talking about the past

"That's right. We are special companions. So, why don't we play a little longer and then go home?"

"Now let's go home. I have to go home and work."

　As expected from Irene. I lightly accept Haiku's words.

　Well, maybe I don't even think of it as a word in the first place.

　Irene rushes home in a hurry.

　I can move well. I'd like to stay here and rest for a while before moving on...

"Hey, Irene. Didn't you say that I didn't say anything? Well, okay. It's true that if I don't go home early and help my father, it will be difficult for him, so let's go quickly."

　Haiku was also ready to run home.

　No, no, where do you both have that kind of stamina?

　If you have that kind of stamina, I think you can do it in any workplace...really.

"Hey, why don't you go after a little more relaxation? Even if you don't rush home, you'll still be in time to help around the house, and you've come all the way to the riverside."

"Oh, do you want to play too, Kai? Well then, let's play by the river before we go. Right now, I feel like I want to move my body."

"How can you change your mind so quickly! You're too honest about what you want to do. Let's do it!"

　After saying that, the two seemed to want to do something.

　…I see. Certainly, the conversation just now was about feelings.excitementTakabuThere was something that made me do it.

　In order to protect something, you have to grow and become stronger yourself.

　I made a promise. we need to be strong for ourselves

　Haiku must have sensed this intuitively, and Irene must have understood that, which is why she immediately told him to go home.

　It's interesting that even the positive Haiku and Irene have different thought patterns.

　Although the result is the same action, the thought process leading up to it is different.

　...Very interesting. The way people think, explore, and make decisions has never changed.

　That's why I think history is so interesting. Because when you make a big decision, you can know what the person was thinking, what was important, and what he was trying to protect.

　I wonder what this country, which considers creating such history as something different, thinks about the way history should be.

　...History...That's right. I met his master for the first time at this riverside.

　I made a promise to that person here. He was a very interesting person who could see things differently from the principles of this country.

　It was a shocking encounter, but...

　While looking at this river, I remembered my master.

　──※──※──※──

　one year ago

　I happened to come to this riverside after training with Haiku.

　Since it was close to my home, I came here by myself because I wanted to think about the heroes of my past life. I was trying to get home so as not to be too late.

　Normally, everyone in the village would have gone back to their homes at this time, so I arrived thinking that no one would be at the riverside, but I found myself standing alone on the riverbank.

　I suddenly stopped, feeling a little suspicious.

　...Why are there people here?

　In the first place, what are you doing just staring at the river? Too suspicious.

...that? I, too, suddenly began to think that what I was about to do was somehow questionable.

"Is there anyone there?"

　The person asked me while looking at the river. Without looking back, the question was asked from behind his back.

　I thought it would be bad not to answer when someone spoke to me, so I decided to just reply.

　…She seems like a suspicious person, so let's leave as soon as possible.

"Yes. I stopped by because I had something to do, but it wasn't a big deal, so please excuse me."

　IheelKibisuI tried to return immediately and return, but the words asked me again.

"law,childboymosquito. I would like to ask you something. Why do you have business in a place like this? In the empire, it's normal for even a child to help out in the family business. This time should be the time when you have finished helping with the family business and are preparing meals at home. I don't think there's anything to do at the riverside."

　um, what is this person talking about?

　can you talk about people

``I came here with some thoughts.I wanted to think about it while looking at the river.What are you doing in a place like this?I think everyone in the village is already at their homes, so to begin with. I don't think you're from this country, whether you're from the village or related to the military."

"Are you thinking about it? You don't choose a good place, I'm interested in it. Let me ask you again. Why did you decide that it wasn't from the military or from the village?"

"It's your actions and appearance. It seems like you're covering your entire body with a black hood to prevent people from realizing what kind of person you are, but if you think about the laws of this country in the first place, you should be able to arrest me when I come here." It should be fine, because by law people in the village are supposed to keep an eye on each other, and if you were a villager, when I came here, as a child, instead of talking to you, you would take immediate action. He must have moved here. After that, he would ask why he came here. Especially if he was from the military. So I considered that he was neither from this village nor from the military. So I answered honestly. "I did."

