Chapter 31
I already knew that Reki’s coast was as unpredictable as a monster. Ten years ago, it devoured a large cargo ship and even forced the rescue vessels to turn back.
‘If there was a way in, there might be a way out.’
There’s no guarantee that the curse is confined only to the land. Perhaps if we try to escape by sea, the ship might rot from within the moment we reach another port.
But I can’t just stay here like this.
‘Let’s learn more seriously about the sea.’
The plan I made with Nathan and Arno last night is still valid. Let’s approach the residents gradually. Make them lower their guard, gain their goodwill, find out what they fear, and perhaps discover if this ‘cursed land’ has any weaknesses.
‘For now, I need to accept even unscientific stories at face value. Analysis comes later.’
Alice’s heart started pounding as if she was about to embark on a rough voyage.
…If she didn’t keep her mind occupied like this, Adelaide’s gentle voice calling this place a ‘beautiful world’ would keep echoing in her head.
***
When was the last time I had proper sleep?
Since accepting Marie’s request, I’ve been restless with anxiety before the long journey. Then on the night we finally arrived in Reki, the whole village was turned upside down. The next night was filled with nightmares, and the following day was worse than any nightmare, a bloody reality that kept me awake…
But since coming to Reki and getting my first proper sleep in bed – though it was more like passing out – Alice’s daily life quickly became peaceful.
So peaceful that it made her wonder if all the chaotic days before were just hallucinations from sleep deprivation.
Yes, ‘daily life.’
Though nobody would ever call it ‘normal.’
“Doctor, how many minutes of nagging are you going to do today?”
She visited the grumbling Cherry every day to check her wounds. The other injuries had healed. She removed the splint from Cherry’s nose after getting a promise to behave.
In truth, Cherry was one of the less active residents and a good patient.
Especially compared to the others.
“Huuuh.”
“Gon, I haven’t touched your tooth yet. Open wider so I can see where it hurts.”
“Huuuuuhhhhh.”
Gon had come in after trying to pull out his canine tooth because he wanted adult teeth sooner, resulting in bleeding. Although Alice had only studied basic dentistry in her early years and wasn’t qualified for dental practice, they couldn’t afford the luxury of visiting a dentist.
By the time she finally convinced Gon to open his mouth, the bleeding had stopped on its own. Even then, Gon continued crying for another hour.
At another house, a resident named Doki rolled up her sleeve.
With broad shoulders, a sturdy build, and lion-like hair, she was quite an impressive woman. At least until she opened her mouth.
“You have to warn me before you do anything. No exceptions. If it’s going to hurt, you must tell me first.”
Beside her, a pretty resident named Tarok giggled while holding down her shoulder.
“She likes to show off her strength, but sometimes she dislocates her joints. What do you think? Does she look fine to you right now?”
“I need to examine it first, so Tarok, please let go and step back.”
Tarok muttered “You’ll regret this” while stepping aside. Alice grabbed Doki’s elbow and-
“AHHHHH!”
A deafening scream rang out.
“I-I didn’t even do anything yet.”
“You moved too fast! You must move very, very slowly!”
“…I’ll be careful.”
“I’m not exaggerating. Sudden movements feel like threats to me!”
“I understand.”
She had to accept it even if she didn’t comprehend it. Getting hit by Doki would probably make it difficult to guarantee tomorrow’s existence.
“Your joint is fine. However, I think your center of gravity is off when lifting things. Watch me, and try moving like this next time.”
“Hmm, alright.”
“Above all, don’t overdo it. Also, are there any other residents feeling unwell these days?”
Doki and Tarok exchanged glances, thought for a moment, and mentioned another resident’s name. Then Alice would grab her bag and knock on that resident’s containment facility door.
She had done similar things not long ago to understand the residents, but now she was being more aggressive about it.
It wasn’t just because of the urgent sense of crisis.
‘These residents… not all of them are wary of me.’
Some clearly found her amusing, while others sympathized with her. Before this fragile sense of closeness could fade, she had to meet them, get to know them, and become familiar with them.
She never wanted to experience again what happened in the forest, where her plea for help became a spectacle for everyone.
Over several days, she went around with her medical bag, rebuilding her mental map of Reki.
[Doki’s containment facility faces the village entrance directly. Female in her 30s. Suffers from skin condition in summer]
That’s all that went on paper.
More detailed information was stored in her mind.
‘Judging by how she moves her joints, she’s probably a quadrupedal vertebrate. Considering her teeth, her diet, and the way she relies on her sense of smell to check strangers, she’s likely from the canine family.’
