I took the easy way out because of my position, but talking to Mr. Jekyll is one of my least favorite things to do. When it comes to logic, profit and loss, I can understand even if I cannot agree. Therefore, I can reach a compromise or be cornered. However, when someone speaks to me only with emotions, even if I can be convinced, there is no way to roll with it.
If someone says, “I don’t like Ash,” I can understand and accept, surely there is no one my age that is this creepy. I can do that. With that kind of understanding and conviction if I were to ask him, “What’s bothering you, then?” the only response I would get would be “I hate you.”
I could try to find out from Jekyll’s friends, but since I hadn’t interacted with any of them before, it would take a long time, especially since we had just recently become enemies.
The more I thought about it, the more troublesome it became. I have no choice so I’ll force it to be a story of profit and loss. Mr. Jekyll may feel threatened, but the other side has blatantly shown violence before. Compared to that, my persuasion, which may sound like a threat, will be cute. Isn’t that right? So I called out to Mr. Jekyll, who was sitting alone by the river, in a friendly manner.
“It’s almost dusk, Mr. Jekyll. Are you sure you don’t want to go home?”
Jekyll-kun, who had shown no reaction when Miss Tanya called out to him earlier, turned around as if surprised. Rather, he was seriously surprised.
“What do you want? Is this payback for what I did to you before?”
If we had a normal fight, Mr. Jekyll would win in a hundred percent of cases, so what is he so cautious about? I would like to assure you that there is no need to be, because if I were to harm you in any way, I would take care of you without even speaking to you.
“I’m not trying to get back at you. It’s almost night and I saw a familiar face sitting there, not moving, so I just called out to you. Is that strange?”
It was not surprising, since all the villagers seemed to know each other. Especially since it is a riverside area where there is a risk of accidents.
“Leave me alone. Go away.”
“Then why don’t you go over there, Mr. Jekyll? It seems that Miss Tanya has just returned home. I saw that she looked worried. Shouldn’t you stay with her?”
“It’s none of your business!”
He reacts very strongly to Miss Tanya’s name. He seems to be quite concerned about it.
“It’s true that you and I have nothing to do with each other, Jekyll. However, Miss Tanya and I have a lot to do with each other. It’s not that I care about you. I care about Miss Tanya.”
Jekyll seemed to be somewhat hurt by my words and bit his lip in frustration. I’m sure he would be very upset if the person he even started a fight with told him he was dealing with his sister as a bonus.
I’m sorry, but it’s the absolute truth. I’ve been thinking that I should make a relationship with Jekyll and the other youngsters, but I’ve been putting it off. That has made this whole hassle even more troublesome. If I can be honest about my laziness, I’d rather just cut off all interaction with this age group. But that’s not going to happen, so I have to use words that may sound threatening.
“These days, Miss Tanya looks worried no matter what she’s doing, even when she’s in the forest with Mr. Van.”
This is a lie. Miss Tanya looks very happy when she is in the forest with Mr. Van, so you can rest assured that you are being deceived.
“Do you know how dangerous it is? To be in a place where a slight slip of the foot could cause serious injury and to have worries that distract Miss Tanya’s mind.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes, I do. So, although there were many things that happened with Mr. Jekyll, I thought for the sake of Miss Tanya’s safety, I would let bygones be bygones and have a talk with him. You don’t want anything to happen to your sister, do you, Jekyll?”
If you don’t agree to a proper discussion, your sister, Miss Tanya, will be in danger. This is a sincere statement that may sound like a threat.
“That’s a given…….You’re her only family……and you’re causing her a lot of trouble.”
Just as I had hoped, Mr. Jekyll’s condition became more mature. He seems to be in a state of rebellion and has a pouty attitude, but he’s worried about his sister.
“I’d like to help you if I can.”
“That’s…….”
Apparently aware of this, Mr. Jekyll looked at me very awkwardly. It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s a path that all people take, so there’s nothing to be ashamed of. I know you are embarrassed.
“If it’s hard to say, I’ll keep your secret. You see, I’m not very close to your friends, Jekyll, and they won’t know.”
“……Absolutely, okay? If you tell anyone about it, you’re out of luck.”
“I promise.”
I know that promises are meant to be broken, but I don’t say it out loud. Once I had convinced Jekyll to trust me, he finally spoke up. The mind of an adolescent is a delicate and troublesome thing.
“Well, you know……you know that my sister and brother Van have been getting along pretty well lately, right?”
I nodded honestly, since I think I probably know him much better than Mr. Jekyll. He also adores Mr. Van as his older brother, doesn’t he?
“So, if things go on like this, I’m afraid he’ll get married to my sister…”
Perhaps embarrassed to say the word “marriage,” Jekyll spoke in a muffled voice that was very difficult to understand. It’s kind of cute. In the course of this story, I wonder if he is rebelling because he is lonely, thinking that his sister will be taken away. It’s not surprising, since she is his sister instead of his mother.
“Is that why you are lonely?”
