EP4. The beginning of the journey (1)
EP4. The beginning of the journey
“It’s already that time.”
Epinel looked at the boy in front of her and said.
Epinel let out a deep sigh. She accepted herself, of course, but just because she was, that didn’t mean she wasn’t worried.
They are children raised thinking of them as younger siblings. Maybe if the age difference was just a little bit bigger, I would have thought of him as a son rather than a younger brother.
Epinel looked at Shawn.
The boy, who was only young, gradually threw off his boyish t-shirt as time went by and began to show off the poomsae of a young man.
I’ve still been called a boy, but even that will be thrown off after a little while.
The boy wore a rugged leather cape, a bow behind his back, and a sword at his waist.
Epinel asked while looking at Sean’s bow.
“Come to think of it, I heard that you couldn’t use a bow at all before, but now you seem to be using it well when hunting?”
It was a bit off topic, but Shawn responded.
Perhaps it was because he wanted to talk a little longer.
“Ah, the bow… In fact, I’m still not writing that well. But since there is nothing better than a bow when hunting…”
“Is that so? Well, it’s been a long time since you’ve been in charge of hunting, so what?”
The town’s hunting has been entirely Shaun’s responsibility since Joe left.
When I first entrusted hunting, I was a bit uneasy about entrusting it to a young boy, but Sean did it well.
It seems like just yesterday that she was a sister and a sister who were far below her, but at some point, she grew up so fast that she aligned herself with hers and even went hunting alone with her.
Epinel was amazed at how quickly time passed.
She was a little proud of how she grew up, but on the other hand, I also felt a bit sad about her.
Does this mean that the moment of separation has come?
Maybe he noticed her sad heart, Sean said with a smile.
“Chief, I will stop by often, so don’t worry too much.”
Oh, do you know that I want to worry about you? The mind cannot be manipulated arbitrarily.
Epinel Rather than yelling back and forth about her like that, she decided to stick to her own feelings a little more.
“Shaun, today I’m not the chief, can I be your sister?”
“Yes? ······Still.”
“How are you? You called me that often in the past anyway, right? Is not it?”
She wanted to hear those words from this boy, something she’d never heard since she assumed the position of chief.
When Epinel showed no sign of backing down, Sean smiled awkwardly.
“······Nuna, I’ll be back.”
Epinel said nothing and hugged Sean. Sean, who was embarrassed for a moment, hugged her Epinel and patted her on the back.
Seven years have passed since the monsters attacked the village.
Epinel and other villagers were forgetting her wounds one by one.
***
After saying goodbye to Epinel, Sean headed for the inn.
Originally, the inn was Colin’s inn, but now it has changed.
After Uncle Colin passed away that day, she had to vacate the inn for a while as there was no one to manage the inn in town.
And the inn was to be managed by the knight.
To be the innkeeper in the article, it would have been a great status, but he was rather delighted.
Did he say he wanted to do such a small thing?
One thing that surprised Sean was that Wilhelm was surprisingly good at cooking.
I heard that when I was on a dispatch mission or something, I learned to eat delicious food whenever I camped out.
How should I say, it doesn’t look like it suits me, but it suits me. It was such a strange feeling.
Sean entered the inn with such trivial thoughts.
As I opened the inn door, I heard the creaking of an old building.
Thanks to that, this inn doesn’t need any special security devices. When you come in, you notice it right away.
Whether it was really in agreement with that thought, or it was just thanks to the intuition cultivated as a knight, Wilhelm immediately noticed Sean’s arrival and welcomed him.
“Here you go! Yes, Sean. Did you say hello to the villagers?”
At Wilhelm’s question, Sean shook his head.
“No. We still have a few more minutes.”
“Hmm, so it hasn’t even turned around yet, so it’s already my turn?”
Wilhelm said that, but the way he spoke was more playful than sad.
Sean also grinned and tuned in to the beat.
“Of course, I also wanted to see Master last, but it was the most convenient way to go.”
“I can’t! Did you do that just for a little bit of comfort!”
“Well, I was joking, and I came to see you first to tell you this.”
