The blue sky soars like a living creature in the vastness of space.

Pelican birds flutter under the calm blue ocean with its beautiful reflections of light.

A cool breeze blows around in harmony with the calm surface of the ocean.

Here I am, standing still on the calm waves as I looked up at the strange reflection of light on the other side.

The light rose from below redeeming the atmosphere like a beam of light.

I squinted my eyes to see what was at the end of the light, but because it was so far away and dazzling, it was difficult for me to see what was behind it.

Then not long after, I heard the sound of prayer from a girl with long black and white hair posing like a nun who was facing the direction of the strange light.

"The last pillar must be upheld..."

The nun girl said.

I didn't realize her existence before because I was too focused on the light, but now the focus of my eyes was now on the girl beside me. And it seemed like she was also aware of my existence. And now... The atmosphere was a bit awkward.

We're both silent and speechless.

Just looking at each other's faces.

Not a word came to our minds.

Only the wind and the sound of the waves made a sound.

In that awkward situation, I decided to take the first one to ask.

"Who are you?" I asked the beautiful woman in the black dress who was silent not far in front of me.

While looking at me gracefully, she was silent...

And occasionally her sweet lips smiled at me while tilting her head slightly.

At that moment I didn't understand what she was doing, was it an answer that could only be understood by the women?, or a sign language that I couldn't understand?

As if she understanding my ignorance of it, her sweet lips said to me to just subside my curiosity a little earlier.

"You're not ready yet... but in the near future, we will definitely meet again... When that time comes I will introduce myself. Mr. Hero."

I woke up with a panicked look on my face in an old room with wooden decorations on every side.

I adjusted my panting breath to calm down as before.

"was it all a dream?"

*Brak!

The sound of a foot slamming around my nose.

The foot came from a girl who was sleeping in the bed with me.

Viel was her name. However, I often call her V to make it easy to say and remember.

"Uuurgh! SHUT UP!"

I pushed V's body so that she fell off the bed.

"Ouch!"

V was on her back while stroking her sore butt.

"You're really so mean to a girl, that's why you're still single until now."

It's not my intention to be mean to a woman, it's just that V is famous for her sleeping style that often changes like clockwork that is constantly spinning around, or more specifically she is often delirious when sleeping.

Especially since this bed is only meant for one person, I have a strong reason to tell her to leave, even though I have to use a little force.

*Drak!

The sound of the door being opened by a bearded man named Barnie.

"What was that noise?"

Barnie asked because he heard the noise in my room.

As if to drive a wedge between me and Barnie, V then tried to hug me tightly as if I had done something indecent to her.

"Old man, look at Kiel's behavior... He tried to defile me the same way you defiled your pillow last night."

V said while hugging me tightly who was caught off guard from trying to digest his words just now.

I took advantage of that moment to exploit physical violence a little, by swatting away all the hands that were about to hug me while occasionally holding his stomach with my right leg to get her to move away.

"Can you...get away from me?!"

As if not to be outdone, V still tried her best to stick her whole body to me.

"No way... I won't get out... Until you tell me the truth... That there is something special between the two of us."

"Don't (f*ck) joke with me, I said stay away!"

"No way!...uuuu!"

Barnie, who was already familiar with my behavior, let out a long sigh, while occasionally shaking his head as he was about to turn around to leave.

"Young people, you guys are all the same, hurry up and get dressed, I need you to buy ingredients for me this morning."

Barnie said, closing my bedroom door and going downstairs.

V and I were silent for a moment as we looked at the door. Then, for no apparent reason, V was immediately excited.

"Wow, he just said 'You guys', what does that mean?!!!..."

I, who already knew what V meant, got up from the bed and headed straight for the hangers.

"Whatever it is I'm sure that's not what it means..."

I said while putting on the robe that I usually use to go outside.

I then headed towards the door that Barnie had closed.

"Where are you going Kiel?"

Asked V who was still on the bed.

"Going as far away from you as possible."

*Brak!

The sound of the room door that I closed.

"Fufufu, he is indeed an interesting guy."

At the bar where I worked and where I lived, Barnie handed me a sheet of shopping notes that he had prepared earlier.

With some coins on the table, and also a sword for me to deliver to the blacksmith.

"I've written down the ingredients in the notebook, the rest... Use the remaining money to shop for the things you want."

"But, it's not payday..."

"Just accept it... I'm more willing to use my money for your play capital than to make you go crazy like Fiona."

