0. Opening (3)

The room given to Derek and Aini was cleaner than expected.

A bed made of bundles of straw, a small wooden desk, and a wooden chair. And it was a room with a small candle holder. The wooden windows were made to fit snugly against the window frames to keep the rain out. It seemed very meticulous in this way as you could expect because it was a carpenter's house after all.

"Wow... It's fluffy."

Aini rolled over on the bed, amazed at the bed she was lying on for the first time in her life. It's a bit cramped for two people, but Derek intended to sleep in his robe as usual. The expression of Lanneque's mother woudn't leave his head, so if she finds out they are sleeping in each other's arms together in the morning... He didn't really want to imagine what would happen.

"I'm glad you like it."

It wasn't a good bed because it had not been maintained for a long time, but they were not in a place to complain. Just not lying down in the grass with crawling insects is quite a luxury for a traveler.

"I'm glad we escaped from the rain. Shall we eat and apply medicine?"

"Yes, let's. It's very tiring as I walked a lot today.

Derek unpacked and sat down in a chair, and fatigue was set in. It's only natural that they walked all the way here except for lunch time. Even now, his eyes were blinking shut.

"Take a nap for a second. I have some work to do."

After rummaging through his bag for a small candle, Derek placed a crude candle on top of a candle holder and lit it.

He looked back to see if Aini had woken up by the light, but it seemed that she must have been really tired. She fell asleep in the same position she was rolling around without taking off the robe. She had a hard time falling asleep when she is alone, so she always fell asleep within Derek's reach, but the schedule must have been really tiring for her.

Derek took a deep breath and pulled out a letter from a corner of his bag. He checked the contents of the letter written on parchment paper, and ended the letter by asking after the person at the end. Then, he folded the leather that would be the envelope to seal the letter, and tilted the candle stand to drip the wax from the candle onto the edge of the envelope.

'The ring...'

Before the wax hardened, a ring with the family seal was stamped on it and the envelop was signed with a pen and ink.

[Derek Fiala.]

As he put the letter back in his bag, he heard someone climbing the stairs. This room is closest to the stairs, so the door will open soon.

"Have dinner."

It was Lanneque, the youngest member of the family, who opened the door. Derek nodded, saying yes, and blew out the candles. The candle should be put back in the bag after dinner. Anyway, he couldn't touch the candle because the wax isn't all hardened now.

"Aini. Wake up."

As soon as Derek grabbed Aini's hand, Aini jumped up from her seat.

"Uh, ah. Derek."

Tears welled up in Aini's eyes. After blinking a few times, the tears from her eyes dripped onto her light blue robe.

"Are you okay?"

Asked Derek, holding Aini's right hand with both hands. Aini always says she's okay, but...

"Can I hug you for a second?"

After saying that, Aini wrapped her hands around Derek's waist with sleepy eyes, but stopped moving, looking up at Derek.

"Huh? Well, I don't see why not."

Aini hugged Derek with both arms for a long time with a smile on her face, making Derek wonder if she wasn't going to sleep like this. Derek's stocky body was so big that Aini's small arms couldn't wrap it all around.

"What nightmare did you have today?"

Derek carefully stroked Aini and asked. It was a question to consciously practice separating dreams from reality. She is a kid who is not used to the world yet... Inevitably, this process was necessary.

"It was just a dream in the monastery. Still, it wasn't a terrible dream like the one I had on the first day."

Aini cautiously spoke out. It was a whispering voice as if the present, which she believed to be real, would soon disappear. Derek felt sorry for her, so... He knelt down on one knee and hugged Aini.

"But I've been thinking. Is being with you now a dream, or is having been tied up a dream... I don't know yet."

"Now is the reality."

When asked to present evidence, he would be in a tough position. It is a topic that continues to be studied and debated in the philosophical and magical worlds, but it has been a problem that has always been concluded as "there is no way to figure it out".

Aini put on a puzzled expression. If you heard "this is real" even in your dreams, no matter how much Derek tells her it's real, it wouldn't feel that way. Instead, Derek hugged Aini tightly and gave her his warmth so that she could feel that it was real.

"Or think of it this way. Even if it's a dream you are having while you're locked up in the monastery, the hopes and feelings you had in your dream belong to you."

