Published: July 26, 2025
The next day, since we had to process the skins by removing the black bark and turning it into white bark, I brought along a board, a pot, and a bucket.
While staying near the fire, occasionally warming my hands in hot water, I peeled off the skins with a knife.
"To be honest, I don't want to do this except in summer. My fingertips are tingling," I complained.
"Yeah. Getting into the cold river is tough," Lutz agreed.
Despite our grumbling, our hands moved steadily as we completed the Trombe white bark. Even after becoming white bark, there were no signs of mold spots, and I let out a sigh of relief.
"...Looks like no mold grew, thankfully."
"Besides Forin, I told you Trombe would be fine, right?"
"It's a dangerous plant, after all," I said.
After finishing peeling the skins, we went to gather herbs in the forest. There were medicinal herbs that could only be collected during this season, so Lutz taught me as we picked them together.
"Hey, Lutz. Aren't you going to pick these red berries? Are they poisonous?"
I noticed Lutz avoided stepping near red berries about the size of an adult’s thumb joint that had fallen in the forest. They might be poisonous. I pointed at them without touching and asked.
"Ah, you don't have to touch Tau Fruit. They’re mostly water inside. You can't eat them, and if you bring them home, the water dries up, leaving them all shriveled. They’re useless right now."
"Right now?"
"In summer, they'll grow to about the size of a fist. Since Tau bursts its water when it hits something, kids play by throwing them at each other."
I guessed they were like natural water balloons. Bringing them home just causes them to dry up; you have to leave them as is for them to grow.
Weird fruit.
"Everyone, adults and kids, throw them at each other in town. The Star Festival must be wild, right?"
Even though I should have been here over a year, I had no memory of such a festival.
"...Hey, Lutz. I've never heard of the Star Festival. Was there a festival in summer?"
"Last Star Festival, I was close to dying. When I went to invite you, your aunt said your fever wouldn’t go down. I went to get bamboo right after the festival."
Ah, that time.
Lutz’s words reminded me—it was when I was first clearly aware of the sensation of being swallowed by a self-eater after the wooden tablet was burned.
I apparently was unconscious for days and bedridden for a while afterward, so even if there was a festival, it wasn't on my mind. Probably the same for my family.
"Tulli wanted to play too, but because of me, she couldn't go, right?"
Maybe I had robbed Tulli of happy childhood memories. Thinking that, I hung my head, but Lutz shrugged and shook his head.
"No, Aunt was watching over Myne, so Tulli participated. She and Ralf competed to gather Tau in the forest."
"Oh, really? That's good."
"I hope Myne can join this year."
"Yeah."
I promised to take care of my health and participate in the Star Festival this year, then finished our foraging.
Though I made the promise, I wasn't sure if my parents would allow me to join a festival involving throwing water around.
From the next day, we worked in front of the warehouse.
The water was cold, so we dipped our hands in hot water repeatedly as we made Forin Paper using the contract-sized papermaking screens.
Over several days, drying the paper, we also began making paper using the Trombe white bark.
"Forin Paper is dry. It was sunny today."
"Trombe paper will need a full day of natural drying tomorrow, right?"
Confirming our progress, Lutz and I split the 26 finished sheets of Forin Paper evenly. Lutz handed me 13 sheets, but then frowned in confusion.
"Hey, Myne. Why split it here? After we give it to the boss, shouldn’t we just split the money?"
"Because I want the paper itself. It's fine if Benno buys the raw materials and it's for myself, but since we gather the raw materials ourselves now, I think it's okay for me to keep my share."
If I bought paper after selling to Benno, I'd lose 30% in fees. So I'd rather not sell at all from the start.