Reclaiming a new plot of land.
It’s easy to say, but surely it is a job that requires a strenuous effort.

First you have to cut the trees, then pull out the grass, and surely there are a lot of roots buried in the hard soil to which we would have to unearth.
And like this a new field would be born.

But what a field needs is not just vegetation. The most important is water.
Which means that we will have to bring water from some river.
Well, I do not want to do something so problematic so in some way or another we will look for a land near a river.

Maybe my way of thinking is amateur, but I think we will be able to achieve something within our limitations and within a year or so.
Rather, we will be in trouble if not.

Nor is it that I have put aside hunting, but providing food for over thirty people is surely hard.
On the other hand, cultivating is only difficult.

There is need to do both.

Going to the main point, we must choose where to start to cultivate the new land.
I have no idea about what kind of land would be perfect for cultivating. But something I should do no matter what, is to ask the Griffon if I am allowed to cut the trees of this forest.
If I am not allowed, I should start looking for another forest.

　「It’s like this, what do you think?」
　「There is no problem. The territory of this one, is in the deepest part of the forest. As long as you do not damage that part, you can do whatever you want, either set fire to the trees or cut them」
Unexpectedly, it was easy to get permission. What a disappointment.
　「Truly humans like to plow the earth. I’m unable to do something so troublesome. Ah, that reminds me…」
　「What?」
　「If I’m correct, thirty years ago, humans created a village inside this forest. But as a result of a popular plague, they left the place. And those fellows said it was because of this one curse. That was completely annoying」
The Griffon began to complain.
For me, the most important thing is not the reason why the village was abandoned.

　「If you were aware of that kind of place, say so in the first place! Where can I find it?」
　「Umu… Since it was a long time ago, I’m not sure. Besides, I have no interest whatsoever in it. For now, go up. You will know when you see it from the sky But if you don’t find it, you will give up」
It showed me its back when it said that.
But, to get on…
I will die if I fall.

　「Make it fast」
　「I fully understood」
Rather, I have no idea when it will change its mind. Moreover, from this depends the lives of thirty people. I have no other choice but to get on.

I start to climb the Griffon’s back. Now that I have accepted my fate, I can understand how big it is.
The moment it thinks I’m tasty, it could swallow me whole in one bite…

　「Let’s go!」
　「Hiee」
A strange sound came from my mouth.
The area around my abdomen was floating.
To tell the truth, I am bad with roller coasters…

This Griffon fellow, without worrying about me, it keep going up more and more.

I suddenly looked down.
　「Uwaaaaa!!!」
　「Oi, be quiet. Don’t strangle my neck!」
I accidentally started to strongly strangle the Griffon.
It’s really frightening to fly without any kind of rope…
The sound of my teeth squeaking as if it were natural resonates.

　「…What will you do if my bladder gets loose?」
　「I will throw you」

As we continue our interactions, the Griffon stops immediately.

　「If I am not mistaken, it was around this place… Found it! Rejoice」
I shyly look down.
As expected, my organs are floating.

But being frightened paid off.
Certainly, in that place there are few unnatural trees, in addition to some ruins that appeared to be houses.

　「Get off」
　「Wai- Too fast. This is too fast!!!」
I screamed even louder.

＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

　「Fumu. As expected, the forest swallowed a part of the village… Then, wouldn’t it be better to start from scratch?」
　「You’re right」
The piece of land in the village was even quite better than what I had initially thought.
There is a river passing through the center of the village and it seems easy to draw fresh water from there.
Although most of the dwellings were falling to pieces, I was able to find some that could be reused with a repair.

And as was to be expected, even though the fields were covered with grasses, it was something that could be easily fixed if they were dug up. At least it’s easier than starting to build them from scratch.

The fundamental problem is that whether or not we can cultivate with the strength of children. But even so, I think it’s possible.
If we use for example the system called Ritsuryo, then we can begin to distribute land to children over six years If my memory doesn’t fail me, in a certain book, it said that it had to have an area of twenty are.
If I’m not mistaken, a koku (The amount of rice that an adult man eats in a year) was a one-tenth hectare (Ten are, front and back).

If a six-year-old child from ancient Japan can plow 20 ares of land, we should be able to do it too.

Well, it might have been the parents who did it…
But even so, at least one third had to have been cultivated by the child itself. Surely the parents did not fully cultivate the part of their children, right?

And here we have even something that ancient farmers did not have, iron farming tools.
Moreover, later I could procure a cattle or a horse, and let them plow the fields.

Everything will probably be all right.

And if everything I’ve done does not bear fruit, I can always ask for help from the Griffon. Surely for it, something like plowing the field is something simple.

　「What can I say, thank you. If everything had gone on like this, I would have started to cultivate a field from the beginning!」
　「But this does not mean that this one cultivated the place」
　「Is not thanks to you that these people left the place?」

There seems to be every kind of Griffon. If it had not existed, nothing would have started. Anyway, he was the one who came to me, telling me to take care of a job, so you could say that it should be natural for it to cooperate.

　「By the way, may I ask something?」
　「What?」
　「A famine has occurred, right? Do you know what could have caused it?」

That’s something I always asked myself.
The only thing I could understand by the words of Tetra-chan is that a famine occurred, but even so, there are different causes for a famine.

Crop disease, pest damage caused by a locusts and the like, damaged dealt directly by storms or a bad harvest due to the climate.

If we do not know the reason before we start, we will repeat the same failures.

It would be slightly insensitive to ask the children, so I tried asking the Griffon.

　「From the children’s conversation, it’s probably a crop disease」
　「What kind of crop disease?」
　「All of them」
　「What!?」

A deadly disease that contains all the diseases? What’s up with that? Is not that completely invincible?

