveler’s high. I’d heard on the crude carriage from Bertold that in the luxurious carriage from the capital to Bertold, she wasn't even allowed to open the window.

"A-anyway. First, I need to lay out the consequences for the village chief... I mean. I'll go say hello."

Four days ago, I had joined a caravan headed for Leylia Village, just as planned. Staying overnight in Bertold was also part of the plan. And I met up with Jacob and his four adventurers, who are under exclusive contract with Vinder, right on schedule. Adventurers are true professionals, and their adherence to the plan put me at ease.

Everything had gone according to plan until the next morning, when a messenger from the Grand Duchess, the regional lord, arrived at my inn.

Power does not concern itself with the schedules of a humble merchant. Or rather, it doesn't even recognize they exist. My journey was now to be accompanied by an apprentice priestess from the Grand Cathedral of Bertold. The heartwarming pretext was that she was visiting the village orphans.

The Grand Duchess had suggested Alfina take a rest. The king, wanting to keep his daughter away from matters of prophecy, had apparently approved. As for Clau, she had supposedly been summoned home by her parents. What a useless woman, disappearing at such a crucial time.

I wanted to curse my own decision to leave Mia behind in the capital for a separate investigation.

I was about to say that our carriage was full and she'd have to arrange her own. But Jacob, misunderstanding something, moved our luggage onto the roof and seated the apprentice priestess next to me. I barely managed to stop myself from saying, "If anything happens, you'll be out of a job, and in the worst case, you'll get dragged into this and executed."

Thanks to that, I spent two hours in a carriage that wasn't very spacious to begin with, right next to the most beautiful girl in the academy. By the time we reached our destination, what little was left of my sense of self-preservation was in tatters.

"Ricardo-niichan. It's been a while."

"Ahhh, he's with a girl who isn't Mia-neechan."

As I crossed the village square to get to the chief's house, the children who had gathered around began their innocent acts of treason. Hold on, you lot. Careless words and actions can lead to death. At the very least, don't drag me into it.

I pushed past the clamoring children and entered the village chief's house.

"Well if it isn't Ricardo-sa... ahem. Ricardo."

"Village Chief. It's been a while. How is the water wheel?"

I replied to the slender, middle-aged man with a broad smile. This was a village that rarely had outsiders. I had to give him credit for at least trying to act.

"Yes, it's running in fine condition."

"That's good to hear. But please, don't overwork it or its lifespan will shorten. Let it rest from time to time."

"I see. I will do that."

I signaled for him to keep the beekeeping a secret, then introduced Fina as an apprentice priestess. I told him we would be looking around the village, but not to mind us. Alfina looked like she wanted to say something. She probably wanted to give him a warning. Her face had clouded over when she saw the sash on the village chief's daughter, after all.

Of course, I made sure to suggest they increase their food stores. I left the detailed evacuation plans, including that point, to Jacob and his team. Since I could only leak minimal information, it was more like preparing for preparations.

First, I had to confirm if this village truly matched Alfina's vision.

I led Alfina to the border between the wheat fields and the pasture. Verdant fields of wheat. Cattle grazing on the grass. A slowly turning water wheel. The surrounding scenery was as peaceful as ever. The distant woods, whose leaves turned crimson in early summer, were unsettling, but for the villagers who lived here, it was a sight they had known since birth.

I wonder if a swarm of monsters is teeming inside there, ready to overflow at any moment.

Alfina's feet stopped dead. Her beautiful face instantly tensed. It was as if her smile at the milk vetch on the path just moments before had been a lie. The Oracle Princess closed her eyes and clenched her fists tightly.

"There is no mistake. The village from my prophecy is this one," Alfina said clearly, opening her eyes.

I needed to get serious, too. At the very least, we had to prepare enough to get the villagers inside the walls of Bertold, even if the kingdom didn't act.

But first, we had to try to prevent a situation where they'd have to abandon the village.

"I'm going to collect a sample."

"A sample of the red-leafed tree, right? Are you perhaps going into the forest?"

"No, in places like this village that are close to the Red Forest, you can find them scattered about... Look."

Alfina looked anxiously at the crimson forest. I pointed to the red trees around the village. By growing deep roots, they could probably survive a certain distance from the magic veins. Timber is precious in this world, but these had grown into large trees because people found them creepy and wouldn't cut them down. The village chief said they already had red leaves when he was a boy, so they were plenty old.

Incidentally, the village's fuel needs are met by peat.

Now then, there were two particularly large ones, one to the west and one to the east. The milk vetch field is to the west. I should minimize the risk of the beekeeping secret getting out. Besides, bringing Alfina along was unplanned in the first place.

I glanced at Alfina. Her expression was completely serious, a stark contrast to when she arrived in the village. Of course, she didn't come here to play.

"Ricardo-kun?"

"Ah, yes..."

Bringing her was worth it. Confirming the primary source of information was a huge step. If the prophecy is true, she's the one who tried to save the village and...

No, I granted her wish to see the milk vetch flowers. Besides, I should have fulfilled my obligation when I gave her the bookmark.

