Piece 7 (part 1)

The world felt dark. The rain was pouring upon me heavily, and I stood all by myself.

I was only a child. I was young, unable to comprehend the situation that is in front of me.

A fresh bruise was found on my forehead, stinging like crazy. However, that emotion was nothing compared to the burning feeling that I have inside me.

It truly feel… like I wanted to kill someone.

Next to my feet, a chubby boy is lying down on the wet floor, unconscious. His body was filled with even more bruises than me, and his school uniform was also torn apart rather badly.

My cold blue eyes were kept forward, specifically towards the four guys who are each holding a broom stick that has been snapped into a certain length. The four looked battered, and they certainly wanted more. Their hands gripped the batons tighter as they formed their resolve to fight.

However, my gaze was not locked to them. Instead, I had my eyes straight to the fourth boy at the very back of the pack.

He is tall, thin, but he is also very handsome. To others, he might be a model student of the second year class. However, in my eyes, he is nothing but a wolf in sheep's clothing.

He is the only one who isn't harmed. The three boys in front of him have defended him well, not letting any harm come his way.

However, all of that can change very easily. If I just take out my knife from my magical storage ring… All of this could've been solved.

The rain is pouring down mercilessly. The cold wind brushed away all peace that has existed in the world, and I cannot fathom what could come out of all this if the situation were different.

"Oi… Dickhead." My controlled and harsh voice came out of my throat, startling the four guys in front of me. The four prepared their weapons as if another wave of attack was going to come, but I only smiled widely at them.

"Try insulting my parents again. Go on. I dare you."

My cold prideful words were announced to the four, but no reply was returned. All their faces showed that they have never once experienced a situation like this, where they had the upper hand and still existed in fear. There's four of them, and they all had weapons. Even then, they still couldn't fight back.

This one sided battle, it can only ever go so one sided. However, it was also the end.

"What are you kids doing!?!" From the side, a shout was heard, and a teacher arrived at the front yard of the school.

He quickly ran through the rain and hurriedly approached the boy that was laid down on the floor unconscious. He quickly started studying exactly what happened to the child behind me, and I decided to use this chance.

FWOOSSSHHH!!!!!!

My feet were lifted from the wet soil, rushing straight towards my enemies. The four boys who were turning calm because the teacher appeared did not expect me to make a move. However, my hands are already forming a fist, and one powerful blow is already well on its way.

.

.

.

When I opened my eyes, I realized I was in a dark bedroom where the lights had been turned off.

I lifted my head to look where I am currently at, and I noticed the two adults who are so deep in their sleep right next to me. I noticed the long red hair and the short white hair, and I was brought back to reality.

That dream again… huh? I wonder why that memory stuck to me so freshly.

Two hours after I woke up, I got up from bed and started getting ready for school. Today is the last day of the weekday, meaning tomorrow is going to be the weekend, and I will be able to spend as much time as possible with my parents.

"Eh? Dad isn't going to go out tomorrow?" I asked after hearing what my parents had planned for tomorrow, and the two of them nodded while eating their breakfast.

"Your dad is going to be helping Grandma at the diner. So, it's just going to be you and me for the entire day!" Mom said rather excitedly, and I only turned my confused gaze to Dad.

Certainly, this isn't something Dad agreed on. The two would always bicker about the time that they're going to spend with me. It's a little like a competition to them, and I'm guessing this one is a competition as well.

"I lost the rock paper scissors to settle it…" Dad told me the truth, and Mom lifted her two fingers up that can both mean 'Victory' or 'Scissors'.

Aha… it was a competition, after all.

"It's also for the best. Your granny will need my help considering the weekend is going to be really crowded. Can you imagine if your mom was the one helping?" Dad pointed out jokingly, and Mom turned her annoyed stare at him.

"Can you not be a sore loser after losing?"

"Of course I can. You have a pair of eyes that can see the future. It's not even fair play."

"I didn't use my eyes."

"Oh~, and how can you prove it?"

