“Young Lady, are you feeling sick?”
Mina immediately notices her master’s condition and calls out to her.
“No, I’m fine. I’m OK physically.”
Ekaterina nodded her head, but she probably wasn’t as pale as she thought she was. What’s wrong with me? Why am I acting like a sensitive young lady now?
Mina put her arms around Ekaterina and hugged her tightly.
“It’s alright. A normal woman wouldn’t be good with corpses. And I should have known it would have been impossible for the gentle Young Lady to be able to handle this. I should have taken you somewhere else.”
“Mina…”
Now, that sounds like something Big Brother would say and do. What if being a siscon was a serious airborne disease in this world?
I mean, there was no way that could be true, right?
“I’m fine, really. And I know it’s inappropriate to say that I don’t like corpses because I always eat meat with my meals.”
Yeah. I must not forget, meat was obtained from the corpse of a dead creature. And we accepted it; taking its life would seem cruel or disgusting, but it was something we needed to do to survive.
So, I wondered, what was the point of looking away?
…Sorry, I couldn’t look at it. I wondered why logic didn’t work…I was shaking. Urgh, move.
“Um… everyone.”
Ekaterina was startled by the hushed voice.
“Thank you very much. Thanks to you, we’ll be able to grow the rest of the sugar beets. I really don’t know how to thank you.”
Ekaterina stepped away from Mina and smiled at the old man who had come to her for help.
“You don’t have to thank me. It is our duty to protect our people. I’m glad I could be of help to you.”
“Thank you, thank you very much.”
The old man burst into tears.
Forli giggled.
“With its entire body available, the monocular bear makes for excellent prey, Young Lady. Its fur is strong and warm, and its meat is nutritious. Above all, they have special organs, and the fluid that accumulates in them is the raw material for high-quality restorative medicines and can be sold for a high price.”
…I was worried about being eaten by a bear earlier, but now I was on the side that eats the bear….it was truly a eat or be eaten relationship.
But well, thank you Forli-san!
“You have a debt, don’t you? I would be more than happy to help you pay off your debt with the money from the monocular bear.”
A disaster turned into a blessing. All things in life eventually change for the better. I hope the old man, who went through many hard times, will feel that something good has happened to him.
But, if he would continue to grow sugar beets, live a serious life, and pay taxes, it would be most appreciated by the government officials.
I could also now understand a bit about the Ainu people, who used to worship the prey of their hunts as a gift from the Gods.
Thank you, monocular bear. Your life would give some people a chance to live.
The old man gasped and shook his head.
“No, no, no…the bear now belongs to all of you because you defeated it.”
“It’s yours. You must have grandchildren. Give them some of the nourishing meat to eat.”
Originally, we should have been taking care of them when they suffered from a disaster in their hometowns. It was about time we made it up to them.
“I can feed them good food… thank goodness…!”
The old man was no longer in tears.
By this time, the other villagers had come to check on him. They must have noticed the cloud of dust when they had just dropped the bear into the pit.
