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※A story of around 15 years ago.

When I try to remember the past, I end up remembering the loneliness first.

The family that I remember didn’t have warm smiles, but that of unseemly monsters.

That’s why just trying to remember would be boorish.

I have been telling myself that it is more intelligent to just forget about it already.

Me trying to remember even at times when there’s nothing despite all that is probably because…of my regrets.

“—kora… Dokora! Are you listening?!”

“Hah?”

I was returned to a comparatively better reality by the shout of the drunk Heyd.

That’s unlike me. I ended up spacing out because I was slightly drunk.

I have been drinking since the evening after all. Really enjoying it out here despite myself.

“Good grief. That’s why people who get promoted are just… Are you saying you can’t listen to the talk of a guy whose life is going straight to being a grunt?” (Heyd)

“Sorry about that. It is true that I didn’t feel like listening though. I ended up falling asleep.” (Dokora)

“What part of that was an apology?!” (Heyd)

Of course I wouldn’t listen if I don’t feel like it, but it is my fault that I ended up falling asleep just because I wasn’t listening.” (Dokora)

Heyd has a drinking habit, but he would tell unexpectedly fun stories when he begins drinking, and it doesn’t bore me.

He has his issues as an Anbu, but his value as a decoration for when drinking is low tier.

“So you will easily admit your own fault, huh.” (Heyd)

“A refugee with no backing like me has to look after myself in order to survive after all.” (Dokora)

My hometown, Supine,  was destroyed by undead created with necromancy.

I carried the feeling of powerlessness when I was a rookie mercenary, and arrived in Mejis as a refugee.

There was the need to find a job to bring food to the table no matter what.

I learned all the techniques I could learn, moreover, used my position of someone who lost my country to my advantage instead, and managed to join the Anbus of Mejis.

“Ooh, how praiseworthy. Is that the trick to getting promoted?” (Heyd)

“No, the trick is to not throw in your personal feelings. You enjoy fighting too much, Heyd.” (Dokora)

“Killing people without hesitation is a condition to being an Anbu though.” (Heyd)

It gets harder to kill people when you have been raised by people. That’s why you either have to kill your own emotions or be someone who enjoys killing. You won’t be able to do this job otherwise.

“You can’t entrust important information to a guy that kills people for the fun of it.” (Dokora)

“…That’s true. If there are people who use Anbus for the sole sake of killing people, will I be able to get promoted too?” (Heyd)

“You will be able to treat people like me like slaves when that happens.” (Dokora)

“That sounds like a dream come true! But considering the next Pope Candidate…” (Heyd)

“I feel like it will end as a dream.” (Dokora)

The one who is stalwart is currently Euparo Rosareo and Seraes Jastoa.

Both of them treasure order, and I doubt they would find value in a guy like Heyd who enjoys killing.

Well, I can feel a bit of darkness in Seraes though.

Heyd might have a chance for promotion if treated only as a tool to get rid of hindrances, but…their personalities probably don’t match, so I doubt Heyd will be working under him.

“Doesn’t it sound good to serve under a beauty? Like maybe the Mauler of Everything, Maya, and the Meteor Fist Filia! There’s a possibility with those, right?” (Heyd)

“Idiot. Those kinds of gallant souls wouldn’t shoulder darkness like ours.” (Dokora)

“Tch.” (Heyd)

“Also, Filia has married and had a kid a long time ago. She ain’t even in the promotion list.” (Dokora)

“S-Seriously…? I was silently dreaming of that day though…” (Heyd)

“You should have kept it silent. She apparently married a knight of Taizu.” (Dokora)

Maya left the frontlines after her partner Filia moved to Taizu, and she transferred to the branch in Taizu.

And so, the closest ones to become the next Pope and Archbishop in Mejis are definitely men.

“Or more like, you know a lot. Are you an Anbu?” (Heyd)

“You learned that just now?” (Dokora)

I actually find one thing a bit regretful.

Maya is the benefactor that defeated the necromancer that destroyed my hometown 5 years ago. I would have wanted to work under her.

“Haah… Working under smelly men… Guess there’s really not much worth to live for aside from enjoying the missions.” (Heyd)

“You won’t be dying a decent death.” (Dokora)

“Maybe. But that’s a suitable death for me. Well, I will show you I will live longer than you though.” (Heyd)

Just how far down would I have to fall for me to die before this guy?

“I will contribute to the country properly, so I will live longer than you.” (Dokora)

“I don’t know about that. Guys like you end up messing up somewhere, you know.” (Heyd)

“Damn, I really hit rock bottom to hear that from you.” (Dokora)

After that, I threw the dead drunk Heyd at a back alley and went back home.

Drinking together with an idiot like that being one of my few entertainments brings me to tears.

But I pity myself for thinking that’s still better than nothing.

