Caterpillars
The next day, we went to Shinana Village to check on the caterpillars.
“Village chief, any problems with raising the caterpillars?”
“No, everything’s fine. The caterpillars spin silk every day, and their appetite is great. Would you like to see the observation records?”
“Sure.”
“Observation records?”
“Brother Chris, do you want to see them too?”
They were printed on straw-colored paper, with spaces to record the date, weather, temperature (morning, noon, night), the caterpillars’ condition when measuring the temperature, how many silks were collected, and any other observations.
Brother Chris began reading seriously.
“Hardt, these observation records are incredible. After a few years, we’ll be able to understand the caterpillars’ habits, and anyone raising them in the future will have a reference.”
“Since we don’t know much about this caterpillar’s ecosystem, I thought daily records would be important. If it’s scattered, it’s hard to understand, so I standardized the items.”
“Printing the items on the paper makes recording much easier.”
“Let’s look at the caterpillars before checking the records further.”
Guided by the village chief, we went to a small hut at the back of the village.
Inside, the caterpillars were energetically eating Oido leaves.
They were about 15 cm long, so they might already be adults.
The caretaker placed a bundle of silk in his palm and said, “This is today’s harvest.”
“The silk bundle is bigger than before?”
I pinched the bundle between my thumb and forefinger and lifted it to magic height.
Proudly, he said, “Yes. When we first came, it was about 4 cm, but recently it’s grown to about 5 cm.”
“Amazing. Isn’t that proof of everyone’s love for the caterpillars?”
“That would make me happy.”
The caretaker, looking at the caterpillars, asked, “Anything bothering you? Any problems?”
“Could we give them names?”
“Names?”
“Yes. It feels wrong to just call them ‘caterpillars’ since we’re raising them every day.”
“Maybe Noi, Niu, or Pere?”
“Noi or Pere sounds easiest to say.”
“You can decide.”
“Really, we can decide?”
Since they had been taking care of them, the elders suggested Pere.
“To the caterpillars, from today on, you are Pere. Please keep giving us your silk.”
It seemed like the Peres nodded, but they were focused on eating Oido leaves, so I probably imagined it.
Brother Chris encouraged the caretakers, “I’ve only seen a little of the observation records, but they are carefully maintained every day. As these records grow, you’ll better understand the caterpillars’ habits. Keep it up,” and we left the hut.
Next, we went to the dense area of Oido trees.
This was the main purpose of our visit.
The plant god had said to use growth enhancement magic if we wanted to increase the caterpillars.
“May the Oido leaves Pere loves never wither!” I said, sprinkling water magic on the trees.
We watered the Oido trees for about two hours.
“Hardt, weren’t you supposed to use growth enhancement to increase the number of Peres?”
“I thought they needed green Oido leaves year-round to grow, and growth magic works on the plants, not directly on the Peres.”
“True. In winter, either the leaves wither or become scarce.”
“I don’t know how long the magic will last, but it’ll be good if they have offspring.”
—------
We were born by the Plant Goddess.
We were supposed to go to those who need the silk we produce, and next thing we knew, we were inside a wooden box.
A lot of large beings were peering at us. I guess these were the ones the plant god said needed us.
They tried to lift the box in turns, but no one could manage it.
After a while, everyone left. I guess there was no one who needed us.
Suddenly, the box was lifted roughly, swaying side to side as if it might tip over.
So rough. Is this really one of the ones the god said needs us?
Just because they’re favored by the gods doesn’t mean they should treated us like this.
The next day, even though the Goddess said these beings needed our silk, they just took it all.
A little gratitude or joy wouldn’t hurt, right? Disappointing.
Some of our staple food in the box was taken too.
They cleaned the box but didn’t take us out.
The leaves lost freshness and flavor. We grew anxious, wondering when fresh leaves would be given.
After some unknown number of days, suddenly fresh leaves appeared.
Ah, finally we can eat fresh leaves—so happy.
From then on, they replaced the leaves daily, and we were satisfied. But the box was still too small for all of us; we couldn’t exercise.
Then we were put in an even smaller, darker space.
We can’t live in such a cramped area.
Is this child really the gods’ favorite?
After being in a dark, narrow place for a long time, we were suddenly thrown into a bright space.
Treat us more carefully.
But it was a spacious area with fresh leaves spread across the floor—the ideal place we wanted.
Perhaps it took time to prepare our living space.
If so, saying so would have prevented our anxiety…
It seemed our caretakers had changed; the god’s favorite was gone.
The new caretakers were very kind.
They always greeted us with, “Are you well?” “Have you eaten?,” and “Thank you for the silk today.”
Completely different from the gods’ favorite.
As we got used to this life, we produced more silk.
The caretakers were very pleased.
It felt great.
Yes, these are the ones we’ve been wanting.
I felt that we wanted to live with them, even if it upset the gods.
Then suddenly, the gods’ favorite appeared again.
We aren’t leaving here. This comfortable environment is ours—we will fight to keep it.
I thought we would be taken away, but it wasn’t the case.
He was here just to check on us.
The caretakers asked the gods’ favorite to name our species.
We were happier with the caretakers naming us.
The gods’ favorite suggested several names, and the caretakers chose from them.
Our name is “Pere.”
What a good name.
What do you think about this chapter?
