Nozomanu Fushi no Boukensha (LN) - Volume 6 - Chapter SS2

Leisurely Fishing 

I left my village at the age of fifteen, when I was allowed to register as an adventurer. This story takes place a few months before that. 

I and a childhood friend I grew up with were crafting one of our village’s specialty products, wooden handicrafts, in the main square. My friend’s name was Doras. I was three years older than him, so he was like a little brother to me. His father was one of the village artisans, and Doras seemed to take after him by being more inclined to silently focus on his work than to talk on the job. But that day he said he had a question for me. Surprised, I asked him what it was. 

“Well, you swing that sword around a lot, but between all the different jobs you do, I was wondering if that gets exhausting,” he said. 

I thought it was a strange thing to wonder about, but it was easy enough to answer him. “Sure, it can be exhausting. The work tires me out and all, and then I have to practice with my sword.” 

“You could just stop.” 

“No way. You know what I’m doing in three months?” 

“Leaving the village, right?” 

“Right, to become an adventurer. And to be an adventurer, I’ll need some degree of combat skill. If I can’t at least train myself, then I’m hopeless. It’s not like I can just quit.” 

Yes, I couldn’t stop now. Not when I wanted to become a Mithril-class adventurer. I didn’t know how much time it would take, but I would get there one day. And to make that happen, I had to practice no matter how tired I got. 

“That’s what I wanted to talk about, Rentt,” Doras said timidly. 

“What?” 

“Nothing’s going to stop you from leaving the village, is it?” 

I shook my head. I had already decided to leave. I could understand why they’d want to stop me, though. One wrong step as an adventurer could spell death for me. Doras thought it would be better to avoid danger and enjoy life in the village, as so many others had told me before. But it was too late to change my mind. I was resolute in my decisions, and the whole village knew it, including Doras. 

“Why ask me this now?” I asked. “Just a little while ago, you were encouraging me. You even said you looked forward to souvenirs when I came back to visit.” 

Doras had actually approved of my idea to leave the village. He sometimes longed for the big city and hoped to go there himself someday, so he asked me to tell him all about it when I came back to visit home. 

“Of course I’m looking forward to souvenirs, and I also want to live in the city myself.” 

“Then why ask me to reconsider?” 

“I think Riri will be lonely, so I wanted to see if there’s anything I could do.” 

I wasn’t expecting to hear that name, but now I understood. Riri was another of my childhood friends. She and Fahri, also one of my childhood friends, always hung out with me. They were both seven years younger than me, so they were just eight years old at the time. Doras was twelve, so there was a four year difference between him and them. 

I got why he was worried about Riri. I was positive that he liked her, in fact. Riri and Fahri were both adorable girls, and they would likely grow up to be beautiful. They also had cheerful personalities, and they were popular both with their own age group and with older boys like Doras. But Riri seemed to like me a fair bit, and Doras knew that. She seemed a little depressed as of late because I was planning to leave the village. If that was what this was about, though, then there was something I had to say to Doras. 

“Doras, do you like Riri?” I asked. 

“Uh, n-no, I wouldn’t say that,” he responded, obviously flustered. But there was no use questioning him further, so I just moved on. 

“If you do like Riri, then you’d be wrong to stop me.” 

“Why?” 

“Think about it. Riri, well, she seems to kind of like me.” 

“Yeah,” Doras said with a sigh. 

“But that’s just because I’ve looked after her since she was little. You must’ve had a similar relationship with an older girl, right? In this village, kids look after the younger kids, whether they’re related or not.” 

“Sure, you’ve got a point there.” 

“But those feelings don’t last forever, you know. Riri’s not going to feel that way about me for long.” 

Now it seemed like Doras got the point. He was only twelve, but he was good at using his head. After thinking for a bit, he said, “And if you leave the village, she’ll forget about you sooner?” 

“Right. And rather than yearn for a guy who’s away for years, she’ll be more interested in someone close by. So, Doras, you should be happy to see me leave. Am I right?” 

“Rentt, I get what you’re saying. Forget that I told you to stay. But I’ll be lonelier without you too, to tell you the truth. And so will Riri. Come back as often as possible.” 

“You’re too nice. Riri’s never going to fall for you if you act like that.” 

“Look, I’m not trying to?Oh, nevermind, no use trying to hide it. But it’ll happen if it happens. Seems like you’re only interested in being an adventurer, so I’ll take my time here.” 

“Good luck to you. Well, I’ll come back once in a while, then. Look forward to whatever stories I have to tell or souvenirs I have to give. I’ll even pick out some good gifts for you to give to Riri.” 

“That’d be nice. I’ll keep practicing till I can make something that’ll be useful to you out in the city.” 

Three months after that conversation, I departed from the village as planned. I made Maalt my home, and just as I told Doras, I returned to the village as often as possible. But those instances were more spread out than anticipated, so I only came back once every two or three years. No matter how much time passed, Riri and Doras’s relationship never seemed to blossom into love. Even then, he took his time and waited. Riri was certainly still popular, but maybe it’d be a man like Doras who hooked her in the end.