Spring in April, the village of Kaina is full of life.

Children are busy playing outdoors when the grass and trees sprout in the fields and mountains.

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The adults are plowing the fields and preparing to plant crops.

The wheat that was sown last fall is growing and weeding the field is a must.

"Hannah-chan, there are lots of weeds over here!

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"I got so much over here, too!

Hannah and Patty, one year younger than Hannah, were picking wildflowers on the banks of the Erme River.

Angelica, cress, cryptona. Wildflowers that even a child can pick. There are no similar poisonous plants, so they can be gathered safely.

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Angelica is an aromatic herb, and cress is tasty as a spicy garnish for porridge and rice porridge. Cryptona is used in soups.

"Ah, there's Hannah!

came the voice of Jessie, a naughty little girl.

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In this season, the village girls are busy picking wildflowers. They visit the riverbanks, fields, forest edges, and other grassy places to pick wildflowers.

Overcoming the winter season, they can enjoy the joy of spring in the fields and mountains, and at the same time, they can replenish vitamins that they tend to lack during the winter.

Even without knowing such logic, picking wildflowers in spring was passed down from parents to children and from children to grandchildren in the village.

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After picking wildflowers until the long spring sun sets, the children would go to the hot springs to sweat before returning home.

"Oh, it feels so good!

"Hannah-chan, let me wash your back."

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"Yes, thank you."

In the hot spring, children are washing each other's backs.

Shortly before Jin left the village, he had taught them to use Rita berries to wash their bodies and clothes.

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Rita berries are harvested in the fall, and no one would touch them because they were said to be poisonous,

But when Jin muttered to himself, "This is a mukuroji tree, isn't it?

He dried them in the sun, ground them into a powder, and rubbed them with a little water to make a foamy substance. When he put a little of it in water and rubbed it, it foamed up and removed dirt.

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He also said, "If you use it every day, it will irritate your skin, so you should use it only when it is heavily soiled.

He also said, "You should use it only when it is very dirty because it will irritate your skin if you use it every day.

Until then, they had washed their clothes with lye, but when they used the powder made from rita berries, the dirt was removed even better, so the whole village gathered up rita berries.

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"I'm home, Grandma.

"Welcome home, Hannah. You picked a lot of ritas.

Grandmother Martha squinted at the basket full of wildflowers in Hannah's arms.

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"I'm going to make you a lot of things tonight, aren't I?

"Yes!　I'm so excited!

That evening we made a salad of wildflowers and boiled vegetables. And of course, there was bread made from sifted flour.

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Delicious.

"Hannah picked them for us, of course they're delicious."

And so the dinner time passes happily.

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The night comes early in the village of Kayna. In most houses, it is almost bedtime when the sun sets.

The lights are usually torches or tallow lamps, which few houses use because they are too wasteful.

"Good night, Grandma."

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"Good night, Hannah."

Even in Martha's house, dinner is served at 5:00 p.m. and everyone goes to sleep at 7:00 p.m..

That's why we are all up early in the morning.

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They are up as soon as the sun rises.

"Good morning, Auntie."

"Good morning, Hannah."

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Everyone comes out to the communal well to rinse their mouths and wash their faces.

"Hey, Auntie. ......"

While pumping the water, Hanna always remembers Jin.

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"......I wonder if you are well."

That day, Hanna goes to the mountain to pick wild vegetables on her golem horse, Mint.

Her companion today is Gen, a golem.

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Of course, it is still a secret that he is back, so he acts as if Hannah and the villagers don't notice him.

With a clap of hoofs, Hannah heads for the mountain.

"Oh, there's Hannah!

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The children who find her call out to her.

"Hanna-chan, I love you!"

Hannah is the only one who has her own horse. The other five golem horses are shared by Ein, Tubai, Dry, Cuttle, and Sanku.

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The chief of the village who manages the horses can borrow them if he is refused, but Hanna, who has her own horse, is envied.

"My grandma made this horse for me, you know..." she muttered to herself.

Hannah strokes Mint's neck as she murmurs.

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Mint keeps going on and on through the meadow and along the mountain path without stopping.

And it took me only 20 minutes to reach the summit of the small mountain. It was more than twice as fast as walking.

The village of Kayna was below us. Hannah remembered the last year when she and Jin came here to gather medicinal herbs. But we can't stay like this forever.

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"We have to pick wild plants..." she said.

Hanna got out of the mint and immediately started looking for wild plants.

One of the plants she came looking for today was a lily bulb. It is usually collected in the fall, when the tops of the trees have withered away, but last fall she could not come to the mint to pick it because of the wild deer commotion and so on.

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The other one is "yamanegi" (Japanese leek). It is a wild vegetable, but also good as a tonic. It is good for a somewhat weakened body after the winter.

Both of them were well known to Hannah. There is a similar type of poisonous herb in leeks, but she knows how to distinguish it, so there was no need to worry about making a mistake.

Hannah is a smart girl.

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We continue collecting until just before noon and stop when the basket is full.

After tying the basket tightly to the mint, we straddle it and start our way home.

The ride down was even faster, taking less than 15 minutes.

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"I'm home!

"Welcome home, Hannah. Thank you. You didn't hurt yourself, did you?

"Yes!"

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I'll be right back for lunch. Go wash your hands.

Yes, sir.

Hannah took the basket down from Mint and went to the well to wash her hands.

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That afternoon, Roland the merchant's carriage arrived.

"Hello, Mr. Roland, we've been waiting for you.

"Mr. Gibek, it's been a long time. It's getting warmer, isn't it?

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Yes, it has.

Last time I was here was a month and a half ago, when it was still winter, so things were very different.

Is Jin-san still here?

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"No, he's not leaving."

Roland has this conversation with the village chief every time he comes to the village.

"I see... ...... I've always wanted a rubber ball..."

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It seems that the rubber balls that Jin made and sold became quite popular. However, since Jin is the only one who can make them, there is nothing to sell.

"What can you do without what you don't have?

As usual, they sell food, salt, seasonings, etc., and buy fire magic stones.

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Hannah watches from a distance.

The night comes again.

The wind picks up a little, so she closes the window.

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Hannah remembers that Jin made this mica-filled window for her.

It has been four months since Jin disappeared, and Hanna has yet to forget him.

She looks up through the window and sees stars twinkling in the night sky.

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