"We're home!" Sairi's voice echoed as she burst through the door, rousing the snoozing middle-aged man, Kaschet.
Just in time, Mother emerged from the kitchen with a steaming pot.
"Calm down, Sairi. Have some manners, and Rio, please help me arrange some plates on the table," she instructed.
Sairi simply nodded, seemingly oblivious to her mother's words, prompting a sigh from Mom.
"Sure, Mom."
...
'Hmm, Olentail, Golubkeya chicken, oh, that's fancy, and some vegetables,' I thought as I surveyed Mom's cooking on the table.
'Is there an occasion?'
"There you go, I got those fancy chickens from Hunel for a discount," Mom announced with an excited smile. Despite not showing it, her passion for gourmet surpassed most of us; she lived for discovering new flavors.
Glancing at Sairi, I noticed a competitive gleam in her eye, 'Can't you all wait?' Then the aroma hit me, 'Darn, did Mom improve her cooking again!' I looked at Father, 'Hm? He's not affected; wait, he just wiped his lips!'
"Mom! Come on, do your shiny magic already!" Sairi pounded on the table.
I didn't see the point of making the food shiny, but whatever.
With a clap of her hands, Mom spread them out, and the food started to shine sparkly. 'Mom has what they call inborn magic, mostly useless stuff and some even a defect affecting their life, but making things shine doesn't really make it more delicious or anything.' Then I saw Sairi with shining eyes. 'She looks like she's about to jump. Aren't you used to seeing this every dinner already?'
"Well, let's eat!" In a blink of a second, Mom already had a chicken leg on her plate. 'How come she still looks elegant eating!'
"Sairi, eat properly! Have some womanly manners," Mom scolded, irking me for some reason.
"Hmm, but I like licking my fingers," Sairi retorted, earning a stern stare from Mom. She pouted and reluctantly started using the fork.
'Father is already finishing, and I just got my slice. What's with this family?'
"Are you gonna eat that?" Sairi said with a wide smile.
"It's mine," I declared.
"Tsk."
This barbarian woman! Your face doesn't match your attitude!
With a sigh, I dug into my food.
"Rio, sleep early today; you'll be coming with me tomorrow early," Father reminded.
"Ah, yes," I replied.
...
In the kitchen, with both Rio and Sairi asleep, Youya was washing the dishes.
"So, did Rio find it interesting?" Youya asked as she wiped the dishes.
"Well, I suppose yes. He just got there, so I don't really know," Kaschet replied as he arranged the plates Youya passed to him.
"Hmm, is that so?" Then, with a moment of pause, Kaschet suddenly found a green sleeveless shirt in his hands instead of a plate.
"Eh?"
"I don't really recall you working with clothes, dear. Maybe a gift for me? You know that size is too big for my chest," Youya giggled, but Kaschet felt different.
"Uhm, ehem, I think you misunderstood something—"
crack
"Yeah, maybe I did. Maybe I just need to wear some pads, huh?" Youya retorted while still wiping a cracked wood plate.
The night ended up being a long one for Kaschet.
...
The next day
"Hmm? Dad, you look tired today," I asked as we walked down the path, the rising sun casting a gaze upon Father's fatigued face.
"It's nothing; let's go," he replied.
We proceeded to walk down the path, noticing the village starting to wake up. Most adults were getting ready for their work.
As I saw the great plains again, the morning breeze cast its sleepy spell on me.
"Look, Belosh is already waiting for us," Father said, and I noticed Belosh feeding his horse with carrots in the distance. We walked up to him.
"Oho, good morning chief, and kid. Hehe, you'll be coming regularly with your father now, eh? It's always better to learn the ways early," old man Belosh said, waving at us.
"Good morning, starik Belosh," I respectfully addressed him.
(Author's note: I'm not Japanese and wanted to add a word to address an old man instead of 'jisan,' so I added "starik." It makes sense since it is the culture of the East in this continent of my book.)
