459 - - 14-10 Ruins
Even when they went out under the blue sky, the faces of Jin and the others did not clear, except for one, Hannah, who asked, "Are you guys unhappy?
"Are you guys having a bad day?"
Hannah looked up at Jin with concern. She reached out and touched his cheek.
"Come on, baby girl, cheer up."
Hannah's hand on Jin's cheek is warm and comforting.
"......Yeah, you're right. It's already done.
Saying this, Jin picked up Hannah and took her on his shoulders.
"Kya!"
Suddenly, Hannah let out a startled sound, but she immediately smiled.
"Wow, big girl, thank you!
Erza, Saki, and Stearina saw this and their faces broke into tears.
"Well, I guess there's nothing we can do about it now, is there?
"I know. We've come all this way to see the sights, haven't we?
"I'm sure that ...... my brother Jin will make it possible for us to go to the moon someday."
Reiko looked at them silently.
"Well, shall we go and look at another place? There is a royal palace a little further ahead.
Regulus 45, sensing the change in atmosphere, resumed the tour.
"The royal palace. Let's go there.
The group changed their minds and headed for the royal palace. Hannah is on Jin's shoulder. She was excited to have a better view.
The palace was also covered with vines.
And here, too, some of the entrances were open, as if someone had been fishing here. Jin and the others did not mind, as it would be a great help to them.
"Hmm, it's kind of old-fashioned, isn't it?"
"It's ...... yes. The design is somehow old-fashioned.
Erza agreed with Saki's opinion.
"Really? It's not that different from the royal palace in Serlore,......."
Stearina, on the other hand, said that it was not so different from the royal palace of the Kingdom of Celuloa. That's how traditional the Kingdom of Cerroa is.
"Onii-chan, what's that?"
Hannah got off Jin's shoulder and was walking alongside Reiko when she looked to her right and saw an unusual shaped object.
"Hmm?"
"Oh, my."
At the same time, Stearina also looked in that direction and shouted.
"A cat figurine, huh?
"A cat?"
It seems that Hannah does not know what a cat is. In the first place, it is not customary to keep pet animals in this world.
Horses are not pets, nor are cows or goats. Dogs are kept in some areas, but not as pets but as guard dogs.
The only exception to this rule is small birds, which are kept for the purpose of enjoying their singing. Pigeons, of course, are for communication.
There is no custom of keeping cats for <> like on the modern earth. Another reason may be the scarcity of <>.
The harm of rats can be prevented by magic tools such as the bells used by the Jin to keep them away when they went to deliver the wheat, so the custom of keeping fickle cats did not develop.
But there are always exceptions,
"I didn't know they had a custom of keeping cats in the Kingdom of Leonard.
Stearina was impressed by the fact that the Kingdom of Leonard had the custom of keeping cats. It means that some people in the Kingdom of Selroa have cats.
"Many people say that cats are fickle, unaccustomed to people, and unappealing, and that's why they are so attractive.
Stearina explained the situation of cats in the Kingdom of Selroa,
After explaining the situation of cats in the Kingdom of Celuloa, Stearina said, "...... but I don't like them much. I'm more of a dog person.
She confided that she was a dog person.
"Yeah, I'm the same way.
Jin was the same way. The orphanage had one well-behaved mongrel dog. Jin only took him for a walk once in a while, though most of the care was done by the younger children.
I look at the cat figurine as I think about this.
It looks no different from a cat on the earth. Jin is not sure how accurate the size of the figurine is, but assuming that it is full-scale, it is about the same size.
"Yes, this is almost the same as the real thing.
Stearina also confirmed this. Then came Hannah's unexpected words.
"Hey, can you make something like that?"
"What?"
I don't think she meant a cat-shaped figurine. Cat Golem....... Jin thought it would be interesting.
There was a door half-open where the figurine had been. When he looked inside, he found it covered with dust and scattered with broken dolls and toys. It seemed to be the room of a prince or a princess.
It seems that the room had already been ransacked of anything of interest.
"...... is not very interesting."
Now Hannah was disappointed.
Indeed, it seems that touring abandoned buildings is a sad experience.
"...... Shall we go outside?"
When Jin said this, Hanna nodded silently.
Erza, Saki, and Stearina also sensed this and turned away without saying a word.
The group left the ruins of the capital city.
The group left the ruins of the capital and drove the Tortoise along the river.
We had a light lunch in the car.
The group was somewhat disheartened.
We thought about going home, but we decided to stay at least one night since we had come all the way out here, so we are now looking for a campsite.
I thought, "Oh, that might be a good place.
We found a small, wide open meadow one step up from the river. It seemed to have a nice view.
Jin ordered the steward to drive Tortoise there.
The power output of the 12-strand Golem engine, Jin's masterpiece, was pushing the Tortoise up the nearly 40-degree slope.
"Oh, this place looks good.
The grass was short, and a little mowing was all that was needed to create a comfortable space.
Although there was space in the car, Jin wanted to eat outdoors if we were going to do some kind of auto-camping.
"Wow. ......"
"Oh, my."
I realized as I was about to take out the folding table and chairs for the number of people.
It was because of the 40-degree slope.
I'll have to ...... improve it."
We rearranged our luggage and had a tea time again. We put up a tarp to protect us from the sun, and the river breeze was pleasant even though it was summer.
"Ah, I feel refreshed at last.
Saki muttered to herself.
"Delicious!"
Taeye with a lot of sugar. Reiko's thoughtful gesture that it would be good for a mentally exhausted person.
Dried wileys for tea. The sweet and sour taste is concentrated and delicious.
It is a moment that soothes the fragile heart of those who have been touring the ruins.
"The secret of the warding is for another time. ......"
The illusionary boundary that makes it look like there is a country when seen from the sky.
It is doubtful if Jin can make the same thing.
I think it can produce the same effect, but I am not sure if it is the same way or not.
I was thinking inwardly that I might try to increase the fifth column (quinta) if necessary.
Before the sun went down, we prepared dinner. It is a standard barbecue.
On top of the furnace made of piled up stones, we put an iron plate that we have prepared for some time. The fire is heated with magi stones instead of firewood, as it is troublesome to adjust the heat.
The main ingredients are mountain deer meat and vegetables. Then noodles made from wheat flour are added and seasoned with Worcestershire sauce. It is a kind of yakiudon noodle with sauce yakisoba.
It can be said that they substituted thin udon noodles because they did not know what brine was.
It was Jin who came up with the idea after seeing in Toka village.
"Wow, it's a little different, but delicious!
"Yes, it is. Jin, it's quite good!
Still, the food seemed to be well received.
We finished eating before the summer sunset and cleaned up the dishes and griddles by washing them in the river and purifying them with purification magic.
The stars begin to appear here and there. The breeze from the river is pleasant.
We all move to the second floor of Tortoise.
Here, too, the futon was a little too close to the floor due to the 40-degree slope, so we had to fix it.
Then we lay down on the futon and looked at the sky through the open skylight.
First Hannah, then Erza, then Saki, Stearina, and Jin fell asleep.
Reiko, who did not need to sleep, closed the skylight and stood guard with the steward.
"Sweet dreams, father.
Reiko's murmur is absorbed into the falling starry sky.