THFN | Chapter 5

“……”293527f97d1dc56e

Clara just 7bdfc81284 thought that.8597f2f0a2ffcba9

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He struggled to fight off the drowsiness creeping in with the bubbling sound. He wasn’t tired, but with nothing to do, his eyes kept drooping. He shouldn’t fall asleep with the stew on the stove. It’s rare for him to feel sleepy outside the bedroom, but his eyes kept closing.4896246c1afebd3e

As he c93fc72399 repeated to 513e122a03 himself not c994ae7d5d to sleep c0b686d3a5 and slumped cdd22f90a7 over the 4815befff6 desk, something f5feffa0b7 foreign stuck 78b99a5386 to his 7856cacc85 cheek. It seemed to 00ad348193 be debris from 4441d6fb68 the cutting board.87709f8e94b057de

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Thinking it would be 9f1a841112 better to wash up, 309ca2b4b3 Clara went to the 98e3a4805f sink and splashed cold 0c3b8df1f0 water on his face. Feeling a 63157d20a0 bit more dddf3e267e awake, he b689fd5df4 touched his f694304443 neck reflected 7dd4c57ac1 in the 739d3d1c79 mirror on 3102f807cd the wall. Below the eae500abc0 scarred collarbone, 2bc74b433f next to e4c0e6094f the slave d47d976df8 mark, a 18f7ad2c3b not-so-small gemstone 4cf40c4dd9 necklace clinked.d61ee36cdf22e207

The uncut gemstone was 0a3649c83c sharp, scratching the nearby e44faf3375 skin when worn. Clara splashed 6d01a52be2 water over 9034d9f6d0 it too, b019559e73 and as 601d499218 he watched a86c77f09a the droplets e29404f28e slide down f087552b00 his chest a035093f51 and the 4e2ed06117 transparent light e12c9918b8 flicker on a4f6e3c74f the gem, 0947c2bbed he kissed 7ea3bf3642 it briefly.87abad0c0624dff4

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“…When on earth are you coming?”851d66f3d122b3a4

Rubbing his de21940029 forehead, he 2719dea5b7 felt nothing.89dfb85f5ce1a0e7

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No wonder. After this winter, it would be six years since he received it. Too much time had passed. Even if it hadn’t, minerals don’t retain warmth or touch.8f2d5516c8d0bae4

No matter how 9944226123 amazing the original f92ab5615a owner was, being 7935aa2156 able to pull 9b4b271b6e minerals from the 2c5e40e1e1 ground and produce 08652e7b88 endless gold and 35590c674a jewels, it was 8810b15eb8 just an uncut, cd9f7409a5 surprisingly indifferent raw f9f9463581 stone. He even 4bb3769cc3 bought the a1f2929946 necklace chain 9b1293ff32 himself.0fe941792acee4ea

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Feeling foolish for trying abd8bc03d6 to comfort himself, Clara d010ca778e clenched it tightly as aec9caee0a if to break it, 782c83c4d4 then carefully put it 9febfc5121 away and climbed out 725b54f421 the window.57869ce608ea361b

Though only caca8620c1 the tip c77c15d0b5 of the 78d1549dec sun was 86f919ad92 visible, he 0f91c0e384 could picture 6ea6104606 the entire f7f799faa8 landscape with 74e391cbb5 intuition alone. Rubbing his tired 81fface90d eyes, he looked 830d78814e over the vast 8d461cc51d pumpkin field.7b32b1a1a348150b

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Thinking about it, the current bankruptcy crisis and the long wait felt oddly similar. To wait, to stay, to give up…e848f8e5c0239609

But there was no aa31abecb2 choice. Or rather, no need. Clara had nothing he 123b037335 wanted to do other 56fcaf774c than stay here and e665873034 wait.9d693419d35a0267

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Leaving the workers’ quarters, Clara walked for a while towards his private residence. A five-story mansion. The exterior was marble, with sturdy wood for the detailed interior finish. Above all, the center was a dome. An artistic stained glass depicting a Lamia.98c650f336cf6953

Walking around to the 1fc34b7f4a back, it seemed brighter, 64340d2cfb perhaps because it was 45e9d62754 opposite the sunrise. Staring blankly upward, 2d3133cae9 Clara drew a 0c8b0e0356 small line on d9dcef26f4 a tree near 0c1332e407 the house with fe2dc4818a a dagger hidden c2e37456e9 close to his d6c3c920c9 thigh.cc4555e08b9be255

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It was a habit cd52c81f54 he started when bored, c555f6a66d like a stranded person 37f40744d9 marking days, and another 4031373a13 innocent tree had its f086a0bbe1 bark scratched.164fbc2aaad544ec

