***Arc 6 One Who Pierced Through, Chapter 125 The Moon on The Water Surface***
Snow was lightly removed from the village square, which was brightly lit by a bonfire despite the night.
There, the sound of flutes and drums echoed, and the snow falling from the sky sparkled and shimmered on the bonfire.
"Here"
"A-ah...thank you."
Krische joined the women of the village in distributing the meal.
The man who received the pie looked very uneasy, but he obediently accepted the pie and thanked her.
In the first place, it was a banquet for Krische, but the women didn't have much doubts about her wanting to help.
At village banquets and festivals, the village women cook and serve the food.
Since Krische always spent time with her mother Grace and Gala on such occasions, it was more comfortable for her to work in this way than to sit in silence.
Besides, Krische’s interest was always in food.
She was happy to serve the food and nibbled on the various dishes, she was enjoying the feast well before the event began.
Bery smiled wryly at her, and of course she also helped the women.
And if Krische was to work, Kilik and the others would start helping out, so the entertainment did not even begin and the banquet began to fall into chaos.
Finally when Pell called out to Krische, she finally took a seat at the table that had been prepared for her.
For the time being, it's treated as the seat of a guest of honor, but it's a simple one with just a chair and a table.
When Krische climbed onto Bery's lap as if a matter of course, Bery smiled a little troubled, but left it as it was, assuming that there would be no problem after looking at the surroundings.
Pell sighs exasperated.
" Krische-nee chan is still the same in many ways, huh...doing whatever she pleases, or rather, Krische-neechan is the main character today."
"Even if Pell said Krische is the main character, Krische was not told what to do..."
"If it's a wedding or something like that, the star of the show is the woman sitting there, not working. It's their job to sit down. ...haah, and the aunties also won’t say anything about it either."
"Haha, no, it's been a long time since everyone worked with Krische-chan... so."
Gala gave a wry smile, and Krische picked up a small fruit and pushed it into Pell's open mouth.
Pell backed away greatly while his face turned bright red.
"W-what are you doing……!?"
"Getting angry over small things like that is a no, no. It's a rule that everyone should have fun at festivals and banquets."
"Y-You know..."
"It still doesn't seem to work huh. If Krische remembers correctly, Pell when he's angry or crying, he should have calmed down if Krische let him eat fruit..."
"...Just how long ago do you think that was?"
Bery, holding Krische, chuckled happily, and Pell blushed more and more.
And it was Krische who noticed it.
"Muu...Krische said not to, but Pell looked at Bery again. Krische might have to tell Pell's mother about this and get her to spank you."
"No, stop! I'm not at that age anymore!"
"Pell is two years younger than Krische. …When Krische thinks about it, Krische from two years ago was still a kid, so Pell is still a kid after all."
"I'm sure I’m better than Krische-neechan, who's still a child even now!"
The women who were watching also laughed as Gala held her stomach at the sight.
Bery also laughed and lightly embraced Krische's body, saying, ‘that’s no good Krische-sama.’
"Please forget about poison for the eyes. It's embarrassing even for me. It's just a joke from Kilik-sama."
"Joke... but it’s true when Pell is looking at Bery, it seems like he's absent minded..."
"Anyway, let's stop talking about that... Krische-neechan is too extreme. Look, the village chief is here."
The village chief, who was wondering what to do since the guest of honor, Krische, had not taken her seat, seized the opportunity to give a light greeting. He told everyone about the purpose of the banquet, treating Krische and Gallen as heroes who have left the village and saying that he was most happy to welcome them home.
He did not touch on the circumstances of Krische’s departure from the village, and the content of the speech was harmless stuff, but his worry was evident in every word.
As he finished, the tone of the flute changed and the hunters with bows stepped forward.
They lined up, facing the forest with their bows poised, and with the accelerating music, they pulled the strings.
It was an archery ceremony that showed gratitude to the forest.
They asked for permission to lavishly use the bounty of the forest for the feast, pray that they will continue to receive the same bounty, and released their arrows.
