"I knew it. ......"

The cloth wrapped around Krull's knee was untied, and the wound was slightly festering.

"You've got dirt in your wound. If you leave it like this, we may have to cut off your leg.

"What?　I don't like that!

Krull's eyes tear up when I threaten her a little. Adriana quickly calmed her down.

"Oh, calm down. I'm going to treat you now so that it doesn't happen."

"Ssshhhh.... ...... really?

"Yes, it's true. It might sting a little, but you'll have to be patient.

Adriana says gently. Marle took her sister's hand in hers.

"Marle, your sister is here too..."

"Yes. ......"

So the three of them moved to the dirt floor.

"Okay, I'm going to treat you. ......<>"

The first thing to do is to get out some clean water and wash the wound.

"Oh, it hurts!

"Patience. It only hurts for now. "

Adriana tries the engineering magic <> to see if she can get the sand out of the wound.

"...... got it out."

Engineering magic does not work on living creatures, but since the sand is inanimate it seems to be able to remove it.

"<><>"

All that's left is to sterilize it and apply the healing magic .......

"It doesn't hurt anymore!　It's healed!　Amazing!　Thank you, Ad!

Hearing the commotion, Mother Bice peeked into the dirt floor to see what was going on.

"Oh, Mom, Ado fixed my leg!　Look!"

Krull points to his right knee, which is now healed nicely. Bice was surprised and then smiled happily.

"Well, that's great! Thank you so much, Ado.

"No, you're welcome.

No, you're welcome." Adriana was happy to hear that.

"Thank you, Ad. Shall we go to our room now?"

"Yes."

Marle invites Adriana to go to their room.

The chief's house is a one-story building. It is spacious, with a dirt floor, a kitchen, a dining room, a living room, a parlor, a guest room, and the housekeeper's room.

The two sisters occupy one room together. Although it is a large room, it is about 12 tatami mats in size.

"Where do you two go to school?

"School?　What's that?

Krull asked, and Maruru tilted her head.

"Well, it's a place where they teach you how to read, write, and do math. ......"

As she explained, Adriana realized that this village, or most of the land, did not have such a thing .......

"I can read!　I can even write my name!

"In this village, your mother and father teach you to at least write your name," said Adriana, "but I can't write my name. I can do the math at ....... I can add and subtract, too.

Marle explains.

Adriana felt a little sorry if she had asked the wrong question.

"Well, how many people live in this village?"

Then I decided to change the subject.

"I think I heard that there are 41 houses."

"There are 172 people living here..."

Both of them are the daughters of the village head and know each other well.

Adriana did not know many people her own age, but thanks to the friendly sisters, she was able to learn a lot about the village.

Adriana was not used to meeting people of her own age.

While we were talking about various things, Bice showed her face.

"It's a little early, but lunch is ready.

"Yes, mother."

"Yay, I'm hungry!"

As the sisters walked off to the cafeteria, Bice turned to Adriana and said, "Come on in.

"Um, I'm also ......?"

Adriana asked shyly. Bice nodded broadly.

Of course you are. Of course. You're a customer.

"Thank you very much ......."

The four took their places at the table. The mayor, Mehto, was out on business and was not present.

"Oh, moule pot!　Mother, I love it!"

Krull smiles at Baise when he finds out that lunch is his favorite dish. Marle looks happy too.

"It's a little chilly today, isn't it? That's what a mother does."

Adriana has never known a mother. So Adriana feels a little envious when she sees Krull and Marle laughing with Baise.

<

It is a little like the Ishikari nabe in modern Japan.

However, it is seasoned with salt and no soup stock is used.

Even so, the fish, shellfish, and seaweed seem to have made a good soup stock, and the dish is quite tasty.

"Oh, I've never had this before, but it's delicious.

Adriana couldn't help but say this out loud, and Bice smiled at her.

"Really?　We have refills, so please eat as many as you like.

The fish meat was so soft that it seemed to be falling apart quickly, and the vegetables were on the verge of falling apart if cooked any longer.

On the other hand, the shellfish meat was chewy and tasty.

Adriana had her first taste of home cooking and had to have three more bowls of rice.

"Thank you very much for the food.

After Adriana finishes eating, the three of them nod their heads.

"Oh, this is a custom in my family.

This is a custom that Shuki taught us.

"Really? I remember you said <<> before you ate it, didn't you?

Krull has a good ear. He seems to have heard her whispering in a whisper.

"Itadakimasu," he says. I heard that both mean to thank the person who made the food and the ingredients.

"Itadakimasu" and "Gochisosama". Yes, they are good words, aren't they?

Maruru nodded with a smile. Krull and Baise were impressed as well.

"It's easy to say, isn't it?

"It's a word with a very deep meaning, isn't it?

By the way, Adriana had one thing on her mind.

The wooden spoon was a good thing, but the fork had two teeth.

Moreover, the cross section of the blade was round.

It was more like two pieces of wire twisted together with two pointed ends, so that it was difficult to carry the fork to the mouth when trying to eat soft-boiled fish with it.

Adriana did not know that the three- or four-tooth forks they were using had been proposed by Shuki, but they were not yet widely used.

They ate fish and vegetables with a spoon, but it was not easy to eat them with a spoon.

(Maybe I should talk to the blacksmith later. ......)

(Maybe I should talk to the blacksmith later...) Adriana thought to herself.

Before she knew it, the rain had stopped, the fog had lifted, and blue skies were beginning to peek through.