The Husband I Thought Was Dead Has Returned - Chapter 84

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Husband Who Should Have Died Returns Episode 084
The Red Moon patient discovered on the mountain was given medicine prepared by Robin before regaining consciousness, then carried down the mountainside by Dorpin.
Four days later, Robin and Dorpin descended into the town.
Robin had crafted medicine from the medicinal herbs Mila had gathered. Robin and Dorpin returned to the Villa in five hours.
“There were twelve patients.”
Robin spoke with an exhausted expression. Their shoes were caked with dirt. Robin adjusted his slipping glasses.
“From what I gathered, five people have already died. Roughly thirteen people remain in the town now. The youngest child was four years old, and that child’s condition was the most severe.”
“How many children were there?”
“About three.”
Robin exhaled deeply.
“We don’t have enough medicine. As soon as it’s ready, I must go back down tomorrow. People are dying.”
Robin spoke with resolve. Even Dorpin agreed with him.
“Without medicine, they’ll all perish. Including the four-year-old child.”
Even Dorpin’s heart seemed to soften.
“And madam, the townspeople packed this for us.”
Dorpin pulled out an abundance of items from the bag slung across his shoulder. The dining table was suddenly covered with provisions I hadn’t seen in ages.
Grains and dried meat. Moreover, though somewhat tough-looking, there was bread as well. My mouth watered involuntarily.
My stomach growled audibly.
I clutched my belly and spoke with an awkward smile.
“Shall we start with dinner? It seems we can finally have a proper meal.”
Dorpin nodded slightly as well. Hunger was something that could turn even a dignified knight away from propriety.

* * *
Robin descended to the town every other day. He always went with Dorpin.
The townspeople’s attitude toward us shifted only after the rash covering the four-year-old child’s body disappeared.
Then Dorpin brought a middle-aged woman up to the villa. By this point, Dorpin’s wariness had eased considerably, and according to both Dorpin and Robin’s judgment, there was no one in the town who posed a threat.
That’s why they brought someone up. The woman who introduced herself as Gania gasped in horror upon seeing our vegetable garden.
“Good heavens, you planted these? These are the wrong variety to plant now! You can’t plant these when the red moon is in the sky! That’s why they’ve all died like this!”
“But the book clearly said these varieties grow well in Carencia….”
“But there’s a red moon in the sky now, my lady. There’s no sunlight now. This variety needs sunlight. When the red moon rises, you must plant the improved varieties!”
The woman clicked her tongue as she looked at the blackened seedlings lying limp and lifeless. The wrong variety?
“Which improved varieties should we plant?”
“Crops that grow even under the weak light of the red moon. In the Southern Region, they’ve been passed down through generations—there are improved varieties of potatoes, turnips, and so on.”
Such things existed?
Why hadn’t the books I read contained such information? Perhaps reality truly differs from books. Still, I was grateful to learn this now. Gania sat us down and explained the cultivation of improved varieties in detail.
“And the improved varieties must be planted at different depths. Twice as deep. Because the roots are longer. And water them only in the morning. If you water them in the evening, the roots rot. Chicken manure is the best fertilizer—use that and they’ll grow splendidly.”
“We don’t have chickens.”
Robin hesitated as he spoke.
“Ah, would you like me to bring some? We have quite a few chicks that have grown at our house.”
Heavens. Then we might be able to eat eggs every morning. The moment I pictured fluffy fried eggs, my mouth watered. They’d be delicious even just dipped in salt!
Gania was someone who had farmed for over thirty years in the town. Her husband had gone to war, and she had been tilling the fields alone while caring for a neighbor afflicted by Red Moon.
“It would be nice to raise some pigs here too. Pig manure is also good for making fields fertile.”
“P-pigs?”
Golden-brown pork belly flashed through my mind. I swallowed hard.
“…You look like you’ve been starving for a long time. With the field in this state, how could you not be? I was hoping to invite you to dinner anyway. Would you come?”
At those words, my gaze, Dorpin’s, and Robin’s crossed. Dinner? There’s an old saying—a ghost that has eaten well and died has a healthy complexion. Why not become a ghost with a healthy complexion?
“We’ll come.”
The hesitation was brief. Hunger made patience paper-thin.

* * *
‘There’s meat. Meat.’
Yureain was human, after all. Her eyes gleamed at the word meat. So did Mila and Robin. Before hungry people, meat was a word of pure magic.
We decided to descend the mountain in the late evening. Thirty minutes after Gania departed, we set out as well. Hayden, now heavier with growth, became Dorpin’s responsibility.
Crimson light scattered in fragments through the canopy. Hayden clung to Dorpin’s neck, looking around curiously.
“Mama, where?”
“We’re going to eat something delicious. You like meat, don’t you, Hayden?”
At my words, Hayden’s lips formed a perfect circle.
“Mee-eat!”
“That’s right, meat.”
Hayden’s eyes sparkled with delight. He truly loved meat. I felt only regret that I couldn’t give him as much as he wanted.
“Mee-eat! Mee-eat! Hayden, mee-eat!”
He loves it so much. I’m sorry, Hayden. I thought I could manage anything. This is why excessive confidence is dangerous.
Gania’s house stood near the center of town. The front yard was spacious, and townspeople had already gathered. Every soul remaining in Carencia. Four elderly, five women, three children, and Jake.
A combination that posed no threat whatsoever. Even Yureain, who had come down drawn by the promise of meat, visibly relaxed—her trapezius muscles finally releasing their tension.
I understood now why Dorpin had permitted us to descend to the town.
Jake was roasting pork in one corner of the front yard. Sinews rippled across the forearms of that man whose birthmarks climbed all the way to his neck.
To recover this much in ten days. He was practically a bear.
“Welcome!”
Jake wiped his hands casually and beamed.
“I’ve been unable to properly treat my saviors! Today I gathered my courage and caught one!”
His face, arms spread wide in greeting and grinning broadly, resembled a sunflower.
Hayden squirmed in my embrace.
“Mee-eat! Mee-eat!”
“Oh, the little one loves meat, doesn’t he!”
Jake hoisted Hayden high into the air. In the massive man’s hands, the child laughed in delight before suddenly grabbing his beard and yanking hard. My scalp ached in sympathy—as it did every day from similar treatment.
“Ow, ow, ow! You little rascal!”
In the commotion, the town children came running. Three children simultaneously clung to Jake.
“Jake, me too!”
“Me, me! Pick me up!”
“Me! Me!”
Even the four-year-old bounced excitedly. That was the child whose life had hung by a thread. The one Robin had saved.
Jake set Hayden down and lifted the other children, one in each arm. The largest was perhaps seven years old.
Choosing to save those children had been the right decision. Had they died, we would not have this evening meal now, nor would we have obtained the improved seeds.
Perhaps this is why people say one must use their heart with gentleness.
“Is there anything we can help with?”
Yureain, Robin, and Mila all rolled up their sleeves. I followed behind them, peering curiously.
“Oh my, guests should sit and rest.”
“How could you possibly manage all this food for so many people alone?”
Yureain quickly claimed the knife and cutting board. Dorpin picked up the meat tongs Jake had set down.
The elderly men sitting on the wooden bench smiled warmly. It was a scene suffused with such gentle light, a stark contrast to the crimson hues surrounding us. Even in war, even in this hell, flowers bloom.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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