“…It really is better though.” (Dokora)

I was at a loss after losing everything. And now, I am drinking alcohol while making fun of idiots.

Isn’t that a great life?

Gotta contribute to the country for all it has done for me until now.

I snorted at the loyalty that doesn’t suit me and was walking with a good feeling, and I felt a faint wind of mana.

“Using magic in a place and time like this one?” (Dokora)

The abnormal situation sobered me and I confirmed my own equipment.

The information gathering of other countries grew more intense since the matter of Supine.

There have been people from Serende, whose relationship between us has worsened, and also distrust from other countries that think that maybe Mejis has obtained some sort of information after defeating a necromancer.

There’s no one within such people who would go out of their way to use decent magic.

“I should have drank a bit more alcohol… Oh.” (Dokora)

I have received orders to capture spies with the intention of killing them. It is best to capture them, but it would be better to get their corpses as evidence rather than having them escape.

I reconfirm the lay of the ground. There’s an orphanage nearby.

It would be a pain if they were to run away in that direction and take one of the orphans hostage.

I should corner them into a critical state and…

“…What’s that?” (Dokora)

The place where there was a reaction to magic was a storehouse for materials that is not being used as of present.

The one over there was a little girl around her teens.

She has weary clothes, so she’s probably a brat from the orphanage.

Playing alone until the sun goes down is way too introverted.

I learned after observing for a while. It seems like she is training her magic.

She slowly gathered mana, slowly shaped it, and activated it.

What showed up was a small light. That’s what an instructor would show you first when teaching you the basics of magic.

She is carefully, really carefully, activating the spell as if there was a beginner in front of her.

She repeated that, over and over, creating a light of exactly the same size each time.

“…What game is that?” (Dokora)

“Wakya?!”

I moved to the back of that girl by the time I noticed, and ended up speaking to her.

She let out a scream beyond what I imagined, and used detection magic on the surroundings just in case… Looks like it is fine.

“Sorry about scaring you.” (Dokora)

“E-Eh, uhm… Who are you, old man?”

“Mister… I am a mister. Aah, don’t worry, I am from the Yugura Church.” (Dokora)

The Yugura Church manages the orphanage. My affiliation is that of the Yugura Church.

This would be the safe response without lying so that she doesn’t get scared.

“Someone from the Yugura Church? But why are you in a run down place like this one…? Could it be that you have no friends?”

“I have. I threw him into a back alley though.” (Dokora)

“So cruel!”

“Training magic? But that’s awfully basic.” (Dokora)

“…Really? I am practicing the magic that the misters and misses of the orphanage taught us before though…”

I see.

They won’t let a girl of around 10 years old, whose mana is still not stable, to train magic.

There are times when the employees of the orphanage teach simple magic to the orphans when they are of suitable age to check their affinity to magic, but…she learned by looking from afar?

“You should be able to do something like that if you try it for a bit. If you are going to do this… No, I doubt they would teach you proper magic at your age.” (Dokora)

“…Yeah.”

“That can’t be helped. Stuff like complicated constructions and using a lot of mana can burden the body to a decent degree. Doing something like that at your age would break the balance of your body and you won’t be able to use magic ever again.” (Dokora)

“…Yes.”

There’s a decent amount of people who are training their magic at her age. But the condition is for there to be an adult to properly watch that growth.

If a brat raised in an orphanage were to force herself to train in order to become stronger, your own mana balance will crumble and end up creating a bad result instead.

That’s why the age in which to teach mana strengthening is properly stipulated in an orphanage.

This girl must have gotten such an explanation too.

“What’s the reason for training magic that much?” (Dokora)

“I thought I would be able to do at least this much…”

I scratch my head.

It is probably exactly as I see. I feel like this girl is somewhat clumsy. She seems slow and I don’t feel like she is outstanding at all.

I have seen a decent amount of people, and my evaluation is that she will live a life where she won’t be going up the job ladder.

She is aware that she is below her surroundings even at her age.

She has accepted such a cruel reality.

Do I have the right to stop her desire to cling on despite that?

“Haah… This much should be fine for you.” (Dokora)

I slowly weave my mana and slash grass a few ways away with barrier magic.

The girl opened her eyes wide at the sliced grass.

“Waah…”

“An application of barrier magic. You can adjust the thickness of the barrier, and it also unfolds fast as long as you activate it. If you deploy it thin and fast, it can become a veritable blade.” (Dokora)

“But its sharpness is pretty bad. You could cut it more cleanly with a rock.”

“Shut up. I am going to punch you, you brat.” (Dokora)

“Piiih?!”

I wasn’t concentrating much and my battle style is mainly through the use of tools.

A skilled cleric would have sharpness on the level of a real blade, but it would be better to train with a knife rather than going through all that effort.