As the strings sounded in unison with the beat of the drums and the arrows disappeared into the snowy forest, the tone of the flute changed once again.
That signaled the beginning, and what followed was an entertainment contest.
The village's best men gather to decide who was the best in the village in a variety of events.
There were several categories, such as hoisting alcohol barrel contests to test one's strength, a flag-capturing contest in which contestants ran to capture the flag at the finish line, and a target shooting contest to test their archery skills.
The target shooting was especially exciting because it was a battle between hunters of high status in the village, but now that the undefeated champion Gallen is gone, everyone seems to be even more enthusiastic than before.
The most exciting battle was the sword fight.
The popularity of this event was also high because of its flashy appearance and the fact that the winner was clear-cut.
The fact that any man, as long as he was not a child, could participate in the event was also a big factor.
"Yeah, just you see. I'll be able to participate from this year."
"Be careful, okay. Pell gets injured a lot after all."
Forcibly invited by the men of the village, the one-eyed leader of the 19th Squad, Kilik, joined as the representative of the Black Flag Special Forces.
About twenty people participate in the swordsmanship competition.
Pell narrowly won the first match, but was beaten by the favorites in the second.
However, the candidate for the championship was also defeated by Kilik in the next match, and in the end, an outsider won the sword fight contest, and the atmosphere became awkward.
Kilik's swordsmanship was second only to Kalua's in the Black Flag Special Force.
The village's best men weren't an opponent to him, but even so, as long as Krische was watching, they couldn't cut corners, and the result was a tragedy.
After thinking about how to deal with the atmosphere, he called out to Krische.
As a reward for being the winner, he asked her to a bout for the first time in a while.
Kilik, who doesn't know the circumstances behind Krische departure from the village, thought that seeing her sword skills would make the place much more lively, but it had the opposite effect.
That suggestion made the place feel even more awkward, but Krische was not a man who could read the atmosphere.
As a reward for her subordinates, she stepped forward without being concerned about it.
Krische sword, which had slain the bandit.
No one had forgotten it, and for a moment the atmosphere became delicate, but once it began, however, the banquet became quite lively.
The dance-like Krische’s swordsmanship, when performed in a place like this, was exactly what you would call a sword dance, and it was more beautiful than it was terrifying.
From Krische’s point of view, it was like giving training to her soldiers.
Not decide who wins or loses, but to point out what was wrong and lure him to swing his sword.
The battle between the two was a spectacular performance.
Although Kilik showed overwhelming power, he was like a baby against Krische.
He desperately chased after her, but his sword cut through the air without catching her.
Nevertheless, the sound and power of the sword was so powerful that even if it had been avoided, it would have been powerful.
The villagers, watching with bated breath――Bery watched the battle from her seat, smiling wryly at Gala, who looked at Krische with concern.
Even that Bogan became no match to Krische in a short time.
She knew this, so she had no worries and could watch on with peace of mind.
"Well, I really think she will be fine, but I just can't help it."
"Fufu, at first I was worried too, but I got used to it. …That said as expected, when it’s time for her to fight on the battlefield, I’m still worried."
Gala stared at Bery, nodded, and told her worriedly.
"Actually, it would be great if she didn’t need to swing the sword and just live normally, but… I guess I can’t say that."
"...that's true. Krische-sama is...strong after all."
Bery nodded and answered.
Cleaning the mansion and tending the orchard. Then spend the days in peace.
Krische was too strong to hope for such a life.
Even the kind of opponents that Bogan and Selene needed to bet their life on, helplessly fell――Krische’s strength was much too strong.
She has too much power to spend her days as a normal girl.
That was both her strength and her misfortune.
"……Long ago, I lost my son in an accident."
"accident…?"
"He fell with his friend, being chased by a wild boar. …It was around the time my husband died, so I didn’t even know what I should live for…Honestly, I even thought about dying."
Gala sipped the sake and lowered her eyes.
