The day after the roof was repaired, Leila went downtown and headed to the <Livestock Feed Farm>. That day, the owner of the <Livestock Feed Farm>, not Penny, was guarding the store and putting up the awning. She returned the donkey and said, "You owe me half the price for lending me such a skinny kid." The owner stared at the slightly fat Donkey and said, "Why did you take that shabby little thing? With such a discerning eye?" and treated Leila like an idiot.
“You took that guy away, and now you want me to pay you for it? You should pay more for working him to pull a cart when he’s not even good for luggage!”
“Do you think I wanted to take him? If you don’t like half price, you can lower the price next time. He ate so much food at my house.”
“Why are you making a fuss when you can just feed it grass?”
“How can I keep an eye on it all day long when it eats? It’s so slow that I can’t even take it to a slaughterhouse. If I let it out and it runs away, I’ll have to pay for it. And I didn’t say I’d take it, but last time I came, Penny said it was two silvers...”
“Ah! Leila!”
Penny, who had been playing inside the store, slammed open the door and ran out.
“Long time no see! Something fun is happening! Let’s go! Let’s go!”
“Penny! The door is falling!”
“Penny, I’m still talking to her....”
“Oh, yes, yes! Dad, I’ll go out with Leila!”
Leila, whose horse's tail was cut off, tore one eye open and glared at Penny.
"Oh, I came out for nothing." Leila made a sullen expression. As soon as she left the store, Penny suddenly changed and said, "Hey, why are you arguing with your neighbors?" and started to nitpick, which she didn't like.
“Look, look, look, look, huh? huh? huh? huh?”
“How much did you steal?”
“What the heck! Oh, right, right. Leila, do you want to tell me a funny story?”
"No."
“That’s a really interesting story. Have you heard it?”
'Because you're so timid.'
Penny, who is always chatty, is surprisingly good at changing the subject, which is annoying. When Leila opened her eyes with a worried expression, Penny became persistent.
“I’ll tell you the story, so just let it go, yeah? Will you let it go if I tell you?”
"No."
“Look, look, okay? It’s a really fun story!”
“...Just try it, I’ll listen.”
“Did you hear that? You too?”
"No."
Since Penny's nonchalant way of speaking is always like this, instead of asking what's wrong, Leila just said no. Because that makes her more excited. She really don't know what Penny is asking.
“Colonel Hamilton of Brooks, the one the soldiers who come and go from our town are always grumbling about, he’s such a great guy. He’s rich.”
“He must be rich.”
“No, it really is beyond imagination.”
“How rich are he?”
“How amazing?”
“How rich is that?”
“Isn’t there gold as much as in the sky and on the earth?”
“Are you kidding me?”
Hamilton is the family of Belgrier Hamilton, who leads the new military. Isn't it more strange that he is not rich? Leila, who thought that far, suddenly thought of the soldier on the riverside. A poor man with a silk handkerchief and an expensive lighter. Was he so poor because he was a soldier from Dublin who had lost the war? Well, they say that the Dublin economy is not doing well these days.
“That’s not the point. That great military man just issued a wanted notice. He’s going to be posting flyers all the way to our town soon. Andrew was excited because he was looking for someone to do part-time work posting them.”
Leila asked with her eyes wide open without realizing it.
“Wanted? Are you looking for a criminal? Are you saying that a criminal could sneak into our town?”
“Maybe? I don’t know what crime he committed. From what I’ve heard from the soldiers, they’re looking for a Dublin soldier.”
“Dublin Soldiers?”
“What, what was that? Looks like they’re looking for someone who committed a crime. They’re offering 500 gold for information? If they have that much of a bounty, he must be a really bad person. Would he come to a place like our village?”
Penny continued to chatter happily, oblivious to Leila's serious expression.
“So, these days, when I hear Dad and other uncles talking, is that the Dublin soldier who lives by the river? They whisper, “Is that him?” Oh, but maybe not. Uncle Walter said he met him. Of course, Uncle Walter is always bragging... Honestly, if he were a really vicious criminal, it would be scary, but there are a lot of soldiers in Casnier these days...Oh, but if it were him, it would be exciting. Don’t you think the military police will come looking for him? There are a lot of good-looking men! Of course, the soldiers in our town these days are not so great.”
“What happens if he gets caught?”
“I’m a beggar who earns 500 gold!”
