Ch. 7: Successfully Driving Them Back
There was a sound of mechanisms whirring, and the enormous scarecrow moved.
As Leeya piloted it, he set his eyes forward with a serious look on his face.
Upon our arrival in the town…
Leeya: “Go get ’em Great Scarecrow No. 1! Attack the crows!!”
Holding the control stick, Leeya also began to recite a mysterious incantation.
(Strange…it’s almost like the scarecrow itself is alive.)
The scarecrow that Leeya had constructed moved with his magic.
(Is that why it feels so full of life?)
Leeya: “Go! Good!! My plan worked after all!”
Leeya shouted, elated.
Before our very eyes, the crows that had been attacking the town were forced out.
(This is amazing…thank goodness!)
However, we did not yet know what was to happen afterwards, and how it would change the lives of Leeya and the townspeople.
Ch. 8: Emergency Shutdown
In the moment we thought we had successfully expelled the attacking crows from the town…-.
Leeya: “Wh-what the hell!? Why won’t it stop!?”
OO: “Wh-what’s wrong!?”
Leeya: “This thing…I can’t stop it!!”
No matter what he tried, Leeya couldn’t get the scarecrow to stop moving.
OO: “Leeya, if you calm down, we can think of…”
Leeya: “Don’t tell me to calm down!! Damn! Here I’d thought the initial startup had been a success…!”
The enormous scarecrow was quickly moving further from the village.
(At this rate…what on earth should we do!?)
Leeya: “No choice, guess I gotta use the emergency shutdown.”
OO: “Eh? Is there such a thing?”
Leeya: “Yeah, just in case. But once I push it…”
OO: “U-um, what will happen?”
Leeya: “…it’ll just stop completely, never moving again. It’s a one-time use thing. Even if it comes to nothing, it won’t…”
OO: “Leeya…”
Leeya: “Don’t look at me like that. At this rate it’ll destroy the whole country. There’s no room to hesitate.”
Leeya looked as if he’d resolved himself, then flipped open the cover on the emergency shutdown button.
And then…-.
OO: “…did…it stop…?”
There was an ominous noise, and the giant scarecrow halted…-.
…
……
The great scarecrow had finally stopped moving, right in the middle of a river a long distance from the town.
Leeya: “Haa…this is the worst.”
OO: “But you were able to get rid of the crows.”
The two of us stepped out of the cock pit, and our shoulders dropped in defeat.
Leeya: “If it’s not flawless right till the end, you can’t say it was a success.”
Leeya stood there for some time, sighing.
Then as if surprised, he turned his gaze forward and…-.
Leeya: “Look out!!”
He roughly grabbed me and pulled me into an embrace, as if he were shielding me.
(Wh-what!?)
My heart pounded furiously in surprise, and then came another surprise.
That critical moment was when the crows chose to attack.
Leeya: “Damn, what’s with these…!? Cowards!”
As Leeya held me in one arm, he swatted at the crows with the other.
(There are so many…we won’t last like this!)
At that moment, I thought it was hopeless.
Villager 1: “Oooooo!!!”
Villager 2: “What do you think you’re doing to Lord Leeya!?”
A large group of people from the town came running towards us.
In their hands were man-made scarecrows, and mirrors reflecting the light.
Leeya: “What…is that…?”
Leeya, taken aback by the sudden event, noticed what the people were holding, then gave a cry of joy.
Leeya: “Alright! Those guys are awesome!”
With a great cry, the crows as one flapped their wings in surprise as the people wielded a great many items that weren’t actually good for attacking anything.
Then immediately, they took off into the sky.
Ch. 9: An Unknown Calculation
Above the giant scarecrow, which had come to an emergency stop, the crows attacked us. And what came to save us was…
The people of the town that Leeya was in charge of.
Villager 1: “Lord Leeya! Are you alright!?”
Villager 2: “Lord Leeya!”
Villager 3: “Lord Leeya!”
As Leeya came down from the scarecrow, he was surrounded by the worried-looking villagers.
Leeya: “Yeah, I’m alright. Cause you guys saved me!”
Villager 1: “Lord Leeya…of course we did!”
Leeya: “But man, that was a surprise. I didn’t imagine you guys could think of this all on your own and follow through! Thanks.”
I got the impression that Leeya was full of gratitude, and also highly impressed.
———————
Leeya: “The people in this country don’t know how to use their own heads. So I’m remodeling this castle right now. Alone.”
OO: “…you’re doing it alone?”
Leeya: “Yeah, I don’t got anyone I can rely on.”
