CHAPTER 58 — Helping Hands and Quiet Changes
📅 1 August, S.C. 1510
👦 Ren — Age 7
📍 Foosha Village → Docks → Makino's Bar → Fields
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Foosha Village woke slowly on warm mornings.
Fishermen stretched their backs.
Mothers hung laundry.
Kids chased chickens across the dirt paths.
The sea breeze carried the salty smell of early tides.
Ren walked through the village with Zemo trotting beside him, tail swaying proudly.
Today wasn't for science.
Or training.
Or dangerous discovery.
Today was simply… a normal day.
One Ren had grown to love.
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PART 1 — HELPING THE FISHERMEN
At the docks, Ren found two fishermen staring sadly at a tangled fishing net.
"Ah, Ren! You came at the right time," Old Haru laughed.
"We tore the net again. Hands too clumsy, eyes too old."
Ren knelt beside the net.
Zemo sniffed it and sneezed violently.
Haru laughed louder.
"Even your wolf hates our knots!"
Ren giggled.
"Let me fix it."
He worked quietly:
Trimmed broken rope edges
Re-wove tension lines
Reinforced weak spots
Added a small cross-stitch pattern he invented earlier
Zemo watched like a supervisor, occasionally nudging Ren when he missed a loose end.
Haru blinked.
"Boy… this is better than new."
Ren smiled shyly.
"It'll last longer now."
Haru patted Ren's head roughly.
"You're a blessing, kid. If you ever want to be a fisherman, we'll take you!"
Ren laughed nervously.
"I'm… not very good with boats."
Zemo barked in agreement.
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PART 2 — A NEW METHOD FOR DRYING NETS
Another fisherman, Kenta, sighed at his sagging drying rack.
Ren walked over.
"What's wrong?"
"The nets take forever to dry. And the rack bends."
Ren examined the rack—
weak wood, thin branches, poor angle.
He whispered:
"If it were tilted more…
and if the wind passed through from below…"
He looked around.
Wood scraps.
Driftwood.
Two stones.
Perfect.
Within minutes, Ren assembled:
A higher angled stand
Cross-beams for strength
Space underneath for airflow
Kenta gawked.
"You… just made this?"
Ren shrugged.
"It's simple. Airflow speeds drying. Gravity helps tension."
Kenta had no idea what those words meant, but he hugged Ren anyway.
"Makino must be proud of you!"
Ren blushed.
"I just like helping."
Zemo wagged his tail proudly.
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PART 3 — VILLAGE ERRANDS
Ren and Zemo walked through the central path.
Mrs. Sayo waved.
"Ren, dear! Can you help with my baskets? They're bending again."
Mr. Toma called out:
"Ren! My gate hinge is stuck!"
Little kids shouted:
"Ren! Zemo! Play with us!"
Ren helped everyone:
Fixed baskets with tighter weaving
Oiled gate hinges
Mended a wooden spoon
Taught kids to tie safer knots
Helped collect firewood
Cleaned Makino's water barrels
Zemo carried wood piles twice Ren's size, looking smug the whole time.
At one point, a toddler pulled Zemo's tail.
Zemo froze.
Ren froze.
The toddler giggled.
Zemo sighed deeply and lay down, accepting his fate as a playground toy.
Ren laughed until his sides hurt.
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PART 4 — QUIET IMPACT
As Ren walked through the village, he overheard whispers.
"That child is so helpful…"
"Everything he fixes lasts longer."
"Makino raised a smart one."
"He's going to be someone someday."
None of them said "genius."
None said "scientist."
None said "inventor."
To them, Ren was just a hardworking, kind boy.
And that was exactly the way Ren wanted it.
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PART 5 — CHECKING ON THE FIELDS
Ren visited the small village garden Patch.
Old Mira waved him closer.
"Ren, look! The crops are doing better than ever!"
Ren crouched and examined the soil.
Healthier.
Richer.
More organized.
He smiled.
"I told you the rotating method would help.
Plants need breaks just like people."
Mira nodded happily.
"Bless your brain, child."
Zemo sniffed the vegetables hungrily.
Ren lifted him by the scruff.
"No eating."
Zemo growled softly in protest.
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PART 6 — A SUBTLE DISCOVERY
As Ren checked the garden edge, he noticed something familiar:
A few blades of the same fast-growing grass from the forest.
Ren knelt.
"So it spreads this far too…"
Zemo growled softly.
Ren glanced around.
No creature.
No danger.
He gently plucked a single blade.
Its scent matched the earlier extract perfectly.
He whispered to Zemo:
"The grass is more common than I thought."
Zemo blinked.
Ren smiled softly.
"That means we won't have to risk entering the forest every time."
He placed the blade into a small glass jar.
"We can study it safely from home."
Zemo barked approvingly.
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PART 7 — QUIET EVENING
Ren returned to Makino's bar exhausted.
Makino smiled warmly.
"You helped half the village again, didn't you?"
Ren sat at the counter.
"Maybe…"
Zemo collapsed dramatically beside him.
Makino ruffled Ren's hair.
"You're growing into a wonderful young man."
Ren's cheeks warmed.
"…I'm trying my best."
Makino placed a bowl of soup in front of him.
"And that's all anyone can ask."
As Ren ate quietly, he glanced at the tiny jar containing the fast-growing grass.
His next breakthrough sat silently beside him.
But no one else knew.
And that was how it needed to stay.
For now.
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END OF CHAPTER 58