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Chapter 6, Part 5: Yuuji, Fleeing from Reality while Constructing Yaranga Outside the House
Chapter 6, Part 5: Yuuji, Fleeing from Reality while Constructing Yaranga Outside the House
Chapter 6, Part 5: Yuuji, Fleeing from Reality while Constructing Yaranga Outside the House
Translator: Yukkuri Oniisan
Editor, Proofreader: So-Chintzy
It was the morning after Yuuji had been informed by Kevin about the legal way? to enter the city.
It was also the morning after Yuuji had requested Kevin to obtain a slave.
Seeing the exhausted expression on Yuuji’s face, Kevin called out to him in confusion.
?Yu-Yuuji-san, what’s wrong!? Are you alright??(K)
“Yes, I’m alright, hahaha”, Yuuji laughed feebly. No matter how you looked at it, it was an annihilated expression. He had to endure the talks with his imouto, Sakura.
Well, although he called them talks, they were only limited to text on yesterday Skype chat.
Alice was “Kevin ojii-chan, morning!” greeting in full spirit, but Kotarou was looking at Yuuji with a cold stare, as if saying, “You reap what you sow, this big idiot(obaka).”
?Eh, well, if Yuuji-san himself that you are alright then…… Anyway, on my next visit, I will come bringing the people, livestock and goods. I am sorry, but in addition to those three people, could I also bring along my two exclusive bodyguards, whom I always work together with, to this place? They wouldn’t leak the secrets to the outside and I also won’t talk to them about the Visitor thing. It was them who corrected that adventurer trio, so they are trustworthy people.?(K)
?Hmm…… Yeah well, I understand. That’s right, about the petition for the Pioneer’s Land and Pioneer Citizen’s application, I need to expand this place a bit more, right……??(Y)
Although he was worried, Yuuji agreed.
Although he had consulted with the bulletin board residents, rather than living in hiding like this or cultivating the land to produce food, he chose to enter the city even for just one time.
Certainly before he could have a comfortable lifestyle, the current situation was not ideal. If something happened to Kevin, then Yuuji will quickly be at risk of dying from hunger. Then, he either needs to attempt to eat bugs, to eat monsters, starving to death, or perhaps sending Alice by herself to the town and have her challenging “My First Errand”.1 Even if Kevin is safe, if he betrays Yuuji, then Yuuji will be checkmated.
?Also, I wanted to become an intermediary so that the application can go smoothly. Around autumn, I will return with the food, goods and slave. Before the snow falls, I will return to the capital. I will ask the president of the company, where I trained before, to write a letter of introduction so that the lord or the magistrate will personally process the Pioneer Citizen application. I planned to conceal the Visitor part one way or another, but…… Yuuji-san said to postpone it, but please think about whether or not to reveal the fact that you are a Visitor to the lord or magistrate when I come again in the autumn.?(K)
After leaving a quite big homework, Kevin the peddler finished his third visit and departed.
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?Alright Alice, let’s put up the tent!?(Y)
Raising his fist overhead, Yuuji shouted energetically. By no means was this was out of desperation.
“Ooo~!”, Alice also raised her small fist and followed Yuuji.
Kotarou had went out to patrol the surroundings.
During Kevin the peddler and the adventurers’ visit, she was always accompanying Yuuji or Alice and so, it’s been awhile since her last patrol. “Woof”, she made a bark, as if to say, “I shall leave for a short walk”, before leaving the house.
Near Yuuji’s foot was the lumber that he had placed and left alone after last year’s lumbering for drying. He had chosen the especially thin long ones that were as straight as possible. The length was about 4 meters per piece.
The location was at the western side of the Houjou Family’s House site. It was right next to the hedge behind the garage.
?Hmm, the place without trees is perhaps around this place. First I need to flatten the ground……?(Y)
?Flatten this place? Yuuji-nii, can Alice try her magic? But, Alice doesn’t know if this will work or not……?(A)
?Y-yeah, that’s right, Alice! If you do it, then it will become awfully easy.?(Y)
“Un, Alice understands”, Alice answered energetically.
Yuuji looked at the forest’s trees with a distant look. Since his chat with his imouto, Sakura, Yuuji sometimes showed this kind of expression. Fleeing from reality.
?Ummmm, Ummmm……. Mr. Earth, become flat!?(A)
Alice held her hands up before she clapped her hands on the ground.
