Book 12 Chapter 7

The Child Who Weaves Hearts (3)

Gratorelm means "forest settlement" in the dragon language.

Administratively, Gratorelm was one of the Republic's seven great cities, a small town under Aurelinople.

Geographically, it sat in the middle reaches of the Bellisor Great River, and with 143 villages in its suburbs, the city was unexpectedly large for a small town.

Among those 143 villages were Marind Village and L'Col Village in the Seges region.

These are the villages where the memorial to Friede, who quelled the turmoil over 300 years ago, was erected, and where the New Year's Eve festival celebrating the Rista Hero Party takes place.

They are villages where twilight herbs bloom and spread the twilight's light at dusk.

"Hup-cha."

"Eung-cha!"

As the load of various odds and ends was set down on the shelf, Setsunen, who was handling a smaller load, mimicked the process, even the groan.

Miria laughed, "Ahahaha," clearly.

As they laughed, a distant river breeze blew in through the wide-open window, making their hair flutter vigorously.

"The wind feels good!"

Setsunen trotted out to the garden beyond the window.

"Barefoot, you're barefoot! Hey, Nen!"

Despite Miria's scolding, Nen stepped on the mud barefoot, laughing in wonder at the touch of life.

How could the smile spreading across that delicate face be so pure and deep?

Miria, who had rushed after her, couldn't resist that innocent smile and ended up laughing along.

"You're impossible, no, I can't live like this, really."

At that moment, Rain, who had been laughing with them, leaned on the railing and gazed at the distant horizon, dyed green by the vegetation.

"It might be nice to raise a dog."

Gratorelm was a small town, but it had no proper city walls.

The stone walls were only for the inner citadel.

It is said that this was because the city was naturally formed over distant history as people gathered and merged.

That era was Hals Dracus.

In other words, it was an era when the peace of the dragons protected everyone, so stone walls were said to be unnecessary.

The years of brilliant peace, now hard to imagine, were dissolved in the city like a fragrance, making the city appear simply blue.

- "Therefore, I intend to go to that region."

When he revealed his intention to his family, his grandfather and parents looked displeased.

- "You'll be giving birth soon, must you travel such a long distance? And Rain, you are now the undisputed head of the family. Isn't it time to solidify your influence?"

- "Father, let her go. Her will is so firm, how can we stop her? From the start, Rain is not someone to be tied to one place."

- "You scoundrel, it's just that I'm heartbroken I won't be able to see my soon-to-be-born great-grandchild's face right away."

- ?

- ?

- "Father-in-law, you can go see the baby after it's born…"

While performing her duties as a sorceress, the family's wealth had grown even stronger, so they could easily purchase this residence with those funds.

It was September of the year 1438 in the world.

Amidst that endlessly blue September sky and blue city, a new daily life was about to begin.

'I'm excited. If I include my previous life, I'm nearly fifty now…'

Regardless of age, is the start of a journey always this exciting?

* * *

"Cough…"

I must endure. I never even grimaced during the battles with Zelnic and Ashron…

Just this much pain…

What I barely managed to swallow was a piece of hell… a piece of bread, one might say. Bread burned black.

My voice isn't coming out well.

My face must have turned deathly pale.

"See that, Nen? As you can tell from that expression just now, people find it hard to eat when it's like this."

As soon as she said that, Miria put the bread aside. No, if that's the case, why the tasting?

"Alright, let's try again."

As Miria spread the flour widely, Nen fidgeted with her fingers, imitating her.

"Make three indentations for the salt, sugar, and cinnamon, then mix gently."

"Mixing it!"

"Then, make a large indentation. So you can add milk and eggs."

As Miria taught baking, Setsunen's eyes shone with the curiosity of a child learning about a new world.

In early autumn, as the wind mixed with the charm of autumn flowed in, the scent of ripe wheat wafted.

Beyond the garden's stone wall, the leaves, brown with falling foliage, rustled softly in the autumn breeze. It was an autumn day.

'This is autumn…'

It was an autumn day where simply watching the two of them, doing nothing, brought a double smile.

'Red and blue, and high and clear, this is autumn…'

It was an autumn day like this.

One day at the magic tower, when even the sound of falling leaves could be heard, was the day my master taught me about cooking.

- "Wow, Rain is on cooking duty tonight!"

