――The bending of the wood, the tension in the strong, the movement of the wind.
Feeling all that, Krische quietly widened her stance.
Instead of tensing, Krische focused on the something flowing smoothly through every corner of her body.
This was mana, a formless power, which Krische perceived as a ‘floofy feeling’.
Instead of moving her muscles, she used mana to control her arms and legs, as if her own body was a puppet.
Emulating the expert hunter in her memories, Krische applied those movements to her own body.
She controlled her body using mana on a daily basis, thus muscle strains and stiffness were not a concern to her.
Her body moved exactly as she imagined, always controlled, her ideal self.
When had she learnt this technique? Two? Three?
Krische only had a vague sense of how long she had been alive then, but it was around that age.
Krische’s body is as young and powerless as others her age, but by controlling it with magic, she can be almost as strong as――no, stronger, than adults.
This is the reason she can easily handle a bow that is a little tough for children.
Rustling and movements in the grass.
In that long, dragged out instant of time, she focused on those and quietly held her breath.
A moment of silence――then the twang of the bowstring cutting through the air.
The released arrow was sucked into the bush, followed by the dull thud of a stolen life.
Even without looking, Krische was sure of the hit. She drew closer and stared expressionlessly at the thrashing rabbit, the arrow piecing its neck.
She then grabbed it by the leg and headed to the river, where she held it upside down and slit its throat with a knife.
Blood flowed out quickly, pumped by a dying heart, dripping onto and staining the ground.
“Mm, that’s good.”
Quickly draining the blood is the secret to good meat――otherwise, the meat would develop a stench.
Krische quickly took out a piece of string and tied the rabbit’s leg to a tree, hanging it upside down.
Its convulsions grew weaker and it eventually stopped moving.
As she was blankly watching the life leak out of the rabbit, there was a sound from behind.
“……Krische, what’re you doing?”
“Tou-sama, Ojii-sama” (T/N: Father, grandfather)
Two men stepped out of the thicket.
The tall, thin man with a beard around his mouth was Gorka.
Krische’s foster father, a young expert hunter and the leader.
The other was Grace’s father――Krische’s grandfather, Gallen.
He was the village’s hero, a man that had experienced seven campaigns and rose to the rank of centurion.
His rough white hair combined with his experience created an unapproachable atmosphere around him, but he was a caring grandfather and doted on Krische.
Krische was also quite attached to her grandfather.
The village’s hunters normally acted in pairs.
Gorka was no exception and always hunted together with Gallen, Grace’s father and his own mentor.
The two seemed to have managed to bring down their prey today, between them was a pole with a boar strapped to it.
Looking at the three arrows embedded in it, it must have been difficult.
The boar was plump, a big catch.
“Ehehe, Krische was practicing archery. Krische thought things would be easier for Tou-sama if Krische could hunt too.”
It was just as it looked like.
But though her explanation was correct, it was not accurate.
Krische was not satisfied and wanted more meat for the pot, but she did not want them to think of her as gluttonous.
This was just archery practice. The rabbit she hunted was a coincidence, that’s how she wanted them to think.
Krische was self-centered and narcissistic, thus she held herself to extreme standards.
She always kept herself clean, minding her manners when around others, not sparing any effort to be everything that was considered virtuous.
This is because of her aesthetic sense, or arrogant thinking. The very basis of which is the belief that she ought to be better than everyone else.
To Krische, being bound by base desires and emotions is nothing but proof of foolishness.
Naturally, she should act in a rational way without being swayed by such emotions――because Krische thought like that, her uncontrollable craving for food is embarrassing, a disgrace, a fatal flaw preventing her from achieving her ideal self.
Of course Krische is also human――she has also had the thought, isn’t it fine if it’s just that? I can’t help it since I can’t resist it anyway.
But here lies the tragedy.
Her mind had an important screw loose, causing her to also be strongly objective about herself.
This strong objectivity meant Krische could not allow this minor flaw.
“Er, then a rabbit, just happened to pass by so…..Krische tried aiming for it. Er……and then, To, Tou-sama must also be tired from hunting everyday, so, so Krische thought it would be better to eat more meat, er……”
――Krische is not a glutton. Krische was just trying to help.
