episode_0022

“Are you upset because I’m still not saying anything?”

After her timid revenge was over, Raon looked at her with her cheeks puffed out as if she was crying and asked her, who was not saying anything.

Of course, she didn’t really hate him, but she was acting like a little child to let him know she was upset.

He was the one who found even that appearance of hers lovely.

“Calm down, I’ll tell you a story.”

“What are you talking about?”

As he spoke, she turned her head, which had been tilted back, and asked him, and seeing her like that, he couldn’t help but laugh, and ended up bursting out laughing in front of her.

“Why… why are you laughing!”

Camilla looked at him and burst into laughter at the sight of her face, her face slightly flushed as she shouted at him.

To her cries, he answered by looking straight into her face.

“The warrior’s appearance…isn’t it so cute?”

He spoke while looking seriously into her eyes, and Camilla’s face turned even redder at his appearance.

“No… Don’t tease me!”

She resisted Raon’s actions, which seemed to be teasing her, by lightly hitting his shoulder.

This attack was also not sincere, so no pain was felt.

As if a feather was brushing past his shoulder. His shoulder was fine.

Looking at her like that, he spoke in a calm voice.

“Okay, I won’t tease you anymore.”

“Really?!”

“Yes.. I just want to tell you one story. I’ve heard Camilla’s past story, but you haven’t heard mine, right? ”

“That’s right. You always changed the subject whenever we tried to talk about the past. As if you didn’t want to remember the past.”

In response to Raon’s question, she looked into space as if recalling the conversation she had shared with him.

He has often shown himself blatantly avoiding conversation when his past or stories related to it come up.

As if he didn’t want to remember the past.

So, even though she noticed this, she didn’t ask him to tell her past story, and she didn’t bring it up.

“Camilla told me stories from the past, so it would be fair if I told you stories from my past, right?”

Today he was trying to tell his story, which he had kept hidden for so long.

“If it’s burdensome, you don’t have to say anything! I just wanted to hear my honest story, not to hear about Raon’s past..!”

However, Camilla was not particularly pleased with his words.

It was true that his past story was a story that she was also very curious about and found interesting.

Just because he had heard the story of his past, it was not something he truly wanted to say.

That’s why she tried to stop him.

“And.. I think it would be nice if there was at least one person who could listen to my story and remember it.”

Camilla closed her mouth at his continued words.

He was just looking for someone to listen to his story, not to tell his own story, because he had heard stories about her past.

At his words, Camilla sat back down with a serious expression.

“Then.. Could you tell me about Raon’s past..”

Camilla sat a little closer to him and looked at his face and asked.

For a moment, his expression darkened as if he was lost in thought at her words. Then, with a deep sigh, he began to bring up stories that had been buried deep in his memory.

***

A long time ago, when he was a child and it was hard to even remember when, he opened his eyes in a small town.

The village he was born in was a rural village far from the kingdom. Not only was there not much population in the village itself, but not many people even knew about its existence… It was a village like an isolated island.

Because it was a village far from the kingdom, there were many things it lacked and many things it could not do.

To drink a glass of water, you had to climb up the mountain and walk to the spring.

At night, the entire village was enveloped in darkness, and it was so dark outside the village that you couldn’t see anything.

Unlike other children living in other villages, he had many shortcomings and lived in many poor conditions.

Yet he could not realize that he was living in poverty.

Because I have never lived a comfortable life. Because I have never experienced city life, I may have felt that way.

Although he may lack material things, his heart is always rich.

He lived a busy life where he had to climb a mountain to drink a glass of water, farm to eat, and be self-sufficient, but he had parents who truly cared for and loved him.

Even the townspeople who always wave happily when they see me.

Even though we had many shortcomings, we cared for and relied on each other.

He never once felt uncomfortable while living in this village.

Learning farming and chopping wood were enjoyable pastimes and hobbies for him, so he was able to quickly blend in with the village.

It was always nice to hear warm compliments and attention from the elders.

He was very happy with this daily life, but there was one fatal problem in the village.

“The monster has come in!! Women and children hide in the house, men come out with weapons!!”

That is, the frequency of monsters appearing was higher than in other villages.

Not only was they far from the kingdom, but they were also quite far from other villages, so they had to solve most problems on their own, and one of those problems was the invasion of monsters.

Because it was far away from the kingdom, the kingdom’s knights did not protect the village, and adventurers did not visit the village either.

The villagers had no choice but to stop the monsters invading the village with their own strength.

His caring father also took up an axe and fought against the monsters when they invaded the village to protect it.

“Dad… Don’t get hurt, okay? ”

As a child, Raon was always worried as he watched his father step forward to protect his village and family.

His father would reply with a hearty laugh to his appearance like that.

“Haha! Don’t worry, son, I will never get hurt. My precious wife and my precious son are waiting for me, so do you think I will come back hurt?!”

His father, who had a cheerful personality, always spoke to him with worried eyes as he looked at him.

He would always smile when he heard his father say those words.

Because my father was stronger and braver than anyone in the world.

Because I firmly believed that you would definitely come back.

He watched his father’s back as he stepped forward to protect himself and the village, and prayed to the moon and the sun for his parents’ health.

That was his only wish.

The heavens must have answered his prayers, for the number of monsters that invaded the village every day began to decrease over time, and before long, the monsters had seemingly disappeared without a trace, ending 10 days ago when they last invaded the village.

Once every three days. All the monsters that were invading the village disappeared, and at some point, not even their noses could be seen.

So he learned farming from his father, rejoicing every day.

“I’m so happy that the monsters aren’t coming to town anymore!”

“Is that so? This dad says it’s the same. Since the guys who used to come every day stopped coming, life seems a little better now..”

“But..”

[Tup]

Raon’s father dropped the hoe he was holding and looked at the mountain where monsters often attacked.

“It’s strange that all of the monsters disappeared so suddenly, without a single one remaining. These monsters have been invading the village every day since my father was born, but this is the first time they’ve been quiet for so long. It’s good for now, but for some reason, I have a bad feeling that a huge storm is about to hit.”

“A big storm..?”

Raon looked at his father as if he had difficulty understanding his words and asked.

His father’s words that a big storm was coming were too difficult for him to understand at such a young age.

“Huh? No, son. It seems like this dad was mistaken. If the monsters don’t come, wouldn’t it be better for us?”

“That’s right, Dad! I’m so happy the monsters didn’t come!”

He felt his son’s gaze on him and said with a forced smile.

He tried to change the subject, not wanting to instill fear in his young son, but at least wanting to preserve his son’s hopes.

‘I’m so anxious… It feels like the sea is churning before a typhoon comes.’

He was someone who couldn’t shake off the feeling of inexplicable anxiety. However, he tried to ignore this feeling because he liked his daily life with his precious family. A few days later.

His anxiety was put into practice.