Chapter 6 PAST 1

Translator : PolterGlast

This is the story of Nozomu when he was still young. It was about his life in his hometown, Oire village. It was the story of the three who had become friends in that village.

The first thing Nozomu began to talk about was the story of when they were still young. Life in their hometown, Oire Village. The story of the three of them who became close friends in that village.

“Nozomu~! Ken~! Hurry up and come here~!”

“Wait a minute, Lisa! Ken’s not here yet!”

“Haa, haa, haa……”

Three children, two boys and a girl, were running in the field where the spring breeze was blowing.

Leading the way was a girl with short red hair. Two boys were following behind her, albeit late. The girl was young but had a good face, and if she were dressed up, she would turn into a very pretty girl. However, the mud on her cheeks and the messy hair from running around gave the impression that she was more of a boy than a girl.

The two boys following behind her were quite in contrast.

One was called Ken by a girl named Lisa, a pretty boy with golden hair.

When he grows up and becomes a full-fledged man, his face might attract a lot of women.

But the current him was somewhat frail, like a small animal. If anything, he was more girlish than the red-haired girl mentioned earlier.

The other boy, called Nozomu, was clearly a mediocre boy compared to the other two. His face was ordinary, and his body was not particularly large.

However, he seemed to have more stamina than the blonde-haired boy, and his steps were steady even though he was breathing wildly.

“Nozomu! Ken! Hurry up! If you don’t hurry, that place will be taken by that Mujiru guy!”

“I know, but we can’t leave Ken behind, can we?”

“Ha-ha… I-it’s okay, I’m sure he’ll follow us.”

Nozomu and Ken, out of breath, followed the red-haired girl, Lisa.

They were headed for a hilltop with a tree a little far from the village. It was a good place to play, with plenty of space and no adults to nag them.

However, not all the children got along well with each other, and there were factions among them, just like the adults.

Mentally young children were unlikely to give up their favorite playground once they found it.

At this time of the day, when they were freed from the house chores in the morning, securing their playground was of utmost importance to the children in the village.

As a result, groups of children repeatedly clashed with each other over the playground, as if they were fighting for it.

In the midst of all this, Lisa and Mujiru stood out among the children of this village.

Mujiru was originally born in this village and was the leader of the village children until Lisa came. In other words, he was the kid general.

Before Lisa came to the village, Mujiru had grown up in a place where there was nothing but farmland, hills, and forests around him, and as an outsider, Lisa was the perfect distraction from the boredom of everyday life in the village.

Thinking that he had just found the right person, Mujiru tried to mess with Lisa in some way.

However, when Mujiru tried to mess with her, Lisa fought back, resulting in a huge fight. Since then, the two have been on bad terms.

For a while, they had been clashing against each other and swearing at each other over the playground on the hill, but after a while, they came up with a set of rules for it.

The rule was simple. The first person to reach the top of the hill after the sun had risen would get to play there until the sun went down.

As Lisa shouted to the two behind her to hurry up, Nozomu put his arm around Ken’s shoulder to support him.

But this would mean that Mujiru and his gang would get to the top of the hill first.

“Good grief, it can’t be helped!”

Due to the lack of time, Lisa pushed Nozomu away and carried Ken on her back.

“W-wait…”

“Just hurry up! I won’t let myself be defeated by Mujiru!”

With one shot. Lisa ran up the hill with Ken on her back.

Ken was bewildered, and Nozomu hurriedly followed Lisa as she started running.

The two of them ran up the hill and reached the tree at the top. There was still no sign of Mujiru and his gang.

“We did it! We’re the first!”

“We’re not the first, you know. I think they’re here before us.”

Lisa put Ken down from her back and threw her hands up in the air in excitement. She seemed to be happy to be the first to get to her favorite place, but Ken interrupted her.

As Lisa tilted her head at Ken’s words, he pointed to a spot on the hill where the weeds had been pulled out, and on the ground was a drawing of the landscape of the village as seen from the top of the hill.

“Uwa~! Amazing! Hey, hey! Nozomu, Ken, look at here”

Nozomu and Ken looked at the ground under the shade of the trees as Lisa urged them on.

