This week picture is Youmu-chan by
Translator"s Note:
The story’s narrator switch from Mitsuha to third-person a lot but that is not a mistake, this is FUNA’s earlier writing style and maybe some foreshadowing.
Too surprised by the countryside!
"…… It’s a ceiling I don’t know"
After saying one of the best 30 lines she always wanted to say, The awaken Mitsuha vaguely thought.
(This is…)
If I recall, I mysteriously appeared in a forest, exhausted, then found a path…
And now I’m sleeping in a bed I don’t know, and I’m looking at the ceiling I don’t know. The furniture and furnishings in this wooden hut are shabby, but they are neatly organized and clean so there is a feeling of cleanliness.
(Am I safe? No, someone saved me)
Her mind wasn"t completely clear and Mitsuha had something to do in a hurry anyway before thinking things out.
"Water! Someone give me water and something to eat!!"
Yes, it was a request for food and drink.
Patapata. With hurried footsteps, the door of the room was opened, and a lovely girl about ten years old with silver hair and blue pupils wearing simple clothes comes in.
The girl shouts happily with a smiling face, but unfortunately I do not understand what you are saying at all.
(Oh, it’s a foreigner. Also looks like she"s not an English speaker).
She was prepping for a college entrance exam so naturally, she can tell if it"s English or not.
(It doesn"t seem like j.a.panese, English, Chinese, Korean, German or French at least…)
From the girl"s appearance, I wouldn"t think this is somewhere in Asia.
Anyway, I want water and food, we can communicate later. My throat is tingling and it is also painful to talk. That"s why I"ll skip trying useless communication methods! Mitsuha gives up on having a conversation and instead suddenly starts gesturing. The gesture of holding a cup with both hands and drinking water, moving the hands from mouth to throat to stomach. How"s that, it’s common in all the world, even monkeys would understand!
… It"s impolite what to call a person from the house that may have helped me a monkey.
The girl talks about something while smiling, moved her neck vertically and then left the room. Okay, it got though probably! …I think.
… It was fine. A few minutes later, the girl along with a woman having the same eyes and the hair color who seemed the girl"s mother came with a water pitcher and a wooden cup, along with porridge in a cup also made of wood similar to the earlier one. Thanking them, I receive the water and drink it all at once.
“Puha ~ ~, I"m Reviveddd~ ~”
Finally feeling comfortable, Mitsuha put power into her body and turned his head towards her mother and daughter, lowered her head, and thanked them.
“Thank you very much for your help.”
No, I know that the words will not be understood, but that they were words of grat.i.tude should be conveyed.
The mother was surprised for a moment to hear words she didn"t understand, but then she smiled with a big grin on her face.
Okay, I said thank you, next is food, food!
What seemed like a porridge was boiled with thinly sliced bread put in thin milk, it feels like it would be call bread porridge. It is gentle to the stomach, seems nutritious and warms the body up. Yep, that’s the best food for me right now. To bring it to me at once, she probably has it prepared to be available at any time.
(It’s a nice person ~ !!)
Alright, if I return safely, let’s give plenty of thanks! After all, they saved my life.
After filling the stomach with a hot meal and going to the restroom she became sleepy again, although she doesn"t know whether if fainting and sleeping are different. This time she truly slept resting her heart.
"…It’s a ceiling that I know"
Yes, it’s the second time I have seen the wood grain of this ceiling.
The pleasant awakening that made me feel refreshed, I guess I was able to really rest my body this time. The small cut on my limbs and the muscle pain of my foot still hurt though.
(Um, What should I do…)
This house is roughly near that wide forest. At first, I thought it was a mountain hut, but it seems like a normal house… That means here is equivalent to a country village?. Probably for the time being I need to head to a townish place to contact an emba.s.sy. Oh, is there a phone or something like that here?
When I was thinking about raising my body on top of the bed, the door was gently opened to make a small gap, and then a silver-haired head peeked in. It seems to be the little girl from before. She probably felt the signs that Mitsuha had awoke and came to see the situation. What sharp senses. As expected from people living with nature!
When she saw Mitsuha awake, the girl came rushing to the bed with a big smile on her face. And Bosun, she jumped into Mitsuha body without stopping.
"Gue!"
Mitsuha suffers in agony from the head thrusting straight into her stomach.
“Give, give give!!”
