episode_0001

When I came down to the lower village, it was already dusk.

Taildon. This village, which we called the ‘lower village,’ was named Taildon because it was located at the very end, the ‘tail,’ of the Dragonez Mountain Range.

Even at dusk, people were bustling about. The scenery seemed to change every time I came. It was a palpable sense of busyness.

Taildon was connected to the sea, so there were many people, and its scale was five times larger than Breezedon. Therefore, it was the largest village in this vicinity.

“Oh, Ritsu Hyung! Looks like you came down?” As I arrived at the village entrance, little Vincent recognized me first and greeted me.

“Yeah. I needed to buy something.”

“You always come to buy things, not to sell them, Hyung! Hehe.”

Vincent lifted his head, glanced behind me, and asked, “Is Tia Noona coming?”

“No. I came alone.”

“Huh? Did you two fight?”

“No. I just came alone.”

“Aw, come on. Something must have happened, right? Hyung would never abandon Noona and come down alone! That can’t be!”

This little kid was annoyingly prying. I was slightly annoyed, but I understood why Vincent would ask that.

I mean, ‘we’… always came down to Taildon together.

Tia was remarkable in many ways. With her incredible friendliness, she would interact freely with the lower village residents, play with children, fight with drunkards, and last year she was invited to the Thanksgiving Festival, and I was dragged along too… As a result, as you can see, she became a celebrity in Taildon.

Well, at the same time, our ‘relationship’ became famous too.

“If you didn’t fight with Noona, then why did you come alone? You’re always stuck together!”

“Actually, something did happen.”

“What? Really? What is it, what is it! Tell me!”

I gave a grin to Vincent, whose eyes were sparkling. “Tonight. Tia wants to play at my place.”

“Ah!” The startled kid quickly covered his mouth and looked around. “Surely not that…?”

The kid made a circle with one hand and pretended to put his finger through it. This brat. I immediately gave him a light smack on the head.

“Ow!” “You can do that around me, but don’t do it in front of Tia. If she kicks you, it’ll hurt a lot.”

Sigh. This little kid already knows things like that. Later, when I meet his brother, I’ll have to tell him to educate his younger sibling properly.

“I’ll be cheering for you, Hyung!”

Cheering for what? I left Vincent, who was rubbing his head, behind me and went inside.

If you walk straight along the village entrance, you’ll find the ‘Contact Office’. It’s a place frequently visited by mercenaries traveling to and from Deseo.

Deseo. The capital of this country, and a very large port city. Merchants said that the name meant ‘you can take anything you want’.

Deseo was located in the middle of the Central Sea, making it a major hub where ships, goods, and people from neighboring countries gathered. Thus, it was called the greatest port on land.

A city where all things in the world gather temporarily, then spread out into the world again. To borrow the Village Chief’s contemptuous expression, it was also a city that ‘sucked everything in and then spat it out,’ and the ‘center of the world’ that Uncle Joseph passionately spoke about was also referring to that very place.

…The problem was that the center of the world was too far away. To get from our village to Deseo, it would take a full fifteen days. It was a famous road, nicknamed the ‘Mass Road,’ and the mercenaries at the Contact Office made a living by accompanying travelers on this road and receiving payment.

Uncle Joseph also used to work at this Contact Office in his prime, so in other words, it was like a training ground for rookie mercenaries.

I pushed open the old tent flap of the Contact Office and stepped into the shabby interior. “Hello. I came to say hello.”

Inside, a middle-aged man with graying hair was sitting. He was the manager of the Contact Office, and Teacher Bin, who had taught Tia swordsmanship until last year.

Teacher Bin greeted me warmly as soon as he saw me. “Oh, Ritsu. Long time no see. Where’s Tia?”

“I came alone.”

“Is that so? That’s unusual.”

“It just happened that way.”

“Alright. Have fun while you’re here. Is the Village Chief doing well?”

“Yes.”

“Haha. It’s a relief that he hasn’t changed.”

At first glance, it sounded like a nice thing to say, but in reality, it wasn’t. To interpret Teacher Bin’s words directly, it was more like, ‘That old man, he’s still alive and kicking, living for a long time.’ Some of Taildon’s residents were people who had moved down and settled after conflicts with the Village Chief, so it was hard to expect a good evaluation.

“Oh, right. You came at a good time. I had something to give to Tia.”

Thud. A well-packaged parcel was placed in front of me. Though roughly tied, there was only one type of item packaged flawlessly with such fine cloth.

“A book…?”

“Tia requested it. She commissioned it last year, and it only just arrived now. Anyway, that kid certainly gives her teacher a hard time.”

“It’s thick.”

“It’s expensive, so be careful.”

I knew that. Even without opening the package, I could easily tell that a book of this weight was quite expensive. It might be around 10 gold coins, roughly. Though, truthfully, its worth was whatever someone would pay for it, so the price was meaningless.

Books were rare in Breezedon. Naturally, since the only people who could read in our village were the Village Chief, me, and Tia.

Since I grew up under the Village Chief, I naturally learned to read, and Tia simply picked it up herself while spending time with me. She’s what you’d call a genius.

Honestly, if Tia had taken over the apothecary, she would be a much better pharmacist than me by now. It’s just her nature to dislike boredom, but she’s quite intelligent, considering she could read all the books in the apothecary and remember their contents.

