Part 1
Ever since I came to this world, I have not left the house.
I am conscious of the fact that I have never left.
I am truly afraid.
If I walk out of the courtyard and see the scenery outside, my past memories will quickly awaken.
The memories of that day. The pain on the side of my stomach. The piercing cold from the rain. Regret. Despair. The pain from being run over by the truck.
All these memories will return to me, as if it had just happened yesterday.
My legs are shivering.
I can look outside from my window or walk to the courtyard with my own legs.
But I am unable to take another step.
Because I know.
That peaceful scenery of the fields might instantly turn into hell. The seemingly peaceful sights are unable to accept me.
In my past life, I had countless delusions when I was unable to sleep.
What if Japan suddenly went to war. What if a bishoujo suddenly appeared and became my neighbor.
If that happened, I would definitely be able to work hard.
I kept deluding myself so as to escape from reality.
I dreamt of it countless times.
In my dream I'm not Superman, and I still possess the same level as an average person. And like an average person, I was able to do what my limits allowed me to do. I could live by relying on myself.
But I'm going to wake up from this dream.
If I take a step outside this house, I may possibly wake up from this dream.
And when I wake up, I will return to that moment of despair.
That instant when I was drowned by regret...
No, this isn't a dream.
How can there be such a realistic dream like this.
If you tell me that this is a VRMMORPG, I might still accept it.
This is reality.
I keep convincing myself.
This reality is not a dream.
Even though I understand that it is a fact, I am unable to take a step outside.
No matter how much effort I put into my heart.
I swore to live on earnestly with my lips.
But my body is unable to keep up.
I really want to cry.
Part 2
The graduation test is to be held outside the village.
When Roxy told me that, I let out a weak groan of resistance.
"Outside?"
"Yes, outside the village. The horses have been prepared."
"Can't it be done at home?"
"No."
"It can't be done...?"
I am completely lost.
My heart knows it. That I have to take a step outside the house gates.
How can I be a hikikomori in this world.
But my body is refusing it. It still distinctly remembers that past event.
On that fateful day in my past life, I was beaten and bruised all over by delinquents, viciously mocked by them, and my heart was left with huge psychological damage.
That fateful day when I had no choice, but to shut myself indoors.
"What's wrong?"
"No... that... there might be some monsters outside."
"In this area, it's almost impossible to run into monsters if you don't approach the forests. Also, even if we do run into them, I can handle it by myself since they are weak. In fact, even Rudei can handle them."
Roxy shows a surprised expression when I keep finding all sorts of excuses up till now.
"Ah, I think I had heard of it before. Rudei, have you never left the house?"
"Mmmm… yes."
"Are you afraid of it? The horse."
"I-I'm not afraid of horses or things like that."
Actually I sort of like it.
I also played <
"Haha. I'm relieved. You have areas that match your age."
Roxy got the wrong idea.
But I can't say that I'm afraid of going out.
That is something much more embarrassing than being afraid of horses.
I still have my pride.
A pure scintilla of pride.
I don't want to be looked down by this young girl.
"Oh well, it can't be helped. Here."
Seeing that I am unwilling to move, Roxy suddenly carries me on her shoulders.
"Wha!?"
"If you just sit on it, you soon won't be afraid."
I don't struggle.
My heart is wavering as well, and I'm thinking of just leaving it to her.
Roxy throws me onto the back of the horse.
Then she also climbs up and takes hold of the reins.
The horse patters forward.
I simply leave the house in that manner.
Part 3
This is my first time outside the courtyard after coming to this world.
Roxy is slowly moving forward in the village.
From time to time, the villagers will throw us unreserved gazes.
No way.
My body is tensing up.
I am still afraid of being looked at.
Especially those mocking and unrestrained gazes.
Surely they wouldn't court trouble with us with mocking words.
They probably wouldn't.
They don't recognize me.
In this world, only the people in that small house know me.
Why are you looking at me.
Stop looking, go back to work...
...No.
It's not me.
They are looking at Roxy.
Some of them are greeting Roxy.
Ah, that's right.
She has already established her position in this village.
Even though the discrimination against the demon races is quite severe in this country.
And in this rural area, this contrast is even more apparent.
Within a short period of 2 years, she has become a figure who everyone is willing to greet.
When I think of this point, Roxy's back looks so reliable.
She knows where to go, and they mutually know her.
If I receive any unwanted comments, she will definitely defend me.
Haah, I can't believe that I find this young girl, who peeked at the events in the master bedroom, to be so reliable.
Thus, my body's tension fades away.
"Kalajav's mood is pretty good. It's feeling happy that Rudei is riding it."
