CHAPTER 10

How to Live as a Hero in a Magical World (10)

Kaian beamed as he gazed at the red flags fluttering beneath the clear blue autumn sky.

“Haah, haah… I knew it! It’s my masterpiece!”

The mission to retrieve the Flame Veil came with a time limit.

First, he couldn’t afford to skip his farm work. After digging up the Flame Veil, he had to return within twelve hours, which meant he had only about eighteen hours at most.

When time was limited, what could be the most pointless and horrifying disaster imaginable?

Getting lost, obviously.

After receiving the mission from Eldarin, the first thing Kaian did was climb up Amber’s treehouse. From there, he surveyed the general direction and terrain leading to his destination.

Next, he made several poles out of wood and attached red flags to their tips.

They need to be long enough to see clearly from a distance, and bright red.

Fortunately, Eldarin’s greenhouse was full of berries and herbs that could produce a red dye. He actually found working with the wood rather enjoyable, so making the poles themselves wasn’t particularly difficult.

The problem came after he’d finished making them.

Every day after lunch, Kaian began running the route he would have to take on the day of the mission.

I need to build up my stamina. More importantly, there aren’t many proper roads around here.

He planted his handmade poles at regular intervals along the route. The following afternoon, he would climb a tree again and check whether he’d gotten the direction right.

If the route wasn’t the shortest possible distance, he was willing to change it.

I repeated that for an entire week.

As a result, blisters formed on his feet, burst, formed again, burst again… His feet had been through absolute hell.

And carrying several poles bundled together at once had been unbelievably heavy.

Even thinking about it made Kaian shake his head in exhaustion.

I was only dragging them around, but I’m still sore.

He had considered making a cart, but the construction was more difficult than he’d expected, and there wasn’t enough time to finish one.

Besides, with my size, pulling it would’ve been hard work too.

In the end, he had no choice but to rely on his own two feet.

Thanks to that, a week’s worth of muscle soreness had accumulated, and even now, a sharp tingle ran through his entire body whenever his feet touched the ground.

Still, there was only one reason he had been willing to endure the pain.

His determination to learn magic.

Every time Kaian struggled through another tedious task, he thought the same thing.

It would’ve been easier if I could use magic.

It would’ve been simple if I could use magic.

It wasn’t that he disliked doing things with his own hands. In fact, he found the process rather appealing.

But being able to do something and choosing not to is completely different from being unable to do it in the first place.

Dreaming of the day he would tame the flames in his mental world and freely wield magic, Kaian hurried his steps.

—Tap, tap, tap, tap.

He passed yet another red flagpole.

“Hah, hah, hah…!”

Kaian desperately tried to steady his breathing, which had risen all the way to his throat.

How long have I been running? No… how much farther do I have to go?

He had definitely been counting the number of poles he’d passed, but somewhere along the way, he’d lost track.

One thing was certain: his running speed was gradually slowing.

“Haaah, haaah… no, in, in… whew. In, in—ugh! Cough! Cough!”

He even choked on his own breath and nearly collapsed into chaos.

This is killing me.

—Tap, tap, tap.

The sound of his feet striking the ground stirred all sorts of distracting thoughts in Kaian’s mind.

Perhaps it was simply because he wanted to rest so badly that his mind was wandering.

Come to think of it, working in the fields was the most relaxing part of my day.

Even so, Kaian didn’t stop walking.

He had a small belief rooted deep in his heart.

He believed Eldarin hadn’t sent him alone to retrieve the Flame Veil merely out of spite.

There must be a reason.

His foul-tempered goat-elf master always had a plan.

I just don’t know what it is.

Through his experiences so far, Kaian had learned that whenever he followed Eldarin’s instructions, he always ended up gaining something precious.

So even now, he tried his best to think positively about the situation.

“Yeah… hah… this… hah… and this… whew… everything… in… training.”

—Tap, tap, thud!

Kaian considered his life in Eldergrove one enormous training regimen.

But it was training he never could have endured alone.

I only managed because the earth spirits helped me.

Every night, whenever he collapsed in exhaustion in the yard, the earth spirits would come over and restore his energy.

Once, he’d even dozed off while basking in the earth spirits’ characteristic warm yellow glow. When he woke later, he found the spirits struggling to drag a blanket toward him with their tiny bodies.

Remembering the sight brought a small smile to his face.

When I get back, I need to take better care of the fields.

Eldarin had told him that the more carefully one treated the earth, the stronger the spirits would become. And the stronger the spirits became, the more help he could receive from them.

Then they’ll be twice as cute, and I’ll recover twice as fast!

Kaian soothed his aching body with such pleasant thoughts.

He would have to think more carefully about what it truly meant to treat the earth with care, but once he returned safely, he intended to do everything he could.

If I learn magic, I’ll be able to take care of even more land…

Thinking about that, Kaian stopped for a moment at the top of a gentle incline.

“Hah… hah… hah…”

His entire body was pounding as though it had become one giant heart.

—Whoooooosh!

A refreshing autumn breeze swept past him, but his overheated body refused to cool down easily.

Many thoughts had flashed through his mind as he ran.

But the more he thought, the clearer one conclusion became.

I have to fix my mental world. No matter what.