"Hmm... Then, if the villagers had captured you and asked you what you were doing, what would you say?"

``I came here to pick up some driftwood.'' I replied that I came to pick up some driftwood because the dry wood on the riverside burns well and is great for putting on fire.I sincerely ask that you please forgive me as I am contributing to the family's work until late. I was going to ask you to

"I see. That's a very good answer. Well, I'll answer as well. I'm not from this country. Well, you could say that I was. What do you do when you hear this fact?"

"I won't do anything. There's no way I, as a child, can beat you in martial arts. I'm not good at martial arts in the first place. After this, even if you call an adult in a hurry, by the time you reach this riverside, you will have run away.Cross this river."

　I lined up next to a figure in a hood and pointed at the river in front of me.

　...This person is probably planning to defect from now on.

　The only bridge that crosses this river is about three kilometers from here.

　However, it would be impossible to defect from such a place.

　It's like being arrested at a checkpoint set up before a bridge.

　Even if you kill an officer at the checkpoint, you will have to kill the soldiers of the neighboring country in the same way at the checkpoint of the neighboring country on the opposite bank and commit murder.

　Even though he had gone to the trouble of defecting, he ended up having to defect even further from the place he was exiled to.

　I think the river width here is probably about 150 to 200 meters.

　I don't know how far this river extends, but it's probably quite long.

　With this width, the famous Rhine River in my previous life is 1,320 km long.

　Japanese people would be surprised to learn that a river flows from Tokyo to Miyazaki.

　If we compare only the length of rivers, the Shinano River is 367 km. I think that's long enough, but the longest river in the world, the Nile, is 6,695 km long.

　…No. I think of something else. The important thing here was the width of the river.

　If the river is about this wide, you might be able to sneak into the river at night and dive deep enough to cross the river without the soldiers noticing.

"Yes, that's a satisfying answer. Let's ask again....So・Re・teeth・stomach・One・mosquito・and others・thought・picture・hand・stomach・Ta・child・and・is・? "

　I was horrified by the question, which I had not even thought of.

　If this person answered my question and told me to ignore the defection, I would have rolled my eyes.meditationTsumuI was going to miss it.

　But this person could see right through my thoughts from the answer to the question I asked earlier.

　...That's not right. I saw through the process that led me to that idea.

　In his immediate answer, he implicitly pointed out that the time it would take to arrive at that answer was not something he had just thought of.

　...What is this person? Scary, scary.

　Why did such a smart person end up in exile instead of staying in the empire?

　Even though I was nervous, I managed to squeeze out the words.

``I can't remember when it was. I just naturally wanted to look at this river and see what a different country that was just a stone's throw away was like. Are you really going to defect there? I don't think someone who is so intelligent and thoughtful would want to do something like that.''

　Gokuri and saliva run down my throat and descend into my stomach.

　When I have a conversation with someone, I try to look at their face as I speak.

　The facial expressions and eyes tell what the person is really thinking, and I try to get as much information as possible from the movement of the mouth.

　But this person can't do that. …No, it doesn't work.

　This is because the hood is worn deeply, and the hood casts a shadow over the entire face. I can't read thoughts even if I want to.

　But from within that hooded, dark face... those sharp, all-seeing eyes caught me.

　Still, I looked at this person's face and asked the question. He doesn't look at faces to read thoughts.

　I wanted this person to know that I was serious about answering the previous question, and that I was asking him if he was really trying to defect, I looked into it.

　I decided to take advantage of my method and have this person read my thoughts.

　However, this method brought about unexpected horrors and results.

"... Hmm. To think that a person with such an idea would be born in this country's education at that age....It's very rare. For the people of this country, to live is to be loyal to the country. , Live for the country, die for the country.And the countries other than the empire are the existence that the empire must conquer.It is an enemy, so to speak.There are people who genuinely want to know their existence. But boy, don't be ashamed of what you think, be proud of yourself.Knowing what you don't know is the biggest difference between humans and beasts.It's a privilege God has given us.Answer the previous question Yes, I was certainly trying to cross this river and go to the neighboring country."