Chereads / Farah's Fiery Fable / Chapter 16 - Heartburn

Chapter 16 - Heartburn

Today, I am narrating, so let's have lots of fun!

Mom and dad are talking about how we'll be handling Uncle Uri's enemies, I hope it doesn't come to that, but being careful is good.

I should also think of a plan... What if we dig a tunnel to under the restaurant and raid them? Or maybe we could even dig enough dirt to bury the place underground! No, let's think of something more peaceful. What if we just build a wall and shout over to talk? Ooh, let's suggest that one, it sounds peaceful because nobody would have to be nervous from being hurt. Mom said I should raise my hands when I want to speak, so let's do that.

"What is it, young one?" Uncle Uriah responds from the head of the table with his deep voice that echoes a lot. It's time to tell them what I think!

"I think we should build a wall between us and them, then talk it over. That way, nobody would be able to hurt each other!" Hm, they are all smiling, well, except for Uncle Uriah, he seems to be thinking? But since everyone else is smiling it must be a good plan!

Huh, they seem to be shaking...

They aren't laughing at my plan, are they?!

"Pft, y- yeah, it's a great plan, Farah. Good job." "I thought she'd tell us to dig a hole under the place and bury it, kekekekeh."

Dad? I can hear you whispering to mom. Actually, you aren't even whispering! I'm going t-

"Wait, Mister Aodh, I think this plan is actually usable." Uncle Uriah, nice save! Now, everybody's attention is on him, including my own. I can't wait to hear what he would say next since it's my idea.

"But how? It'd take too lo- oh, oh! I see! Yeah, it really could work! But, would he do it?" Dad looked confused, then excited, I think his eyes shined, then back to confused. He looked very funny!

"It's a very creative idea. Thank you, Farah." Hehe, mom praised me today, it's a good day! Dad looks jealous since mom is hugging and patting me, serves him right! Blegh!

"Hey, hey, Barb, this little two-faced kiddo just made a face at me. Isn't she evil?!" Dad started complaining when he saw me, hahahaha! Uncle Uriah is keeping quiet... He totally saw me, is he helping me? Good job!

Uncle Uriah didn't reply to me giving him a thumbs up... Maybe he really didn't see it? Oh, well.

"...Let's get back to topic. Why don't we talk to Carter first? We don't know his capabilities." Dad said something about Sh- master... Are they getting him involved? Why? Oh, mom is going to say something, better ask why after she's done.

"I agree with Dave. Carter seems to specialize in fire magic, more specifically, fireball. We saw him use some pebble and mud magic but nothing big like a wall. If he can't do it, whatever we plan next would be invalid."

O- oh, they're going to have master build walls for them. Magic sure is convenient... If I could build walls with magic, I could sleep anywhere. That'd be nice, wouldn't it? Just wandering around and sleeping wherever you want at night. I could even help people build houses with it. I want to learn magic already! But master told me why already, things have to go step-by-step. If only I can skip the time needed to learn!

Hm? Dad and mom are looking at me?

"What is it? Mom? Dad?"

"Uh, little Farah, what we are going to talk to your master about is a little... adult. Why don't you go help in the fields for now? We'll be gone for a long while."

"Yeah, go get experience so you can grow these things yourself in the future!"

"Might you assist me in tending to the lord's precious gift from the soil, little one? God will surely reward you for your good deeds if you do."

Well, if they all said so, though I had to decipher what Uncle Uriah said, I can't exactly say no, can I? Not that I wanted to anyway, farming seems fun!

"Of course! I'll be waiting, have a safe trip!" I walked them out after they nodded to each other and smiled. Hehe, it's because I was a good girl, wasn't I? Well, now it's time to go help in the fields!

"Big bro! Can I help? I'm super free right now!" I saw that big bro Frank was standing and telling people to do things, so he should know what to do, right? So, I walked up to him and asked just now. He has a weird face right now, though.

"Isn't child labor a crime...? Farah, wait here, I'll consult bro first." He muttered something, told me to wait, then walked away. That all happened too fast! What? I, I guess I should stay here. He looked pretty serious too...

Where is he going... to his house? He did say he's going to go see his bro. Is big bro Fred in there and not also supervising? I thought they'd both be out here after arguing who takes what side! It's nice to see them not argue for once...

Actually, didn't he say he was going to consult big bro Fred? Him? The big bro Frank who always disagrees with big bro Fred? That's weird. Well, that's fine. I'll help stop the fight once it happens! For now, I'll just look at people working... Ooh, Uncle Uri looks like he's having a lot of fun.

Bro came back out... They didn't fight this time! That's super weird, but good for them! Brothers need to get along, don't they? I should congratulate him.

"Congratulations on not fighting with big bro Fred, big bro Frank!" I clapped, gave big bro a thumbs up, and a shining smile! He flinched and put his hand on his face. What a weird gesture, I should ask him what that means once he gets closer.

