"Miss Shizune, may I check your wounds?"
The little girl named Shizune made a hesitant sound of approval as she watched in amazement as the boy, who looked to be about the same age as her, stood in front of her.
When Shizune first saw the person who came to her rescue, she thought he was a sword-wielding dwarf, but when the mask on his face was torn off with a knife during his battle with the leader of the bandits, she realized that her rescuer was a boy just like her.
----------
As I covered the wounds on the kneecap of the little girl Shizune, who seemed to be fighting a battle of many thoughts within herself, with the rag that had failed to hide my face, I asked myself a question. How serious am I about hiding my abilities?
Would I kill an innocent girl just to protect myself from the possibility that my abilities might be revealed and some people at the top of the hierarchy might come out and ruin my new life with my new family? Is that possibility really worth getting blood on my hands? Is it really so bad to follow the path of evil? Is there any room for my heart's needs on the path of evil?
Should I kill her...
-------
Shizune was worried for a brief moment that from her sitting position the boy in front of her would see her underwear, but when she saw Yuto's eyes focused graciously on his work as he wrapped her kneecap, Shizune forgot what she was worried about and began to watch the handsome face of the boy in front of her.
Shizune was seriously wrong about one thing. If she had been able to see deep into Yuto's eyes, she would have noticed how coldly colored the depths of his pupils were. But unfortunately, the girl Shizune's mind was on the warmth from the boy's hand as it briefly touched her bare skin while wrapping her in bandages.
It was Yuto's voice, finally able to make a decision, that woke the little girl from her increasingly distorted reverie.
"You know, I just rescued you from the bandits, and what I want in return is for you not to tell anyone about my abilities and power."
I hope this little girl doesn't make me regret my decision. I don't want to regret my decision, as the side quest's note says.
"I can promise you that, but on one condition?"
Suspicious...
"I'm listening."
"If you tell me your name, I won't tell anyone about you"
Why is she asking my name? Does she have some strange plans for me?
Calm down, Yuto! You're being too paranoid. She's probably even younger than me. Why would I be so suspicious about a girl so young?
But if I think logically, since she has already seen my face, there is no point in hiding my name anymore. After all, even a blind person living in this village will point to me when it comes to a boy with black hair, and even if I tell my name and he finds me, what's the most that can happen?
"*sigh*... Since you're so curious... My name is Yuto. Just a human."
Enough talk! I don't want to answer any more questions and I don't care who this little girl is. I'm going to go study this new thing I just acquired called holy magic.
-------
After Yuto winked coolly to stop the little girl from asking questions, he entered the storage space and made a cool teleportation-like exit in her eyes. It is not known why Yuto would show off to the little girl by doing such a thing when he was being so reasonable, but it was sure to cost him dearly.
The pink-haired little girl saw the boy in front of her suddenly disappear and, unable to hide her thoughts anymore, she filled her chest with air and silently shouted.
"I want this boy. Yes! I want! I want! I want! I want!"
As the little girl shouted, her eyes shone like stars in the darkness of the night.
This girl was old enough to be spoiled by being a little noble girl in the future, and many nights she lay awake in shame thinking that Yuto had heard her shouting today...
Meanwhile, Yuto had already entered his own storage space and began to use his newly learned magics one after the other.
------- half an hour later
"Even though I haven't practiced enough, I don't have much time left. I wonder what happened to that girl? I hope she didn't get hurt because I left her in the middle of the forest! Ahhh I don't give a fuck, but come on."
As soon as I snapped my fingers, the scene in front of my eyes changed to the ruins where I had fought the bandits. I looked around a few times and there were no bodies on the ground and the little girl was nowhere to be seen.
Probably the guards, soldiers or policemen.... whatever their names were, had come to take care of the situation here.
Relieved that I hadn't made a stupid mistake that could have led to the little girl dying in the woods, I started running towards the center of town.
I didn't understand what kind of celebration my mother was talking about, but she told me more than once that it was very important and that every child my age should participate in it.
When I passed through the side streets and came to the square where the market used to be, I saw that all the stalls were set up and many wooden chairs were lined up for a big crowd to sit on.
After walking around for a while, I met a colleague of my father's whom I had seen a few times before. When he saw me, he ran up to me, grabbed me by the shoulder and started dragging me somewhere.
When I complained about his strange way of greeting a person, he didn't listen to me and started talking.
"I finally found you, Yuto. The duel starts in a few hours and you're still wandering around."
"What duel?"
"They really didn't tell you? I expect it from that woman, though. Your father suffered a lot from that woman's sense of surprise."
"Hoy sewer rat, when you say that woman, are you talking about my mom?"
When the middle-aged man in chain mail saw the child he was dragging along looking at him with predatory eyes, he realized where he had gone wrong and quickly offered a contrived apology. Although he was not going to change the way he addressed people he had been friends with for years for the sake of a small child's opinion, he appreciated the child's attitude.
"Forgive me. Never mind about that and let me explain to you what a duel is."
"Speak, human, I give you permission"
"Human? hahaha, whatever. Sword duels are held every year and participation is mandatory. Participants are children between the ages of 3~5. Has your father ever taught you how to use a sword before?"
"No, he never teached me anything. Why didn't my mom tell me about this event?"
"Ohh, it's probably because of the prize for the winner. Every year the winner of the duel goes to the big duel in the city and the top three go to the school founded by the sword king a hundred years ago. Your mother is obsessed with you, even if you don't realize it, and I knew that this obsession would eventually affect your future. Your mother did it."
"Oh, I don't want to go anywhere, take me off the list. See you later."
When the armored man saw that his hands were suddenly empty, he quickly ran and grabbed Yuto again, who was on his way home.
"I told you, didn't I? Participation is mandatory. Besides, who wouldn't want to become a great swordsman?"
"I... I'm the most powerful magician of the future. I have nothing to do with swords, old man."
"I am only thirty-five years old... Well, that's not the point. You better give up your dream of being a magician early. You need knowledge to advance in magecraft, and knowledge is something only nobles have access to."
"Don't tell me what to do. All I have to do is fight the duel and get beaten, right?"
"Yeah... I mean, no. But, next year you should train hard and learn how to use a sword. I'll explain the rules of dueling to everyone here in a moment, so sit and wait or get up and practice."
Yuto looked bored at the dozens of boys swinging swords in the empty field in front of him and found a seat and waited for the dueling rules to be explained.