09: the real dogeza

The lucky boy doesn't have any external wound

He will be healthy again if his exhaustion is treated

After returning to the hermitage and put him on a bed....

『<Mehora>-tanu』

『Tanu-sage』 chanted a recovery spell, then the kid immediately jumped up vigorously

As expected of a fantasy world, so convenient

「T, t, this place is...!?」

「Don't suddenly move. Recovery magic doesn't recover the health from your heart」

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The boy who just jumped out of the bed is forced to lie down on the bed again

「I will make wheat porridge. Sleep after your belly is full, your stamina will recover that way 」

「Ano...,this, this place is the sage's hermitage, right!?」

The boy who has just regained consciousness spoke with a firm tone which is surprising considering his age

Saying that, but I'm the same though....

「That's right」

「Then, you are the sage, right!?」

「Eh?」

Look like this child misunderstood.

Well, if he knows about the sage's hermitage, and meet a person (me) there after arriving, mistaking me for a sage is natural

「That's wrong」

「Eh!?」

It's better to resolve the misunderstanding as soon as possible

「I'm the apprentice of the sage. I received teachings from the sage who lives here」

「Then, the sage!? Where is the the sage himself!?」

「Even if you ask me...!?」

He is here since the beginning though

The sage with the form of a tanuki was sitting elegantly on the bed with the boy

「Where is he!? Where is the sage!? Or is he absent!?」

『Fufufufufu. I'm here-tanu』

Oi, be moderate when playing with such a pure child, will you?

「Look like you have some business with 『Tanu-sage』. What is it? Well, don't worry, after it's done I will bring you back to your parents」

As I said so, the boy's expression became cloudy as he looked downward

As if he's trying to endure something intolerable

「...My home, is gone now」

「What?」

「Father and mother, also the village I lived in are all gone now. They were destroyed by the empire!!」

Empire

The only place that is called so in this world is the place I was born in, Behemoth Empire

「The empire's soldiers came, and suddenly burned the village...! Father fought against them but couldn't protect it...! I was caught by the soldiers...! But mother protected me ...!」

Then, he escaped the raid alone

「At the end, Mother told me. There is a sage living deep inside the mountain far north of the village. She told me to ask for that person's help! Therefore I came to this place...!」

『Umm, you are...!』

『Tanu-sage』 turned around and look straight at the boy

「Hiii!? The Tanuki talked!?」

Don't worry about that

This should be a really serious scene, right?

『Raiga and Kuzuha's child, right-tanu? I can see the resemblance-tanu』

「The Tanuki talked!?」

As I said

Because it's troublesome, I will omit the process until the boy acknowledged the existence of 『Tanu-sage』

More importantly, it's about the boy himself

I acted dumb, feigning ignorance, but this development is just as I thought

Suddenly, a child lost his way and arrived at the sage's hermitage

He can only be 『Beast Fantasy 4』's Protagonist, Sero

The hero of wisdom who will eventually defeat Behemoth Empire

However, his life is full of sufferings

At age 10, suddenly his hometown was destroyed by the attacking empire soldiers

He miraculously escaped by himself. Having lost his parents and friends, he wanders alone without a place to return

The last place he can rely on

From the last words entrusted to him by his dead mother

『Please ask for the help of the sage living deep in the mountain』

Relying on just that, this small child forced his way through the mountain...!?

◆

『Those two are gone, huh-tanu...that is too quick-tanu』

Hearing the obituary from Sero, 『Tanu-sage』's tone become unusually calm

He's in low spirit

Sero, who is grieving more directly, asks as if clinging to the 『Taku-sage』

「Ano..., sage-sama, your relationship with my father and mother...?」

『We are sworn friends-tanu. Those two have overcome many hardships, even accomplished things that were through to be impossible.  To think they met their end like this...』 (1)

「Then, please!!」

Sero already accepted that 『Tanu-sage』 is a tanuki

Right now, he is stimulated by  his fury

「Please defeat father and mother's enemy somehow! Sage-sama should have that much power, right!? That's why you are a sage!」

He's clinging on 『Tanu-sage』

「We didn't do anything bad! Even if the village is poor, father, mother, and everyone in the village always did their best. And we were destroyed without any reason...! The empire is evil! Those bad guys! I will never forgive them!」

This tragedy has carved the deep, inerasable hatred to Behemoth Empire into the Protagonist Sero's heart.