Saying that, Sean took out the sword from his waist and handed it to Wilhelm.
That sword was the sword Wilhelm had brought with him when he came to the village.
As he was training swordsmanship with Sean, he gave it to Sean for practice.
Wilhelm looked at the sword and said.
“This is a pretty good sword. And I have no reason to use the sword anymore. You know, too.”
Saying that, Wilhelm showed his shoulder.
He felt empty because he had nothing on his shoulder. Yes. He sacrificed one of his arms to save Sean from a monster attack.
His right arm, which was his own main arm.
Still, Shawn didn’t mind. It’s already been 7 years.
He’s been told that he’s sorry a lot, and that he’s fine a lot.
If you ask me if I have any feelings of sorry at this point, of course I don’t, but at least it’s been a long time since I made the old man’s heart heavy by revealing that heart.
He replied to Wilhelm, who was waiting for an answer while looking at him.
“No. I have another sword. At least at first, I was determined to use that sword.”
From noble mtl dot com.
Wilhelm nodded his head, realizing that the boy’s decision was not out of remorse, but out of his own will.
You really grew up a lot.
The old man involuntarily started talking.
“From the first time I saw you, I wanted to teach you the sword. Do you know why?”
Sean thought for a moment at his sudden question.
And he remembered what the old man said from time to time during his training so far and answered.
“Do I have talent?”
“Of course, that is not entirely wrong. You must have a sword talent. But there is a bigger reason than that.”
Looking at the old man who shook his head and denied his answer, Sean couldn’t help but ask.
“Then why did you teach me?”
“········Eyes.”
That was something he hadn’t expected at all. However, judging from the driver’s gaze, he seemed to be serious, not joking this time.
“Eyes?”
“Yes. In fact, I never even thought of being a disciple. When I was in the capital, I saw a lot of young guys who were called prospects.”
“·······.”
“Among them, there were a lot of friends who definitely seemed talented. Even more than you.”
Wilhelm, who said that, did not show much favor towards the prospects.
“But what use would that be? Most of them were people who were drunk on their own talents, arrogant, and looked down on others, and who had no solid convictions of their own.”
“·······.”
“But you are different. First, Shawn. When he sees you, and when he talks to you and tells you that you don’t have adventurer dreams. I saw your eyes.”
He remembered himself too. That day, the day Luke died, we definitely had that conversation.
“You were still young then, but deep conviction slumbered in her eyes. Can’t be exchanged for anything. And now your eyes are stronger.”
“Thank you. Knight.”
Wilhelm said while meeting Sean’s eyes filled with that conviction.
“Sean Sean. Keep in mind That a knight is a being who always protects. Even though you’re not a knight, you decided to become Miss Levi’s shield.”
“Yes, the driver is right. The biggest reason I use a sword is to protect Levi.”
As the conversation slowly came to an end, Wilhelm pulled something out of his chest one last time.
“Take this.”
“····This?”
Sean accepted what Wilhelm was giving him. It was the first time Shawn had seen it, but he had some idea of its value. A very flashy thing is definitely not something that can be easily obtained.
“It’s the emblem of the knights I belonged to.”
At that, Sean looked at the emblem once more.
There was a golden shield, behind which a sword was erected in reverse.
“Why did you do this to me…?”
“If, by any chance, you go to the capital and need help, show that emblem to a man named Charlotte. I may be able to help you.”
Charlotte? It didn’t sound like an ordinary person from the name. Like Wilhelm.
More than that, he wondered if he would ever go to the capital, even if he did, whether he would be able to find the Charlotte the knight-nim had talked about among so many people in the capital.
Well, you don’t know what will happen to human affairs, so there’s no need to refuse the favor.
Wilhelm also added a little to see if he had given it with such a great meaning.
“Actually, it doesn’t matter much if I just sell it when I run out of money.”
“Yes? But, this is the knight…”
At that, the old man smiled and said.
“The value of my life as a knight is not something that can be measured with such gold. Wouldn’t I, who went through that life, in itself be the most valuable thing?”
Sean could only stare blankly at Wilhelm.
The boy thought. He probably thought that even if he lived his whole life, no more cool people like this would come out.