This was definitely not Krische losing to her appetite, it was to help her parents who had always taken good care of her.
Even as she tried to explain that confidently, she believed she had been doing something shameful, resulting in a stammer that only sounded like excuses.
“A, Anyway, Krische wanted to help Tou-sama.”
But to her this was a perfect argument.
She was full of confidence that with this explanation, they would not think her a glutton.
“Kuku, got it got it. You’re a good filial girl.”
Grandpa Gallen smiled wryly at Krische.
Of course her excuse would not work on the adults, she was just let off the hook because it was amusing to listen to her excuses.
Krische did not understand the wry smiles they had whenever she made excuses.
“Ehehe, thank you.”
Krische smiled, blissfully unaware, believing her excuse had worked.
Gallen smiled at the usual antics of his granddaughter and picked up Krische’s handmade bow to examine it――but the other man, her father was frozen in confusion.
After some thought, Gorka cautiously asked.
“……that rabbit, Krische, was it you?”
“Yes. Krische is now draining the blood.”
Hearing her answer, he frowned, staring at Krische.
“Who taught you? I don’t recall teaching you……”
“……? Krische saw Tou-sama do it several times.”
Seeing Krische tilt her head in confusion, Gorka whispered, It can’t be.
He had let Krische see him shoot several times.
But that was it.
He never had any intention of teaching her how to handle the bow.
In the first place, Krische was a girl, she couldn’t become a hunter.
“Krische only learnt by watching so is not as good as Tou-sama. But Krische can also make the arrow accurately fly to where Krische aims now, ehehe.”
He turned towards the rabbit, an arrow cleanly through its neck.
An expert hunter like Gorka did not need to see her shoot.
Just from the arrow’s position and how it deeply it was embedded, he understood her skill.
That was why he was shaken.
“……just by seeing several times.”
Gorka had known that Krische had a terrifying ability to learn.
But seeing it like this, seeing his skill honed over many years, easily acquired, a chill ran down his spine.
Krische had probably burnt ‘the few shots she had seen’ into her memory, then over time, made it her own.
How Gorka held the bow, his stance, his breathing. She had perfectly memorised them, comprehended them and understood the key points just by seeing him do it a few times.
She had abnormal intelligence and talent.
He had known this, but he could not calm the turmoil in his heart.
Leaving Gorka lost in thought, Gallen opened his mouth to speak.
“Krische, did you make this bow?”
“Yes. It is not very well made, but it is enough to shoot rabbits.”
“You’ve made a small mistake in choosing the wood. You’ve cut it neatly, but you need to pay attention to the knots and fibers. I’ll show you how to do it next time.”
“Ehehe……thank you very much.”
Krische smiled as Gallen patted her head, then turned her purple eyes at Gorka.
“……what’s wrong? Tou-sama.”
“Ah, it’s nothing……Krische, you haven’t gone deeper into the woods, right?”
“Yes, as I was told not to. I caught the rabbit right nearby.”
“There are legends of monsters in the forest depths. I’m sure you’re sick of hearing this over and over again, but be very careful.”
“Okay, Tou-sama”
It’s about time, as she nodded obediently, Krische took out her knife and sliced along the rabbit’s belly and limbs.
In a good mood, she tried to peel the hide, but then frowned, it wouldn’t come off.
“……hm?”
“Krische, you’re doing it a bit wrong. To skin a rabbit, you start from here.”
Gallen helped her with a gentle laugh, easily peeling off the rabbit hide.
“……I see.”
Krische looked on in amazement.
――Gorka noticed an inhuman glint in her eyes, bringing to mind a snake’s eyes.
Krische’s lovely eyes were beautiful, but Gorka occasionally felt something terrifying about those large purple eyes.
Whenever she was observing something, Krische would always watch in a somewhat detached manner.
Just like that time with the corpse which had fallen from a height, the sight of it had made adult men step back.
Gorka recalled how Krische had also stared at the broken corpse with those eyes.
Even though it was a friend her age――Krische had calmly observed it with those inhuman eyes.
