THE HERMITAGE PREPARING FOR WINTER AND THE JOURNEY FOR EACH OF US (PART 1)

One day in the first week of the month of dead souls (December), when the mornings and evenings had become much colder. I spent the morning, hammer in hand, on the half-tilted roof of the hermitage doing carpentry work.

“Stop half-a̲s̲s̲i̲n̲g it. Hold the plank down firmly and swing the nail in, or else you won’t reinforce the roofs properly. You can’t even do proper work, you damn ragweed?”

While Regina was leisurely complaining from the safety of the ground, dubbing it as “supervising me,” I protested back, tears swelling in my eyes.

“I’m scared! The roof is slanted weird for me to stand properly, and it could fall through at any moment if I put my weight on any weird spot!”
“And that’s why we’re reinforcing them! Your head is what’s slanted! And don’t you dare to step on the roofs, not with your weight!!”
“I’m not that heavy anymore! I’ve been keeping my waist at 50 centimertes!”
“Hah! All I can see from the bottom is your big a̲s̲s̲. Have you measured the size of your buttocks?”
“Uuh…!”
“Not even Maya would be able to catch an a̲s̲s̲ that big if you fall from above. Ah, scary, scary. Make sure you don’t fall!”

The Caru —Regina’s familiar, Maya— who was wordlessly holding up the plank for reinforcement with two of her tentacles, looked at her master next to her, then looked at my face with a troubled expression before she cried once.

Was it “don’t worry about it” or was it “I’ll catch you if you fall,” I couldn’t really tell…

That was when Vier, holding a plank with her mouth, flew up to me, flapping her wings.

“Huu…Thank you, Vier.”

I received the plank from Vier who was hovering close at hand. My task today was to nail the two planks together (using very old and rusty nails), to make an X at the window and other damaged areas of the roof, and to reinforce them from above as a temporary measure.

“We need to fix the place up before winter comes,” spoke Regina out of the blue at breakfast. Hence why I was outside in my usual attire —a one-piece dress underneath an apron, even though I really could wear my robe in such cold season— and was given a hammer and a box of old nails, before I found myself on the roof, exposed to the elements.

It’s only natural that I would complain, isn’t it?

“Make sure you patch them! I don’t want to return from my trip to see the cabin crushed by snow.”

As I was assaulted by Regina’s complaints, I began to think that might as well let the snow crush it so that it wouldn’t become future problems… such dark thoughts.

“Does the snow really fall that much around here? —Or rather, you are going somewhere, Mentor?”
“Is your head nothing but a rack for hats or what?! Do you have knot holes for ears?! I already told you we’re going to the tropics for the winter!”

I almost slipped off the roof when she yelled. Wait, that wasn’t merely an excuse to mend the situation, she actually meant it?!

“Well, you won’t be coming though. You can go and spend the whole winter in the snow-buried cabin, I won’t stop you.”

When Regina smiled wickedly as such, I immediately shook my head.

“Of course I will be coming with you, mentor! Spare me the snow and cold!”
“Then work you god damn a̲s̲s̲!”
“Y-, yes!”

Whoa! Once I’m done with this, we will have a vacation in the tropics!

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When I thought about that, my arm suddenly became lighter as I swung the hammer. And just like that, despite Regina’s reckless instructions and the difficulty I faced with how brittle the old nails were, I spent the full day repairing the hermitage.

♢♦♢♦♢

While indeed we would be going on a trip, it wasn’t like we could make the decision in a snap and leave at the drop of a hat.

If we were to be away from home for an extended period of time, we must take account of the elixirs and other such items that could deteriorate over time, so for the time being, we decided to store all such items in the large oblong chest and put it under the magic art of Preservation.

A few days passed dizzyingly fast as we sorted and organized the items. It felt like end-of-year cleanup.

“Mentor, what about this apple?”
“That’s an anesthetic. A single bite and you’re knocked out cold.”
“…you’re sure it’s just anesthetic?”

I unearthed many more questionable articles like this one…

By the way, since Bartholomew’s original mission was to guard the teleporter —although, I had a feeling he was haunting me to procrastinate— he obviously could not leave the area for a long time, so we would part for a while.

“Finally~~! Now that is a weight off my mind—!!”

I couldn’t forget the bright expression Regina showed when she heard of it. That was the first time I ever saw her smiling so content. Regina usually would hide everything behind her harsh remarks and cruel words, but this time she truly laid out her bare feelings… Well, not that I didn’t share the sentiment, but it was very on-brand for her to spit it out in Bartholomew’s face.

And yet, Bartholomew was Bartholomew.
“Umu, umu. You know well, Lady Witch. As the ancient saying goes, ‘Friendships between wise men are plain hence rock solid, friendships between small men are sweet hence adrift.’

“In other words, the friendship of small folks may be heavy and sweet as wine at first glance, but it does not last long. On the other hand, the friendship of wise folks may appear platonic and weightless, but much like water, it’s a friendship that never changes! Be that as it may, I, Bartholomew the Knight, shall speak of my concern for my friends through actions. Lady Witch, leave the rest to me! I shall protect this hut to the best of my ability! Even if it means slaughtering all the invading enemies!”

He somehow managed to misinterpret what Regina said, instantly putting Regina back in her grim mood.

After which, I took Vier and Bartholomew to the western pioneer village to say goodbye to everyone that had helped me. After greeting Andy and Chad at the gate, we first went to Eren’s… the village chief’s house.

“…I see. So the sage of the forest will be away during winter. That does worry me, but that can’t be helped.”

Mr. Aroldo, the village chief and Eren’s father, sighed lightly as he said this. I would guess the reason why he was a little less energetic than the last time I saw him was due to Eren’s apprenticeship as a tweeny. After all, he was losing the vote, being pushed into agreeing by hin wife and daughter.

“Just for precaution, in case you need some extra stakes, warding bells, and various medicines in our absence, I have some of them with me.”
“Please bring it to the shed then. While you’re here, would you also take a look at the condition of the fermented fertilizer? I have been stirring it every day as you said, but I’m not sure I’m doing it correctly.”
“I understand.”

We walked to the shed where I laid out the goods I had brought with me using the Close Magic Art, and we checked on the fermented fertilizer. While I was giving the man some points of advice, Eren and Bruno came together.