While the others flee, Yuu, trembling, doesn’t run away. Holding a stick, he approaches the monster step by step.
The creature, noticing someone not fleeing, turns its face.
A terrifying gaze, bloodshot and tinged with purple.
“A-Ah… Uwaaaaaaa!!!”
The courage to confront it fades away, and before he realizes it, Yuu is left behind as Foil runs away.
“Ha, ha, ha.”
Gathering my strength, I continued to run without checking behind. Fear drove me, and Foil’s reckless running was pushing his stamina to its limits.
“Ugh!”
I tripped over a tree root and fell. Trying to get up immediately, my legs trembled, and I couldn’t stand.
“Haa, haa, haa, hi…”
Terrifying. Horrifying.
My legs were shaking uncontrollably.
I wanted to run quickly, but my body wouldn’t obey.
Yet, I realized there was no roar coming from behind.
I escaped. I noticed that.
“Yu…!”
My childhood friend wasn’t beside me.
I immediately realized he was still in that place.
Yu is weaker than me.
So, I have to help him.
But…
“I… I…!”
My legs trembled, my breath became heavy, and darkness filled my vision.
Am I going to face that thing again?
The image of those purple, hostile eyes burned into my mind. Just remembering sent shivers down my spine.
“I’m scared…”
No, I don’t want this. It’s scary. I don’t want it. Someone, please help.
There’s no way I can defeat that thing. I don’t want to go back to that place.
“Yu…! You, are you facing it alone? Against that terrifying opponent?”
But…
However.
Yu is still there.
He’s there, weaker than me.
I felt like my heart was about to break, experiencing the fear so intensely. Yet, Yu was facing it.
“I… I’ll become a hero! So, I can’t run away. I have to help Yu!”
Slapping my cheeks, injecting some life into my trembling body, Foil, with a stick in hand, returned to Yu.
Returning to the scene,
Foil saw defeated monsters taken down by adult soldiers.
Despite a fierce battle that left the soldiers injured, they managed to overcome.
There were other children who had fled, protected, and a child cut by a monster while being treated. But that wasn’t the only thing.
“Mei-chan? Why are you here?”
Coincidentally, Mei-chan, who had witnessed other children entering the forest, immediately informed the adults and rushed over. However, Foil didn’t know this.
More than that, what caught Foil’s attention was what Mei was holding, embracing and crying over—a heavily injured Yu.
Despite being covered in wounds all over his body, Yu hadn’t let go of the stick until the end.
Seeing that from a distance, Foil leaned against a tree, powerless.
Just by looking at that sight, Foil could understand, without a doubt,
that Yu had faced the terrifying monster head-on.
Yu had confronted that horrifying monster directly. But what about me? What did I, stronger than Yu, do?
I ran away.
“I… It’s embarrassing… I’m …… I’m ashamed of myself. ……!”
Alone behind the tree, unseen by anyone, Foil shed tears of frustration.
Nearby, the small shrine that Foil and the others found radiated a faint glow, as if observing something.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
A year had passed since that incident.
Going into the forest at night with only the children, encountering monsters, and not running away.
Despite being scolded severely, Yu and Shu now is healthy, and the only change was increased surveillance to prevent the children from doing foolish things.
And as time passed, the incident was gradually forgotten by everyone.
Of course, it was a significant event that monsters appeared. However, a thorough investigation by the dispatched country found no other monsters in the vicinity except for that one. If there were no deaths and only one monster, it was only natural for the country to decide to stop the investigation. There were plenty of places exposed to the threat of the Demon Lord’s army. If there was only one monster and no casualties, the country’s judgment was reasonable.
But Foil, alone, never forgot that event. No, he couldn’t forget.
From that day on, Foil redoubled his training efforts. He trained his body, received swordsmanship lessons from the village soldiers. Although Mei-chan worried about the injuries he got, Foil had no time to be concerned about such things and worked hard recklessly.
It was all to never run away again.
To protect his loved ones.
Foil’s intense training worried those around him.
But when he played with Yu and Shu, he could relax his mind.
On this day, all the ten-year-old children in the village gathered at the only church in the village.
Foil came early, but someone familiar had arrived even earlier. Seeing the familiar figure, he spoke up.
“Hey, Yu. It’s not time yet, but you’re quite early. Just like always.”
My precious childhood friend.
“Foil-kun. Well, yeah. I got so nervous that I arrived early. And you too, huh?”
“Yeah, couldn’t sleep since yesterday. Finally, the day has come.”
“Yeah, it’s the day of the [Divine Oracle].”
[Divine Oracle].
The priests who serve the merciful and gentle Goddess Olympia watch over the people. Through a ritual called the [Divine Revelation], they hear the Goddess’s voice and convey the profession She has appointed for that person. The appointed profession will not change for the rest of one’s life, greatly influencing their future path. It can truly be called a crossroads of life.
I hear that sometimes, one may also be granted a special [Title] along with receiving their profession in the [Divine Revelation].
A [Title] is originally when, after excelling in their appointed profession or achieving a great feat, one receives a revelation from the heavens. By then having a priest look into it, one can make known exactly what kind of [Title] they were granted. It would become one’s second name, an extremely honorable thing.
If you get a [Title], you may also gain that person’s unique skills—truly a blessing.
Those in history who attained a [Title] were guaranteed to leave their names behind, it being such an honored thing. However, you would only hear of those appearing in the royal capital and famous cities, never ever in a rural village like ours.
“Wonder what we’ll become.”
“Hmm, who knows. They say the [Divine Revelation] has the Goddess appoint a profession fitting for that person, so maybe we’ll be given some totally unexpected jobs.”
“Certainly. But I’d be troubled to get an [Magician] job or something that doesn’t suit me.”
“You’re bad with detailed stuff, Foil-kun.”
“Whaaaat? You pickin’ a fight!”
Lightly wrapping his arm around Yuu’s neck and grinding his head.
“Ahaha, sorry sorry!”
“Tch, honestly.”
We smiled at each other.
“So what does Foil-kun wanna be?”
“Heh! Obviously my aim is Hero!”
The unchanging dream of a child.
That hero tale we read in picture books still burned in our eyes.
“Geez, Fi-kun’s saying stuff like that. Such a kid.”
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