Vol 1 Prologue (1/2)
Kaue
God created the world on Monday
God separated order and chaos on Tuesday
God defined the numbers on Wednesday
God allowed the flow of time on Thursday
God looked over at every corner of the world on Friday
God rested on Saturday
Then, on Sunday, God—
The place was like a natural cemetery
Originally, the place was a lush, fertile hill, but at present it was densely covered by overgroith boulders scattered all over Arid wind blew through the reht in solitude on the bald hill, not a presence of a single huhted
Just to restore the forest to eighty percent of its forlory would take over a hundred years That was how barren the land was
In a corner of this piece of land, a Grave Keeper was currently waving her shovel with great efforts
The job of a Grave Keeper, of course, is to maintain the cemetery
The girl continued to try her best to dig, using her entire strength, she stabbed the shovel into the ground, then used it as a lever to scoop up the soil into the basket
Ai, as kneeling down on the ground, exhaled out, proceeding to gaze at the western horizon Reflected fro wind also began to feel cold
Ai, with an expression full of resent sun After a while, she forced herself to get out of the pit The surrounding area was coraves
Taking a glance at the countless graves, Ai muttered to herself,
“Job done!”
She carried the equipment down the hill At the foot of the hill was a wooden cabin and a well, which Ai used to clean the equipment These tools had been used for a whole day, as such they were dirtied black
Ai used her hands to soak the equip up her sleeves After a good while of preparations, Ai washed the equip it out in the sun, also lubricating various parts of the equiproaned as she swiftly carried out her tasks The pail, the sickle and the hoe were sparkling under the rays of light
At last, Ai lifted up her partner
The shovel
The shovel had a sin A wooden shaft with a silver metallic head, on the surface patterns of trees and roots were engraved, an evidence supporting her claim as a Grave Keeper
Ai carefully washed her beloved shovel
The well, the wooden cabin, and the equipers In response to their goodwill, she treasured them dearly Finally, she stored the tools in the cabin
What was left on her hand was just the shovel
“See you later, everyone”
She closed the door with a bang The tools sparkled for one last time
After tidying things up, Ai checked her appearance Touching the cheeks with her hand, she discovered that her face was s, she took off her shoes and shi+rt, and loosened her hair
Her beautiful golden hair were like another sun in time of dusk
Ai only used the water to clean out the filth sticking to her hair and skin, resulting in it changing froe unearthed
But the action of her washi+ng herself, compared to when she washed the tools, was much more hasty
She conoring the fact that there were still bubbles left over on her body, Ai put on her clothes
First, she put her delicate hands and feet into the gloves and shoes accordingly
Then, she tied the iron hammer, spoons, and all sort of tools with her leather belt
Next, she attached the hook and some other accessories onto her outer coat
Afterwards, she combed her hair, put on a straw hat, and pulled it down to her chin level
Finally, she picked up the shovel, turned around and flipped it over, then placed it on her shoulder
Like this, Ai finished wearing her Grave Keeper outfit
The sun was setting in the far distant o back home
---
Today, the digging of the 47th grave had been started, hoping that it will be finished by tomorrow—
Strolling along thehappily She continued to flip over the shovel, incessantly causing noises, while hu as she walked towards the pitch-blackas she advanced forward There was no way Ai could tumble over because she knew every nook and cranny of this place, even what kind of bird lived on a certain tree
Nother trip, what entered her vision was the scene of the night sky and a village The never-ending fields stretched far and wide, light was shi+ning out fro concealed between the mountain valleys
Ai had stopped hu
She then cleared her throat, and proceeded to inspect her attire—are the clothes tucked in, are the shoelaces untied, is there any speck of dust on her?
Lastly, she slapped her face to encourage herself, eli the expression on her face
Grave Keepers are the protectors of death, the envoys of death, and lastly—the Gods of death themselves
Ai firht to have was an expressionless face
Making up her resolution to e
She straightened her back, lowered her line of sight, and as her shoes were made up of iron and leather, step-by-step traces were created on the un, exposing the ih she was small, she still exuded an oppressive atmosphere
Suddenly, an old man lifted his head up from within the field Ai pretended to have looked by accident, using her eyes to take a quick glance at him The person in question was of course the blacksmith Yuuto, who helped create tools for everybody
After a brief , the head iht to herself that he htened by her aura, and as such, she raised her fist up high representing that of a victor
”Hey~~everybody listen, Ai-chan is back~~”
However, Yuuto ca with his shouts, aled clothes and trousers, and a straw hat atop their heads Mixed in the croere villagers both young and old, the majority either had wounds all over their bodies, were blind, or were handicapped Those who didn’t tend to the fields also appeared, this is how bustling the fields were in spring
Apparently, everyone aiting for Ai’s return
Ai unhappily twisted the corner of her mouth Nevertheless, she i her knees and bowing down, then heaving up her shovel, she fluently recited the lines of a Grave Keeper:
“Good evening everyone, today also I have upheldto ensure that they lead a happy life”
But as she finished saying up till that part, her voice was drowned out by the villagers’ clamor
“Why are you so late?! Didn’t we say you need to coht, there’s still some left, eat up!” “There’s lemonade too!”
She couldn’t er The villagers casually caressed her head, an old lady was handing out snacks, and an oldforward to talk to her
Ai sighed while in the middle of the crowd
”I don’t want either snacks or lemonade! All the food I eat has already been prepared at ho your life”
Ai strongly asserted the Grave Keepers’ zeal, but the villagers only perfunctorily nodded in accordance, not willing to release her
“You people!”
At thathis hand
It was Yohki
Ai caught a sight of the reliable helper and let out a grin
“What are you all doing? Spoiling Ai! Well well, don’t just crowd around here, please get the work done and go back home!”
Everyone presented at the scene looked guilty After all, on the notice board last week, this was posted: “Please don’t feed the Grave Keeper”
Anyhow, it had already happened Ai firers, those who quickly noticed her gaze had already fled, for the reht
In the end, there were only the two of them left Ai triumphantly huhed away happily
“Okay, Aino Grave Keeper!”
However Yohki donned the saers, as he looked at Ai
“Haven’t I said not to accept food frolutton?!”
Ai couldn’t overlook this sentence, after all she had clearly rejected already Therefore, she intolerably said,
“I zid fezusd erefyfing! Fid fitdow ze zsasefent!”
I did refuse everything, please withdraw the state to say, but nobody understood thebecause her mouth was stuffed full
“”
Yohki’s icy cold gaze gave her a chill
Ai put up a squirrel-like troubled expression, and in the next moment sed dohatever was in her mouth, then continued her excuse, “These are unforeseen circumstances”
“These too?”