“No, I mean the guy who got caught.”
“There’s a 500 gold bounty, you’re going to let him live?”
Ramrock now has no qualms about persecuting Dubliners.
It wasn't like this right after the war... When Dublin was struggling with national debt and was like a drunken pig, the Ramrocks held them to a strict standard as if they were trying to repay the oppression they had suffered.
Because of the discrimination against Dubliners that becomes more blatant day by day, there are even rumors that Dubliners can be beaten to death. Of course, this is limited to Ramrock's soldiers. Only soldiers can kill people. In other words, soldiers can kill people.
Leila's father, who said that he had served in the military in the past, would click his tongue, saying that it was something that he didn't remember from when he was a tadpole. Leila also somewhat agreed with his father's opinion, since she now thinks that the soldiers in Ramrock are scarier than those in Dublin.
Leila shook her head.
“It’s not that person, is it?”
“No? How would you know?”
“I know his name. His name is Aaron.”
“You went near a Dublin soldier? Look at you! Look at you! He’s dangerous! Oh my God!”
Penny chattered on, mixing questions with her childish knowledge: how bad Dubliners were, what the adults thought of them, how many Dubliner soldiers were handsome...
'No, why on earth is that handsome guy coming out of here?'
“Leila, Leila, tell me. Uncle Walter said he was a very handsome man. A rough, dirty, bad soldier? So he's handsome?”
''So what kind of thought process leads to the statement 'good looking'?'
Leila continued to think of his face, even though she was laughing inside. Well, his smile was cool. He must have looked cool when he put his hair up. He was polite and not bad. He wasn't scary... Then, at Penny's last words, she stopped walking.
“Did that guy kill a lot of people, too?”
Aaron looked nothing like the savage soldiers of Ramrock, but he was still a soldier. What did he do in Dublin's uniform, in opposition to Ramrock's soldiers? She wondered. Did he shoot, did he cut, did he kill? Did he ever meet her uncle?
“You took that guy away, and now you want me to pay you for it? You should pay more for working him to pull a cart when he’s not even good for luggage!”
“Do you think I wanted to take him? If you don’t like half price, you can lower the price next time. He ate so much food at my house.”
“Why are you making a fuss when you can just feed it grass?”
“How can I keep an eye on it all day long when it eats? It’s so slow that I can’t even take it to a slaughterhouse. If I let it out and it runs away, I’ll have to pay for it. And I didn’t say I’d take it, but last time I came, Penny said it was two silvers...”
“Ah! Leila!”
Penny, who had been playing inside the store, slammed open the door and ran out.
“Long time no see! Something fun is happening! Let’s go! Let’s go!”
“Penny! The door is falling!”
“Penny, I’m still talking to her....”
“Oh, yes, yes! Dad, I’ll go out with Leila!”
Leila, whose horse's tail was cut off, tore one eye open and glared at Penny.
"Oh, I came out for nothing." Leila made a sullen expression. As soon as she left the store, Penny suddenly changed and said, "Hey, why are you arguing with your neighbors?" and started to nitpick, which she didn't like.
“Look, look, look, look, huh? huh? huh? huh?”
“How much did you steal?”
“What the heck! Oh, right, right. Leila, do you want to tell me a funny story?”
"No."
“That’s a really interesting story. Have you heard it?”
'Because you're so timid.'
Penny, who is always chatty, is surprisingly good at changing the subject, which is annoying. When Leila opened her eyes with a worried expression, Penny became persistent.
“I’ll tell you the story, so just let it go, yeah? Will you let it go if I tell you?”
"No."
“Look, look, okay? It’s a really fun story!”
“...Just try it, I’ll listen.”
“Did you hear that? You too?”
"No."
Since Penny's nonchalant way of speaking is always like this, instead of asking what's wrong, Leila just said no. Because that makes her more excited. She really don't know what Penny is asking.
“Colonel Hamilton of Brooks, the one the soldiers who come and go from our town are always grumbling about, he’s such a great guy. He’s rich.”
“He must be rich.”
“No, it really is beyond imagination.”
“How rich are he?”
“How amazing?”
“How rich is that?”
“Isn’t there gold as much as in the sky and on the earth?”
“Are you kidding me?”