“Uwa~”

“Haa~”

Both Nozomu and Ken let out a voice of admiration when they saw the drawings on the ground. A drawing about the village they lived in, Oire, was a small village built in a basin between mountains.

The roofs of the houses were illuminated by the sun shining from the sky, the wheat fields were beginning to sprout, and few horses in the village were grazing on the side roads of the fields with their carts loaded with food.

It was as if the scene had been taken straight from the eye.  In Nozomu’s eyes, the horses depicted in the picture looked as if it was about to move after being angered by the coachman.

At that time, they saw a shadow moving behind a tree.

Lisa peeked behind the tree and saw a girl about Lisa’s age with freckles on her cheeks, shrinking into hiding.

“Hmm? You are Mehilya, aren’t you? What are you doing in a place like this?”

“Um … that … I was drawing a picture.”

The girl called Mehilya glanced at Nozomu and the others as if peeking at them from behind a tree, and pointed to a painting on the ground.

She answered Lisa’s question in a rather quiet voice, but it seemed that she was embarrassed.

“Hee! So this picture was drawn by Mehilya!”

Lisa ran up to Mehilya with a slightly excited expression. It was rather too much for Mehilya who was a bit shy, but Lisa seemed to be excited and curious about the drawing she drew.

Mehilya surprised and tensed up a bit, but nodded cautiously.

“It’s a little embarrassing……”

When Mehilya saw how impressed Lisa and the others were, her freckled cheeks turned red. She was embarrassed, but she seemed to be really happy, that scene warmed Lisa and the others’ hearts.

At that time, they heard the sound of someone making noises from behind Nozomu and his friends. When they turned around, they saw a group of about five children walking toward Nozomu and his friends.

“Tch, you get ahead of me…”

In front of the group that appeared, there was a boy with quite large build. That was the leader of the group, Mujiru.

He was as strong as he looked and he was the boss of the children in this village.

Lisa and Mujiru were both strong and competitive, but because of their similarities, they didn’t get along with each other like water and oil. It was no wonder they got into a big fight the very first day they met.

Mujiru’s body size and strength made him the central figure among the village children. Until Lisa came to the village.

Because of his personality, Mujiru tended to try to solve everything by force, which was why he was feared by some of the children.

For these children, the sight of Lisa standing up against Mujiru without fear was dazzling, and Lisa won their hearts.

Lisa also disliked Mujiru for lashing out at children who didn’t listen to him, and Mujiru had a childish rivalry with Lisa, which is a girl.

As a result, the children in the village were now divided into two groups: Lisa’s group and Mujiru’s group.

“Yeah. That’s why you guys should go home. We’ll take this place for today.”

“Hey! Who decided that? I don’t remember saying it was okay!”

Mujiru’s words made the children around him make a fuss. Mehilya was frightened by Mujiru’s loud voice and hid behind a tree again.

It was true that they had never made such an arrangement, but until now, if one of them took the place ahead of the others, the losing side would only let out cursing words and back off quietly.

“Why do we have to listen to outsiders, anyway? This is our village, and this playground is ours!”

But for some reason, Mujiru didn’t want to back down today, maybe the fact that he wasn’t even come second place had sparked his pride.

“It doesn’t matter! In the first place, I don’t see your name written anywhere!”

Lisa did not take a step back against Mujiru. They glared at each other like menacing cats, hurling abusive words at each other.

“More importantly, the first person to come here is Mehilya. You’re not even number two, so you’re not wanted here!”

At Lisa’s words, Mujiru glared at Mehilya, who was hiding behind a tree.

Mehilya’s shoulders shook with fear at the sudden glare.

She clung to the tree trunk like a frightened little animal and pulled herself snugly to it.

“Shut up! I don’t care!”

“Ah!”

In a fit of anger, Mujiru kicked the drawing on the ground.

The horses that had been drawn on the ground were scooped out, and the scattered dirt crushed the houses that were drawn on the ground.

“Wait! What are you doing!”

Lisa was furious and tried to approach Mujiru, but Mujiru was getting desperate and started screaming.

“Shut up! Shut the fuck up! Don’t tell me what to do! Even though you have no parents!”

“~!!”

Lisa’s face clouded and her eyes watered due to Mujiru’s words.

For Mujiru and his gang, it was just out of spite words.