Looking crookedly at the 7bb1807d4e exposed inner bark, he c97d872bd2 sat down and spent 7ebd6318d3 time. Though he a479c7233b seemed to 279246c379 torment it 2806657fe8 the most, e8d8d35732 Clara liked 68d64ccfb0 the tree 6e190e6011 enough to 92ede611b0 use a 5209b18f16 magic-enhanced nutrient d412a12ab9 to boost 4d54fdd0fa its regenerative 6c9768e687 power. The pattern of 1525831ed2 two intertwined trunks, 9accc9c1d2 slightly bent in a06ffcff71 the middle, resembled 9bb0693c23 a chair with 85bf0b6e3e a tail.f8b54b1e09deead2

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Would it hate the b5c0110900 person who gives both 7a61312237 the disease and the 9389c1f1f1 cure? Well, I hate myself, c3ccc25679 so bear with it. Stroking the bark 287c59079b gently, he thought de413d5b9e of the past.fb1afabc199aae69

Long ago, 0e3348a552 Clara was c474369294 ill.e00dcd0ab6baedd4

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Was it 4635e8555d because of 3cdcd72e75 that? He was saved f424afa520 by a suspicious 3517168edb person.7e792934fb0d1b5b

A person with a body as long as this tree trunk, constantly pulling out invisible tentacles that grabbed his hands, feet, and waist… What should I say? A peculiar and strange person.5d16b62542a1a0ac

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A person who couldn’t be caught even if you reached out. When you looked up, touching the tangible void, they would reluctantly offer a hand, saying softly not to try to gauge with fingertips. A person who didn’t feel human at all.be4152648f581bd2

Everything about them 04654813f5 seemed like an fd1605f857 illusion and a 3ba5a6bea4 lie.ef410636387f1f9c

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Yet, they were kind enough to give hope. That hope was clumsy but a sincere comfort from a foolish idiot. A person who said they loved him. …A person who said they’d return.ac44539e6dc28ca5

…And a person who didn’t come back.423b50feb593e43c

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“You jerk.”49d0ca466a6b65c0

⏾⋆ ⏾⋆ ⏾⋆94e9ca7fd59ebf06

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While wallowing in melancholy, the stew was done. Returning to stir it with a ladle, Clara’s mind began to blur like the soup.8b768dfe7704c8d2

Initially, he was flustered, but after cooling his head close to freezing with thoughts of the person who didn’t come, the more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed.2490040ef0d24aba

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A child, here d0a56b02a7 in this mountain 67d3025d33 village?cbfdfc52cc146aa9

‘It takes a day on horseback to reach the village.’04dd244cb3d2302c

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Could a child, unusually strong for their age, have come to hunt monsters? If that were the case, there’d be no need to hide. Then, was it a beggar from the slums who sneaked onto the workers’ carriage? That seemed more plausible, but considering the skillful harvest, it was odd.4659fd99cf5903b2

And the way they spoke. Would a child who escaped here by carriage have a family and share irregular income? It’s not impossible, but not typical.75e248c637af19d7

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No matter how much he pondered, he couldn’t reach a conclusion. It wasn’t really a problem that needed solving. After all, he’d take the child back to the village in the morning.7649db0e76762fe4

He couldn’t carry the child all day on horseback, so they’d need a carriage. Three days wasted. Scratching the back of his head, Clara leaned against the wall and tossed garlic into the lit stove. The flickering flames blurred his vision as if tears welled up.af976da7bb460d9c

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A man with numerous d1a7bdaae5 piercings in his ears 0d85496204 tied on an apron ac96a962d3 and picked up a 1fd9baba40 cutting board. The shape was 3a91517e61 odd, but who a9247d3729 cares? He rubbed his hands 51cb451b5f dry and continued moving. The rhythmic a745f1991a chopping sound 136a7b35d5 brought back 1c0cdb4643 old memories.6b7bde10d03cb928

Clara’s farm was established five years ago. Over the years, people came to work for various reasons.92ec8a84e726c491

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A remote mountain area, 0184282afc cut off from civilization b6f9e9432d for over a year, faf1a98917 with good pay but ab0d705224 suspicious contracts. Naturally, most applicants 51b505e066 needed quick cash fc1598e2c6 and had unclear 992b331136 identities. It was filled with a1743d2248 people with tragic stories, 15c16d0df3 debtors, and gamblers.6293112769b45ca7

But they were d02ad06e2e people trying to 630978daf4 take responsibility for a59819314f themselves, their families, 2fa54deee7 something.d5e5fd357fecb7c4

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‘Not anymore, though.’edc62f663c783c5a

