32 Episode 32 Pretend ②




 The year is early September. Next month I'll be seven years old.

 In the sunny heat, Allen is in the front yard of Crenna's house.

"It's me next, Allen.

"Oh, come on. Dogora.

 Dogora calls out to Allen. Gripping a club rather than a wooden sword, he comes at Allen.

"Why didn't it hit me?

"I've told you many times. Anticipate the movement.

I know!

 What we're doing is playing knights. Early last December, Dogora beat me in a fight. I won the fight and told him I'd be back in two days.

 Two days later I came to buy something, and an elated Dogora was waiting for me. Perhaps the round sticks were too hard to hold, or the weapons have been improved.
 Naturally, his status and swordsmanship skill level were there, and he was a perfect match for Aren. Two days later, Dogora tells me this time. I'll head to the commercial district at the same time two days later. Dogora will be waiting for you. I'm going to win again.

 This went on for almost a month, until the end of December.

 We had enough firewood and salt in stock, partly because we came every two days to make purchases.
 From January on, he won't be doing this much shopping, I told him. That being said.

 Talk to Crenna. I tell her there's a guy who wants to play knight. She calls Dogora and asks if she can be part of the knightly game, and sure! And be answered immediately.

 I told Dogora that from today onwards we'll be doing it at Krsna's house, okay! The answer is immediate.

 I didn't choose Allen's house as the meeting place because Krsna's house is closer to the residential area. I tried to make the meeting place as close as possible. Then almost every day Dogora would come to Krsna's house.

Ta! Squeaks! That's it!

"Ugh..., hey!

 Out of the corner of my eye, Krsna and the chief's son, Peromus, are playing knights. Peromus and Dogora were friends. At a banquet with the knights, Dogora was at the same table as the knight leader because of Dogora's friendship with Peromus.

 Peromus is quite reluctant to play knights, saying that he will be a merchant in the future. I feel that Dogora is forcing me to come to him.
 Still, he comes with Dogora every two to three days. The village chief seems to be on the move as well. He's playing knight with Krsna, the future royal servant. I'm being strongly sent to play nice. There's no escape, it seems.

 There's another girl participating in this game of knighthood.

 Mash turned three years old last December. Teresia has given us permission to go outside. She says you can go outside the yard with Allen. I've been following him almost every day since the knightly game changed places at Crenna's house.

 That's why there are five of us here. Allen, Klarna, Mash, Dogora, and Peromus.

Mash, let's do it.

"Yeah! Ni Ni!

 Mash's takeaway is quite long . It is not a sword. It's a replica of a spear. I made a wooden sword for mash at first. It's about thirty centimeters long, so it fits mash's body.

 I want to play in the game! It is a mash called . It's my brother's "I want my brother's" example. It's twice as long as the wooden sword I made for him.

 It moved differently. It's not that different. It could be an error, or it could be my imagination. It was like a three-year-old playing knight. But he didn't miss the difference in movement.

 Mash is a long-barreled weapon, and the spear fits. The weapon was changed to a spear-shaped weapon.

 He was three years younger than the mash.

Hey!

"Good job, Mash.

(That's a talent. I can't wait to see the appraisal ceremony in two years.

 It's a sharp move to poke at you. I wonder if the skill level of the spear is increasing, or if mash's movements are getting better and better. I'm looking forward to seeing mash's 5 year old evaluation. I'm sure you'll find the right talent for mash.



 Khan
 Khan
 Khan

"Oh, what the hell. It's over.

"Dogora, let's go home.

 The bell rings at 15:00. Dogora and Peromus always return at the sound of the bell. They always come at the bell of twelve o'clock, so we've been playing knights for two hours. See you later, Allen and Krena say.

 After they leave, they play knights some more, and then Allen and Mash go home too. At first I was exhausted on the way home from Crenna's, and Mash was begging for a piggyback ride. Lately he seems to be able to walk home on his own. I'm happy for my brother.


I'm home.

"Welcome back, Allen, mash

 Teresia is responding from the floor. I am beginning to prepare dinner. Behind her back is her sister, born in February. Too tired to be alone, Allen begins to help prepare dinner.

 Teresia has given birth to a baby girl. This is the third child.

 The couple has an agreement that Rodin will name the baby when a boy is born and Teresia when a girl is born. After the girl was born, Teresia was finally able to name the baby girl.

 She named her Murat.

 It was named after the herb, the mullein flower that saved Rodin's life. They had decided that this was the name they wanted to use after the baby girl was born. It was named Murat on the day of her birth.

 I think Teresia has a better sense of names. Allen and Mash were named after the hexenbiest.

 Allen's albaheron flies north in the fall, but I've never heard of the hexenbiest who gave birth to mash. I've never had a chance to know about this hexenbiest before.

 I heard about it from Rodin when I was out shopping.

 One of the reasons why salt and fruit don't come to the village is because of a magical beast called Madagarsh.

 The mardagarsh travels alone, with no territory or nest. It looks like a giant wolf. It is said to be twice as large as the Great Boar, but Rodin has never seen one before.

 The mardergarsh may appear on the roads between towns and villages and take up residence there. When this happens, merchants and travelers should stop going to the next village or town. This is a B-ranked monster. This isn't a monster that can be killed easily.

 Sometimes they'll stay for a month or more, and logistics will get shut down. That's when you need to ask for a team of knights to come and kill them.

 Although not in this village, there was a story about a request Rodin made in the next village where he was born that he remembers very vividly. He also told me that he couldn't destroy them because they had gone away before the strike team arrived.

 He seems to be quite a nuisance. When I heard that she's not the type of Hexenbiest to be loved, I thought.

 As I watched Mash lolling around in the living room, exhausted, I hoped that he would grow up to be loved by everyone, unlike Madhagarche.

I'm home.

 Rodin is now fully recovered. He returned to farming in the spring. He is now fetching water in the morning and working on the farm all day long.

 Allen has also been working on the farm since early spring, learning from Rodin. But it's only a few hours in the morning. I tried to work in the fields all day, but somehow Gerda told me that the children should be outside to play. I still remember that both of my shoulders were grabbed at that time and they hurt.

 I am very busy with housework and farm work in the morning and playing knights in the afternoon.

 They would gather around the dinner table around the fireplace. Murat has just started to eat a little bit of baby food. She is drooling and eating. Mash had a good workout and was hungry too. They are eating a lot of steamed potatoes.

It's a little late today, isn't it?

 Teresia talked to Rodin.
 Rodin was a little late getting home. When Rodin comes home late, Teresia is worried. For that reason, Rodin tries not to be too late.

Yeah, I got a call from the chief.

 With a difficult face, the village chief was called to talk about the story.