Chapter 20

Wooden Wheels Running Through the Forest and a New Road Ahead
With the brick-making project wrapped up, neat stacks of reddish-brown bricks now surrounded Akio’s cabin. They were the fruit of their hard work and would become the foundation for an improved life. But even as he admired the sight, a new challenge loomed in Akio’s mind. There was no efficient way to transport these bricks, or large amounts of firewood and clay, to where they were needed.

“Hauling this much by hand every day is exhausting… and it takes way too long,” Akio muttered, arms crossed, staring at the mountain of bricks. Sylvia quietly nodded in agreement.

“True. There’s a limit to what we can do with manpower alone. Life in the forest is always a battle for efficiency.”

“That’s why…” Akio lifted his gaze, looking around at his family. “I’m thinking of building a cart to make transporting things easier. A hand-pulled cart with two wheels.”

He picked up a stick and drew a simple sketch of a handcart in the dirt. The children’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

“A cart!? Like the ones pulled by horses?” Kenta asked eagerly.

“No, something much simpler. We’ll pull it ourselves, but even so, we’ll be able to carry way more with much less effort.”

The greatest challenge in building the cart was, naturally, the “wheels” and “axle.” Without the convenience of metal, they had to make everything from wood. Strength, roundness, and smooth rotation—all required both advanced skill and the right materials.

“Wood suitable for wheels…” Sylvia pondered for a moment, then clapped her hands as if recalling something. “There’s an old Elven legend about a tree called the ‘Moon Tree.’ It’s said to glow silver under the moonlight, remarkably hard yet mysteriously easy to shape into circles. It might be somewhere in this forest.”

She added, “As for reducing friction on the axle, there’s a special resin that can be harvested from certain trees. I can identify it.”

“The Moon Tree and special resin…! If we find those, we just might be able to make sturdy, smooth-turning wheels!” Akio’s face lit up with hope.

A few days later, Akio, Sylvia, and Alto—who had insisted on joining—set off once again to explore the forest in search of the Moon Tree and the resin. Thanks to Sylvia’s ancient knowledge and the Elven ability to sense the forest, they eventually discovered a massive tree with dense grain and a faint silvery glow under the moonlight—the Moon Tree, or so they believed. They also found a tree secreting the highly viscous, transparent resin they needed.

Back at the cabin, standing before the thick trunk of the Moon Tree, Akio’s craftsman spirit ignited. Using an axe, he roughly cut out the shapes, then carefully sliced them into discs with a saw. With chisels and stone files, he painstakingly shaved and shaped two sturdy wooden wheels. To achieve near-perfect roundness, Akio even rigged up a makeshift turntable, spinning the wheels as he meticulously refined their shape. His focus and skill left Sylvia and Alto thoroughly impressed.

The axle, also carved from the hard Moon Tree, underwent numerous adjustments where it met the wheels. Finally, Sylvia carefully applied the special resin to the axle and wheel hubs, and to their surprise, the wheels rotated with astonishing smoothness.

With the wheels and axle complete, next came the cargo bed. This was the culmination of all their woodworking efforts so far. Akio assembled a sturdy base, three side panels to prevent cargo from falling out, and a long handle angled for easy pulling. The whole family pitched in—sanding the wood, carrying materials as Akio directed. Ayane even brought them cold spring water and nut cookies to refresh them during the hard work.

A few days later, their first-ever “vehicle”—a wooden handcart—was complete. Two powerful wheels, a solid cargo bed, and a smooth handle. Primitive, yes, but a true testament to their ingenuity and skill.

“It’s done… finally finished!” Akio exclaimed, and the children erupted in cheers. Sylvia, gazing at the cart with deep emotion, spoke words of praise without hesitation.

“… A splendid piece of work, Akio. This will serve us well on the forest paths.”

Eager to test it, they loaded several bricks onto the cart. Akio gripped the handle and began pulling it slowly. Though awkward at first, the wheels turned smoothly, without so much as a creak. Compared to carrying them one by one, transporting the heavy load was now remarkably easy and efficient.

“Amazing! Akio-san, let me try pulling it too!” Kenta exclaimed, eyes sparkling. Alto buzzed around the cart, equally excited. Meanwhile, Yume and Miko clambered into the now-empty cart, giggling and shouting, “Whee! It’s like a little boat!” as they played.

What do you think about this chapter?