- "Oh, gods. Why this disaster, precisely on a day when I feel like I'm starving to death!"

- "Tsk… Let's just go eat dirt."

Amidst the murmuring of my damn classmates, as I puffed out my cheeks in a huff while chopping vegetables, my master approached.

- "You're openly making a face that says you don't want to do it."

- "I don't know why I have to cook. It'd be better to memorize one more math formula at this time. No matter how poor the magic tower is, this is exploitation… Ow!"

- "It's true the magic tower is poor. But there's another reason why I have you take turns cooking."

- "What reason?"

- "Cooking, you see, holds the secrets of magic."

My master had a simple and clear roadmap towards truth.

It was said to be the most important teaching, passed down through generations from the first headmaster.

In the master's teaching, which subtly conveyed this, there was no stinting, only an abundance of smiles.

- "Cooking, you see, requires putting your heart into it. Just like magic."

Did my master continue to preach that teaching even after hearing the news of his disciple's death…?

My childhood days before following Rista, an autumn day walking down a mountain path hand-in-hand with my master, came to mind.

How deep was my master's excited laughter as he spoke about magic on that mountain path?

"Nen, with cooking, you shouldn't just focus on making it with effort."

"Then what is it?"

"You have to put your heart into it. In the case of bread, into its dough."

It was an autumn day like this back then too.

As I passed on my master's teaching to Nen, the scenery of my old home, the Osarius Magic Tower, was superimposed onto reality.

Was it possible for such a thing to happen because it was an autumn day like this back then?

"Imagine Aki eating it. Or giving it as a gift to Mir. How about that, isn't it easy?"

No, that's not it.

It's that smile, Nen's bright and radiant smile.

It reminds me of my own childhood days, when I shyly hid the smile that bloomed unconsciously amidst my master's generous teachings…

"A gift for big sister! I'm suddenly excited!"

The resemblance brought tears to my eyes.

On that day, did my master also look at his young self and recall daily life with his old master?

Perhaps because he didn't express his emotions as honestly as Nen, he couldn't have…?

"Can we bake it now!"

"No, not yet. We have to wait until it ferments."

"Fermentation!"

"Shall we tend to the garden until then?"

After Nen followed Miria out, I just stared blankly at the dough.

'Ah…'

Three hundred years had passed, so there was no way now to go back and honestly show him that smile.

His body must have already decayed in the earth, so there was no way to meet face to face and laugh together.

When I left the magic tower, my crying face, hidden beneath a conical hat, must have been the last face my master saw of me.

'Ah… why did I back then…'

* * *

What came out of the oven and onto the dinner table was milk bread.

As I stared blankly at its familiar appearance, Miria awkwardly scratched her head.

"A long time ago, you know, when you baked for us to show off your skills to Friede? I tried to remember what you did back then, but I'm not sure if it turned out well."

The first baking method I learned from my master must have been this 'milk bread, accompanied by cinnamon'.

It was an autumn day like this back then too.

How anxious I was, though I didn't show it, until the bread taken from the oven entered my master's mouth.

Setsunen, unable to hide her nervousness, kept fidgeting with her interlocked fingers.

The moment I tore a long piece of bread and put it in my mouth, "Ting-a-ling," I was under the eaves of my hometown, where a wind chime was swaying.

In that scene, there was my master, chewing the same bread and suddenly breaking into a wide smile.

- "Wow, it's delicious?"

And in that memory.

There was a young boy who, seeing his master's smile, also grinned widely before hastily covering his face with a tray.

On my master's face, as he looked at that hidden smile, a tranquil smile spread.

It was a sight I hadn't seen, and a smile I hadn't seen, in my youth, amidst embarrassment and shyness.

Ah, so that's how it was…

You saw everything back then…

You were smiling like that…

The five senses are truly wondrous.

To be able to return to those distant days just with taste and smell, for memories to permeate so vividly within taste and smell…

And perhaps it was Nen's power that allowed the fragrance of memory to seep into those five senses.

"Wow, it's delicious?"

Watching Setsunen jump up and down, unable to hide her joy at those words, my regrets for that distant past began to crumble.

That's why I ended up dreaming.

That's why I ended up praying.

That this child may comfort the hearts of those who regret, just like me, in the future…