Requiem for a Goodbye Read online

  “Yes. I’m glad the taste is to your liking.” Rio nodded with a faint smile.

  “Ahaha, they both said what I wanted to say. It’s really good, Rio.”

  “Indeed, you have quite the skill. Very impressive.”

  Ruri and Yuba both agreed with smiles tugging at their lips.

  “Thank you very much. I made extra rice, so feel free to get seconds.”

  “Whoa, seconds! Thanks, Sayo.” Shin turned to Sayo next to him and offered out his empty bowl.

  “Goodness, Shin! Have a little restraint!”

  “Sayo, there’s no need for me to hold back. I’m a growing child, so pile on as much as you can.”

  “I-I’m sorry, Lady Yuba. My brother is... Just... Thank you for the meal.” Sayo bobbed her head at both Yuba and Rio, then started to scoop rice into Shin’s bowl from the pot next to her. Once she returned the full bowl back to her brother, she returned to eating.

  Everyone ate the breakfast Rio cooked with gusto. Then, once they had finished eating and poured a round of tea for everyone...

  “Now that we’re no longer distracted by the delicious meal... Shall we get to the main point? Shin,” Yuba addressed the boy.

  “Hm, what is it?”

  “I called you here for a reason. I’d like to have Rio try out the work that the hunters do. Could you take him to Dola’s place after this?”

  “...Huh? This guy as a hunter? Are you serious?” Having completely forgotten that Yuba had called him here for something, Shin’s delightfully full and satisfied expression turned dubious at her words.

  “I am. He said he wanted to help with work in the village, so I asked him what he could do. He has quite a versatile set of skills, including the ability to hunt. Dola was looking for more people to help out, no?”

  “That’s... true, but... It’s a really rigorous job, you know? Does he have the stamina? He looks pretty fragile,” Shin said, looking at Rio doubtfully.

  “It’s all right — he’s not the type to lie. I’ve already confirmed that he can cook and use spirit arts, after all. He’s been traveling around the world at a young age all alone, so I have a feeling he’s quite the expert already. He has a very fine weapon on him, too... He might even be stronger than you,” Yuba said with a grin, provoking Shin.

  “S-So what? I can use spirit arts too. We’ll see what you’ve got.” Shin wavered for a moment, before putting on an air of composure.

  “Well, that’s the situation. I’m counting on you to explain that to Dola. Have a look at Rio’s skills — if it seems like you can spare the time, choose one of the younger juniors and assign them to train him.”

  “Fine, fine. Better hope he doesn’t waste too much of our time,” Shin muttered with an unhappy nod, clearly underestimating Rio.

  “Shin!” Sayo scolded him, having picked up on what he had meant.

  “All right, all right. You’re so noisy. Hey, Rio. We don’t have much time, so let’s get going.” Shin stood up and walked briskly over to the front door.

  “S-Sir Rio, I’m so sorry! My brother needs to watch his mouth more.” Sayo hurriedly bowed her head at Rio, but he gave her a gentle smile and shook his head, as though he wasn’t bothered at all. Then, he followed hastily after Shin.

  “Good grief. Rio’s the younger one by a year, yet so much more mature. Don’t worry about it, Sayo... I’ll have a word with Rio later,” Ruri said with an exasperated sigh.

  “O-Okay.” Sayo nodded timidly.

  “Now, Sayo... And you too, Ruri. It’s your turn next,” Yuba said.

  “Huh? Us too?” Ruri gawked in surprise, not expecting to be addressed.

  “Yes. Rio has only just arrived in this village, after all. He might seem like he’ll be fine because of his calm demeanor, but there is a lot he is still not used to. There will be many villagers wary of his status as an outsider. So, could you two please look out for him?” Yuba said in a serious tone and bowed her head deeply at the two girls.

  “Y-Yeah. Of course we will. Just leave it to us.” Ruri was taken by surprise at the rare sight of her grandmother lowering her head like this, but immediately nodded with a smile.

  “I-I’ll do my best, too, if it’s within my abilities!” Sayo nodded enthusiastically.

  “Hmm, can I just think of him like a new little brother of mine? Or an older brother to Sayo? She already has Shin, though,” Ruri said while she stretched her neck.

