SSS: Chapter 2

"—-I want to slash the stars."

When I said this, everyone was shocked.

They all laughed at me. Their arguments were based on the same idea – "That being a villager, rather than aiming for the highly unrealistic goal of "slashing the stars", I should aim to be a swordsman first "

In other words, "Know your station and keep your ambitions grounded."

I believed that it was okay to dream, but my parents were scared to do even that. No one, in the entire village supported my goal.

"Star, Slash…"

Bum, bum. (E/N: whooshing sound)

With a whooshing sound, the tip of the hoe broke, and only the handle remained, yet I kept swinging it while someone was watching me with her eyes narrowed.

Her name is — Sophia.

She is one of my childhood friends and also one of the very few who marveled at my "Star Slashing" dream.

Four years have already passed since I had that illuminating dream, and now I am 12 years old.

The villagers didn't think that the passion I felt from my "Star Slashing" dream would last, and so initially they paid attention to me whenever I went to swing my hoe with curiosity and schadenfreude, no doubt. Yet as I continued to do so inexorably more and more, day after day, they stopped of their own accord, perhaps out of boredom or maybe because I did not let their comments bother me

Now, it is only Sophia who continues to pay attention to me, though she often complains that what I'm doing does not seem to be like something a villager should be doing.

"I have no idea of what you're thinking, ​​Julius." Saying so, she exhaled a deep sigh.

"That dream was so amazing that I started admiring that swordsman. I wanted to become like him too, so I decided to follow his way of doing things."

That was the starting point for my attempt at "Star Slashing".

I longed for a life similar to that swordsman who dreamed of "slashing the stars", and because I had the same passion, I imitated him like this.

For four years, I kept on swinging the stick until I couldn't even feel my arms, just to get closer to achieving my dream of 'slashing the stars'.

However, in response to this she sighed like she usually does. It seems that she really could not understand my dream.

I'm sure that I also wouldn't have understood it if I didn't have the same passion as him.

After all my dream wasn't reasonable at the first glance without the context that lay behind it, it would make no sense to anybody.

"Julius, do you want to be an adventurer?"

"...Hmm?"

My arms which were swinging at regular intervals, slightly slowed down. It is a question that had been asked of me so many times that I would get rather irritated on hearing it again. It was a common question that everyone asked me when I said that I was trying to be a swordsman.

"I…I just want to slash the stars. If it can help me to slash the stars, I will do anything."

Having said that, I denied Sophia's hypothesis.

Adventurer is a common name for those who make a living by hunting demons. They could be a swordsman or a wizard.

There are many people in world who wish to be adventurers.

So it's not as if they were in wrong in assuming that I wished to be one.

Even so, why did you ask me this so suddenly? So I asked her.

"After all, I don't understand how Julius thinks." Was her response.

I see.

Sophia wouldn't have needed to ask if my pursuit was something tangible, yet my motive was to Slash the Stars which couldn't been more unrealistic.

Then again, I want to live a "bright" life like that swordsman who had dreamed to 'slash stars'. I who had the same passion as him thought differently than others. Thus, to Sophia who was shaped by the opinions of the villagers my thoughts were indeed not understandable.

I see.

From the very beginning my purpose is not to seek understanding.

A sword is a deadly weapon that can kill people.

The reason I aimed to be a swordsman and took it for granted was "because I longed" for my goal, no matter what it takes.

I will get there.

Perhaps no one else will understand it, expect for those who have that same fervor.

Still.

There was one thing I wished to tell Sophia who was the only one who paid attention to me, someone who has been relentlessly dreaming of slashing the stars even after 4 years have passed.

"…But"

"…?"

"Even if it's a dream that no one understands, it's still an enjoyment, because unlike before when the world was gray now the world seems to shine. "

"It's more meaningful to have such a goal however unrealistic it maybe, rather than to simply live on."

Was it surprising that I made such remarks while swinging leftovers of the hoe?

Sophia glanced at me for a while before her face broke into a smile.

"Somehow, Julius has changed."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. You used to have the demeanor of a dead fish, but now you resemble a normal human being."

"...…"

Unexpectedly, the arms that were swinging the wreckage of the hoe stopped.

But that pause was fleeting.

I picked it up and started to swing it again.

"R…Really"?"

"Ever since that day four years ago, when you had that dream. I don't know whether you were having fun, but watching you from the side, it seemed to me that you were."

"Ever since that day, you have changed Julius. It is as if some part of you abruptly came to life. I don't understand what exactly it is, but to me it seemed that you were enjoying yourself at last."

That day, four years ago.

Since the day I saw the memory of the swordsman who dreamed of "Slashing the Stars", I started to perform my own version of Star Slash with the sticks that were once the part of the hoes, and from morning till evening I would practice.

Although I had other stuff to do as well, most of the time from that day onwards I was just swinging my makeshift sword.

It was from that day that everyone in the village started to view me in a strange way. Surely, that must be what Sophia was referring to.

"That's why. I recently thought of trying something new like Julius!"

"New?"

"Yes. Something new! I actually have a talent for healing magic, so I'm being recruited by the priest who came to the village earlier. I wish to be a healer."

"Hee…"

I let out a voice of appreciation.

The reason being that Healers are held in high regard.

