AEPOB 11

Chapter 11

The answer came not from the large-framed grandmother, the head of the household, but from the small-framed one.

“You already know that there used to be a lot of wild beasts in this village, right?”

Do I know?

I reflexively nodded, though.

“Back then, there was a mountain keeper living in the mountains. After the beasts disappeared some time ago, that role became unnecessary. I heard he lives in the mountains, so he’s probably living in that house.”

Wait, so that means the kid lives alone in the mountains?

According to what I heard at the herb shop, Kiki lived alone.

But here, that fact didn’t seem to matter at all; the small-framed grandmother’s expression didn’t change.

The other grandmothers were the same.

I frowned slightly and asked again.

“Are you sure no wild beasts come out anymore?”

“Seems they’ve died out. I haven’t heard of anyone in the village getting caught by a beast lately, have you?”

“No. Besides, all the young people have already left the village, so what use would it be anyway?”

The grandmothers answered in turn, substituting for one another. Then the conversation topic shifted to my dad.

“It’s such a relief that we at least have Mr. Holtz. He heals our ailments, and that’s not all—he fixes broken things so well too.”

“Right, right.”

At the continuous relay of praise for my dad, my dampened spirits began to lift a little.

But then, the kind grandmother suddenly took out a cookie from her bosom, placed it in my hand, and said,

“Aveli, I don’t know about Mr. Holtz, but I think that child is dangerous. The way that child was found was…”

At that moment. The large-framed head grandmother tapped the kind grandmother’s thigh with a *thwack* and cut her off.

“Oh my, this old woman has no filter.”

“What if Aveli gets in danger too?”

Blocking the kind grandmother’s worried gaze, the head grandmother patted my shoulder as if to tell me not to worry.

“That old woman said something unnecessary because she’s worried about you. You don’t need to worry.”

I sensed that something was being hidden.

But seeing the grandmothers focus back on their work as if they had nothing more to say, it seemed they wouldn’t tell me even if I asked.

I quietly slipped away from the spot.

Like a leaf scattering in the wind, I, too, found it extremely difficult to get my bearings.

Today, I continued my investigation into Kiki with the visitors who came to our house.

“Kiki?”

“Yes.”

Strangely, in this village, no one except my dad seemed to understand the name ‘Kiki’ right away.

“Ah, come on, Grandpa. You know, the boy who picks herbs.”

Only when I added the explanation, like just now—”the boy who picks herbs”—did everyone nod as if they finally knew who I was talking about.

“Oh… Why do you ask about him?”

Sigh, another failure this time.

I shook my head and laughed as if it were nothing.

“Oh, nothing. I was just curious.”

“Tsk, that kid…”

Just then, my dad came out carrying some medicine he had made, and as he switched places with me, I was able to naturally withdraw from the conversation.

I rested my chin on the table and stared blankly into space.

Over the past few days, I had tried to get information about Kiki from the villagers I met.

But the responses I got back were either lukewarm reactions like earlier, or answers saying they didn’t really know.

‘What should I do?’

Since possessing this body, there had been a mountain of things I couldn’t easily resolve.

It felt like I kept becoming more and more of a fool.

At that moment, a warm hand brushed through my hair.

I could feel affection in my dad’s touch, and it comforted me quite a bit.

“Bell, do you want to go deliver this time too?”

“Yes!”

After using walks as an excuse to explore the village every day, I had more or less memorized the layout of the place over the past few days.

My dad’s hand-drawn map had been a great help in that.

Since my palm had healed cleanly starting yesterday, I had been making deliveries often.

Dad must think I prefer running around outside to staying home, right?

But the fact that I, a professional homebody, was braving the inconvenience and going outside just to get information about Kiki was my own little secret that I couldn’t tell anyone.

I roughly scanned the map my dad had drawn and walked without hesitation.

This delivery was to the house of Hunter Priv. It was the only house in the village located closer to the mountains than ours.

But, you know.

Since yesterday, I’d been feeling this strange sensation, as if someone was constantly following me.

I slowed my pace slightly so as not to show it. Then, I quickly spun around.

