Published: July 26, 2025
Along with sun-drying the black bark using materials other than trombe, today we took a pot and some ash to cook the white bark that we would make into paper—about the amount that could be boiled with one bell’s worth of time.
Since it wasn’t too heavy with just the pot and the ash for today’s work, Lutz’s steps were light.
After walking to the riverbank, I hooked the black bark onto the rim of the basket I was carrying on my back and laid it out to dry. Meanwhile, Lutz started preparing the pot. He placed the pot filled with water on the hearth made of stacked stones, then went off to gather firewood.
“Listen, Myne. Don’t leave the pot side for any reason.”
“I know, I know already!”
The pot and ash were important and valuable, not something easily obtained here. Moreover, the white bark we had prepared so far would be troublesome if stolen, so even a useless person like me was necessary to keep watch over the supplies.
Recently, as I started putting more effort into gathering and wandering around, Lutz kept warning me multiple times.
“You say you understand, but when you find something interesting, you immediately wander off.”
“I’m going to stay here until you come back, so hurry up and go.”
When I first started entering the forest, I set down my heavy basket and tried to head deeper in, but I got scolded fiercely by Tulli and Lutz. Unlike in Japan, leaving your belongings and going somewhere out of sight is absolutely forbidden.
That’s why every child heading into the forest carries a basket or pack they can manage themselves and only gather as much as they can carry.
Once Lutz quickly gathered some wood and started the fire, he went back to gather more firewood again.
While adjusting the basket’s position to keep the black bark exposed to the sun as the shadows moved, I kept an eye on the pot.
“Is it boiling?”
“Yeah, I think it’s almost ready.”
When the water came to a boil, I added the ash and white bark, but then I realized I needed something to stir it with. Of course, I hadn’t prepared anything like that.
Ah, I found another missing item.
Feeling discouraged at how poor my imagination was, I looked around for something.
“Lutz, can you make two sticks of about the same length to stir the pot? Wood might peel and mix in, so bamboo would be best if possible. There’s some nearby, right?”
“You want bamboo sticks, huh? Got it.”
Lutz split some bamboo and quickly made chopstick-like sticks for me, and I used them to stir the pot.
Maybe because he struggled to make the bamboo sticks, Lutz’s bamboo crafting skills seemed to have improved. Just as I admired him, I heard his quiet mutter.
“...How do you manage to stir with sticks like that?”
“W-what!? Ah, yeah, I’m handy, right?”
I smiled and tried to brush it off, but a cold sweat blasted down my back and wouldn’t stop.
In this world, which doesn’t have Japanese food, there are naturally no chopsticks. Almost no one can hold chopsticks. There’s no way a little girl would casually have chopsticks made for stirring a pot, and not even grip them properly like chopsticks.
Ugh, Lutz looks kind of weird.
It’s just my imagination, right? Just my imagination?
Telling myself that, I stirred the pot. Changing suddenly to holding the chopsticks with a fist would be even more suspicious. I had no choice but to keep going, though my heart pounded loudly.
Ahhh, I’m so stupid!
I’m basically inviting suspicion myself!
Trying to keep a normal face, after simmering the white bark for a while, I faintly heard the bell ring. The timing must have been right.
I rinsed the boiled white bark in the river to wash away the ash. At the same time, I put it out in the sun. Supposedly, exposing it to sunlight makes the bark whiter. I don’t know if that applies to plants in this world, but for now, I had to rely on my memory.
“We’ll leave it like this for a full day again.”
“Yeah, got it.”
To make beautiful white paper, the white bark would be left in the river for another full day. After washing the pot, Lutz and I took turns gathering more materials.