I glanced at Fiona the servant girl who was muttering to herself at the corner of the pillar, with a piece of paper she was holding in both hands.

"She's talking to herself because she's practicing to improve her service communication with the bar's customers here. As for you, I guess you're practicing for your first night with your partner?"

"Please stop your jokes old man, then... I'll leave first."

"Come back before dark, ok...?"

"Got it, ready to go..."

I set off with the money and sword that Barnie had entrusted to me.

Barnie immediately sighed

"Young people these days fantasize too much."

On the streets of the city that was lush with preserved scenery, I walked amidst a crowd of people who were shopping at various stalls and shops that sold a wide variety of goods and food.

From clothes, accessories, various fried foods and breakfast menus, as well as some equipment for hunting animals.

"Wow on this sunny morning, everyone looks so happy, right?"

Said V, the annoying girl who kept following me wherever I went.

"Morning is the start of the day, it's only natural that it should start with a positive aura every morning, don't you think?"

I replied while focusing on looking through the list of groceries I had to buy.

"That's true, but I prefer people whose aura is not pleasing to the eye, like... that skinny guy over there!"

V pointed at the lethargic-looking bread vendor who was preparing his wares.

"Looking at his face and aura I can tell that he's in trouble..."

"Oh... Good... Great observation... Even I couldn't realize it myself."

"Your compliments are gladly accepted my dear Kiel..."

"Horrible..."

"Did you say something?"

"No... I was just busy looking at my shopping list today."

"Oh! Oh! Oh! Can you read it for me?"

"Sure, it says here that I should kick your ass as soon as possible. "

"Should I ask in another way?" V said while shaking the hem of the skirt she was wearing.

V tried to tease me in an indecent way again.

In order to change the subject, I gave in and complied with his first request.

"Alright here it says I have to buy:

- 8 bottles of cow's milk

- 2kg of fresh spinach

- A bag of potatoes

- 3kg of wheat

- 20 red apples

- A sack of turnips

And don't forget...

- A pack of cigarettes and coffee grounds to accompany the evening..."

"Another pack of cigarettes and coffee? Haeh~ that old man always does that every afternoon."

V grinned at the thought of Barnie sitting in a rocking chair smoking and drinking coffee.

"Yeah, right... That old man does that a lot..."

I smiled as I thought of the good memories of the past.

"Your habits have never changed since long ago, old man..."

"OK!..."

V cheered loudly as she smiled up at the bright morning sky.

"TIME TO HUNT!..."

"Hehe... It's shopping, you silly girl."

"Ahehehe....."

V returned my smile with a bit of her signature silly laughter.

We decided to wander around the various stalls and shops first before buying the items as directed by the shopping list.

Because there were some groceries that had to be bought at special places that the old man had become accustomed to, like the potato and wheat shops for example, which were quite far away from each other.

However, so be it...

After all, it had been a long time since V and I had gone out for a walk like this.

The closest thing on our shopping list was the subscription apple store over there.

"Here are the fresh apples that were just delivered here. However, the price has gone up due to some monsters that had appeared around the local orchards so please understand that the supplier has less stock than before."

Said the shopkeeper, giving his reasoning.

"Oh, I see... I guess, the old man won't mind if the price goes up a bit."

"Alright then, 14 pieces of bronze ducats."

The fruit shop owner replied.

We exchanged goods using a coin called Dukat.

Dukat itself is the name of the currency commonly used by several large kingdoms such as

Estalte, Eldea, Atelier, and Niora Kingdoms.

Legend has it that there are said to be 5 previous kingdoms that stood in a perfect circle in the past. However, the last kingdom disappeared somewhere and there is no telling what caused it.

The last kingdom stood in the middle of the border of the 4 kingdoms.

And over time people began to forget that there was a last kingdom that had stood before.

At least, that's what old man Barnie told me when I was a kid.

The area that I currently live in belongs to the Estalte Kingdom.

The village of Malheim, which is around the outskirts of the capital.

This village is famous for being the only village adjacent to the forest area.

Therefore, some shops would sometimes sell hunting tools at their additional outlets at relatively affordable prices.

After a long shopping trip, all that was left on the shopping list was cigarettes and coffee powder, and it happened to be in line with the blacksmith shop up ahead.

Barnie said that it was an old shop that had just opened today so there would probably be a special discount for the first day of opening.

