NOVEL WEB Chapter 38
Nap Hammock
“………So?”
Facing the boys with bumps on their heads, Ali stood tall. Those bumps were given by Ali himself. Quietly sitting in a row in the traditional Japanese seiza style were not only the four apprentices but also Yuuri, Kurresh, and for some reason, even Jake. Lelei, who tried to escape unnoticed, was dragged back by Ali and pulled down at her feet. Basically, when something centered around Yuuri happened, it always involved the apprentices plus Kurresh and Lelei. For some reason, Jake joined in today as well.
For now, no one dared to defy the angry Ali. He demanded an explanation in silence, but no one spoke up. In fact, they were struggling with who should speak up. Normally, the eldest would answer in such situations, but Jake was useless. The next eldest, Lelei, was lying at Ali’s feet, making it impossible. Thus, the responsibility fell on Couresh.
Without needing to speak, everyone reached this conclusion. As they looked up at the quietly angry Ali from their seiza position, Kurresh opened his mouth. Though he felt that explaining might make Ali even angrier, he began.
“We learned from Yuuri how to make a hammock and set it up in the yard. We were all taking turns using it.”
Kurresh tried to explain as concisely as possible. Everyone thought he did a good job summarizing the chaotic ruckus that had led to them being scolded by Ali. However, only those being scolded felt this way; Ali, still angry, became even more irritated.
“How did it come to this? And Yuuri! What were you thinking?”
“Sorry.”
“First of all, what is a hammock?”
“It’s the bed hung between the trees over there.”
Yuuri apologized sincerely when Ali yelled at him. Recognizing his mistakes and quickly apologizing was one of Yuuri’s virtues. As Ali followed Yuuri’s gesture, there indeed was a hammock swaying gently in the wind. It was a large piece of fabric with multiple strings attached to each end, tied to a tree trunk.
The reason for making such a thing lay in some dropped items scattered around their hideout.
The Scarlet Lynx frequently ventured into various dungeons and fields, fighting monsters and undertaking guild missions. As a result, any unneeded items they acquired were stored in a warehouse. These items could be taken out when necessary for certain requests. Among these stored items was a rope made from the silk of a monster called the Silk Tarantula.
The Silk Tarantula wasn’t a strong monster, but its silk was exceptionally fine, just like its name implied. Importantly, despite its delicate appearance and feel, the silk was incredibly strong. A single strand could support the weight of a child.
The rope made from this silk had been left unused in the warehouse. It was a leftover from a time when they caught a large number of Silk Tarantulas and turned the silk into rope as practice. Despite its durability, it had no real use.
If Yuuri hadn’t suggested, “We could make a hammock.”, when he saw the sturdy rope and fabric lying around, nothing would have happened.
Those who didn’t know what a hammock was naturally asked Yuuri, and he explained. It was a perfect day for a nap, with a gentle breeze and a pleasant warmth. Everyone was immediately interested.
While Yuuri sewed loops at the ends of the fabric to thread the ropes through, the others cut the ropes into equal lengths. Yuuri’s sewing, thanks to his level 50 skill, progressed quickly, and both tasks were finished almost simultaneously.
The apprentices happily attached the ropes to the trees in the yard, adjusting the height to make it easy to get on and off. Magg, the smallest and lightest, was the first to try it, confirming that the hammock was securely in place. Everyone then took turns lying down in it.
It was incredibly comfortable. The gentle swaying in the breeze was almost sleep-inducing. After everyone had their turn, the real commotion began when Kurresh and Lelei discovered what Yuuri and the apprentices were doing and joined in. They both loved the hammock, sparking a competition for turns.
The situation escalated when Jake unexpectedly joined. Normally a bookworm who rarely left his room, Jake’s appearance surprised everyone. As they stood bewildered, Jake thoroughly examined the hammock, checking the material and comfort. Then he started writing down his observations on the hammock.
Realizing that Jake had switched into his research mode, everyone tried frantically to pull him off the hammock. When Jake started writing, he was hard to move. If he stayed there, no one else could enjoy the hammock.
Amid this chaos, Ali came by and hit everyone on the head, leading to the current situation.
“…So, the one causing all this trouble is you, Jake.”
“……”
“Listen when someone’s talking! Put down the pen!”
“……”
“I said listen, Jake.”
“Ow! Ow, Ali! My head, my head’s splitting…!”
Ali grabbed Jake’s head, who was too engrossed to listen, and squeezed. No one helped him, thinking it was his own fault. Jake deserved it for continuing to write about the hammock while Ali was fuming. They all thought Jake was too incompetent as an adult, as usual.
“If you hadn’t gotten in their way, they would have behaved.”
“But Ali, this hammock is amazing!”
“That’s not the point! Why are you, an adult, interfering with the kids?”
“I wasn’t interfering!”
“”You were!!!””
Jake, trying to extol the hammock’s virtues, was scolded further by Ali. He seemed bewildered, not understanding why he was being scolded. Lelei, freed from Ali’s grasp and sitting in the line, yelled at Jake in unison with everyone else.
Jake probably didn’t mean any harm. However, from the perspective of those who had the hammock taken from them, he was definitely in the wrong. Moreover, they were all getting scolded by Ali because of the commotion Jake caused. Clearly, Jake was at fault.
“…For now, I’ll take this fool. The rest of you, no fighting.”
“”Yes!””
“Also, Yuuri, later come explain to me about this hammock.”
“…What?”
“…Since Jake’s writing about it, he’ll probably submit it somewhere. You’ll have to take responsibility to the end.”
“…Understood?”
Though Yuuri nodded obediently, he didn’t understand what Ali meant at all. He knew Jake had been excited about the hammock and had written a lot about it. He also guessed Jake, being a scholar, planned to submit it somewhere. But Yuuri didn’t understand why he had to take responsibility for that.
What Ali wanted from Yuuri was simply to confirm how the hammock was made and its basic uses. Jake was a brilliant scholar but tended to get carried away with his passion. Ali needed to ensure that Jake’s enthusiastic but potentially off-base report didn’t spread any misinformation.
“Alright, let’s take turns using it.”
After Ali and Jake left, Yuuri suggested this with renewed determination, and everyone cheered and flocked to the hammock. They took turns enjoying a few minutes each of relaxation. It wasn’t just about napping; the swaying in the breeze felt heavenly. It was like a new amusement park attraction for kids.
While everyone was crowding around the hammock, Yuuri quietly sewed loops into another piece of fabric. Noticing this, Yakk ran over and helped cut the rope to equal lengths. Since there was extra fabric, they decided to make another hammock. The reason being, the wait time was too long, and having another would be more convenient.
Everyone knew that the hammock wasn’t a necessary piece of equipment for the hideout. However, it was like a dream tool for napping in the yard on a sunny day. While it wouldn’t be usable on rainy days, on days like today, it was perfectly reasonable to take turns enjoying it.
The second hammock was successfully completed and set up in the yard. Until dinner, everyone took turns relaxing in the hammocks, joined by those returning from outings. The area around the hammocks became lively.
Additionally, the report Jake submitted, along with Yuuri’s explanation on how to make it, reached important people, leading to the mass production of hammocks as travel gear. However, neither Yuuri nor Jake seemed to care about that and had no involvement whatsoever.