"At that time, because I had an oven in my house Krische-chan came to bake pies almost every day. ……At first, I thought, please give me a break, but as I spent more and more time with her, I began to look forward to her coming to visit me. I couldn't help but find her adorable before I knew it.
Gazing at the reflection of the sparkling surface of the water in the carved wooden cup.
With a wry smile, Gala continued.
"I always knew that she was an unusual child, so at first, I was wondering what her intentions were. Maybe she just wanted to bake a pie, or maybe she really came to comfort me. ……My child hated that child, and he said a lot of cruel things, so I wondered one thing and another, such as whether that child might have something to do with it over and over again."
Having said that, she suddenly relaxed her shoulders.
"But... When I saw that girl's happy smile when she baked a delicious pie, I didn't care about that kind of thing anymore. I got better and better, and we started to bake pies together... it's thanks to that girl and Grace that I'm alive now."
"……is that so"
Berry sipped her drink, unable to say anything.
She had a feeling that Gala didn't particularly want a response either.
It was just a reminiscence.
"It's funny, at first when Grace told me she was going to raise Chrissie, I was more against it than anyone else because I thought she might be an abandoned child of some noble. But now she's more important to me than anyone else. Strange things sure do happen."
"Fufu... But isn't that what life is like? Things we don't understand accumulate and gradually become irreplaceable."
"Yeah, certainly. …Maybe that’s how it is."
Anyway, said Gala.
"...I want that child to be happier than anyone else. But as expected, with this much distance between us, all I can do is pray, so I was troubled. …So, can I entrust you with that child? "
"... yes, definitely"
Bery nodded.
For that reason, she had already vowed to live, so she had no hesitation or doubt in answering that.
Gala smiled with satisfaction when she heard the answer.
"Haha, if it’s you, I’m relieved. If Krische-chan got married, I thought I'd beat him up, but I'd definitely like to leave that to you."
"B-beat him, is it...?"
"Ahh, I won’t forgive people who try to lay their hands on a pure childlike Krische-chan. I was worried some bad bugs might hover around her, so I’ll leave that to you, okay"
"Wah."
She was slapped on her back, and Bery answered yes with a troubled face.
If she thought about who the worst insect was, Bery had someone who came to her mind more than anyone else.
Her cheeks reddened and said, ‘I will take it to heart.’
"Having said that, if it makes her happy, there’s nothing more to say…At the very least, I think Grace wanted that child to have that kind of happiness."
Gala traced the rim of the cup nostalgically.
She drew arcs and traced them.
"Did you ask that girl about her name?"
"The chipped, arcing moon .....wasn't it? It's a lovely name."
"Yeah, it's a good name that can mean a lot of things. Well, Grace didn't give it that much thought. She's a simple girl."
"...simple, is it?"
Reflecting the bonfire, the water surface on the wine cup drew a crescent moon (三日月).
Gala laughed and nodded.
"It’s simple. Seems she――"
"Krische is back"
Before they knew it, the bout was over.
Berry was surprised when she jumped on her lap, and then hugged her with a wry smile so that she wouldn't fall.
"Welcome back, Krische-sama."
"I'm home. What were you talking about?"
"Oh...some old memories. Krische-chan is thirsty right, would you like some juice?"
"Yes, thank you"
When Krische nodded, Gala poured the juice and said,
"Oba-san just said that Oba-san is very grateful to Krische-chan. That's why I asked Bery-san to take care of Cliche-chan."
"grateful..."
Krische smiled as she thought about it.
"Ehehe, Krische is also very grateful to Oba-san. Oba-san taught Krische how to use the oven, and how to make pies... Oba-san was always nice to Krische."
"Haha, that's so. That makes me happy."
She stroked Krische's head and Krische narrowed her eyes happily.
"Yes, so please tell Krische anything. Krische also loves Oba-san, so Krische wants to thank Oba-san a lot... That's why Krische wants to do a lot of things that make Oba-san happy..."
Then, as she was about to say something, she stopped.