When Krische realised she was being watched, she looked back at Gorka, tilting her head.
Then looking as if she had understood something, she blushed a little and said.
“It looked simple but, Krische still has much to learn……”
Being able to do it is a matter of course――the standard Krische held for herself is extremely high.
Krische thought Gorka was staring at her foolish mistake, completely misunderstand his gaze and looking away in embarrassment.
That expression was adorable, like a little fairy.
Seeing his daughter act like a normal girl her age, Gorka shook his head, denying his thoughts.
“……I was like that when younger. It’s more than enough being able to do that much.”
“Yeah, Gorka was a little chicken back then, he ended up trying to skin his own hand. In terms of that, you’ve got steady nerves, Krische.”
――steady nerves.
No, that’s not it, Gorka thought.
Even now that he is used to gutting prey, it’s still unpleasant for him to remove the entrails of an animal that had just been alive. Looking at grotesque innards is definitely not fun.
But Krische stayed composed, removing the entrails and turning the rabbit into meat.
Does Krische not feel the same fear that normal people feel? Gorka mulled.
“Tou-sama, can Krische help with gutting the boar too?”
“……yeah, of course. But wash your hands first. The blood under your nails will be harder to get out after a while.”
“Okay.”
Krische trotted to the river and scrubbed off the blood on her hands.
Watching her trot away, Gorka shook his head
No matter what, it did not change the fact that she is his beloved daughter, even if she is different from others, as her parent it is his duty to accept her as she is.
With that thought, Gorka felt embarrassed about the fear he had felt.
Both Gorka and Grace knew that Krische is a little different from others.
She is bright and intelligent, a genius at anything she did, quickly grasping the key points.
But conversely, she was poor at conversation, she only understood words at their face value and there was often miscommunications even with trivial topics.
Was it was because she was too smart? Or perhaps some other reason?
He was aware that many of the villagers found her weird.
He and Grace had often discussed, sometimes argued, and worked together to help their daughter fit in with others.
Accepting her for her good and bad, they loved and raised her as their own daughter.
They were not blessed with child, to them Krische was a gift from god.
Even though they understood her abnormality now, they still believed that.
Most importantly, after Krische joined them, Gorka and Grace’s life have become a lot more enjoyable.
――Different as she might be, please let her learn to understand others and be able to live with them.
With that thought, Gorka watched his beloved daughter and renewed his resolve.
Just like the rock salt they mined, the fruits of hunting was the shared property of the village.
The meat was entrusted to the women that worked at the butchers. There it matured before being preserved by drying or curing the meat and then redistributed――but if everything was to be shared, the hunters would not be motivated.
So hunters are granted the privilege to keep and bring home a portion of the meat they procured, usually a fatty part that was difficult to preserve.
Boar was more flavourful after being left to hang and mature for a few days.
So they had to wait three days later to enjoy the privilege, but small game like rabbits and birds were the exception to this rule.
Large game like deer and boar were game that only hunters could hunt, but rabbits and birds were safe and even children could catch them, these are allowed to be directly brought home.
There was an unspoken rule among hunters that forbid entering the forest to hunt small game, so these were treated as lucky spoils.
For this reason, hunters who only hunted small game were looked down on and many hunters who caught small game delivered them to the butchers anyways as shared property, so this rule never became problem.
Thus as game that was caught by Krische, a child that was not a hunter, the rabbit naturally belonged to their family.
Krische went home contentedly with the rabbit.
That night half the rabbit was tossed into the soup and the other half was cooked over the fire.
This was a luxurious meal compared to usual.
The plump rabbit had plenty of fats, when stewed the juices mixed into the soup, and when roasted oil trickled off it.
Gallen had been invited and the four of them surrounded the dinner table. The conversation was naturally centered around Krische.
“……it’s food you caught yourself, delicious right?”
“Yes, Ojii-sama. The last time Krische ate rabbit was the previous festival……it has been long time, rabbit really tastes great.”
As Krische bit into the rabbit thigh, the oily juices spread through her mouth.
The combination of salt, herbs and meat simply roasted over a flame danced on her tongue, creating the finest flavour.
