Seiun wo Kakeru Chapter 14

Chapter 14 – The Heart of Japan, Ofuro[1]

Not being inferior to Eiji, Pietro was quite skillful as well.

When Eiji asked the reason behind it, the answer was opposite to his expectation, and couldn’t get any simpler.

At the time when Pietro boiled water and oil, being about to proceed with the purification, he put a little bit of soil and ash, making it much easier to separate the components.

Once he tried to inquire for more details, Eiji learned that it wasn’t just Pietro alone who discovered this, but it also was Jane who gave some assist to him.
Jane is the wife of a hunter, so she would be familiar with animal disassembling and leather processing. For her to naturally know of such techniques would be normal.

Because until now, there hadn’t been as many foreign matters removed, the number of fat that could be collected fell off. Nevertheless, this yielded great results.

He stuffed the soap with the aroma, which was only enough for a small pot, into a pot and placed the cover firmly on it.

Due to Eiji continuously burning the fat, you could notice Tanya’s mood getting worse.
Even though the smell coming from his body should be gone, he was still sleeping in a separate bed. Eiji felt like he was being ordered like a dog.

– Sorry for having you covered with that smell. Did you parents mention anything about it?

– That would be expected…I guess
– But, master, when I told them that you invent new things, and that I’m helping master, they began rooting for you. There’s no doubt that master will make convenient things, or so it felt from them.

– Seems like I’ve got them to believe in me.

Normally, it would be hard for someone to trust an outsider – is what Eiji thought.

Eiji also heard rumors about people moving from cities to the countryside becoming ostracized, and not being able to get used to their surroundings.
He was prepared for this scenario, but…

– Back then we would be happy when the seeds we had sowed started to bud numerously, which made us think like it was the blessing coming from the earth god.
– Is that so…?

As expected, this would be perhaps the sole reason why people believed that more harvest crops, and more abundant life, was due to deity.

Killing the livestock so as to gather the required fat could be only done in seasons like this. Therefore, Eiji thought that this was the only chance to do so.

– Pietro, I have a task which might bother you, but… go and bring me some dried fish.

– You’re still a child, so don’t be so reserved.

Still, was it because he could feel Eiji’s courtesy? Pietro bowed down and thanked him.

– Once I make as much as I can, I’ll have you come back to the workshop and teach you some new skills. Till then, please have some faith in me.
– Yes, please treat me well.

Pietro started to tidy up. Using his body’s recoil, he skillfully raised up the heavy water jug filled with river water, and placed it in a pot
Even though he’s still a minor, he has quite the strength.

I’ll entrust you with the tidying up – said Eiji, as he went back to the workshop.
Using the resharpened and remade scythes and hoes, Eiji went to the field.

——————

The field was reclaimed a bit, and the number of ridges increased.

The reclaimed land was exceptionally light, in comparison with a wasteland, and its texture was much tenderer.

It’s a work that requires much patience, and there are no cutting corners.

Even if neither Eiji nor Mike were watching, you could understand that this village is full of people trying to progress with their work diligently.

Unlike his sunburned skin, his teeth were exceptionally white.
Seeing that expression directly, Eiji felt like he was being dazzled by it.

– Long time no see, Eiji-san

– The new tools which you made are fine, but there’s something we wanted to tell you.

– No, I planned to go quickly for seed sowing, but, haven’t you mentioned before that the sowing method was wrong?

– That’s right, it’s that! I was surprised by that method! As expected, Eiji-san you’re a genius.

It was the story from yesterday.

What’s more, they neither cover it with earth, nor pour with water. Because of that, the chances of the buds growing are very slim.

It seemed that due to their forefathers passing down this method, they had no reason to doubt it.

– You ought to open a hole first, then plant the seeds inside. Once done, you cover it gently with soil. Lastly, you pour lots of water on top.

– I’ll make the sowing tool, but I won’t make the required number in time. Hm, if there’s no means of drawing the water to  field, it won’t do… will it?

– The more you do, the more crops it should yield. It’s not immediate, so let’s do our best for that to happen.
-….That’s right. Complaining won’t solve anything, will it?

Eiji smiled bitterly at Bernardo who seemed to be upset.

If one were to be discourage by this much, then even doing collaborative works won’t be enough to complete land reclamation.
However, it didn’t bother Eiji.

