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Authorâs Note 1:
Itâs a bit short.
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Ruimin steered the horse.
I hugged Ruimin-san firmly so as not to be shaken off.
After a short ride, we entered the village and stopped in front of a house.
âWeâre here.â(Ruimin)
I slowly dismount from the horse.
I feel a little wobbly.
âAre you all right?â (Ruimin)
âYes. Iâm fine.â (Sakura)
So this is the village where Ruimin-san lives. Itâs very different from our town. The people in the village are looking at us.
When I saw the different buildings and clothes, I was reminded that I was really in a different place.
âSakura-chan, over here.â (Ruimin)
As I look around, Ruimin-san calls out to me.
Ruimin-san is standing at the entrance of the house in front of me.
Iâm going to go to Ruimin-sanâs place.
âThis house?â (Sakura)
âItâs Grandpaâs house. Grandpaâs over here. Come in.â (Ruimin)
Ruimin-san went inside the house. I followed her.
âPardon the intrusion.â (Sakura)
I gave my greetings and entered the house.
Itâs different from the house we lived in. Itâs a strange feeling.
I followed Ruimin-san down the corridor, and I saw two staircases, one going up the second floor and one for the basement. Ruimin-san went down the lower stairs.
There was a large room at the bottom of the stairs where Mumroot-sama was inside.
âGrandpa, Iâm back.â (Ruimin)
âSorry for bothering you.â (Sakura)
Mumroot-sama looks at us as we enter the room.
âSo I heard about the monsters coming, is that true?â (Mumroot)
âYes. When Swaying Bear-sama and Hugging Bear-sama noticed the approaching monsters, Yuna-sama, and the others stayed behind to fight it, while they sent me here because it was too dangerous.â (Sakura)
âI see. If monsters have come, sending you here is a much better option. The less anxiety the girls have, the better their condition is to fight.â (Sakura)
It pains me whenever Iâm the cause of peopleâs anxiety.
I am a helpless being who can do nothing.
âGrandpa, you donât have to say it like that.â (Ruimin)
âItâs hard to fight while protecting someone. Even if you remain in the safest spot on the island, they will still be worried about you in the back of their minds since the monsters may attack you at any given moment. Thatâs what fighting monsters are all about.â (Mumroot)
âThatâs right, but...â (Ruimin)
âItâs okay, Ruimin-san. I understand, and thatâs why Iâm here.â (Sakura)
It would be nice to reduce everyoneâs burden even a little. Thatâs all I can do at the moment.
âSakura-chan...â (Ruimin)
âBut the demons are gathering on the island....... Weâll have to hurry.â (Mumroot)
âMumroot-sama. Is this a sign that the seal will be broken?â (Sakura)
âItâs a possibility. On the other hand, I donât know why monsters are gathering for other reasons.â (Mumroot)
I feel that the resurrection of the serpent is getting closer to reality with your words, Mumroot-sama.
Iâm scared.
Iâm afraid of dying, but I donât want to see everyone else die either. I donât want that sad dream to become a reality.
âGrandpa. Should I check the situation with Yuna-san?â (Ruimin)
âThe girls are probably fighting monsters right now. Weâll just get in the way. If anything happens, she will contact us. So, in the meantime, we have to prepare to strengthen the seal quickly.â (Mumroot)
Mumroot-sama is right.
We should not interfere with Yuna-samaâs fight by contacting her.
âIs there anything I can help, Mumroot-sama? I want to return as soon as possible. If thereâs anything I can do, Iâll do it, just let me know.â (Sakura)
âWell then, young lady, I need you to put away the carpets over there.â (Mumroot)
There were many carpets where Mumroot-sama pointed.
It has a beautiful patterned image on it.
âI was looking for a carpet with a magic circle on it that will strengthen the seal.â (Mumroot)
The pattern on the carpet here is said to be a magic circle.
There are so many of them, arenât there?
And it seems he is looking for it from this.
This will be a lot of work.
âSakura-chan, if youâre putting away the carpets. Roll it up like this, then please put it on that empty shelf over there.â (Ruimin)
âGot it.â (Sakura)
I followed Ruimin-sanâs instructions to roll up the beautifully patterned carpets and put them away on the shelves.