"...Don't shout that, and take your thumb away. Sigh! Here's your task. You need to help use collect wheat. Do you know how to use scythes?" Big bro raised his eyebrows and stared at me for an answer. Can I use a scythe? Obviously not! My dad was the only one who even worked in a field.

"No, I don't! By the way, big bro, what does this mean?" I repeated the gesture he made and put my hand on my face. It's a little salty.

"...Don't worry about it. Have Uriah teach you, Ah, the scythe, that is. Just, just leave my gestures alone. I'm going back to work now." Big bro Frank made that face again... But learning with Uncle Uriah comes first! Let's quickly get over there!

As I run, I feel the muddy floor really sucking me and slowing me down. It's really annoying! What can I do in this situation? I'll ask master about this tomorrow, since he knows how mud works! For now, I'll bear with it....

"Uncle Uriah! Can you teach me how to harvest with a scythe?!" I called out to Uncle Uriah, and he agreed immediately! He then talked to me in a really long-winded way again... I need to decipher them every time...

"Then, you wield your tool, given by the lord, pointing directly to the Holy Sun. Next..."

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As I struggle to learn, and finally harvesting wheat, I ask other people for advice on how to decipher Uncle Uriah's words. 

"Him? Hm, that's a tough question to answer, lassie. You just have to "feel it."

"Dunno, I usually have someone talk to him for me."

"Uriah, huh? Huhuhu, you should look for keywords and ignore the rest. There, there. You'll figure it out in time."

"Give up, kid. Actually... No, I believe you can do it. Go for it, figure it out, then tell me how."

Everybody gave me a different response, but they aren't very useful... They all basically told me to either give up or figure it out myself! Fine, I'll do it. "Holy Sun"... That's clearly the Sun. Uncle Uriah seems to think it's holy. Is it related to the theory that the Sun is the first magic, casted by God?

"Given by the lord"... that's something he gave to me himself while murmuring something that I can't hear. The "lord" is probably not himself either, since he's not really a lord! I can cut that part out and the sentence still works fine, so let's go with that instead.

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Time moves forward, and I learned some skills, useful or not. I learned how to use a scythe, though I'm not really good at it, I even had to have someone cover for the harvests I ruined, that feels horrible!

Today, I also learned how to decode the words of a pious person, though I would need to study about religion to learn more about it, so I guess this skill is more of a general verbose speech summarization, which might be useful later, who knows?

Enough about skills. Today, big bro Fred and big bro Frank are being weird! They don't fight, big bro Frank is super mean, big bro Fred is shut in the house, he's not even sick! They're not this kind of people... Big bro Fred is much, much more outdoor than Jon. That guy, sigh, he used to only come out when I call for him. He became more of an outside person lately, though, which is good!

I'm getting sidetracked... Why, why are they so different today? They usually fight, but they are chummy with other people when they're apart. They still nag about the other, though.

When did they come to trust each other? They were fighting back in the market!

What's with their behaviors? They're different from usual, and nobody is reacting to it!

What is the cause of this difference? Is it the enemy? Is it the farm? Is it my family coming to the farm? What is it?!

Why...

"Hey, lil' Farah! Thinking about something?"

"EEK!!"

WHO IS IT?!

O- Oh, it's just dad... Now he's covering his ears because I screamed. Everyone's staring at me too...

Awawawa...

"...Dad..." I'm so flustered right now, so flustered that I'm angry at the cause, dad! How dare he laugh at me after all this?!

"David, Farah, what happened?!" Mom, it's because of dad! It's him, he's what happened! But as I was about to speak, dad spoke first.

"Haha, it's nothing, nothing. I just gave our lil' Farah a good scare. She was standing here, thinking about something, and I called out to her. That's all, I swear!"

Grrr... He's right... But... But...!

"You could've at least not shouted! Take that!" I punch and kick dad, but he blocked all of them! Agh! What's with today? Everything's so frustrating!

"Calm down, Farah. Dave, apologize." Brrr! M- Mom... My mind instantly became clear because mom sounded so scary! I can never get used to it... I even forgot what moves I was going to use.

"Ah? Ah, okay, wifey. Farah, I'm seriously sorry about that. I should've been more considerate and approached you in a better way."

Well, I've calmed down now. Dad is also sincerely apologizing. I'll just let it be bygones then.

Rumble~

Ah! I'm hungry now that I've calmed down. How embarrassing...

"What's for dinner today, mom, dad?" Please have something planned.

"We just came back, so you'll have to be patient. Is that alright?" Mom replied to me warmly but the content was bad! No food? Well, I can wait for a little while.

"Also, we'd probably only be able to cook a small amount since we're using their ingredients." No... I get it, but... seriously? Today? Now? Why? Why?!

Today really is frustrating!