Chapter 33 A Little Ways Away From Here
This morning, the chieftain's residence was bustling with activity early on. The distribution included the usual grilled skewers, dried meat, bread, and water. I distributed enough for 30 people twice, and there's still plenty of food stocked in the inventory. How much did I buy at that time?
"Thank you so much again this morning, Soutome-sama."
Originally, when Rosalia-san wasn't around, this person was in charge of leading the village, his name was Corbett-san. Until just yesterday, he was bedridden due to the Oso (Dreadful element) poison, with his platinum blonde and slender body, but he seems lively this morning. He is 42 years old.
"Yes, there's no need to rush. We must not forget to express gratitude to sensei."
Next to him is his wife, Brigitte-san. She is 38 years old. Corbett-san and Brigitte-san both have a tan skin, but they are slightly lighter than Rosalia-san. She wasn't as bad as him, but she couldn't leave the house.
The two of them are apparently in their second year of marriage, and they seem very close. Ugh, they're so lovey-dovey. It's enough to make me say "Please explode..." But it's fine, really. Because everyone is doing well now. Even Rosalia-san has a bright expression. There's not a hint of the sadness I saw until yesterday.
I'm called "sensei" in this village, yes. It's a situation that's unimaginable for someone like me who used to be a loner. In the Black Forest Human (Kuromori Hito) tribe, the age of adulthood is 36. By the way, I'm still underage here. Probably, I must look like Maya-chan and the others from my perspective.
Everyone standing in line is so good-looking. Even the little children are beautiful boys and girls. When I asked the two of them, they said this is what the Forest People tribe is like. They didn't seem to have the concept of "our child is cute," they just said "they're normal." It's like they have what we human would call "well-defined features." I hesitantly asked if those little children were older than me, and they said they're 8 and 11 years old. I was seriously relieved.
Black Forest Human tribes were affected by Oso, which resulted in poor harvests. Perhaps due to the prolonged period of mild famine, there are hardly any overweight people. Brigitte-san told me in secret, "Even Black Forest Humans can easily gain weight if they let their guard down. My husband was like that."
Oh, I see. So, gaining weight is a concern. I should be careful too. Since coming here, I've been mostly doing desk work. I'm worried about not getting enough exercise. I don't want to become more of a couch potato. Now that I've made my debut in this new world, I also want to become more like a socially active person.
* * *
Black Forest Human tribes' settlements were located at the foot of high mountains. It seems that Black Forest Humans have their settlements in open areas like the foothills of mountains. They use wood to build houses, but they don't live in the trees. By the way, White Forest Humans (Shiromori Hito) live deep in the forest among the trees. Apparently, they rarely come out in public.
While looking at the map drawn by Corbett-san in hand, I left the village and made a sharp right turn, swaying in the carriage for about an hour. I wondered if walking would take half a day around this point where the carriage stopped.
Getting off the carriage, Rosalia-san walked towards a thick tree trunk. Looking closely at the tree, the trunk seemed sturdy, but the leaves were withered and falling to the ground. At first, I thought it might be because winter was approaching.
Rosalia-san reached out in front of me.
"Soutome-dono, is that, okay?"
Rosalia-san started calling me 'Soutome-dono.' Apart from that, I think it reflects a change in her feelings. It's quite a jumble of words, and I can't help but feel like laughing. She doesn't have to force herself.
Anyway, I handed her the borrowed farming tool, a hoe, from my inventory. Rosalia-san effortlessly lifted it and began digging at the base of the tree. Seemingly easy, she had dug about 50 centimeters before pausing.
Rosalia-san then beckoned me, so I peered into the hole she had dug.
"Here is the root of this plant. Do this with it."
There, I saw the unearthed root of this tree. It was as thick as my wrist. Rosalia-san shaved off the exposed root with a shovel. From the cross-section, something thick and pitch black oozed out slowly. If I had to compare it to something I knew, it would be like ink or tar. It was even darker than the ink of a squid or an octopus. It resembled charcoal made by burning dry leaves and dead wood, crushed and dissolved in water, then condensed and loosely solidified with starch. It was a creepy, slimy substance.
"I've been told that this is called Oso. It seems that what falls from the atmosphere as rain or what is in the soil gets absorbed by the tree's roots and becomes like this. We, too, drink water and eat meat and vegetables contained by it..."
"Yeah, I can kind of understand."
I squatted down and touched the sticky Oso in that spot.
"So, this is Oso..."
The mass of Oso clinging to my fingertips didn't cause any sensation or pain when touched. It didn't seem to have the properties of strong acid, strong alkali, or other toxins that would burn or alter the skin. Of course, it had no odor. I didn't feel like licking it, though. Will this accumulate in the body and kill people?
"Soutome-dono!"
Rosalia-san squatted next to me and tried to stop me by grabbing my wrist. She looked worried as she gazed at me.
"It's okay. This is a 'verification process' that must be done. You know that, right? Even if I die, I will come back to life."
"Ah, I see."
"I'm sorry for making you worried. But it's necessary."
"...I understand."
"Thank you. Um, 'Detoxy (detoxification),' ...no reaction, and no confirmation of poison.'Dis Recover (Cure Disease),' ...no good. Not an illness. 'Recover (Healing Spell)' also no response."
It doesn't disappear, and the condition doesn't change. Things that have seeped into the skin to some extent, like moisture, seem to be decomposed as 'poison' or 'disease', but it doesn't really work. I don't really understand the magic of the Healing Attribute from a system perspective either. I can't say how Oso is being recognized either.
And this is what accumulates in the atmosphere, rivers, lakes, and seas. It enters the soil, crops, and beasts, and indirectly or directly accumulates in humans, which is why it's called Oso poison.
"I don't understand the logic, but it seems like I can't do anything about it."
I should have purified it, but it's too late now.
I'm not a magic researcher, so I don't know the details. Even Healing Magic is just an understanding of "that's how it turns out."
I wash off the Oso on my fingertips with water and fill the hole I dug with a shovel. If it doesn't disappear, burying it is the only option.
"Let's go home. This seems to be beyond my capabilities, so it looks like it's not going well."
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