Her thoughts were full of bliss.
A sip of soup, this was also exquisite.
The flavour of the meat had melted into soup, making it nice and thick. Combined with the bread, it was wonderful.
“Right? Have mine too.”
“Eh, er……o, okay……”
Krische accepted the meat from Gallen with some hesitation and a small smile.
Gallen smiled at that and turned to Gorka.
“Gorka, she said it’s been a while. Bring in some rabbit every once in a while for her. Krische’s a growing girl.”
“Ah, Krische did not mean that……”
“Kids don’t have to be shy. When I was a kid, I always asked for more food until my stomach was bloated.”
Krische narrowed her eyes in pleasure as Gallen roughly rubbed her head.
Grace laughed cheerfully and Gorka seemed to think a little before nodding.
“I guess you’re right. Grace and I are small eaters so we didn’t notice……but this might’ve been too little for Krische.”
“Yeah……Krische’s a little glutton despite appearances. When the peddlers come, she stares at the fish and cheese with glittering eyes too.”
“……eh?”
Krische was in the middle of stuffing her mouth with bread and meat as fast as she could without being indecent, but she froze with widened eyes upon hearing those words.
Then her eyes swimming, she denied it.
“Tha……that’s not true, Krische is not a little glutton……”
The three of them burst out laughing.
“Krische, did you think we wouldn’t know?”
“Fufu, you’re so cute…….everyone in the village knows that Krische is actually a big eater despite appearances.”
Krische’s white cheeks immediately flushed and she curled up in embarassment.
“That, that’s a lie……th, that can’t be true……”
Krische had always prepared an excuse whenever she was satisfying her desire.
She had constructed perfect reasons and excuses, at least from Krische’s point of view――but the flaw that should have been hidden well was known throughout the village.
Krische was in shock.
“The other women secretly call you the little glutton Krische-chan.”
――This public image was the direct opposite of Krische’s ideal.
Her eyes teared up in embarrassment and her white skin turned as red as an apple.
The way she moaned in embarrassment was befitting of her age.
The three laughed again.
“Normally you’re such a proper little Ojou-san, but this gap.”
“All the more because of how she normally acts.”
Listening to Gorka’s exchange with Grace, Gallen spoke with a faint smile.
“Don’t be shy with your parents Krische. What’s wrong with a little appetite? Krische works hard everyday, no one will complain.”
“Th, that’s not the problem……”
The greatest reason for Krische’s large appetite is her daily use of mana.
The bodies of those with more than a certain amount of mana are changed by it.
The food ingested is quickly broken down and converted to mana.
In these couple years, her mana expenditure had increased with her growth and it has gotten to the point where there is nothing left to excrete.
Since that was the reason for the vigorous appetite unbefitting of her appearance, there’s nothing she could do about it. This constitution of hers was mainly due to inheritance through blood, but such a bloodline did not exist in this village.
Thus nobody in the village noticed the reason for her appetite and that was Krische’s little tragedy.
“As a kid, Grace never helped with work and was so selfish. You’re a hardworker but too shy. Be honest and ask for what you want, you can ask for food if you’re hungry.”
“Oh stop it, Otou-san.”
“N, no, Krische really is not a glutton……”
Not wanting to accept it, Krische kept shaking her head and looked to Grace for help.
Seeing Krische like that, Grace chuckled.
“Fufu, stubborn girl. Here, We won’t tease you anymore so eat more.”
Having finished her meal, Grace patted Krische on the back with a smile.
Krische remained quiet, her face filled with shame, reluctantly sipping at the soup.
“Come on, because you two teased her, Krishe’s sulking.”
“You were the one that started it.”
“Was I?”
Laughing cheerfully, Grace continued speaking.
“Well, that aside, seriously……you clean the house and cook everyday, forage in the forest and even brought back a rabbit today……there’s nothing left for me to do. You should go and play more.”
With her face still bright red, Krische answered with tearful eyes.
“Er, er…… Krishce enjoys cleaning and co, cooking too.”
Krische wanted to emphasise that she cooked because she enjoyed it, not because she was a glutton.
