Seiun wo Kakeru Chapter 28

Chapter 28 – The Preparations for the Festival of Abundant Harvest 1

A winter day is short.
Because it’s the era where light is considered precious, it seemes to be something that is only present from the morning to the evening.
Inevitably, the night comes early.
In exchange, the morning came earlier than dawn and people would wake up at the time when the sky was the darkest.

It was the morning.
The room, where the door was closed, was dim; nevertheless, there was a sign of the sun. The chicken was announcing the time of daybreak.
As Eiji stood up from the bed, his body trembled in the chilly atmosphere, making him dive into his bed one more time.

Aah, so warm. As expected, beds were the best. – he thought.

The bed, for which he longed for the whole time and which was finally completed, used the big and grown, old trees as its material. It was an enormous, almost king-sized bed.
Despite Tanya complaining about it leaving little s.p.a.ce in the room, she enjoyed the bed as well.
By putting feathers inside the bed cover little by little, Eiji created a warm down-filled mattress. The amount of the raw cotton inside the sleeping mat was small, because of that, the stiffness in elasticity was its weakness, just like in hard bedding. Nevertheless, in comparison with the woven mat made from straw before, this one was exceptionally comfortable for sleeping.
When it was done, he wouldn’t restrain himself in enjoying it.
Of course, there were times when he would sleep on it alone. On the other hand, Tanya, who usually had no problem with sleeping and waking up, became unable to get up in the early morning due to its warmth.
Even now, her calm sleep breathing was heard while embarking on her trip to the world of dreams.
Being able to see the sleeping face of a women, who would usually wake up earlier than Eiji and go to sleep late while not showing any weaknesses, was considered a precious time for him.
She was always tired.
Thanking her for all the troubles she had gone through, Eiji gently brushed Tanya’s hair and moved his hand on her cheek.
While holding it with his fingers, he could feel the squishy feeling returning.
It’s soft – he thought.

Her body was tender, wherever he looked.
Not only were Tanya’s round pair of b.r.e.a.s.t.s and bottom feminine, but also her limbs.
However, there was no sign of them loosening up.
Inside her body, which was tempered under these hard conditions, there were actually signs of supple muscles.
The roundness and elasticity were the special traits of a woman, which coexisted in Tanya in beautiful proportions.

His hand caressed her body, starting from her nape through the collar bone and reaching her abundant breast.
It was of the size which didn’t fit in his palm.
Even though the shape of her ribs below is understandable, its volume was still magnificent.
Despite her physique being different from foreigners, as expected, lots of women in this village have a fine degree of fles.h.i.+ness.
Moving with his fingers, the shape of her breast kept changing endlessly together with him caressing it.
Her skin, which had a delicate texture, seemed to suck in his palm.
I wonder why it makes me feel this calm – Eiji wondered.
He wouldn’t be content, no matter how many times he touched them.
Was it because he wasn’t restraining? Tanya’s eyelids began to twitch.
Should I pull back my hand as if nothing happened? Or rather, continue doing it boldly?
Thinking about that, her eyes opened while blinking with surprise.

– Nnn…Ah….
– Did you wake up?
– Good morning…. You’re touching my chest again, aren’t you?
– That’s because they’re charming.
– Ann…

Even though they were talking, his hand wouldn’t stop.
The sweet voice coming from her mouth was heard.
However, it had no feeling of desire.
In the end, it was just her lips working.
Tanya’s sight was still in daze.
Was it perhaps due to her low blood pressure?

– You really like b.r.e.a.s.t.s, just like a baby.
– I was raised without knowing my mother; therefore, I would crave for some maternity.
– Oh my, was it so?

After making an unexpected face, Tanya embraced him.
Eiji’s sight was filled with big b.r.e.a.s.t.s.
While having his head hugged, she brushed it gently.

– Look, it’s your mother.
– This feels embarra.s.sing.
– Eiji-san, you sometimes behave like a child, don’t you? You would desperately suck on b.r.e.a.s.t.s.
– I’m a man so…. Speaking of which, you don’t seem to be mad.

