Ascendance of a Bookworm

I'm Lutz, 5 years old.

I have three brothers, Zasha, Sieg and Ralph, and I'm the youngest.

When I woke up this morning, I could see the light of the poor sun from between the panels. After the blizzard lasts for a few days, I keep a big eye on the sun for a long time.

Clear!

I accidentally opened the plate door and looked outside, without even worrying about the room getting cold. There is a blue sky with no clouds, with snowy scenery on one side of the perimeter, reflecting the sun and dazzling the whole city.

"Awesome."

There is so little sunshine like this that adults and children go out into the woods at the same time. If you miss it, it's tough. I closed the window and ran to the kitchen.

"Rutz, hurry up"

"Yeah."

Brother Ralph finishes his meal and starts preparing for the bummer. As soon as I had eaten with milk warmed with hard black bread, I felt comfortable.

Today is a great day to collect. People from all over the city head to the woods to pick a paru that can only be picked in the snow. I can't lose to pick a little more paru.

Everyone wants to get one or more because there isn't that much sweetness that you can definitely get, even if you think about it all year round.

Not only Brother Ralph today, but Brother Zasha and Brother Sieg, who are usually apprentices at work, go to the woods with him. If the four of us pick it, we must be able to pick it all up.

We ran off carrying cages and luggage.

Running down the stairs, when I went outside, my mother, who was at the well, noticed us and waved.

"Forest now? Be careful! Pick as many of them as you can!

"I know!

"Leave it to me!

Mother always has a well-to-do meeting with her neighbor named Exchange of Information when she goes outside, but you can often talk a long time in this cold snow. Really impressive.

One of my mother's talkers around the well was also Turi and Mine's mother. We've been friends since we were little, because our mothers are good friends.

"Toori's already gone with his dad, isn't he? What if we hurry?"

Mine's name didn't come up. Maybe Mine's leaving a message at home. When I go out on a day like this, I generally fall asleep.

Speaking of which, the day of pigmeat processing, just like last year, had fallen in the luggage truck. He was brought in last year even if he had a fever, but he was fine until he got to the village this year. It's pathetic to lose a freshly made sausage this time.

Mine is tiny, weak, cute, dangerous, the same age, but he thinks he looks like his sister.

Speaking of which, he said he rarely wanted a stem of grass around the time of winter support, but what the hell are you going to do?

"Sieg! Go to that tree!

"Okay!

When we arrived in the woods, the battle for Paru had already begun. It is a precious sweetness of winter that cannot be picked unless it is in a snowy forest and in a well sunny morning. Everyone and he are changing the color of their eyes.

Brother Sieg runs out to Brother Zasha's voice and climbs the tree. The other three, a short distance from the tree, began to prepare for the fire.

Scratch the snow, expose the soil, and light the firewood you bring. I could see Brother Sieg deciding which fruit to pick.

"Lutz, it's time to get up and get ready"

"Yeah."

I began to climb the Paru tree, aiming to be around Brother Sieg.

Paru is a demon tree. White trees, like those made of ice and snow, often branched, making it easy to climb trees, but actually higher up in trees.

Ordinary trees can pick fruit with a knife, but not with a knife. That's the trouble.

"Lutz, okay?

"Wait, wait, wait."

As for Brother Sieg's back, he quickly took off his gloves and grabbed a branch close to the base of the fruit that Brother Sieg was gripping.

"Ha, it's cold. Say hello later. I think we're almost there."

"Mm, okay."

When Brother Sieg wears his own gloves, he gently goes down the tree.

The thin branches I grip with my bare hands are cold as ice, and the air around me is cold, so I can see the temperature of my hands dropping all at once.

Come on, drop it!

The branches must be warmed and softened to harvest the fruit of Paru.

But I can never use fire on a tree. It is wiped out by the magic that trees possess. So I just have to take my gloves off and warm them up with my bare hands.

Little by little I can see the branches softening in my hands. But it still doesn't fall, actually.

Not yet? Almost. How much?

The sensation of the gin and the paralyzed hands is gradually disappearing. When I moved my neck slightly because I wanted it to change, the branches I was riding deflected slightly.

"Lutz, take turns."

"Brother Zasha, we're almost there."

"Ralph! He said it was time to fall!

The moment Brother Zasha spoke to Brother Ralph and held the branch, the fruit of Paru fell bumpy. I guess it was a lot hotter than my hand, where Brother Zasha's hand held the branch all the time.

The fruit about the size of my face falls straight down.