It was obvious that Mujiru was the one in the wrong, and he was just throwing a childish tantrum.

But for Lisa, those words cut deep into her heart.

When Lisa came to this village, her father was already dead and only her mother and younger sister were left.

The reason why she came to this village was because her father, who was originally an adventurer, had died. The impact of his death on a girl who had not yet reached the age of ten was immeasurable.

How much of a burden was it on her body and mind to lose the reliable back that had been next to her until …… yesterday, or even just this morning, and to move to an unknown village?

“What’s wrong? Talk back to me, outsider!”

When he saw Lisa’s body trembled, he thought she was scared. So he put on his proud expression and suddenly rushed towards Lisa.

Even though she is a strong-minded girl, she is also a sensitive girl at heart. It was understandable that the painful memories she remembered made her feel depressed, and that the sadness she had almost forgotten was stirred up.

But whatever the means, Mujiru’s words had certainly made Lisa’s enthusiasm shrink.

Originally, children’s quarrels are the same as the fight between beasts, and those who are timid will lose.

“If you understand, then get the hell out of here!”

“Kyaa!”

Mujiru pushed Lisa’s shoulder hard.

When Lisa was pushed, she stepped back, staggered, fell down on her butt, and sat on the floor.

Mujiru’s gang, who had been watching, got into a good mood and started yelling at Lisa, “go home, go home”.

“U-uu……”

The tears in Lisa’s eyes were about to spill. No matter how hard she tried to keep her spirits up, the death of her father, whom she had relied on more than anyone else during her journey, was not something a young girl could easily heal from.

But before she could burst into tears, Nozomu jumped towards Mujiru with an angry cry.

“This bastard!”

Nozomu grabbed Mujiru’s chest with all his might. Due to the sudden occurrence, the general boy staggered and stepped back.

“a……”

When Lisa saw the scene, she couldn’t help but let out a shocked voice.

In addition, Ken also jumped on Mujiru, and the two of them pushed him down to the ground.

“Buh!”

Nozomu and Ken leaned over the fallen Mujiru and punched him in the face as hard as they could. The shock and dull pain in his face made Mujiru scream, but he immediately tried to push them back.

“This guy!”

“Apologize to Lisa!”

The three of them tangled together as they roll around on the ground.

Mujiru’s cronies were stunned by the sudden occurrence.

But after a moment, they came to their senses and jumped on Nozomu and Ken, who were pushing Mujiru down with angry expressions on their faces.

Nozomu and Ken tried desperately to resist the cronies who were grabbing and punching them, but they were outnumbered.

They were able to make some bruises on the cronies’ faces, but they were eventually subdued.

“T-these guys. How dare they do this to me…”

With the help of his cronies, the general kid stood up.

As expected, the beating of the two of them took its toll, and Mujiru was staggering and unable to get to his feet.

Still, his face turned red with anger at being beaten. He walked towards Nozomu and Ken with the intent to multiply the number of hits and return it to them.

Mujiru raised his fist in a showy manner. The two boys stared straight back at Mujiru without fear, though he tried to intimidate them by making his body look even bigger than before.

The moment the raised fist was about to swing down and plunge into Nozomu’s cheek.

“Cut it out! You orc nose!!”

“Bugh!!”

It wasn’t Nozomu.

Both of Lisa’s legs were launched into Mujiru’s cheeks.

The dropkick, which carried all of her weight and the momentum of her jump, pierced his face, and Mujiru fell to the ground.

Nozomu, Ken, and Mujiru’s cronies stared at the girl in front of them, stunned by the sudden occurrence that happened before their eyes.

“… Orc nose she said.”

“Well, with a face like that, wouldn’t that be a fitting name?”

As silence dominated the place, Nozomu and Ken blurted out their rude impressions. Indeed, Mujiru’s face was wide and his nostrils were opened upward, reminiscent of an orc’s pig nose. Mujiru’s face, which had fallen to the ground after Lisa’s dropkick, was distorted like an octopus and had not returned to its original state.

Furthermore, Lisa’s gaze, which was glancing at Mujiru who had fallen to the ground, was directed to the cronies who were holding down Nozomu and Ken.

“Hih~!”

The frightened voices of the cronies came into Nozomu’s ears.