  “I-I can’t possibly dare to imagine Sir Rio as my older brother!” Sayo interjected fearfully at Ruri’s words.

  “Ahaha... By the way, what’s with calling him ‘Sir’ Rio?” Ruri asked with a mocking smile.

  “Eh? W-Well, don’t you think he kind of seems like nobility? Like someone unreachable...” Sayo faltered, replying with a slight blush to her cheeks.

  “I see...” Ruri watched Sayo with a grin.

  “W-What is it, Ruri?”

  “It’s nothing. Now, shall we get to work? We’re heading off, Granny!” Ruri swiftly stood up and ushered Sayo toward the door.

  “Ah! H-Hold on, Ruri!” Sayo struggled to keep up.

  “Go on, now,” Yuba said, seeing the rushing girls off.

  “...It seems like things will be quite interesting around here,” she muttered, smiling.

  ◇◇◇

  Shin led Rio to the foot of the forest mountain. Despite his crankiness coming out of the village elder’s house, Rio continued to engage Shin in conversation until they were chatting amicably, his sour mood long since forgotten.

  “Right, here we are. This mountain forest is where we hunters do our work. We generally hide ourselves away in the forest from morning ’til afternoon, then help out in the fields with whatever free time we have afterward. If you want to know more, you should ask the master... Oh, speak of the devil. This is Dola, our boss.”

  Shin was giving Rio a brief explanation of the hunters’ work when the man named Dola — who had come up in the conversation with Yuba, too — appeared. He seemed to be in his late forties, with a large build and a sturdy frame.

  “Yo, Shin — you’re early. Is this the Rio kid, then?” Dola approached, greeting them casually.

  “...What, you know about him already?”

  “Well, yeah. My daughter met him this morning. Hm, I see... This is certainly... He looks a bit delicate, but I can see why the girls would go crazy over him. Well, not as crazy as they do for me. Wahaha!” Dola laughed heartily.

  “It’s nice to meet you — my name is Rio. I’ll be staying in this village for a while, so I’ve come to help the hunters with their work on the orders of Lady Yuba. I look forward to working with you,” Rio said, introducing himself and giving a simple overview of his circumstances.

  “Right, same here. So, do you have any experience in hunting?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Oho? I’m glad to hear that. We actually had two other hunters, but they’re both injured right now. The only hunters that can work are this apprentice, here, and myself.” Dola said with a happy smile.

  “That old lady Yuba said if it seemed like you had the hands to spare, to bring a younger guy from the village and train him as a junior. In any case, we’ll see how he goes,” Shin interjected with a slightly amused look on his face.

  “Why are you acting all smug for? You’re still half a man yourself,” Dola said exasperatedly.

  “S-Shut up! I’ll hunt something way bigger than him!” Shin snapped back with motivation.

  “Yeah, sure, I look forward to it. Just don’t go overboard.” Dola gave a light shrug of his shoulders. “Now, I want to know exactly how talented Rio is. Our spare hunting equipment is stored in that shed over there, so let’s head into the mountains as soon as you’re ready,” he said with a shift of his attitude that indicated he meant business.

  After that exchange, they all gathered inside the shed and prepared to go hunting. Dola and Shin had been wearing work clothes that were easy to move around in, but they changed into thicker clothes and boots that they needed for traveling up the mountain. Then, they put on a straw overcoat, and equipped themselves with a hunting knife and bow each.

  Meanwhile, Rio had been wearing his slightly thicker battle armor to begin with, and had daggers and throwing knives in his belt already, so he decided that all he needed was to borrow a bow.

  “That’s a real strange getup you’re in, there. You sure you’ll be fine in just that?” Once Shin finished changing, he looked Rio up and down with skepticism.

  “Yes, these are my traveling clothes, so they’re made to be very durable,” Rio nodded.

  Dola came over to inspect the texture of the clothes. “So it seems. The fabric seems pretty tough. Well, I’m sure this’ll be fine,” he said, giving his stamp of approval.

  “All right. Let’s go already,” Shin said a little hurriedly and rushed out of the shed.

