Chapter 7 : Black Dog Bandits (2)

“Wake up! It’s the middle of the day, you guys!”

At Baekmyo’s booming shout, everyone got out of bed and moved to do their respective jobs.

Outside, it was still dark as night.

“The sun..? I can only see the moon.”

“If I say it’s the sun, it’s the sun.”

The more I get to know her, the more I realize she’s a crazy woman.

Anyway, what should I help with here?

I decided to help, but I’m still wondering about what to do.

Should I ask Gillian?

“Gillian, what are you going to help with?”

He seems to have recovered from the shock of the human flesh, fortunately.

“Me? I’m going to help in the kitchen. I have a bad leg, so I can’t do heavy lifting.”

“Ah, that’s right..”

I’ve been so busy these days that I forgot that Gillian has a bad leg.

The kitchen. It wouldn’t be bad to learn how to cook.

But, will I ever need to use it..?

The world of my novel was a much harsher place than I thought.

In these rural areas that don’t appear in the novel, there is a constant battle for survival every day.

And the most important thing is, I’m too weak.

Baekmyo was strong enough to easily break the shackles.

If I were strong enough, wouldn’t I have avoided such incidents?

“Do you have any concerns, Saya?”

Just in time, Heukgyeon approached me and asked.

I felt it from the beginning, but this person has a scary good sense.

“Um.. I’m wondering about what to help with. Is there anything that would help me build strength?”

“Ah, if that’s the case!”

Heukgyeon’s face brightened.

What kind of work is it..?

The place I arrived at following her was a narrow room surrounded by wooden walls on all sides.

“We’re here.”

“I’m the only one here? Where did the others go?”

“There are no others. This is a place where you work alone.”

“…Yes?”

I took another look around.

‘Wait, could this wall be…’

What I thought was a wooden wall was not a wall, but a pile of countless firewood.

“You said it’s a one-person job, is it a shift work?”

“No.”

“Aha. Then it’s every other day!”

“That’s not it either.”

“..Then, it’s a job to watch over the firewood so that no one can steal it!”

“Shall we stop joking and start working, Saya?”

Before I knew it, I had an axe in my hand.

“The person who was originally working, Jeokho, hurt his back this time, so we couldn’t chop firewood. I’m relieved that Saya will do it..”

Wait, I didn’t say I’d do it yet?

“Well, please do your best so that we won’t have any problems even when winter comes!”

Thud.

Heukgyeon closed the door and left.

All that remained were the stumps at the right height for chopping firewood and the firewood that made up the walls.

I thought it was too late to escape, so I emptied my mind and put a piece of firewood on it.

‘Still, if they say it was done alone, isn’t it surprisingly easy?’

I raised the axe and struck the firewood.

[Ting]

“….?”

Does firewood normally make this sound..?

It wasn’t [Thud] or [Thwack], it was a [Ting] sound.

It sounded like metal clashing against metal.

“I must have misheard.”

[Tang]

I didn’t mishear.

The firewood that was hit by the axe clearly made a light sound and bounced the axe off.

“Crazy, is this really wood..!?”

I put down the axe and examined the surface of the wood.

I saw that the cut surface was unusually smooth and shone with a coppery color.

Sniff.

Moreover, it smells strangely fishy.

I didn’t give up after that and tried to strike with the axe, but not a single scratch appeared on the firewood.

Around lunchtime, Heukgyeon returned.

“Oh. Saya, why are you so down?”

“Do you even need to ask? This isn’t ordinary wood.”

“Of course! This wood is [Ironwood], which only grows in the Luden Forest!”

“Ironwood…?”

“Ironwood, as the name suggests, is a tree that contains a large amount of iron. We melt this to make weapons.”

Can’t you tell me that kind of information in advance..?

‘A tree containing iron..? I’ve never heard of such a thing.’

This time, too, an element I had never created appeared naturally in front of me.

“Iron is scarce in this area, so you can’t get it by ordinary means. So we melt ironwood to refine iron.”

This is a bit surprising.

The empty parts of the world that I didn’t describe or set up were naturally filled in, as if to maintain consistency.

If I had been born in a noble mansion in the capital like the protagonist, I would never have known.

For example, there is a bandit group in the middle of the forest, or they melt wood to get iron here.

“..Anyway, it’s impossible. I couldn’t even scratch the firewood.”

“Perhaps Saya is too tired? I’m sure you’ll gain strength if you rest a little.”

Heukgyeon smiled.

Wait, that’s not the problem..?

“There’s no need to be impatient. There’s plenty of time until winter, so if you increase the amount little by little every day, there will be no problem…. Probably?”

Until winter.

I feel even more anxious because you say probably.

Thinking about how long I have to do this, my head is already spinning.

“This concludes the morning schedule. Please rest and come to me.”

Here, the work done in the morning and afternoon was different.

In the morning, they mainly went outside to gather or explore, and in the afternoon, except for the patrol group, the rest focused on work that could be done inside the cave.

“But Sarkas roam outside, how do you manage to gather?”