"Warm it up quickly. Your hands are bright red."

"I know."

Brother Zasha searches for the next fruit and moves the branches.

I also immediately put my gloves back on and went down from the tree, being careful not to fall.

Running straight to the fire, he takes off his gloves and warms them by holding his hand to the burning fire that burns red. If I rubbed it over and over again and put it on fire, my fingertips, which had lost their senses, were sore with gin.

"I'll throw it! Sora!"

Brother Ralph, who was going to pick up the fallen Paru fruit, swayed heavily and threw the Paru fruit. As it is, Brother Ralph climbs the tree so that he can take turns with Brother Zasha.

Brother Sieg picked up the fruit that flew nearby and put it in a cage. Actually, as long as it's in the cold, it'll never crack even if handed rough.

"Wow, it's cold. Sieg, go next."

"Ugh!

Brother Zasha came back rubbing his hand, so now he put gloves on his hand, which Brother Sieg was putting on fire, and ran towards the tree.

The adoption of Paru is more advantageous if collaboration is important and there are warm hands and a large number of people who can take turns.

Thus, he picked five fruits while taking turns.

"It's getting a little softer"

"Okay."

In his turn with brother Sieg, the light began to plunge from above into the woods after noon, where the sixth fruit was already falling.

Paru leaves reflect light like glitter gems, shaking out like trees are willing to sound the sound of a leaf rub called shara shara.

"Oh no! Come on down, Lutz!

The minute I heard my brothers screaming, the branch at my feet swayed loudly. I tried to get myself out a little bit, and I was grabbing the branches, and I fell ill, and I stuck to the branches and got into the universe.

"Wow!

I reached out the other hand, not to fall, and grabbed the branch.

"No, Lutz! You can let go of my hand! Jump right down!

It was at the same time that I tried to let go of my hand and the branches that were softened by the fact that I grabbed them with both hands made a bumpy noise out of them.

I fell with the fruit of Paru.

"Wow."

It was fluffy snow down there and I let go of my hand once it was hanging, and it never fell off my head, and I didn't get particularly injured.

As much as I jumped, one person after another jumps from the palu tree here and there.

Collection time is over.

The Paru tree grows higher and higher as it sounds sharp and leaf rubbing, reflecting the sparkle of light and seeking light for itself.

When it got tallest in the woods and stretched over a lot of bushy trees, the trees rocked branches even though there was no wind, as if a woman shook her head and loosened her hair. From the branches that were shaken and lit, the fruits that could not be harvested flew in all directions.

When all the fruit flies away, the palu tree becomes smaller to melt and disappears in no time.

Unlike other trees in the woods, this is the demon tree Paru, which only appears in the winter sunshine.

"You're done."

"Go home."

Everyone goes home with their picked paru. From noon onwards we will be handling Paru in every house. This processing is heavy labor and enjoyable.

"For now, one at a time"

When it was a tree, the fruit of Paru, which was about the size of my face, was also slightly smaller and rounded, as the skin around me began to melt from the moment I entered the house.

"Are you ready for the vessel?

"Yeah!"

Light a fireplace fire on a thin dead branch and press a tung on the paru. Then, only in that part, the petite skin is torn and overflowing with thick white fruit juice.

There is a sweet smell all over the house, and I take it to the vessel to avoid spilling fruit juice that smells sweet as I swallow the sawdust.

This fruit juice is an invaluable sweetness. He decides to swallow desperately and eat with care, even though he is tempted to take a sip.

When you're done picking the juice inside, crush the fruit next and remove the oil. Paru oil is a very appreciated fruit in the middle of winter as it can be used for edibles and for lamp oil.

Squeeze well squeezed and crispy can be nutritious food for chickens, although it is crisp and not something people can eat. The taste of eggs changes a lot, so I know that.

"I'm sorry."

"Grandpa Shima Su"

And a lot of people are coming home today and tomorrow. If you squeeze the paru, someone will come and exchange the eggs.

But as for me, I can't help but squeeze it. Chickens rejoice, but I hate watching less eggs I can eat in front of them.

Bring me some meat, not squeeze it anyway. I feel like every single egg, and I can definitely eat it, but my brothers always eat the meat, and I don't really hit it.

If that's what you think, Mine and Touri also brought Paru squeezing. The squeeze in the hemp bag would be about 2 pieces.

"Lutz, trade this for an egg"

I don't really feel like welcoming Mine, even if he gives it to me with a smile. Of course, though I can't push you back because your mother will piss you off.