At that moment, I caught a glimpse of a dark head of hair behind a tree colored with autumn leaves, which then disappeared just as quickly.

‘Could it be Kiki?’

I dashed over to the tree.

Huh? No one’s there?

I looked around carefully, but there was only a large tree standing alone.

Maybe I was seeing things.

Given how much I’d been digging into Kiki, it wasn’t entirely impossible.

“Haa…”

Was making a friend really this hard?

‘If it weren’t for this mission, I wouldn’t be going through all this trouble and would just be resting at home!’

Today, too, I swallowed my curses at the system window and picked up the basket I had set down on the road.

This is the last time.

If I couldn’t get any useful information from Mr. Priv either, then asking Dad seemed like the better option.

As I was establishing my future plans, I soon saw a log cabin nestled among the lush trees.

It was the destination for this delivery.

“Hello? Is anyone there? I’m here to deliver medicine.”

I knocked on the door several times, repeating that I was there for a delivery.

Just then, the door swung open. A hulking middle-aged man with a towering stature emerged.

‘Whoa. Is he a giant?’

Just trying to look at his face made my neck ache from tilting it back.

I belatedly offered my greeting.

“…Hello, Mr. Priv.”

“Oh, it’s Aveli. I was wondering who it was.”

“Here’s the ointment you ordered. And this is something my dad newly made…”

As I pulled the items out of the basket and began to explain, the man took the basket from me and led me inside.

“You must have had a hard time coming all the way here. Rest for a bit before you go.”

Unable to refuse his words, I followed him inside hesitantly.

From the outside, it looked like a log cabin similar to ours, but inside it was a spacious, open studio-style layout, so I could see everything at a glance.

What caught my eye were the various weapons, including the knives needed for hunting.

As I sat on a chair made from a cut tree stump and looked around, Mr. Priv soon came from the kitchen with water and jerky.

“I live alone, so this is all I have.”

“No, this is great. Thank you.”

The man seemed apologetic.

But on the contrary, I was glad to have a snack for the first time in a while. The jerky was sweet and savory, and I kept reaching for more.

Just as I was finishing the jerky he’d given me, Mr. Priv, having finished organizing the items I’d brought, came over and sat beside me.

He asked,

“I heard you’ve been going around asking about the kid who lives in the mountains lately.”

The word had spread already.

I scratched the back of my neck and answered.

“I was trying to get along with him, even if it’s late.”

“I see. I run into him in the mountains sometimes too, but he’s so fast I’ve never actually spoken to him. But I doubt he has a good reputation among the villagers…”

“…Is there a reason?”

“Because of how that kid was found… Hmph.”

Just like the grandmothers, the man clamped his mouth shut. Getting anxious, I pleaded with earnestness.

“Mr. Priv, can’t you tell me if you know something? It feels like everyone is hiding things from me.”

“They’ve all known you since you were a baby, so they probably think you’re still young and are keeping it from you. It’s not exactly pleasant to hear, anyway.”

If so, there was a high possibility that my dad was also hiding it from me.

But Mr. Priv looked like he was half-convinced. I dragged out the end of my words, whining.

“Mr. Priiiiv…”

As I kept pestering him, the man finally spoke up after some deliberation.

“Apparently, that kid and his mother came here covered in blood. Moreover, the mother’s body had red lines all over it, as if it had been slashed with a knife, and blood was flowing through the gaps.”

It was a much darker story than I had expected.

“It was a miracle they even made it here in that condition. But the problem was that her appearance perfectly matched the description of someone struck by divine punishment in imperial mythology.”

“So that’s why people…”

Kept their distance from Kiki.

“Your father insisted it wasn’t divine punishment, and he even treated her himself, which saved her life… but a few months later, the mother passed away.”

The discovery of my dad’s bold new side was brief; I was shocked to hear that Kiki’s mother had died.

“What?!”

“That kid must have been deeply traumatized because for a while, he would mutter to himself, staring into empty space. People saw that and said he’d gone mad, and kept their distance even more. That’s all I know.”

At last, Mr. Priv’s story about Kiki came to an end.

Because the story had been so heavy, the atmosphere had become incredibly somber, and we were both silent for a long time, unable to find the words.