Chapter 17

As a result of a later meeting with Mrs. Eureka, it was decided to start a trial beekeeping operation next spring. The personnel involved in this will be Miss Tanya as the actual worker, I as the advisor, and Mrs. Eureka as the financial supporter. It’s a very small operation.

Miss Maika also offered to help, and I thanked her and Miss Tanya for their help. Thus, in addition to me and Miss Maika, Miss Tanya joined the study group at the church.

Miss Tanya will not be learning to read or write, but she will need to understand the beekeeping book before spring. At the same time, I think it would not hurt if she could read, write, and calculate a little. Having watched her parents at work, Miss Tanya understood quickly the meaning of what they were doing; she nodded her head again and again in delight, which made me smile.

“I think I can repair some of the tools that my dad left me and make some simple things myself.”

“I’m sure Mrs. Eureka will be very happy to hear that. We’ll have to check it over later and ask Mr. Quid to stock up on what we’re missing.”

“Now I just need a place to put the hive……”

Miss Tanya tilted her head with a slightly anxious look on her face. She said that her father had been doing this area by himself, and neither Miss Tanya nor her mother had inherited his knowledge.

As for where to put the hive, the bees have a wide range of activities, so it wouldn’t be a problem if they just want to collect honey. However, if we want to get good quality nectar or a large amount of nectar, we’d better examine it carefully. According to the book, changing the location of the hive depending on the season is also a common practice.

“First choice, near the village fields.”

I muttered, and Miss Tanya, who was standing across from me, nodded. Next to me, Miss Maika pondered for a bit and then agreed with me. Each of them understood the contents of the book.

The work that farmers expect bees to do is to pollinate the crops in the fields. Therefore, it is a good idea to set up hives near the fields. We sincerely hope that this will improve the yield of the vegetables we are planting in the summer. We also hope to increase the yield of wild strawberries that are growing half wild around the village.

“And then there’s……the forest?”

“I’m pretty sure it’s in the……woods. My dad used to go into the woods every season with a hive. My mom didn’t because it was too dangerous, and she wouldn’t let me help.”

“You’re right; it’s dangerous even for an expert in the woods.”

Since this summer, Mr. Van and I have been going into the forest together, but it’s much harder than I imagined. Since there are no people entering the forest at all, there are only animal trails, and even animal trails are not always usable. The dense vegetation and vines were more of a hindrance than a clue. I slipped and felt a shiver run down my spine, a sensation I could never get used to.

“However, if the village does it alone, only small-scale beekeeping can be done. That’s why Miss Tanya’s father risked so much by going into the forest.”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Then let’s talk to Mr. Van, who is an expert in the forest. He might know of a relatively safe place that could be used for beekeeping.”

One of the things I haven’t learned yet is that there are places where you can get fruits, so I guess that’s my first target. There are other places that turn into flower gardens depending on the season. There is a place that I already know, and it was very beautiful when I first saw it.

However, I cannot set up a hive there. It was a very pretty looking flower, but I was taught that it was a cluster of poisonous flowers used for hunting. I don’t want them to collect nectar in such a place.

“Let’s see, I met Mr. Van the day before yesterday, so today he’s at…….”

I wondered if Mr. Van would have been in the village today, remembering the schedule for the hunters to enter the forest, and Miss Tanya looked at me in an apologetic manner.

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

“Well……Ash, you’re good friends with Brother Van, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, he’s been very good to me…….is Mr. Van your brother?”

I had never heard that he had a sister, not only from the silent hunter himself, but also from the rumors in the village.

“No, no, no, not like that! It’s just that………Yeah! He used to come over to our house when I was little, you know?”

Miss Tanya’s face is blushing like a ripe apple. It’s a very attractive look, different from anything she’s ever done before. When I looked at Miss Maika, she also opened her mouth as if her curiosity was aroused.

“That’s very convenient. Don’t you think so, Mr. Maika?”

“Yes! Don’t you think so, Mr. Ash?”

Hmmm. It’s times like this that I realize how deep my relationship with Miss Maika has become.

“What? I told you it’s not like that!”

“Yes, I know.”

If she showed me such a face, anyone would understand. I can even see that she can’t express her feelings honestly. It’s not that it’s a strange thing, but in this village, relationships are usually decided through discussions between the parents.

It’s not that the parents ignore their own wishes, but when their sons start talking about “that girl from that family is good,” they go to the other parent and ask, “What about our son?” When a daughter starts to talk about “that boy from that family is good,” they go to the other parent and ask, “How is our child?” Rarely do the two parties directly express their feelings to each other.

In such a culture, both Miss Tanya and Mr. Van have no parents, and in such a case, the neighbors in the village take care of them, but Mr. Van, as you can see, is not very talkative and does not socialize much. Miss Tanya is not so bad, but because of her younger brother, Jekyll, she is not so positive about such talks. It seems that there were other reasons for not being positive about the matchmaking besides her brother.

“Tanya and Mr. Van have known each other for a long time, haven’t they?”

“Yeah, I guess so. Well, I mean, we’re related, you know, my dad goes into the woods a lot, and he’s from a hunting family.”

“Yes, yes. They both work in the forest, so you have a connection, don’t you? Then maybe he knows where your father kept the hives.”

“Oh, yeah……maybe?”

So, in light of the various circumstances, we had to consult with Mr. Van on various matters.

“I’ll see if I can find a time that works for him. It’s a bit of a long story, isn’t it?”