Then, a 2 meter diameter are of dirt flattened into a smooth leveled ground. The ground sunk about 50 cm, so perhaps this was an application of the ground sinking magic she had used for tree roots removal.
?Oh, it was a success in one-hit! As expected, Alice is so amazing.?(Y)
Yuuji patted Alice’s head with a rustle.
While saying, “Stop it Yuuji-nii, the hair will become messy” and squealing, Alice smiled widely and didn’t move her wobbly body. She was greatly delighted in getting praised by Yuuji.
?Then Alice, can I leave the rest to you??(Y)
?Un, of course!?(A)
Yuuji had blatantly used a little girl. But this is something that couldn’t be helped. After all, it was only leaving a job to someone who could do it.
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?Alright! Since the ground has become flat, the preparation is OK! The insulation will be the fallen leaves collected when autumn…… First, we need to put the supports. Since it will be dangerous, Alice can just look from the side, alright??(Y)
Finally it was Yuuji’s turn.
What Yuuji was constructing was a tent called the Yaranga, which was the home of the Reindeer Chukchi2 people of Northern Siberia. Several long rods, that were diagonally placed together and tied at the apex, functioned as the supports, which then covered with a cloth or reindeer skins. Since the apex has a small aperture, a stove could be operated inside and so, it was a simple dwelling suited for the northern region. They could even pass through an intense winter in this.
For the structure, it was almost similar to the tipis of the indigenous people of the American plains3. The differences were the insulation of the skin or cloth that covered the base or support, and whether the fire used inside was used mainly for heating or cooking.
The most famous simple dwelling was the Mongolian’ yurt, but according to the bulletin board residents,?This has wooden latticework layers on the outside frame, the degree of difficulty will be higher, so it is out of question.?
Since there was no circular saws or hand planes4, it would be hard to produce board at Yuuji’s current situation and even though there was no need to be mobile, a structure from piled wooden poles was easy to construct …… The residents’ had such a mysterious fixation on this.
Well, obviously, Yuuji didn’t know any of these. His knowledge was something that was handed down from the bulletin board members’ lecture.
Yuuji took out the stepladder used to maintain the tree in the garden. He placed it on the ground smoothened by Alice and then climbed over it.
First he drove three wooden poles into the ground and then tied them with climbing rope on the apex. By the way, the knot he used was also knowledge he procured from the Internet.
Yuuji descended the stepladder and leaned several poles around the three poles. After he leaned ten-or-so-odd poles, this time he put several thick short timbers against the poles so it wouldn’t fall down.
Yuuji climbed the stepladder once more and tied the apex once more with climbing rope. After this finished, he took out blue tarpaulin from the prefab shed and spread it over the poles.
?Alright! We will leave the cold insulation like cloth or fallen leaves for the latter, for now, let’s check that this won’t collapse!?(Y)
?Hooray! Hey, Yuuji-nii, today let’s stay in this place!?(A)
It seems that the yaranga had tickled Alice ‘s adventurous spirit.
?Alright, Alice, then let’s stay here for tonight. Kotarou and I will take turns to stand watch, so it will be alright. This is what they call camping!?
“Ye~ah, camping, camping.” Alice jumped up and down while shouting so. She was a girl who led a life of survival in another world, but the word “camping” had enough charms to make her excited.
Yuuji was concentrating in his work, so his memories of the talks with Sakura escaped his mind. His run-down expression, as if he was a salesman working for a black company5 who couldn’t increase his sales’ number, had been remarkably softened. As if the train had stopped. Although, to begin with this world didn’t have any train.
It had been 2 hours since Yuuji had started working.
Even though it was finished earlier, thanks to Alice’s magic that had smoothly flattened the ground, the yaranga was something that would be completed in less than half a day either way.
What greatness the wisdom of the crowds was, that even someone like Yuuji could create a place to dwell in such a short of span of time.
Note:
1Hajimete no Otsukai (My First Errand) is a Japanese Reality TV Show where young children are asked to buy some things from local the store or do some chores, which was then secretly filmed. It is really popular. Just google it…
2The Chukchi tribes who lived inland, to differentiate from the Maritime Chukchi, who lived on the coast.
3Well… Native American, American Indian, Amerindian, etc… I try to avoid any naming controversy here…
4A tool for shaping wood using muscle power to force the cutting blade over the surface of a material, usually to render it smooth. For Indonesian readers: Ketam/Pasah/Serut.
5Black company, in case you forgot, is a business that exploits their employee (substandard wage, no overtime pay, etc.)