———————
(That’s…not true…)
OO: “Good for you Leeya.”
My heart filled with happiness as I turned to Leeya, his face lit up with a smile.
Leeya: “Yeah, looks like they can pull together in a pinch.”
His expression was bright, completely different from the gloomy look he’d had looking at the great scarecrow.
Leeya: “I had no idea this is how it’d turn out…even if I had calculated for it, I’d have had no idea.”
Leeya’s face seemed so clear and bright then…like there was an unfathomable clarity to him.
(But…)
I wracked my brain, trying to answer the one big question that remained.
Ch. 10: Building a New Town
We had succeeding in driving the crows back, but the question that remained was…-.
Leeya: “In order to get this castle-turned-Giant Scarecrow back to where the castle was before… I’ll have to start over from scratch. What’s worse, the body isn’t in perfect shape, and that means it’ll probably stop moving on the way back.”
Leeya stood there with a troubled look on his face, and began fiddling with his hat decorations.
(He seems pretty worried…)
OO: “Um…what about rebuilding the town instead, right here?”
I had an inkling, and the idea slipped out as soon as I’d thought of it.
Leeya: “Hah? That’s ridiculous… No, wait a minute…”
Leeya’s expression was still troubled, but gradually his eyes started to shine.
Leeya: “That might actually work!”
OO: “Really?”
My tone was hopeful as he jumped on board with the idea I’d suddenly had.
Leeya: “Actually, where the current town is, we’ve always had trouble with water supply. But here, that wouldn’t ever be a problem. There’s actually some merit to completely moving the whole town.”
Villager 1: “Move…the town??”
Villager 2: “Will there be two towns?”
The villagers who were there started muttering about in confusion.
Within that noise, Leeya raised his voice to be heard.
Leeya: “Alright! I’ve decided to build a new town here! First off, we gotta secure the water supply. Then we’ll build a wall using this huge scarecrow here as a starting point. Then, even if the crows come back, we’ll have an easily-defensible structure!”
Leeya’s eyes were bright, and he was animated as he spoke.
Suddenly…I remember the wish Leeya had told me some time before.
———————
Leeya: “Hey…if this plan goes well, and I’m able to get the country protected…I wanna go travelling like before. A journey like the old days, where I’d look for awesome things that’d make my heart sparkle…”
———————
(…even though he’s not out travelling, I think he’s got that same sparkle now.)
Seeing his eyes then, sparkling and glittering with a brilliant intelligence and full of hope, that thought came to be unbidden…-.
A while after that…-.
The building of the new town was coming along well, and Leeya was getting along better with the villagers that he ever had before.
(Before, he’d felt like they’d only ever rely on him but… I feel like now, they’re really in this together.)
That night, when the work on the town had finished…-.
I sat shoulder-to-shoulder with Leeya atop the scarecrow.
Leeya: “The sunset seen from this village…and from the old village…it’s the same.”
Leeya spoke, his voice barely above a whisper.
Leeya: “Is it the same as the place you came from?”
OO: “Eh…?”
Leeya: “I bet…it’s the same…”
Slowly, he pulled me into a tight embrace from behind.
OO: “U-um…”
Leeya: “Should I stop?”
OO: “…”
I couldn’t find the words to reply, and I simply shook my head as I kept quiet.
(He’ll hear it…my heart is beating so loud.)
I could feel a warmth against my back.
As I became more aware that the warmth was from Leeya, I felt my cheeks start to burn.
Leeya: “Ya know, you’re interesting!”
OO: “Eh…?”
Leeya: “You’re like me, in the way you have all these different ideas… But, since I’m a different person, I naturally think about different things… That’s interesting.”
OO: “U-um…”
I couldn’t really fathom the meaning of his words, so I turned to look at him over my shoulder.
OO: “…!”
There was a light gentle touch, as soft as silk, as our lips met…
I was surprised, and in that moment we pulled apart. It had only lasted the blink of an eye…-.
Leeya: “Hehe, surprise attack…!”
He said it with a smile, and this Leeya here seemed more child-like than any time I’d seen him before…
He was mischievous…yet charming.
(…I can’t say anything.)
My chest was full of the words I couldn’t say, and Leeya held me a little tighter.
Then…a gentle singing drifted into my ears.
Leeya: “Tor-de-lide-o ~♪”
(Such a happy…and kind singing voice.)
I didn’t know if I felt embarrassed or delighted, but…
(I want to be like this…always.)
That is what I thought as I listened to the singing close to my ear.