Lisa didn’t care about their frightened voices and ran towards them at once.

“U-uwa…”

The cronies were frightened. Lisa ran up to them and slammed something in her hand as hard as she could into their faces.

“Buh!”

“Gya!!”

Their vision suddenly went black. Then, a fierce pain hit their eyes.

“It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!”

Unable to bear the pain in their eyes, they let go of the hands that were restraining Nozomu and Ken. Nozomu and Ken take the opportunity to escape. Lisa smashed the faces of the cronies who were restraining Nozomu and Ken with nothing but dirt.

They were in the worst pain they had ever experienced because of the large amount of dirt that was shoved into their eyes.

“Kuh, ugh…”

With his face still contorted, Mujiru stood up with the help of his two remaining cronies. He really has a sturdy body after all.

“Ho, kuh-kuh, ugh!”

Mujiru and his cronies ran towards Nozomu and the others, unable to pronounce their words properly due to their distorted faces.

Lisa, Nozomu, and Ken intercepted them. After that, a fierce fight between the children took place under the tree until both sides retreated from each other and were exhausted.

***

In the end, the quarrel between Lisa and Mujiru stopped without being settled.

“Haa, haa, I-I’m going home, it’s getting late! I don’t have time to deal with this persistent snake girlgirl!”

However, Mujiru and his cronies must be very frustrated that they couldn’t win against them. Despite their exhaustion and lack of coordination, they said something that could only be considered admitting defeat and leaving.

“Haa, haa, if you can do it, try it! You orc nose!”

“Li-Lisa, you’re still looking fine…”

“That’s true. How come you’re still so energetic when I can’t even move anymore. ……”

Even though Nozomu was so exhausted and ran out of physical strength, Lisa was still so energetic that she was able to talk back to Mujiru, who was admitting his defeat. Surely, the fact that she was called an outsider and a parentless person really upset her.

“U-umm. Thank you …”

Mehilya, who had been hiding behind a tree, came out to thank Lisa and the others, probably feeling that the quarrel was over.

“Eh? Yes, don’t worry. I couldn’t stand it either.”

Lisa waved to Mehilya while scratching her cheeks in a slightly embarrassed manner. As she gazed at Lisa, Mehilya’s cheeks naturally relaxed as well.

“If he does anything weird again, tell me. I’ll make him squeal!”

Lisa put on a strangely funny expression as she thrust out her fist. Lisa’s mouth was wide open and her eyes were shining brightly. They could hear her laughing, and she seemed to be in a good mood.

She was probably thinking about Mujiru’s face, which was swollen from the kick he took in the previous fight.

Maybe she felt good about getting revenge on someone who threw abusive words at her, but at least it wasn’t the kind of smile a girl would have.

With that thought, Nozomu, who was watching her from the side, couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

They weren’t sure if Mehilya found Lisa funny or not but, she gave a small nod and smiled as she walked back to the village.

“Looks like we spend a lot of time here…”

Nozomu muttered as he turned his eyes to the western sky, where the sun was already sinking behind the mountains.

As expected, there would be no time to play around now. If he got any later than this, he wouldn’t be able to make it in time for dinner and his parents would scold him.

“It can’t be helped. Let’s go home for today.”

Nozomu nodded when he heard Ken’s words urging him to go home.

Lisa, however, did not want to go home and was just watching the sunset.

“Lisa?”

Lisa somehow looked sad, unlike her usual self.

It wasn’t that she had always been a strong woman, but she was always there when the children were being bullied by Mujiru.

“…Haa”

With the sigh that escaped from her mouth, her expression became cloudy. Lisa’s figure looked so weak that it seemed to disappear if the wind blows.

The two who were standing beside her, staring at the twilight sky with a sorrowful expression. And their hearts were unknowingly throbbing

at the sight of her figure dyed in the setting sun.

Nozomu and Ken were simply mesmerized by Lisa’s figure, which they had never seen before.

Oddly enough, this was the moment when they clearly became aware of Lisa as a girl of the opposite sex.

Whether or not she knew what was going on with Nozomu and Ken, Lisa talked to them.

“Hey, am I really an outsider?”

“Eh?”

Perhaps, what Lisa felt inside was quite complicated.