For those who had hope and joy while watching a mirage, even if the oasis is a lie, the hopes and dreams they had then belong to them. Even if there is no oasis there, the hope and joy that came to mind at that time will not be a lie. And Derek didn't want to end with a mirage, but wanted to be a shelter for Aini.

"So... We have to do what we can."

Even if it's hard and painful, people have to move on. Whether this is a dream or reality.

"Thank you, Derek."

Aini smiled brightly at Derek who spoke for her. Derek nodded too.

"By the way, travelers, what brought you guys here?"

When everyone was sitting at the table, a man with a towel around his neck asked. He's probably Lanneque's father.

"Ah, we were on our way to Elmut Village. I set out from a monastery over there."

Aini was not used to using a spoon, and her wrists hurt, so she had to focus very hard on eating. Derek spoke instead, but the lady they met earlier glared at Derek.

'I feel like I'm in the doghouse.'

Derek laughed awkwardly and ate the bean soup with a spoon while looking at the plate.

"I think here is right in the middle. It will take three days on foot to get to the village. You must have come down a rough road even with a child."

The big muscles of the upper body were exposed because of the short sleeves. Perhaps it is a place that handles trees that are so big that a child can't hug it all, so there must be muscles that build up just by working here. However, he was having a little trouble bending his left elbow. Derek in his head increased the number of patients by one more.

"Haha, but it's a relief that there's a place like this where we can get shelter from the rain. Thank you."

"We're not rich, so... We don't have much to offer."

The man, who brought up an embarrassing story, stirred the soup bowl with a spoon as if he didn't like it. It was just soup with a little beans and vegetables. The amount of food for each person must have decreased with more mouths to feed.

"We are travelers. It's fortunate that it's not beef jerky and dry food. But you've settled in a very remote place."

It was a very remote place to live in. There will be no water supply and sewerage, and being in such a remote location, it will be an easy target for thieves and bandits. However, the six members were concentrating on carpentry work without any inconvenience. This gap... Derek didn't find it very natural.

"My grandfather also lived here, so we must have been living here for more than five generations. Now just... We just live like that."

Grandpa, whose hair was mostly gray, chewed the beans slowly with his few teeth. Despite his age, he had a sweaty towel hanging around his neck. Earlier, in the wooden workshop, Derek thought that two strong men were cutting wood with saws, and he seemed to be one of them.

"It is a nice place to live because there are no major disasters here. Because the land is located high up here, there is no flooding in the rainy season, and the forest is so dense that there is no big problem in making a fire with wood even if a cold wave comes in winter. And since there is no lord, there is no tax, and we don't have to worry about being arrested for military service. There are merchants who go through the monastery regularly to Elmut Village. There is nothing to worry about if you watch out for the people trying to sell food at a high price."

That would be nice, but... He thought it was a bit odd. The reason most people live in villages is that even taking all that into account, living within the walls of a village is much better.

"You travelers... Didn't you hear something strange in the woods?"

The old man asked, staring at Derek. It was as if he wanted to know if there was something strange.

"No. We followed the cart track, but I didn't hear anything strange. What's wrong?"

Derek asked, but everyone seemed embarrassed to talk.

"A few months ago, my grandson said there were strange noises in the forest. There's not much thing to make a sound."

The grandmother next to him said that and clicked her tongue. Lanneque lowered his head in fear of those eyes.

For a family of carpenters who have to work until their hair turn all gray, every day would be full of labor and like a war. Therefore, a member who tells them stories that seem out of place wouldn't be welcomed.

"I don't think the kid did anything wrong.

By the way... Your eyes look sore. Did something happen to you?"

Derek, trying to change the subject, looked at Lanneque's mother with a smile on his face.

"No, this... It's just due to overworking."

Startled by Derek's sudden friendly approach, the woman slightly stepped back, stammering.

"Aye, they must be sore, stinging, and so uncomfortable every time you open your eyes. If you don't mind, can I make you a medicine?"

As soon as the word "medicine" came out of Derek's mouth, all six of them looked at Derek altogether. Aini looked around cautiously because it was strange that they all suddenly stopped eating. Everyone was looking at Derek, and she wondered if Derek had done something wrong, so she grabbed and dragged Derek's sleeve with one hand.

"Are you... a doctor?"

The mother, with one eye red, asked Derek, slightly loosening up.

"I didn't learn it for a long time, but I did study for several years."