第8話 First travelling (7)
That night, Jahir and his disciples are at an inn provided by the Efrad family. Jahir thought it was not because they were Abu's relative, but simply because Sabir, the town's shadow ruler, had shown an interest in Jean.
"Is this an inn?"
When Saman said this in an exasperated voice, Abu just laughed. This place is very luxurious, with beautiful tiles on the walls. The beds were also large, with a plush mattress wrapped in silk. Even Abu himself had never stayed at this inn.
"Amazing..."
When Amir touched the sheets, Sabadda also touched them.
"It's my first time seeing such smooth cloth..."
Sabadda said and Amir nodded. When Abu sat Jean on the bed, Jean touched the bed.
"It's silk."
When Jean said this, Amir and the others looked at him with strange eyes.
"Silk?"
"Yes."
Jean nodded.
"It's a cloth made from chrysalis thread."
"How do you know?"
"Hmm, why..."
Jean thought.
"Maybe it’s because the maids at my parents’ house make clothes and embroidery using this cloth."
"Jean's family is rich."
Sabadda said and Jean tilted his head to one side.
"I don't understand."
Jean answered honestly. Abu laughed and pinched Jean's cheek, then he opened the window.
Abu thought it was about time for this village to no longer be called a village. As the population increases and there are buildings like this, he thinks it will become a town.
"Brother Saman, take a rest."
Jean said and Saman smiled and nodded.
"Shall I sleep with Jean tonight?"
"No, you won't."
When Saman said this, Abu answered immediately.
"Jean is going to sleep with me."
"That's not going to happen."
When Abu said this, Amir said immediately.
"Jean will sleep with me, right?"
Sabadda said, and Jean just laughed.
"Unfortunately, Jean will sleep with me."
Suddenly the door opened and Jahir entered. The servants came behind Jahir and brought some jugs of warm water. Then they started filling the large bathtub in the next room.
"Unfortunately, Saman can't take a bath tonight. The wound will reopen. Please rest quietly."
"Yes, Sir."
Jahir says and Saman looks at them disappointed.
"Jean, let's take a bath."
"Yes, Sir."
"Hahaha, good boy."
As Jahir began to remove his clothes, Saman removed Jean's clothes.
“What about this scar?”
Saman noticed several scars on Jean's arms.
"Well, this was my mother's snake bite wound."
"Snake?! This and this too?"
"Yes."
As Jan says this, Amir and the others approach him and look at his arm. In other words, if it weren't for such a bright place, they wouldn't have noticed.
"What do you mean by snake? Does your mother have a pet snake?"
"Yes, she has some."
"What kind of snake was it?"
"Well, there were green snakes, brown snakes, and black snakes...some had round heads, some had triangular heads, and some had big heads. Some snakes were doing this."
"Are they poisonous?"
"I don’t know."
Jean said, tilting his head.
"My grandfather let me play with the snake about once a week. Maybe because I was so persistent, the snake would sometimes get angry and bite me, but my grandfather would laugh and touch the wound and let it bleed."
"..."
When Jean said this, Amir and the others suddenly became quiet.
“How old are you at that time?”
Jahir asked, and Jean tilted his head again.
"Sorry, I don't remember exactly. I think it was after I moved to live with my grandfather."
Jean answered honestly.
"Did the snake bite hurt?"
"At first I was surprised and maybe it hurt...I don't remember much. But after that, it was fun and interesting. The snakes were so cute."
Jean looked nostalgically at the scar and smiled.
"Was it the same snake every time?"
"No."
Jean shook his head.
"The combination of snakes was different every time. There was never the same combination."
"I see..."
Jahir nodded. This means that by colliding with different types of poisons in this small child, his immunity to poison is increasing.
"Did you ever feel unwell?"
"Hmm..."
Jean tilted his head again.
"When I played too much, I caught a cold and got a fever. But my grandfather told me that it was common for children. My mother was worried, but my grandfather laughed and said he gave me the medicine he made and sent my mother to go home.''
"Is that so..."
Jahir gasped and nodded when he heard Jean's answer. This child's body was trained systematically. Even though it was because of the war, he was confused as to whether this was okay for a child who didn't understand anything yet.
However, he has no choice but to do the job he is asked to do.
"Now, let's take a bath. It'll be cold if you're naked all the time, right?"
"Yes, it's cold."
"Hahaha."