I knew she liked books that much. But to even think of ‘buying’ a book now… that’s a bit surprising.

“I’ll deliver it well. Tia will like it.”

“How’s Tia doing these days? Is she still… struggling because of that incident?”

“Yes. Still. But I’m watching over her, so please don’t worry too much.” Teacher Bin patted my shoulder.

“Alright, Ritsu. I’m counting on you. Help Tia well. And be sure to come together next time you come down.”

“Yes. Well then…”

I left the Contact Office.

What a windfall! Suddenly, I was tasked with delivering a book.

Tia had ordered it, but since I was delivering it anyway, it felt like a ‘gift’. Plus, I could read it alongside her. I had a feeling tonight would be interesting.

I hurried my steps towards the confectionery. There was no need to wander, unsure of where it was. If children were chattering noisily in the middle of the street, then nine times out of ten, that was the confectionery.

As I entered, smelling the fragrant cookies, a warm welcome poured out.

“Oh my, who is this! It’s Ritsu!”

“Hello, Aunt Lily.”

“Where’s Tia?”

“I came alone.”

“Hoho. You two are always stuck together, what’s the occasion? Has Ritsu finally grown up? Hohoho.”

Sigh… This was already the third time I’d been asked, ‘Where’s Tia?’ It was starting to get annoying to answer, so I vowed, again and again, that next time I’d definitely come down with her.

I exchanged pleasantries with Auntie while picking out cookies. I decided to buy generously, so today I even picked up some expensive candies.

A party should be filling. I generously picked fluffy pound cake and milk with preserved strawberries, making sure there would be no regrets.

Now, for the grand finale. The left corner from the center. I had to buy Tia’s favorite treat, ‘Ginger Biscuits,’ which she bought one of every time she visited Taildon. Five should be enough, right? No, should I just buy all the ones on the display? I thought, as I walked over.

“Oh.” There was nothing there.

…

“That’s strange.”

Ginger biscuits were a treat that children didn’t particularly like, so they usually remained until evening. That’s why we always bought biscuits as a combined dinner and snack, shared them, and then headed back up to Breezedon.

But to see them all sold out like this.

“Auntie. Are there no ginger biscuits left?”

“Huh? Oh, those? They’re all gone. Even the ones made today.”

Did they suddenly become popular? All sorts of things happen in life.

Of all times, when I decided to have a snack party, they’re not here. What bad luck. Tia will be waiting for the ginger biscuits, what should I tell her…?

It was the moment I reluctantly turned my feet away and looked towards other treats.

Clunk. A boy entered the confectionery.

“Oh my, oh my, even Ruyef! What’s going on all of a sudden? You’re all coming to buy bread. Is there some kind of party in the upper village?”

At Aunt Lily’s words, the boy also turned to look this way. He seemed to have the same thought as me. The expression ‘Why are you here?’ was clearly visible on his face.

“…It’s you.”

“…Hi.”

He walked past me with slightly tired eyes.

Ruyef. Shaggy blonde hair, and slightly tanned skin that made it obvious he was good at farm work. He was a diligent and sturdy-shouldered friend whom the village elders often put to work…

Friend, huh. Well, everyone seemed to group Ruyef, Marie, me, and Tia together and call us ‘friends’. Actually, Ruyef and I aren’t really on good terms. No, not bad terms either… we just ignore each other.

Ruyef was a year older than me, but he wasn’t born in the village. He was a war orphan Uncle Joseph brought back a long time ago. They say he came from the far northern lands, which might explain why he was tall and had robust muscles.

He was good at working, being diligent, but the problem was he was hot-tempered and a ‘twisted fellow’ who saw everything negatively. He was polite to the elders, but he would get annoyed or be sullen with us, his friends.

Even though Tia seemed to get along with Ruyef, I couldn’t get along with his personality at all, so I usually kept my distance from him.

Ruyef asked gruffly. “Alone?”

New record. This was the fourth time.

“Yeah, I’m alone. What are you doing here?”

“…You don’t need to know.”

Asking me but not answering himself, that insolence. I wasn’t even angry anymore. He was always like that, so it was better for my mental health to just resign myself to it. If there was any fault, it was mine for even speaking to him.

Ruyef began to quickly scan the display shelves, as if searching for something. But it seemed he couldn’t find what he was looking for, so he lingered for a long time.

Eventually, Auntie, who had been watching, asked first. “Ruyef, are you looking for something?”

“I’m looking for ‘Ginger Biscuits’.”

… For a moment, I doubted my ears.

Aunt Lily clapped her hands and laughed, ‘Hohoho.’ “Oh my! You came to buy those too? I’m sorry, but they’re all sold out. I’ll prepare lots and lots next time, sweetie.”

“…Alright. Then.” Ruyef spun his head around and exited the confectionery.

What? What is it? Why was that guy looking for ginger biscuits? No, from the start, only Tia and I frequently came down to Taildon and enjoyed buying ginger biscuits.

Why did Ruyef suddenly come down to Taildon without a word and specifically try to buy ‘those biscuits’?

“Ritsu. Have you picked everything? Auntie needs to close up soon.”

“Ah, yes, yes. Here you go.”

While paying, I subtly glanced behind me. Ruyef was nowhere to be seen, having already gone somewhere.

…I had a bad feeling about this.