“No, not at all!”
Blushing, Mr. Jekyll shakes his head. I don’t think it’s strange, but he doesn’t want to admit it.
“It’s not like that. It’s just that……it’s probably my fault that my sister hasn’t had that……kind of thing before.”
“Oh, I see.”
Miss Tanya is still young, but in this village, sixteen is a respectable age. If her parents had died early and she was worried about her financial situation, it would have been natural for her to get married even earlier.
However, since she had a younger brother, Miss Tanya was so busy taking care of him that she did not agree to the marriage proposal. This was probably partly because she was worried about how her brother would be treated after the marriage. I think the biggest factor is because of Miss Tanya’s feelings for him, which Mr. Jekyll doesn’t seem to be able to think of.
“I like brother Van. I know he’s a good guy but he can be a little scary.”
“Mr. Van, it’s not very talkative.”
I couldn’t help but agree, and Mr. Jekyll smiled a little and nodded.
“That’s the thing; sometimes I feel a little scared.”
His expression tightened, and Mr. Jekyll clenched his fists, his young face serious.
“I don’t want to be in the way. I want my sister to be happy.”
His profile looks like the face of a respectable adult. It is the face of an independent person who has her own will and cares for others. However, he still lacks power.
“So, even if I left home, I didn’t know where to go or what to do…….I couldn’t help it; so I couldn’t talk to my sister well.”
The strength drained from his hands, and he nodded pathetically.
“I see. You are wondering if there is anything you can do to help Tanya, you don’t want to cause her any trouble. “
“Yes, well……”
So, on the contrary, he’s making Miss Tanya feel uncomfortable. I think it’s ironic, but I don’t feel bad about it. The brother is worried about the sister, and the sister is worried about the brother. They live in an impoverished rural village, and yet, they cannot lose the love of their flesh and blood. For me, who is so simple as to be inspired by the stories in the book and get hope to live, there is no story that I want to be a part of as much as this one.
“Just as well, Mr. Jekyll, there is a craftsman who is in need of an apprentice.”
At any rate, the craftsman, lamenting the lack of manpower, was generous enough to share his secret knowledge with me.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’m sure because I heard it firsthand. We’ve been short of labor for a long time, but the craftsman has been in a hurry lately, so even if you can help him with something simple, he’ll welcome it.”
I’m the one who’s making things hectic, I assure you. I didn’t even have to ask if he could just try it out, before I could, Mr. Jekyll bowed his head to me.
“Ash, please! Introduce me to this craftsman! I’ll do whatever chores you want!”
It’s very brave of you to make a quick decision without asking what kind of craftsman he is but not barbaric, I can never call him savage now.
“I understand. Then, I will ask the craftsman to visit Mr. Jekyll later. If he takes care of Mr. Jekyll, I’m sure the craftsman will talk to Tanya about you.”
“All right. I’ll be counting on you!”
After bowing deeply, Mr. Jekyll looks up with a mixture of enthusiasm and nervousness. There was no need to be so nervous, but I would not tell him that. I’m really looking forward to seeing how Jekyll reacts to the arrival of a quiet and unsociable hunter. I wonder if I can spy on him from somewhere.
＊＊＊＊
Later, I had to be chased around by Mr. Jekyll, who had successfully apprenticed himself to Mr. Van.
“Wait, wait, wait! Why didn’t you just say so? You really freaked me out when my brother told me out of the blue!”
“You’re the one who agreed to it before I told you! If you had asked me, I would have told you!”
I don’t deny that I didn’t dare to tell you because you didn’t ask. Anyway, I think this will make all sides of the story come to an end. Mr. Jekyll will be able to learn the skills of a hunter and prepare to stand on his own. Mr. Van will be able to fill the shortage of hunters with me and Mr. Jekyll.
Learning the skills of a hunter means knowing how to walk in the forest and helping Miss Tanya with her beekeeping activities. When Mr. Van and Miss Tanya become husband and wife, Miss Tanya can move into Mr. Van’s house or Mr. Van can move into Miss Tanya’s house. The vacant one will be used by Mr. Jekyll as he likes. Both houses belong to Jekyll’s family, so there’s no need to be shy about taking them over.
No one will lose anything, which is a great result in my opinion. So why am I being chased by Mr. Jekyll? I don’t understand it at all.
“Yes, Mr. Jekyll, why don’t you join the church study group? If you can learn beekeeping, you’ll be able to help Miss Tanya more!”
“Shut up! I don’t care! Also, how am I supposed to learn?”
“You will if you study! And I don’t want to be yelled at!”
“Then teach me how to study!”
“Alright!”
“Thanks, Ash!”
“You’re welcome!”
But before saying thank you, could you please stop chasing me? Even though I was trained by walking in the forest, it was still quite tough to compete physically with Mr. Jekyll, who was older and bigger than me. I have a policy of not submitting to unreasonable violence, so in the end I escaped with my guts. Do I have to keep doing this until I get thrown down once?