This is the translation for the prologue of this Light Novel, which can be bought here.

Note: I don’t own this Light Novel, but the translation is my own and helped by my friend.

The start of the day for the Hakurei Shrine was always early.

It was because there were plenty of things that had to be done, be it cleaning the shrine grounds, patrolling the road that lead from the village to the shrine or preparing breakfast. It started before the sun rose, though by the end of autumn or winter it may even drag beyond sunrise, so when I had to do it all alone it was so exhausting I barely had time to rest. It was nice that I have Reimu to help me now, but there was still no shortage of things to do.

Today’s work concluded without any issues, and I exhaled through my nose as if it was a daily routine. Usually after finishing up work, Reimu would have already began making breakfast and the smell of cooked rice and miso would fill the air, but today that smell wasn’t there.

I stepped out into the yard while thinking ‘maybe…’, only to see Reimu with the fallen leaves she had sweept and gathered together, sorting them by their shape with a serious expression on her face.

“Reimu, what happened to the breakfast preparations?”

As soon as I spoke, Reimu’s shoulders shook and she turned around in panic.

“Um… I’m sorry. You see… I suddenly got curious about the shape of these leaves…”

“If you’re tired, then I’ll make breakfast instead.”

It became easy for Reimu to behave like this when she had accumulated a lot of fatigue, and it often resulted in her getting a high fever. But at least she looked fine for the time being, and although she appeared reluctant, she quickly cleaned up the fallen leaves. Although she might not be quite there yet, it appeared that Reimu might have learnt how to control her feelings.

“I’m fine, but you might have to wait a little while…”

In the face of Reimu’s voice, which seemed like it could disappear at any moment, I tried my best to speak in a quiet voice. It was not like I was angry, but during these times she tended to be sensitive to even the slightest change in tone.

“Then, let us make it together. That way, I won’t have to wait.”

With that, Reimu nodded happily and grasped my hand. When a reason was properly given, Reimu would be put in a good mood if she was convinced by it. On the other hand, if she wasn’t convinced, depending on her physical condition or mood, she might stubbornly refuse to do things no matter how many times she was asked to.

She was a clever yet troublesome child. After spending a whole year together, we had somehow came to an understanding, but I could not let my guard down yet. Reimu was cute, and she seemed to have the qualities of a teacher, but precisely because of that, she would feel down and scolded herself when that happened.

—

Breakfast was the usual affair of rice, miso soup with a lot of seasonal vegetables and pickled vegetables. After tidying up, I taught Reimu about reading, writing and arithmetic. I knew Reimu was a child who struggled with studying, but the Hakurei Shrine must be managed by her alone, and for that to happen she had to learn how to function like an adult. If she couldn’t manage that, she wouldn’t be able to sort through a single document or read any incantations. It wasn’t possible to figure out how much time or how many resources were required, and there were occasions where the usefulness of a shrine maiden – who could often be seen doing nothing – had to be explained. Because I was from the village, no one paid me any attention, and because I was a peasant’s daughter who did not belong to a powerful household, people would mock me for just about everything. For Reimu, who was an outsider with no relation whatsoever, it would surely be an even greater struggle for her. Reimu should understand that very well, but it appeared that was relevant as to whether one is allowed to attend classes or not.

Reimu would show a surprising amount of concentration towards things she liked doing. Conversely, when it came to things, she did not like she would become strangely restless, and she did not learn the same way as other children. For example, while she transcribed a chapter of a book with enthusiasm, she did not learn how to write the words and sentences, but rather regarded the entire page as a picture and simply copied it. When she was learning how to write letters, this time she would often make mistakes or write them messily, and when she did not feel well there were even times when her letters devolved into incomprehensible scribbles. It took a lot of time to explain to Reimu – who insisted that she could read her own writings – that the letters had to be legible to everyone else too. It was an improvement compared to the past, when she used to throw tantrums, but her experience at the lecture was terrible. Or perhaps this was a testament to how good the local education was.

“Yes, I’m done.” Reimu showed me her transcript of a textbook I borrowed from Terakoya. It was not unreadable, but the words were generally misshapen. “I think I tried my best.”

While one could call it progress for her to realize that she could not remain at her current level, it also caused her fighting spirit to grow, and the burden placed on her heart could be both beneficial and detrimental. I read through the transcript carefully, circled it and returned it to Reimu. She then read out the transcript clearly and without hesitation. I could not call it satisfactory, but there was sufficient intonation and rhythm, and I did not struggle to understand her reading. In the past, she would speak terribly softly, suddenly start reading very fast, and could not hold a conversation with other people, including me.

That was why I decided not to send Reimu to Terakoya, and instead taught her on my own. Before, I tried to get Reimu accepted into Terakoya through any means. The child who came from the outside world persuaded the reluctant adults and finally gotten them to give her permission to study there, but within three months she was advised by the principal to leave.

“We’re not saying that she lacks cooperativeness,”

The headmaster spoke calmly, unaffected by the sudden threatening attitude I displayed towards him. Hidden within his gaze was a great torment, and I could see that he was reluctant to dismiss Reimu.

“Her attitude was not bad, and she was not overly mischievous. Regardless of that, it is not possible for me to let her remain here any longer.”

The principal then mentioned to me some examples of Reimu’s behaviour. Solving all the problems using mental calculations even though she was in an abacus class and being accused of cheating by the students around her. Endlessly asking what she should do as she did not like the shape of a certain kanji. Filling a map carefully with black ink and throwing a tantrum when reprimanded by the teacher. Calmly observing insects that she captured during outdoor class, and so on.

