I Hit the Back of the Tower Master’s Head - Chapter 14

Episode 14

After taking a long nap, it was already dark. I opened the door and stepped out of the room. The smell of sausages filled the air. Had Ruth woken up? I waved at Lulu and Pinocchio and lightly knocked on my mother’s door before opening it. A soft chill brushed across my face.

The blanket gently puffed up and sank again. I carefully looked around the dark room, but I didn’t notice anything frozen. Lulu, who had been standing nervously behind me, relaxed when she saw there was no ice and placed the dusting tool back in its spot.

It’s about time to eat, maybe I should wake him up? I cautiously approached the bed and uncovered Ruth, who was buried under the blanket. As I pulled the blanket down, Ruth, still asleep, was visible. His golden eyelashes fluttered regularly. He looked like a wax doll. I wondered if my mother had made a jointed doll like Pinocchio in that size, would it look like this?

I slowly reached out and removed the silence. Ruth’s shoulders shook a couple of times under my hand, then he jolted and pushed my arm away. Finally, his dark blue eyes appeared, still half-closed. Ruth muttered and made groaning noises.

“…You…? What time is it?”

[It’s 7 o’clock. Time for dinner. We slept a lot.]

Ruth rubbed his eyes and checked the notebook I held up. He yawned lightly and messed up his hair. He nodded a little and returned the notebook to me before pushing the blanket off. Then, he looked around at his hands and the blanket.

[Nothing is frozen.]

I lightly waved the notebook in front of him, and he nervously touched his mouth, looking embarrassed. Through the open door, the smell of rich soup wafted in. Grrr, Ruth’s stomach grumbled quietly. The silence filled the air, so we both clearly heard it.

[I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it.]

“Using that as an excuse isn’t pretending, though.”

Ruth’s ears turned slightly red. I chuckled quietly and left the room. The sound of Ruth tossing and turning in the bed lingered faintly in my ears.

Throughout our meal of sausages and tomato soup, Ruth couldn’t make eye contact with me.

The next morning, breakfast was some bread. After eating as much as I could, I felt full. Once breakfast was finished, Annie came to visit with a basket in her hand.

“Lunar, do you want to go mushroom picking with me? I’ll also check on the wild berries.”

[Wait a second.]

I adjusted the ribbon on my apron, tied my hair up, and grabbed a basket. Ruth, who had just been tending to a bandaged wound, awkwardly greeted Annie.

“…Hello.”

“Hi, Ruth. How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine. No problem.”

“Glad to hear that. Get well soon.”

Annie cheerfully said and then waved at me. I gave instructions to the dolls.

‘If Ruth says he wants to go for a walk, make sure to go with him. Especially Pinocchio.’

They all nodded listlessly.

“…Have a good time.”

Ruth said softly. I nodded lightly and left the house with Annie. The sunlight was strong. Should I have worn a hat? I shielded my eyes from the sun and walked deeper into the forest.

“Lunar, be careful. There’s a beehive there.”

At Annie’s warning, I looked up and scanned the trees. I saw a fairly large beehive attached to two trees with the sound of buzzing bees around it. Thinking about the hive made me crave honey.

Would it be nice to mix the remaining chestnuts with honey? Does Viola sell honey?

I slipped the basket onto my arm, opened the notebook, and wrote while avoiding the tree roots.

[Is there anything to fix on the eagle doll? What was its name again?]

“Repair!”

An eagle doll, so its name is “Repair.” A pretty intuitive name. The cat doll’s name was Nyang-nyang, so this one seemed okay by comparison.

“She also likes to fish… But she hates doing laundry.”

Annie grinned as she said that.

“When I tried to wash the dolls, Repair and Nyang-nyang would run into the storage or the closet to hide. Repair’s claws are like stones, and the blankets got all scratched up, so my mom was horrified.”

[Should I make something to cover their claws? Like mittens. In this case, it would be socks, right?]

“If you tell me how to make it, I’ll do it.”

[Just copy the shape of the feet and make it. But I’ll make it better. I’ll put some magic on it to make it stronger.]

“…If it’s not too hard, then please.”

As we chatted, we reached a place full of mushrooms. There were large mushrooms hanging from the trees. We carefully avoided the colorful poisonous mushrooms on the ground and put on gloves.

“By the way, Grandpa Ezra said that the stars will fall in a week.”

The stars? Has it really been that long? I paused in picking mushrooms and snapped a thin twig to write on the ground.

[When did he say that?]

“I saw him this morning. He’ll let everyone know soon.”

The day the stars fall. It happens two or three times a year, and it’s when countless stars that decorate the sky fall to the ground all at once. It doesn’t have any special meaning, but it’s a nice sight, so the whole village usually climbs to their roofs to enjoy hot tea and snacks while watching the stars all night.

“I’ve always wondered, though. How do people know when the stars will fall?”

[The wizards of the Tower of Time watch the weather and discover it.]

