Dream On

Dream On (3)

Shirone swallowed hard.

'That looks delicious.'

Although Lumina's family consisted of only four members, it was common for the slash-and-burn villagers to gather in one house for meals. Thankfully, there were enough utensils to accommodate everyone.

As about ten children sat around the table, Lumina's mother generously served them a hearty portion of boiled meat.

Seeing the amount of food, Shirone had a sudden realization.

Providing this much food must have cost a considerable sum. He could pay for it, but that in itself felt strange.

Reading Shirone's thoughts, Altour spoke.

"Don't worry. We can make money by selling the monster's hide. I was planning to start working on it tomorrow, but of course, I need your permission first."

"Huh? No, it's fine. That makes perfect sense. Oh, and that monster's name is Urk. I heard that its claws and fangs can fetch a pretty good price."

Altour nodded.

He had assumed Shirone would agree, but hearing that other parts of the monster were valuable was an unexpected bonus.

Most importantly, he was relieved to finally learn the monster's name.

Knowledge was also money. If they had taken the remains to the market without knowing what they had, they would have surely been swindled.

All the effort put into tanning the hide could have gone to waste.

"I see. In any case, thank you. Not just for taking down the Urk, but for everything. If it weren't for you, our village would have had no choice but to relocate."

For those who had just returned to their homeland, abandoning their land again would mean losing an entire year's harvest. In that sense, Shirone was a hero who had saved the village.

"Don't say that. This place is precious to me too."

A place filled with childhood memories.

Life was tough here, and there were probably more reasons to argue than in noble society. But the people here knew how to live together in harmony, and Shirone liked that.

Marten, chewing on his meat, spoke up.

"Still, I feel bad that your hard-earned vacation turned out like this. How about coming with us to the mountains tomorrow? We can skin the Urk and strip off the claws. Then, we can sell them and use the money to have some fun."

Shirone shook his head regretfully.

Right now, he wanted nothing more than to return as soon as possible and analyze the Photon Cannon.

"No, I've rested enough. Thanks to you all, I'm feeling refreshed. I have to return to school tomorrow morning."

After dinner, the children dispersed. Even though the moon was up, they still had work to do.

They had to maintain their equipment and inspect the carts overnight.

Sitting on a hill, Shirone gazed down at the village below. The children were carrying torches, going from house to house as they prepared for the next day's work.

Hearing their distant laughter as they playfully teased each other brought a smile to his face.

"So this is where you were."

A shadow cast by the moonlight made Shirone turn his head.

"Huh? Altour, how did you find me?"

"I just had a feeling you'd be here. You've always liked places where you could see everything at a glance. What were you thinking about? You didn't even notice me coming."

"I was reminiscing about my childhood. I used to run around here a lot with my father. We even played tag over there in the fields."

"Yeah, I remember. But you spent a lot more time reading books alone. Probably because of me."

"No, it's just that I really liked books…"

Altour chuckled warmly.

"You don't have to pretend. If you didn't know, that would be strange. Ever since we were kids, everyone admired you. To be honest, I was even jealous of you sometimes. There are a lot of things I regret."

"You don't have to feel bad. I was the weird one. I struggled with socializing. It was a confusing time for me."

Ever since he encountered magic at the age of twelve, he had been caught in endless contemplation.

Altour seemed to understand and nodded knowingly.

Watching Shirone wield magic made him realize something—the boy he thought was naive had actually been fiercely battling his own struggles all along.

"I'm sorry, Shirone."

"It's really okay."

"No, I mean back at the drinking party. I kept asking what you would do if you failed, telling you to think about your family. You must have already thought through everything. I was being presumptuous."

Shirone shook his head.

"I actually hadn't thought that deeply about it. About what would happen if I failed, or how incredibly lucky I've been."

"You weren't just lucky. You worked hard, and that's why the nobles support you."

"But I was also selfish. I still don't have a final answer. I think I'll have to keep struggling with this for the rest of my life."

Altour smiled bitterly.

He didn't know what meaning there was in being so harsh on oneself, but it was just like Shirone.

"Mages are something else, huh?"

Both of them looked down at the village below.

Even though their perspectives on life differed, the warmth in their eyes was the same.

The next morning.

The adults had already started their day at dawn, leaving only the children in the village.

After having breakfast at Lumina's house, Shirone headed toward the mountain's entrance with the children.

Even as they saw him off, they carried tools for dismantling the Urk.

Altour reached out his hand.

"Take care, Shirone. Become a great mage."

"Yeah. You take care too."

As he bid farewell to all his friends, only Lumina remained silent.

Seeing her dark expression, Shirone felt a pang of sadness.

But what could he do? Matters of the heart couldn't be resolved with logic alone.

"Lumina."

He approached her with a smile.

"Thank you for all the delicious food. It was so much better than what I eat at school. You'll cook for me again next time, right?"

Lumina smiled wryly.

Her heart ached, but she wasn't foolish enough to hold him back.

"Of course! So come visit often. If you start acting like a stranger just because you're a mage, I'll beat you up."

"Haha, alright. I'll definitely come back."

After giving Lumina a hug, Shirone slung his modest luggage over his shoulder and headed down the mountain path.

Before disappearing completely, he turned back and shouted to the children who were still watching.

"Stay well, everyone! Stay healthy!"

As Shirone finally vanished from sight, Lumina lowered her head.

What hurt more than Shirone leaving was the realization that she could no longer allow herself to like him.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Altour felt frustrated watching her struggle to hold back tears.

He had suspected her feelings for Shirone, but he hadn't realized how deep they ran.

"Ugh! If you were that sad, you should've just told him! I could've beaten him up and dragged him back here if you wanted."

"No, it's okay. It's not like he's left us forever."

Wiping her tears away, she lifted her head with a bright smile.

"He's just chasing his dream."

May Shirone's path be bathed in warm light.