Published: August 2, 2025
“Long time no see!”
“Glad you came!”
“Oh, a visitor?”
“Oh, so madam has returned too.”
While organizing my luggage in the room prepared for me, I saw Mr. Kai and his younger brother Mr. Kei. It seemed their mother had also come back.
“Excuse me for intruding. My name is Ryoma Takebayashi.”
“Oh, you’re the one who helped my foolish sons and their friends around springtime. You’re much younger than I imagined. …Hmm? Weren’t you supposed to come next month? I thought it was next month.”
“Hey, Mom, he’s here this month to help protect the village’s catch. The fishing season ends next month.”
“Well, that’s a problem… I haven’t prepared meals for guests.”
“Wait, you only have enough food for us?”
“The amount of ingredients is enough, but the variety is….”
…Were they trying to prepare some special feast?
“Um, please don’t go to so much trouble.”
I’m grateful just for a place to sleep, and if they prepare meals too, that’s even better. I wouldn’t complain eating the same food as everyone else.
“Is that so? But about today’s plans…”
“Ah… Anyway, leave dinner to us.
By the way, Kai, Kei, Ryoma-kun will be staying for a while, right? How about showing him around the village now? Also, since you know the other three, you should let them know he arrived and be considerate.”
“Oh! That’s a good idea!”
“Ryoma-kun, is there anywhere you want to see?”
“In that case––”
Since I wanted to join the mud salamander hunt starting tomorrow, I took them up on their offer to show me the site and introduce me to the senior adventurers already working there. I also asked if they could guide me to a place to train during my stay if possible.
“That’ll be like going around the whole village. We’ll head to the beach first, then swing by the outskirts and the meeting hall. That should bring us around dinner time.”
“Alright, Kei, you guide him. I’ll go call Sain and the others. I want to talk and have dinner with them. We can catch up there.”
The two who knew the area quickly discussed and decided on the route.
“Well, I’ll go get them. See you later.”
“Thank you. See you later.”
“We’re this way.”
I parted from Mr. Kai at the entrance and followed Mr. Kei.
Outside, the village was as peaceful as ever, but while organizing my things, dusk began to fall.
Children and madams seemed to have returned home, so the village was rather quiet now.
…Or so I thought, until I noticed a group of young men gathered doing what looked like exercises.
Mr. Kei also noticed them at the same time and greeted them.
While walking, I asked what kind of exercises they were doing. Apparently, it was warm-up exercises before going out fishing.
“Fishermen have done these stretches since long ago right after waking up. If your body doesn’t move well on the boat, it’s dangerous not only for yourself but also your crewmates. So we exercise together to check our condition before boarding, that’s what I was taught.”
“I see.”
“Well, if someone’s clearly unwell, you don’t need to do the exercises to notice. Honestly, many do it out of habit. If you say that to my dad or some strict elders, they’ll get mad though.”
Mr. Kei laughed like a mischievous child telling a story.
Then from afar came a shout,
“Hey!”
“Oh, hello!”
He seemed to know the people and greeted them in return. But just seconds later, he was called again, and a few minutes later greeted someone else. Every time he met someone, greetings repeated.
“You all know each other well.”
“It’s a small village, so naturally. Most men are fishermen, and we recognize faces by who’s whose wife or which number son of which fisherman. If you’re not from the village, you stand out, so new people quickly become topics and get remembered fast. You’ll probably be remembered soon too, Ryoma-kun.”
That’s typical of rural areas. I must be careful not to leave a bad impression.
“How many people live in this village altogether?”