Chapter 1-16 : The Girl Learns About The World, And The Cat Watches Over Her (part 1)
*Rattle rattle rattle
The carriage kept moving down the bumpy and rough road through the forest, heading to the port town.
The villager who was taking Elle was a merchant who usually sold the village’s crops to the people in the port town.
There were wooden boxes full of wheat, fruits, and vegetables surrounding Elle in the carriage.
She looked at the fruits while stroking Yoyo who was sleeping on her lap.
「Lady Doctor, feel free to eat the fruits if you’re hungry.」(villager)
「Can I?」(Elle)
「Of course. Well, I don’t think it’s enough to repay you. You saved my wife after all. By the way, do you prefer to be still called Lady Doctor, or… “Ojou-chan”?」(villager)
「Eh!?」(Elle)
「You don’t have to keep hiding your face with that blanket, Ojou-chan.」(villager)
After he said that, Elle took the blanket off her head and revealed her face.
「Umm… Since when did you realize that I’m a child?」(Elle)
「When you gave my wife a medical treatment. I think most of the villagers realized it.」(villager)
「I see… Ugh… I’m confident with my acting skill though…」(Elle)
「Haha. Well, I know the reason why you were hiding your identity. Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone about you. I’m sure the other villagers will keep it a secret as well.」(villager)
「Thank you.」(Elle)
「I should be the one saying that to you. I hope all those wooden boxes don’t make you uncomfortable back there.」(villager)
「Don’t worry, I have more than enough space for me to lie down. Do you usually sell this much crop?」(Elle)
「No, I usually sell more than this. The village couldn’t produce as much crop as usual because of the disease. It’s thirty percent less than usual this time.」(villager)
「I see. That’s unfortunate…」(Elle)
「Yeah, but you came and saved us all. If it weren’t for you, my village would have been over. I can’t thank you enough, really.」(villager)
「Ahaha… Please don’t mind it. Fwaaahh… *yawning*」(Elle)
Unable to hold her sleepiness, Elle let out a big yawn.
「Ojou-chan, please get some sleep. I will wake you up when we get to the port town.」(villager)
「Alright.」(Elle)
Elle lay down and hugged Yoyo as a pillow. She then fell asleep as soon as she closed her eyes.
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「Elle, you’ve done a great deed. I’m proud of you.」(voice)
「Hmm… Dad…?」(Elle)
「You saved so many people. You’re amazing!」(voice)
「Dad… where are you…?」(Elle)
Elle heard her dad’s voice but she couldn’t find him. All she saw was nothing but white as if she was walking on the cloud.
「Keep doing good things. You’re my pride and joy.」(voice)
「Dad… wait… Dad…!」(Elle)
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『She’s sleeping like a dead person. She must be very tired.』(Yoyo)
『She’s alive!』
『She’s alive!』
『She’s still alive!』(fairies)
『I know! It’s just a metaphor!』(Yoyo)
As always, Yoyo and the fairies were watching over Elle while she was sleeping.
◇◇◇
「Ojou-chan, wake up! We’re here!」(villager)
「…Mmm…? Have we arrived…?」(Elle)
「Yes. Look outside.」(villager)
After traveling through the forest for an entire day, Elle arrived at the port town.
When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was an enormous blue water that spread all the way to the horizon.
「Whoaaa! Is that the sea!?」(Elle)
「Haha. Yes, it is. Is this your first time seeing the sea?」(villager)
「Un! It’s so beautiful!」(Elle)
The surface of the vast sea sparkling in the sunlight looked magnificent.
Fugo, Elle’s father, once told her about the sea. He said it was like an endlessly wide and deep lake.
Elle tried to picture it in her head while listening to her father back then, but it actually was even grander than she imagined.
「Yoyo, look! It’s the sea! The sea!」(Elle)
「Yeah, I know. Calm down.」(Yoyo)
Elle was so excited. She was overwhelmed by the view in front of her.
Not only the sea, but she also saw some huge ships docked at the port.
「Those ships are huge! We’re going to the royal capital on that, right? I can’t wait to get on the ship!」(Elle)
So many new things Elle found in the port town, but the place was not bustling with people.
Elle once read a book about a port town. She imagined a port town was a town where you could see merchants and the townspeople busy doing business and hear the shouts of sailors and fishermen everywhere you go.
However, there were not many people here. The town was much quieter than Elle expected.
「The sea and the ships are great, but I thought there would be more people in this town.」(Elle)
「Well, it’s the countryside after all. Moreover, the lack of rain this year resulted in poor harvest, so not many traveling merchants visited this town recently. Also, I heard that the fishermen in this town couldn’t get as many fish as usual these past few months.」(villager)
「I see. That’s not good.」(Elle)
「It’s not a good thing, indeed. Anyway, do you see those stalls? That’s where you can buy a boarding pass to get on the ship. Let me take you there.」(villager)
「But, you have to sell these crops, right? I can go by myself.」(Elle)
「No, no. You don’t understand. Women and children who travel alone often get ripped off, especially children. People will try to trick you, especially now that fishermen can’t make much money these days.」(villager)
「I see. I understand why they do that, but…」(Elle)
「No matter what reason they have, tricking people is still a crime. Normally, a boarding pass costs 20 copper coins for an adult and 10 copper coins for a child. If they charge you double the price, which is 20 copper coins, then they can’t be trusted. Those sneaky people think that children are ignorant.」(villager)
People tend to judge others by their appearances, and so do adults toward children. They thought they could take advantage of their ignorance to make more money.
「But, Ojou-chan, you are different. I believe you, who saved my village, are much smarter and wiser than normal children. If you plan on continuing your journey, you better know how sneaky adults deceive people. Alright, how about this? You go and buy a boarding pass for yourself first. I will see how you will handle it.」(villager)
「A, alright. I’ll try.」(Elle)
The villager wanted to test Elle to make sure she could handle it alone first.
Elle gripped her wallet and went to one of the stalls selling boarding passes.
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