“This is not a technique that is practical in combat. It is one of the trainings in magic to increase the casting and activation speed of magic by deploying a barrier as thin and fast as possible. It should lead to a bit of a better future to train this spell compared to the one you were using.” (Dokora)

Barrier magic is simple but deep.

The knights of Taizu would deploy a barrier that would cover the whole body like clothes, and the clerics of Mejis would deploy barriers like walls that block the claws and fangs of devils.

There was even a drill instructor that would thoroughly train the ones that were not good in magic by having them practice barrier magic. This should be enough for a child.

“…”

“Try it. Or do you want to see me do it one more time?” (Dokora)

“N-No, I will try!”

The girl took a deep breath and began to cast the spell.

She will do great if she can just deploy the barrier and the grass sways a bit—

“Eiya.”

“Ei…” (Dokora)

The girl casted the barrier and sliced off the grass.

There’s barely any difference in the precision and sharpness compared to mine. No, rather than there being no difference…

“I did it!”

“…Oi, brat, try activating that spell faster and thinner.” (Dokora)

“Y-Yesh… Teiya.”

The barrier that she casted next sliced the grass faster and sharper than before.

It is far from matching my knife with mana strengthening, but it is several times sharper than the blades that a child would use.

She still got ways in her understanding of magic, but the concentration she has when weaving her spell is quite the thing. This degree of concentration… Just how in the world…

“…Oi, brat.” (Dokora)

“I did it! It was sharper than yours, old man!”

“Hngh.” (Dokora)

“Piyaaah!”

I threw the girl onto the grass for now and confirmed the surroundings.

The footprints left around are all from children. And yet, I noticed that there’s not a single blade of grass on the road where people would cross.

It wouldn’t be strange for the material storehouse that no one uses to have grass growing thickly everywhere.

But this girl has been coming here over and over, so it has become neat like a populated street.

No matter where I look, I can only see the traces of her footprints painting away the traces of other people.

This is not from 1 week or 2.

It means that she has been training basic magic in this place for several months. Maybe even years.

I felt cold sweat run down my back.

If this girl were a bit more intelligent and tried to learn other spells, she would have definitely messed up her mana balance and would have died.

“…Leaving her be would be a sin.” (Dokora)

I move to the grass and pull the girl whose eyes are spinning.

And then, have her stand up and wake her up by slapping her cheek lightly.

“Hah?!”

“Oi, brat, you have talent. Aim to become a cleric once you get out of the orphanage.” (Dokora)

“Cleric…”

“That’s right. Honestly, you are slow and will stay incompetent, messing up a lot.” (Dokora)

“So cruel!”

“But your talent is the real deal. If you continue the training that I taught you today, there will definitely be people who will notice this talent of yours. Polish your proficiency without increasing the amount of mana you use. You will become a splendid cleric if you do.” (Dokora)

She has talent in magic, but she doesn’t have one bit of talent as an Anbu, so I can’t look after her.

But if someone from the clergy were to feel the sensation I felt on my skin just now, I am sure her talent will bud.

“…If I become a cleric, will I get a salary and stuff?”

“Yeah.” (Dokora)

“Can I eat a belly full?”

“Yeah.” (Dokora)

“Can I treat people like slaves just like you, old man?”

“I am going to wring you out.” (Dokora)

“Piyaah!”

That was close. I was almost about to choke her because I remembered my conversation with Heyd.

I felt like she has been treated poorly in a lot of ways, but she seems to be living with determination.

“Well, it is possible if you become someone influential. But people at the top have their responsibilities. Do you think you can shoulder a position that would affect the futures of many?” (Dokora)

“I don’t want to shoulder that.”

“You really want to live for your own sake to an annoying degree, but I like that. What’s your name?” (Dokora)

“…Rakura.”

“I see. Rakura, you will become a good woman. Let’s meet again when you become a great cleric. If you become a good woman in your body as well, I can accompany you as a man.” (Dokora)

“…But you will become more of an old man once I become a cleric, old man…” (Rakura)

“Hmph.” (Dokora)

“Piyaaah!” (Rakura)

I threw Rakura onto the grass again and left.

I had a strange feeling as if I will be meeting this girl again somewhere in the future.

She has that personality at such an age.

I am sure she will become a hopeless woman in a lot of ways, but I am also sure she will become a good cleric that I would feel safe entrusting my back to.

I was a bit high strung because I had an unexpected good finding and I felt drunk again.

I will drink one more time once I go back and then go to sleep.

—–

Author: An extra to match the new chapter of the manga.

This time it is a story of the first time Rakura and Dokora met.

Rakura completely forgot even the face of Dokora after a few years.

Dokora also forgot because so many things happened, but it seems like he remembered after reuniting with her in the underground ruins of Serende.

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