She pondered something, stared at Gala, and then looked at Bery.
"What's wrong?"
"...?"
Bery also tilted her head and looked at Krische.
Krische shook her head, her eyes downcast, sipped at her juice, and Gala chuckled.
"Isn't Krische-chan getting sleepy by now? She's been moving around so much, and she's always been a good sleeper."
"Certainly... it was early this morning. Are you going to take a rest?"
Krische nodded hesitantly.
Bery laughed with Gala and picked Krische up.
"Despite your appearance, you’re quite strong. Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm used to it. Now, Krische-sama, shall we go?"
"……yes"
Krische nodded quietly and pressed her face against Berry.
The next day, they prepared in the morning and went to visit the graves in the snowy forest.
Last night, Krische had been acting a little strange until she fell asleep, but this morning she was back to her normal self.
Bery was relieved to see that, changed her clothes and waited for Gala.
Gala arrived home just when the morning glow settled down.
Unlike the neatly arranged cemeteries in the city, in the village, trees in the forest serve as graves.
The burned bones and ashes were buried under the tree of their choice, and a wooden tag with their name written on it was placed on a branch.
It was said that when the string on which it was hung naturally decayed and the wooden tag fell off, the dead person would be reborn in a new form.
They have a close relationship with the forest, and apart from the blood-worshiping beliefs of the Kingdom, which respects blood, they have an indigenous belief that has been handed down since ancient times.
Flowers bloom, fruits grow, and seeds fall——in the village, people were said to live in this cycle, and death was not just death, but the beginning of a new life.
It was probably created as a consolation for the many hunters who lost their lives while hunting.
Bery bowed to the tree, surprised at the unusual shape of the grave.
Gorka, Grace.
Two wooden tags hung there and tied to the same string had their names written on them, followed by something written on them.
It didn't seem to be the Western Common Language used in the Kingdom, but it seemed to be an ancient script that Bery couldn't read.
"Krische had them write words that meant that they may be husband and wife too the next time they were born. They were very close."
"I see……"
"It seems that it was written as the same fate will be tied in the next life."
Gala looked at Cliche as if she were a little surprised.
"In the book that Gotoushu-sama had, there was something about the old language used around here."
"Haa... That's amazing. If Krische-chan was in the village, she might have become a priest. I heard that learning the language is quite difficult but."
"Hmm... there are quite a lot of words with similar meanings, so Krische is not sure if Krische properly understood it..."
"No, no, no, it's great if Krische-chan can even read that much. Krische-chan has always been smart after all."
Gala approached the wooden tag and looked at the string.
The string was a bit deteriorated and already had some fraying.
The ropes were woven in different ways depending on how the person died.
In the case of old age or the death of a parent with young children, the cord was woven like a firm rope so that the parents could stay in the village for a long time and watch over their children's growth.
In the case of an unfortunate death, a thin rope was woven on purpose so that the person could leave early.
In this sense, it was a little difficult to choose the right rope for these two.
She felt that a thicker rope would be better for them, but the reason it became a little thinner was because Krische said she was fine alone.
At the time she wondered how it would be, but looking at Krische now, Gala thought that this was fine.
There are those who wish for a thicker cord because of their unfulfilled love for the dead, but no matter what happens, what is lost will not come back.
Rather, it was considered better to wish for the rope to break quickly and for the dead to depart.
"...Are Kaa-sama and the others really here? Reincarnation, Krische can’t really believe it."
"Well, who knows. but if you think they are here, they are here, and if you think they are not, they are not."
Gala said and looked up at the tree.
"But for now, Oba-san thinks that she might be watching Krische-chan from there like this. Whatever the truth is, I hope it's true, and I'm glad it is. ...They say people have a soul, but Grace and Gorka are watching over Krische-chan."
Gala smiled and stroked Krische’s head.
"You interpret what you don't understand in the way that makes you happiest, not whether it's right or wrong. It's not about whether it's right or wrong, it's about how it should be. I believe that's what faith is all about."