  “Just so you know, that’s him being more excited than usual. You must’ve set fire to his competitive heart, Rio. Now, we should set off too.” Dola gave a short huff of laughter, a smile playing at his lips as he left the shed. Rio followed him.

  “Now, Rio. There’s something I need to say before we enter the mountain,” Dola said once they were outside again.

  “Yes? What is the matter?”

  “It’s about that way of speaking of yours. You don’t have to speak so stiffly with us. It makes me itch. There’s no time to worry about manners when you’re in the middle of a hunt, after all.”

  “That’s true... It’s just, it’s almost become a habit at this point, so if you ask me to suddenly drop it it’d be very difficult... And make me even more awkward than I originally was. But I’ll do my best.”

  “Haha. Well, it’s not a bad thing. If you’re saying it’s easier for you to speak that way, then there’s no need to force yourself to stop. Okay, I want to test your skills and explain a few things, so let’s head into the mountains. Do you have any questions before we get started, Rio?”

  “Just one. If you have any hand signals for communicating without speaking, could you teach me them beforehand?”

  “Hand signals? What are those?” Dola and Shin both curiously tilted their heads.

  “Movements you make with your hand to communicate your intentions without saying anything by giving meaning to a gesture. Something like move forward, freeze, or be silent, for example.” Rio explained.

  “Ah, I see. Now that you mention it, we do use some gestures to give really simple instructions. But, the specifics of what to do and where are a bit vague, so we don’t really have a set of fixed gestures with meaning.” Dola came to the realization he had been using hunting hand signals regularly without really thinking about it.

  “But... Is there a point on deciding things like that? Who cares as long as you understand? Things like ‘go’ and ‘stop’ you can tell by the mood and some simple pointing.” Apparently, Shin had yet to understand the importance of hand signals.

  “There is a point. If you don’t decide the rules of communicating beforehand, you may end up being even more confused. When you want to communicate something more complex, you’ll be stuck.”

  “Hah... I guess Rio has a point. All right, seems interesting. If you insist on it that much, then you must have your own gestures for when you’re hunting. Teach us those.” Dola seemed to accept Rio’s explanation, showing ready willingness to implement the use of the hand signals to communicate during hunting.

  “Well, if the boss says so, then I guess...” Shin agreed. And so, Rio taught some simple sign language to the two of them. Then, several minutes later...

  “All right. We’re a little bit behind schedule, so let’s head out! The two of you, follow me.”

  Under Dola’s leadership, they finally departed for the village hunting grounds in the mountains. Dola lectured Rio on the village rules of hunting as they walked, but they eventually ran out of things to talk about and began to actively communicate through hand signals instead.

  As an experienced hunter, Dola’s adaptability meant he was quick on the uptake; he mastered the sign language Rio taught him without delay.

  Shin still has a ways to go, but Rio is handling him wonderfully. He said he had experience... That’s impressive for a frail appearance like his. But, he doesn’t seem like he’ll have a problem. If he proves himself with his hunting abilities, then he can work by himself from tomorrow onward.

  Dola smiled wryly. Shin’s hunting attitude was still far too reckless, and he would often miss the hand signals Dola sent. In contrast, Rio’s abilities were worthy of high praise.

  The way he silenced his footsteps, the way he concealed his presence, his ability to spot traces and trails of their hunting prey, and his knowledge of the animal’s behavior — no matter how you looked at it, Rio was adept at everything.

  And so, Dola and Rio naturally split the search for hunting prey between them, moving in a two-top formation with Shin trailing after them, which he was not pleased by in the least. Even though he regularly went out hunting with Dola, he had always been on the receiving end of instruction, and was never given responsibilities of his own. Yet, a newly recruited outsider like Rio — someone younger than him, no less — was being trusted and given a share of hunting responsibilities. It was almost as though he was being a burden to Rio. Perhaps Rio thought of him as a burden. And while the thought had never even crossed Rio’s mind, just the possibility of it made Shin feel overwhelmingly frustrated.

  On top of that, Rio brought up his wisdom about sign language and had drawn Dola’s attention with it. In Shin’s eyes, Rio looked like he was trying to butter up Dola, making him even more distrustful than before. Eventually, his frustrations developed into irritation, leading to the inevitable distraction of his focus.

