THE small human who shared his potatoes with the Monster King had more magical prowess than the others in his village, though that still wasn’t much. He couldn’t actually use magic and wasn’t strong at all. He could do little to help the other villagers, so he received but a few potatoes for his labor. Even so, he always shared some with the Monster King.
Their first encounter, he lobbed a potato at the Monster King and fled. But slowly, he started to watch the Monster King from afar, gradually inching closer until they started to eat side by side.
“So the Monster King shared some of the mulberries and persimmons it found deeper in the forest, and also half of a snake that tried to attack it. Then the small human roasted the snake! He was great with fire despite being so small!”
“That’s right, the Monster King wasn’t too good with fires, was it?”
“Yes. It always made the fires too big!”
I’ve just finished a bath, and my lord husband is combing through my hair as he dries it with magic. Tabitha used to blot my hair with towels, but he’s recently learned how to generate warm wind at the right pressure.
I wonder when exactly. Rodney tells me that my lord husband’s always been skilled at minor spells, including chilling glasses of water for me.
I’m learning human magic and can perform the trick too, yet I shatter two out of every three glasses, so I leave the task to my lord husband. Besides, the water always tastes better when he does it.
I take a satisfyingly cool sip as he asks, “About that small human… Were you friends with him?”
“I think so. He gave me potatoes, so he must have been kind.”
“Hmm. And that small human gave potatoes to the Monster King, right? So it happened a long time ago. Can you guess how long?”
“How long…? Things were fuzzy after the Monster King died so I couldn’t keep count, but I think it was between one to three hundred springs ago.”
“That’s a large margin.”
“It was all fuzzy.” The period between one spring and the next sometimes felt very short.
My lord husband puts down the comb, then pulls me onto his lap and begins to curl strands around his fingers. Sighing, he rests his chin on my head. “How do you know that Haydn is the human who gave you potatoes so long ago?”
“You don’t know, my lord?”
“No, I really don’t. Is it because they look alike?”
He seems quite confused. I guess that can’t be helped since he never met the small human. “Look alike…? No, the human was a boy. But they are the same soul… I can see it, because my eyes are good like the Monster King’s.”
“I see… Well, let’s say Haydn really is that human. I’m not certain whether she remembers anything from back then.”
“Do humans not remember their past lives?”
“There may be some who do, but it’s very rare…” He frowns, leaning forward to study my face. “Would you still like to share potatoes with her if she doesn’t remember the Monster King?”
Since I’m Abigail and appear nothing like the Monster King, I thought that giving Wendy potatoes would help her recognize me. But if she truly doesn’t remember, then perhaps they won’t be of much assistance. And she said that she doesn’t dislike potatoes but doesn’t love them either.
“Maybe it’s okay not to share potatoes,” I murmur.
The small human couldn’t visit in winter when snow blanketed the forest. He shared his potatoes with the Monster King in autumn, then waved goodbye when the first snows fell, saying, “See you in spring.” When spring arrived, he always somehow appeared smaller, and they ate some leaves that the Monster King harvested.
In summer, they meandered through the forest, drinking from rivers and collecting shells while the Monster King caught shrimp.
Of course, they didn’t spend every day together. The human had to work in the village, after all. He’d explained that humans have more duties as they grow bigger—and earn more food as well.
“Even when he didn’t enter the forest, the Monster King could see him with its amazing eyes.”
“I see.”
“He must have been someone important. Every autumn, he brought the villagers into the forest with a cart full of potatoes as a gift.”
“…Wow.”
“I have so many memories of the Monster King sharing potatoes with the human, but when I think about it, they only did that when the human was small. They seldom ate together when he was bigger. Does that mean, like Wendy, he didn’t actually really like potatoes…?”
They’d shared so many, yet could it be?
“W-Well… I wouldn’t know… Anyway, Abby.”
“Yes?” I catch his hand before he can twirl my hair again, lifting it to my nose. He smells so nice.
“To be honest, I really dislike Haydn.”