Small carpets were put away alone, and large carpets were put away with Ruimin-san.
âGrandpa, you still canât find it?â (Ruimin)
Mumroot-sama would unroll a new carpet, saying, âNo,â or âNot this oneâ.
âI used it a long time ago.â (Mumroot)
âWell, this wouldnât have happened if you had organized it properly.â (Ruimin)
The room has lots of shelves and plenty of carpets.
Indeed, I donât know what kind of magic carpet it is, since it doesnât have a name on it.
âI donât usually use that magic circle. I canât help but forget where I ended up putting it.â (Mumroot)
âThatâs why you should have organized it properly. It would have been easier if you wrote the name of the magic circle on the carpets.â (Ruimin)
Indeed, looking at the current situation, I think Ruimin-san is right. Any moment now, the serpent may come back to life. Iâm inclined to want them to hurry up.
âI know. Iâm thinking of doing it someday.â (Mumroot)
âThat, you already said that to grandma, and yet, you wouldnât do it no matter how many times she told you to.â (Ruimin)
âI was thinking of doing it in a few years.â (Mumroot)
âIâll help you clean it up this time, so letâs find it quickly.â (Ruimin)
âOkay. I get it . But now itâs better to look for the magic circle to strengthen the seal. We donât have time for anything else.â (Mumroot)
âGrandpa......â (Ruimin)
Ruimin-san complained and put the carpet away.
âIn a few years? ......â (Sakura)
I thought about the next few years that I heard from Mumroot-samaâs mouth.
What is going on with the serpent? What is happening to the country? And I... If something happens to Yuna-sama, I cannot return to the country.
The thought of that makes me nervous.
âSakura-chan, whatâs wrong?â (Ruimin)
Ruimin-san noticed that my hand had stopped and asked.
âNo, I just wondered what the country would be like in a few years if we hadnât been able to reseal the serpent.â (Sakura)
âItâs okay, because Yuna-san is there.â (Ruimin)
Ruimin-san cheered me up.
âRuimin-san, you believe in Yuna-sama, donât you?â (Sakura)
âYeah, because Yuna-san is so strong that she can beat the giant snake.â (Ruimin)
Ruimin-san seems to believe in Yuna-sama.
I also believe in Yuna-sama.
âBesides, Grandpa will take care of it.â (Ruimin)
âI will do everything I can. Iâm not telling you that to be reassured. But you must have hope.â (Mumroot)
âYes, thank you.â (Sakura)
I moved my hand, which had stopped.
Then Ruimin-san asked me.
âWhat do you want to do in the future, Sakura-chan?â (Ruimin)
âThe future?â (Sakura)
Will I continue to live as a priestess?
However, in this short time, I met Yuna-sama, met Ruimin-san, went through the mysterious door, and had many experiences.
âI donât know when it will be, but Iâd like to travel the world.â (Sakura)
Such are my thoughts.
But I have to be strong. And that is the main problem.
âBut I canât fight, so it may not be possible.â (Sakura)
I am only ten years old. If I learn a lot from Shinobu, will I become stronger?
âThen Iâll come with you.â (Ruimin)
âRuimin-san?â (Sakura)
âI will do my best to protect you, Sakura-chan, as you grow up and become stronger.â (Ruimin)
âIâll do my best to practice my magic.â (Sakura)
I would have to have some magical talent for that, though.
It seems that my father couldnât use magic, but my mother could. Iâm sure my motherâs blood was flowing within me, and I could use magic.
Besides, my uncle told me that I look like my mother.
So maybe I can use magic too. Then, it might be nice to go around the world with Ruimin-san.
But will that be in 5 years at the earliest?
âRuimin-san, can you wait for me for about five years?â (Sakura)
âYeah, Iâll wait 10 or 100 years.â (Ruimin)
No, Iâll be dead within 100 years.
âTo do that, we need to defeat the giant serpent first, though.â (Ruimin)
âYesâ (Sakura)
We must do the best we can now in hopes of that future.
Shortly after that, we were able to find the magic circle that could reinforce the seal.
However, another problem has arisen.
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Authorâs Note 2:
This is the end of the story on Mumroot-sanâs side.
We will continue with the story of Yuna and the others who remained on the island.
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