Then, until the game reaches the ending, it becomes the driving force that push the protagonist Sero to defeat the empire

I know the game's development, so it's a given that I know the reason the empire attacked such a rural village

It's because of a prophecy

Beast god Beast, who had a contract with the empire, had taken a first move and predicted the appearance of the hero of wisdom, an obstacle which would eventually stand on his way

――『He who causes the calamity of the empire will appear』.

That prophecy was given to the emperor – the other contract's partner

From those exchanges, the protagonist Sero is also called 『The child of prophecy』 in the game

The emperor, afraid of the one who would threaten his position, sent the soldier to the place he was told by god

They destroyed a small village there

The result is this child, whose mind and body are shredded into pieces right now

The emperor sent the soldier to get rid of the enemy which would threaten him, but the act itself has caused an inerasable hatred, which will become the mark of the empire's destruction. Such irony

This child is frantically asking 『Tanu-sage』 to avenge, but....

『...No good-tanu』

The answer of the beast sage is heartless

『I serve the wisdom god Sophia-tanu. I cannot selfishly affect this world-tanu』

It's normal in the  『Beast Fantasy』 series that 『Tanu-sage』 would never get involved in the main story

This guy, despite having the appearance of a mascot, is the agent of wisdom god Sophia, so he has transcendental power

He is said to be a candidate for the strongest character in the series

According to the setup, the 『Tanu-sage』's valuation is equal to the last boss of 『Beast Fantasy 3』 -『Hakugyoku Tenko』, who is even stronger than beast god Beast

If that 『Tanu-sage』 comes out, the empire will be annihilated instantly

Game balance, also the story will be ruined

Even if he has power, he must not come out because his power is too much. That is where 『Tanu-sage』 is

Speaking of what he can do to the world, he can only teach disciples at most

That is what he's going to do to the heart-broken child

According to the story of 『Beast Fantasy 4』

「No way...!　No way...!!」

『It's sad, but such is fate-tanu』

The boy is crushed by despair

However, after this he will be given power to fight against fate

From the beast in front of him

Then I thought

――『Why didn't I do anything!?』.

Because of the memories from the previous life, I know what will happen in this world, according to the game

Of course, I knew the thing happened to this child beforehand

Because I knew it, I could do something, and yet!

Right now, the child before me had his hometown stolen, lost his family and is crushed by despair

I didn't do anything, despite knowing this would happen beforehand

Perhaps, I lost the sense of reality because I thought "this is just a game after all"?

For example, Selen and my parents are the family I have spent years living together with. To me they are undoubtedly human, with blood flowing in the bodies

However, about Sero who I just met today, he was just a character in game

He was just data

Therefore even if I knew what would happen at the start of the game, I decided 『It's just a game』

But that's wrong

Here, what happened in the game will surely be real

I realized that after seeing a despaired child whose hometown, family, everything were stolen

「......!?　...!」

The more I think, the more I realize how deep my sin is

I cannot stand still anymore

「Sorry!」

I grovel on the ground, putting my forehead on the floor, exactly like a dogeza

「Sorry! I'm really sorry! I'm sorry!!」

「Eh! Eh!? Why!?」

Suddenly being apologized to, the boy can only be astonished

Maybe he even thinks I'm weird

「I! I am really! Really sorry! Sorry...!」

「No, wait a sec!? Why are you suddenly...!」

『My apprentice became strange-tanu』

Even if this causes confusion, I must not explain

I can only hit my head on the ground and grief

After all, I was naive

I must not make light of the memories brought from my previous life

TN note

The lines in the bracket 『』 and end with -tanu are the tanuki's lines