When we reached the house, I saw that Zuda had prepared a few things for our trip. There were two pieces of fabric about the size of a handkerchief, and a small knife in a wooden sheath, wrapped neatly in another small piece of fabric. I couldn’t take my backpack with me on this trip as the roll of paper was already quite heavy. I realised that the pair of sneakers I was wearing were the only item I still had on from my old world, Gaia. It seemed as if I had completely changed my look already to blend in better with the people of this world.

Zuda gave me a piece of fabric and wrapped another around Koharu’s head, then slipped a knife into the sheath she wore on her waist.

“Why do women carry a knife?” I wondered.

“Nobody told you ?” Yoshida asked, astonished.

“No, not yet,” I said, and started to imagine possible scenarios that may require the use of a knife. There had to be something dangerous, probably wild beasts or worse, that made people here so concerned that they had to carry knives.

“Don’t worry, Tim, there’s no danger in this world,” Yoshida smiled reassuringly.

“On the way to the city, you will find that everyone you see, women and men, have one thing in common: a knife tucked under their waist. Those who have special missions carry an even bigger one,” Yoshida explained.

“Whoa! Is this city so dangerous that all of you carry weapons? I asked.

“No, not at all, we don’t use our knives as weapons, but we use them for almost everything else in our daily life, for example to prune and pick crops, peel fruits, trim and cut branches and sharpen them to make tools, dig holes, or to cut vines, and many more things,” he replied.

“You’ll understand more when you travel. Oh, by the way, Koharu’s grandfather is one of the best bladesmiths around. His house is on the way to the city. If you don’t plan to go to the city today, let Koharu take you there first and stay for a night. Perhaps you can even choose a knife for yourself,” Yoshida said.

“Alright,” I replied.

As Yoshida talked about knives, I noticed that both of the women had a knife tucked under their waists as well, only that Zuda’s was slightly smaller and slimmer than Yoshida’s.

“Let’s go now so that we can arrive at Grandpa’s house in time for lunch,” Koharu said, enthusiastically.

“Alright, darling, and look after Tim,” Zuda said, and I found it a little strange for her to ask a petite woman to take care of a man like myself.

“Please don’t worry about me,” I quickly told Zuda.

Koharu gave her parents a hug and then turned to the door.

“We’re off,” Koharu waved at her parents.

“Bye, and see you when we’re back, Yoshida and Zuda,” I said, before following Koharu outside.

We headed north; in fact, there was only this route to take. I noticed that this part of the path was very well taken care of and wider than that of yesterday. This path was hidden in a thick forest and lined with big trees all along the way.

My feelings on traveling had changed dramatically since yesterday. One day ago, I was filled with fear for the unknown. But today I knew exactly where to go, whom to meet, and most importantly, I was accompanied by the woman I loved, who filled my heart with joy.

“I’m starting to like this world,” I said to Koharu after walking for a while.

“You didn’t like it before?” she asked.

“Well, I didn’t mean it that way, I was uncomfortable with all the dramatic changes that I was unprepared for. Besides, there were so many things that I didn’t know about this place, things I simply wasn’t used to, so naturally I was quite fearful,” I explained.

“What changed, then?” she asked.

“Meeting you. I feel that my life now has a meaning since I have you,” I answered sincerely.

“Being with you has eased all my worries. Neither Meen, who tried to explain everything to me so patiently, nor Yoshida, who came from my world, could warm my heart like you do,” I told her.

“Thank you for your kind words, I will do everything I can for you to feel comfortable here,” she replied warmly.

We walked silently for a while and I noticed that Koharu was much stronger than me, judging from the way we walked. I had to put all my strength to carry the paper roll and catch up with her, while Koharu walked briskly and even seemed to slow down a few times for me to catch up, despite the equally heavy loads on our backs.

“You walk much faster than me,” I said while trying to speed up my pace.

“Yes, I am used to walking long distances. Especially on this path, for which my family is responsible. I know the landscape so well that I could walk through this area blindfolded,” she replied.

“What exactly are your family’s responsibilities?”

“Here, let me show you.”

We were at an area where a large broken tree branch, about three meters long, had fallen down to the ground, blocking part of the path. She put down her roll of paper, pulled the knife out from her waist, and started cutting the branch into pieces. She was very handy with the knife, and soon enough, the big branch was neatly cut into small pieces and piled up, ready to be used as firewood.

“Oh wow! You’re very good at this,” I complimented her.

“I am,” Koharu replied proudly, ”Our duty is to make sure that this path is clear, that the sideways are in good order, and that the trees are well trimmed for their optimum growth.”

“Do we have to do this for the whole journey?” I asked.

“In fact, we do this everywhere we pass by. The area that we are responsible for is a parameter that has been assigned to us, so we know what name to call it, similar to the name of roads or districts in your world. On average, each family takes care of an area ranging between 10 to 20 square kilometers,” she replied.

“Who determines who is responsible for which area?” I asked.

“No one. We agree among ourselves,” she answered.

“So, if we don’t do it, no one will come and punish us, right?” I asked.

“Of course not,” Koharu replied with a smile.

“Well, if that’s the case, then we don’t have to feel responsible for this area, do we? I mean, we don’t have to work, right?” I remarked.

“All of us chose to do this, rather than not having to do this.”

“What will we get out of it, then?” I pressed on.

“Nothing,” she replied, lifting the roll of paper up on her shoulders and starting to walk on again.

“Nothing? If that’s the case, then there’s no need to do it, right?” I concluded and hurried to catch up with her.

“We do everything out of love,” Koharu turned to answer.

“I don’t understand. How is this related to love?” I asked.

“Even though this world shares a lot of physical similarities to those of your world, our attitude on how we live our lives is very different. Here, all of us believe that every action taken in life, whether it’s useful for us or for others, should be done altruistically. We don’t need to issue laws or regulations, or offer rewards for these good deeds.”

“This attitude is the basis of our society. There’s not a single person here who doesn’t think this way,” she replied.

“What if someone doesn’t do it, what would happen?”

“Nothing happens. It means that there has to be a better reason for the person not to do it.”

“I’m trying to understand it, but it’s really difficult,” I said.

“In order to really understand, you may have to first understand its origin, and where this attitude comes from,” Koharu said walking a bit faster.

“Its origin! What is it?” I asked while quickening my step to keep up with her.