106 – Home(3)
A raft carrying three people and an animal travels down the river.
The raft flowed slowly in line with the slow-flowing water, and Chester watched the water and adjusted the direction of the raft’s movement by pushing the river bed with his wooden spear whenever the raft seemed to get caught on a high-rise rock.
There was no need to worry about breaking a wooden spear that was too thin by handling it roughly. Because this is the wooden spear I used to beat the bear.
There was no problem handling the wooden spear, which was strong enough to damage the blade of the machete, to adjust the direction of a heavy raft.
It was quite exciting for the riders to amble along the river, but thrilling for Chester, who was manning the raft.
‘The river water is as fast as one.’
Still, it’s fortunate that it’s not as fast as the valley I enjoyed when I was young.
When I was young, I didn’t even need a raft to ride and play on the river. Just a suitable log, if I could somehow float it in the river, I would enjoy it to the fullest.
Even now, if you want to enjoy riding the river with a single log, you can enjoy it.
“wow. Is this much faster than you thought?”
“right? The power of water is much greater than people think. At this rate, I think I could go home today or tomorrow.”
“Is it that fast?”
“yes.”
The road, which was so difficult to walk, passes quickly by riding the river.
“Oh, is that where we slept?”
Finding the trail of the bonfire, Monia pointed in that direction and recalled what had happened when she slept there.
“I was trying to sleep, but it was difficult because there were strange noises.”
“Yeah, there were times like that. What was that sound like?”
While the two talked about their memories, Ant jumped excitedly across the raft.
The black wind plunged his right hand into the water and felt the current rushing through his fingers.
Then, when a fish accidentally got caught in his finger, he caught it and put it in his mouth and chewed it.
The black wind, which had been quietly chewing on the fish, tore off the fish and held it out when Monia stared at him.
“Oh, it’s okay, it’s okay.”
As Monia shook her head and made a negative motion, the black wind, frowning, wondering if she was refusing to give it, saw Chester’s gesture.
– It’s dangerous for us to eat living things raw.
I feel it every time I learn something new, but they are really weak.
Upon learning that Monia had refused for a reason, the black wind nodded and gave the fish to Ant.
The black wind munches the fish again while watching Ant happily wagging his tail excitedly eating the fish.
“It sounds really delicious.”
“Yeah.”
The sound of chewing bones and scales sounds really delicious. Just hearing it made me hungry.
The raft sometimes rocked from side to side as it moved along the meandering river, and because of the difference in the river’s height, it suddenly jumped down and everyone on the raft was soaked.
“Chester, you know the story? The story of a couple who had to break up against the opposition of two families and went out to sea in a small boat.”
“Do you have a story like that?”
“Wasn’t Chester standing beside you when you listened? He must have been training because he was my exclusive butler.”
“Because I was not interested in opera. When you were listening to the opera, you spent your time thinking about other things in your head.”
“I’m sorry. fun. See you later.”
“Is that so? I don’t know, so introduce me to the one you recommend.”
“Then, first of all, we will choose the leader of the orchestra, the director, and the theater manager… … .”
“Are you picking from there?”
“Everything has to have a solid foundation. Even if the best ingredients are laboriously transported, if a cook in a cheap tavern near a slum cooks them, they will inevitably be cheap.
Chester rode the raft, listening to Monia’s long story, which became very talkative with excitement when something she liked came up.
Then, when the river becomes narrower, they get off the raft and move the raft back to where the river becomes wider.
– This is fun.
– yes?
– Give it to me.
People at the top do not make a living by the material things like those who settled by the river or the seaside. To them, a ship is something that is enough even if they have it or not.
Therefore, showing interest in the ship was pure interest. The mind of a child who has acquired a new toy.
– I want to drive too.
– It’s dangerous if you’re not careful.
– I am confident that I will do well!
Chester thought it would be okay even if the raft capsized, so he handed the black wind a wooden spear when the river widened.
“uh? Is Baram driving the car?”
“yes.”
“… … it’s okay?”
“It’s fine. This river is a single road anyway, so there is no need to worry about taking the wrong path, and even if the raft capsizes, you will get wet.”
Monia trembled nervously at the fact that someone other than Chester was driving the raft, but Chester, who had been standing the whole time driving the raft, settled down comfortably and lay down.
It was a little uncomfortable because there was no pillow, but it was all right soon after Monia saw it and offered her knee as a pillow.
As if she knew that Monia was constantly looking at her with uneasy eyes, only the black wind was excited and hummed and swung the wooden spear.