But looking at their warm gazes, she did not feel like that excuse would work anymore.
Krische sulked, puffing out her cheeks, but Grace poked at them.
“Come on, don’t sulk. Fufu.”
“Uuu……”
Puhyuu, the air escaped and Krische moaned in embarassment.
Laughter resounded within the house.
With dinner over, they were now in the forest with the dishes.
Krische and Grace headed to a river a little ways in.
Twice a day, they went to bathe while washing the dishes.
The river bubbled, surrounded by trees.
The light of the crescent moon glittered in the flowing water, where a naked girl’s beautiful skin was washed by her mother’s hand.
The girl’s silver hair was infused with the moonlight and her skin was like fresh snow.
Likewise naked, Grace sighed as she washed Krische’s body.
“You’re really beautiful, just like a fairy.”
“I am beautiful?”
Without a shred of shame, Krische spread her arms and splashed the water.
She had gone into a sulk during dinner but now that she was bathing, she was in a good mood.
A quiet girl who seldom shows much emotion――that is how others often describe Krische, but with Grace, her expressions were rich and varied.
Watching Krische playing like a child, Grace smiled and nodded
“Yes, very. Krische is the most beautiful in the world. Like a Hime-sama.”
(T/N: Princess)
“Ehehe.”
Krische clung onto Grace and snuggled into her bosom.
Grace stroked Krische’s head as she spread a cloth on the grass and sat, dangling her legs in the river.
She then sat Krische on her lap and wiped the water from her silver hair before Krische grew cold.
Glancing at the sky, Grace smiled.
“Look, today’s moon is the same as Krische’s name, a very beautiful krische.”
“……?”
Krische also looked up at the sky and tilted her head in confusion.
Grace spoke to her cheerfully.
“The incomplete curved moon――in the old tongue, it’s called krische. The moon was like this when Gorka proposed to me……because it was so beautiful, I decided to name my daughter after it.”
“I see.”
“……you don’t sound interested.”
Grace pouted a little, then held Krische’s face between her hands.
“It is a charm. So that one day, you will get to experience my greatest happiness.”
“A charm?”
“Yes. Just like how I found Gorka, may you find someone like that. It might be a too early for you though, fufu.”
Krische tilted her head in confusion, looking at the sky.
The moon in the sky was just a moon, a waning moon, so there was little light.
That was all Krische could understand――she could not understand what was beautiful about it.
The moon wasn’t dirty, there was only the the difference between cloudy and clear.
(T/N: Word used for beautiful also means clean, 綺麗)
So she could not understand what Grace meant about a charm and tilted her head in confusion.
“Mmm, it is a little difficult for Krische……”
“No need to think too hard…… one day, Krische will understand.”
Is that how it is? Krische grew even more confused. Grace just laughed and lifted Krische to her feet.
After drying off the remaining moisture on Krische’s body, Grace nodded in satisfaction.
“Will you be going for practice tomorrow?”
“Yes. Pell asked me to train him.”
“You’re already such an Onee-san…… I won’t stop you, but both of you be careful not to get injured. You have such a beautiful body, it would be a shame to leave any marks on it.”
“Kaa-sama, there is no need to say that every time, Krische――”
“I worry. Come on, raise your arms.”
Once Krische obediently raised her arms, Grace passed the dress over her head and handed her underwear, then kissed her on the forehead.
“Parents are like this. Just put up with it.”
“Muu, okay……”
Krische pouted as she waited for Grace to be dressed, then linked arms with Grace.
They then entwined their hands and without saying anything in particular, smiled at each other.
Their unchanging daily life was peaceful despite occasional mild complaints.
Their life was simple but blissful, Krische never questioned the days that passed, loved by her parents.
She only had the vague thought that such days would continue forever.
“Come, let’s go back. I’ll feel bad for leaving Gorka alone for too long.”
“Okay.”
But that was the last day she spent with her family in this village.
-End-
Krische speaks very politely and properly most of the time. And her first-person pronoun is her own name.
Co-translated with Fried Hedgehog from Hinjaku Honyaku
– Main –
