Kanai and the Eight-Colored Jewels ④

“That tent there.”

The girl pointed toward the entrance of the village without daring to touch upon Kanai’s grumpy mood. Three tents were pitched there.

“The yellow tent closest to us is mine. The large blue tent in the middle is for the troupe leader, Chin, and Ele. The green tent at the very back is shared by Castor-niisan and the person who takes care of his personal needs.”

“Castor-niisan? Is he the juggler?”

As Kanai blinked in surprise, the girl nodded with a smile. Her cheeks seemed a little flushed.

“Yes. Castor-niisan is very dexterous. He has even performed his knife juggling in front of the King. The troupe leader hired me and Castor-niisan when he visited the capital, but Castor-niisan was recognized as a full-fledged member the very next day. I’m still only half-fledged, though.”

When the girl stuck out her tongue, Kanai forgot his earlier grumpiness and laughed. Every one of the girl’s gestures was something he hadn’t seen from Shuri or Tende. Kanai’s heart leaped at the thought that this was what a conversation with a girl his own age was like.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t told you my name yet. I’m Kanai. The one behind me is Shuri, and that one over there who’s hurt is...”

“T-t-t-tende. N-nice to m-meet y-you.”

Kanai blinked at Tende, who was blushing all the way to his ears.

“Tende, what’s wrong? Do you have a fever?”

“Shut up, Kanai! It’s nothing!”

Kanai blinked again at Tende, who was glaring at him. Beside the two of them, the girl burst into laughter.

“You all get along so well. I’m Siska. My stay here will be short, but I’d be happy if we could be friends.”

“Of course!”

When Kanai jumped up with joy, Siska laughed again.

The villagers here don’t bother to hide their mouths when they laugh out loud. Seeing Siska cover her mouth with her hand while laughing was a rare sight. Her hair, tied up on top of her head, was golden, her skin was fair, and she wore a vibrant yellow outfit. Even her way of speaking was mixed with polite language. To Kanai, Siska looked like a young lady from a storybook.

When they reached the front of the yellow tent, the girl opened the entrance.

“Come on in. It’s a little cramped, but I think everyone can fit.”

Urged by the girl, Kanai and the others stepped into the tent. Only the area near the entrance was dirt; the rest was covered with a woven fabric featuring a small flower pattern. Kanai and the others left their sandals on the dirt and stepped onto the fabric barefoot.

“You two, sit wherever. You, please come over here.”

As Tende sat opposite the girl, she immediately began treating his wounds. Kanai and Shuri sat near the entrance and looked around the tent. Perhaps because they moved around so much, all their belongings were packed into bags. There were three bags in total, and each one was so large that Kanai couldn’t reach his fingers around them even with both hands.

“Isn’t it hard to carry all this? You have to carry the tents too, right?”

When Kanai honestly voiced his question, the girl looked up just a little. Even so, the treatment continued, and Tende winced every time the disinfectant was applied.

“My costumes and daily necessities. Bedding, and things like that. And Lull’s costumes are in there too. This is actually on the lighter side. Even though he doesn’t look it, the troupe leader performs ball-balancing, so even a single piece of equipment is huge. That’s why we have four people to carry our luggage. They also prepare our meals while we’re staying somewhere.”

Indeed, the scent of cooking wafted in through the gap in the entrance. Occasionally, the sound of people talking and cows lowing could be heard.

“To reduce our luggage as much as possible, we try to procure ingredients locally whenever we can. I’d be happy if you could tell me about any recommended ingredients.”

Kanai nodded and looked at Shuri’s face. Shuri blinked, looked diagonally upward, and opened his mouth.

“At this time of year, if you go out to the sea, you should be able to catch all sorts of things. The shrimp should be getting big, too. If you’re lucky, you might even find blue crabs on the beach.”

Kanai nodded and looked at the girl.

“The sea is better right now. It’s... maybe... still a little early for nuts.”

Feeling warmth, Kanai looked at his feet. Lull was sitting on his lap. When Kanai stroked Lull’s head with his finger, Lull narrowed his eyes happily. It seemed Lull was completely relieved now that Kanai’s mood had improved.

“Kanai, you’re amazing. Lull is usually very shy with strangers and it’s not rare for him to scratch people. Even the troupe leader still gets scratched by him.”

When Siska applied medicine to Tende’s wound, Tende jumped. Siska, perhaps used to treating wounds, didn’t seem to mind and wrapped a white cloth around Tende’s hand.

“Did Siska have a hard time?”

“I have this bracelet.”

After finishing wrapping the cloth, Siska raised her arm so Kanai could see it clearly. A golden bracelet was fitted around her slender wrist. It was a little hard to see, but it looked like a small yellow stone was embedded in it.

“They say a long time ago, a traveler had nowhere to sleep and came to our house. They left this bracelet behind as a thank you for letting them stay. It’s a mysterious bracelet.”

Siska came up to Kanai and peered into his face. Kanai gulped.

“When you wear this, you can talk to animals.”

Kanai’s mouth hung open in surprise. He quickly came to his senses and looked at Shuri, who also had his mouth half-open in a daze. Siska looked at Kanai and Shuri in turn and puffed out her cheeks.

“That look on your face—you don’t believe me, do you? But thanks to this bracelet, I’ve never been scratched by Lull even once. That’s why I thought it was amazing that Kanai could get along with Lull even without a bracelet.”

“He doesn’t seem to think it’s amazing himself, though.”

Shuri gave a wry smile and shrugged at Siska, who had sparkling eyes.

“Kanai has been able to get along with animals for a long time.”

Kanai nodded at Shuri’s words and smiled at Siska.

“I have friends in the forest, in the river, and in the sea. Like river dolphins and sea turtles. I can’t exchange words directly, though.”

“In that case, this is perfect.”

Siska clapped her hands together and began to take off the bracelet she was wearing on her left wrist.

Continued below