For Alice, who had no expertise in veterinary medicine, trying to deduce their true nature was like jumping into business management with only basic arithmetic knowledge.
However, just having a direction for investigation helped speed up the process of finding differences between them and humans.
‘Human body shape. However, their way of using their bodies tends to follow specific animal habits.’
She was about to write, Their bodies are similar to humans… but then angrily scratched it out.
Some might have claws as sharp as daggers. Just as some people have their internal organs on the opposite side.
And her theories about the residents’ characteristics remained known only to her.
‘Telling the professor might lead to progress, but…’
These days, Nathan was completely absorbed in researching herbs. Seeing how he absently responded “Yeah, later” to everything, he must have found some kind of lead and was fully focused on it.
Meanwhile, Arno was walking a path that seemed to blend Nathan and Alice’s approaches. He went around claiming to interact with residents but never revealed who he met or where.
‘Given his personality, he probably won’t do anything reckless…’
Though he might do something dangerous to others.
…And those ‘others’ might include Alice and Nathan.
She tried to wash away such worries with a glass of water. Right now, Arno probably needs both Alice and Nathan.
Meanwhile, a small but sad problem arose while getting closer to the village residents.
She had to keep eating Adelaide’s terrible cooking.
“How is it? Is it at least edible today?”
Not asking if it’s delicious, but if it’s edible – what a modest question. Even more unfortunate was that Alice hadn’t developed the quick wit to immediately respond with “It’s fine!”
It tastes like flour mixed with saline solution.
“Um, it has the taste of… life-sustaining nutrition.”
“So it’s just filling enough to survive, you mean.”
Adelaide sighed.
Alice wondered if adding milk might make it more flavorful, but there was no milk in Reki.
When I once asked at the grocery store if they could deliver milk, Adelaide gave me a disgusted look and replied, “Cow’s milk? Isn’t that a bit gross?”
Were humans the only ones who drank the milk of another species? Alice briefly imagined milking something other than a cow and shook her head.
“Arno might know some cooking tricks.”
“*sigh* Actually, I wanted to ask him for cooking help first, but he seems to be avoiding me since that day.”
“…Right.”
She’s referring to the day when Adelaide almost dislocated Arno’s shoulder.
Adelaide gave a bitter smile.
“I wanted to get along well with him, you know. At least on the surface, if nothing else.”
“…”
“I didn’t have an easy time leading this village from the start either. As you’ve seen lately, all the residents have such strong personalities, don’t they?”
“Haha… Though I’m not one to talk, some people are quite difficult to deal with.”
“That’s right! Some have terrible personalities, and others are nice but childish! It’s a complete mess! We fought a lot at first, but… well, what can you do in such a small place? We had to learn to get along.”
“…”
“I’d like to apologize to Arno for hurting him that day. Do you know what foods he likes?”
Adelaide added, “I won’t try to make it. I’ll ask Fiore to buy it from the neighboring village.”
“Well, what comes to mind is…”
What did Arno like?
During their modest meals, while Alice was doing the dishes, she remembered hearing him secretly take out a small pouch. That crunching sound beyond the running water…
“He seems to like candy.”
“Were humans the only ones who drank the milk of another species? Alice briefly imagined milking something other than a cow and shook her head.”
“Men surprisingly like sweets. They call desserts ‘something for women’ when they’re young, but once they reach an age where they don’t care about appearances, they end up at the dentist with tooth problems.”
“I love that detail! If I tell Fiore that buying candy will somehow make Arno suffer, he’ll be even more eager to help.”
Adelaide giggled. Alice carefully asked:
“Um, Madam Adelaide, does Fiore have any favorite snacks?”
“Hmm? Why do you ask?”
“He’s helped me a lot lately.”
Though Alice’s ego had declared ‘I’ll hate Fiore forever’ after getting hit in the nose, it was true that he had helped her several times.
Moreover, if he really did steal her wallet for her sake…
Alice hid her fidgeting fingers under the table.
“He doesn’t seem to like caramel much.”
“Don’t bother with gifts. Just say thank you. That’s what Fiore would like best.”
“Just saying thank you?”
“More specifically, he enjoys when someone who disliked him swallows their pride and thanks him.”
“Now I don’t want to thank him…”
“But choosing a gift Fiore would like would be even harder. That guy doesn’t have any favorite snacks, and even if you gave him something, he has nowhere to keep it because he doesn’t have a home.”
“Ah… Wait, what?”
What does she mean he doesn’t have a home?
