This impoverished village suffers from chronic food shortages, limiting the number of people who can survive.

 For this reason, there is a rule in the village that children who are judged to be unable to feed are to be placed in a boat-shaped wooden box and flushed into the groundwater.

I will soon be 2 years old, so my time is near.

 It's the village rule, but it's also a religious ceremony, and the purpose is to send the chosen children to the land of the goddess by putting them in a ship and letting it drift away.

"Well, that must be a sophistry."

 I believe that there are no other settlements or villages inhabited around this village.

 If that is true, even if you survive once, there is a high possibility that you will be forced to live a survival life in order to survive.

In survival situations, just having metal tools should be an advantage.

 Metal utensils are quite valuable and rarely seen, but the weapons used in church ceremonies several times a year are made of metal.

 I want to secure it no matter what.

However, in order to secure it, I have no choice but to borrow the one being kept inside the church.

 Since it's a one-time challenge, I decided to do it a week before I am sent away.

 I have never seen metal tools other than ceremonial weapons, so they are quite valuable in this village.

 Moreover, since it used for church ceremonies, it is properly stored under strict conditions.

I've been desperately researching it so far, so I know where it's stored, but there's no way an ordinary person would be able to enter there, so I haven't been able to directly confirm it.

This is probably my first and last chance, and I need to sneak in without anyone noticing me, and bring back what I want.

The risk is very high, but if I assume my future hopeless situation, it is worth taking on the challenge, even if it means pushing the risk.

It's a precious metal weapon that's stored under strict security, but after all, the strictness should only be high when it is compared to everything else in this poor village, 

In addition, the population in the village hardly changes, and most of them are shy, so it is an environment where crime is unlikely to occur, and the security aspect is very good.

 I have never heard of a crime during my time here.

 Well, maybe it's just that there's little to be gained from committing crimes.

Even though it's called strict security, it's probably just a surveillance of the church during the day and the door to the storage area being locked at night.

 Judging from the technical capabilities of the village, it is quite possible that there is no lock on the door.

Even if there is, it would be a simple and primitive lock.

I have investigated the security, it took me some time, but the guards return home for about two hours after the sun goes down.

Since there is basically no artificial light in the village, many families go to bed around that time, and my mother goes to bed around that time as well.

I pretended to be asleep and waited to see how my mother was doing.

 After checking the situation for about 30 minutes and confirming that my mother was completely asleep, I secretly went outside.

 (It's beautiful.)

 The weather is fine today, and the stars look even more beautiful than usual.

There are no artificial lights in the village, no, there are some in front of the village chief's house, but at least there are none around me, so it's dark when the sun goes down.

The surroundings are dark, but the starlight is bright enough to make up for it, after my eyes got used to it, I began to move.

 The air around me is rapidly dropping, but I feel excited, my heart beats fast, and I don't feel the cold.

Outside the building, the light from the stars can be used to ensure enough brightness to act, but inside will be a different story.

Therefore, I prepared a candle made from olives.

 I don't have a convenient tool like a lighter, so I've already started the fire with a spark in the kitchen at home.

Instead of holding the candle directly, I prepared a bamboo container to put it in, and when I don't need a light source, I put a lid on it to prevent the light from leaking out.

Because it is a bamboo container, there is of course the risk of it catching fire, but through repeated trial and error, I have reduced the risk by making the fire sufficiently small, but the material is flammable, so the container will burn if I am not careful.

With my eyes being used to the darkness, I left the house while being careful not to make as much noise as possible.

Because it is a small village, I didn't meet anyone and soon arrived in front of the church I am aiming for.  

A priest lives in the church, but luckily it's separate from the place where metal weapons are stored.

Although it's different, it's in the building next door, so if there's a loud noise, the chances of him noticing me naturally increase.

I'll need to make as little noise as possible and fulfill my purpose without being noticed by anyone."

 (I used to play this kind of game a long time ago.)

I have already considered the way I will enter the facility, and in the end I decided to enter through the window.

 There are multiple windows that also serve as light source.

The size of the window is too small for an adult to pass through, but a child of my age can handle it.

The windows don't have locks, but they are installed in a slightly elevated location, and the size and height of the windows seem to ensure security.

By the way, the entrances to the building I am trying to break into now, including the side doors, have a mechanism that makes a sound when opened.

Even if I open the entrance door slowly and carefully, there is a possibility that the priest will notice it if there is a slightest noise.

For that reason, I chose the window as the entry route.

 In order to clear the height of the window, I used a simple stand made from bamboo and opened the window to enter.

 "Gatan"

When I broke in, the window closed and made a loud noise.

 ･･･

I listened for any movement without moving for a while, but there were no signs at all.

 After moving around a bit and confirming that no one is there, I adjusted the bamboo container.

Then, the light of a small candle leaked from the bamboo container, and began to illuminate the room dimly.

The light is not strong, so I waited until my eyes got used to it before moving on.

I carefully searched for signs around me, and listened carefully while moving forward without making any noise, aiming for my destination.

The metal weapons should be stored in the small room near the altar.