Chapter 3 The Girl with the Rose
Chapter 3 The Girl with the Rose
The houses in the village are arranged in a circular pattern, with the village square as the center and the neighboring houses scattered closely around it.
And the place where Rick lives is obviously a bit far from the village center.
"Is this the place?"
Xiaoren, who was leading the way, looked at the adobe house in front of him.
He looked into the yard and saw a girl with her back to them sorting out the unpicked peanuts.
"Hello~"
Xiaoren shouted hello in a long voice.
The girl seemed to be frightened and quickly turned her head to look in the direction of the sound, asking weakly, "What?"
Xiao Ren ran up to her and said, "Excuse me, does Rick live here? We are here to look for him!"
"Brother Rick...?"
The girl's head turned as Xiaoren's footsteps approached, and she repeated what he said, but then as if she noticed another person approaching, she suddenly turned her head to look to the side, and her body tensed up.
Kawahara then realized that the girl's eyes were out of focus.
Although the pair of eyes with distinct black and white were beautiful, they were not focused at all, as if they could not see the specific location of things.
"You can't see?" Kawahara asked subconsciously.
"Who...are you?" the girl asked in a low voice, huddled together.
"I'm Kawahara, a warrior from the village. I'm here to talk to Rick about tonight's sacrifice." Kawahara explained while stepping back a little.
"so……"
After losing her vision, the girl's hearing seemed to become more sensitive. She relaxed a little and said, "I'm Rick's sister, Mio."
——In the ancient times, Sora actually had a younger sister?
Kawahara didn't know about this.
Miou paused and then whispered, "My brother is out to look after the crops. He may not be back for a while. If you have something important to do, I will go and call him back."
Kawahara heard this and said, "It's okay. I can wait for him to come back. I'm not in a hurry."
He really didn't have any urgent business. He came here purely to see what kind of ruthless person the warrior who sealed all the Gurongi by himself in the ancient times was.
Hearing this, Mio lowered his head and said nothing more, continuing with what he was doing.
She looked like a somewhat introverted girl, perhaps because she had lost her vision and had become less able to communicate with the outside world.
Xiaoren is a child who can't sit still. At first, he came close to Mio and curiously learned how to pick peanuts from her. However, he felt bored after a while, said something to Kawahara, and ran out to play.
Kawahara was feeling a bit bored just waiting here, and there wasn't much to talk about with a blind girl.
After looking at the piles of unpicked peanuts on the ground, he simply asked, "Can I help you pick them?"
Miou was a little overwhelmed. After a pause, he nodded gently: "Okay..."
Kawahara sat on the steps in the yard, raised his hand to gather a pile of peanuts to his feet and started picking them up.
Although he had never done much farm work since he was a child, he could still do things like plucking the peanuts from the stems and leaves.
And I don’t know if it’s because of the Yaguru belt, his reaction movements are now very neat.
Mio couldn't see his movements, but could keenly hear a series of falling sounds coming from the dustpan.
She looked in that direction in confusion.
……
The result is this pick.
Just one afternoon passed.
As evening approached, the sky was already filled with the colors of sunset, but Mio's brother still hadn't returned.
I heard that Gurongi have been lingering around the outskirts of the village occasionally recently, and the Lindos don't even dare to take care of their crops, which means that the area may be frequently attacked by Gurongi.
Although I feel that the first generation of Kuuga would not die halfway due to Gurongi's attack.
But Kawahara still had some doubts in his heart.
Just as he was pulling the peanuts in his hands with his head down and his mind wandering, an inconspicuous tall figure passed by on the dirt road outside the yard.
Although he didn't see the scene outside at all, at this moment, Kawahara suddenly raised his head as if he had been electrocuted.
——It feels so dangerous!
It was as if he had encountered a natural enemy, and his whole body and mind began to tremble subconsciously.
——What on earth could it be?
Kawahara had already stood up, his eyes fixed on the road in front of the courtyard gate.
"Ms. Mio, it seems a little late. I'll go back first and visit you next time." Kawahara said.
"Huh?" Mio looked up in confusion.
But before she could say anything, Kawahara had already run out of the yard.
Mio heard that the person probably left, so she could only look in that direction with a confused look on her face following the footsteps. She couldn't help but feel a little worried - she was worried that she might have delayed her brother's business.
If only I had mustered up the courage to go find my brother.
Mio sighed in annoyance.
She then went on to feel for the unpicked peanut stems and leaves on the ground, but found nothing for a long time. When she turned around and reached for the wicker winnowing basket at her feet, she found it was full of peanuts.
what happened?
Have you picked them all?
Mio originally planned to complete the task in two days.
Just as she was looking for the picked stems and leaves in confusion, footsteps were heard at the gate of the yard again, and this time it was a familiar and reassuring voice.
"Miou, what are you doing?"
She felt a friendly hand falling on her head and rubbing it. Someone helped her up from her kneeling on the ground, and a voice like a warm breeze rang out.
