That is, when her mother was still alive, her mother would deliberately remember things like "age" and would repeatedly remind herself so that she would remember them as well.
So she knew what happened when she was 5 years old, and her mother left and disappeared when she was 12 years old.
But after that... no one asked, no one cared. Although she wanted to remember these things again to remember her mother, as a 12-year-old girl who didn't even understand the truth, she was more concerned about how to survive in the environment.
"Hot Wind Festival." Hitzfeld sighed, and instead of rushing her, he took the time to talk to her carefully.
"Didn't you say before that the village holds the Hot Wind Festival every year?"
"Ah...yes..."
"Your mother also left during the Hot Wind Festival."
"Yes……"
"You remember when your grandma left, you were 12 years old."
"Yes……"
"So how many Hot Wind Festivals have passed since then?"
Hitzfeld stared into Ashley's eyes and said, "Think about it carefully. You must think it through before you speak."
"Hot Wind Festival..." Ashley counted on her fingers for a long time, and finally raised two fingers to Hitzfeld.
really.
Hitzfeld's heart sank.
Britney disappeared seventeen years ago.
Before her disappearance, she was not married and had no offspring.
If Ashley was the child she gave birth to after being stranded on Brays Island, her age could not have been over 17.
And now Ashley says that from the time Britney left when she was 12 to today, two Heat fests have passed.
So she is only 14 years old?
Hitzfeld stared at Ashley's thick arms and legs, which were not as strong as Moglie's but definitely much stronger than his own, and almost blurted out "How old is this?"
"I should be...I should be 15 years old!"
Maybe because Hitzfeld asked her too many questions and it touched upon some memories of the past, Ashley's eyes lit up and she started counting on her fingers again.
"My birthday...is before the Hot Wind Festival!"
"This year's Hot Wind Festival is coming up soon, so it's 3 years... I'm 3 years older!"
Even that is outrageous.
Hitzfeld frowned and asked her, "What do you usually eat?"
"Dried algae and kelp~" Ashley answered happily, "Dried algae is what the other women grow. It originally came from the sea, but it can also grow on the mountains. Although kelp stinks, as long as you throw away the internal organs, it will be very delicious when roasted!"
"Then what do you want to drink?" Hitzfeld insisted.
This damn place is cold at night and hot during the day. There is a lot of water below but it is sea water. What's more, you can't go down. How do you solve the drinking water problem?
"Up there!" Ashley pointed above her head.
"You see the mountain wall up there?"
"Ah."
The plain where Worm Village is located - or the peak - is the largest among all the mountains.
But even so, this is not the summit. There is a section of mountain wall above it, and it is always covered with fog - as Lindworm said.
"Every once in a while there's a stream of water coming down from above."
Ashley clasped her hands together, looking very pious.
"This is all a gift from the Wind Spirit. We should thank the Wind Spirit for giving us the right to survive."
"Have you climbed to the top of the cliff to check?"
"No, Lindworm said that was disrespectful to the wind spirit. And the mountain becomes steeper as you go up... I climbed it secretly with my mother when I was a child, but it was too slippery and we couldn't climb up."
"What about the wind spirit? Forget about those feathered hunters. This is water. Why should we thank the wind spirit?"
When asking this question, Hitzfeld didn't actually have high expectations.
Ashley was very well behaved, probably because she was intimidated by her at the beginning, so no matter what she asked, she would answer it as long as she knew the answer.
But all the information cannot be connected to each other.
Mogali saw the strange behavior of her left eye...
Some villagers and Lindworm's back-beating movements are similar...
Ashley is in great shape beyond her years...
There are also the Sky Hunters, who are even stronger than Ashley.
These weird things... the vague and oppressive atmosphere in the village... these things cannot be explained.
That's why Hitzfeld didn't even want to let go of the "Wind Spirit" because she really couldn't find any entry point.
It's just that she already has the awareness of being a detective, and even though her expectations are low, she is still serious and ready to analyze Ashley's response at any time.
"Because the Wind Spirit is unique?"
Ashley looked at her strangely.
"But the sun is also unique."
"No way... Aren't there two suns?"
"Why--what did you say???"