　「Stop, when you say all of them, you mean that, right? From wheat to the fruit, all kind of crops?」
　「It seems like it was like that」

What the hell with that?
It would be understandable if the same disease affected the same kin as wheat and barley, but is it really possible for wheat and grapes and the like to contract the same disease?

It’s something like the disease a human can get from a fish?

　「This one tried thinking about the problem. Want to hear?」
　「Please」
　「This one thinks it’s a curse」

It was a waste of time asking…

　「What? Why that face. Curses are real」
　「What is the evidence?」
　「A conversation of this one with his master」
If you tell me that, I have no choice but to shut up.
It would not be unusual for one or two curses to exist, if there are blessings and reincarnation in a different world.
But who put the curse?

　「If I am not mistaken, don’t you all come from a race that loves to kill each other? Is it not strange that a flock plans to weaken another flock?」
　「We~ll, If you say it that way, it’s just the truth」

There would be nothing happier for a country if this one could weaken the national power of an enemy country only with a curse and from afar. If such a thing existed, it would be very convenient.

　「This would have to be a long distance curse. Surely there are talented practitioners」
　「Are you sure you have time to be admiring this? If they do it again, would it not be useless to cultivate if at the end of the day it will be reduced to nothing?」
　「Hm? It’s probably okay. Since humans are cowards. I don’t think they would dare to curse the territory of this one and the territory near the forest. Also a curse is not something that can be thrown consecutively」

Is that kind of thing…?
This fellow is more aware of the situation of this world than I.
If he says that everything is fine, I have to believe him. Maybe.

　「So, do we start bringing the children to this place?」　
　「Umu. It would be better to start tomorrow. The sun will set if we start now」

The Griffon said while watching the sun.
Currently, the sun is leaning slightly above our heads.
Is it like 2 o’clock in the afternoon?

We are too far south of the cave.
It would be different for an adult, but here they are all little children. The day was ending.
We may get to the spot in an instant on the back of the Griffon, but surely it dislike doing such heavy work.
And surely the children would not dare to do it.

　「Then, get on my back」
　「Uu… I have to climb up no matter what…?」

I went home as I was complaining.

＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

　「Thus, this is our new home」
　「Ooo!」
The children shouted with joy.

　「So, leader. What are we doing first?」
Ron-kun said.
　「Leader?」
　「I-It’s not like I recognized someone like you completely. Only a little. For your information, I only recognized you a little!」
　「Ron-kun… Be more honest with yourself」
Ron-kun and Soyon-chan started fighting in front of me.

This is weird. I have achieved nothing so far. I just exchanged a couple of bronze and iron swords, you know?
While I was thinking that, Tetra-chan came to whisper in my ear.

　「Before you came, this group was always all worn out. Whenever anyone raised their voices to give their opinion, this was crushed by the dissenting opinion, but even those who opposed didn’t have any alternative plan. So every time one of the children cried or throwed a tantrum, Ron and Roswald, the two of them started to fight. And thanks to it, we have been able to endure all this time」
　「If your situation improved with my arrival, then it shows how bad you all were before」

I made a bitter smile. In fact, I think what I have done can be done by anyone.
But that anyone is considering an adult as standard. Something a child can’t do.
For me, the idea of bartering swords it is something normal, but surely for Ron and the others it is an extravagant idea.

　「You are overestimating me, I tell you. That we are in this ghost town is thanks to the Griffon」
I muttered.

　「So, what are we going to cultivate?」
Roswald came to ask me while glaring at me. Why is that this child so oppressive…?
Did the children behave in this way?

　「I think we should do a crop rotation system」
　「System? Is that delicious?」
No, it’s probably not delicious.

　「Simply put, we will rotate in order during a four-year cycle, starting with barley (Sowing in spring) → Clover → Wheat(Autumn sowing) → Turnip」
As the children told me, we are already in the season to grow wheat, so we don’t have other choice but to wait for the next year.

If we think about the season, then we will have to start cultivating turnip.

　「Why do something so annoying?」
　「Don’t you know that if we use the same field for a long time, the quality of the crops will worsen? In addition, clover has the effect of giving vitality to the field. Using this system we will be able to cultivate during the four seasons」

Even I’m not very informed.
Since I only learned the basics of history and geography, it is possible that in details I am inferior to the children.
And for farming, it was only to the extent of helping in the kitchen garden of the orphanage.

Roswald-kun tilts his head again in confusion. Showing an expression of not having understood at all. Nor am I confident to explain it in detail, so I have no choice but to let them experience it.

　「S-so, will we grow something else?」
　「It can be grapes or olives. Only if it is possible to do it here」
I answer Gram-kun’s question.

When I put together all the parts of the children’s story, I discover that the climate of this territory belongs Mediterranean climate.

But to be frank, I do not think the Norfolk four-course system has much affinity with this place. But fortunately, this village is in a good location near a river.

The most compatible are the grapes and olives. But it will take time for grapes and olives to grow, so I am in doubt whether we will be able to satisfy the appetite of thirty people or not.
By the way, a slope with good drainage is necessary to cultivate grapes and olives. But the floor of this village is flat.
There is no need to do things that can not be done on flat ground, so I will cultivate them another day in the future.

　「Now that we have decided the plan to follow…」
The children’s eyes were directed at me simultaneously.

　「First of all, how about we repair the house?」
I said as I pointed to the crumbling house.

The true sixth chapter – Livestock

What is important in this Norfolk Four Course System are the livestock.
The advantage of Norfolk Four Course System is that you can raise the livestock during winter.

Moreover, it is not enough to only use the clover to revitalize the earth. By freeing the animals in the field where the clover grows, you can use the excrement as fertilizer. That is the main point of this system.

