I took Ryoku with me to the Hummingbird Har village.
When I led everyone to the village, we didn’t encounter any escorts this time. Instead, a man holding a flag was standing at the entrance. He was yawning lazily while sitting on a nearby rock.
He slid down from the rock when he noticed us.
“Whoa, you actually came. Uh, hello. You guys are the chieftain’s guests, right?”
“Hello. Are you perhaps our guide?”
“That’s what I was told to do. I mean, I’m not exactly free, but oh well. Come on.”
He then started walking somewhere with his flag. It felt like being with a bus guide.
“I’ll take you to where you’re staying. Well, honestly, it’s not like there’s a place big enough for you guys to stay in.”
Knowing that, I was curious about where we would be taken.
“Here you go, this is it.”
After about ten minutes of walking, we arrived at a space near a stream. There were no buildings around, so I assumed they were allowing us to camp here. There was water, and it was a quiet, good spot.
“Thank you. I appreciate the trouble.”
“No problem. I’m free now. Oh, no, I’m not free, exactly. I’m a weather forecaster. That’s how I make a living, thanks to this guy.”
The man pointed to his shoulder. A slug was there. I almost instinctively took a step back.
“Is that your spirit?”
“That’s right, isn’t it cute? This guy is sensitive to moisture, so he can tell when it’s about to rain or on foggy days.”
“Well then,” he said, and left. It’s true that everyone is different, and I never expected something like this to be a spirit. I shouldn’t say this, but it feels like there’s too much luck involved. What if your spirit isn’t an animal you like? For example, if you wanted to be a hunter but ended up with a squirrel spirit. Would that be enough to disqualify you?
For the time being, I unloaded our luggage and set up the camp. Right, where did Ryoku go? Huh, I can’t see him. Then I saw him hiding behind a tree.
“Were you hiding there? Hey, want to walk around the village a bit? I want to go see the chieftain.”
He made a slightly displeased face, but seeing the nearby grass rustle, he reluctantly followed. Perhaps the forest spirit told him to go. It’s like a motherly presence to him. I wonder when he started living alone in the forest.
As we walked side-by-side, he was very quiet. It might be because he can’t hear, but it’s a shame he can’t convey what he wants to say. Right, something struck me: there was the method of sign language!
In the world I came from, people who couldn’t hear could communicate using sign language. Is there no such thing in this village? How did people who were born with disabilities live before?
“Hey, aren’t you hungry? Want to eat something?”
I patted his shoulder and pretended to eat. I wondered if those steamed bun-like dishes were sold anywhere.
“I, uh, just ate a bun about this big earlier.”
I gestured exaggeratedly. Seeing that he understood, Ryoku walked off somewhere. The place he headed towards was lined with many buildings and buzzed with the sound of people, like a shopping street. A delicious smell wafted from one of the shops. Steamed buns, fresh from the steamer, were lined up in front of the store.
No, it wasn’t just one. There seemed to be quite a few shops selling these buns. The flavors varied from shop to shop. There were savory ones, as well as sweet ones with jam. Do they eat these regularly?
“You can buy whatever you like.”
I handed him some small change and pointed to a store. Ryoku looked up at me, his face asking if I was going.
“It’s okay, try doing what I did. Point to what you want. And you have the forest spirit. You can understand what the other party is saying, right?”
I pretended to write numbers on my palm with my finger.
“This is how you convey the quantity. One, two. Do you know how to write numbers?”
I took his wing and showed him how to write. Can he read and write a little? But the only writing I saw in the diary was his own name.
“It’s okay, go ahead. I’ll wait for you here. Look, everyone would be surprised if I went out there. No one would think twice about Ryoku.”
Ryoku grudgingly took the money and headed towards a nearby store. Just as I taught him, he pointed to one of the products and wrote the quantity on his wing. At first, the store clerk seemed confused about what was happening, but after some conversation, he nodded, and it seemed they understood.
Ryoku returned with a bag containing the items.
“See? You did it. Let’s go back and eat.”
He seemed surprised that his intentions had been understood.
