Chapter 1
The Village Hero Leaves the Village
Translator : PolterGlast
This is a small
village in what is technically the Kingdom of Gurzarm, called Furo Village. The
reason I added the word "technically" is that it's a village on the
frontier, located in the most remote part of the Kingdom of Gurzarm, so much so
that it's not even on any maps.
Being a village on the
outskirts of the kingdom is reason enough for it to be underpopulated, but the
worst part, by far, is that the Demon Lord's territory is right next door. The
Demon Lord's territory is, as the name suggests, a domain ruled by the Demon
Lord, a dangerous land where monsters run rampant.
Furthermore, due to
the terrain, if the Demon Lord were to invade the kingdom, they would have to
pass through this village. In fact, since I was born, the Demon Lord's army has
attacked this village four times.
Naturally, the kingdom
provides no protection for a village that isn't even on the map... or rather,
it's highly likely the village's very existence has been forgotten, so we've
had to fend off every disaster and hardship on our own. As one of the people in
this hellish village, I, Graham Ward, have been fighting on the front lines all
this time.
I can say with
confidence that this village still exists today thanks to me; I am proud of the
fact that I have risked my life and fought hard for this village. And I had
thought I would spend the rest of my life like this, fighting for the village
while quietly working on the farm... but just the other day, the Demon Lord's
army attacked for the fifth time.
By the fifth time, I
was used to it, and since my own strength had grown, I thought we could easily
drive them back. However, perhaps the Demon Lord's army was more serious than
ever before, as the quality and quantity of the attacking monsters were clearly
different. It began with an army of over 1,000 undead led by the Elder Lich
Wiseperson, followed by an assault from a legion of magical beasts led by a
Fenrir Lord.
Then, without a
moment's rest, an air raid by a flying unit led by a Chimeratros. As we were
barely holding on against such a vicious assault from the Demon Lord's army—to
top it all off, an Ancient Dragon appeared.
The Ancient Dragon was
so overwhelmingly powerful that most people lost their will to fight, but I
alone went out to slay it, risking my life to protect the village.
After a fierce battle
to the death, I managed to slay the Ancient Dragon, but in exchange, I lost my
left arm from the shoulder down. I hovered on the brink of death from massive
blood loss, but my phenomenal regenerative ability allowed me to recover enough
to move again, though my lost left arm never grew back.
The village was saved,
but the cost was great, and not just for my left arm; half the village was in a
state of collapse. We had no time to rejoice in surviving the Demon Lord's
army's attack, as all the villagers devoted themselves to reconstruction.
I, too, had no time to
brood over my lost arm, and as soon as I could move, I helped with the
reconstruction work... but, unaccustomed to working with one arm, I made so
many mistakes it would have been better if I wasn't there. It was right after
I'd lost my arm, so I wasn't used to life with only one, but the shock of those
mistakes was immeasurable to me.
However, contrary to
my feelings of helplessness, the villagers never complained about my constant
mistakes; instead, they always lauded me as the hero who saved the village.
But... every time everyone in the village called me a hero, the feeling that I
shouldn't become a burden to this already struggling village grew stronger
within me.
I'm forty-two years
old this year. From now on, my physical strength will only decline, and even in
this state, with one arm affecting my farm work, the villagers will surely
continue to give me preferential treatment as the hero who saved them.
Proper young and
strong people are rising up, and in order to preserve my status as the hero who
saved the village, I concluded that it would be best for me to leave. My
feelings are complicated, but my parents have already passed away, and I have
no wife or children. The people of this village probably wouldn't think of me
as a nuisance, but since I myself felt I was causing trouble, I decided to
leave.
First, I spoke to the
village chief. He tried his best to persuade me to stay, but I gave him a vague
reason about wanting to see the wide world and more or less forced him to
accept my departure. I considered leaving without telling anyone, but it would
pain me to have them search for me, thinking something had happened.
The village
reconstruction finished safely, and after seeing it restored to its former
state, I decided to leave as planned. I was born in this village forty-two
years ago, grew up with it, and thought I would die here. I never imagined I
would leave at this age, and on top of that, with only one arm.
I thought I understood
that you never know what life has in store, what with the attacks by monsters
from the Demon Lord's territory and his army, but I never expected this.
Packing my few belongings, I bowed my head to my small house and bid it
farewell.
This house is set to
be handed over to the twins I've been looking after, so I'm sure it won't be
torn down. It'll be lonely, but I can just come back to the village once in a
while to check on things. After bowing deeply to my house, I started walking
towards the village entrance.
Even though it was
early morning, all the villagers had gathered at the entrance to see me off.
Some of the children were crying about me leaving, and just seeing this scene
made me feel from the bottom of my heart that it was worth it to protect this
village.
"Graham-san, are
you really going?"
"Graham! You can
come back anytime!"
"...sniff,
Graham-san, don't go!"
They each said their
own farewells, and I almost started crying myself. But I didn't want to part in
tears, so I held them back and forced a smile.
"This isn't a
final farewell. I'll be back when I feel like it, and when I do, you can look
forward to some souvenirs. Well then, everyone—see you again."
After saying my
goodbyes, I raised my remaining arm and waved. Listening to the voices of the
villagers behind me... the anxiety was already starting to outweigh the
sadness.
I made the decision to
leave the village solely because I didn't want to be a burden, so of course, I
have no destination in mind. I don't know what's out there, no one has ever
come to this village from the outside, and of course, I don't have a map.
On top of that, I'm a
forty-two-year-old geezer with one arm. From here on, I can't be worrying about
the people in the village; I have to worry about myself, or I'll die in a
heartbeat. I'd only taken a few dozen steps out of the village, but I shifted
my mindset and, in order to survive, began walking toward another village or
town.
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