Kalajav is the horse's name.
Of course, I can't read a horse's mood.
"Is that so."
I replied nonchalantly as I leaned backwards, the back of my head hitting Roxy's flat chest.
How comfortable.
What exactly am I afraid of.
This is such a peaceful village. Who will bully me?
"Are you still scared?"
She asks and I shake my head.
I am not afraid of other people's gazes anymore.
"No, I'm fine already."
"See, it's just like I said."
My heart has more breathing space.
The surroundings enter my eyes.
Fields and houses, like stars in the sky, stretch out into the distance.
The feeling of a village.
I can see a considerable number of people within this huge radius. If they are more packed up, it might possibly turn into a small town.
If there were windmills, it might possibly let people think of Switzerland.
Ah, there are water mills.
After relaxing, I become conscious of the silence for a while. I have never experienced this kind of silence when I was with Roxy in the past.
I have never tried to stick so closely to her. Even though it's not unbearable, it is embarrassing.
So I decide to strike up a conversation.
"Sensei, what does this field grow?"
"It's mainly Asura's wheat, the component for bread. There are also small amounts of green vegetables and Bardius flowers. Bardius flowers can be refined into spices in the capital. The rest are ingredients for the dining table."
"Ah, that's green chili. Sensei is unable to eat that."
"N-not unable to eat it. I'm just not used to it."
I ask question after question.
Today, Roxy said that this is the last test.
That is to say, her working as a home tutor is about to end.
Roxy is an impatient person. Since today is the final day, it is possible that she will leave this house tomorrow.
Today is the last day. Let's talk a bit more.
But I can't find anything interesting to talk about. I can only keep asking things about the village.
Based on Roxy's descriptions, this village's name is Buina, and it is part of the northern Asuran Kingdom's Fedoa region.
There are about 30 families here, mainly farmers.
My father Paul, is the delegated knight of this village.
His duty is to observe the farmers' situation, to be the mediator for the village's quarrels, and to defend the village from monsters. Such is his job.
In other words, a recognized bodyguard of the kingdom.
But even if that's the case, this village has a rotation of youths in charge of security.
So when Paul finishes his rounds in the morning, he stays at home in the afternoon.
It's basically a peaceful village, so there's nothing much to do.
As we finished these topics, the fields around us gradually thinned.
I didn't have anything more to ask, and the silence went on for a period of time.
Approximately another hour passed.
There aren't any fields surrounding us anymore. We have arrived in a completely untouched grassland area.
Part 4
This is the kind of grassland that stretches towards the horizon.
No, at the furthest one can barely see some hints of a mountainous area.
At least this scenery can't be seen in Japan.
It gives me a feeling that there is a place like this in a textbook, like the Mongolian grasslands.
"It should be fine if we are here."
Roxy directs the horse to a lone tree and ties the reins onto it.
Then she carries me down from the horse.
We are finally face-to-face.
"I'm going to use the saint ranked water attack magic, Cumulonimbus. This technique is a magic that creates lightning strikes with violent rain."
"Yes."
"Please copy what I do."
Using a saint ranked water magic.
So it is this. The content of the final test.
Roxy is about to use her biggest spell. If I'm capable of learning it, she will not have anything more to teach me.
"Because I'm only demonstrating, I'll just maintain the spell for a minute before dismissing it, and then... You pass if you can make the rain last for an hour."
"Is it because it's a secret technique that you only did it in a deserted location?"
"No, I'm worried that people will get hurt or the farmers' crops get damaged."
Oh.
It's rain at a natural disaster level?
That's quite amazing.
"I'm starting."
Roxy raises her hands to the skies.
"Oh great water spirit, the son of the lightning emperor who ascended to the skies!! Fulfill my wishes, rain down your ferocious blessings, and show me your strength to this tiny existence! Let your godly hammer strike the anvil, and demonstrate your authority, and devour the earth with water!! Ah, the rain!! Destroy and wash everything away!!『Cumulonimbus!!』"
She chants every word out like an aria.
It lasts over a minute.
The surroundings turn dark immediately when the chanting ends.
A few seconds later... heavy rain falls from the sky.
Violent winds spring up around us as lightning appeared in the midst of the dark clouds.
Among the sounds of the waterfall-like rain, streaks of purple lightning ran through the clouds, causing loud booms.
The electricity in the clouds slowly becomes stronger.
The lightning continues to grow, as if to make the light become stronger.
...It strikes the earth.
Krash!!
And it strikes the tree.
My eardrums are buzzing and my eyes are in spirals.
I almost fainted.