“Yes, you were in a bad mood today, my lord. Oh, does that mean you won’t want to dine with her?”
“You get it!”
I do! Mother-in-Law taught me when we were preparing for our wedding banquet: people who dislike each other shouldn’t be seated at the same table!
My lord husband strokes my hair proudly, so I must be right.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to have lunch with Wendy in the garden,” I assure him.
“Wait, wait, wait, no. Let’s eat in the office. I’ll eat too.”
“But Mother-in-Law said—”
“It’s good manners to dine with people even if we dislike them!”
“Oh, Mother-in-Law did say that as well.”
“Right? Yes… I suppose that means you still want to share potatoes with her?”
“I wanted to roast some in the garden, but we don’t have to.”
“Y-Yes. Maybe we can roast them at the office…”
“It’s okay. I’ll ask the head cook to pack us some shepherd’s pie.”
I do love potatoes, and his shepherd’s pie uses a lot of them heaped on minced meat; it’s really delicious!
✦ ✦ ✦
🎂🎂🎂
I recall Longhurst’s terrain, especially the forests, and our map isn’t as detailed as my memory. Although I’ve been working on adding each river tributary and indicating the gradient of the land, what’s on paper doesn’t yet match what’s in my head, so I focus, tracing the territory with a finger.
That day, one of the aides points out places of interest while the other records my answers to their questions.
“Wh-Wh-What…? With Lady Haydn…?” asks the female aide, her finger still pressed to the map on the coffee table. Her eyes dart between me and my lord husband seated at his desk. “I-I-Is that all right with you, m-m-my lady?”
“Yes. Rodney will heat up the shepherd’s pie for us.”
She seemed shocked when I told her we’d be eating lunch with Wendy after work, her finger quivering and slipping to wrong regions on the map. She doesn’t have to worry. A small kitchen neighbors the office, and Rodney says that that will suffice.
“I’m guessing you know what’s going on, then, Miss Rickman?” he asks.
“Y-Y-Yes. O-Our families h-h-have a friendly history as business partners.”
“I see. I will be attending as well, so it will be fine…” My lord husband puts down his pen and places a hand on his chest. “But I am grateful for your concern for my wife.”
I don’t think they’re talking about the pie.
The female aide startles and begins to flap her hands in panic, the motion causing the map to slide sideways. “N-No need! I mean! It’s just that L-Lady H-H-Haydn’s n-not very good at s-socializing! N-N-Not that I’m much better myself!”
“Hmm… That’s fair.”
The other aide’s shoulders tremble as he rights the map. Our eyes meet and he nods, and I place my finger on the right spot.
The location, a village close to Longhurst’s capital, lies near a river flowing down a forested mountain. In the Monster King’s time, the mountain didn’t exist, so the waterway was wider. Since then, the river has narrowed, and the constant rains caused flooding, destroying the village. I’m pointing to where the community once stood.
I can see it clearly when I concentrate, though I am better at visualizing natural areas than I am human settlements. I think it’s been entirely washed away.
The aide draws a circle around my finger, marking the fields surrounding the former village. It might have been similar in size to the city of Longhurst in the past, but I’m not completely sure.
“I-It’s just that I c-can’t help but say what’s on my mind. Th-Th-That’s why I’m hopeless at s-socializing. I-I-I’m lucky to have a job I e-enjoy. My lady?” I glance up to see the female aide looking directly at me. “Y-Y-You’re so talented and a-amazing, so i-it’s a shame that you don’t work. I-It’s n-not my place, but that’s what I think. I-I’m sorry for asking so many rude questions the other day.”
I don’t understand. “But I am working, as the viscountess.”
“Oh, yes. Y-Y-Yes, you’re right. Yes, of course. I’m really s-s-sorry.”
“Don’t worry.”
“…Thank you.” She hugs her shoulders, shrinking into herself.
I stand, walk over to my lord husband, and ask for the rainbow candy. He tries to feed one to me, and I shake my head and hold out my hand for the jar. Once I have it, I accept the piece from him and offer another to the aide.