Jahir took Jean into the bathtub, and several servants carefully washed their bodies. After washing Jahir and Jan, it was Amir's turn. When everyone had finished washing, the servants cleaned the floor and went outside.
"Thank you, Abu. It's probably the first and last experience for me to have this kind of luxury."
When Amir said this, Abu smiled bitterly.
"The person to thank is not me, but Jean. Even if I go to this town again, I probably won't be treated like this."
Abu said and Jahir nodded. No matter how close he is to his relatives, Sabil would never spoil them to this extent.
However, Jean was feeling so good that he fell asleep without even listening to Amir and Abu's conversation. Jahir then called for Saman, who was sitting near the and ordered him to lift Jean out of the bathtub.
Next morning.
When Jean wakes up, Saman is the only one in the room. Saman has a fever, so he will take a day off today. Jean got off the bed, went to Saman's bed, and saw Saman sleeping.
Suddenly someone knocked on the door. When Jean answered it, the door opened, and the Chamberlain and several of his servants appeared.
"Good morning, Mister Jean."
"Yes, good morning."
"Did you have a good night's sleep last night?"
"Yes, I did."
When Jean answered, the Chamberlain smiled.
"That's fine."
The Chamberlain said and gave a signal, and the servants began to arrange the food on the desk in the room.
"I brought you some breakfast."
"But the teacher is not here."
"The teachers have already had their breakfast. They are currently practicing outside."
“Has Brother Saman eaten?”
"Mister Saman has a fever, so he will have a different menu. These meals are for you, Mister Jean."
The Chamberlain said, and Jean tilted his head at him.
"Okay. I'll go change my clothes."
"I'll help you."
"Ah, yes. Please."
When Jean said this, the Chamberlain smiled and entered Jean's room. Several of the servants brought warm water, wiped Jean's body, and dressed him in new clothes.
Silk, Jean thought. But he didn't say anything. After he finished changing, Jean ate his meal by himself. He tried to take a last sip of his tea, but when he got close to his mouth, he suddenly stopped and put it back on his desk.
"That··"
"Yes, Mister Jean."
As Jean said this, the Chamberlain approached.
"Is there anything you need?"
"Um, sorry, I can't drink this tea. Would you mind changing it?"
"Why?"
"The cup is coated with poison."
When Jean answered, the Chamberlain froze, then silently put away the tea.
"Would you like some other food?"
"No, thank you. These are all new to me, but they were delicious."
Jean answered honestly.
"I brought you some new tea."
"Thank you."
Jean smiled and pretended to enjoy the aroma of the tea, then drank it slowly.
"How do you know it's poisonous?"
"Hmm, I wonder why."
Jean tilted his head.
"Smell?"
"Do you smell it?"
"Yes, I do."
Jean nodded. Then the Chamberlain smiled, saw Jean who had finished eating, and ordered his servants to clean up. When the servants left the room, Jean was still drinking tea and looked at the Chamberlain, who was still standing there.
"Um, I'll finish drinking right away..."
"It's okay. Please take your time."
"Oh, thank you."
Jean nodded.
"By the way, excuse me, but how old is Mister Jean now?"
"I'm 4 years old."
"...4 years old."
The Chamberlain gasped.
"Excuse me, but how do you know about poison?"
"Hmm...I guess I'm used to it."
"Are you used to it?"
"Yes."
Jean nodded.
"At my family home, I was taught this kind of education from a young age to avoid being poisoned."
"Excuse me? I heard that you were born in Magraf village..."
“My family home is not in Magraf Village.”
Jean smiled.
"But I'm sorry, I can't reveal it to you."
"No problem at all."
"Thank you for the tea."
Jean bowed his head politely and returned the empty bowl to the Chamberlain. The Chamberlain bowed to him, put away all the tea vessels, and left the room.
When the Chamberlain leaves, Jean stays in the room for a while. He opened the window and looked out over the lush courtyard, and then he went to Saman's room to check on his condition.
He's still asleep, Jean thought. Then he went to the window again and saw a tree like a palm tree in front of it. He went out to the veranda and then jumped out to the tree. Jean grabs onto the tree and climbs up. When he reached the top, he saw a landscape he had never seen before.
Jean thought once again that he was from a completely different country than Archia. The surrounding area is mostly desert. The only greenery was around the oasis. There was a large oasis right next to this inn, so they had access to plenty of water.