　「That’s why I want to buy livestock」
That’s what I said in front of the children.
The children looked like they were pondering. Surely they do not even understand half of it.

　「But you know, isn’t it difficult to exchange animals after they passed though a famine?」
　「We will exchange with the king Rosyth of the east. They don’t have ironware right? If we give them ten, they would give us at least one cattle or two at most」
It would become easy to plow the field if we had a cattle.
If we want to break the deadlock with the strength of a child, what we need at least is a cattle.

　「Will they exchange their precious food?」
　「If I were their leader, I would trade iron ware for a cattle. Since presenting the iron ware would free me from tax」
The number of people that a cattle or two can feed is limited.
Those who started the war using their ironware to steal food are those with a full stomach. So there must be many who oppose them.

　「However, there is only one problem」
　「What is?」
　「I don’t know how to handle cattle」　
The children slipped down.

＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

　「Um… I, I know more or less how to handle them. Since my parents raised livestock」
　「Wow, then I leave it to you」
Since possessing animals is expensive, the reason for letting a child learn to raise them is a complete mystery to me but surely they had their reasons. I can’t inquire so much.
　「I need someone else, someone who wants to come」
　「Then, I will go」
Ron-kun announced his candidacy.
As I imagined. Ron-kun and Soyon-chan always form a set.

　「Then, let’s go. Tetra-chan!」
　「Why I have to…」
　「Tetra-chan knows a lot, right? You have to come just in case they try to deceive us」

By the way, it seems that these two people, Ron-kun and Soyon-chan come from the same village where we exchanged the ironware for the farming tools. They didn’t come that time since it would be awkward.
And on the contrary, the village where we are headed now is Roswald-kun’s birthplace.

Of the only person I do not know is Tetra-chan.
Since the person in question does not wish to say so. The only thing I know is that she is well informed.

　「Right… Then, it’s only a cattle?」
　「Honestly, just one cattle is enough. But to compensate for some of the cattle’s work, we’ll buy a goat」
Though the goat’s meat and milk tastes bad, it’s possible to survive even with plain food. If it were possible I would like to get a male-female set.

　「How many iron swords will we take?」
　「To be sure we will take fifteen. I think it’s enough with this amount」
Ten are enough to trade, but just in case. And not to say that it takes time to make the trip.

　「Then, let’s go」
When I say so, she laughed listlessly. Do you hate it that much?

＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

　「So, will you exchange with us?」
　「U~mu, it’s just that here the food is scarce…」
The village chief hesitates. And with all reason.
I keep smiling.

　「Would not you want to be tax free in exchange for presenting a few iron swords to the country? I think that the important people of this country are desperate for weapons made of iron, you don’t think the same?」
Since King Rosyth does not possess the technology to produce iron.
That is why the country trade with the countries of the north, to obtain iron. Iron is an indispensable resource, either for war or for agriculture. And of course, in order not to let King Rosyth’s country become a strong nation, these countries imposed unreasonable limits.
They also have the possibility of trading food with countries that are in the middle of a war.

And these are swords of heroes who thought they were capable of defeating the Griffon. So a good quality iron was used. If we were in peaceful times, they would already have approved the exchange with open arms.

　「Hmm… It could be a good option…」
The village chief moved his head again and again from side to side while starting to look troubled. Hey, it’s been a long time. Do it fast.
　「Of course, if it’s impossible, I can go. Since I’m planning to visit other villages」
When I pretend to get up, the village chief began to panic immediately.

　「I have decided! Let’s exchange. What do you want?」
　「I want one cattle and five goats. What do you think?」
I tried to be a little more assertive. To tell the truth, two or three goats were enough for us. Now I began to worry that whether we can raise five goats or not.
　「Five goats… It’s a bit hard… How about two?」
　「We will add two more iron, and instead, make it four goats, please」
The village chief nodded deeply. It seems that we have reached an agreement.

With this we have obtained manpower and a high nutrition milk.
I was relieved.

＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

　「Well, I think this is enough」
I started looking at the goats and the cattle entering the fence.
Since I was the one who made the fence, it was not so strong. I will have to reinforce it later.

Since I was afraid that they would try to escape, I asked the Griffon if it could threaten them. Suggesting that if they escaped they would be eaten.
And even though this guy says it will not bully innocent animals, it was quite lively.

Well, they didn’t look particularly edible either.
But cattle and goats get their food off the ground. So, surely nobody will object.
Eh!? That all the grass that grows in the world of nature can be eaten? Well, of course. But isn’t the risk of being eaten by a carnivorous animal, such as a wolf, big? Surely, it is.

　「Was there a need to buy a goat in such a hurry? It’s just bothersome」
Tetra-chan said so.
It’s not like I do not understand your feelings. Unlike the cattle, the goat can’t be used as manpower. And not only that, we must start cultivating barley as soon as possible, but now we have the troublesome work of taking care of a goat.

But there is an urgent reason why I bought it.

　「Although goat’s milk tastes bad but is nutritious」
　「…」
Tetra-chan looks at me suspiciously.
　「Did that guy, the Griffon brought only fruits and meat? These things have almost no calcium at all! If you don’t have calcium, your bones will become fragile. I think that is fatal in this kind of world Although it was a irresponsible thing to do, I brought a goat」
　「Hmm」
　「Have you understood?」
　「Only that you are thinking about us」
Tetra-chan laughed after saying so.
That reminds me, this is the first time I see Tetra-chan’s smile.

　「Hey, what about the names?」
Ron-kun said so while petting the goat. He seems to really like it.
　「Starting from the right, goat No.1, No.2, No.3, No.4. And the cattle is cattle No.1」
　「Eh… It’s too simple! Poor animals」
Soyon-chan pouted while protesting.