Indeed, her father was an outsider, but Lisa’s mother was from this village, so it was not really true that she was an outsider.

However, considering the fact that his father was not from this village and Lisa was born in a different place, it was no wonder she was stuck in the idea that she was an outsider.

“My father. He was an adventurer, and he took me to many places. Including the water lake city of Abrues and the capital city of Garsam…”

Her eyes seemed to be gazing at the village, but in reality, those eyes may be reflecting a scene that Nozomu and Ken had never seen before.

“We had a lot of fun when we were traveling. Sometimes we didn’t have enough food to eat, but we could still able to see a lot of interesting things.”

Sandy beaches shone like the light of the stars that fell on the ground. A wide variety of people gathered in the capital.

At that time, everything seemed new and shining to her.

It was true that as an adventurer, her income was not stable, and there were days when she felt so hard. Even so, her father and mother were always smiling, and every day was what she called a truly happy day.

“But then my father died, and my mother could no longer feed us on her own… So we came to this village.”

“……”

Her father, who was an adventurer and whom she depended on more than anyone else, died. It was just a few years before the great invasion happened, and demon beasts were sporadically moving south from the northern wilderness.

The movement of demon beasts was becoming more active, and anxiety about the invasion was beginning to rise in many places.

People’s minds gradually began to shrivel under the spreading and growing anxiety. The economy, people’s minds, and everything else began to be dragged in a negative direction.

At such a time, her mother could not go on an adventure with her two daughters, which were Lisa and her sister.

That was why Lisa’s mother decided to take her children and return to her hometown.

“Surely, in this place, there is no danger. We can always sleep in a warm bed, and we won’t freeze. But……”

Indeed, this village was hardly affected by the great invasion.

No houses were destroyed by demon beasts. It wasn’t attacked by bandits. There were some crop failures, but they didn’t suffer from famine to the point of running out of food.

But in this village, Lisa felt a gaping hole deep in her chest.

Something was missing. It was as if there was a small hole in her heart, and the warmth of her heart was dropping rapidly due to that hole.

Lisa clasped her hands tightly over her chest as if to close the hole.

It was then that Nozomu’s words came into her ears.

“Lisa, do you want to be like your father?”

Lisa gave a small nod to Nozomu’s words.

She remembered the warmth that her father had given her during their journey when she could not sleep because she was afraid of the darkness of the night and the howling of demon beasts. She remembered the heat that kept burning deep inside her body,  along with the landscapes her father had shown her during their journey.

“… It’ll be alright. You’ll be able to travel, and I’m sure there will be no one against you being an adventurer, just like your father.”

“That’s right. Lisa’s mother was also an adventurer, so I’m sure she wouldn’t object.”

Nozomu and Ken gave optimistic answers that were unreasonable because they were still a child.

There was no evidence that she would be able to realize her dream, but at least for Lisa, what she needed at this moment was not a clear reason, but someone to encourage her.

“Yes, that’s right. I can be like my father, can’t I?…”

Talking about her feelings hidden in her chest. And the opportunity to take her first steps. This was how she started walking towards her dream.

The longing for the past that had remained deep in Lisa’s heart began to burn with the support of her childhood friends.

“I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to be an adventurer!”

Lisa declared her dream clearly as if to convince herself. That was the moment she decided to become an adventurer.

She wanted to see that scene she had seen once again. Perhaps if she became an adventurer, she would be able to encounter something even more amazing than that.

She had nothing left to hide. Even if she didn’t have a reason or basis for it, the dream was already deeply carved in her heart.

“The traveling merchant told me that people from all over the world are gathering to build a big city. A big school was built in that city where we can learn about the whole continent!”

From this moment on, she decided to go to Solminati Academy and study hard.

The sun had completely disappeared and the area was quickly becoming dark. The three of them rushed down the hill and hurriedly made their way to the village. The area was already covered in darkness. They will definitely be lectured when they get home.

As Nozomu ran toward the village, he glanced at Lisa’s figure.

She looked disappointed that the three of them couldn’t play together anymore, but he couldn’t see the sadness she had on her face.

Nozomu rushed towards his house while stroking his chest in relief.

When he reached the entrance of the village, the appetizing aroma of dinner wafted through the village from each house.