It's indeed different from Archia. Jean thinks that he is now in a foreign country, and he thinks of his family far away.
"Hohoho, I see you again."
Jean suddenly heard a voice and turned his attention to the direction the voice came from.
"Oh, it's Uncle Sabil. Good morning."
Jean smiled at Sabil on the roof, and Sabil smiled.
"Good morning. It's dangerous to be in a place like that."
"It's okay."
Jean smiled.
"I just want to look around."
"Did you find anything interesting?"
"Yes."
Jean nodded.
"This area is very green. They grow a lot of grapes."
"Hohoho, do you like grapes?"
"Yes, I love it."
Jean nodded. Grapes were also served in the morning meal, so Jean ate a lot.
"There were grapes in my meal this morning, and it was very delicious. Thank you."
"That's good."
Sabil smiled and nodded.
"As long as you stay here, you can eat as many grapes as you like. I'll make you my grandson."
Sabil said and Jean tilted his head to one side.
"Thank you."
Jean bowed politely.
"...But I can't."
"I see."
Sabil looked disappointed when he heard Jean's answer.
"According to what I heard from Jahir, you are from Archia. Is that true?"
"Yes, it's true."
"May I ask your family name?"
Sabil asked, and Jean was looking straight at him.
"My family name is Prava. I am Jean Prava, the youngest son of the main family."
"Prava, huh? The merchants selling rice and silk at the port were certainly merchants from the Prava family."
When Sabir says this, Jean looks at him silently.
"Don't worry. I'll keep the fact that you're a member of the Prava family a secret."
"Thank you."
As if Sabir had sensed Jean's silence, he said so. Even though he was only a four-year-old boy, he was strong, Sabir thought.
"About the poison...I'm sorry about that. I just wanted to test your abilities a little. It wasn't a strong poison, so I prepared an antidote immediately, but it was discovered before I could use it. I'm sorry."
"No problem."
Sabir said and Jean shook his head.
"Are you familiar with poison?"
"Hmm, to be honest, I don't understand."
Jean replied, tilting his head.
"However, it smelled like poison, so I think it probably is."
"That poison is odorless and tasteless, but..."
"No, it smells slightly sweet."
"Really?"
Sabir smiled.
"Is that how you discovered the poison of Abu?"
"Huh? You mean that bottle?"
"That's it."
"Oh, I just smelled it. And it smelled like poison."
Jean nodded. Abu had told him the details, Jean thought.
"Are you going to train with Jahir from now on?"
"Yes, I do."
"I see."
Sabil thought again.
"Please come visit me sometimes."
“If the teacher says it’s okay, I’ll go.”
"Just say you're coming to see me. Hohoho."
Sabil laughs and looks at Jean.
"By the way, if you don't get down soon, your brothers downstairs will be worried."
"Oh, yes."
"Can you get off?"
"Yes. No problem at all."
Jean nodded.
"Ah, uncle."
"Yes?"
"What is the name of this tree?"
"Date palm. Are you interested in it?"
"Yes."
"You can eat the fruit as it is, but if you dry it, it becomes a preserved food. It's very sweet and delicious. The yellow skin is ripe, so it's better that way."
"Wow! Can I have some?"
"I don't mind even if you eat them all."
"Thank you. I'll take some."
Jean pulled out a dagger and cut off the date.
"Also, can I cut a leaf?"
"Yes, you can."
Sabir looks at Jean with interest. Small hands carefully cut off the leaves. Jean sheathed his dagger and checked the wind.
"See you."
Jean stepped over the cut leaf and held onto the hardest part. Then he kicked it and jumped off. However, since the leaves of the date palm are open, there is almost no wind resistance. No matter how light a 4-year-old child is, jumping from a height of 25 meters is considered suicide. However, Jean is laughing as he rides the wind and manipulates the leaves he rides on.
When Sabil saw Jean like that, he remembered something.
The story was about 200 years ago, and it was said that the northernmost family could control the wind. However, that family was destroyed in a battle with the Kingdom of the East. He heard later that the King of the East adopted a princess from that family and then married her far away.
Sabil wondered if he was a descendant of that princess. But Sabil immediately shook his head. All he can do now is watch over Jean.
Hearing the sound of a child's laughter, Sabil stopped his thoughts and looked down. Then he saw Jean waving at him. Sabil smiled and shook his hand.
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