  “Hey, Shin. What’s wrong? If you’re going to slack off, go home. You’re in the way.” Dola noticed his distracted demeanor and decided to warn him.

  “...That’s not it,” Shin muttered sullenly, making Dola furrow his brows.

  “There it is.” Rio said after he had already fired his bow. The arrow cut through the air with a fwip! It flew on a direct trajectory for their prey — almost as if it was being sucked in — and struck its target over twenty meters away, piercing a bird in a tree.

  “O-Ooh, a Lenou bird! That’s a tough mark! These flighty birds get really nervous around others. Hunting them is difficult.”

  “I’m sorry. I fired the arrow at my own judgment... The bird had noticed us and was about to take off otherwise,” Rio apologized, looking regretful.

  “No worries about that. More importantly: your bow arm is amazing. There was barely any time between when you nocked your arrow and when you fired it. And at this distance too — what a sight!” Dola, letting his irritation toward Shin disperse, turned to praise Rio instead. Shin’s expression grew even sulkier.

  “Thank you very much.”

  Rio gave a short word of gratitude before hurrying over to the Lenou he had shot down. He grabbed it by the legs and pulled out a dagger with his free hand, slicing its neck to drain out the blood. He wore a serious expression as he worked, even offering a short moment of silence in appreciation for the prey that had been sacrificed for food.

  Dola watched Rio toiling away with his familiar hand and let out an impressed sound. “Oho. Fine! We can’t lose either, Shin,” he said enthusiastically, urging Shin on.

  “I know! As if I’d back down...!” Shin replied angrily. Dola saw right through his attitude and gave a wry smile in exasperation as he approached Rio.

  After finishing up all the procedures that needed to be done right away, the party resumed their search for prey. Rio and Dola steadily took down wild birds and rabbits as they proceeded through the forest. The sight of their efforts lit a fire within Shin, who didn’t want to lose to them. However, he found himself unsuccessful, unable to catch a single animal.

  Thus, time passed by until the early afternoon.

  “Okay. It’s still a little early, but we can wrap things up here. The two of you did well — we have more meat that we’re bringing back to the village than usual,” Dola announced the end of the day with a pleased smile.

  “I only got one, though. It was all you and that guy, boss,” Shin muttered, sulking slightly.

  “What are you saying?” Dola asked, a tired expression on his face.

  “This is the result of the three of us working together. You also helped in the cornering of the prey, Shin. Thanks to that, our arrows were able to land where we wanted them to.”

  “That’s right. Cornering the prey is the important work of a hunter, too.” Dola agreed with Rio’s opinion, but Shin remained sullen, clicking his tongue before briskly walking down the mountain alone.

  “Geez... He’s hopeless. Sorry, Rio. I’ll talk to him later, so just think of it as a brat’s tantrum. Don’t let it bother you.”

  “...No, it’s fine. I’d like to apologize, too. If you could pass that on for me, I’d be grateful,” Rio apologized with a regretful expression.

  “...There’s no need for you to apologize, but all right. Also, I reckon you’d be fine hunting on your own from tomorrow onward. I have to look after the juniors, so if you could hunt enough to cover my share, that’d be great. Do you think you could manage that?” Dola scratched his head with a guilty look, shaking his head as he spoke.

  “Sure — leave it to me,” Rio replied smoothly.

  “All right, I’m counting on you. Now, let’s get back to the shed and get to cleaning our kills.” Dola slapped Rio on the shoulder with a grin.

  ◇◇◇

  After they had finished cleaning all the animals, Rio took some of the meat and headed back home.

  “I’m back,” he said into the house from the doorway, but there was no reply. There was no one in the living room, nor in the kitchen to the right of the clay floor.

  ...Is no one home? Well, I guess it’s still during work hours right now.

  Rio decided to first get rid of the stench of wild animals that clung to him. There was no bathroom inside the house, so he took the bath bucket in the kitchen and went outside. He went around the back of the house and placed the bucket on the ground, then raised the ground that surrounded him with spirit arts to create walls to enclose the space. Then, he used spirit arts to fill the bathing bucket with water.