After Heinz went down from the village, several mornings passed.
During that time, the road going down the mountain from the village changed a little as well.
Beside the large rock, the mountain side was cut back so that people and horses carrying cargo could pass. They cleared branches that were too low, and cut shallow channels in the muddy areas to carry off the water running down the slope.
Dario and the others didn't widen it any further.
There were still winding stretches, and it wasn't a road where many people could run side by side.
Make it easy to use for trade.
However, there was no need to make it easy for bandits to rush into the village.
That was the result of carefully weighing the changes.
I had also become able to make short flights without having to prepare myself as much as before.
Flying far for long still wasn't possible.
I had gotten used to the feeling of beating my wings with magical power flowing through them, but the longer I flew, the more tired I became. My right hind leg no longer stood out in ordinary walking, but the wound itself hadn't disappeared.
That was why my morning patrol was only a short circuit around the village.
That day, I gained a little altitude above the forest and turned my eyes to the road south.
I saw something moving.
There were two people.
Between them was another large shape.
A horse.
It was carrying loads on both sides of its back.
I recognised the man walking in front.
Heinz.
It seemed he really had brought a packhorse.
I didn't approach from above.
With a human, I could be understood.
That wouldn't work with a horse.
Remembering that the livestock in the village were frightened of me, I went down to a grassy area away from the road. After landing, I folded my wings and moved further away from the southern entrance.
After a while, I heard a voice.
“Hey!”
Heinz was raising his hand.
"We got through!"
Dario came out from inside the village.
"The horse made it?"
“You’ll know it when you see it!”
The man behind him was holding the reins.
Several large bags were tied to the horse’s back.
"How was the way up?"
"We got past the rock. Even the muddy stretches are better than before."
Heinz looked back.
"There's just one low branch left. The horse didn't like it, so cut that one before next time."
"If that's all, it'll be done soon."
The road itself seemed usable.
The problem was what came after.
The horse suddenly stopped.
It moved its ears and snorted.
It was looking at me.
"Here we go."
The man holding the reins grimaced.
"I told you. This is the part I was most worried about."
"Val won't attack."
"So I heard. You can't explain it to a horse."
I agreed with that.
The horse took a step back.
I moved further away from the road and lowered my body.
I folded my wings in tight.
Still, the horse was restless.
I checked the wind direction.
Where I was now, my scent was drifting towards the road.
It couldn't be helped.
I went around and moved downwind.
"…It thinks that much before it acts?"
The man leading the horse muttered.
"That's why I told you he understands."
"I heard you. I just couldn't believe it."
It seemed Heinz had explained the situation.
In that case, there was no need for me to demonstrate again that I understood words.
After waiting a while once I had moved away, the horse finally started moving forward.
"Take it slow, it's all right."
The man patted its neck.
The horse walked as far from me as it could and reached the entrance of the village.
The eyes of the villagers all turned to the cargo.
"Grain?"
“I brought it.”
Heinz patted the horse's back.
"However, I didn't bring as much as the horse could carry."
The village chief came out.
“What do you mean?”
"The charcoal I took back last time sold. This is the grain I bought with that sale."
One of the loads was unloaded.
Another bag was taken down after it.
"The horse can carry more. But there's no point bringing more than you can pay for."
Then I understood.
Even if the road was fixed, you couldn't suddenly obtain large quantities of grain.
The amount that could be carried and the amount that could be bought were two different things.
"What's the price?"
the village chief asked.
Heinz answered.
I couldn't judge whether the price was high or low.
The villagers looked at each other.
“It’s higher than before.”
"I didn't raise it."
Heinz said immediately.
"That's the price it sold at. It includes my share."
"You don't hide that part, do you."
"I'm the one hauling it over the mountain. It'd be more unsettling if I took nothing."
The village chief laughed a little.
“No doubt.”
The grain that could be covered by the sale of the charcoal taken back last time would go into the village.
And if what Heinz took back today sold, the amount he could buy next time would change accordingly.
At least nobody was handing out food for free.
The mouth of the bag was opened.
Dry grain was visible.
The eight people who had fled from the other side of the mountain were also watching from a distance.
One of the children looked happy.
Seeing that expression, I thought there was a point in having it brought, even if it wasn't a huge amount.
"How long will this last?"
Lina asked the village chief.
"It's not something we can eat through right away."
After answering that, the village chief continued.
“But this doesn’t mean we no longer have to worry about food.”
That was natural, considering the eight people who had been added.
The flat area on the mountainside had only just begun to have water drawn to it as a trial.
Being able to buy grain once was no guarantee of being able to buy it the same way forever.
"And this charcoal?"
the village chief asked.
“Let me see.”
The bag they had prepared was brought out.
It was a little more than before.
The man from the refugees who was helping with the charcoal burning stood beside him.
Heinz took out the charcoal and checked how it broke and its size.
"I think this one will sell for about the same as the last lot."
He looked at another bag.
"This one is crumbling a bit."
“No good?”
"It's not useless. The price may drop."
"What should we do?"
"I'd like the people who burn the charcoal to think about that. I only know what the buyers see."
The man picked up a piece of charcoal.
He compared them for a while.
"Maybe it's the fire in the kiln…"
he muttered, as if to himself.
It seemed the answer wouldn't come right away.
Even so, if the results of the sale came back, it could be corrected next time.
"What else?"
Heinz asked.