　「Poor animals you say… Are you aware they are livestock? They are not a friend or family or even a pet. There may even come a time when we will eat them. If you give them a proper name, they won’t be a livestock anymore, they will become a pet. It will only be painful at the end」

If you hit a domestic animal like a dog in Japan, it would become animal abuse.
However, slaughtering pigs and cattle are not crimes.

This is common sense, but pets and livestock are different.

Since livestock are tools of man. You must not be affected by emotion.
If you give a proper name to the livestock, this will become a pet.

It may be impossible to make children take care of them without feeling affection, but at least, I want them to avoid naming them.

　「Is that so… We may eat them…?」
The children looked at the goats and cattle with sorrowful faces.
The mood ended up becoming a funeral.
But it is not like it has been decided that we are going to eat them…

　「Well, we will not eat the goat meat unless we don’t find a more appetizing meal. And the cattle is an important workforce. Let’s work hard so we don’t have to come to that」
In order to change the mood of the children, I said it out loud.
　「First of all I want to do something with the weed that grows in the place where it seems to be a field… And instead of cutting, it would be faster to let loose the animals so they can eat it. So, let’s move these guys to the field」
We guided the cattle and goats to the field.
Are the Griffon’s threats effective or is Soyon-chan’s guidance good or is it just that they wanted to start eating the grass? Either way, the cattle and goats entered the field obediently.

In the end the field was not so wide.
It can be inferred by the number of houses that this village was small, containing no more than one hundred people.
As soon as they finish eating the grass, I plan to have the field plowed right away.

Since this was a former field, the soil should be soft, even for the strength of a child.
At least we have pickaxes, but will we be able to do it…?

Nor is it like I’m expecting to harvest in only half year.
In addition, we can expect the Griffon to feed us for at least a whole year.
Impatience is taboo.

1. N/a

At last, the self introduction was over.

Although all were abandoned in different ways, what each one has in common is that they were abandoned by their parents.

The birthplace of all of them is varied.
And it seems that it was only a few days ago that they started to get along. So I still have the opportunity to become familiar with them. It’s a relief, a relief.

The gender ratio is about fifty-fifty.
It seems that it is normal to prioritize abandoning women, but even so, they somehow ended up half and half.
Well, it doesn’t make sense to worry about something like that for the moment.

First let me introduce the five most important people of the place.

Ron-kun. 12 years old. The eldest. Taller than my current self. He’s a little aggressive but still has a sense of responsibility.

Soyon-chan. 12 years old. She came from the same village as Ron. Considerably cute. Surely Ron’s wife. Although she speaks politely to me, there is a big difference in her behavior compared to the other children and even Ron-kun. I felt lonely feeling this plain sense of distance.

Roswald-kun. 11 years old. Before I arrived, he was the number two. He is more oppressive than Ron-kun. It seems that he is not happy about me.

Tetra-chan. Ten years old. Taciturn. Basically she does not speak.

Gram-kun. Ten years old. Has a small build and is a coward.

These five people are the central figures of this group.

「I think we have no choice but to start farming」
I told the five people in front of me about my plan.
To be frank, there is no point in listening to the opinions of children, so it would be better if I start on my own.
Since I am someone who joined on the spur of the moment.
And of course, it was out of the question to let children under ten years old to join the conversation.

「But you know, isn’t making a field something absurdly difficult? What will we do?」
This was Ron’s opinion.
It’s just like he says.
In addition, an uncultivated land is terribly hard. Plus, certainly there will be vegetation growing, so cleaning that land will be a heavy labour.
The fatal point of this plan is that everyone here are children.
Moreover, those who would be able to help are no more than six children over the age of ten including me.
This plan is reckless.

But it is much better than doing nothing.

「It’s imposible I tell you. Let’s stop」
Roswald-kun stretched his legs while giving a half-hearted opinion.
He started to glare at me.
「Nothing good will come out of this even if we listen to what this guy says. Hey, you think the same, right? Tetra?」
「…On the other hand, we have no choice but to start cultivating if we want a stable source of food」
It seems that Tetra-chan agrees with what I have said.

「And you, Gram-kun?」
「Ah! No, I… don’t understand」
Gram-kun was the one with a hesitating appearance.
It’s natural to not understand. All children are like that.

「But how are we going to cultivate?」
「Let’s buy iron farming tools. I think it will be easier if we have tools」
「Buy? What it’s buy?」
Ah… Could it be that they don’t have a currency system? I used the wrong word.

「It means that we will use bartering」
「Whatever we had to trade by tools went to our bellies a long time ago. I’m not an idiot」
Roswald-kun said. A harsh comment. Oi, perhaps you don’t know that those who say idiot are the real idiots.

「We have something to exchange. But unfortunately you can’t eat it」
Reacting to my words, the five tilt their heads in confusion. How cute.

「Oi, I have brought it」
Griffon’s voice enters my ears. Seems to have brought what I asked for.

「Thank you. If we have this we can manage ourselves in some way or another」
I receive a large amount of swords and spears from the Griffon. 70 percent of them are made from iron, and the other 30 percent is made of bronze.

All these weapons belonged to the brave warriors who came to defeat the Griffon. Since all these weapons belonged to experts and although they have become rusty, they are still quality metals.

「It’s not something you should worry about. Since these tusks and nails are not necessary for this one. They don’t return to earth so easily, and they stink. They were already starting to bother me. Dispose of them quickly. Then, there is still a huge amount to bring so I will be going」
The Griffon flew away as it said so.
The sense of value of a human differs greatly from a beast.

「We-we are going to start a war?」
「Wrong」
I deny the remark of Gram-kun. Or should I say that Gran-kun’s way of thinking is very extreme?
And yet he was shrinking from fear.