Usually, Eiji would be scold whenever he tried to do something in the morning.
However, today Tanya’s att.i.tude was different, it was gentle.
While she was pleased, Eiji wondered whether he was expected to so something. Trying to read her hidden intentions, he couldn’t settle down.

– It’s because today is the day of the festival, isn’t it? We are free from doing any labor, so it’s special.
– Is that so? Well, then please spoil me a bit longer.
– Fufu. You’re indeed a child.
– Today is special, a special day.

Eiji was fully spoiled.

– All right, let’s prepare breakfast.
– A little bit more…
– It’ll soon be the time for waking up.
– Got it. By the way, what are the plans for later?

Within a blink of time, Tanya stood up as she slipped away skillfully.
If there’s nothing to do, he would rather spend more time flirting.
In front of Eiji, who was thinking so, Tanya smiled.

– For the festival to be enjoyable, adequate preparations are needed. Women will be in charge of arranging dances and cooking. On the other hand, men are supposed to set up the stage, is what I have heard.
– I plan to make the dishes which I remember from my hometown.
– So Eiji-san could do cooking as well, is it?
Why wouldn’t you make some meals? – Such a sight was directed to him with Tanya having a wry smile.
While preparing meals, Eiji had no confidence in adjusting the fire.
No matter how many times he had to deal with fire in the workshop, it wasn’t the same as using one’s skills for working purposes.
For Tanya to nonchalantly prepare the meal each time, she was indeed a great wife.

– That’s because it’s a mannish type of cooking, so it’s obvious it would be inferior to the delicious meals made by Tanya-san.
– I want you to eat delicious meals, since I put lots of love into them.
– And therefore I’m always thankful for being treated.
-……….

That’s bad – Eiji felt his face turning red while feeling embarra.s.sed.
Tanya too was hanging her head in shame. Was it because she too got embarra.s.sed due to her own words?
Neither of them said anything. The silence, which made one want to writhe in agony, continued for a while.
Gohon – coughed Tanya. Feeling bashful, she went out the house.
– I-I will go scoop some water.
– Please go ahead.
Facing each other, both of them laughed while getting embarra.s.sed. With that, they began their preparations.
—————–
The preparation for the festival of abundant harvest was carried out by all the members of the village.
The festival itself was to be organized from the tribal chief’s house to the west, before the expanding forest.
Because the vicinity of the forest consisted of bottomless swamps, entering it was normally prohibited.
Now in front of that place, preparations, such as mowing dry gra.s.s, building a campfire basket, as well as fire kindling were in progress.

Next to it, great amount of alcohol and fruits were gathered.
In the middle, there was an old platform, which was supposed to be a stage for as many as 10 people.
Is this the thing called the festival stage? – Eiji wondered.
Despite other constructions being made from wood, with the exception of the food storage house, this one was made using only stones.
Considering that it had served for such a long time, it was probably a very important facility.

– Eiji, this way!
Jane, who was controlling the situation, called in Eiji’s direction after spotting him out.
As always, you would expect her to be in charge of women.
Several of them looked up to Jane’s instructions and moved to their respective posts.
Jane herself was in the middle of baking bread.
What she kneaded was a white type of baguette, which was rarely eaten on a daily basis. What’s more she was adding some honey.
It was a type of luxury reserved only for special occasions, such as wedding.
Just imagining the taste made Eiji drool without him knowing.
However skillful he is at cooking, as long as he doesn’t have all the required materials, the tastiness will be limited as well.
Thinking about Tanya making this, it would be a natural reaction for him.

– So you came.
– That’s quite the spirit there.
– Of course. It’s a festival which is dedicated to the G.o.ddess of abundant harvest, who blessed us for the whole year. Whatever festival it is, everyone would put in all their effort.
– I see. Indeed, the amount of crops would determine whether you starve or not, wouldn’t it?
– And it’s not only that.
– What do you mean?
– The G.o.ddess of abundant harvest  is also the one that blesses us with children. It seems that Tanya is hoping for a child, so you better pray for it hard. Rather than that, you probably should do your best during nights.