The villagers brought out some things they had dried from the mountain.
Heinz sorted them without hesitation.
“I’ll take this with me.”
"What about this?"
"I don't need it."
“Why?”
"It can be gathered down below too."
He picked up something else.
“I’d like some of this if it’s in good condition. But I don’t need a lot.”
What you want to sell and what someone wants to buy aren't the same.
That may seem obvious, but the villagers seemed to have little chance to learn what was in demand outside.
I lay down outside the fence, waiting for the trading to end.
Eventually Heinz closed the charcoal bag.
"By the way, there's something I should tell you first."
The tone of his voice changed.
Dario looked up.
“What?”
“It’s about Val.”
I turned my head as well.
"I told the man I borrowed the packhorse from. I'm taking it to a village where there's a dragon — I can't just borrow it without saying anything."
The man who had brought the reins nodded.
"I refused at first, too."
"So why did you come?"
Dario asked.
"Heinz has come back safely many times. And he said he'd pay if anything happened to the horse."
"Hey, don't say that part."
“It’s true, isn’t it?”
Heinz looked exasperated.
It seemed merchants took on a certain amount of risk as well.
"The problem is, it didn't end with the man I talked to."
The village chief's expression hardened a little.
"How far has it spread?"
“I don’t know.”
"You don't know?"
"How would I? It's just rumour. But even down below, I've started hearing that there's a dragon in a mountain village."
Lina looked at me.
"What about Val?"
"If there's another dragon around, I'd like to hear about it."
Heinz continued.
"Some people don't believe me. Some think I saw a big lizard in the mountains and made a story of it."
It seems I'm being treated like a big lizard.
That annoys me a little.
"And the ones who believed it?"
Dario asked.
"Some are frightened, and some want to see it."
That much could be predicted.
Heinz looked at me as if a little reluctant to speak.
"Someone said dragon scales would sell for a high price."
The villagers’ expressions changed.
I looked at my front legs.
Blackish reddish-brown scales.
To me, they're just part of my body.
However, if a dragon was rare to humans, it wouldn't be surprising if some people found value in its scales and claws.
"Who was it?"
Dario asked in a low voice.
"You plan to chase down every tale you hear in a tavern, one by one?"
"I just want to know whether anyone's serious about coming."
"I'm not talking about someone heading into the mountains with weapons right now."
Heinz waved his hand.
"But it does mean you can't go on thinking 'nobody knows' the way you used to."
The village chief looked at me silently.
"Anything else?"
"There was also talk that the village might be under a dragon's control."
“No!”
Lina immediately raised her voice.
“I know. I said so too.”
"Did they believe you?"
"When I explained the whole thing, they looked at me even more strangely."
I understand that feeling.
A dragon that lives outside the village has a name, understands human language, and protects the village by a promise made with the village chief.
Laying out the facts as they are makes it sound more like fiction.
"Can the trade continue?"
the village chief asked.
Heinz looked a little surprised.
"That's what I intend."
"Even if rumours spread?"
“As long as Val doesn’t attack me or my horse.”
After saying that, he looked at the horse.
The horse was still standing as far from me as it could get.
"If I can sell charcoal, and sell the things needed here, then it's business. There's no reason to throw that away over rumours."
“Then please continue.”
The village chief answered immediately.
"It would be more trouble if salt and grain stopped coming in just to hide the dragon."
"But what if people come just to look?"
one of the villagers asked.
The village chief thought for a moment.
"If someone I don't know comes up, I'll ask their business before letting them into the village. I think that would be a good idea."
"What about merchants?"
"Just ask who they intend to trade with."
"What if they lie?"
"Then I'll think about it then. I can't decide everything in advance, down to the lies of someone who hasn't even come."
It was an answer typical of the village chief.
Rather than creating perfect rules from the beginning, stop people at the entrance.
That might be enough for now.
In the afternoon, the horse's load was changed over.
The charcoal and the other goods Heinz had decided to take were loaded where the grain had been unloaded.
The man who led the horse kept his distance from me until the end.
Before leaving, the man looked at me.
"Val."
I turned my head when my name was called.
His shoulders stiffened a little, but he didn't run away.
"I may bring this horse next time as well. It would help if you'd keep your distance like you did today."
I nodded.
“…Thank you.”
That was all, this time.
He stroked the horse's neck and pulled the reins.
I moved downwind of the road first.
The horse started walking.
They passed through the village entrance and entered the narrow road that had been reworked.
"See you, then!"
Heinz raised his hand.
"There's no guarantee I can bring grain next time! It depends on the price and how things sell!"
"I know!"
The village chief replied.
The figures of Heinz and the others disappeared behind the trees.
This time, a horse laden with charcoal from Rue Village went down the road that had been made for one horse to pass.
The grain that had been carried up on that journey remained in the village.
It wasn't an amount that would erase the food shortage. Still, it was certain that more could be carried than when it could only come on one person's back.
And it wasn't only the amount of cargo that had increased.
The number of people along that road who knew of my existence was increasing.
As I watched the packhorse disappear behind the trees, I decided to keep in mind that the next person coming up the same path wouldn’t necessarily be bringing grain.
We don’t use ads!
If you enjoyed our translation, please consider buying us a cup…
Thanks!!!
Become a Patron!
We don’t use ads!
If you enjoyed our translation, please consider buying us a cup…
Thanks!!!
Become a Patron!