Gawa Village's mayor is once again at the doorstep of the Kageyama Manor. It has been two months since the end of the war between the two great nations. Naturally, the healers played a significant role in healing the wounds of the neighboring Taki and Gawa villages, caught in the midst of this war. The door finally opens. The mayor says:
-"Hello, Yuuji-kun."
Kageyama Yuuji (20), the last surviving member of the renowned Kageyama family known for their magical techniques, sighs upon seeing the mayor:
-"You again, Mr. Mayor. How many times do I have to say it? I don't want to join the guards. I don't want to fight anymore! I want to spend the rest of my life as a healer and a doctor." He pushes the door shut.
The mayor, using his foot to stop the door:
-"Wait a moment, Yuuji-kun, we need you on the battlefield! The techniques of the Kageyama family are very valuable to us in battles. In the battlefiel-"
Yuuji interrupts:
-"Enough about the battlefield, just stop it! I don't want to see any more war! I lost my mother, my father, my brother, everything because of the war! I don't want to fight anymore! I don't want more people to die... That's why I will use the skills of the Kageyama clan not to kill, but to keep people alive."
-"But-"
-"Excuse me, I have some things to do inside."
-"O-okay."
After closing the door, he slowly sits down on the ground. "That's enough, I want to get away for a while. This house, this village, it brings back memories. I want to forget a bit. I want to be alone. I want to get lost..."
That night, Yuuji packs his belongings. He looks at the katana hanging on the wall, a gift from his father, torn between taking it or leaving it. After some thought, he leaves the house. He hasn't taken the sword.
Yuuji walks through the forest all night. He is completely lost now. As the sun begins to rise slowly, he feels like someone is watching him. He stops and looks around. He can't see anything, so he checks his surroundings with mana sight to be sure.
(Technique Explanation: Mana sight technique: By emitting mana from the body, this technique allows the user to see behind objects at a short distance. It's an advanced technique. There are three types:
1: Spatial awareness: The user can see the entire surroundings in a 360° view, but only areas with mana flow are visible.
2: Straight sight: It allows the user to see only the angle that the eye sees, but it has a longer range compared to spatial awareness.
3: Elemental sight: By combining their mana with natural elements like water, earth, the user can see the environment.)
-"Mana sight, spatial awareness."
Yuuji examines his surroundings at eye level, but he doesn't see anything. He cancels the technique, turns around, and at that moment hears a sound and looks up. A hilichurl is staring at him from a tree branch and jumps on him as soon as their eyes meet. They start struggling. Yuuji kicks him away, but at the same time, two more hilichurls come and grab him by the arms. The hilichurl who fell to the ground stands up and creates a magic circle:
"Your mana is very high, I couldn't ignore this valuable thing. Euqinhcet noitprosba anam."
He mutters something in his own language, and the color of the magic circle fades. Yuuji is scared, thinking to himself: "Is this mana absorption technique? How do these creatures know such a powerful technique? Not even in the Kageyama family-"
Before he can finish his sentence, he starts to feel pain as all the mana in his body begins to be drained. "This can't be happening, I'm going to die at this rate. Well, it's fine; I wanted this anyway."
As mana is absorbed and his eyes slowly close, a purple glow surrounds the area. A girl with straight, long, black hair appears:
"Electro element, Lightning Cutter."
(Technique Explanation: Lightning Cutter: A lightning current forms between the user and the target. Depending on the user's ability, the user moves along the current at high speed and strikes. The user can make the attack with their weapon, and at the same time, the target is struck by electricity.)
In the blink of an eye, all three hilichurls lie dead.
Yuuji's eyes flutter open, and he sees the girl with her back turned. He's captivated by the beauty of her hair, and his heart begins to race. The girl turns around and looks at him.
-"Hey, are you okay?"
-"I-I'm fine. And who are you?"
-"My name is Kamisato Kenma."
-"Kenma? I've never heard of a name like that for a girl."
-"I'm not a girl, though."
-"Huh?"
Kenma looks at him and falls silent.
-"I-I thought you were a girl. Your hair is long, and you are kinda short..."
Kenma's expression drops at the mention of "kinda short." With an irritated tone:
-"So what if I'm short? Is that a problem for you?" she says. Yuuji quickly responds:
-"N-no, that's not what I meant, forget it..." (a brief silence) "I'm Kageyama Yuuji, nice to meet you." Kenma's demeanor softens:
-"I'm pleased to meet you too. By the way, where were you heading? Did you get lost? And you don't even have a weapon."
