The town was still working on becoming its usual, calm self again.
A ferocious monster had appeared nearby, and it had been exposed to the flames of a forest fire. But that was all in the past now. Today was just a nice, sunshiny day.
A boy who used to brag about being a hero was seated on a bench.
“Haaah...”
Despite the dazzling, pleasant sunlight shining down upon him, there was a dark mood around the boy.
He had been confronted with his own weakness and foolishness.
He was the one who tried to drive away the monster.
He was the one who set fire to the mountain.
He was the one who was so weak that he couldn’t do anything.
“Haaah...”
He was a fake hero. He’d finally accepted that.
But still, what should he do about it? He was just a kid, so there wasn’t much he could do.
Frankly, he didn’t really know how to recover from such a big screw-up.
“What even am I...?” he said to himself, looking at the ground.
“Don’t ask weird questions. You’re a hero.”
“Logg...!”
“...Here, take it.”
“Ah, this is...!”
Logg held out a wooden sword. In his other hand was a wooden shield.
“Your mom said you forgot it...”
“...”
His hero’s blade was right there in front of him. His old partner, and the symbol of his foolishness.
Yuuta continued to hang his head in shame.
They remained silent for a moment, only for Logg to place the toy sword on the bench with a clunk as he sat opposite Yuuta.
“So you’re going to quit being a hero...?”
“...”
Since Logg had brought that wooden shield along, he must have come to Yuuta’s house to invite him to play. That fact alone made Yuuta feel both embarrassed and pathetic. After all, he had called his friend a weakling. The thought depressed him now.
“I was just a fake...”
“Yuuta...!”
“You were right, Logg. I couldn’t beat the monster... And that wasn’t all. Ana was so scared, but she had to stay quiet when she cried. The mountain was burning, and it looked like everything was going to be ruined...”
“...”
“I’m just a kid...”
It was the first time he’d felt this much regret.
He had almost wrecked everything. If his friend hadn’t gotten help...
“Logg, I’ve got to thank you...”
“T-Thank me...?”
“You’re the one who went to Miss Ann, right?”
“Y-Yeah, but...”
“I knew it... Thanks, Logg. I called you a weakling and said all that horrible stuff. But if it weren’t for you, me and Ana would’ve died...”
“You’re...”
“You’re a good guy.”
“You’re wrong!!”
Yuuta was shocked into silence by Logg’s sudden outburst.
“You’re wrong...”
“L-Logg...?”
Logg’s eyes snapped shut, and his hands trembled as they rested on his knees.
“Logg... I knew it, you are mad at me.”
“I-I’m not... It’s just, I’m not a good guy...”
“Huh...?”
Logg strung out the words with tears in his eyes.
“Yuuta, three hors passed since you two left the village... What do you think I was doing for those three hors?”
“What...?”
“I was hiding and shaking in my bed. The whole time.”
“Logg...”
“For the whole dang time. I just hid in my room being a coward and acting like it had nothing to do with me.”
His arms were trembling as he remembered how he felt at the time.
“After about two hors, things started getting crazy at your place. I could see it out my window... Your mom was screaming.”
“...”
“And then they realized Ana was missing over at her house, too... I felt like I was going to throw up.”
“That happened...?”
“I had to tell them, right away. But I was scared. I was really, really scared of telling your folks... I thought they’d ask me why I didn’t stop you.”
“...”
“I finally did it because I was just so scared that I couldn’t stand it anymore... That’s why I told Miss Ann...”
“B-But...”
“Yuuta, you were right... I am a weakling. A big, stupid weakling...”
Yuuta noticed that Logg had broken down sobbing. He hesitated.
He’d thanked his friend, expecting to get blamed and teased, but Logg was still suffering. Even though Yuuta was the one who’d done something wrong...
Yuuta hadn’t wanted Logg to end up with such painful memories.
“But you still spoke up, right, Logg?! You’re not a weakling!”
“You’re wrong! You went off to face the bergbear! You’re brave! I’m just a real coward!”
“If that’s what you’re gonna say, then... Then I’m a real fake hero!”
There was one thing the boy could do now, and that was to accept his own weakness.
“A-A ‘real fake hero’...?”
“That’s right. Listen, Logg... I ran into the bergbear.”
“R-Really?!”
“Yeah. I’m definitely, never ever going to tell you a lie ever again. I cried and ran away with Ana.”
“A-And then what happened?”
“You can’t tell anyone what I’m about to tell you, Logg.”
“G-Got it!”
“Alright... Miss Ann saved us.”
“B-But how?”
“Okay, well... the truth is... Miss Ann is actually really strong. She’s been hiding it, but she’s a hero!”
Logg looked shocked.
“Remember how she brought out all those gold gears when she climbed up onto the roof and got my sword?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Those are her weapons, as a hero.”
“What?!”
“They can spin around really, really fast.”
“R-Right...”
“She can use them to fly along the ground, and she can make them super-sharp to cut things. They’re shaped funny, but they’re just like a hero’s blade.”