The more I heard, the more my heart filled with regret. No matter how much I wanted them to get used to Reimu, there was no helping it. When I was young, I tried my best to fix my tomboyish behaviour, but it had never been as hopeless as Reimu’s case.

“I apologize for my lack of ability.” The headmaster was a person who believed and acted behind the belief that the spread of education would boost productivity and raise the standard of the entire village. It was largely due to his efforts that someone as absent-minded as me could learn how to read and write. The fact that he regretted making this decision after a mere few months was something I could understand without him saying.

“Please do not hesitate to come by if you have any trouble. I will do my best to help.”

In other words, I would need to take care of a child that even the Terakoya’s teachers could not handle. I thought it was a hopeless ordeal, but there was no other option left. Going to a private school meant for wealthy families or hiring an in-home tutor was not something that a shrine without much money could afford.

I had never regretted more than now that I did not study harder.

—

After that, she transcribed and asked me to read some more textbook pages, but it was clear that she was not feeling well, and her intonation gradually began to falter. She was constantly letting out big yawns, swaying back and forth as she read, and her face was burning hot. It appeared that not using her head too much would be for the best.

“Let’s stop here for today. We shall continue tomorrow.”

“I can still keep going, though…”

“Then, can you solve this problem right away?” I opened up an arithmetic textbook and pointed to one of the written problems. It was a simple question about how much money was required to purchase an apple and an orange, one that she should be able to answer immediately if she was in good condition. But she merely skimmed through the text in a panic, and after a short while she suddenly let out a strange voice and smacked the textbook in my hand onto the ground. She appeared to instantly recognize the fact that she did something wrong but seemed to think that I should not have done such a mean thing to her. “Those actions of yours, are telling me that you are definitely not feeling well.”

“I didn’t say that! I never said such a thing! I hate teacher for being so mean!”

“I do not mind being hated. But if you were to overwork your body, you will suffer even more, and I do not want that. So, even if I have to say some harsh words to you, I have to make you rest.”

After saying that to Reimu, she reined in her animosity towards me and picked up the textbook she had knocked down, returning it to me. Then she lowered her head a little.

“I’m not the one in the wrong. But, um… I didn’t mean it when I said I hated you…”

“I understand. I also understand that there are times when you feel like saying that to me. When I was a child, I was so much more unreasonable that I could not even be compared to you.” After that, Reimu stared at me with widened eyes, as if to say that she had never thought about doing such a thing. “Were you never told such things by the teachers at Terakoya?”

“They never said anything like that to me, only praising me for having grown up to be a good child. I was once told that I was too energetic, though…”

How do I put it… I felt like everyone was being really considerate to me. Or perhaps they merely intended to increase my reputation as much as possible because I was the current generation of the Hakurei.

“Everyone’s like that when they are young, and it’s not like it’s easy to discipline people.” I felt that it was quite the difficult task to accomplish, even for adults. “Having weak bodies, and often catching fevers. Of course, there are individual differences.”

I was one of the few exceptions, but that would only complicate things, so I decided to proceed with the discussion as a general topic.

“That’s why you don’t have to push yourself when you’re having a hard time, it’s better for you to rest. With a little rest, you’ll find yourself able to move again, even if it’s unbearable.”

Reimu gave me a very slight nod, then began packing her textbook and stationary. During that time, I tidied up my desk and laid down the futon I had just folded up. Reimu immediately fell asleep upon lying down on it – as expected, she had to be quite tired. Her forehead was hotter than I had expected when I touched it, so I went and drew some water and cooled her forehead while observing her condition. They say if you caught a moderate amount of cold as a child, you would become robust upon reaching adulthood, but Reimu fell ill so frequently that I felt sorry for her.

I was much more used to looking after her like this compared to teaching her how to read and write. It was because I was born in a peasant’s family with many other children, where even my parents were filled with vigor when they caught colds. Ever since I was born, I had always been surprisingly cold-free. Many years ago, many people in the village had caught colds so severe that it kept them in their beds, and I went about caring for them to the point of complete exhaustion without letting out a single sneeze. While I was chosen as a shrine maiden because my spiritual and physical strength was high, I had secretly thought that a constitution that wards off illnesses was required. After taking in Reimu, I came to think that it became a foundation for raising her.

Unlike me, Reimu’s body was vulnerable to illness. Because of their strength, it was apparently natural for these things to be warded off. They had coped with things that were more troublesome than colds not once, not twice, but countless times.

The lack of unity between her mind and body might be one of the reasons why she was so prone to illness. This time she had definitely become capable of self-control, but there was a tendency for her body to be dragged around by her thoughts. This was especially evident during fighting practice.

There were no problems if it was only repetitive practice. Unlike me she did not have any weird habits, so although she was a little awkward at first, she had a beautiful form once she got used to it. However, when it came to actual combat, her feet and hands would stop moving. It appeared she was capable of recognizing very brief openings when I was striking thoughtlessly, and became stuck in thought upon thinking ‘isn’t this strange?’ and feeling a sense of discomfort. This showed that Reimu’s speed of thought and perception was unusually fast. It might be due to this unusual sharpness that she often caught fevers.

“That’s probably why she would be difficult to replace as a Hakurei shrine maiden, though.”

Unconsciously, I began to think to myself as I looked down at the peaceful sleeping face of Reimu. About just how much I would have to do for this child from now on.

<- Previous Chapter | Next Chapter ->