Seiun wo Kakeru Chapter 64

Chapter 64 – The mysterious girl

After taking a meal, Eiji and his companion proceeded on their trip once again.

If one was to spread the sail in this wind, their speed would be delayed instead.

It was also Eiji and Fernando’s first trip by boat.

Folding up the sail, they entrusted themselves to the river’s currents.
The boat that travelled solely with the water currents became considerably slow.

– Oh my, still, we did some nice transactions back there, didn’t we?

– Yup. Personally, I think we obtained the best result this time.

– Dunno. But, he was applying that much pressure on us the entire time, so he probably had his reasons.

Fernando shrugged his shoulders in a giving up manner.

What Pierro did should have been a dangerous move that could turn others hostile against him, were he to do it unskillfully.
Even if you cannot judge someone’s personality, you will naturally start trusting them when you start making transactions. So, perhaps it’s even possible to grasp somebody else’s ability to cope at the time of dealing with a small trouble.

The reason, which makes me want to figure it hurriedly, is that I don’t seem to have the slightest idea as to what it can be. Well, whatever. – He thought.

Recalling the cotton that was tightly packed inside the boat’s hold, Eiji smiled broadly.

Currently, the weaving was continuing to progress the manufacturing process little by little toward the mass production.

Making wool and fur, Siena is a great producing area.

And then, there was a new material for negotiations in form of iron products.

Eiji thought that the future for Siena looked bright.

Shifting his sight toward the front, Eiji thought about the village of Auman they were heading toward.

In the end, Pierro didn’t tell Eiji what he wanted; nevertheless, he gave him some basic facts regarding the village.

The village of Auman was the only horse producing area on this island.

The environment was easy to habitate, therefore, it was natural for horses to gather there.

Despite these, it also had its good sides.

Pierro revealed that in the past few years, horses of unusually high quality had been raised every year, becoming a great help for pulling carriages for trading purposes.

However, apart from that information, Eiji couldn’t expect that he may possibly encounter the biggest surprise of this trip.

Eiji became anxious.

– Fernando-san, what do you think it is that will surprise us the most?

– Even if I hate it, I’d be bothered, were someone to tell me that way.

– Yeah, I’m also curious about that.

– I guess you’re right.

As soon as Eiji agreed with Fernando’s answer, he switched his thought to something else.

The last thing to do will be to trade for salt at the village near the seaside and go back upstream.

There were lots of things he had to do.

– Oh, the forest has ended.

– It’s also the first time for me to see it.

A gently-sloping hill and a turf that reached near their knees.

The whole field which also gave the feeling of spring was fresh and green

– Hm?
– What’s the matter?

Fernando strained his eyes toward the front as if noticing something.

Eiji too, gazed in front of him as if getting hooked.

At the riverbend/riverbank, tiny silhouettes of people appeared.
There were 3 people sitting there.

– Seems like there are people over there.

– We will know once we draw closer.

As the boat advanced, the silhouettes gradually became clearer.

Could it be a wife and husband together with their daughter?

Did they notice Eiji and Fernando? Standing up, they waved with their hands.
Eiji, who waved back, quickly prepared for anchoring.

As soon the boat halted, Eiji and his companion looked at the people from above their boat.

It looked like there was a limit to/on how much they could angle.

– Are you fishing together as a family?
– Yes, that’s because, today, we have such fine weather.

At Eiji’s question, the master of their house answered.

However, one would look at the man’s splendid physique that could be understood even from his upper clothes, he didn’t appear to be an angler.

What’s more, they seemed to be enjoying angling together as a family.
At least, Eiji imagined so.

– That’s a huge boat. It’s the first time for me to see a boat this large.

– Is that so? I guess, it’s just as Fran told us.
– Just as Fran told you?

Eiji didn’t understand the meaning behind that.

In the first place, who’s Fran?

Once the man called out the name, a girl, who was thought to be the daughter, slightly responded.
The man, smiled cheerfully at Eiji and muttered something hard to believe.

– Yeah, that was Fran. She told us that you’d be coming here today on the river, so like this, we were angling and waiting for you.

They were waiting for them.

Could it be what Pierro was talking about?

Then, how did she know about their arrival?
On top of that, ‘on the river’.

Usually, the people, who visited this place from other villages, would use cattle and horse carriages.

This time, the travelling was conducted using a water route; that was unheard of.
Because of that, everyone in the village was surprised.

Eiji too was truly astonished. It would be fine to say he was even shocked.

Is this what Pierro meant?
Despite consenting with Pierro, Eiji couldn’t utter a word.

The special feature of the girl called Fran was her deep-red, shortcut hairstyle.

She was wearing a pair of trousers, which was rare for the girls on this island. Was that for the sake of making her movements easier?
Fran’s calves and her pair of arms that were peeking through gave the feeling of her being a dynamic person.

Judging by Eiji’s eyes, she’s was around 14-15 years old.

Opening her mouth widely, she showed her smile.

– Howdy, It’s Fran, Fran. Big brother, what’s your name?

– Oh, Eiji? That’s a fine name. And the Uncle next to you is?
– U-Uncle?! My name’s Fernando…. Eiji-san is big brother, whereas, I’m uncle?

Fernando, who muttered in whispering manner, didn’t speak a single word.
Eiji watched Fran.

No matter how much he thought about it, she looked like just a normal girl.

Chapter end