Chapter 10

Once upon a time, in a certain corner of the world, a young couple lived with their child in happiness. “See you later!” the five-year-old called out energetically. Despite the early hour, he left the house with little more than a practice sword and a small shield. His dream was to become a renowned hero who fought for the people, just like his father was. “Oh, that boy always forgets his lunch,” his mother remarked with a smile and a sigh after discovering the food she’d made was still sitting on the table. “It’ll be fine. I’m sure he’ll come back once he’s hungry,” his father said before folding his newspaper and finishing off his morning soup. “Okay, I’m going to go gather some firewood from the mountain so our brave son doesn’t catch a cold.” “Good idea. I’ll go do the laundry at the river so you two have no lack of clean clothes to wear.” After saying lines straight out of some old, familiar tale, the couple also ventured off. By the way, these parents had a heating unit in their house, so they didn’t have a particular need for a fireplace or fuel. They also had a washing machine that ran using magic power, but it seemed that the mother still preferred to use fresh water from the river now and then. The exact reason for this remained unknown. “Yahhh! Haaah!” The boy set right to swinging his sword in the forest that he had made his training ground. Only weak monsters with low intelligence appeared there, so there were none he couldn’t fend off on his own. He became so immersed in his practice that he lost track of time. Before he knew it, night had arrived. “All right, that feels like a good place to stop for today.” He spoke with a level of intelligence one would never have expected from a five-year-old. He then refilled his canteen at a lake and leaned back against a tree to rest. “I want to become an even greater champion than Dad so that I can protect this beautiful world,” stated the boy, staring up at the star-filled sky. Once again, this proclamation displayed a surprising level of comprehension for a young child. “Huh…?” That was when it happened. Something appeared in the sky that looked less like a shooting star and more like a bright mass of energy. As though on cue, it began to descend as soon as the boy took notice of it. The object crashed near a big tree in the forest. “D-did something just fall?!” The boy bolted to the impact site, moving as if drawn to it. At his age, it was difficult for him to contain his curiosity, and his legs hurried to carry him to the tree. “Is that…a person?!” Although still a few dozen paces away, the young child spotted the unmistakable shape of a person. The foliage around them had been burned, likely from the explosive crash. Undoubtedly, this person was what had fallen. However… “They’re surrounded!” A pack of wolf monsters had emerged from the forest, happy for easy prey. Weakly, the person in the crater opened their eyes. Upon realizing their predicament, their face went pale. “I need to save them!!” The boy gripped his practice sword and charged heroically at the monsters.