Although it was just an assumption, the old man wouldn't turn down any possibility of discounts or freebies.

"Can I have one of those apples?" V asked while thrusting out his left hand.

"No, it's not mine so I can't give it to you."

I replied while turning my body as if trying to hide the bag of apples I was holding.

"What a cheapskate... Missing one let's just say it was stolen by someone, easy right?"

"Easy on the back of your neck."

When I reached the entrance of the blacksmith shop, I again counted the amount of money I had left, and when estimated with the total purchases, it was likely that the remaining pocket money I could use amounted to 8 pieces of bronze Dukat.

Of course, the girl beside me immediately turned her head towards the amount of money left in my hand, because she always asked questions and was curious about everything I did.

"Oh yeah, what do you want to use the rest of the money for?"

"Hmmm... Oh this, I actually thought of an idea..."

I replied looking at the bundle of money in my right hand.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! Let me guess..." V looked so enthusiastic.

"Are you sure you can guess what's in my head right now?"

"Of course I can, I've been with you for almost 10 years."

"Alright then... Go ahead and shoot."

"Hmmm must be used to buy me snacks?"

"No..."

"Buy me new clothes?"

"No..."

"Oh! Oh! Oh! Save up for our marriage capital?"

"No... Wait... What did you just say?!"

"Duh... Not really? This is weird... Usually my guesses are always right... Hmmm..."

"Oi, since when?!"

V started thinking hard and ended up scratching her hair.

"Aaaah!... I'll just give up, what will you do with the rest of the money?"

Inside the blacksmith shop whose decorations were used as a place to display goods.

I was amazed to see a long sword made of high-quality materials, the leather fibers that served as the sword's handle felt very comfortable for me to hold.

"A sword? You're spending money just to buy a sword?"

"I'd like to take a look at the antiques in this place, since this is the first time there is a blacksmith in this village, there might be something suitable for me to use."

"Kiel does not have plans to marry young like most young men today."

"And also.. I'm not going to talk to you so you'd better keep quiet then, got it?"

"You already single, and now you want to become evil? "

"Welcome..."

Said a person who was not expected to appear from the direction of the cashier's desk.

How could I not be mesmerized like this, because generally, the average blacksmith is an older adult man.

However, what I saw was a young girl with yellow-white skin and a long, flowing hairstyle.

Brown hair, round emerald green eyes, smiling kindly at me where I stood.

"Can I help you?"

I couldn't accept the fact that I was in the middle of this moment,

V tried to wake me up by shouting loudly right into my eardrums.

"KIEEEEEL!!!!..."

Instantly, my eardrums felt like they were going to burst to the point where I had to cover them with both hands.

The blacksmith girl looked at me with a look of astonishment on her face.

Because she felt odd about my behavior.

"Aaa... Are you alright... Sir?"

"Ah, yes... I'm fine. Please don't mind my actions earlier."

"Hoo... Well then, are you going to buy that sword I made?"

The blacksmith girl pointed at the sword I was holding.

Before answering yes, I first checked the amount displayed on a piece of paper on the wall next to the sword, and to my surprise, the price amounted to 12 gold ducats.

That's equivalent to 12,000 bronze ducats.

I gulped after learning that it was that expensive, before deciding to put the sword back where it came from.

"I guess... I just came here to look around."

Once I said that, the girl then showed a face that seemed a little disappointed.

"I mean... I came here to ask for a sword forging service, it's not as good as yours, miss, but I wonder if this old sword can still be repaired?"

I said putting the sword on my shoulder onto the counter.

The girl then picked up the sword, doing some small movements such as swings and slashes while looking at the small cracks on the metal surface.

"I think I can still repair it, but since it's copper metal which is an easily available material, it will take about 2 and a half days to complete."

"That long?!"

"Well, it depends, if you want it done tomorrow then there will be an extra charge for that."

I could feel the difference between paid and makeshift services.

However, since the amount of money was sufficient, I thought it would be fine to choose the extra charge for that time.

"Thank you very much."

The girl said when I gave her the extra money for the sword repair fee.

I excused myself afterward and left the girl there.

Without having the chance to get acquainted first.

After I left, she approached the sword I was holding while sniffing the handle I had touched.

"This scent... There's no mistaking it... After so much time apart yet I can still recognize it..."

With a small smile plastered on her face, She looked up at the direction I was left.

"Finally we meet again... Kiel...."

To be continued...