These two… they are so much like oil and water. How the heck did they get married??

"So, who's walking me to school today?" I asked to try and change the topic, and Dad lifted his hand.

"That will be me. Since your mom has become grandma's assistant, she won't be able to walk you to school anymore. On the other hand, my construction work starts hours after." Dad explained the situation now, and I understood. I turned to Mom who seemed rather saddened about something.

"Are you missing the sandwiches?" I asked to try and guess what's on her mind, and Mom turned her surprised look at me. She then nodded firmly many times, and Dad snorted.

"You're more concerned about not getting sandwiches instead of walking your daughter to school?"

"Can you not twist things around? Stop making me look like a horrible person."

"If you say so~."

After eating breakfast, Mom went out with Grandma to buy some fresh ingredients from the market. I went to have a shower before going to school, and Dad is doing a slight preparation himself.

Not long after, we're well on our way to school. During the walk, Dad told me about his plans on reviving Veldonia. It was something that he and Uncle Althorn talked about last night, and the two spent until midnight just planning around. I was in bed alone with Mom when I fell asleep, and Dad joined somewhere around midnight.

"It's tough. It's a fallen empire, right? Naturally, a lot of parties are going to be against it. And since a lot of people are going to leave their countries to become citizens of the newly reborn empire, the home country where they previously lived is not going to be happy."

Dad's explanation does paint the big picture quite well. Reviving a fallen empire, especially the size of Veldonia, will be tough due to the response coming from other countries. And considering their history, it's certainly a known fact that none of those countries will ever accept Veldonia's return.

Currently, there are four large kingdoms and empires that exist in the continent. Previously, there were six, with one of the missing two being Veldonia.

And Veldonia, as the largest of them all, was once an enemy out of all those kingdoms and empires. Two wars were waged many years ago at the start of the Empress's ruling, and it was between all five kingdoms and empires against one singular Veldonia.

The result of that war was Veldonia's victory. They punched back all five kingdoms and empires that tried attacking them for an entire year. However, another war occurred only a year after that.

An incident caused the Empress of Veldonia to disappear. It wasn't exactly mentioned in the history books as to why Mom disappeared, but her disappearance was thrilling news to the five kingdoms and empires.

Another invasion was held by the five kingdoms and empires against Veldonia. They sent even more soldiers and knights to genuinely take down the singular empire. Unfortunately for them, Veldonia still had one more demon amongst them.

That is… this guy. The man I am holding hands with.

This same guy who is currently walking me to school is known to be the death god's descendant. During the civil war of Veldonia, he took down the entirety of the western part of the empire by himself, slaughtering over ten thousand men. And during the first war against the five nations, he didn't really do much considering Mom's strategies was the reason why they won that war.

But, during the second war, he stabbed his name onto the soil of the continent as well as the history books. Because of Mom's absence, the five countries launched an even stronger assault than the previous war, but this only led to an even worse result.

The second war lasted only two days.

Over one million people died to a single individual.

"Hey, Dad." I suddenly called him during our walk, and Dad turned his curious gaze at me.

My eyes were locked onto his calm blue eyes that showed no signs of enmity or cruelty, and I simply can't believe that such an innocent young adult like him could ever do such a horrifying act.

One million people? Yeah, right. I'd be surprised if Dad can actually get angry like Mom.

"It's nothing~."

Yeah… that's what I thought. He is such an innocent daddy. There's no way he can have such a dark side to him. If anything, Mom has to be the one to have such an evil inner self.

"Good morning, Milly! Good morning to you too, Milly's dad!" Uncle Blank the sandwich seller greeted us, and he seemed to be having customers beside us.

"Should we buy some for Mom as well?" I asked Dad, and he just shook his shoulder.

"She might get fatter…"

"R-Really?"

"I'm just kidding. It's impossible for her to be fat if she keeps working with your granny." Dad jokes so cheerfully, and I can only imagine how much stress Mom is enduring every single day by working with Grandma.