————————

Night, the flambeau (torch), which rarely had been used, was lighted, illuminating through the darkness.

And down at the bottom, there was large amount of hot water.
The vapor was floating in the sky. It was an ofuro made from bricks and tiles. The bath was wide by itself, and used for collaborative purposes.

– Aaah, this feels good. How many months has it been, I wonder…?

Without thinking ahead, Eiji gave out the voice. He could feel the warmth and the pleasant feeling coming from his insides.
What Eiji thought to make, since he had been picked up by Tanya, was a Japanese bathroom.

Even though there was a simple facility, similar to that of a water sewer, there were no bathrooms.
Still, there are bath practices, so there was no need to worry of getting dirty; nevertheless, it was certainly not the same as a bath. – is what he thought.

Ofuro are not just used for cleaning the dirt, it also soothes one’s heart from tiredness and stagnation.

I order to make this bathroom, different procedures had to be taken.

Once his true skills were acknowledged, he could ask, little by little, for some administrative help.

Bathing custom too was one of those.

Eiji had Fernando to help in its construction, despite him being busy.

Eiji had plans of adding them to the bathroom, but it wasn’t clear how much time it would take.
Regarding the use, it would be the best to make it into an public bathroom, otherwise it would require many people to scoop and heat water.

– Tanya-san, doesn’t it feel good?

– Once your body warms up, use the soap to wash yourself, ok?

While submerging his body to his shoulders, he looked at his wife’s silhouette.

Recently, due to her rich diet, Tanya gained some mass.

Eiji followed her with his eyes, starting from her wet, long hair touching the water, through her nape, till her gently-sloping collarbone.

Her face was red from embarrassment.

– Ah…

– It’s because you’re beautiful.

– These are my true feelings.

– It’s not that I want to just look.

Because they’re husband and wife, Eiji wanted to touch a little.
Were it not for being married, he probably wouldn’t stare at her.

….However, that beautiful woman is his wife.

Thinking that way, he couldn’t help but feel happy.

As Eiji moved inside the bathroom, he turned toward her back, and entwined her limbs with his hands.

– Because it’s your first time using soap, I’ll teach you how to use it.

– That’s all right. I considered that and made something better.

After he showed her a small bottle with the soap inside, he opened the lid.

She leaned her head forward and took a peek inside the bottle. Her nostrils twitched once they smelled the aroma.
Her face became spellbound.

– ….It smells good.

– You did it because you were concerned about me saying that it stinks?

– …Thank you. Eiji-san, you really are incredible. Not only do you make convenient stuff, but also you try to improve once there’s a problem arising.

– Ah, wait.

As he made her half-forcefully sit on the chair, Eiji took the gel-form soap and rubbed them, to make bubbles. Comparing with the one which he once used for chemistry purposes, this produced much less foam; however, it was still enough.
Using his hands covered with foam, Eiji made his hands crawl on Tanya’s whole body, under the pretext of teaching her it’s application.

– It’s slimy and feels kinda strange…

– yes, but… it feels ticklish. Ah!

– It’s true. wow, to think that you could make this using that fat…

Seeing how Tanya admires the soap made him really pleased.

From the back, which was a hard place to reach by yourself, Eiji moved his hands toward Tanya’s waist and her armpit. But once he did so, she raised her voice.

– Where are you touching…ah, I, I knew it, Eiji is a pervert after all!

– T-the way you use your hands is lewd…ah!

Being reprimanded by his wife, Eiji felt fun while washing each other.
After that, Tanya became sullen, but whenever both of them entered bathroom together, she couldn’t deny her true emotions.

——————-

– Eiji-san, it seems like the peddler arrived last night. Do you intend to see him?
– The peddler, you say?

A peddler usually comes several times to a village.
The reason why Eiji couldn’t meet one till now was because he was occupied with examining blacksmithing works, and being busy with guiding the field works. Therefore, he had no occasion.

Because working in this village was self-sufficient for him, if asked whether there’s something that he wants to buy, Eiji wouldn’t bother with that. On contrary, he had something which he wanted to sell. That was soap.

Due to him taking that matter lightly, Eiji didn’t bother to brood any deeper about the significance of peddlers. This, however, made him regret later.

Translator and reference notes:

[1]: Japanese type of bath. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furo

[2]: Open air baths. These type of baths are usually present in hot springs (onsen). Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onsen

Chapter end