Hahaha – while laughing excitingly, Jane didn’t hold back while patting Eiji’s shoulders, which made them feel painful.
Was she fecund? It seemed that she already had given birth to 7 children.
4 of them died due to illnesses before even growing up; nevertheless, the remaining 3 had been brought up healthily and were now helping out in their household.
Because he would hear the couple talking about wanting to have a brother or sister, their relations.h.i.+p seemed to be on good terms.

– I’m fine, but I’ve heard that Mike isn’t doing well.
– Whaat? If he’s out of stamina, then there’s no use of him as a hunter. Well, if you say so, I’ll make sure to feed him with something that brings back his spirit.

Because they are hunters, there should be lots of meat around them, more than anyone else in this village.
Probably, in addition to vegetables, such as garlic and onions, there were dishes which used internal organs, like livers, as their main ingredient.
Women from remote regions sure are strong.
Furthermore, it wasn’t just limited to their pure physical strength.
Recalling the startling face of exhaustion Mike had whenever they met; Eiji felt the urge inside his heart of wanting to sympathize with him.
My condolences.
As long as he doesn’t sustain a renal failure[1], it should be fine.

– Well, just leave that husband’s matter to me, I’ll deal with it.
– I guess that would be the case.
– Besides that, what do you plan to make? Are you going to tell us a dish which has never been eaten here?
– I think you could say so. I think about making a food called Hamburger. If I’m not wrong, the method of making it was――
– Heh? Isn’t that nice? Can we expect something from its taste?

What Eiji thought was how to make full use of the ingredients available in this village in order to make it delicious.
There was a limit in what you could use.
As for the livestock, there were cattle, pigs and chickens.
Nonetheless, they only had onions, carrots, garlic, and watercress, which could be used for making it.
There were no tomatoes or potatoes[2], which were present in Italian cuisine.
Eiji’s western culinary skills consisted mostly of Italian cuisine, but the problem was the tomato, which he often used in his cooking.
What’s more, there was a problem with seasonings.
It would be fine to obtain them by simply frying the vegetables, but since he had no experience in making sauce, it would probably be hard to produce a convincing taste, even for him.
It was customary in this period to make sauce using vegetables and fruits, which were almost rotten.
Because taste has a secondary role, which is nutrition, one couldn’t simply neglect it.
Eiji was determined about improving foods once there are enough of them.
He wanted to make sauces by any means, even if he had to squeeze rice grains to get sauces, such as soy and miso.
If it’s a hamburger, then making use of some salt, as well as using herbs for aroma, will probably do for the taste.

There was one more overwhelming advantage of making a hamburger as it used minced meat, which could utilize the tendon that is usually thrown away.

– Those who are not occupied, gather!

After finis.h.i.+ng his explanation, Jane quickly gave new orders to the other women.
Once they smashed(…) the cattle and pigs for today’s festival, they proceeded to animal dismantling.
It looked like none of them were the type of women that would show cute reactions, such as screaming or averting their eyes.
On the contrary, it was Eiji that wanted to scream.
Seeing the animals’ roundly opened eyes made him want to turn away his head.
Certainly, pet owners ought to feel it pain when thinking about their pets, in which they have put lots of feeling when raising, getting killed.
Nevertheless, n.o.body showed such emotions in this place.
Ah, as expected, the world he came to was much different from where he came from.
It was not the same as the world where the meat would be lined up and cleanly dried from blood.
This was the world where n.o.body would doubt if someone were to use brains for tanning process.
Indeed,  women from long time ago were strong.
Naturally, it wasn’t something that they wanted; rather it was because of the environment, which made them strong.
However, you could feel that this was a clear display of the difference in the strength of a human being.
Was Tanya this strong as well? – he wondered.
Perhaps, if they both were to have a matrimonial quarrel, it would be Eiji to lose. This made him a little bit anxious.

Translator and reference notes:

[1]: In traditional Chinese medicine, renal failure was believed to be the source of the body inactivity, including s.e.xual drive.

[2]: Guess, I mentioned before at the beginning about them using potatoes, but I didn’t precise them which was wrong from me. The type of potatoes in this text is an European/American type, whereas the one before, was probably j.a.panese type