Nozomu and the others were still growing up. After running up the hill and fighting with Mujiru and his gang, they were feeling quite hungry.

“I’m starving~. Let’s hurry up and go home!”

“Um, both of you, w-wait a minute!”

Nozomu and Ken were about to run to go home as quickly as possible. At that moment, Lisa called out to them.

When they turned around to see what was going on, they saw Lisa blushing a little and turned her eyes away while entwining her fingers in a fidgety way.

She looked like she wanted to say something, but she couldn’t get the words out. She opened her mouth and tried to speak, but she was so embarrassed that she failed to say anything over and over again.

However, Lisa shook her head to shake off her embarrassment and opened her mouth as if she had made up her mind.

“Umm… Thank you, both of you.”

Today, when she was feeling depressed because she remembered about her father, Nozomu and Ken defended her and got angry with Mujiru. They stood up for her even though their opponent had more people and they were at an absolute disadvantage.

They gave her the warmth that she had never felt before, the warmth that tightened her chest. She had such a strange feeling.

Even though she was too embarrassed to fully express her feelings, she thanked them with all her heart. Nozomu and Ken felt their own blood rushing to their faces at once.

“N-no … it’s nothing much.”

“Y-yeah.”

The air at dusk was already chilly, and the sweat from their fight with Mujiru took away their body temperature, but contrary to that, the heat on their face was rising.

“Oneecha~n. Where are you?”

“Eh? Lulu!?”

At that moment, a young girl appeared from the depths of the darkness while shouting in tears.

A young girl with crimson hair and very much looked like Lisa.

She was probably about two years younger than Nozomu and the others. She had big round eyes that were filled with tears.

Lulu Hounds.

She is Lisa’s younger sister and the last remnant of her father’s life.

Unlike her sister, she has a very timid personality and always follows behind her mother or Lisa. Apparently, she went out of the house because her sister came home late and she was worried about her.

“Good grief, what are you doing?”

Lisa rushed to Lulu while raising a dismayed voice.

It was already pitch black, and the only light was from the moonlight.

“Because … Onēchan is not coming back…”

Besides the moonlight, there were lights from the house leaking through the windows, but it seemed that Lulu was still scared.

“I’m about to go home now. You don’t need to go out if you’re afraid of the night.”

“But~~…”

She must have been really afraid of the dark. Lulu clung to her sister, sniffling. Lisa patted her crying sister on the back to reassure her.

“Alright, let’s go home. Mom will be worried.”

Saying so, she let go of Lulu, who was burying her face in Lisa’s chest and grabbed her sister’s hand, which was a size smaller than her own.

“W-well then, see you tomorrow!”

Lisa turned back and walked with her sister towards her house. When she turned around, her face had turned so red that it could be seen even by the slightest starlight.

Nozomu and Ken watched her walk away, unable to say goodbye as they admired her.

“What do you think, Nozomu?”

“Eh?”

The two were absent-minded for a while, but suddenly Ken talked to Nozomu.

“Lisa’s father died when they were out adventuring, didn’t he? And that’s the goal she’s trying to achieve…”

“…………”

There was a hint of agitation in Ken’s words.

It was probably due to the death of her father he heard earlier.

Lisa’s father had indeed died during their adventure.

With that in mind, Lisa was undoubtedly trying to set her foot on a difficult path.

Based on her father’s death, If she were to continue on that path, she could well foresee the possibility of death befalling herself.

Nozomu and Ken looked into each other’s eyes in silence.

There was nothing they could do to stop Lisa. They had seen how sad she looked just a few minutes ago, and more than anything, they wanted to support her dream.

Lisa is a strong-minded person who will go straight for what she has decided. The two of them thought that since she had already started running, she would definitely not give up on becoming an adventurer.

“Hey, Ken …”

“Yeah. I know.”

If so, then they decided to support her dream of becoming an adventurer.

The two of them nodded at each other in silence. Even though there were no words there, they were united in their desire to protect the person they loved.

On this day, they decide to go to Solminati Academy, just like Lisa.

However, Nozomu and Ken still didn’t realize the feelings that they had started to develop deep inside their heart. It was their love for her.

By the way, when Nozomu failed to return home on time, his father hit him on the head and gave him a lecture.