Mitsuha"s pet.i.te and delicate body of could not endure the bear hug following the head-b.u.t.t.
(tn note: I wonder should I translate give to uncle instead?)
“Break, my spine"s going to break!!"
After continuously tapping the girl’s shoulder desperately she was finally released from the torment of h.e.l.l.
To Mitsuha who collapsed into the bed and faints in agony, the girl tilts her neck with astonishment. Oh, um, it"s an expression of ordinary kindness. It"s a normal, little greeting here. But the power of this girl, I would definitely die if you were an adult, right? Alright, if I see the signs, I"ll avoid it with all my might!
When Mitsuha finally revived, she set on the bed along with the girl and tries to interact. As expected words aren"t getting through at all, but as time pa.s.ses their intent are gradually conveyed by gestures and expressions.
Apparently, the girl found me on the ground, reported to her parents and then helped me. I was guided through the house, but I couldn"t found her parents. Are they working or are they going to contact someone about me?
I got out of the house when I was guided to the bathroom, but… it was the countryside. Yes, I was expecting it, but it was even more of a countryside than that. Wooden buildings like this house, or rather small one-story huts made from bare wood, …cough* cough*, private houses are built with a large amount of s.p.a.ce in between. The countryside. Errr, I don’t see any streetlights or poles. Oh, are they using the underground type to protect the landscape, as expected.
…… Like that"s it, stupid! Ha ha.
Ya, it"s impossible unless I go to a town.
Once again I return to the room and continue the communication. Although it took quite a long time, I"m impressed with how much is conveyed. No, some things may have been conveyed by mistake, but it"s within the range of error, the range of error!
And, what I felt I understood is something like this.
This girl, Colette-chan lives with her parents in this house. It seems this village has agriculture, forestry, hunting and etc and lives on a generally self-sufficient basis. So like said earlier Colette-chan found me on the ground and her parents brought me here then Colette-chan moistened a cloth with water, squeeze it and wiped my sweat the entire time. Literally, my savior Colette-chan!!
(コレットちゃんがずっと汗を拭いたり布に水を含ませて口に垂らしてくれたりしてた)
I embraced Colette-chan unintentionally and tightened up. Ehehe, and with a laugh, Colette-chan put her hands on my back.
Don!
I reflexively pushed Colette-chan away.
Well, I’m someone who learns! Especially, it is related to life and death.
And, reflected in the eyes of my skid face is the face of Colette-chan who was stunned with a face which seemed about to cry.
………, shoot.
I desperately apologize and tried to change her mood, she still has a little pout but maybe she can forgive. No, it"s a failure.
After that, Colette-chan’s mood finally returned when the parents came home, good grief.
I tried communicating with Colette-chan parents who came home. There is a limit to the information that can be obtained from Colette-chan who is 8 years old.
Oh, I was surprised Colette-chan who I thought was about ten years old turns out to be eight. The difference between one and two years is big. Colette-chan a firm girl. As expected of my life"s savior!
So, the result of trying to gather information……, was disheartening.
The parents didn’t go out because of me. They seem to have gone for mountain work and the farming normally. They didn"t feel the need to contact somewhere.
No, they’re not bad people at all. However, there was no reporting or any such idea to do so. Well, they help me and provide me a place to eat and sleep, I’m grateful enough. It would not be odd to be sold to someone buying or be treated like a slave and put into forced labor because this is a developing country. If you think about it, they are more than good people.
And that’s fine, but the information I got out of them is not much different from the information obtained from Colette-chan! No, well, there"s that I can"t understand their words and am gesturing, I also tried to draw a picture, but how do I put it, the level of knowledge of the parents is not very much different from Colette-chan….
Is Colette-chan too incredible? Or are both the parents like that? I thought about drawing a picture of a world map and asking where this is by pointing, but can not you understand the map? No, my art skills not that bad right? I gesture a phone but they only tilt their head with a black look? Maybe they don"t know the touch-tone type so I tried to imitate the old dial type, gee, corocoro, I worked hard with the sound effects, didn"t I! No, what"s with the applause! I’m not pantomiming to do art!!
I gave up on everything.
Until I recover completely, I"ll do ch.o.r.es in return for staying here for a while, I will prepare food and water then head for town. I will send something as repayment for their help after returning home. That all there is to do.