NOVEL NEXT Chapter 68 - Chapter 68: Zamza and Surveying
Chapter 68: Zamza and Surveying
It’s the fifth day since Marie and the others left for Savoia. Suddenly, I felt like walking around the hideout alone. Since I had the chance, I decided to make a simple map of the hideout.
“However… it’s quite troublesome to do it alone…”
“Want some help?”
Zamza looked at me eagerly.
When Zamza first arrived at the hideout, given it was like a hell’s pot where the Kidanakemo roamed, he seemed a bit tense, but lately, his expression has become much brighter. He seems to be having a lot of fun every day.
“Well then, Zamza. Let’s go together. Hold this rope.”
“Got it!”
“Let’s start by grasping the shape of the lake.”
For snacks, we headed towards the spring while harvesting some random fruits. Although not as tall as Shiro, Zamza is also tall and agile, making it easy to harvest fruits from tall trees. To avoid wasting the fruits, I was given Zamza a piggyback ride, gently plucking the fruits. I didn’t expect to be piggybacked at this age, but it feels kind of fun, like riding on a large animal.
“Hey, we’ve gathered quite a lot…”
“Well, everyone will be happy, won’t they? I’ll hold onto them.”
Zamza wrapped up the fruits I overly enthusiastically collected in a cloth.
After making a few detours to places I was curious about, we finally arrived at the lake, taking our time.
“Okay, let’s start. Zamza, hold one end of this rope, and move to where I tell you the perimeter of the spring is.”
“Yeah, got it.”
Since we don’t have a compass, we used the rope and a makeshift protractor to measure and draw the outline of the lake on paper.
“Alright, stop there!”
“Hey, Bonus… Does this help us understand the shape of the lake?”
“Well, probably? It’s a narrow area, so the accuracy should be decent, right? Take a look.”
“Wow! You’re right… This is kind of interesting.”
It was the same when we made a layout plan in the Vaintz Village before, but surprisingly, Zamza seems to enjoy this kind of work. And he’s very curious.
“Bonus, what do these symbols mean?”
“Oh, these… These are characters representing numbers that I use, but—”
For some reason, I ended up teaching Zamza Arabic numerals. Zamza isn’t particularly smart, but his concentration and eagerness to learn are remarkably high. People like him, without being praised for their abilities in a strange way, unexpectedly grow. Plus, it feels good to be the one teaching.
“Bonus, this is amazing! It’s so useful!”
“That’s right, that’s right. But since we’re about to finish drawing the lake, let’s continue this later.”
“Oh, right. Sorry.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay.”
Partly because Zamza understood the purpose of my work to some extent, our work together became much more efficient than before. Thanks to that, we were able to complete the outline of the lake in about half the planned time. Now, starting from this lake, let’s gradually make a map of the hideout.
“Shall we take a little break?”
“Yeah.”
We both enjoy munching on oranges we collected on the way to the lake. The sun is getting higher, and the sunlight is getting harsh. However, just watching the surface of the water sway in the wind at the lakeside somehow makes me feel cooler. I vaguely remember going fishing with my father when I was in elementary school. We didn’t catch anything in the end, but it was a nice day. As Zamza and I gaze at the lake surface together, the sound of hooves kicking rocks echoes within the hideout.
Recently, it’s become quite familiar.
When I looked up, I could see Elizabeth, with Shiro on her back, running around the rocky walls in the distance.
“I’m so used to it that it doesn’t feel strange anymore, but Shiro and Elizabeth move in such unbelievable ways, don’t they?”
“Yeah, I couldn’t imitate that… When Elizabeth really runs, my body just can’t keep up.”
“Only Shiro or Kuro can do such crazy rodeo moves.”
“Yeah.”
Just as I thought they had circled around the rocky walls, I noticed that Kuro was also riding Elizabeth and they were heading out of the hideout.
Are they going to challenge the Kidanakemo again?
By the way, can children be born between the Oni tribe and humans?
“Well, of course they can. Are you planning to have children with Shiro or Gisella?”
“Um… Well, I don’t know… But yeah, I guess they can be born. In that case, would the children have a mix of features from both Oni and humans?”
“Huh? No, it’ll be one or the other. Either a human or an Oni will be born. By the way, my father was human.”
I never expected to have an actual example right in front of me… I wonder if it was good to ask.
“He’s already dead though. Before I was born, he got into a fight with an Oni man and was killed, so I don’t know the details.”
“Well, I don’t know what to say to that…”
“I was raised by Oni, and since it was before I was born, I don’t feel particularly sad about it. My mother never talked about my father either.”
“Is that how it is?”
“But, I did think about the fact that I’m a human’s child. However, even though I was in the Oni village, I felt uneasy for some reason, and I felt like I wouldn’t find the answer if I stayed there like that.”
“So you left the village.”
“Yeah.”
Unexpectedly, he also had a complicated background.
Sorry, Zamza.
I thought you left the village for some silly reason like testing your strength or something.
“So when I saw Bonus with the Oni woman, I thought that maybe I could understand something by following them.”
“I see…”
Certainly, I wondered why he followed me so naturally. There was also a somewhat lonely atmosphere about him, and being young, I thought he felt reassured being with Oni like Shiro and Gisella, but I just assumed that.
But in reality, there were slightly more complicated emotions.
“But, that was really the right decision. Even though it’s only been a short time, being with Bonus, I feel like I’ve learned a lot. And now… I somehow think of Bonus as a father figure.”
“You’re a big child, aren’t you!”
His incredibly straightforward remark momentarily made me feel like I couldn’t breathe.
Unable to sort out my feelings, I hastily linked arms with him, as if to cover it up.
Looking at Zamza smiling somewhat embarrassedly, I felt a complex emotion I had never felt before.
A ticklish yet warm feeling, mixed with a slightly nostalgic ache, simmered within me.
But overall… I didn’t feel bad about it.
“Since it’s already lunchtime, let’s go back to everyone for now, Bonus.”
“Oh? Whoa whoa whoa!”
Saying that, Zamza suddenly stood up while still linking arms with me, grabbed his belongings, and started running with me on his back.
It seems even Zamza felt a little embarrassed.
…What a cute guy.