It is not a profession that is for just anyone.

To be a healer one must be good at healing magic, affinity for which was rarely found.

I was quite surprised that Sophia had such a rare talent, I decided to give her a little push so that she feels motivated to develop it further.

"I think that's great."

I said this, while continuing my swinging, Bum, Bum.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Sophia has a healer's talent, right? I think it would be nice to put it to use. It would be bad to let it go to waste here."

Later when the Village Head heard that I was motivating Sophia to leave the village he struck my head with his fist, because he feared that the number of able bodied youths would decrease in the village.

However I don't feel guilty for doing so.

Everyone has the obligation to nurture one's given talent, unless one wishes to lead a life of regret.

"Yeah. I think I'll be a healer thanks to the Venerable Priest's (T/N : shimpu sama) recommendation!"

After a few moments, Sophia made this proclamation to me in a loud voice while clenching her fist.

"But if that happens, I'll be alone in the royal capital…"

Sophia, deliberately stole glances at me and said with narrowed eyes, "I'm too naïve to survive there on my own".

"That's right. Julius. Would you like to go to the royal capital together with me?"

"Why me?"

"Because in our village there is no one else who is of the same age and trying to leave the village except for you. And Julius is the one who convinced me to take this decision after all."

Certainly, in our closed village, no one else of my age, wants to go outside, like me and Sophia do.

All of them are people who live and die in a mediocre way.

I think that's part of the reason for her invitation.

My anomalous nature, and my continuous proclamation of wanting to slash the stars has probably got her worried.

"If you go to the royal capital, you will have access to a dungeon there. Julius wants to be strong, right? So I think it's more convenient going there than continuing to swing your stick here in village."

"Hmm"

*groans*

The dungeon is a common name for the demons' nest where the so-called adventurers make money by exterminating its denizens.

It is good to keep acting as I have so far, but it might be more convenient to make money and exercise myself by fighting against the monsters in the dungeon.

Sophia's argument is reasonable, and a part of me wishes to nod in acquiescence.

But I finally shake my head instead.

"I think Sophia is right, but I can't."

"...why?"

Grumpy, she frowns.

That's right. I'm shaking my head, while saying that I agree with her. I'm acting contradictory now, no?

"I want to swing this stick for a few more years. I still don't think I have trained enough to go out of the village."

Physical strength and skill.

I don't have enough of either.

It's a dangerous world out there after all.

Better to be assured.

So just a little more.

"In the royal capital, couldn't somebody teach you the sword skills?"

"Maybe, but I would still not go there."

I already have a master in the ways of the sword.

It's not a person, it's just a memory, but even so it's more than enough for me.

It is precisely the starting point that I longed for.

I was quick to answer her because I didn't doubt myself even for a moment.

"Moh!"

Sophia stared at me, who was being inflexible, while puffing her cheeks.

However, I carry on swinging regardless.

"…I don't care! I don't care! I won't care about Julius now that he has rejected me!"

Sophia turns her back on me and stomps her foot while leaving with ruffled shoulders, but I am sure that she would stop.

Perhaps she wanted me to stop her?

The reason why I think so is because unlike her apparent anger her strides are small paced and seem to be rather … hesitant.

"Alright, I'll head off alone to the royal capital with those adventurers tomorrow! "

She said so crossly.

Perhaps she didn't like my attitude which showed no sign of trying to hold her back.

Looking back at me again she ran away after wrinkling her nose up in the air.

"…Adventurer?"

I whisper in a voice audible only to myself as her silhouette recedes into the distance.

It seems that one of the villagers had seen a monster called a goblin outside the village, and the Village Head had in the last month requested the adventurer guild in the royal capital to subdue it.

Apparently, there were a series of disturbances in the vicinity as well which has prompted a B rank party of adventurers to be sent down from the capital. The Village Head who felt that the arrival of the party had emphasized his importance had been strutting it ever since then.

The said party had arrived yesterday.

Adventurers are divided into ranks with the A rank reserved for the strongest and the F rank reserved for the initiates and the weakest.

Normally, for the subjugation of Goblins recognized as the weakest of the demon kind a D rank party would be dispatched at most, but this time due to the disturbances a B rank party had been sent instead. The self-important village head had been bursting with pride thanks to the 'attention' granted to his request by the guild.

However, I was interested in the arrival of the adventurers for a different reason.

To be certified as a B rank, what level of skill was required?

Being a blank piece of paper, I was itching to widen my horizons, the only standard of skill I had seen so far was the swordsman from my dreams. Did these people possess a comparable amount of skill?

Thus, even though I had refused Sophia's offer I was still intrigued by the adventurers.

Sophia it seems had gone outside the village again. She would often walk along a path that led to the banks of the river and stay outside for a while.

She preferred staying out to cool her head rather than getting flustered by being cooped up inside the village, at least that's what she used to say.

Although due to the menace of the goblins the Village Head had issued a warning to the residents to stay inside the village at all times for over a month now, Sophia wasn't exactly a model student and would violate the curfew quite often.

Still I wasn't too worried since being her childhood friend I was well aware of her resourcefulness.

Thus without much concern, I started to swing my stick again.

I didn't know at that time.

That this moment would be a turning point in my life as momentous as that dream four years ago.