Hamilton is the family of Belgrier Hamilton, who leads the new military. Isn't it more strange that he is not rich? Leila, who thought that far, suddenly thought of the soldier on the riverside. A poor man with a silk handkerchief and an expensive lighter. Was he so poor because he was a soldier from Dublin who had lost the war? Well, they say that the Dublin economy is not doing well these days.
“That’s not the point. That great military man just issued a wanted notice. He’s going to be posting flyers all the way to our town soon. Andrew was excited because he was looking for someone to do part-time work posting them.”
Leila asked with her eyes wide open without realizing it.
“Wanted? Are you looking for a criminal? Are you saying that a criminal could sneak into our town?”
“Maybe? I don’t know what crime he committed. From what I’ve heard from the soldiers, they’re looking for a Dublin soldier.”
“Dublin Soldiers?”
“What, what was that? Looks like they’re looking for someone who committed a crime. They’re offering 500 gold for information? If they have that much of a bounty, he must be a really bad person. Would he come to a place like our village?”
Penny continued to chatter happily, oblivious to Leila's serious expression.
“So, these days, when I hear Dad and other uncles talking, is that the Dublin soldier who lives by the river? They whisper, “Is that him?” Oh, but maybe not. Uncle Walter said he met him. Of course, Uncle Walter is always bragging... Honestly, if he were a really vicious criminal, it would be scary, but there are a lot of soldiers in Casnier these days...Oh, but if it were him, it would be exciting. Don’t you think the military police will come looking for him? There are a lot of good-looking men! Of course, the soldiers in our town these days are not so great.”
“What happens if he gets caught?”
“I’m a beggar who earns 500 gold!”
“No, I mean the guy who got caught.”
“There’s a 500 gold bounty, you’re going to let him live?”
Ramrock now has no qualms about persecuting Dubliners.
It wasn't like this right after the war... When Dublin was struggling with national debt and was like a drunken pig, the Ramrocks held them to a strict standard as if they were trying to repay the oppression they had suffered.
Because of the discrimination against Dubliners that becomes more blatant day by day, there are even rumors that Dubliners can be beaten to death. Of course, this is limited to Ramrock's soldiers. Only soldiers can kill people. In other words, soldiers can kill people.
Leila's father, who said that he had served in the military in the past, would click his tongue, saying that it was something that he didn't remember from when he was a tadpole. Leila also somewhat agreed with his father's opinion, since she now thinks that the soldiers in Ramrock are scarier than those in Dublin.
Leila shook her head.
“It’s not that person, is it?”
“No? How would you know?”
“I know his name. His name is Aaron.”
“You went near a Dublin soldier? Look at you! Look at you! He’s dangerous! Oh my God!”
Penny chattered on, mixing questions with her childish knowledge: how bad Dubliners were, what the adults thought of them, how many Dubliner soldiers were handsome...
'No, why on earth is that handsome guy coming out of here?'
“Leila, Leila, tell me. Uncle Walter said he was a very handsome man. A rough, dirty, bad soldier? So he's handsome?”
''So what kind of thought process leads to the statement 'good looking'?'
Leila continued to think of his face, even though she was laughing inside. Well, his smile was cool. He must have looked cool when he put his hair up. He was polite and not bad. He wasn't scary... Then, at Penny's last words, she stopped walking.
“Did that guy kill a lot of people, too?”
Aaron looked nothing like the savage soldiers of Ramrock, but he was still a soldier. What did he do in Dublin's uniform, in opposition to Ramrock's soldiers? She wondered. Did he shoot, did he cut, did he kill? Did he ever meet her uncle?
When told that he didn't look like a soldier, he replied, "Not anymore." Then that must mean that he was a soldier in the past. She can't imagine.
After that, Leila and Penny argued again about 'the money you stole' and 'Donkey's weakness'. It was more like a fight, but Penny looked at Leila as if she had been wronged, as she returned to the original topic like a salmon. Penny finally admitted it when Leila said, 'Are you asking the old man?'
“Please, yes? Keep it a secret from Daddy. Yes? Do you want cookies? Do you want me to bake cookies?”
Leila couldn't help but laugh at how cute Penny was, looking up at her with freckles on her nose. She would have lost if she laughed, but she had already laughed, so there was nothing she could do.
“You are so quiet.”
“You more.”
“No, you are ten times more.”
So she decided to give it a try. The price was two bags of cookies that Penny had baked herself. She felt good because she thought that was constructive income.