-"I got lost... on purpose..."
-"On purpose... What do you mean? Well then, why don't you come to my camp? You could join me."
-"Join you? What are you doing?"
-"These hilichurls have become a threat. They're planning something big. I've been tasked with stopping them. So, I'm not forcing you to join me, but..."
-"If hilichurls are causing harm to people... (smiles) I'd like to join."
***
As they walk towards the camp, Yuuji opens up about himself. Kenma responds:
-"Losing your family like that must have been incredibly painful. I lost my family to hilichurls as well. So, I understand how you feel."
-"I-I see, I'm sorry to hear that..."
-"Yes. It was about three years ago, I think. We had set up camp and were gathering wood to make a fire.
Our family has been nomadic for generations. We lived near settlements, earning our living by hunting dangerous creatures or helping adventurers. While I was collecting wood, I went too far away from the camp without realising. When I noticed that it was getting dark, I started heading back. As I approached the camp, I began to hear the sound of swords."
...
As soon as Kenma hears the sounds, he drops the wood he's carrying and starts running. When he reaches the campsite, he sees his father lying injured on the ground, while his mother, Hitoka, is fighting two hilichurls. These hilichurls are larger than usual. One of them has wings, while the other wields a strangely glowing patterned katana. Kenma quickly draws his own katana and rushes to his mother's side. Hitoka spots him and shouts:
-"Kenma, retreat! These creatures are too powerful!"
But Kenma doesn't stop; he charges towards the winged hilichurl and engages in combat. The winged hilichurl skillfully deflects Kenma's attacks with its spear. Kenma thinks:
"This creature reacts so fast, I can hardly land a hit! If I do this... it won't be able to keep up!"
He changes the direction of his sword mid-air, deflects the spear, dives underneath the hilichurl, trips it with his foot, and strikes with his sword. Just as his attack is about to land, the hilichurl disappears. Kenma looks behind him, and the hilichurl is there. Caught off balance, Kenma is shocked and frightened:
"What the, teleportation?"
Before Kenma can recover, the hilichurl kicks him in the back, sending him tumbling onto a pile of wood his family had gathered earlier, knocking him unconscious.
Meanwhile, Hitoka is also weakening, unable to withstand the hilichurls' onslaught:
"This creature is too strong. I can't use my mana, the hilichurls' seals are too complex! If only I could use my mana, at least, at least I could heal my husband Koujirou... If this goes on, we'll all die."
Hitoka is utterly drained. The hilichurl strikes her hand, causing her sword to fall to the ground. Then, it impales Hitoka's abdomen with its glowing patterned katana:
"Thanks for the meal!"
Hitoka's mana begins to be drained by the katana, its patterns and glow intensifying. As her mana is completely depleted, Hitoka's hands and head droop slowly.
...
Kenma continues to speak with Yuuji as he starts the fire:
-"When I opened my eyes, I was in a hut. The owner of the hut, an old man, found us by chance while looking for his escaped chickens. My parents had died there."
Yuuji:
-"I understand, that must have been really tough for you." There's a moment of silence, broken again by Yuuji:
-"I hate this. People always die because of wars, fights. I want peace. I hate fighting." Kenma responds:
-"Well, you can't achieve peace without fighting."
-"What do you mean?"
-"I saved you by fighting, didn't I? If I hadn't fought, you might have died by now."
-"Y-yeah, you're right."
-"Exactly. Peace is beautiful, but to achieve it, you sometimes have to fight. For someone to be happy, others have to make sacrifices." Yuuji stays silent, and Kenma continues:
-"It's been three years since I, as the last surviving member of the Kamisato family, took on that sacrifice. You're alone too, so join me!" Yuuji ponders for a moment. Kenma asks:
-"Are you in?" Yuuji replies:
-"Alright then, I'm in... I'm in, but my sword isn't with me. Actually, I don't have any equipment with me." Upon hearing this, Kenma stands up. He takes out the katana hanging from his belt, along with its sheath, and offers it:
-"You're a swordsman, right? Take this for now." Yuuji hesitantly reaches out:
-"A-are you sure about this? What will you use?" Kenma hands the sword to Yuuji and goes over to where the his belongings are placed:
-"Don't worry, I have two more katanas here, so I'll use the opportunity to practice some dual sword techniques!"