"Why are you sitting on the ground?"
Miou looked up and smiled at him: "Welcome back, brother! I'm looking for the longevity fruit that I haven't picked yet."
Hearing this, the young man looked down at the ground and immediately said with a smile: "No, they have all been picked. Although it is good to be motivated, don't push yourself too hard."
Miou: “…I originally planned to use it for two days.”
But one person spent half a day to finish it all.
He clearly came here for something, but after helping her he left without asking for anything.
Thinking of this, Mio became more and more annoyed.
She grabbed the young man's hand and said hurriedly: "Brother, do you know a warrior named 'Kawahara'? He came here this afternoon and said he wanted to talk to you about the sacrifice tonight. What happened in the village recently? Can you tell me?"
"……What did you say?"
The young man was stunned when he heard this: "Are you referring to... Lord Kawahara?"
——It is said that he received the recognition and grace of the gods, inherited the "power of the stars" that the village has guarded for generations, and became a powerful Lindo warrior who protects the village.
But the last time the warrior returned from a near-death experience, it also brought great fear and despair to the village.
Because a death threat called "Gurongi" looms over.
……
……
The other side at this time.
After Kawahara ran out of the yard, he looked around and just happened to see a white figure disappearing around a corner not far away.
He paused for a moment and then chose to chase after him.
At this time, the white figure walking forward seemed to have noticed his presence. After stopping for a while, he turned slightly to look over.
Kawahara was stunned when he saw her.
She was a young girl, dressed like most of the girls in the tribe, but she looked a little different.
The girl was wearing a white, sleeveless, ankle-length cotton and linen skirt with green branches like vines wrapped around her waist, which bound the skirt and made it slightly slimmer.
Her hair seemed to have not been taken care of. It was long and scattered on her shoulders like seaweed. Her face was too pale, which made the color of her lips look very dull.
What Kawahara was more concerned about was——
There was a white pattern on her forehead between her eyebrows, like a tattoo, outlining the shape of a flower.
That pattern seems a little familiar.
"who are you?"
Kawahara frowned and asked, "Is he from this village?"
The girl looked at him indifferently: "A warrior from Lindo? I heard that you came back to life. It turns out to be true."
Hearing these frank words, Kawahara was slightly startled after he realized what was happening. He unconsciously took half a step back and looked at her in astonishment.
"To say something like that...are you a Gurongi?!"
But this time the girl did not respond directly.
She just glanced at him indifferently, then turned around and continued walking forward.
"and many more--"
Kawahara subconsciously wanted to continue chasing after him.
But as soon as he thought that the other party might be Gurongi, the horrifying scenes of the broken limbs and flesh last night appeared in his mind, and he felt as if he was nailed to the spot and unable to move.
His body felt like it was struck by a bone-chilling chill, and Kawahara came back to his senses with a start. No! Calm down and think about it first—
If the other party is really Gurongi, he has now openly entered the Linduo village with hundreds of people. What is his purpose?
——Is it a scout?
—Preparing for the killing?
——So even if you’re scared now, can you still escape?
It’s a very ancient time where you are unfamiliar with the place and there is no way you can escape.
Perhaps he had sorted out his fear, Kawahara felt a surge of heat in his abdomen, and then this heat rushed straight to his brain, causing him to lift his whole body and rush after him!
Da da da da——
The footsteps behind me were approaching at an unexpected speed.
The girl in front seemed to be caught off guard. When she turned around again, Kawahara had already grabbed her wrist!
"who are you?!"
Kawahara asked sharply: "Gurongi? Rindo? Tell me who you are and why you are here! In your body——"
The girl stared at him for a moment, then frowned in disgust: "How annoying!"
After saying this, she shook off his hand shackles, kicked out sideways, and while Kawahara was frantically trying to defend himself, she turned around and ran without hesitation!
Bang!
When I blocked the kick with my left arm, I felt a painful vibration as if I had blocked a hammer.
Kawahara was startled by this, and when he looked up again, the girl had turned the corner and ran out of his sight.
——This kind of power is definitely not something that ordinary people can possess!
This time he chased after him without hesitation.
However, the next moment, a gust of wind with flying sand and rocks blew in his face, carrying a red object as big as a piece of paper and hitting him.
Kawahara thought it was some mysterious attack and subconsciously raised his arms to block it.
As a result, the strong wind soon died down and nothing happened.
The girl had naturally disappeared without a trace.
Kawahara lowered his arms and looked down. After a pause, he picked up a soft red petal from the ground.
"Is this... a rose?"
Were there already rose varieties in this era?
Although this is not the point.
but……
Thinking of the white flower tattoo on the girl's forehead and the rose petals that appeared now, Kawahara remembered something.
That girl might really be a Gurongi.
Moreover, she is the high-level Gurongi B1 who is in charge of hosting the killing game in the future.