That night, Leila stood up from her chair, staring blankly at the dry silk handkerchiefs hanging on the clothesline. She also grabbed a bag of Penny’s cookies. She also put fresh-baked bread, vegetable soup, and boiled potatoes in the basket. Her father, sitting in the old rocking chair in the living room, polishing his hunting rifle, glared at Leila as she tried to sneak out.
“Why are you packing so much at this hour?”
“Friend, I’m going to meet him.”
“Why at this hour!”
“I’ll just give him some bread! I’ll be back!”
“Watch out, soldiers!”
“Hey, why would soldiers come here at this hour?”
The person she was going to meet was a former soldier, but she decided to keep it a secret. He didn't seem like a soldier. Leila's father's shouts echoed from the back of her head as she ran, but it was only for a moment.
***
After that, Leila and Penny argued again about 'the money you stole' and 'Donkey's weakness'. It was more like a fight, but Penny looked at Leila as if she had been wronged, as she returned to the original topic like a salmon. Penny finally admitted it when Leila said, 'Are you asking the old man?'
“Please, yes? Keep it a secret from Daddy. Yes? Do you want cookies? Do you want me to bake cookies?”
Leila couldn't help but laugh at how cute Penny was, looking up at her with freckles on her nose. She would have lost if she laughed, but she had already laughed, so there was nothing she could do.
“You are so quiet.”
“You more.”
“No, you are ten times more.”
So she decided to give it a try. The price was two bags of cookies that Penny had baked herself. She felt good because she thought that was constructive income.
That night, Leila stood up from her chair, staring blankly at the dry silk handkerchiefs hanging on the clothesline. She also grabbed a bag of Penny’s cookies. She also put fresh-baked bread, vegetable soup, and boiled potatoes in the basket. Her father, sitting in the old rocking chair in the living room, polishing his hunting rifle, glared at Leila as she tried to sneak out.
“Why are you packing so much at this hour?”
“Friend, I’m going to meet him.”
“Why at this hour!”
“I’ll just give him some bread! I’ll be back!”
“Watch out, soldiers!”
“Hey, why would soldiers come here at this hour?”
The person she was going to meet was a former soldier, but she decided to keep it a secret. He didn't seem like a soldier. Leila's father's shouts echoed from the back of her head as she ran, but it was only for a moment.
Why was she going to meet him at this hour? That was the question Leila wanted to ask herself. Was he hungry? She was a little worried.
The sound of the river made her hearing perk up. It was not easy to walk along the dark riverside that ran along the mountainside with only a lantern. Leila sweated profusely, carefully checking her feet. After walking for a while, she saw a bonfire site with only embers left. The shabby tent standing alone was dark. There was no sign of a person.
'Are you sleeping?'
It didn't seem to be that. The tent was empty. After putting down the basket with the silk handkerchief next to the tent, she looked around. She was worried that she would fall down on the bare ground again like that day. As she was looking around with the lantern, she heard a voice from somewhere not far away.
“Miss Leila?”
Leila turned her head in surprise and saw a dark shadow on the other side of the bushes.
“It's here.”
She can see the shadow of a hand shaking. Leila hesitated for a moment and then carefully walked towards the voice.
Aaron was lying on the soft grass. Why was he lying here, in a perfectly good tent, not that it could be called a proper dwelling?
“What’s going on here... Huh?”
***
The sound of the river made her hearing perk up. It was not easy to walk along the dark riverside that ran along the mountainside with only a lantern. Leila sweated profusely, carefully checking her feet. After walking for a while, she saw a bonfire site with only embers left. The shabby tent standing alone was dark. There was no sign of a person.
'Are you sleeping?'
It didn't seem to be that. The tent was empty. After putting down the basket with the silk handkerchief next to the tent, she looked around. She was worried that she would fall down on the bare ground again like that day. As she was looking around with the lantern, she heard a voice from somewhere not far away.
“Miss Leila?”
Leila turned her head in surprise and saw a dark shadow on the other side of the bushes.
“It's here.”
She can see the shadow of a hand shaking. Leila hesitated for a moment and then carefully walked towards the voice.
Aaron was lying on the soft grass. Why was he lying here, in a perfectly good tent, not that it could be called a proper dwelling?
“What’s going on here... Huh?”
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