That student had then gone on to be treated by a warlock trained in providing mental health care. When the teacher explained that to Hudom’s class, he mentioned that the student was luckier than most. Other students he knew of in the past who hadn’t gotten treated by an expert were either still tormented by the aftereffects of the curse or had taken their own lives. The teacher had sternly warned them against resorting to hexes and thinking of them as an easy fix.
“Not only are parents ignorant to the dangers of curses, there are warlocks out there that cast curses regardless of the risks so they can make a quick buck. There are even some warlock tutors who secretly curse their students to fluff up their results.”
“There are some bad people out there...” Pauline said.
“I would never curse myself to study something, and I don’t think I’d ever have a tutor, but I’d definitely never agree to...that,” Renny added.
Their reactions were completely normal, and I shared their sentiment. There were stories about parents being too involved in their children’s academic achievements, and I couldn’t say I sympathized with them even a little bit, especially since I’d never had a child of my own.
“But there are laws against that kind of cursing, right?” I asked.
“Yeah. But just like any con artist, those warlocks take advantage of students’ nerves and insecurities. Legit warlocks abide by the law and work to better people’s lives. I’m sorry if I scared you with talk like this,” Hudom said.
“Don’t apologize. We asked.”
“Yes. Thank you for informing us.”
The ladies and Renny smiled, as cheerful as ever.
“No matter the power, it’s all about who wields it, isn’t it?” I said, in an attempt to pretty forcibly end the subject. “Speaking of. Kiara, wasn’t your husband a carpenter?”
“Yes... Why do you ask?”
“In addition to the cursed land I spoke of, I’m also in charge of maintaining the mountain. I plan to work my way through the mountain, which will produce a lot of lumber. Could that be made into boxes? It would still have to be dried and that’s going to take a while as well. There are some specific designs I want to make, so I wanted advice from someone with professional expertise in the area.” I was imagining the fold-up storage boxes I’d used when I had part-timed as a mover. Since those had been made from plastic, they had been light and durable. Being able to fold them and put them out of the way when they weren’t being used was a good bonus too.
I’d need storage to work on clearing the mountain, and I’d need boxes if I wanted to outsource incense and bracelets. I just wanted to do more research before putting in an order, but if Kiara and her husband could take on the job that would be ideal.
“You’re taking care of the mountain too? You really do keep busy. It should be possible to make boxes out of lumber. As for how many we can make and how quickly, that will depend wildly on whether only my husband can work on them or if our apprentices—our son is one of them—can chip in. Of course, my husband would be supervising the apprentices’ work and will ensure the quality of each piece. Except...” Kiara said guiltily. “We normally use planks cut and prepared by a vendor, so we’d ask for extra fees and time to cut the lumber ourselves. Besides, my husband mostly works with furniture and knickknacks, so we may be too small of a workshop for you to use up your extra lumber, if that’s what you want to do. A lumber vendor may be of more help when it comes to that.”
“I had considered that option... Hudom, those trees aren’t of good quality, are they?” I asked.
“Those trees were growing wild for too long. Compared to farm lumber, the quality is much less consistent and many of them are bent. A sawyer could probably cut it for us, but it would take more manpower and waste a lot of the material,” Hudom said.
“Oh... That seems a bit much for a lumber vendor.”
As businesspeople they had to be getting good-quality lumber that followed consistent standards from regular vendors. Kiara was being nice, but it was clear that us bringing in lumber of worse quality would only be a nuisance.
“That’s why I want to use as much of it as possible on things that I’ll be needing soon. I’d be happy to pay extra for good products,” I said.
“If you say so, why don’t you come over sometime? I promise we’ll help you as much as we can,” Kiara offered.
“I’ll take you up on that. If possible, I would like to hear any other ideas about how to utilize that lumber. The only other use I’d thought of was to use them as firewood,” I said...and noticed the ladies’ eyes light up. “Is something the matter?”
“Oh, sorry. We were talking about this before you came over.”
“Just a minute ago we were complaining about how expensive firewood has gotten.”
“Firewood? At this time of year?” It was late summer. Cooler air might have been around the corner, but it was still way too early for anyone to stock up on firewood.
Hudom confirmed my thoughts and said that he hadn’t heard of any price hikes for firewood.
“You weren’t in town, right? It’s only been two days or so since the price has gone up. Even then, they mean it’s expensive for this time of year. Mom and her friends are worried about it, but a bunch of people aren’t—like me,” Renny supplied.
“So the prices have only gone up a little. But if prices are up now, it’s concerning to think how high they’ll go by the time winter comes,” I surmised.
“That’s exactly what I said! A little change in price can add up over time. And we can’t stop using firewood no matter how expensive it becomes...not in winter, anyway.”
“Everyone knows it’s not worth cheaping out on firewood and catching a cold. Remember how ridiculously cold it was last winter? The three of us were thinking about stocking up on firewood before the prices go up even more, just in case it gets just as cold next winter.”
“I see... I don’t like where this is headed.” Panic buying had been a problem throughout history. Personally, I’d seen plenty of limited edition or location-specific merch for all sorts of fandoms fly off the shelf, fueled by the FOMO of collectors. While missing out on something like collector merch wasn’t a matter of life and death, firewood in winter was nothing short of a lifeline. It was natural for these ladies to want to stock up—that would seem like the best course of action to protect themselves and their families. However, when people started panic buying, there would be less of the product left on the shelf. If demand were to outgrow supply, prices would go even higher, which would make people panic more... It was a vicious cycle. Of course, the Jamils and the Merchant’s Guild would do something about it before the cycle spiraled out of hand.
“I see. In the near future I’ll reach out to the Merchant’s Guild and let the guildmaster know about my source of lumber,” I said.
“That’s...something you could do.”
“That would make us feel better, Ryoma.”
“I’d have to work with existing vendors, and I know the lumber has to be dried out before it can be used as firewood, so don’t expect it to be more than a way to slow the price hike if it comes to it.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. Just last year, you ran around the city helping all of us. Everyone who knows what you did knows you can do this too,” Pauline reassured me.
Just then, the church bells rang through the city.
“Did you hear the time? It really does fly when you’re having fun.”
“I hate to go, but I need to clean and cook dinner. See you all tomorrow. Ryoma, don’t forget to come by our house sometime.”
“Yes! I’ll be there with a mock-up of the kind of box I’d like,” I said.
I had some baobark powder left over from making incense, which I could try to make some kind of plywood out of. Woodworkers were bound to produce sawdust, so finding a way to recycle it might give us more options.
In any case, that concluded our fence-side chat. Pauline and Renny returned to their shop while Hudom and I walked up to the laundry shop.
“I suppose we kept Eleonora waiting,” I said.
“She’s probably talking shop with Carme.”
“That’s true. If anything, our conversation out there showed that a lot can happen in a week.”
We opened the laundry shop door to the normal operations of the establishment...which was exactly what made me halt in my tracks.
“Welcome back! If you go into the back, you’ll... Why are you frozen?”
“Are you okay?”
At that moment, the puzzle piece fell into place. It seemed so obvious that I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought about it until now. It also made sense that Fernobelia had told me I had everything I needed to know. The key to help Korumi communicate with others was right here the whole time.
“This is it!” I exclaimed, my voice echoing through the shop of my employees and a few customers.