"Ah!!"
This is the sound Roxy utters when she makes a mistake.
The clouds disperse in an instant.
The lightning and rain stop.
"Uwawa...…"
Roxy face turns green as she ran towards the tree.
I look over in her direction. The horse that we brought has collapsed with smoke rising from it.
Roxy brings her hand over to the horse and begins chanting.
"Oh merciful mother of gods, please heal this one's wounds, and let him recover with a healthy body 『EXHealing』."
Roxy uses the intermediate ranked healing magic in a panic, and after a while, the horse wakes up.
Looks like it's not dead.
Intermediate ranked healing magic cannot bring the dead back to life.
The horse shows a frightened expression, and Roxy's forehead breaks out cold sweat.
"Phew, phew...… That was dangerous."
This horse is the only horse our family has.
Paul takes great care of it everyday, and would sometimes ride it outside far away with a smile…
Even though it's not a famous breed, it is Paul's long-time companion. One might even say that his love for the horse is just below his love for Zenith. Such is the importance of this horse.
Of course, Roxy, who has lived with us for 2 years, knows it.
I also know that Roxy witnessed Paul being in a trance while clinging onto the horse's back and was surprised by it.
"Please, keep this a secret?"
Roxy says in a half-crying voice.
She's a little clumsy.
But she works hard. I also know that she stays up late into the night to prepare my lessons.
I also know that she doesn't want to be looked down on because of her young age, and always tries to present herself with dignity.
I really like that appearance.
If there wasn't such a large difference in age, I would like to marry her.
"Don't worry, I won't tell father."
"Uuuu... Please do so."
If only we met at the same age.
"Uuu..."
Even though Roxy is in a half-crying state, she quickly shakes her head, slaps her cheek, looks at me with a solemn expression.
"Then, please go ahead and try. I will take care of Kalajav."
The horse still shows an afraid expression and is ready to run away at any time now, but Roxy clings to it tightly with her body and reins it in.
Even though I feel that she is unable to restrain it, the horse slowly calms down. Roxy maintains her position and starts chanting something.
And then the the two of them are covered by earthen walls.
A fortress made of earth is completed quickly.
This is the advanced ranked earth magic, Earth Fortress.
With this, it should be fine even if they receive lightning strikes.
Alright, time to start.
Let me think what the chant is...
"Oh great water spirit, the son of the lightning emperor who ascended to the skies!! Fulfill my wishes, rain down your ferocious blessings, and show me your strength to this tiny existence! Let your godly hammer strike the anvil, and demonstrate your authority, and devour the earth with water!! Ah, the rain!! Destroy and wash everything away!!『Cumulonimbus!!』"
I say it all in one shot.
The clouds start to gather.
At the same time, I understood 『Cumulonimbus』.
Creating clouds somewhere in the middle stratosphere along with complex movements to form storm clouds. It's probably something like that.
If mana isn't poured into the formation, the clouds will stop forming and dissipate.
(Never mind about the mana, it's too tiring to raise your hands for 1 hour...)
No, wait.
A magician requires a spirit of creativity and research.
Do you really need to maintain the posture like collecting Genki for an hour?
That's right, this is a test.
It isn't about maintaining the same position, but about using melded magic after creating the clouds to sustain them.
I almost fail to think of it. The things I've learned are about to be used.
"Let me think. I saw it before on television. The process of how clouds form..."
There are still some of the clouds that Roxy made earlier.
It's something about how water evaporation spirals up. To create a certain rising air flow, you need to let the bottom part become warm, or something like that.
And I need to ensure that the upper section can be quickly cooled down…
When I try to do this, half of my mana is actually taken away.
But if it's done this way, then it should be able to maintain itself for more than an hour.
While looking at the rainstorm, I enter the fortress made by Roxy with satisfaction.
Roxy is sitting in the dark corner, her hands holding onto the horse's reins.
She sees me and nods.
"This fortress will disappear after an hour, so you can stop the magic before then."
"Okay."
"Don't worry. Kalajav is fine."
"Okay."
"Don't keep saying okay. You need to control the clouds outside seriously for an hour."
Hm?
"Do I need to control it?"
"Hm? Did I say something strange?"
"But is there a need to control it?"
"Of course. saint ranked water magic is also magic. If you don't sustain it with mana, the wind will blow it away."
"But I already made it so that it can't be blown away...?"
"Huh? What...!?"
Roxy, who seems to have noticed something, runs out of the fortress.
The fortress immediately falls apart.
Hey hey, aren't you going to continue controlling it?
The horse will get buried alive.
"Arara."
I quickly take over and walk outside.