I glanced over at Miss Maika. The smart girl nodded coyly.

“It’s going to happen, isn’t it? I’ll talk to your mother about it and ask her to decide what we should do about the meeting.”

Miss Maika seems to be having a hard time with her acting. As the village chief’s family, she may need some acting skills, so I will report this to Mrs. Eureka.

Mrs. Eureka, a beautiful and shrewd woman, has been trying to find out a lot about Miss Maika’s condition from me lately. Aside from the progress of her studies, she also pays attention to her behavior and manners, probably because she has her eye on the social scene in the city. Mrs. Eureka said, “If there is anything that concerns you, Ash, please report it to me,” so I try to pay attention to what Miss Maika says and does.

Aside from the social skills of the daughter of the village chief’s family, Mrs. Eureka gave me the expected notice when she received the report later.

“Negotiations are supposed to be conducted over a leisurely meal, so why don’t Mr. Van and Miss Tanya have dinner while reminiscing?”

I can’t tell you how flustered Miss Tanya looked when I said that. She was anxious, but her eyes were happy and relaxed.

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When I explained the situation to Mr. Van, he asked me to help him with the hunting. It seemed that he was a little busy, and in order to set up a meeting, he had to look around the forest on a slightly tight schedule. It’s not impossible, but it’s a little hard for him to do it alone, so he asked me to come along.

I have no objections. It’s for the sake of the beekeeping industry and also for the sake of the naive Miss Tanya. I also think it would be good for Mr. Van, who is a good man but single. I know it may be a bit unnecessary, but I would like to ask for your cooperation in increasing the population of the village.

“Thank God this time.”

The two of us were sitting around the campfire at night when the quiet hunter spoke to me. It’s my favorite time of day.

“The deer were trapped,” he said. It was quite a big one.

Today’s dinner was a hot pot of deer guts in blood, flavored with wild vegetables of early autumn. It’s a bold hunter’s meal made by stewing dismembered deer organs in their blood. It is also extremely delicious. People who don’t like it might run away from it just from the smell, but the moment you throw it in your mouth; you will be addicted to the richness of it, as if you are assimilating it into your own flesh and blood.

“Alone, the deer would have been…..”

“It would have been eaten. I just killed a boar yesterday.”

This one was not caught in a trap, but was tracked down and killed with a spear. It was not very big, but it was very fierce and I witnessed its ferociousness. I don’t think I would have been able to spear it without Mr. Van’s precise instruction. I also got his entrails for dinner last night.

However, since I killed it with a poisoned spear, I couldn’t eat the blood, and I cooked the entrails thoroughly before eating. The poison that Mr. Ban uses for hunting becomes non-toxic when cooked.

“I’m happy to help. I’m glad to see you’re hunting so much.”

Mr. Van patted me on the head when I told him that I had eaten a lot of meat. I’m not mentally old enough to appreciate a pat on the head, but I’m happy to know that I’m being praised by someone I respect. He’s a reliable boss in the hunting field.

“Tanya’s…..”

Yeah, what’s up with Tanya?

I’ve gotten used to his way of talking. Whenever Mr. Van starts to say something, he almost never finishes it, so I have to make an effort to guide him.

“Bees.”

“Beekeeping? Tanya’s family has a wonderful book, and based on it, beekeeping could be revived in this village. She wants to do it herself, you know? Maybe she was proud of her father’s and mother’s work at a very young age. Oh, this will be positioned as something important for the village, and she will receive support from the village chief.”

I was talking to Mr. Van, but he seemed to want to talk more and more, so I ended up talking quite a bit by myself. He is a good listener who listens attentively to what others have to say, but it is rare for him to want to listen. Mr. Van nodded his head in satisfaction.

“Ash.”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”

The unsociable Mr. Van said this in a very gentle tone of voice, still with an unsociable expression on his face. That’s all it took for me to understand. I wondered why this person had been single for so long.

If that’s the case, then maybe he was feeling ashamed. Miss Tanya is not a beekeeper, but lives in the fields away from the forest. Mr. Van, on the other hand, lives in the forest and is not familiar with the fields. Even though he cares for her, there is not much he can do to help her. Then came the news that Miss Tanya had decided to become a beekeeper. Their lives are about to intersect.

“I hope I’ve been of some help to you.”

When I get back, I’ll tell Mrs. Eureka that we are going to have a new couple in the village. What I’m working on now is to improve the productivity of the village. If we improve our productivity, we can afford to live more comfortably.

If we can use that margin to increase the population, we can create a cycle of increasing the labor force and improving productivity. This is an important plan to make my dream come true. Well, even if I put that aside, I genuinely enjoy supporting these two people.

“I can’t wait to discuss this with Miss Tanya, Mr. Vann.”

Mr. Van tilted his head, looking a little embarrassed.

“It’s going to be okay. For Tanya-san, Van-san, who has a wealth of knowledge about the forest, will be an important collaborator. He will be a great partner to work with in the forest. This partnership is destiny.”

I know Miss Tanya’s inner thoughts, so I dare to say too much.

“Mrs. Eureka and I are hoping that Mr. Van will work with Tanya as much as possible. The beekeeping business is for the development of the village, so we want to take good care of it.”

Mrs. Eureka and I haven’t talked about that yet, but it’s no problem because we’ll talk about it later. Mr. Van and Miss Tanya have a great reason to be together, so I hope they will get together soon.