"Hmm? Old? I'm just in my 70s, you know. I can still catch a Kamenoklyk boar in my bare hands," he retorted. 'At least say that with a straight posture; even your teeth say otherwise.'
"Hm, sure Belosh, are the horses ready to go?" Father inquired.
"Ah yes chief, we are ready to go," Belosh said and hopped on the coachman's seat.
...
Eastern Felsokro Mountain Range, somewhere at the foot of the mountains
The carriage Rio was in arrived. He hopped out of it and stared at the gate of the mines once again. Now he noticed the Olentail head at the top of its entrance, resembling a deer with very sharp blade-like horns.
'That's menacing,' Rio thought.
"Rio, let's go," Kaschet called out, and both of them entered as Belosh went on his own way.
*thing*
*barrel noises*
Still, early in the morning, the mines were already lively and awake. It was currently 6 in the morning; the metalworkers were setting up their anvils and furnaces, and the miners were preparing their clothes for mining.
As Father and I walked, he suddenly stopped and said, "I have to attend in the hall for now. You remember Bennedick and his worker's cabin, right? I want you to hang out there for a while."
"Uhm, can I swim in the waterfall?" Rio asked.
Father pondered for a while and nodded. "Sure, just be careful. I'll be held responsible if something happens to you. Ask Bennedick before doing something you're curious about."
"Yeah, yeah."
"I'm serious, Rio. You're the type who bangs his head on a rock after seeing a goat do it just because he's curious."
"What? That's too much!" Rio snapped back.
"Just be careful, okay?" Father said with a sigh.
"Yeah, fine," Rio replied.
"Well, I'll be going now."
"How long, by the way?" Rio asked.
"Long enough for you to enjoy a bath," he said with a wave and continued walking.
With Father a little further away now, Rio made his way to the more forested part of the mine.
'Hmm, I remember this weird slingshot-shaped tree, hmm, this circle-shaped builder. That means left,' he pondered as he tried to remember the trail. 'Ah, I can already smell the timber.'
As he approached the woodworker's working area, he started to hear the splash of the waterfall and the sound of the saw cutting timber.
"Heyyyy! Hooo!"
"Timber!!"
*sound of a tree snapping*
*Bang*
"Whoa," the word escaped Rio's lips as he saw the workers. Some were carving out the outer layer of wood, some were cutting trees, and some seemed to be cooking by the river. All the men were muscular and lively, covered in their brown tunic shirts, while some chose to remain topless.
'I wonder what the woodworkers do for the mine. Houses?' Rio thought. Then, suddenly, a large arm grabbed his left shoulder.
"Fascinating, eh, boy?"
"Mr. Bennedick?" Rio blurted out, spooked by a smiling hunk of a man with long brown braided hair, still topless.
"Hehe, come, I'll show you what a man is. And yes, we still drink milk if we want to. Most depends on where it came from. HAHAHAHAHA!" said Bennedick as he kept slapping Rio's shoulder.
'It hurts! His hand is as big as my head!'
"And just call me Uncle. Come, follow me."
Rio nodded and slightly massaged his shoulder as Bennedick went ahead and called his men.
"MEN! The chief's son is here for a visit. Let's show him the way!"
*Yelling men*
"We'll sure show him."
"My buns will sure inspire him."
"I'll tell you all the tricks to get a woman, kid."
'Dad, why did you send me here? Is this a new type of punishment?'
*******
Daily world facts: Olentail - deer-type poke- I mean animal, its skin is the best leather in the east. It feeds in the Felsokro mountain range, and its favorite food is the fruit of Felsokro trees. It has blade-like horns that branch out; they're sharp but fragile and could grow back in 2 days.
Felsokro stands for golden range, as its tree's leaves turn gold in season. The mountain range stretches 1/3 of the continent in a curve, covering the mining towns and villages. It also serves as a wall to the great eastern plains.