"I'm already baiting you in time. Better than that, no meat?

"Meat?"

"My brothers ate me, not much for me."

Everyone is often at home in the winter, so there's a good chance they'll get rice, and I'm always hungry. Even though I knew it was something I couldn't help but say to Touri and Mine, I got zero dissatisfaction out of my stubborn mouth.

"You're in a different physique, so they take it," Thuri grinned bitterly, dissapointing me. And Mine says what he thought, putting out a hemp bag in front of Ba and me.

"Bye, Lutz. Why don't you eat this?

"Can you feed the birds?"

I didn't expect Mine to tell me to feed the birds that I always do with kindness. He yelled reflexively in too much shock, but Mine tilted his neck with a decent face.

"... depending on the food, you can eat it, right?

"Huh?"

"I'm going to squeeze it completely, so you won't be able to eat it. It's actually delicious, so squeeze it, 'cause if you cook properly, you'll be fine."

Mine says with a flat face, but I couldn't believe it and I looked at Touri unexpectedly. There's no way anyone eats bird food.

But Tulli just glanced lightly at his shoulder with a tired smile. Apparently, Mine really ate Paru fruit.

"Whoa! What a waste! You'd rather split it into fruit juice, oil and bird bait than finish eating palu fruit!? Usually eating fruit isn't a waste!

Just when we're having trouble feeding birds, so no one thinks about eating fruit, especially in us. Instead, it's impossible to eat the fruit you harbour without using it effectively. I don't think such an idiot has anything but mine to think about in this whole city.

"Uh, if you're going to feed the bird, that's fine, but you've had enough of the bird feeding, right? Then you should use it for human belly swelling."

"So you're telling me it's not like people can eat it with a crunch!

"I squeezed it tightly and tried to squeeze as much oil as possible, so it became something people couldn't eat. After a little trouble, he said he could eat properly."

"Mine, you know..."

Mine smiles and says incredible things, losing power.

I wonder what. This feeling of powerlessness that you can't convince me to say anything, defeat?

"You know, Lutz"

Turi, Mine's sister, opened her mouth small.

Looking back with anticipation that a blood relative could tell Mine that "bird bait is not human food," Thuri was powerless and drooling.

"You may not believe it, but they really ate me.... I was shocked that it was delicious, me"

Huh? Seriously?

Bird feed, they fed you, Touri!?

Mine apparently already practiced in his own family. I see. I'm confident in my opinion.

"Is it faster to try? Lutz, Paru juice, you still got it?

With that said, Mine put only a little squeeze of his own in the small vessel.

For a crunchy squeeze, add about 2 teaspoons of my portion of fruit juice and mix together. I put a pinch of that in my mouth and nodded small, yeah, yeah.

"Lutz, uh"

I thought it was terrible to be fed birds after they used my share of precious fruit juice, but I usually saw Mine put it in my mouth and opened my horrible mouth.

A yellow object on Mine's fingertips is placed on his tongue, and when he closes his mouth, the sweet taste spreads.

I just added a little fruit juice and it got really sweet and it didn't feel crunchy anymore.

I drink my share of fruit juice every year to lick it up a little bit, but I wonder if I can eat more sweet food if I mix it when I squeeze it.

"Look, it's pretty sweet and tasty, isn't it?

When Mine laughed and said that as he was good at it, Ugh, the brothers who had been looking at him like he was frigid reacted in unison.

"Sweet?"

"Good?"

"Seriously? Give me a break, Lutz."

All my brothers stuck their fingers in a small vessel. Instead of fleeing because of differences in stature so that the vessels are not taken, it is not easy to avoid them.

"Hey, get off me! Don't lift it! How dare you take my brother's, still my brother!?

"My brother's is mine"

"Share the good stuff with everyone."

"Yes! I got it!

Resistance is empty and held down by three people, and every vessel is taken. Three people stuck their fingers in one after the other and the vessel quickly emptied.

"Ahhh! My Paru!

"That's good."

"Bird food, right?

My brothers, who tasted my screams in total disregard, also look me in the eye and see Mine, not to mention saying that they are just as incredible as I am.

Mine, noted, said incredible things, scratching his cheeks as illuminated.

"If you're at Lutz's, you can taste a little better, right?

"Seriously!?

It won't be impossible for everyone to eat it either. Everybody's a gourmet guy, and he always says, "No matter how much you eat, it's not enough," like Brother Zasha at the top. Even bird bait is welcome if you can eat it deliciously.