Hitzfeld's eyes widened, and even his lips parted slightly.
"There are two suns."
Ashley had no idea why she was so surprised. She thought it was her own achievement and immediately felt a little proud.
"Don't Heath know?"
"It's so hot here because there are two suns~"
Chapter 30: Slate
The sun is about to set.
With his upper body wrapped in a circle of branches and sticks tied with vines, Frick came out of the stone house leaning on a thick and long crutch and looked at the open space in front of him with a frown.
He came out to get some fresh air.
It was too uncomfortable to stay in the house all the time, not to mention that the owner of the house was a female hunter who was not much different in size from him.
Frick finally understood that the reason these villagers saved him was actually because they wanted his body.
He had also met the village's management. In his opinion, there were only three people who were in charge of the affairs of this place and had authority.
The first one is the village guard Lindworm.
A very strange old man. Sometimes he was in good health and his back was straight, but sometimes he was not so healthy and had to walk with a cane while hunched over.
The second one is the hunting captain Mogali.
A muscular woman who was stronger than him. The female hunter kept touching him, and the way Mogali looked at him was not normal.
The last one is Farmer Felix.
This is a fat man.
Far fatter than anyone he had ever seen.
He has a ball-like body and needs four people to carry him when he walks. A conservative estimate is that he must weigh at least 400 to 500 kilograms. I was almost scared when I saw him for the first time.
"The attitude towards foreign population is to use them to breed offspring..."
Standing at the gravel intersection, Frick looked behind him with lingering fear.
This cannot continue.
He has to send a message to Carlo tonight and ask him to come over as soon as possible.
After all, this village... and even many places on the entire Brays Island were too weird. He suspected that this island located in the Crystal Sea was closely related to the Crystal Sea's long-standing reputation as a "dangerous place".
And he also suspected that—
His eyes drooped slightly, and a somewhat blurry face appeared in Frick's mind.
she……
Mother……
Could it be that it went missing here?
His thoughts wandered, and Frick returned to that evening many years ago.
"Have you heard? Have you heard? The parish is recruiting experienced sailors. If you are selected, you will get a lot of money!"
"How much? How much can I get for choosing a sailor?"
"It is said that there are several thousand Sera... It can be converted into a test quota and send your child to the Knight Academy!"
"That's great! ... What are they going to do?"
"Who knows? But there are rumors that he is going to explore some dangerous place. It is probably a payment to save his life..."
The news spread throughout the streets and alleys of the dilapidated fishing village.
An extremely thin boy, almost shriveled, sat on the side of the road, listening quietly to the people's heated discussion.
After it got dark, the boy got up and ran back home. He fetched some water with some effort and poured it into cups, pots and pans.
After a while, a woman with neat short hair and many wrinkles on her face pushed the door open and came back. When she closed the door, she looked back like a thief, as if checking if anyone was following her.
"Mother--"
The boy handed over the glass of water.
"Flick." The woman smiled with relief and took the cup and took a sip.
"Why are you so good today? Is the fishing net I asked you to dry ready?"
"No." The boy summoned up his courage and suddenly said loudly, "Mom! I don't want to go to the Knight's Academy!"
"How did you know?"
The woman's face changed and some of the water she was holding spilled.
"They've spread the word - I know you're going to take chances with them!"
"Flick..."
"I don't want you to go! Mom - don't go and beg them! I can support you in the future -"
"Snapped!"
The woman slapped him.
The atmosphere suddenly turned cold.
“Everyone can say nice things, but do you know how to do it?”
"You and I, Frick...we are now spending 17 becquerels a week just to survive."
"But that's because you're still young and haven't grown yet, so you don't eat much. Also, the union hasn't asked us to pay back the debt yet."
"What about later?"
"You'll be getting bigger and I'll be getting older."
"You want to find an opportunity in this fishing village?"
"What kind of opportunity can make your wish come true? Can it pay off the money that I have to save for 20 years without eating or drinking? Can it make you say shamelessly that you will support me in the future?"
"If you keep going like this, you'll be like them and won't even be able to afford my grave!"
Fists clenched.
The nails dug directly into the flesh.