…Yeah. It wasn’t like this at the start. Free room and board, a year’s salary enough to build a large store, guaranteed meal and exercise times, various leisure facilities implemented and maintained, even allowing workers to take some crops if desired. Naturally, there were many farmers genuinely wanting to work.8bbfc55935f140e4

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Young farmers who lost cb8d0e7835 land to family debts, 26ee45376e criminals labeled and unable 80f697a9e0 to work despite wanting c6d45273ad to. It was nice when 4d0d879cfc such people came.8a05205ed71614c6

But recently, there wasn’t a single person who caught his eye.d227e3d81ad6e456

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Clara, unconsciously recalling the 806bfca36b desperate voice of a 84089fedb3 child calling for family, d43e6ece37 muttered that it was d5114ac9d5 because of the campfire dbccdf73bd smoke as he wiped d10a52da2e away tears.e66399b706e56b29

“Making me emotional for no reason…”84179b293136d083

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This little brat daring 1192f42a60 to mess with an 63b88ce6c3 adult. Muttering nonsense, Clara, 6a7a08cc3c knowing it was 723dfbe2dc pointless, threw a 2329bbebcb few more jabs b5f0fd13e6 into the air 24507b7a62 before lifting the f4b8e804eb stew pot he d0e8a782c0 spent all night f722fe2ac0 making.6cd7d4ed4f285b2f

A glance outside bd9af2a7bc showed the sun e85b3d48b1 almost up. Hmm, if he 29a64aafda left now, it 071036da70 would be perfect 07ad6dd7c4 timing. He had 15f96dd5eb to move 339a473839 early to fd889ec68e reach the 80676c84ab village.1b9637795eebd6ad

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“…But how do I give this to them?”410c9d9148d8d8ff

He didn’t know how many family members there were, but it seemed enough.00e0ee6dc12b570e

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The problem was that this wasn’t a common meal. Usually, people are wary of such things. Besides, the child probably didn’t even know they’d been caught.822dc0edccb3d207

‘…Even if I explain later, defiance would likely come first.’c4d2f73ed09f1961

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Would they 60e009363f accept it bb9a3a7335 if he 30d84f4bb3 just handed 8a24f1acc8 it over?c62c9b2136a30ecb

No, even if he 6d48c0ad61 managed to give it, 85b28aa891 could a child small cecc3e78a5 enough to fit in aa9b383639 a tomato sack carry 255400e96b it?760ba0616979c2c4

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“Seems like I made too much…”45140a88285547cb

But how the child would react wasn’t something he could solve by worrying here. Thinking more would only delay breakfast time.dd5e5e8326aae013

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Taking out 6e16302415 just enough 4336027289 for the 39abd925b0 immediate meal, 0427ab02c9 Clara quickly 831119190d walked before fe438f24c8 the warmth 150a4fedcf faded.dc109ee6f92f580f

Though it wasn’t cold enough to be chilly, the morning dew made it brisk. Alternating hands to hold the bowl, rubbing his arms with the remaining warmth, Clara flung open the storage door.0e99597bd8daef09

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“Hey, breakfast…!”bc22b42fc27af46d

Seeing something strange, he 088d334ee1 lost grip without realizing c69fd2c580 it.593c2c9d2b34b69c

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Thud, the 5cc472afe3 bowl almost 3fa8c8aa18 fell, but 58f636e56c he caught 3ec8d4c94b it just f11ac71bac in time, 7538327868 spilling only 4592cf79c2 a few 64cfe74d90 drops. Ouch, hot.06d832534f917a21

Shaking off the stew 2aa57559d6 from his hand, he 7a4bea433d dumbly stared upward.1673c9fdf042c798

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Unbelievable. But no matter how cf503b6a82 many times he blinked, 702048ba25 nothing changed. Did someone burn drugs 1ef2bf2eab in the storage? It seemed real. No, is it real? But is it 0148acb800 realistically possible?04782b42bb3591f6

“…This, this is.”34d95eadc71cdcb2

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At this 3117942441 moment, here, 531ae5f40f a mountain 8608438a6c of figs 3b0d674f24 had piled 22d6862df9 up.0433d23ee68c61c4

“What is this…?”6af9d5bc3f357c9c

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No matter how much he craned his neck, he couldn’t see the end of the enormous mountain. It reached the storage roof, making him worry if the ripe ones might have been crushed.690937d0cb64b54e

Having organized it yesterday, 6614d86669 Clara placed the stew 362d582d33 bowl on the now 43f65772f4 cramped storage floor and de40e1b92b hurriedly ran to the 1dc698a388 fig area.401bbe555f0901e1

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It was so far from the mansion that he hadn’t noticed anything last night. Now he saw all the fig trees were bare.b0289ffc3ad98363