"... Oh, but I might have to ask you to help me. Because I have no strength, no strength."

"All right, I'll take care of it"

Mine has no strength or strength, as we already know. If you can eat something sweet and delicious just to help, I'll do everything I can to help.

"We're not gonna let Lutz have a share, are we? I'll help you too, Mine. I have more strength than Rutz."

"Yes, yes."

Suddenly my brothers became cooperative. I worried that I might lose my turn, but Mine gives everyone a role, rejoicing that he "did it -"

"Um, my brothers want me to prepare an iron plate for baking. Rutz is ready for ingredients, and Ralph mixes them. Oh, and since it's pathetic to use all of Lutz's fruit juice, I'm gonna use everyone's fruit juice a little bit. Yes, yes, let it out, let it out."

I hurry my brothers as I slap my hands with bread, just like my mother.

Mine looked like an angel letting everyone juice line up. If Mine hadn't said a word, they would have definitely only used mine.

"Lutz, bring 2 eggs and milk. Ralph's over there in the woodcutter, mix this up."

Mine, who usually only gets his feet together, gives instructions one after the other and moves everyone.

Brother Zasha and Brother Sieg brought an iron plate for both of us and began to heat it up with a bamboo. Brother Ralph starts mixing the ingredients Mine puts in one after the other with the wood belt he's given. Mine tells me to move around this way and prepare all sorts of things.

"Yeah, this is what it is. Next, do you have any butter?

Mine uses a small spoon to take the butter that I offered him. When he takes it off, he goes up to a slightly higher chair and slips it over the iron plate. I probably don't realize that everyone is harassed by a dangerous posture.

The butter Mine put on the iron plate melted and turned smaller with the sound of Juwa ~ and a good smell tickled my nose. It smells so hungry.

I leave the dull dough that Brother Ralph was mixing with a slightly larger spoon there. There was a roasting noise with the juuuuuuuuuuu, adding a sweet smell of paru on the butter. It's a hell of a smelling violence.

It looks similar to the pancakes my mother makes by rinsing down her imo, but the sweetness of the smell is completely different.

"Here's what I want you to cook for the number of people."

After making the first one and showing it to him, he just throws a round at the brothers who arrive without a chair, and Mine looks at the iron plate, giving instructions. But that's fine.

I saw it once, so I know what to do. It's bad for the heart when you get worked up fluttering on a tall chair. Since it was less dangerous for us to do it ourselves, our brothers immediately took the cooking tools out of Mine's hands.

"I'll be fine if the bumps come out like this. It's time to flip."

"Ooh."

If Brother Zasha had flipped back with Hera on Mine's instructions, it would have turned out to be a good color. Who seems to be drooling? I hear gobbling and spitting from around me.

"This, pull over. Bake another one where it's empty."

Some baked stuff comes in a little bit, and the next butter and dough pours in. Mine says, "This is all right now," and it goes up on the plate.

Mine grinned full face with the first plate I could make.

"Bye!" Easy Hotcakes in Ocala "!

Mine said something, but I'm not sure. I didn't know how to react and tilted my neck a bit.

"... Huh? What?"

"Ahhh... Easy Paru Cake Makeup"

Failed, as I say, after just a slightly awkward look, Mine restates.

From the paru cake arranged on the table, there is dusty hot air and I want to bump it right away.

"Be careful because it's hot. Enjoy it."

Take a bite and bite slowly. Paru cake was surprisingly good. Fluffy and not at all pasty like bird bait. Unlike a good cake, you don't have to put jam or anything on it, it's sweet enough.

Besides, I don't have to worry about my brothers taking it because I can put it on a plate one at a time!

"Hey, Lutz. This would be easy, and I wouldn't be quite full?

"Been. Mine, you're amazing."

One person after another wants me to trade them for eggs, so there's a lot of Paru squeezing, and our chickens lay them, so eggs are always there. Because milk is also exchanged for eggs, it is generally there, so Paru Cake can be made at any time during the winter.

"There are other dishes that I can think of that use Paru's squeeze, but I can't make them because I'm powerless."

"If Mine tells me how to do it, I'll make it instead."

As a result of this incident, once Mine had moved as instructed, he was imprinted that he could eat good food.

Thanks to Mine, who came the sunshine and taught me new and tasty dishes every time I could pick Paru, I was less hungry this winter.

Mine is my savior.

So I'll help Mine, who has no strength or strength, and I'll help him.

I couldn't even realise that this imprint was going to shape my whole life, that I was immersed in the happiness of Paru Cake.