316 – Side Story – Ars (2)

“Naeaeaeaeae! Argh!”

As dawn slowly deepened, the deafening cry of a child began to echo from the tree house where the Chester family lived.

“… ….”

Chester, who sensitively detected the child’s presence just before he started crying and woke up, began to soothe the crying Ars by gently holding him.

“Yes, what’s wrong, my baby? “Are you hungry?”

“aaa!!”

“Chester… what….”

He looked after Ars until she collapsed from exhaustion. When Monia, who had barely fallen asleep, carefully tried to get up, Chester placed her back in her bed.

Then, she took Ars out of the house, held the baby in both arms, and jumped from branch to branch using only her legs, climbing up to the highest point of the tree that was her home.

The tree, which was harder than steel, only slightly bent but did not break even when Chester climbed on it, and Chester, who was able to use the surrounding tree branches to get into a comfortable position, inspected Ars’ diaper.

The diaper, which was roughly wrapped in cloth, had not changed since I changed it a few hours ago when Ars was rude.

“No… “Where is the problem?”

Chester, who was looking at Ars and asking questions, suddenly noticed that Ars had stopped crying.

“… ….”

Ars was looking at the stars in the sky with twinkling eyes.

Chester also raised his head and looked at the night sky seen by Ars.

The beautiful moon was rising high, and in the clear sky without a single cloud, there was a dizzying spectacle that could not be seen anywhere else.

“Isn’t it pretty? Ars.”

Chester hugged Ars and slowly shook his body, feeling the wind blowing.

Eventually, when Ars started laughing, Chester looked at the night sky from the tree until Ars was satisfied and then came down.

When they came down to the house, Monia had woken up and was waiting for them.

“What happened?”

“I guess Ars was a little stuffy at home.”

“Okay… ?”

Monia responded by rubbing her eyelids, and her face showed fatigue that could not be hidden even though she was being helped by the grace of her top.

“Monia, are you tired yet?”

“Yes. “I need to drink some water.”

Monia approached the jar-shaped pottery that Chester had made and she opened the lid of the pottery.

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When I open the lid, a soft blue light flows out from inside the jar. Monia poured some water into the bamboo water cup next to her and drank it.

The grace at the top in the jar was given by the people at the top as a gift for the two people who successfully returned from their trip.

The new top grace, which is larger than the previous top grace, is probably because it was collected from a deeper place, but the light is much stronger than the previous grace, so much so that the light disturbs a good night’s sleep. Chester and Monia are fine, but Ars can’t sleep well because of the light, so we keep the lid on the jar every night.

“Ugh, ah, ah, yes, ah.”

Chester handed Ars to Monia when Ars, who was in his arms, was cooing and muttering, and Monia, who drank her water, smiled and held Ars in her arms.

“Ars, your body is cold?”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. It’s very cold. “Chester, you should have been careful.”

“Hmm. Sorry.”

When I touched Chester, Arsui’s body was indeed cold. It was something that Chester couldn’t feel because he was holding it all this time.

“Oh my, are you okay?”

“I need to warm up first. “Chester, light a fire.”

“Okay.”

Chester went to the dirt-covered part in the middle of the house and made a bonfire. When he returned to the island, he had several lighters with him in advance, so he was able to start a fire very quickly.

After lighting the fire, the family gathered in front of the bonfire and watched the burning bonfire, warming their bodies that had become cold in the night air.

“Are you going to sleep all night again?”

As Monia spoke with a smile, Chester also smiled bitterly.

I haven’t been able to sleep properly these days. This is because even while sleeping, Ars wakes up crying repeatedly.

I know it can’t be helped, but knowing that parenting is difficult and experiencing that difficult parenting firsthand are two completely different things.

Even Chester, who has good physical strength, feels it is a bit difficult, so the difficulty Monia feels is even greater.

Chester and Monia looked at Ars quietly while warming themselves by the campfire.

Perhaps because the warmth of the bonfire felt good, Ars’ bright purple eyes slowly closed, unable to overcome his heavy eyelids, and soon fell into a quiet sleep.

* * *

Is Ars’ growth fast or slow? Chester and Monia, who did not know the baby, could not help but be ambiguous about that part.

