Published: July 26, 2025
The day after the family meeting, everyone was somehow a bit tense. Father’s smile seemed somewhat lonely, Mother kept hugging me repeatedly, and Tulli suddenly burst into tears.
But as the days passed, life gradually returned to the usual routine, much like it was before the family meeting.
“Myne, you don’t have to do it. I’ll do it,” Tulli said.
“Eh? I want to do it too. Tulli said that if I don’t do it, I won’t get better at it,” I replied.
Other than Tulli becoming overly protective and trying to take over my work, despite encouraging me to be more independent, things were essentially back to normal.
“Wow, it’s sunny! We have to go collect Paru today!” Tulli’s voice woke me up this morning.
Though the sky was still a bit dim, it seemed almost cloudless. Tulli opened the window to check the weather, letting a rush of cold air inside.
“Tulli, it’s cold.”
“Oh, sorry, sorry.” She closed the window and quickly started preparing breakfast. I ate hurriedly amidst the bustling family.
Father and Mother finished breakfast quickly and began preparing baskets and firewood. Father, setting things by the door, glanced back at me as I chewed on my bread.
“Myne, what about you? Will you wait at the gate?”
“Hmmm, maybe I’ll try going to collect Paru too?”
From what I gathered from Tulli, the Paru tree is a mysterious and beautiful plant. The descriptions of it sparkling and spinning didn’t quite make sense to me, so I wanted to see one for myself out of pure curiosity.
The entire family’s eyes widened in surprise at my words.
“No! Myne, you either stay home or help at the gate.”
“Collecting Paru is tough; you can’t handle it. You’ll definitely get a fever.”
“That’s right! You’re bad at climbing trees and can’t even walk in the snow. It’s impossible.”
My request to accompany the family into the snowy forest to collect Paru was unanimously rejected. It made sense—since I couldn’t even walk to the gate in the snow, there was no way I could gather in the snowy woods.
“...Okay. The Paru collecting lasts until noon, right? Then I’ll help at the gate while I wait.”
I prepared my tote bag and got ready to head to the gate.
I thought Otto might be off since Father was resting, but it seemed Otto showed up at the gate almost every day during this season.
The family loaded their gear for collecting Paru onto a slightly larger sled, along with me, and set off.
Many people from town were heading toward the South Gate to collect Paru, pulling sleds along—it was almost like a festival atmosphere.
The air was so cold it pierced my skin, but the excitement and festive mood about collecting Paru made me feel excited too.
“Sorry, but I’m counting on you, Myne. Help Otto until noon.”
“Yes!”
After being dropped off at the gate, I waved goodbye to my family as they headed into the forest, then greeted the familiar gate guard and went to the duty room.
“Good morning, Otto.”
“Huh? Myne? Your team leader is off, right?”
Otto blinked in surprise, and I smiled slightly and nodded.
“Yes, it’s sunny today, so they went to collect Paru. I’m staying at the gate to help out.”
“Ah, I see. Until noon then.”
Otto seemed to understand and smiled, stacking the calculation sheets beside him.
He made space for me to work, so I thanked him for the other day’s consultation.
“Otto, thank you for your help the other day.”
“Hmm?”
“I mean, for the advice about work. I told my family about the self-eater issue and decided to look for work I can do at home. I’m thinking of consulting Benno when spring comes...”
“Yeah. Well, Myne, your health is important. If Benno doesn’t have any leads, I can ask around for home-based jobs anytime.”
“Yes!”
Though his smile had a slightly dark undertone that still made me uneasy, I felt refreshed after properly expressing my gratitude and got to work on the calculations.
Around noon, my family returned from the forest, and I rode the sled back home with them.