“Huh?!”
“You don’t believe me, do you...?” Yuuta asked, sounding a bit sad.
“No, I do. I mean, you made it back safely, after all!”
“...Yeah!”
“So, Miss Ann is strong?”
“Really, really strong!”
Yuuta told his story. About the bear monster they met, and the spreading flames, and the golden hero who came running through all of that. The sparkle in his eyes soon lit up in Logg’s, too.
“W-Wow! Miss Ann sure is amazing!”
“She sure is! But you’ve got to keep it a secret! The thing that I thought was most amazing wasn’t her skills or power, though...”
“What do you mean?”
“It was her eyes...”
“Her... eyes?”
“Yeah. Her eyes when the bergbear caught up to us, and she turned around and looked at us.”
It had been dark, but the shine he saw then still remained in his heart.
“Those eyes said, ‘I’m definitely going to protect you.’”
“...”
“I didn’t know she was strong back then. But even so...”
That golden shine came from a person who was determined to protect them.
“When I saw her eyes, I felt safe. Those were the eyes of a real hero.”
“I see, so she protected you...”
“She protected us...?”
Right, she had protected them. Why had she done that, going so far as to risk of her own life?
The boy tried voicing the answer to that question.
“Because... we’re precious to her...”
“Yuuta?”
“Logg, I get it...”
“Get what?”
“You can’t go forgetting that people care about you.”
“Huh?”
“If you forget that, you’ll be no good. Even if you manage to become really brave and really strong.”
“Why’s that?”
“Mad Silver Ochsenfeld didn’t have anyone who cared about him. That’s why he went crazy. But the Chivalrous Thief Kururukan knew he was important to people, so he kept on fighting to the very end. And that’s also true for Miss Ann. People care about me, too. And that’s what it means to be a hero!”
“T-This is a pretty tricky topic...”
“No, it’s simple! If I had thought about how people cared about me, none of this would’ve happened...”
Yuuta thought back on that night, when they returned to town. His mother got really mad at him, but she also hugged him tight and cried.
“And Ana’s mom cares a lot about her, too. Is that what you’re talking about?”
“That’s right! And the same’s true for you, too, Logg!”
“And that’s... important for being a hero?”
The boy stood up and looked at his friend.
“Yeah! Seeing how the people who care about you are precious, and protecting them... That’s what it means to be a hero.”
“...I see!”
The boy had realized it when he was just a child. That utterly natural feeling that was passed down to him. The boy’s mother felt that way, and her mother, and their family even further back.
To have someone care about you, and to return that feeling, and then pass it on down the chain.
That was what he did. That was what everyone had done.
If you forgot that, then you couldn’t protect anything.
He really had been a fake.
“From now on, I’m a real fake hero!”
“W-What?”
“I’m a fake! That’s why I’ve gotta aim to become the real thing! And before I can become a hero, I’ve got to treat the people who care about me right! So that’s what I’ll do!”
A determination welled up inside the boy.
His words were clumsy. He was full of pure foolishness.
But that was the instant a shining light was born inside him.
“No fair, trying to do that all on your own!”
“Logg?!”
“In that case, I’m a real weakling! That makes me an ally to a fake hero! I won’t be a weakling forever!”
“Hahaha, so you’re going to team up with a fake, Logg?”
“That’s right! That makes us the Fakers!”
“F-Fakers?”
“Yeah, like someone who fakes something. I’ve heard my dad call people that before when they try to sell him knock-off stuff.”
“The Fakers... So that’s us, huh?!”
“That’s right!”
Yuuta picked up his sword, and Logg held his shield aloft.
“We’re the Fakers!” the boys yelled out together.
“Ah! No fair! Don’t leave me out!” Ana shouted, leaping out from behind the bench.
“Gah!”
“A-Ana...”
“Ana, where did you pop up from...?!”
“That’s an awful thing to say! I’m a Faker, too!”
“Huh?! No, but...”
“Ana, you see, we were...”
“Yuuta has his sword. Logg has his shield!”
“Hey...” the boys said in sync.
“And I’m the magician!”
“Y-You can use magic?”
“I’m learning!”
“That’s ridiculous...”
“Shut up! Golden Kiiiick!!”
Bonk, bonk.
“O-Owwwww!”
“Now let’s do that one more time!”
“‘That’?” the boys questioned.
.....
...
“U-Umm...”
“We’re the Fakers!!!” the three friends shouted out together, striking a pose.
These three children were often seen around the town as calm and tranquility returned to the place. One held a sword, another a shield, and the third a staff. Rather than just pretending to be adventurers, though, they would pick up all the litter in the neighborhood, or help an old lady carry her luggage, or water all the flower beds around town.
Even today, the townsfolk watched over them, their precious little band of heroes. Yes, even today...
The Fakers, those who aim to become real, had come again.
Yes, on that day, a name was granted to a clan that would remain together for a long, long time...