The old man said, patting Shawn’s shoulder with his one remaining arm.
“Anyway, I don’t know how long the trip will be, but have a good trip! I will be waiting for you.”
Sean bowed and said politely, with the greatest courtesy he could.
“I’ll be back. Master.”
***
Sean was walking towards his next destination.
Meanwhile, he found a strange old man he hadn’t seen before.
Sean wasn’t too surprised. I’ve gotten pretty used to seeing strangers in town in recent years.
There was a monster attack and a steady influx of outsiders as the town slowly rebuilt itself.
It’s because of Laes, who comes out of town shortly after.
The monsters that appear in Laes have not faded over time.
At first, I thought it was a one-off, but it continued to appear over the years. Because of that, naturally, the footsteps of adventurers and merchants are increasing.
As the city of Laes became overcrowded and saturated, our village, the only village in the vicinity, was also overcrowded.
Recently, it is said that the number of monsters is finally decreasing, and perhaps because of that, people who were injured during adventures and could no longer engage in adventure activities lived in our village.
Thanks to that, it was possible for our village to stabilize faster than expected.
This is ironic. The town collapsed due to a monster attack, and the rebuilding of the town was quickened because of the monsters.
Shawn stopped his thoughts and looked at the old man again.
The old man looked really old. It was because he couldn’t even compare to Wilhelm, and even compared to Paulo, he looked much older.
I don’t think such a grandfather would have been an adventurer.
As Sean observed the old man, he just stood still, doing nothing.
I wonder if you need help. Shawn approached the old man cautiously and attached his words.
“Hello. It seems like you’re new to Bonnie’s town, what are you doing here?”
The old man looked at the boy who was talking to him, and he spoke slowly.
“·······Are there any miscellaneous goods shops here by any chance…?”
A general store? For a moment, Sean thought of the store owner. Gee, now’s not the time to think about that.
“Oh, then can I show you to the grocery store?”
At that, the old man shook his head slowly and continued.
“······No. …Hey, by any chance, then who is the owner of the grocery store…?”
The owner? Shawn was taken aback when the old man suddenly asked him who he thought he was.
No, why is the old man who is new to the village asking the owner of the grocery store? Sean pondered so much and made a guess.
Ah! Maybe you want to work at a grocery store?
That was surprisingly not a bad thing. The owner is leaving now.
Well, then you should answer me first, right?
“Right now, a woman my age works alone. But the truth is that the child will be leaving soon, and she doesn’t know who will take over after that.”
After saying that, Sean thought about it. Of course, it might not be bad for this old man to be in charge of the grocery store, but that was a bit lacking in reality.
After the village collapsed, it was unlikely that the village headman, who was quite sensitive, would immediately entrust such a task to someone he had never seen before.
Hmm, if you were Epinel’s sister… More trustworthy than an old man I’ve never seen before, and with nothing special to do now, at least I’m familiar with shop work…
As I thought about it, there was one person that came to my mind.
From noble mtl dot com.
Shaun muttered to himself.
“Hmm, if it’s Grandpa Paulo, I think it’ll be okay to go back to work at the general store…”
“·······.”
Yes. In the first place, I heard that Grandpa Paulo ran a general store before Uncle Paul, so he must be able to do it well. He’s a blacksmith, and he doesn’t have customers, so he won’t really care.
Oh yes! Thinking so hard alone, he forgot that he was talking to his grandfather in front of him.
Sean apologized to the old man, determined to get rid of the habit of thinking about such useless subjects.
“Oh, sorry. I’ve been thinking about it for too long.”
Even Sean’s apology, the old man said nothing.
Did you feel offended? I’m sorry. Sean hastily said.
“I am so sorry! Is there anything else you would like to ask or ask for?”
The old man stayed still for a while, and then he shook his head.
“·······No, it’s okay······.”
“Ah… Then…, I’ll go and see…?”
The old man paused at that, then slowly nodded his head.
I was told to go, so I would go, but for some reason, I felt a little uncomfortable leaving the old man behind.
I was walking along the road for a long time, and when I turned around, I couldn’t see the old man.