"We'll use the tree on that hill."

A red tree stood atop a rise too small to be called a hill. Incidentally, beyond the hill was a small, sunken piece of land with a stream flowing through its center. Perhaps it was once a lake.

When I reached the trunk, I beckoned to Alfina, who had been following me in silence.

"Ricardo-kun, what... Wow!"

Fina clasped her hands as if in prayer and looked at the scene below. A red carpet made of flowers. A field of milk vetch. To me, it was a treasure trove that produced not golden eggs, but copper honey.

But for someone who had never left the stone-walled capital, it must have been a rare sight. Well, for my past Japanese self, it would probably be more heartwarming than the Western-style gardens of the capital.

I forced my gaze away from her profile, which had regained its age-appropriate smile. She had played her part, so she could just be a tourist now.

"...Right, time for some heavy lifting," I muttered, taking a tool out of my leather bag. Seen from the side, it was a T-shaped metal rod. The vertical bar was hollow, and the outside of its tip was grooved. A non-slip cloth was wrapped around the horizontal bar.

I faced the large tree. I pressed the cylinder against the trunk like I was aiming a machine gun. I adjusted the angle toward what I guessed was the center. The sharp tip dug slightly into the hard trunk. Grasping the horizontal bar of the T with both hands, I twisted my arms.

With a kyuryu, kyuryu sound, the cylinder slowly, slowly bored into the trunk. Keep it level, keep it level, I chanted in my head. As an economics major, I'd never done anything like taking tree ring samples. A favorite saying of my old professor was, "Economics is the physics of the individual, the chemistry between people, and the biology of the living thing called society." Thanks to him, I was forced to read all sorts of classic papers from various fields in his seminar.

The muscles in my biceps began to cramp. Just as I was about to wipe the sweat from my brow, a pair of white hands covered mine from behind.

"I'm sorry. I have to help, too."

Her whisper was right by my ear, and her slender arms, which looked like they'd never held anything heavier than a fork, touched mine. A different kind of sweat ran down my back. I was truly grateful for her priestess robes that nearly reached the back of her hands. I'd wondered if the thick-looking fabric was hot, but if she'd been wearing something thin, my own sweat would have been a much bigger problem.

Trying to ignore my sweet-smelling collaborator, I rotated my arms with a clear mind. I think the tip of my elbow may have grazed something soft behind me a few times, but it must have been my imagination. It had to be, because otherwise, things would get far too dangerous.

"...I-I think this is far enough."

I realized the white line I'd marked as a guide had disappeared into the trunk. Her assistance might not have meant much physically, but it seemed to have had a considerable psychological effect.

"Um, it's a bit late to ask, but... what were you doing?"

"Just watch."

I inserted a thin iron rod I had prepared into the cylinder. A sample, about the thickness of a straw, was pushed out. It was lined with beautiful horizontal stripes. It looked like I had managed to bore it out horizontally, almost perfectly toward the center.

"It has tree patterns on it. Is it something special?"

Alfina looked puzzled. She probably knew what tree rings were. Even in a stone culture, it's not like they don't have wood. There are non-red forests around isolated mountains, away from the eastern and western mountain ranges.

"Trees stop growing in the winter and grow in the summer. The marks of that difference in growth are these stripes. In other words, the dark, thin parts are winter, and the white, wide parts are from spring to summer. One, two, three... This year's isn't complete, but this gives us a record of roughly fifty years, distinguishable on a year-by-year basis."

In my old world, you could get climate change data by measuring the width of the rings and carbon isotopes. Here, my prediction was that it would leave a record of magical power.

"There was such a method... Amazing. With this, I'm sure..."

"Save the praise for after it works. There are still plenty of hurdles to clear, like data accuracy and standardization."

"But I'm sure you'll be fine, Ricardo-kun. It's truly amazing. Truly."

"I just provided some knowledge I had because Fina asked me to."

Alfina looked at me with eyes full of pure admiration. She's overestimating me. I wasn't the one who came up with the original method. Besides, I have my own interests in protecting this village. And it was Alfina who had the courage to tell me the prophecy, even though it was nothing but a risk for her. I, for one, properly value someone who takes a risk.

"But you were the only one who listened to me, Ricardo-kun."

"Well, that was, you know, kind of a mutual misunderstanding, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was..."

Alfina clenched her hands in front of her chest. She stared intently at the scenery beyond the hill. What is it now?

"And... I will never forget what happened today for the rest of my life."

"Huh!?"

"This view. Ricardo-kun, there were red trees much closer to us."

Alfina was gripping my hand. Her smile was like she'd been given an expensive jewel. This girl was so easy to please it was a little worrying. I wonder if her knight-errant affectation was actually because of this disposition. Also, that Grand Duchess Bertold person really needs to be more careful. Sweet flowers easily attract bugs.

"W-well, in any case. We've done what we came to do. Let's put our hopes in Fulsy now," I said to Alfina, who showed no sign of letting go of my hand.