“Sarkas are basically not interested in beastmen. Unless they are attacked first, they do not attack beastmen.”

‘Hmm.’

This was also one of the hidden elements that I didn’t set.

In the afternoon, I followed Heukgyeon to visit the arboretum where they said they were growing plants.

“Wow, such a big tree can grow underground?”

The arboretum was located on the top floor of the tunnel, and around a huge tree that stood like a pillar in the middle, flowers and various plants were blooming.

“Yes. This tree has been growing since the time of the first leader.”

“First?”

“Yes. The person who led the group before Baekmyo. Now Baekmyo is taking her place.”

It’s a cave with a long history. Here.

“Where is the first leader now?”

“…”

Oops. Did I ask something I shouldn’t have?

I felt sadness in Heukgyeon’s expression.

“…I don’t really want to talk about that. I’m sorry.”

Just as I was wondering how to break the slightly awkward atmosphere, beastmen children came with flower crowns made of flowers.

“Heukgyeon, take this!”

“Oh, thank you.”

Heukgyeon looked even more elegant wearing the flower crown.

Come to think of it, how old is she? This person.

“Big brother’s ears are weird! They’re round and ugly! Are you a monkey beastman?”

One of the children showed interest in me.

“I’m not a big brother, and I’m not a monkey..”

“Sorry..! You’re a gorilla!”

That hurts a little?

“Don’t tease her. I’m sorry, these children. We don’t teach them separate etiquette education…”

“It’s okay, haha.”

Actually, I want to teach these brats a lesson, but I held back for Heukgyeon’s sake.

“What’s this? It’s shiny.”

A little boy, about four years old, took off my necklace.

“Ah, that’s not allowed..!”

“Hehe.”

They played with my necklace, passing it back and forth, and then climbed up the tree.

“If you guys get caught..”

Slide.

‘…Huh?’

The tree that the children climbed up in an instant was too slippery for me.

‘There’s almost nowhere to put my feet.’

To climb this, it meant that I had to climb purely with arm strength.

“Ugh..!”

Ah, it’s no use.

“Children, Saya is having a hard time!”

“..Yes!”

They seem to listen to Heukgyeon well.

They came down from the tree obediently and returned my necklace to me.

“But, what does this say?”

“Huh?”

What does it say? It’s my name, Saya.

“..Actually, those children can’t read yet.”

“They can’t read?”

“Since they were born and raised as slaves, it’s not easy to teach them anything..”

I understand.

Luna barely learned to read after she turned 6.

“If it’s not rude, may I teach them?”

“Saya? You don’t have to..”

“No, I have experience teaching a similar kid.”

“..By the way, how old is Saya..”

Oops.
I completely forgot that I’m only 7 years old now.

“Saya is a very strange person. It’s like, an adult is inside a child’s body..”

“I,is that so..? Haha..”

She must be just saying that, right?

..I thought Heukgyeon had a scary good sense.

As a result of talking with Heukgyeon, it was decided that it would be better to teach the children, so I would chop firewood in the morning and teach the children in the afternoon.

The problem is, the children are incredibly energetic.

“Saya! Catch me!”

“Stay there, you guys!”

They often abandon their studies and just run away. I got so angry looking down from above that I grabbed the tree and climbed up.

‘Oh?’

I think I climbed a little higher than yesterday?

As soon as I thought that, I slid back down.

“You’re a monkey beastman, why can’t you climb a tree?”

“…Haha.”

No matter what world you go to, brats are the evil of society.

As soon as I returned to my room, I lay down on the straw with a groan like an old man.

“Haaa…”

“What’s wrong, Saya? You look 10 years older.”

“I chop wood in the morning without any meaning, and in the afternoon I chase after the kids, so it’s a real pain.”

“..I almost had nine fingers the other day when I was cutting with a knife..”

Gillian, you’re having a hard time too.
Hang in there, man..

After that, it was almost a repetition of the same days.

Firewood in the morning. Tutoring in the afternoon.
Of course, the children still can’t write their own names.

These days, the old man I met in the s*ave carriage comes to watch me chop wood because he has nothing to do.

It makes me feel even more tired because someone is watching.

“Haha, miss, you look pretty healthy compared to back then. It seems like just yesterday that you were all skin and bones.”

“Aren’t you bored, grandfather? What’s so fun about watching me struggle with that axe?”

“It’s fun. Compared to my previous life, even breathing is fun. If it weren’t for you, I would have been living every day in pain. I’m always grateful to you.”

I’m a little embarrassed when you suddenly say that..

Embarrassed, I pick up the axe again.

“Instead of just sitting here, play Go with the others..”

[Tick.]

….Tick?

It was a slightly different sound than the sound I’ve been hearing, a very slightly different sound.

Could it be..

I tried to pull out the axe, but it wouldn’t come out as if it were fixed to something.

“For the first time…”

I wondered if my eyes were wrong, so I checked the firewood once more.

It’s definitely thin, but there’s a crack.

“For the first time, I made a scratch….!”

The first progress here, where I was just marking time.