I have forgotten her real name, Kawahara, and I'm not even sure if her name has appeared in the drama, but the code name for the unconfirmed life form is still easy to remember.
But after all, does he still have a chance to see the future scenery now?
Kawahara suddenly felt melancholy.
Although the Agur Belt can allow the host to live for a long time.
After all, the super ancient Kuuga in the first episode used his own body to seal the Gurongi until the modern time, but the belt on him seems to be just a incomplete version.
The reason why he noticed B1 just now was because Kawahara felt that there was something in the other person's body that attracted him.
Just like when he woke up from a serious injury before, the vitality in his body was recovering frantically, and the thing that attracted him was similar.
If he could get that thing, his current condition would probably be much better, right?
Kawahara slowly collected his thoughts and picked up the rose petals scattered on the ground that were out of place in this area.
……
……
When Kawahara returned to his house, the sunset had completely disappeared over the horizon, and the sky was misty blue.
The stone pillar he broke at noon was still in the corner.
Kawahara tidied up and was digging a hole in the yard to bury the stone fragments and rose petals when Xiaoren came to find him as usual.
"Brother Kawahara, eat sweet potatoes!"
Xiaoren handed him a hot baked sweet potato.
"Thank you."
Kawahara thanked him and took it and put it aside.
Xiaoren was eating sweet potatoes next to him and watching him fill the hole in the ground curiously.
"I just went to Rick's house to look for you, but Sister Mio said you had left a long time ago. What are you doing?"
Kawahara stepped on the hole that had been filled with soil a few times, and then said, "Buried some garbage."
"If it's leftover garbage, you can throw it into the pit at the back of the mountain in the village. Grandpa said that after it's piled there for a long time, it can be used to make crops grow better." Xiao Ren suddenly said this.
"What was that?... Forget it, it's just a bowl that I accidentally broke." Kawahara said while peeling a sweet potato.
"Oh~"
Xiao Ren then revealed a meaningful expression, and said in a mischievous tone, shaking his head, "I often broke things when I was a kid~"
Kawahara looked at the 1.2-meter-tall little kid in front of him and said, "...You are still a kid now."
“But I’m already eight years old!”
Xiaoren proudly held up five fingers.
Kawahara looked at the sky and said nothing.
Night falls.
Torches have been lit one after another in various parts of the village, and the flickering flames welcome the coming night.
The sunset glow in the sky was gradually disappearing. Xiaoren sat on the stone pier in the yard, shaking his head and counting his childhood achievements.
It seems that no matter which world or era, young children have an infectious innocence, and that is the beautiful moment when life blooms most purely.
However, such brilliant vitality will soon be broken by disaster.
unless……
Kawahara looked down at the hole he had just dug.
A red petal was faintly visible at the edge of the uncompacted soil, but in the dark night, it was also dyed a thick black.
In a trance, a white strange figure flashed through Kawahara's mind, with two small golden horns on the head of the monster.
And those huge compound eyes were pitch black.
——The buried black eyes.
"Brother Kawahara?"
Kawahara suddenly came to his senses, and his back was already covered in cold sweat.
If he were to become like that again, he had a feeling that he might still be lost in the powerful force like he was this morning, and indulge in the pleasure of destroying everything.
Eventually, he will completely lose his own will.
But if we don't fight -
Should he continue to live in fear and waiting like those people last night, or just watch everything happen?
Either way, it seems to be the point of "death".
*
"Why are you daydreaming again?"
Xiaoren's round face suddenly came in front of him.
Perhaps because he hadn't responded for a long time, Xiaoren hesitantly took out another two roasted sweet potatoes from his bulging pocket.
"Um... do you want another one?"
In fact, when he first arrived, Kawahara had already discovered that this boy had five roasted sweet potatoes hidden on his body.
He is a little kid who loves to eat and play.
Kawahara closed his eyes and smiled, "No need to eat. When will the ceremony start? I think you should be ready, right?"
"Well……"
Xiao Ren looked up at the moon and said, "It's still early. It won't start until the disk is overhead. It is said that at that time, the gods of the night are closest to us."
"Then eat it. Give me three."
So Kawahara extended his hand to him.
Xiao Ren: “…”
……
……
I see that many book lovers like to dwell on super ancient issues.
Let me briefly talk about it -
In Kuuga's SIC novel, it is described that [foreigners who crossed the sea taught rice technology]. The key point of this sentence is not "which sea" or "which country taught it", but [there were also adventurers who crossed the ocean in the super ancient times]. In other words, in the super ancient world, the development of civilization was not closed.
What's more, it's already "super ancient", so don't use the cognition of "modern people looking at the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties" to speculate what the [super ancient times in "Fantasy Special Effects"] are like...
……
The role of Rose Girl No. B1 may occupy a relatively large proportion in this article, and the analysis of her will be gradually improved later.
In addition, the contract application will be submitted on Monday. Before that, everyone should invest and earn some coins!
(End of this chapter)