“Do all the Time Wizards have control over time? Like, do they rewind time or something?”

[Mostly, they use restoration magic. Like fixing broken things. These days, there aren’t any powerful wizards who can use time magic on living things.]

“Then were there wizards like that in the past?”

[They say there were. A long… long time ago.]

It’s a bit inconvenient that I can’t talk while picking mushrooms, but it’s even more inconvenient to pick mushrooms while talking. I felt bad, but Annie didn’t seem to mind and continued asking questions.

“So how does Grandpa Ezra know? He’s been letting everyone know a week before the stars fall. Does he have someone teaching him?”

[Maybe? He’s a wizard, so he probably has connections.]

But it’s still amazing. Is there really a Time Wizard who can contact people all the way out here in this rural village? I guess he had really strong connections back in the day.

“And, I heard Renier has become a wizard. It’s all over town.”

[Already?]

“Yeah, Flora can’t keep a secret!”

Annie giggled.

“I was going to bake a cake to congratulate her, but the grandmas already sent her tons of them. Theo’s been grumbling for two weeks about just eating cake.”

[Renier must be happy.]

“Yeah, she kept smiling next to Theo.”

Annie smiled to herself, imagining Theo and Renier, before suddenly pointing at a tree with sparkling eyes.

“Oh, Lunar, take that one! It’s huge!”

Annie pushed me toward a mushroom the size of two palms. I slowly approached and pulled it off with all my strength.

By the time we finished picking the mushrooms, the basket was full, so we decided to pick the wild berries later. I took off my shoes and socks and dipped my feet into the stream. Little fish, no bigger than my fingers, swam around my ankles and brushed past.

“Ruth can’t walk much, can he? He must be getting bored staying inside. Shouldn’t he get to see some outdoors?”

[If he’s going to walk around, he needs Pinocchio with him. The wound is worse than I thought.]

“How bad is it?”

I spread my palm to estimate the size. Annie’s face turned pale.

“Did he get hit by a wild boar or something?”

[I don’t know.]

“Should I send him some herbs?”

[I already went to the doctor. Don’t worry about the medicine.]

“Everyone’s curious about him. They wonder what kind of person he is, if he’s doing okay… I think you try to walk around carefully to avoid meeting people, too.”

[It’s awkward.]

“When my mom was sick, she had to eat nourishing food…”

Annie frowned as she thought hard.

“I think I ate chicken or pork when I was sick?”

[He’s getting enough meat.]

“Right, you’ll figure it out… If you ever need something, just let me know. If your house is struggling, you can always go to Theo’s.”

[Thanks, even if it’s just for saying it.]

“It’s not just words!”

Annie exaggeratedly raised her voice, then burst into laughter.

“Our house isn’t doing well. Dad probably won’t be able to get on the roof this time, so he’s just going to lie on the ground and watch the stars.”

[Is your dad any better? What did the doctor say?]

“He’s still the same. The doctor’s saying the same thing.”

Annie’s voice lowered as she spoke.

“He needs rest.”

Her voice sounded so much like the doctor’s, I silently laughed. Then I looked up at the clear blue sky. Would Ruth like to watch the stars?

[Would it be better to go up to the roof instead of watching through the window?]

“I’d rather lie on the ground than watch through the window. Are we not going up this time?”

[Ruth’s hurt, so I don’t know if he can make it up to the roof.]

“Why not just have Pinocchio take him up there?”

Ah, I could just ask Pinocchio. But Ruth had refused to be carried by him. I wonder if he would actually want to go up on the roof with Pinocchio’s help.

Maybe we should just lie in the backyard and watch the stars. Even when my mother was still alive, I always watched from the ground after almost slipping off the roof.

“It would be nice if Uncle Albert baked a lot of bread and shared it again.”

[Our house is probably going to refuse it anyway.]

“Lily’s bread is good, so I guess it makes sense.”

Annie shook her feet, and the fish that had been swimming toward us quickly scattered.

“If Lily lived at our house, she would have to be treated like royalty. This morning, my mom wanted to put fish into the bread for extra health benefits!”

That thought made me shiver.

“I wondered where she got that idea… It seems Grandma Irel shared it with her.”

Grandma Irel loves healthy food… I remember receiving broccoli bread once, and it was pretty awkward.

“If she puts vegetables in it, she won’t tell you. But why the fish?”

[Why not suggest trying something else? Like cookies.]

“I’m worried she’ll bake fish cookies.”

[Then suggest a different hobby instead of baking.]

“…Would making dolls be very difficult?”

[We have books at home, I can lend them to you. I used to study dolls when I was little.]

“Yes, please.”

Annie stood up and, with a wave, placed a handful of mushrooms from her basket into mine. I tried to stop her, but she firmly shook her head.

“Take it! It’s a bribe.”

I gently tapped the mushrooms in my basket. If I make all of these into soup, I’ll have enough for days.