"... Is that so? But it's hard to hang around here without a body, so Krische wants Kaa-sama and the others to go on a journey soon and be happy."
"Hahaha, well, that's true. If Krische-chan said that, then Grace and Gorka would be relieved."
Krische bowed to the tree and Gala laughed happily.
Bery chuckled at Krische and bowed to the tree once more.
There was so much gratitude that she couldn't put into words, and she really wished they were still here to watch over Krische.
After doing so for a while and looking up, Gala said.
"I'm sorry, but can I finish it too?"
"Yes, it was close, right."
"Yeah, that tree over there. Um..."
Gala continued on her way, stepping on the snow, and Cliche pulled Berry's hand, who was not used to this.
Just as she had said, the tree Gala was aiming for was right nearby.
Just——
"...the wooden tag"
When Gala saw it, she paused and stared blankly at the tree.
The tree no longer had a tag, only a degraded and wound rope remains.
She closed her eyes for a moment and crouched down.
Gala scraped the snow with her hand and searched under it to find a frozen wooden tag.
"...It was still hanging in the summer but, ah I see. Because of the storm the other day huh"
"That's, uhh..."
"Oh, it's my son. They said he died in an accident."
Gala looked at the wooden tag for a while, and she traced the name written there lovingly.
Krische stared at Gala and then suddenly looked up at Bery.
When Bery tilted his head, Krische shook her head and looked at Gala again.
"He was stupid, selfish, and quick to quarrel…well, he wasn’t a good child, but I still feel lonely. No matter what I said, He was my cute only son after all."
Bery was at a loss as to what to say to her, and couldn't think of the right words to say.
Giving a wry smile to Bery, Gala said that she was fine.
"... Well, I thought it was about time. It was many years ago, and I've sorted out my mind. this is how he's going to go, I'll be more than happy to see him off with a smile on my face."
Bery nodded and bowed to the wooden tag held by Gala.
Krische stared at the situation and asked Gala.
"... do you want to bury it?"
"Oh, I will. Can you help me?"
"Yes, uh... Krische’ll bring a shovel."
Krische ran to the house and immediately brought a shovel.
She shoved a wide swath of snow under the trees, poked the shovel into the frozen soil, repeated it several times, and then took a step back without saying a word.
Gala looked at the wooden tag for a while, held it to her chest, and wiped her eyes several times.
Then she carefully undid the piece of string that remained on the tree, put it together with the wooden tag, and slowly and regretfully placed it in the hole Krische had dug.
"Next time, please properly live a long life so as not to make your parents sad."
She nodded to Krische, who then used the shovel to move back the soil, evened it lightly and covered it with snow.
Gala bowed her head again, and Bery followed suit.
Only Krische watched Gala bowing like that for a while.
With tomorrow's departure, Krische and Bery had some work to do.
They parted ways with Gala, saying that they would see each other later, and went through the procedures to buy food for the return trip.
Krische seemed to have something to say from visiting the grave, and she seemed to be confused.
When asked what was wrong, she just shook her head as if she was lost.
It must have been around the time they entered Krische’s house, which Gala had taken care of, Bery made a pot of tea, and took a break.
Watching her face floating in the tea, Krische quietly opened her mouth.
"...Bery"
"yes"
Bery smiled as usual.
Somehow, faintly.
She knew what Krische was going to talk about.
She wouldn't have thought so if it was just from what she heard from Gala last night.
But with what happened in the grave, the way her purple eyes were shaking and a little frightened now.
It reminded her of when she tried to kill Roland some time ago.
She knew she killed bandits when she was in the village.
She also knows what she looked like when she tried to kill Roland.
If necessary, Krische has no qualms about killing people.
She didn't dare ask, but she thought maybe she had done something like that in the village.
Killing bandits――Berry did not know if that was truly the only kind of murder she had committed in the village.
"...Oba-san’s child, a long time ago, Krische killed him."
What kind of person was the girl named Krische?
So with all of that in mind, Bery could predict those words.