「It’s correct that weapons are powerful, but it’s impossible for a child to beat an adult. Don’t think that a child could beat an unarmed adult even if this one has a weapon」
It is obvious who would win between a child and an adult. I would never do something so reckless. Even if I’m about to starve.

「Will we exchange that by farming tools?」
「That’s right. Tetra-chan!」
When I was about to pat Tetra’s head, she evade me. This onii-san is very sad.

「Wouldn’t it be better to change them for food?」
Tetra-chan answers the question of Ron-kun.
「If we buy food, everything ends there. We wouldn’t be able to secure food」
「Ah, you’re right」
Ron-kun backed away quickly. One of Ron-kun’s good points is being honest.

「Still, even if we have the tools, digging the soil it’s really something that is easy? It looks terribly hard」
Tetra-chan said.
「We will have to find a soft spot. At worst we will have to hire adults. Depending on the conditions besides telling them that we will give them a pair of iron swords, they surely will help us」
The key factor is the influence of the Griffon.
But making use of that would be the our last resort.

We also have the option to ask the Griffon itself for help.
It is also possible to use swords and food to extend our time limit.

For the moment, the plan to exchange weapons for farming tools has been settled.

No one objected.
They would only embarrass themselves if they objected without having thought of an alternative plan.

「The problem now is where we can exchange them… Is not there anyone who knows the geography of this place?」
I say as I stare at Ron-kun. Ron-kun shakes his head with a frightening speed.
「Imposible, imposible. I don’t know any towns in the surroundings. And you Soyon?」
「I’m sorry… I’m not aware either」

「Roswald-kun?」
「Eh!? I… Um… I can’t say I don’t know but neither I can say that I know…」
「In other words you don’t know. Gram-kun?」
「I-I-I-I’m sorry…」

Well, it’s understandable. It is a culture where they do not even have a currency system. It is impossible for farmer’s children to know the outskirts of a village…

「And Tetra-chan?」
「I know」
As I supposed… Eh!?

「You know?」
「A little」
And so, Tetra began to talk about the surroundings of the forest.

It seems that this forest is called Romano.
To the east side of the forest is a country which is ruled by a king called Rosyth. To the northwest there is a large country which is ruled by a king called Gilbed. To the northwest there is large country ruled by a king called Dommergar. And still further to the east passing the countries governed by Gilbed and Dommergar there is a kingdom ruled by a king called Farlam.

「King Rosyth’s country it’s not so big. They don’t even have decent iron farming tools and have even fewer weapons made of iron. But I believe the countries governed by the kings Dommergar and Gilbed have iron farming tools since their countries are very large. Besides, they are in the midst of a war against Farlam’s country since they are experiencing food shortages」
「I understand. It means that now is our best opportunity. But it also means that if we don’t go right now, they will grind their farming tools to make them weapons. We are against time」

But why is that you know so much? That’s what I wanted to ask but now is not the time. Besides, it is also rude to ask when we are not so intimate. It is better to wait until we get along.

「If I was an adult…」
Tetra-chan said as she looked at me.
「If they steal our weapons, what are we going to do?」

Well, they are right. No adult would talk seriously to a child. Let’s not talk about peaceful times, but now that they are at war. Still less. Besides, for them to win the war is also very important but at the same time it is equally important to them to worry about the crop next year. They will not give us the tools so easily.

「Don’t be worried. I’ve seriously thought about it. We’ll use this fellow」
I show them the big feathers. The beautiful and bright golden feathers.
「T-Those are from Griffon-sama?」
Gram’s voice was shaking.
「Y-You stole them!」
Roswald gave a great shout.
To say I resorted to stealing them, how rude. I just picked up what fell and nothing more.

「What do you plan to do with those?」
While tilting her head a little, Soyon asked. Soyon is the most obedient and cute.
「If we show them this as we speak to them, then there would be no problem in telling them “We are the Griffon’s messengers!!”. Right? 」
「But will not a divine punishment descend upon us?」
Ron asked with a worried face.
Certainly it is imposing but Griffon is not a God. So there is no way a divine punishment would fall upon us. Or at least that’s what I think.
But it seems that children are all different. Excluding Tetra-chan everyone has a worried face.
It was my fault to assume that our sense of values were the same.

「I asked for permission」
By saying this, the four children show a expression of relief.
It is true that the Griffon is scary, but it is not an existence to fear to such an extent.
After all, he took charge of this and that.

「Now that it’s all settled, let’s go. For now we will exchange the ten iron swords and the six bronze swords that are in this place. Since if we exchange all, we’ll not be able to solve any problem when the time comes」
For now this is enough to exchange.
What we need most at the moment are farming tools, but still there are other necessary things.

「It’s dangerous that we all go. Someone who wants to join me!」
On saying that, Gram and Roswald, both raised their hands.

「Good, let’s go! Tetra-chan」
I grabbed the Tetra-chan’s hand. Tetra-chan looks at me confused.
「I didn’t raise my hand」
「What are you saying? There is no one who knows the geography of this place apart from you. So you’re bound to join!」
After I said so, Tetra gave a big sigh.

＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

「And for this reason we want to exchange」
Upon hearing my words, the village’s chief looked at us with suspicion.
It is normal, if suddenly someone appeared naming themselves being the Griffon’s messengers and wishing to exchange swords of iron and bronze for farming tools, anybody would distrust.
I understand your feelings.

The village chief alternated his gaze between our weapons and Griffon’s feathers.
He seems to be troubled.

「Chief! I brought the blacksmith!」
A pair came running.
And one of the two began to carefully investigate the weapons we have brought.
Surely the person called blacksmith has the color of the surprise on his face.
These swords are from people who thought they could defeat the Griffon. All these swords remain famous despite rusting.
You are trading these by farming tools you know? A cheap exchange you know?