As I stick out my butt and shake it, the raft also rocks.
“… … I can’t lie down.”
“Ahahahaha.”
As the raft slid and the river came through the trees and drenched him, Chester rolled up from his bed and got up.
“I wish Bare-ri would wear some clothes. It’s ugly.”
“yes?”
“Yes. That… Anyway, there is such a thing! that is.”
Although it was smaller than the Chester one, so it wasn’t shocking.
‘No, that’s it. So.’
I suddenly compare Chester and the black wind.
Chester is also taller than most men. It is smaller than the stalwart knights in terms of size, but in terms of height, it is probably taller than most knights.
But the black wind is so big that Chester looks like a child. Even though it bends its knees and back, it is still close to 3m in size.
Compared to the beasts upstairs, that one is on the small side, but still much bigger than Chester.
‘But why… Why is it smaller?’
why
‘Is Chester strange?’
Monia suddenly had such a thought. Then he looked at Chester with fearful eyes for a moment.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Ah, nothing!”
“Something is strange.”
Monia keeps glancing at herself alternately with the black wind.
Feeling something strange, Chester looked at Monia with a frown, but he didn’t know anything about it, so he just let it go.
‘Hey, I’ll have to work hard!’
And Monia, inwardly, carefully made up her determination to be a woman.
‘It won’t be torn, right?!’
In any part of a relationship between a man and a woman, there are times when a woman needs greater determination and courage than a man.
* * *
“Arrived.”
Chester, who climbed on the back of the black wind and looked into the distance, drove the raft to the river when the terrain near the waterfall he had memorized appeared.
“Go down one by one.”
I gave the signal first, and the black wind immediately got off the raft, and then Ant jumped off the raft.
Finally, when we got down to Monia, Chester also jumped lightly and got down to the riverside.
And the black wind caught the raft, which was about to flow quietly, and lifted it up.
– To have it?
– You don’t need this anymore. So now this is my bed.
It seems to be intended to be used as a bed. I wonder if he was thinking of putting the raft on the water and sleeping on it.
– Okay, bring it.
After giving the black wind a raft, the four soon came to the waterfall area after a short walk.
– Why are there no creatures here?
– Stop us from coming here.
– what?
The sense of incongruity that Chester and Monia felt when they just came upstairs. Strangeness around the cliff with no sign of life.
Chester widened his eyes when the strange answer came out of nowhere.
– Why?
– When organisms on the upper layer go downstairs, the lower layer’s ecosystem is greatly damaged.
That’s it.
The creatures upstairs are huge and strong as one. Monsters that can crush even tall, hard trees growing upstairs with no problem.
If even one of those monsters goes downstairs, the ecosystem downstairs is destroyed.
No, not exactly that. It is not appropriate to say that it will be destroyed because the creatures upstairs will not destroy it by running amok.
If you change it properly, the seeds will dry out.
Considering the amount of food the upper layer creatures must eat in a day, the lower layer creatures, which are smaller in size and poorer than the upper layer, will dry up their seeds just by eating the upper layer creatures.
– The downstairs is also the land where we live. The downstairs is weak and doesn’t need to be as intensively maintained as the upstairs, as it won’t cause much trouble if anything happens, but it still needs to be protected.
So the people at the top have been killing the beasts upstairs whenever they try to go downstairs.
As a result of this being repeated for a long time, the creatures on the upper floors could not reach the lower floors.
That was the reason why there were no signs of life near the cliff.
Chester told her about it, but Monia was staring at the bamboo canal leading to the house.
Seeing that, Chester grinned and pointed at the bamboo.
– If you follow this, you’ll find a huge tree that you can’t believe is downstairs. that’s our house
– i get it. Well, bye.
– yes. don’t forget
When Chester waved his ore in greeting, the grinning black wind also shook the raft and rope Chester had given him.
The two greeted each other by intertwining their ring and small fingers, and when the greeting was over, the black wind, like its name, disappeared like the wind, even though it was carrying a heavy knot.
“uh? Did you go?”
“yes. Shall we go too?”
“Yes. Hey, should I go down first?”
“yes? No, let’s go down together.”
“Yes?”
When Monia opened her eyes wide at the words of going down together, Chester grinned and tied the basket to the rope hanging from the cliff first and sent it down.
After unloading everything, Chester grabbed Monia and Ant in each of his arms.
“Oops.”
“uh? Kyaaa!!”
– Meeing! I’m sorry!!
Just like that, I jumped down the cliff toward the lake.