After drinking the water mixed with the darkest peak grace given as a gift by the Black Wind, Ars was soon able to crawl around the house on his own.

Perhaps because he inherited Chester’s grip strength, he was unable to walk, but he was climbing up and down with both hands, holding on to the curves of the bamboo that made up the house or the crude furniture that Chester and Monia had made with poor skill.

In that sense, no matter how much I thought about it, Ars seemed to grow faster than an average child, but since I couldn’t tell how a normal child grows, I was confused as to whether it was faster or slower.

In the case of a human baby, the moment it is born, it freely climbs trees and flies around, and after a few years, it grows from a baby to a full-fledged adult like Rex, so it cannot be compared to a human baby. In fact, the growth rate of the top person resembles that of an animal more than a person.

“Ars! “It’s dangerous, so come down!”

And now, Ars must have been happy to be able to move around as he pleases, so while Chester and Monia were half asleep due to the fatigue of raising children, he crawled out of the house on his own.

It didn’t stop there, I thought it might crawl up a tree branch, but it grabbed hold of a thin tree branch that it could hold with its own hands and started hanging on.

Chester and Monia, who barely found Ars in that situation, were scared and stretched out their hands towards Ars, but they were afraid that Ars would lose their grip if they moved too far and the tree branches shook, so they could not get closer than a certain distance.

But Ars can’t hang on forever.

“Monia, I’m waiting a little below. “I’m going to Ars, so if Ars runs out, you can take it.”

“Yes. Okay.”

While Monia went to wait under Ars, Chester moved slowly, stretching her arms and legs here and there to keep the branches as steady as possible.

Lower your body low and move as if you were a spider.

Chester suddenly thought.

‘When did I first climb a tree?’

Chester did not learn to climb trees from his father. Chester’s father was a hunter who exploited the habits of animals and loved traps and bows.

Although I traveled all over the world and learned various techniques, I was not the type of person who hunted while moving around very dynamically like Chester.

Chester liked the catapult better than the bow. He first learned how to throw a slingshot from his father, and learned the actual technique from a friend, a hunter, who visited his father.

He also learned how to step on trees and use the elasticity of his legs and trees to run as if he were flying, from his father’s friend, a hunter. Unlike his father, the hunter favored primitive hunting methods, actively using his wood spells and persistently tracking and hunting animals.

He learned basic knowledge and skills from his father, inherited his greatest strength, his grip, from his mother, and learned and mastered various things from his father’s friends.

But when was the last time you climbed a tree? The beginning is clear.

‘It definitely seems like I made a bet on something with my friend.’

It was a bet that men of that age often made. No, it was probably a bet that men enjoyed even after they got older.

A competition to see who is braver. Although it was childish, it was a fundamental and important bet for the boys.

While competing, I think we made a bet on who would climb the tallest tree in the village.

‘Yes, that was the first time.’

Chester had a strong grip. I had to use my leg strength to climb up, but since I didn’t know anything, I ignorantly pulled myself up with my arm strength, and with the help of my strong grip, I won the bet.

‘I don’t think I was this scared of climbing trees even back then.’

But now I was too afraid to take one step at a time.

I climbed trees so often that I felt more comfortable on trees than on the ground. I often stepped on trees and ran, and now I live in trees.

It was refreshing. And it wasn’t that bad.

When I was with Ars, everything that felt familiar became new to me, and I became nervous and fearful that what I felt was insignificant might be a danger to Ars.

Much of myself revolves around Ars and for Ars. Ars stepped in next to Monia, who had taken up residence in the deepest and most precious place in her own heart.

Chester stretched out his hand and carefully supported Ars. When he felt Ars’s small, warm body, the corners of his mouth relaxed and he smiled without realizing it. Ars, seeing Chester’s smile, also relaxed his grip on his hand.

After carefully supporting the ars on the branch, Chester slowly lowered his hand and handed the ars to Monia, who was waiting below.

“Oh my, our naughty prince. And then you grow up like Jordi?”

“There’s nothing this woman can’t say to our child.”

Suddenly, Chester remembered something.

Now that I think about it, where and how is Jordi living now?

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