zChapter 41 - Arc 2, Crescent Moon (1/2)

Yakiya Village looked prosperous. Of course, this was by Meissen’s standards.

It had 33 villagers, 7 of which were children.

Of special note was the fact that there was only 1 person in this village who suffered from Kleber’s disease.

“In this village, only one person has Kleber’s disease?”

The village head responded to Ernst’s surprise with a smug air.

“That’s right. It’s a dirty pauper’s disease, after all.”

After the people beside him prodded him, the village head hastily tried to smooth over the words he had just spoken. Ernst smiled and accepted his attempts. The people of Rintz commonly believed that Kleber’s disease was something that only the poor contracted.

“There aren’t any people who leave the village to work?”

“Ehm… that’s right…”

The village head nervously answered.

Even if Ernst was no longer royalty and was now only nobility, the village head was well aware that he could be cut down for the disrespect he displayed in his previous statement.

“Humm. I have heard that the work of riverfolk involves ferrying across the river. Are you able to make a living with the income you earn by ferrying the village’s crops?

As if he still didn’t believe that Ernst had let his slip of the tongue go, the village head nervously glanced around as he spoke.

“…Yes. We go to Lux Kingdom to sell our village’s goods. We’re able to pay our taxes that way.”

“What manner of goods does your village produce?”

“The earth is rich and fertile here, so we’re able to produce an abundance of crops. The land of our neighbor, the fief of Caprix, is quite poor, so they’re not able to grow much. We’re able to sell them the wheat, vegetables, and potatoes grown from our Yakiya Village.”

After finally calming down, the village head answered Ernst fluently. His manner of speaking was undoubtedly like that of a merchant.

“So you bring your crops over to them.”

“At the moment, that is the case, yes.”

“At the moment? So it was different in the past?”

“Yes. The primary product sold by Yakiya Village used to be honey. In the past, we filled up bottles of honey and stacked them up in the boats, our boats always sailing back and forth with the booming business. But we always sold completely out in the end.”

“Do you no longer sell honey?”

“…We aren’t able to gather any more… the bees have died, so we’re unable to gather honey.”

“The bees have…? What caused it?”

“It’s Maine Village’s fault. Because those guys foolishly chopped down all of the Kalia trees, all of our bees in Yakiya starved and died.”

Kalia trees blossomed throughout the year. Ernst thought back to the road he had traveled to get to Yakiya, and then to the climate of Meissen.

Most of the trees around Yakiya village bloomed from spring to summer. They had also planted some Kalia trees, but the number was so few that you could count them.

“I was under the impression that bees stopped working in the winter.”

Certainly, this was the information that had been written in the books.

“You know quite a bit.”

The village head looked at Ernst with admiring eyes. Ernst had the feeling that he was being made a fool of somewhere.

Royals and nobles lived at ease; he probably thought of Ernst as one of them, those kinds of people who lived in ignorance far above others, and who knew and cared nothing of the way the people below them lived.

“For normal bees, it’s certainly the case where they cease their activities over the winter. But Yakiya Village’s bees are different. The bees of Yakiya are alert and active all year round. Because of that, rather than having only one harvest a year, Yakiya Village can have three harvests.”

“That’s quite incredible.”

“We were able to make our bees like this after a long time of work.”

The village head puffed his chest, making him seem as if he was looking down upon Ernst’s small build. The villagers at his side also looked very proud.

This village, too, had diligently worked hard in order to breed the kind of bee they wanted.

“After countless decades, we were finally able to produce the kinds of bees we had imagined… but because of Maine Village, all of that went to waste.”

Hatred filled the village head’s eyes.

“We’ll definitely return the favor to those bastards… because of them, everything is over!”

A villager who sat beside the village head spat this out in a restrained, resentful murmur.

When Ernst went into Yakiya Village, he only brought Targes and Ganche with him.

While Ernst met with the village head, Ganche waited for him outside. It wasn’t with the intention of excluding him, but simply because Ganche’s body couldn’t fit inside the village head’s house.

After leaving the house, Ernst saw Ganche standing imposingly there. The village head left the house just as he did, only for Ganche’s staggeringly intimidating figure to direct a glare at him.

The village head flinched and faltered back. Ernst glanced at him from the corner of his eye. When he saw that the village head had no idea of what he had done to deserve this, Ernst gave a wry smile and approached Ganche. He touched Ganche’s arm, soothing him.

A Dunbertian’s eyes perceived even the slightest traces of light in the darkness of night. Their ears, also, captured sounds that a Kleber could never hear.

Both of these were abilities that could be adjusted according to the owner’s intentions.

At this moment, it seemed that when Ernst left him to enter the house, Ganche feared for Ernst’s safety and put his ears to work.

Ernst had to praise Ganche for not leaping into the house and beating the village head when he spoke ill of those who had Kleber’s disease. Compared to when he had first met Ganche, Ernst felt that Ganche’s self-control had grown stronger.