"Who are you two?"
The little girl grabbed the hem of my shirt, her gaze unshakable.
Is she a child from the village? Why isn’t she playing with the others? Before I could answer, she spoke again, already guessing.
"Are you the guests Grandma Shi ntioned to Father? From the city?"
Father? At once I recalled the friendly bald man we t earlier this morning. So this is… his daughter?
Not wanting to scare her, I forced a small, awkward smile and spoke.
"That’s right. We’re just visiting. They say the scenery here is nice."
"... So you really ca from the city."
Her eyes lit up faintly with awe. Then she stepped closer and tugged at my shirt twice.
"Are you going to the river? To bathe?"
"Yeah, I already sll."
"Then let take you there."
I raised my eyebrows.
Grandma Shi had only given us a vague idea of where the river was, and she couldn’t accompany us.
So having a local guide was not a bad thing. But… oh, Yuri only shrugged at . It seed she didn’t mind.
"But are you sure? Don’t you want to play with your friends?"
I glanced at the children who had been playing earlier.
They had stopped and were staring at us, clutching the ball they had been playing with. Maybe curious about what we were talking about.
The girl in front of shook her ssy short brown hair.
Wearing a necklace, she fiddled with the pendant that was clearly just a toy.
"... No. They don’t let join."
"Why not?"
"I don’t know. They said they’d let play if I gave them test answers. But they always scatter whenever I try to join."
… Don’t tell she’s being excluded?
I fell silent for a mont. Her reply was so innocent that I didn’t even know how to respond.
"They… pretend to invite you to play?"
"Maybe. They said I’m boring."
Honestly, I wanted to drag her back to her friends and force them to play together.
But exclusion is not sothing that can be solved that quickly.
So all I could do was lower my head and pat hers gently.
"Alright, let’s go to the river together. Which way is it?"
"Mm, that way."
She pointed toward the forest, completely opposite from the direction of the river we were heading to.
That made wonder.
"Isn’t the river near the village gate? Why that way instead?"
"I have a secret place with a river that’s fresher. The water is clean, no leftover soap from Father’s laundry."
Bathing in water full of laundry soap was the last thing I wanted, so her offer of a cleaner river sounded far more appealing.
Since Yuri said nothing, I took it as approval, and we let her guide us.
On the way, she asked for our nas.
"My mother nad Fina. What are your nas?"
"Ren, and she’s Yuri. We go to the sa school."
"Ren… Yuri…"
The girl, who introduced herself as Fina, mumbled our nas several tis as if trying to morize them.
Her seriousness touched a little. Honestly, I rarely et soone who genuinely tries to rember nas.
After repeating our nas enough to be satisfied, she asked again.
"What’s it like going to school in the city? Are there a lot of students?"
"Hmm, if you ask what it’s like… I’d say it’s a mix. There are fun parts, but also hard parts. Though I think the fun outweighs the tough."
I touched my chin, recalling my school life.
Classes were definitely the hardest part, but I guess it was worth it since now I could start a Ga Club.
"As for the number of students and how big the building is… Yuri, what do you think?"
"... ?"
"You’ve been quiet ever since Fina showed up. She wants to know you too, you know?"
Fina nodded eagerly, watching Yuri closely, waiting for her to answer.
Pressed by both of us, Yuri seed to give in and began speaking.
"Each grade usually has about 300 students… and since there are three grades in high school, that’s roughly… 900 students total."
"That many!?"
Fina’s mouth dropped open in astonishnt. Then she began counting on her fingers.
"M-My school only has 10 students…"
"Where do you go to school, Fina?"
Normally, an elentary school wouldn’t be that small. Did this village have its own school?
Sure enough, Fina pointed to a building.
"I go there. At this ti I’d usually be in class, but today is Sunday. So I don’t have school."
Made of wood, the building looked old, but its fairly large size made it stand out among the other houses in the village.
It reminded of a building in Moondew Valley. Didn’t they have one that looked similar?
Since I didn’t ask anything further, Fina tugged at Yuri’s shirt.
"Hey, Miss Yuri. If your school has that many students, how big is it? Bigger than this village?"
"... I’ve never asured, but maybe around two hectares?"
"Wow! How big is two hectares?"
"About the size of…"
Watching the two of them chatting away, I noticed Yuri’s expression relax little by little with each of Fina’s questions.
Smiling, I followed behind them.
---
The village wasn’t only filled with rice fields. There was also a dense natural forest, as if untouched by human hands.
Fina led us into that forest.
There was no path once we entered. Only mossy rocks and tall, unkempt grass.
Yuri and I carefully held on to trees within reach as we kept walking.
Since my shoes would supposedly make slip, Fina told to take them off before entering.
The sound of running water echoed in the distance.
"Do you co here often, Fina?"
"Mm, Mother said there are no more bears in this village. So sotis I’m brave enough to co alone."
Not long after she said that, Fina pushed aside the bushes blocking the way, revealing a stream flowing through the middle of the forest.
"... This is the river?"
"Pretty clear, right?"
It was more than I imagined. So clear that the sandy riverbed filled with fish could be seen with the naked eye.
Its current wasn’t too strong, but not so weak that it looked still. The sound of water splashing against rocks filled my ears.
Even Yuri, who often bathed in rivers in the countryside, looked impressed. She slowly crouched down by the edge, scooped up so water, and drank it.
Her eyes widened.
"... Tasty."
Tasty what?
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