Roxy stares blankly at the skies.
"...Is that so, the spiraling tornado will bring the clouds upwards…!!"
The skies are filled with the ever-growing clouds that I created.
I think I did a pretty good job.
I watched a random show in the past that used science to explain the process behind huge tornadoes.
Even though I can't really remember its contents.
I just tried it relying on my instinct, and in the end I seem to have done it pretty well.
"Rudei. You pass."
"Eh? But it hasn't been an hour?"
"There's no need to wait. It's enough if you did this much. But can you make it disappear?"
"Ah, yes. Although I need a bit of time."
I lower the temperature at the bottom part of the storm while increasing the temperature of the top. Then I create an air flow towards the ground before finally using wind magic to forcibly blow the clouds away.
Roxy and I are completely soaked by the time I'm done with it.
"Congratulations. The you right now is at the Water-Saint ranked."
The bishoujo in front of me with water dripping from her fringe announces it to me with a rarely seen smile.
The me who had never achieved anything in life has finally accomplished something.
A strange sensation seems to spread across my abdomen.
I know this feeling.
It's a sense of fulfillment.
I finally feel it in this moment, that this is my [First step] after coming to this world.
Part 5
On the second day, Roxy, who hasn't changed in the past 2 years, packs up her luggage and stands in front of the gates.
My parents didn't change too much either since Roxy came.
I am the only one who has grown taller.
"Roxy, it's fine if you want to continue staying in our home. There are many things I haven't cooked for you…"
"That's right. Even if your job as a home tutor is over, you have done many things for us last year. The people from the village will definitely welcome you."
My parents are trying to keep Roxy.
Somewhere along the way, Roxy and my parents have become close.
Well, she's always free from the afternoon to the evening. If she did something every day, she should be able to get a lot of contacts.
A thing unlike a protagonist who has to do a lot of things, otherwise their stats won't change.
"No. Thank you for saying this, but this situation has let me realize my weakness. I will tour the world and polish up my magic skills."
She seems to have received a shock after I caught up with her in rank.
She told me in the past how she hated students surpassing the teacher.
"Is that so. Here, what can I say. My apologies, it seems our son has made you lose confidence."
Paul, what the heck are you saying.
"No, this event has made me learned not to be too full of myself. I'm actually grateful for this."
"It's okay to be proud of yourself if you can use saint ranked water magic."
"I understand that even if you don't rely on that, if you base it on creativity, then you can come up with even stronger magic."
Roxy smiles bitterly while stroking my head.
"Rudei. Even though I tried my best, I am unable to teach you at my current level."
"This isn't true. Sensei gave me many things."
"I'm satisfied if you say that... Ah, right."
Roxy searches her mantle with her hand and pulls out something tied with a ribbon.
"Congrats on your graduation. Because I didn't have time to prepare, take this and bear with it."
"This is...?"
"Migurd's protection amulet. If you ever come across a hostile demon, you can present this with my name. You might come to an understanding... probably."
"I will treat it with care."
"It's only a possibility. Don't believe in it too much."
Roxy smiles at the very end and sets off.
I don't know when my tears started flowing.
She really gave me a lot.
Knowledge, experience, technique...
If I didn't meet up with her, I might still be studying inefficiently with my hand holding onto the magic textbook.
And most importantly, she brought me out.
To the outside world.
Merely that.
Roxy brought me out.
This event carries an important meaning.
Roxy only came to this village for 2 years.
Roxy, who didn't know how to communicate well with others.
As a person from a demon race, Roxy couldn't have been treated well by the villagers.
It wasn't Paul or Zenith, but Roxy who brought me out to the world. This important meaning.
She only brought me outside of the village.
But the thought of just taking a step outside the gate was definitely a shadow within my heart.
And she cured it.
Just passing through the village.
My heart has been released and freed from the darkness.
She didn't have the intention to make me become a better person.
But it is undeniable that she dispelled my heart's shadow.
I took another step outside the gates yesterday when we got drenched.
There is only the ground.
The normal ground.
I'm not shivering.
I can finally walk outside.
She did something no one else had done.
Not even my parents or siblings did it in my past life.
She did it.
Taking on the responsibility to give me courage without any rebuke.
She did not do it consciously.
I understand that.
She did it for herself.
I know that.
But I still respect her.
I respect the small girl.
I swear it in my heart to respect her until her figure disappears.
My hands are holding onto the staff and amulet that Roxy gave me.
As well as the various knowledge she taught me.
I suddenly remember.
The panties that hadn't been washed and were stolen from Roxy are still in my room.
I'm sorry.