「What do you want?」
「Let me think. Ten hoes. Three axes. And I think I will take eight sickles」
Although we call them iron farming tools, it is only at the tip where the steel is used. In addition, all steel swords excluding bronze swords were are all made of steel.
The truth is that if I wanted I could have demanded more, but in this side we are all children.
For now it is better to ask less.

Despite having been suspicious, the village chief finally decided to let us exchange.

Surely it is a good exchange for them since if the war gets worse, they would have to melt all their farming tools for weapons. This is, especially good for them.

We insinuate that we may come again in the future and then we left.

1. N/a

「What is this…?」
「You’ll know when you see it. These are from the same race as you」

The place where he took me turned out to be a nearby cave.
Upon entering, I found around thirty children inside.
Five of them were at the age where they could not move on their will. Twenty of them are between the ages of seven and nine. And the remaining five are about my age.

「Why are there children here?」
「As if I knew. Lately these humans come to throw their children on this one’s forest」

Now I understand. They are probably going through a famine.
The fact that I found myself in this forest in a state of hunger means that I was probably also abandoned by my parents.

「So, you plan to put me in charge of these children?」
「As you said it. You understand fast」
The Griffon nods greatly.
I don’t dislike children. If I had to say otherwise, I like them.
Moreover, after having been raised in a orphanage I have a great sympathy to these children who were also abandoned by their parents. Therefore, I have no problem in helping them.
However…

「We will not get anywhere if we don’t have food, you know?」
「I will bring food for the next three years. In those three years, you have to do something」
This is unexpected…
I thought he would tell us to eat insects or something like that.
This fellow, could be a good person?

「Why will you help us?」
「If a hungry puppy clings to you, you would take it with you, right? After, will you be irresponsible and throw it away? There is something called responsibility for picking it up. That’s what I’m saying」
I understand.
Certainly, if you are aware, it will leave you with a bad taste.
You may have the power to help them, but it is useless if you have to use it every time so they do not starve.
That’s not good for your mental health.

But an animal and a Griffon are fundamentally different.
Surely he does not know how to raise a human.
And that’s why he was worried.

It’s already decided.
First I have to introduce myself to the children.

「Fom this moment, it has been decided that I will be your leader! Nice to meet you all」」
I said so…

「△○☓●■◇○」
But an alien language came to my ears.

Sad news.
I can’t understand the language of a different world.

If you think it calmly, it’s obvious that the language will be different from the Japanese. It’s impossible for the reality to be so kind.
Before becoming a leader, I’m more worried if I will be able to interact with people, to survive itself.

Eh? Why am I able to talk to the Griffon?

「Let me apologize. I have remembered that lost people were unable to speak the language of this earth. I had forgotten」
「Why I can talk to you?」
「Because this one has the 【Blessing of Divine Words】. It’s natural」

A blessing… At last something fantasy-ish emerged.
As expected from the Griffon. After all, it has that sort of mysterious powers.

「However, this is a problem. I have decided. I’ll lend you the blessing for a while」
「…Can you lend them!」
「It’s usually impossible. But this one has the 『Blessing of Lending』」

As expected from Griffon-senpai!
Having the face of an eagle and the lower part of the body of a lion it was not just for show.

「But if you do that, you will not be able to talk to the childen anymore」
「Foolish person. As if this one would give you without reason my precious blessings. I will give you the 『Blessing of Language』」
「How many blessings do you have?」
For all he has said so far, I can be sure that he has at least three.
Are the blessings something so easy to get?

「I have twelve of them. Moreover, of all of them, only a few are useful. This one’s 『Blessing of Language』 it’s not useful as this one has no vocal cord」

Either way, you have a lot.
This fellow is an unimaginable beast cheat. Or this is the average specs for the Griffons? To begin with, how many griffons are there including this one?

Well, that does not matter.

「Thus, let me say it again, nice to meet you all」
An unknown language came out of my mouth like it was natural.
I see, this is useful. If I had this, I would not need to study English.

「Nice… to meet you… Onii-chan」
A girl with brown hair answered like that.
Onii-chan… It has a good sound.

「Hey you, tell me your name!」
An impertinent boy came to ask me.
「Name yourself first if you want mine」
I replied with a cliche phrase and the kid named himself after flicking his tongue.

「It’s Ron. Until now, I was their leader. Hey, I gave my name! Now name yourself!」
「My name is…」
Now that I was going to say my name, I realized.
How can I call myself?

Using a Japanese name? But now I’m not a Japanese person. I think introducing me with my Japanese name is a bit wrong.
No, it’s not like naming myself it’s important.

「My name in this place. How do you think I should name myself?
I tried asking the Griffon.
「What do you think about 『Almus』?」
「What does it mean?」
「It has no special meaning. I just thought it sounded good」

I see.
However, just like I do not know why I’ve been sent to this place, it may be the perfect name.

「Starting now, I’m Almus. Nice to meet you, Ron-kun」
I stretched my hand. But Ron ignored me.
Why did he do that?
「Hey, what age?」
「Twenty years old」
「Don’t lie!!」

But it’s the truth…

I looked at the Griffon. Please you tell them.

「What this fellow said is the truth. When he woke up, he had become a child, that it’s the truth」
「Yes! …If that’s what says Griffon-sama then…」
Ron suddenly calmed down.
And looking at me, he declared.

「For your information, I still don’t recognize you as a leader!!」
That’s understandable.
I understand his feelings. Suddenly a strange child appears and becomes their leader.