Excitedly, Yuuji responds:
-"Wow, that's cool! Well then, thank you." He fastens the sword to his belt. Kenma adds:
-"Oh, by the way, I was planning to set out on the journey today, but can you walk? You've been walking all night, after all, haven't you?" Yuuji replies:
-"Don't worry, I can use healing magic to shake off all my fatigue."
-"Huh? Can healing magic be used like that?"
-"Y-yes, well... By the way, where are we going?"
-"I was planning to visit the villages around the country of Aurellio. We'll enter the city from there and stay for a while before continuing our journey."
They gather their belongings and set off on the road. After chatting about this and that for a while, the conversation turns to more significant points. Yuuji says:
-"I guess your element is electricity." Kenma responds:
-"My element is indeed electricity, but I'm not very good at using mana. Even simple healing techniques are challenging for me. That's why I try to finish the fight quickly without getting injured."
-"I see. Your swift handling of the hilichurls indicates the excellence of your sword technique. I may not have such advanced sword skills, but I'm very good at using mana. It's something that runs in my family; both my mother and father, everyone in my family, were excellent wizards." Kenma replies:
-"Yes, I noticed. Your use of healing magic proves that, I've never seen anyone use healing magic to dispel fatigue before. That's amazing! Do you know any special techniques?"
-"Huh? No, I only use basic spells and some advanced ones." Kenma is surprised by Yuuji's answer:
-"How come? With so much talent..."
-"Don't worry, basic spells are more than enough!" Yuuji responds confidently.
-"Um, okay, if you say so..."
***
After a long journey, they arrive at the village. Kenma says:
-"Friend, I'm so tired! It's almost evening, my legs hurt!"
Yuuji makes a sign with one hand and extends his other hand towards Kenma's legs, performing a healing spell.
(Technical Explanation: Healing:
Basic Healing Spell: Used to stop minor wounds and bleeding.
Advanced Healing Spell: An advanced-level spell. It heals fractures and major wounds.
Yuuji's healing magic: Has the ability to alleviate fatigue.)
-"Feeling better now?" Yuuji asks. Kenma responds with a happy expression:
-"Wow, you're really amazing! My feet feel brand new, thank you!" Yuuji replies:
-"Hehe, no problem!"
They reach the village square, where a crowd has gathered. Curious, they approach. Several soldiers from the country of Aurellio and the village chief are in a heated discussion. The commander says sternly:
-"This is your last week. If you don't make the delivery by our next visit, the army will come and take it by force!" The chief responds helplessly:
-"But, sir, this is too much for us, you're demanding everything we have. At least-" The commander interrupts:
-"I don't care, this was our final warning!" He turns around and without listening to another word, orders his soldiers to "move out" before leaving. Kenma and Yuuji rush to the chief's side. Kenma asks:
-"Are you okay? What happened?" The chief remains silent. Yuuji introduces themselves:
-"We apologize for not introducing ourselves earlier. I'm Yuuji, and this is Kenma. We're travelers from distant lands, and if you have a problem, we'd like to help." Kenma thinks to himself, "He's enthusiastic right off the bat," and smiles.
The chief finally responds:
-"Welcome, young ones. We would be grateful if you could help us." Yuuji asks:
-"What happened?"
-"The country of Aurellio, where we have lived in peace for centuries, is now trying to destroy us. At first, they increased all taxes, and now they want all our wealth. They demand that we hand over our crops, mines, resources; everything we have, without giving any reason." His eyes fill with tears. "I don't understand, why is this happening out of the blue? What should we do?"
The villagers talk among themselves: "Our end has come!" "We must do something." "Should we protest?" "Mom, are you okay?" ...
After thinking for a while, Kenma speaks:
-"Are they only doing this to your village?" A man standing next to the mayor responds:
-"No. I am the spokesperson for the neighboring village. They are doing this to all the villages around the Aurellio Country." Yuuji speaks up:
-"We will try to do something about this issue, please don't worry." Kenma adds:
-"Yes, we will go to the city to gather information and try to do something we can." The mayor says:
-"If you can do something, that would be great. Thank you." Yuuji stands up and turns to Kenma:
-"Let's go, Kenma."
-"Oh."