The Island-Banished Noblewoman - Chapter 8 (Patreon)

Rain (1)
It looks like it's going to rain.

Marylia, noticing the dark clouds gathering in the distant sky upwind, hurried.

"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, oh dear?! This is bad! This is troubling! My mud golems will melt in the rain! And, oh, the unfinished furnace! And the pottery!"

Flustered and agitated, she quickly regained her composure in about five seconds.

"Let's move the pottery under the roof... The furnace should hold up if it's just a passing shower. I dried it well since yesterday... Let's cover it with some leaves for extra protection..."

She swiftly started moving, despite her initial panic.

The equipment and tools most affected by the rain would be the drying pottery and the furnace.

Unfired clay would dissolve in water, making all the molding and drying efforts futile.

"Let's move the pottery under the roof... The mud golems... well, there's no helping it. I'll have to let them solidify and turn back into mud. Gather up, gather up... Oh, right, mud golems don't respond to orders. I have to go rewrite their commands..."

She also had to deal with the mud golems.

Mud golems are easy to create but extremely difficult to maintain.

They can get damaged by collisions or their own weight causing deformation, but more importantly, they are weak to water!

If it rains, they lose their shape. When they lose their shape, the inscribed commands get destroyed. When that happens, they are no longer golems but just lumps of mud.

But, it can't be helped. Mud golems are such creatures. Marylia accepted this and gathered all the mud golems in one place, letting them revert to lumps of mud. This way, even if it rained, not all of them would dissolve away. As long as there was some mud left, it was good enough.

"Next... right, let's expand the roof as much as possible."

And most importantly, Marylia herself.

"If I get wet, I'll catch a cold... This is bad, this is bad..."

On this deserted island, maintaining nutrition, sleep, and body temperature is crucial. In other words, she couldn't afford to get wet!

Thus, Marylia began to move with incredible speed.

First, she used the leftover bundles of grass from when she completed one side of the roof last time to thatch the roof.

Then, she estimated the amount of grass needed and went to cut more grass.

She cut and bundled grass, repeating the process until she managed to make a large bundle in about 3-4 hours. She then tied it onto the unfinished framework of the roof.

Starting from the bottom, she thatched the roof, though she was anxious about the top part, which was more important for keeping out the rain.

"... Will I make it in time?"

Well, if she didn't make it, it couldn't be helped. At least one side of the roof was completed. If the wind wasn't too strong, it should still keep the rain out.

Marylia hurriedly continued thatching the roof, skipping both breakfast and lunch.

… Around noon.

"I somehow finished... but will it leak...?"

Marylia managed to complete the roof! Although she was worried about leaks, there was nothing more she could do at this point. She prayed, hoping it would be okay.

"Well, if it doesn't work, I'll deal with it then. For now, let's fetch some water and boil it before the rain really starts."

Setting her worries aside, she began preparing for the rainy day.

She fetched water and set it over the fire.

Unfortunately, the fire had gone out since she had turned the golems back into mud. However, embers remained, so she added hemp waste and dry grass, blowing on it to revive the fire. Once the rain stopped, she'd have to start the fire anew. The future seemed daunting!

She also placed some Man-Eater roots wrapped in leaves near the fire... and next.

"Let's make a basket to pass the time while it rains..."

Marylia decided to gather vines from the forest to weave a basket during the rain. With the materials at hand, there was plenty to do. Weaving baskets was enjoyable, so Marylia smiled as she gathered a lot of vines.

After she finished gathering the vines.

"Ah."

A raindrop hit Marylia's cheek.

Looking up, she saw a few raindrops falling from the sky.

"Not good, not good. I need to hurry."

Marylia ran back to her shelter and crawled under the roof.

The roof was low enough that Marylia's head would hit the ceiling if she stood up. She had deliberately made it small, thinking it would be more efficient to thatch a lower roof.

"... It's cramped, but cozy."

Sitting down, there was no problem. As long as her wooden crates, drying pottery, and Marylia herself didn't get wet, it was fine.

Marylia brought the pot and Man-Eater roots under the roof. Shortly after, the rain began to fall in earnest, no longer just a few drops but a steady drizzle.

"Oh dear... it's raining quite a bit."

It wasn't a particularly strong rain. With this level of rain, the roof wouldn't be blown away, nor would the inside be flooded. Probably.

… The view of the rainy forest from under the roof was beautiful.

The softly falling rain sparkled in the light filtered through the clouds, appearing faintly white or silver.

The forest, veiled in this rain, looked whitish and blurry, almost ethereal.

"The sound of rain is nice, isn't it?"

Enjoying the sound of the rain, Marylia finally started eating the steamed roots of the Man-Eater, having missed lunch. Starch is delicious! Starch!

After filling her stomach, she leisurely waited for the rain to stop while weaving a basket.

She thought about increasing the number of traps or having another basket to carry mud and clay. Before long, she'd be able to make terracotta golems, so she'd need a basket for them to carry. Also, she'd need a strainer to slice and dry the Man-Eater buds for preservation.

Thinking about these things, she wove the basket and then thought, "Oh, I could weave a hammock with this!" and started making a large net-like structure.

If she used a hammock, it would be limited to outdoors between trees on sunny days. But it still seemed better than sleeping on the ground.

Or, if she made just the net, she could stretch it over a wooden frame to create a simple bed.

With a smile, Marylia started weaving a net large enough for her body, excited about the prospect of a bed.

… In the end, the rain didn't stop by evening. Marylia drank water, ate more steamed Man-Eater roots, continued weaving baskets and nets, and eventually, when it got too dark to see, she gave up and went to sleep.

Thinking it would be nice if it was sunny tomorrow, she fell asleep to the sound of rain, which wasn't a bad feeling at all.

… The next morning.

"Oh, it's sunny! That’s great~"

Waking up with the sunrise, she crawled out from under the roof to see the rain-washed forest.

The morning sunlight was gentle, making the rain-soaked forest glisten. Occasionally, droplets fell from the trees, sparkling in the morning sun.

Feeling cheerful at the beautiful sight, Marylia thought, "I'm glad I burned the undergrowth!" Walking through the rain-soaked grasslands would have soaked the hems of her clothes. Burning the area had been a good idea.

Marylia drank the rainwater that had collected in the pot left outside overnight, then went to fetch her daily water from the usual small waterfall.

"Oh my, the water is muddy. Hmm, I see."

The water she drew was muddy, likely due to soil washed down by the rain. The river had risen slightly.

"Well, I guess I'll fetch water after noon and check the pond in the meantime."

Given the situation, the pond might have changed as well. She hoped to find plenty of fish caught in the traps. Filled with anticipation, Marylia headed to the pond.

Walking along the stones by the river, she quickly arrived at the pond... and.

"Oh my, quite a big one."

From the upturned trap emerged a large catfish!

Carrying the basket with the catfish, Marylia was in high spirits. It was catfish, delicious white meat fish. Today's meal would be this.

"But I'd like some herbs to mask the smell if possible. Even with sea salt for seasoning... Hmm."

However, she was concerned about the freshwater fish's characteristic muddy smell.

She planned to purge the mud to some extent, but there were limits. She wanted to do more than just bake or boil it simply.

"... Since it's a special occasion, let's check the coast. I think there's some rosemary there..."

So, Marylia decided to head to the coast. She aimed to find plants growing near the coast... and also.

"Plus, since it rained yesterday and the sea was a bit rough, some things might have washed ashore."

She had some hope for driftwood or other items that might have washed up!

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