Chapter 290:
My First Fax
“I…I’M ALL DONE!”
My letter was three pages long. It was addressed to Captain Oght of Ratome Village, and I asked that it be sent through Vice-Captain Velivera. Apparently, it was common practice to address your fax to a representative and have them share it with a number of other people.
“Do you think it’s weird? Do you think I rambled too much?”
When I first got the blank papers, I stared at them, agonizing over what I should write. Then, when I finally started writing, there were so many things I wanted to say that I confused myself. I had to ask Druid for help along the way. If I’d been alone, I’m sure I wouldn’t have been able to get my thoughts together.
“Did you finish your letter?”
“Yeah. I somehow managed it.”
In my letter to Captain Oght, I told him vaguely that I was a tamer and I’d tamed some slimes. It was a shame I couldn’t be more specific, but I wanted to introduce my family to him the next time I saw him.
“Is it all right if I add a few words to Captain Oght?” Druid asked.
I don’t see why it would be a problem…but it’s strange. They don’t even know each other.
“I want to pay my respects to him as your current guardian,” he explained.
Aww, that’s so sweet of him!
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Here’s some more paper. You wanted to write to the people of Otolwa next, right? Do you think two pages will be enough?”
“Yeah, I think it will.”
Before I set out to write the letters, the only thing I could think of writing was “How’ve you all been?” so I’d just assumed a single page would be enough for each one. But when I actually sat down and started writing, I wanted to tell everyone all about the people I’d met and the friends I’d made on my travels. And the next thing I knew, the amount of paper I was originally given was nowhere near enough. With each fax you sent, the first five pieces of paper were free. You had to pay for anything beyond that, so most people kept their messages to five pages or less.
“Good luck, Ivy.”
Hmm…who should I address it to? “I guess it should go to Mr. Rattloore. He really did worry a lot about me.”
Yeah, I’ll address it to him. Okay, first I’ll write a basic greeting and explain where I am right now. Then I’ll tell him that I never got a slave, since he was worried about how that would play out. Then I think I’ll say a little about how Druid came to be my travel companion. Hmmm…yeah, I’d better let him know that I got taller. He really was nervous about how far behind my development was. I remember he almost took me to see a doctor once, even though I felt perfectly fine. Oh! I think I’ll tell him my hair got longer. As I wrote, a bunch of things came to mind and I had filled two pages in no time.
“Okay, all done.”
Just as with the first letter, I found so many things I wanted to say once I started writing.
“All right, let me add a greeting of my own on that letter, too.”
“Sure.”
After Druid put in a final greeting, the letter was finished. We wound up using three whole pieces of paper for it. But truth be told, there were so many more things I wished I could have said. I just shortened it so I wouldn’t annoy him.
“Excuse me, but could you please faax these letters for me?”
“Sure thing. Write in your recipients here.”
“Ivy?”
“Um, these three papers should go to Captain Oght of Ratome Village, and these three are going to Rattloore of the Sword of Flames in Otolwa, please.”
“What?! To Captain Oght, you say?”
Huh? Why is he so surprised?
“Yes, that’s right. Is there some sort of problem with that, sir?”
“Oh, no, I was just surprised to hear the name of one of my idols come up.”
That’s right, I forgot Captain Oght was a famous adventurer.
“Do excuse me,” the man said. “All right…so this one is to Sir Rattloore of the Sword of Flames. Please press your guild card here.”
“Yes, sir.”
Druid handed me his guild card. When the man set it on the box-shaped item, a part of it glowed a little. Then I put the three-page letter on top of the board sticking out of the item.
“Since you’re sending faaxes to two different places, that will be one thousand dal.”
Druid reached for his wallet, but I handed him the thousand dal. Since they’re my letters, I should be the one to pay. Why do you look so upset about that, Mr. Druid?
“Okay, everything’s all set and ready to go. Your letters will be sent momentarily.” As the man said this, the magic item made a sound, and with it the papers on the board were sucked into the box one by one. And in just a few seconds, the three papers that had been sucked in were sent to a single address. The batch sent to the second address was faxed in the same way.
“All right, would you like to take the originals home with you?” He was holding the six pieces of paper that my letters were written on. I felt a little embarrassed by the sentimentality of it all, but I did want to keep them all the same.
“I’ll take them with me, please. And thank you very much. You’ve been a great help.”
“Not a problem. We hope to see you again very soon.”
As he handed me the papers, there was a terribly warm sparkle in his eyes. I was confused by it, but I gave him a polite nod and walked out of the guild with Druid.
“Ivy…were you doing that without realizing it?”
“Doing what?”
Druid sighed awkwardly and said, “Halfway through writing your letters, you started saying what you were writing out loud.”
“What?! No way!”
No, no, no, that can’t be true, can it? I looked at Druid and saw an indescribably apologetic look in his eyes.
“Sorry I didn’t stop you…I just assumed it was easier for you to write if you thought out loud.”
Agggh, how embarrassing. Oh, that must be why the man at the fax looked at me like that!
“Please stop me next time.”
I could just cry. I didn’t write anything that embarrassing, did I? Nothing too attention-grabbing, right? At least Druid warned me not to give away sensitive information about my creatures. I just gave their names and said how they liked to play, so I don’t think that’s an issue.
“You don’t need to worry about it, Ivy. You didn’t say anything that would be a problem for us.”
“Well, I’m glad to hear that.”
I wanted to get their replies if they wrote back, but the thought of facing that man who worked the fax again made me feel quite embarrassed. I pressed my hands to my hot cheeks. What’s done is done, Ivy. Cheer up.
“Oh, by the way, Mr. Druid, didn’t Mr. Gotos write back to you? Is everyone doing well?”
I’d noticed he’d received a reply before I wrote my letters, so I was curious. I wonder what it said?
“He was ridiculously angry.”
He’s angry?
“He said I took way too long to send a letter. And not just Gotos; my family and mentor felt the same way. I think I gave them all quite a scare.”
“Yeah, we did let an awful lot of time go by after we got here before we sent word to them.”
“Guess so…but they all sound well. Ryce has really taken off, too. People are making new recipes with it. People from other towns and villages are even starting to trickle in to have a taste.”
“Wow, that’s impressive.”
I can’t wait until the next time we visit Oll. I wonder how many rice dishes they’ll have by then?
“Also, my brother Dolgas has a fiancée now.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah, he said the whole family was really surprised about it.”
I understand that… But a bigger family is a good thing.
“They’re getting married next spring.”
“That’s great news.”
“And Alizé, Dolgas’s fiancée, really hit it off with Shurila. Doluka and Dolgas don’t really like that, though.”
Why don’t they like it? I would think their wives getting along would be a good thing.
“You know how stubborn my brothers are, right?”
“Ah…yes, I see what you mean.”
Maybe just a little?
“Shurila, Alizé, and my mother scolded them about it.”
Ahh, now I get it. I guess it’s a safe bet that Alizé has a strong personality just like the other two women.
“As Gotos put it, those women are an unstoppable force when they work together. He didn’t write exactly what they did to him, though.”
“Ha ha ha, well, I’m looking forward to the next time we visit everyone.”
“I think…I’d better write letters more often,” Druid muttered, a deep set of creases forming between his eyebrows.
What sort of horrific scene is he imagining?
I stared hard at him, and he explained, “They were hard enough to deal with when there were only two of them. Now that there’s three, they’re impossible to defy.”
So apparently Druid’s reason for writing more letters was to dial down the scolding he was bound to get the next time he saw them.
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