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We leave the house while it’s still dark. I grab on to Saine because it’s very dark. How can he walk in this darkness?
It’s faster if we go out from the East-east Section towards the forest we’re headed to. Dole and Olphynn waited for us in the outskirts of the town.
Dole’s house is also in the East-east Section. He’s also a bachelor. Olphynn is in a special position so he’s living right in the Eastern Section’s center. In the square with the fountain where we first met, the building facing it is the Priests’ house. It’s made with the same material as the Central Square.
We immediately depart without any Hey~ or good morning. I thought that Saine was taciturn but do they turn out like this when there are only men in the world? Maybe Saine started talking more because he has no choice but to live with me.
The Men’s Club is also more quiet compared to the Reincarnators Association. I’m the one who talks the most. Next is Haruka. I felt like I’ve known Haruka for a very long time so when we talk with each other, we can’t stop talking.
It became brighter as we were walking. Even though I said that, it’s not a clear blue sky. It’s the usual hazy sky. Rather than blue, it’s yellow-ish. And, there are no clouds.
[Does it not rain here?]
It’s been over a month since I’ve been summoned here but it hasn’t rained since. I’ve never seen any cloud either.
[Oh, rain? If you’re talking about that then it’s raining over there. It doesn’t rain in town.]
Dole points his fingers to our destination.
[The forest?]
[Yes, it rains in the forest. As for the mountain, it snows.]
[It doesn’t fall in the town?]
[No, it doesn’t. The town is always in this weather.]
Ohh~, I’m impressed. The town is designed like an intersection of a go board and is distinctly divided but, are there also a distinctive difference between forests and mountains?
[Then, are there also stars?]
[Stars? What’s that?]
[Stars. The ones that twinkle in the sky in the evening.]
[The sky sparkles? Is there something like that?]
Dole laughs.
[So there’s none…… You know, I have completely no memory of my previous life but I remember the night sky. Although the night sky is dark, it has things called stars and moon. There’s one moon and it’s a giant light, there are also countless stars and they are small lights. They are all over the sky and are sparkling.]
[Hmm~, I don’t really get it.]
He probably can’t imagine it if he’s never seen it before. Dole was cocking his head in puzzlement.
[Is that so? I wanted to see the stars again, though.]
I ended up sighing. I wonder why. I suddenly want to see the stars so much when I was told that there were none..
Saine and Dole are fast. Olphynn is also walking quickly. I follow them in a trot. Since there’s a difference in height, it takes a lot of effort for me to keep up.
The two guards were carrying a big sword on their waists. Saine is also carrying a bow and arrow. But that alone isn’t enough to call it a traveling outfit. He said that we need to have warm clothes when going to the mountains but it’s unnecessary when going to the forest. According to Dole’s explanation, it’s snowing in the mountains so it’s cold.
Olphynn was also wearing comfortable clothes, different from usual. As expected, it’d be difficult to move with that fluttering and long clothes. He was dressed like us. Even though we have the same outfits, Olphynn looked handsome on it. His face looks great but his style is also good.
The fields were unmanned because it was early in the morning. Past that, we enter the beast farmers’ area. I was only able to go to the place with sheep so it’s my first time seeing a cow here. I’ve seen stray horses in town before but there were no stray cows. The cows here have a strange color.
[Are there only red and white? It looks auspicious for some reason.]
As I was affectionately looking at it over the fence, Saine pulled me away.
[Let’s go quickly.]
[Aren’t cows unusual?]
[There’s no way the are. I look at it so many times.]
[Oh, I see. You often pass by here while working as a guard, right? This is my first time seeing a red cow.] (TN: There are a lot of them, red cows.)
[You probably saw some over there.*] (TN: In MC’s previous world.)
[That’s out of the question. Even if I don’t remember, I can just tell. The things I find marvelous are something I’ve never seen in my previous life. That’s why I was also shocked to see a stray horse. Or rather, why are there stray horses and stray goats? Didn’t they escape from the farm? Why aren’t they brought back?]
[Because it’s unknown who owns them.]
Olphynn explains.
[It’s obvious that they escaped from a farm but it’s unclear who’s the owner. If you touch something that’s unclear, trouble is sure to occur. If you want to avoid trouble, you must not take in the animals in the town.]
[Hmm~…… They should’ve just put a nametag on them.]
[Right now, they’re probably doing that. The ones in town are descendants of the escapees a long time ago.]
[If so then they’re residents.]
It may look like they’re moving freely but the goats and sheep in town have their specific areas. The ones I see around the house are always the same and I’ve never seen a new face. They are them and they have territories.
I nodded in comprehension and a question came to mind.
[Why can the animals reproduce?]
[What do you mean?]
[Humans have to use the Ceremony to summon Reincarnators, right? But why are animals okay? Why can animals give birth?]
No one here was able to answer my naive question.
The boundary line between here and the forest was clear. When I stretch out my arm, it got wet up to my elbow and dry on my side. There’s a curtain of rain.
[Does the mountain also like this?]
[Well, it’s about the same.]
Saine immediately goes in without caring about getting wet. Olphynn followed suit and I also entered while being prompted by Dole.
[In the meantime, don’t get lost, don’t be inattentive, don’t go off alone. Okay, repeat it.]
Dole said that only to me. I believe that Olphynn is also a forest noob like me but he seems to have the awareness to do as he’s told so I obediently followed. Well, in short, don’t get lost.
It’s raining in the forest. It’s not pouring but more like a drizzle. The tepid rain continues to fall.
The ground is covered with a long lawn that the soil can’t be seen. If it’s raining constantly, I think our steps will still be unstable even if there’s grass. But here, on the soft grass, our steps are totally fine. It doesn’t collapse like weak soil*. (TN: I took some more liberties on this part.)
[Where does the rain go?]
Where does the fallen water gather? It’s not heavy, but because of the continuous rain, my hair is sticky. Drops of water run along my chin and falls down.
[The water is absorbed by the soil and flows into town. It’s the water in the well.]
[I see. It’s groundwater.]
I finally understood. The reason why the town which doesn’t rain can use water thoughtlessly. There are wells in town but no river. I wondered where the water was coming from, so there’s abundant underground water below.
[Is the forest only up to here?]
[No. It’s also beyond the East-east, north-north, and West-west Sections. Only the South-south section has the sea.]
[The mountain is next to the forest, and over it is a forest, and then the next town comes after it. A guard’s job is to escort only up to the next town but every town is apparently made the same way.]
A lot of things have been arranged. The towns and nature, it was like a world that someone created.