MONTANA, now fourteen years old, was crafting accessories alone in his room as usual. As he worked, he imagined the faces and personalities of each of the apprentices in the workshop. He had caused the apprentices trouble, so this would be his way of thanking them for taking care of him when he was younger. He hoped that one day, when he found the courage and no longer had any lingering attachment to blacksmithing, he would be able to talk to them happily like he had in the past.
Then he told his father and mother, “I want to become an adventurer and travel the world.”
Montana’s parents knew that he’d been secretly training with a sword for years, so they were prepared for him to say something like this someday. Despite her smile and tears of joy, his mother had a sad look on her face when she said goodbye. His father was still as unreadable as ever.
On the morning of his departure, Montana’s father handed him a hammer. “This is the hammer I inherited from my father,” he said. “It’s nothing special, but I was going to give it to you when I recognized you as a full-fledged craftsman. Don’t lose heart, don’t be shy, and don’t hold back. Accomplish what you’ve set out to do.”
His brow furrowed as he scowled fiercely before continuing.
“But still…if things get too tough, come back to the workshop. It’s not good to run away or give up so easily. Even if you’re not here, though…I’d rather you live. Make sure you don’t have any regrets.”
With that, his father turned around and went back to the forge. But Montana knew that his father’s ferocious expression had just been his way of trying to hold back tears.
Montana started walking. He was on the verge of tears too, so he walked with his gaze on the sky.
Then, as he was leaving town, someone stopped him. He heard a familiar voice. It was the apprentice who had tried to challenge Montana, all those years ago.
“Kinda heartless to leave without saying anything, ya know.”
Montana stiffened and lowered his eyes, shrinking into himself. He couldn’t look up. He was scared. He had no idea what this man would say. And Montana still didn’t hate him, even after everything.
“…I knew you were more talented than me,” the apprentice said. “I wanted to give you the final push you needed. I thought that if I lost there, then the others wouldn’t be able to say anything, that they’d finally acknowledge your talent. Instead, you completely disappeared… And now you were planning to leave just like that?”
He came closer and roughly mussed Montana’s hair.
“Thanks to you, though, I had to keep trying. I couldn’t give up after that, could I…? I’m sorry for hurting you. I’m so sorry. I wanted to apologize all this time, but you kept running away.” The apprentice thought for a moment. “But considering how good you got at hiding from us grownups, I’m sure you’ll make a good adventurer. So give it your best shot.”
With tears spilling down his cheeks, Montana smacked the man roughly in the chest before stepping away. He took a deep breath and got ready to resume his journey out of town.
“I was going to,” he said. “You don’t need to tell me. I’d rather be a famous adventurer than a blacksmith anyway. And I’ll eventually come back to commission weapons, so you better be good enough for me by then.”
As he was sent off by the sounds of laughter and tears, Montana cried out loud for the first time in over a decade. And that was how he took his first steps as an adventurer.