「I’m sorry. It’s not like Ron has bad intentions. It’s just that he is an idiot…」
Suddenly, the girl who called me onii-chan covered up for Ron.
「Your name?」
「I am Soyon. Ron’s childhood friend…」

I see. So she is a childhood friend?
Surely Ron must be very happy to have around such a beautiful childhood friend.

「Oi! Why an idiot!」
「Because it’s the true」
「You know what, the one who says idiot is the idiot!」
「So in the end, Ron is an idiot」
「「Idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot!」」

A quarrel started suddenly.
It means that they get along.

I was watching both arguing. And the other children were also laughing.

It seems that the place has become very lively.

Or at least on the surface.
If it had to be more precise, they would not be able to continue living if they did not do that.
If you think about it’s reasonable.
They were deceived by their parents and were left inside of this forest.
It had to be a shock to them.
Surely there are children who still believe their parents will come back for them.

So they are trying to forget it with all their strength.

Among them, how heavy could be the burden of Ron who took desperately the leader role?

Surely the reason Soyan-chan welcomed me was not because she likes me, but to lower the burden of Ron.

Now, they are quarreling just to brighten the mood of the place.
Surely they do something like this every day.
What I do not know is whether they do it consciously or unconscious.
But anyway, no child should pay attention to something like that since that is bad in itself.

「I will definitely help you all」
I muttered.

1. N/a

Reincarnation.
A phenomenon in fiction that has a high probability of occurring when hit by a truck.
Fiction, in other words, a made-up story. If I must be frank these are stories that can not happen in reality.

Therefore, being a lie, something like reincarnation cannot happen in the reality.
That’s right, it should be something impossible.

「This is a dream. Right. This is just a dream. Surely when I wake up I will be in bed in a hospital, or, on the contrary, the mere act of being run over a truck must the dream itself. That must be. It’s not possible for a human to die so easily」
I lay on the ground while thinking about it.
The night sky is covered with countless stars and a huge moon.
It’s so beautiful~for a dream!

I close my eyes.
Believing that everything will be a dream when I wake up.

As expected, this was the reality!

Seeing my face reflected on the shining surface of the water under the morning sun, I despair.
What is this?
What do you say I did to deserve this!

「Although I must say that my face is not bad at all」
I look at the boy reflected in front of meーI look at my face.

Although the body is skinny and dirty like a stray dog, every part of the body is pretty good.
The skin color of this body is the so called olive color.

「Well, what happened happened…」
I have no other choice but to start gathering the basic needs.
Afterwards I need to gather information, and return to Japan if it is possible to. If it is impossible then I will settle down in this world.

For now let’s go with that plan in mind.

Then what I have to do now is…

「Is start by filling my stomach」

So I stood up.

I started looking for something in the forest.
Yesterday I thought that it was only a forest full of giants trees but now I have noticed.
I only saw them big because I had shrunk. In reality, it was exaggerated to call them big.

「At any rate, there is nothing. In this forest」
There was not any kind of nuts or fruits at all.
Although there were several kinds of edible herbs growing, I restrained myself since I did not want to die.

Judging by the temperature of my body, the season should be summer?
There must be something to eat and more if it is summer. Surely the way I’m searching must be wrong.
In first place, I have no shred of knowledge about wild grasses. And what’s more, assuming it’s another world, less.
First of all, it is a mystery if the vegetation is the same as that of the earth or not.

「In the end I have no choice but to eat insects…?」
I observe the line of ants in front of me.

I was able to regain a little of my strength last night thanks to the centipede, so I do not need to eat something right away.
However, this is a body that already lacked nutrients from before.
So if I over effort my body, there is a possibility that tomorrow I would not be able to move.

If only I knew how to lit a fire.
So whether it’s a spider, ant or a scorpion, I could roast and eat them without worry.
But hey, yesterday I ate it raw while it was moving.

I wonder how one can start a fire?
I only know that if you rub wood with wood the friction will cause a fire, but…
But that itself is a mystery to me, besides I can not find a suitable wood.
I feel like it would not be good plan to spend time and effort on things I can not do.

It would be much better to look for a human habitat.

「Oi, that child of man. This is my territory. Leave at once」

I was called by someone from behind.
The voice sounded arrogant but without a doubt it has to come from a person.
Heaven has not abandoned me!!

「Truthfully, I’m lost…」

When I turned around, there was a monster in front of me.

With a face and upper half of the body of a falcon, and huge wings.
And the lower half of the body of a four footed animalーーOf a lion.

It was a Griffon.

It seems that heaven has abandoned me.

「Um, I have a bad taste! I’m just skin and bones. I even ate a centipede yesterday. I-It would be better if you didn’t eat me」
I began to recede.
After going through all the trouble of reincarnation, why I should be eaten!

「This one is picky with the food. Who in their right mind could eat something like you? Perhaps you’re ridiculing me?」
「N-Never in the least I thought about doing something absurd like that. Ahahahaha. In fact, I’m about to leave. Good bye~」

I started running at full speed. It seems that he does not want to eat me, just drive me out. Then, I only have to run away. Whether this is the territory of this person(?) or not, I do not have the slightest intention of invading it.

Fluttering

The sound of wings fluttering enters my ears.
The dust flutters, I instinctively close my eyes.

When I opened my eyes, the Griffon was in front of me.
Moreover, with hair bristling as if he were angry.
Why!?

「Didn’t I say that from here and forwards it’s this one’s territory? The interior of the forest is also part of my territory, people cannot enter and leave as they please. That was the pact if I’m not mistaken. Or it’s as I supposed, you wanted to steal food from this one’s territory?」
「I’m sorry. I went in the wrong direction. To think that your territory expands also by this direction…」
「Don’t spit lies! It’s not the pact that I made with you passed generation after generation!? Even little children know about it!」

Even if you tell me that, what I don’t know I don’t know.
Despite having a magnificent appearance, for this beast to be hot-tempered, surely it’s regrettable.

