Paper Planes

Yuika’s Perspective

Noscula was usually a quiet village. There were fewer residents than in the city, and the only lively places were the fields during the mornings and evenings, since most villagers were farmers. On hot summer days like today, the village was especially tranquil even during broad daylight, as everyone was avoiding the harsh sunlight. It was as if the village itself had become sluggish, resting for the day. Even the annoying cries of the insects sounded lonely.

In this still atmosphere, the only times where the quiet was interrupted were the occasions when misfortunes happened. For instance, beast attacks or heavy rain and floods.

Fortunately, right now Noscula was... not very quiet at all. And it was not because of a beast or heavy rain, but rather something much worse.

It was because of the monster called Ash.

“Hello, David. Do you have some time?”

“Wha—? Ah, Mrs. Yuika, ’scuse me!”

David turned towards me. He was working in the fields under the scorching hot sun, which was shining so brightly that it seemingly left no shadows.

“Not at all. I’m sorry for disturbing you during work. I appreciate that you’re working even in this hot weather.”

“’Tis nothin’! Ash’s workin’ hard in the city, so the least I can do is to crank it up here!”

David wiped off the sweat of his sunburnt forehead with a towel that Ash had brought back from the city. The brand-new sickle in his hand reflecting the sunlight was yet another gift from Ash.

I was not sure what to think about all this. Currently, Ash was a fugitive, and I was on a mission to capture him. That boy really didn’t learn from his mistakes. He had sustained serious injuries from his fight with the werewolf. I had thought my heart was going to stop when he arrived back at the village together with a cash reward paid by my younger brother, the acting count Itsuki. Ash was supposed to stay here for his recovery.

As the daughter of the Count of Sacula, I had known many knights and guards who had lost their lives to werewolves. Among them were many top-class soldiers. To think that a young boy like Ash would engage in a fight with such a monster... Anyone would have wanted to give him a good scolding after hearing that. It was a miracle that he was still alive. I could not stress enough how relieved I was.

Naturally, what he needed the most right now was to get as much rest as possible. I had planned to gently tuck him into a bed at our house and have him concentrate on his recovery, but when I went to check on him for lunch, I found the bed empty. In an instant, I realized that he had run away. That boy could seriously not stand still, even when he had a life-threatening injury! Although, admittedly, it was hard to conceive of him as someone on the brink of death after seeing him arrive with a brimming smile on Quid’s carriage, which was filled with presents from the city.

All the gifts, ranging from new hoes and sickles to clothes and cookware, really helped to make life in the village easier. I had no doubt that he had brought those things along in the hopes of softening the blow—that is, the scolding waiting for him. And it had worked. In the face of such a gesture, not even I could stay angry with him for too long. Regardless, I did my best to not let it show on my face. That was my duty as a parent. As his future mother-in-law.

Concealing my soft side, I asked David, “Speaking of Ash, did he happen to come by here?”

“Yeah, he was over there. He brought that new thing. Yer know that compost? I told ’im I ’member how to use it, but he kept buttin’ in...”

David looked like he was enjoying himself even as he complained. He must have been happy he got to talk to his son again, or perhaps he was proud of his achievements in the city. Probably both.

“I see... Do you know where he went afterwards?” I asked.

“Yeah, he said sumthin’ ’bout the church.”

“So he went to the church. Thank you, David. Please don’t overwork yourself in this heat.”

“Hahaha, dis much won’t kill me. I’m the father of the Bear Killer and the Werewolf Slayer!”

It seemed that Ash had gained a new nickname... He hadn’t actually slain the werewolf himself, but it was all the same to the villagers. Either way, it was impressive. Still, I needed to catch Ash and put him back to sleep after a good scolding as soon as possible.

As I opened the church door, I was greeted by a lively bunch of children. Some of them were frowning and groaning, one of them was proudly reading a book aloud, another one was teasing their neighbor out of boredom, and another one was annoyed at the latter. At this point, this had become the new normal for the village church during the day. The church had been shrouded in deserted silence for years, especially in the dark shadows of summer, but that wasn’t the case now. This was yet another miracle. There hadn’t been any study sessions here for decades until Ash came along.

Among the studying children stood a girl with silver hair. I called to her, “Tanya, do you have a moment?”

“Mrs. Yuika? Did something happen?”

“Well, it’s not like nothing happened, but it’s not related to Ban or Jigil.”

If anything had happened to the two hunters from her family, her pale face would have surely turned even paler. Luckily, it was just Ash who had disappeared from his bed. After I clarified the situation, Tanya put a hand on her chest and let out a big sigh of relief. Ban and Jigil were truly fortunate to have someone as cute as Tanya worry about them this much. Especially Ban. If only they would just get married already. The whole village already treated them as a married couple, and Jigil also seemed to grow impatient as of late.

“Oh, why are you here then?” Tanya asked.

“Well, I heard that Ash had come here...”

I looked around the church, but I couldn’t see him anywhere.

“If you’re looking for Ash—”

As Tanya opened her mouth, some of the other children around interrupted her.

“Big bro Ash helped me study just earlier!”

“He looks even more mature now after going to the city. Don’t you think so?”

“Yeah, he told us about life in the city.”

“When I told him, ‘I want to go too,’ he said to keep at it.”

All the information coming in at once overwhelmed me. It seemed that Ash’s energy had already started to spread to the other children... But that was a good thing.

“He’s right. If you study hard enough, you may be able to go study in the city. Like he said, keep at it!” I encouraged the little ones.

Judging from their quick and enthusiastic replies, it seemed that sending them to the city was going to be a real possibility. I was slightly worried about financing their studies, but thanks to Ash, we also had more and more leeway in that regard. If I asked Itsuki and Yae, they probably could help lower their living expenses, but either way, I had to seriously think about this sooner rather than later.

As I started going over the village’s revenue in my head, Tanya reminded me of my initial purpose. “Mrs. Yuika, if you’re looking for Ash, he’s at the back with Father Folke.”

“Ah, thanks, Tanya. So that’s where he’s hiding, huh? I’ll take note of our conversation about studying in the city. Everyone, good luck with your studies!”

I acknowledged the children’s lively response with a smile and waved at them before knocking on the door of the priest’s private study.

“Father Folke, it’s me, Yuika. Can I come in?”

“What? Oh, please come on in, Yuika. The door is open.”

I opened the door and quickly inspected the room, but there was no Ash to be seen. Father Folke was alone, sitting on his desk and furiously writing down something.

“Do you need anything?” he asked.

“Yes, I’m looking for Ash and I heard he was here...”

No matter how many times I looked around the small room, which was made even smaller by the stacks of books lying around, Ash was nowhere to be found.

“Ash left just a moment ago. I wish I could’ve talked to him a bit longer about the ancient language...”

“I guess we just missed each other, then. Do you know where he went?”

“He said he wanted to take a look at the water wheel. But I don’t know what he’s trying to achieve by looking at that broken thing.” Shrugging his shoulders, Father Folke put down his pen and stood up. “I guess now that Ash’s gone I might as well go and teach those kids. I can’t always leave everything to Tanya.”

He openly displayed his annoyance while stretching his back. This was not exactly befitting of a teacher, but he didn’t have a bad reputation among the children. Surprisingly, he apparently knew how to engage them. Maybe it was precisely his unpriestlike behavior that made him more approachable to the children. Tanya had also reported to me that his behavior probably made it easier for the children to ask him questions.

As if to prove my reasoning, when we both entered the main hall, the children immediately surrounded us.

“Oh, it’s Folke!”

“Folke, continue where you left off last time!”