Kaian gulped down the astragalus tea Amber had given him, then stretched his body thoroughly.

He readjusted his backpack.

The autumn sun didn’t stay up for very long.

“Let’s run.”

Then the next flagpole would soon come into view.

The final red flag had been planted at the point where the Golden Plains came to an end.

A small forest lay beyond it.

According to the information Kaian had squeezed out of Eldarin by pestering her relentlessly, a proper volcanic region began after passing through that forest.

The route I know ends here. From now on, I have to explore and find my own way.

Kaian stood in front of the forest with his arms crossed, deep in thought.

Considering the distance he’d already traveled and the condition of his body, the moment he’d reached the forest was the most efficient time to sleep.

But Kaian wasn’t particularly keen on the idea.

…I don’t want to go in. It’s already so dark.

That was despite the fact that a little sunlight still remained in the sky.

The forest at night was dark.

Far darker than most people imagined.

Kaian knew this relatively well, having run through it alone before.

Darkness stimulated the imagination.

Invisible dangers grew larger and larger in his mind, while the shadow of fear fell over his soul.

The memory of that day lurked deep within the darkness.

The deaths of his family, which he hadn’t even been able to see because of the Words of Command, returned to Kaian every night, layered over and over by his imagination.

As a result, he still couldn’t sleep with the lights off.

I wonder how much my second brother would tease me if he knew.

For Kaian, who suffered from nightmares, Eldarin had placed a small lantern inside his room.

Its magical light wouldn’t go out even when the wind blew past it or someone playfully blew on it.

Kaian had considered bringing his precious lantern with him on this journey, but that seemed impossible.

It’s just too bulky.

Kaian groaned.

“Ugh…”

No matter how much he hated the darkness, continuing to move under these circumstances was impossible.

In the end, Kaian decided to start a fire before the last traces of sunset disappeared.

He settled beneath a large tree.

Right. Having a campfire should make things a little better…!

Up to that point, everything was fine.

But then—

Oh, no.

Kaian wasn’t the only one in the nighttime forest who needed a fire.

“Prrrff!”

A threatening snort rang out.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy… easy…”

Holding his torch in a guarded stance, Kaian watched the enraged creature standing before him.

It was one and a half times the size of an ordinary wild boar, with a layer of hide as hard as basalt covering its body.

And then there were its obsidian tusks, glowing red with the mana of fire they contained…

—Gulp.

No way. It actually showed up.

There was no doubt.

It was an Obsidian Boar, a creature known to inhabit volcanic regions.

Kaian had thought he might encounter one because of its habit of seeking out places rich in fire mana.

But not here.

And you! You look way scarier than you did in the book!

Kaian screamed internally.

The Obsidian Boar stomped its feet threateningly and snorted.

—Thump! Thump!

“Prrrff!”

It looked ready to charge at any moment.

Just standing there in front of it made Kaian’s legs tremble.

He kept repeating the same words to himself.

Calm down. Calm down. I’ve practiced this in my head countless times.

Holding the torch, Kaian slowly backed away.

He didn’t break eye contact.

The moment he looked away, the creature would charge.

Kaian stretched out his free hand behind him.

His fingers soon touched the rough trunk of a tree.

Come on… it should be around here somewhere…

Kaian waved his hand around behind him, careful not to let the Obsidian Boar see what he was doing.

And finally, his fingers felt the wooden plank he’d been desperately searching for.

There! It’s here!

Maintaining the fierce eye contact with the Obsidian Boar, Kaian now began feeling around with his feet.

—Clunk!

His foot caught on the wooden plank.

From here on, it was a contest of reflexes and speed.

—Squeeze!

Kaian tightened his grip around the handle of the torch.

His palm was damp with tension.

And yet, for some reason, a grin kept creeping onto his face.

Is this the thrill of having everything go exactly according to plan?

—Thump! Thump! Thump!

“Prrrrooo! Prrf!”

As though amused by the fact that its prey was smaller than itself, the Obsidian Boar shook its head.

That was when—

Kaian hurled the torch at it with all his strength.

—Whoosh!

“Wheee! Prrr!”

For the brief instant that the Obsidian Boar’s attention was drawn to the flames—

—Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

Kaian hurriedly climbed the makeshift ladder he’d constructed from wooden planks, escaping the creature’s attack range.

He had installed the ladder from the very beginning, precisely in preparation for a situation like this.

Kaian silently dedicated the glory of his survival to his own meticulous planning—

and to his diligence in practicing his tree-climbing every single day without fail.

But it was still too early to relax.

The moment the Obsidian Boar avoided the torch, it charged straight at the tree Kaian had climbed.

—BOOM!

“Waaaaah!”

The enormous impact shook the tree violently.

Even though Kaian clung tightly to the trunk with both arms and legs, the force was so strong that his entire body swayed.

Perhaps enraged at having fallen for such a crude trick, the creature charged again without pause and slammed into the tree once more.

—BOOM!

That was when—

A sinister sound reached Kaian’s ears.

—Creeeeak…

“Huh?”

—BOOM!

—Crack… crackle…!

“Eeeek?! No way…!”

Kaian desperately wanted to deny reality.

But no matter how he thought about it, there was only one possible conclusion.

That was the sound a tree made right before it broke.