「Tell me a more believable excuse. And I may let you live」
The Griffon stared at me after saying that. Chills run all over my body.
This fellow intends to kill me. For the sole reason of me being an eyesore.

I have no choice but to explain.

「Um… To tell the truth, I have reincarnated」
「Huh? I don’t understand what are you…」
Griffon’s face changes. Its eyes began to shine. Surely I will die.

「You know, what I’m saying is… When I wake up I found myself in a forest, and I became an unknown child. It’s the true, please believe me」
I prostrated myself and started begging. Forgive me for not wanting to die a second time after having reincarnated.

「Fumu…」
It may be that my desperate begging was effective since I felt like the Griffon’s thirst for blood weakened a little.
The Griffon’s eyes glowed red.
「You… are a lost one? Indeed. Then it’s impossible for you to know. I’m sorry」

The Griffon’s thirst for blood faded completely.
Although I don’t understand what happened, it seems that it understood me.

「You are pitiful too. To be sent from your hometown to this kind of place. Hmmm, it can’t be helped. It will be your responsibility to be liked by the children. If you want to curse someone curse yourself」

I don’t understand very well but it seems that it knows something about reincarnation.

「Um… What is a lost person?」
「It means that someone has come from a different world」
「Not that they were reborn again?」
「Huh?」
The Griffon tils its head as if it did not understand what I said.

At present, I explain what is happening to my body. The Griffon groans.
「U-mu, I don’t know. I never heard a phenomenon like that. None of the lost people I’ve met hundred of years ago have said they were reincarnated… Hmm, maybe something like that can happen too?」
「Sigh」
「To begin with, the phenomenon called lost people exists. There is nothing strange that something like reincarnation could exist if you think about the lost people」
Although I still don’t understand, it seems that the Griffon convinced himself.
Even so, I can not accept it at all.

But well, now it’s no use worrying about such a thing. I’ll have to find out step by step.
「By the way, in your explanation of before you said something like you have the mind of an adult, it is that right?」
「Yes, that’s right. But now I have this body. What about that?」
The Griffon smiled at my question… Or so it looked.

「In exchange for turning a blind eye, I want you to take care of a job」

1. N/a

Death comes when you least expect it.
From an unexpected place and with an unexpected timing.

In front of me there is a large-scale truck.

Time advances slowly. Everything I left behind begins to emerge in my mind only to disappear later.
Friends, employer and my professor from the university. That reminds me, I haven’t submitted my report yet…
And lastly everybody from the orphanage.
I never went through my mind that I would repaid everything they had done for me with my life insurance.

If it had been possible, I would have liked to live a life with more emotion.
When I thought so, I heard the voice of a kid laughing along with the sound of every bone in my body breaking,

When I regained my consciousness, I was in the middle of a forest…

I looked at my surroundings and then the sky.
Compared to the moon I know, this was shining and felt like it was bigger.

The trees lit by the moonlight were strangely big. How many times my height? There are only giant trees growing in the surroundings.

Is this the world after death?
According to legend of the Sanzu River I should be able to see a garden filled with flowers as a far my eye can see, but such a scenario is not reflected in my eyes.
For this to be the world after death, surely it’s pitiful.

What on the earth is this…

Suddenly I felt something bitter inside my mouth.
When I spit it out, I realized it was grass.

Why the hell I was eating something like that?
The next moment, a strong hunger attacks me.

Dizziness and weariness, a feeling of fatigue attacked my whole body.

I will die if I don’t eat something…

I started looking for any kind of food that could be eaten.
Mushrooms or acorns, at this point I don’t care what it is, anything is fine.
Something that I can put in my mouth.

Suddenly, a big centipede entered my field of vision.
Usually, I would have screamed and escaped by now, but for some reason I kept looking at it.
If you look at it carefully, it would seem that it had a lot of muscle.
If I’m not mistaken, the poison was in the mouth, so if I do something about it, I would be able to eat it…
……
……

Let’s eat it.

My first centipede tasted disgusting.

「That reminds me, will I be okay despite the parasites and the like?」
I began to worry after filling my stomach with the centipede.

I lost my reason for a moment at that time…
So this is what it means to become an idiot for lack of food?
Not that I know how to light a fire, either way I had to eat it raw.
By how I chew it, everything should be fine, yes, all good. Perhaps.

I would have starved to death if my brain had been working halfway.
I have no choice but to start praying whether the parasites exist or not.

「I’m thirsty…」
I started to walk wishing for water…
I want to remove the taste of the centipede from my mouth in this instant.

When my body feels like it walked plenty, a brook appears.
Though my brain tells me to not drink unboiled water, but it can’t be helped that I don’t know how to start a fire.

「I came back to life…」
Indeed, water is important.
At glance you can see that the water is transparent, so it should be free of parasites. Perhaps.

I looked at the water of the brook.
There it was my face reflected by the moonlight…
……
……
……

Who is this?

A emaciated gray-haired child was reflected in the water’s surface.

??????

Wait, wait a second, probably this water surface is making a mistake. Surely, the light reflection may sometimes go wrong.
I escape from the absurd reality that exists in front of me.

I timidly touch my cheeks.
I noticed that my bones were visible.
It’s not like I was fat, but neither I was skinny enough for my bones to protrude.

The next thing I try to do is to pull my hair. The hair is gray.
I was a typical Japanese, so I was certain that my hair was black but…

Still, this is the reality.
In other words. This is that thing. The famous one.

「Reincanation…」

I looked up at the night sky.
There was a certain moon twice as big as the moon from Earth shining in the night sky.

1. N/a