Dream Life Vol II Chapter 1: “The Departure”

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　It was July 2nd in the year 312 of the Tria calendar.

　A fresh early summer breeze was blowing through the hills.

　Today, I leave my hometown, Rathmore Village.

　My destination is the academic city of Doctus, where the Magic Academy is located.

　Doctus is located approximately 370 km from here.

　Traveling with me are my childhood friend Sharon Jakes, Sharon and my magic teacher Lydiane Dupre, and Sharon’s father, Guy Jakes.

　Sharon is with me to enter the Trian Magic Academy in Doctus, but Lydiane, or Liddy, is following us simply to be with me.

　After breakfast, I get ready to leave.

　I put on a leather jacket, long pants, gloves, and boots. It gets quite stuffy in the hot summer months, but as I don’t have any protective gear, this also serves as a substitute for protective gear.

　On my waist I wear a belt for a throwing sword given to me by my squire, Hector Marlon, and on my back I carry a bastard sword struck by Bertram the blacksmith.

　Attached to the belt are five throwing knives about 15 cm long and a small pouch. These throwing swords were also made by Bertram.

　It’s a double-edged knife with a thick blade and a looped pommel, modeled after the “kunai” that I saw in a ninja manga I read a long time ago. It’s an excellent item that can be used for a variety of purposes, from digging holes to climbing walls, but it’s never been used in actual combat.

　his is because I have never been in a situation where I would need to use a kunai, and because magic is more reliable when used for attacks. Yes, you could say that I have been attached to these things since I was a child.

　And when I hold a leather helmet and a hooded cloak in my hand, I am ready to go. By the way, I didn’t make the armor because I was growing up and I would run out of money to adjust it in a year or two. I didn’t want to go through the trouble of having to rebuild it every time I grew up.

　Ready to go, I say goodbye to my family and my squires.

　As I say goodbye to my squires and their families, I reflect on the seven years since my memory returned.

(It’s been seven years since I regained my memory at the age of three. There have been many things. Training with the sword, studying magic, reforming the village, fighting in the forest… When I was in Japan, I couldn’t imagine how fulfilling it was. It was a dull day. When I was really in Japan, my life was gray…) (Zack)

　Squire head Walt Vassell, his wife Molly, and archer Hector followed, and then I stood in front of Nicholas Garland, the head of village affairs, who was closely associated with me.

　I suddenly bowed to him and said, “Take care of the village, take care of my father.”

　Nicholas hurriedly took my hand and said, “Please raise your head.”

　I took his hand.

“Perhaps things will be more difficult from now on. The number of people will increase, and the village will become richer. As a result, the hearts and minds of the villagers will change. That is not necessarily a bad thing. But that change might change the way the village is. If that happens, the Lockhart family will have to change as well…” (Zack)

　Nicholas said, “Master Zacharias…” with a worried look on his face.

“But with Nicholas here, everything will be fine. With Nicholas, I can go to Doctus with peace of mind. So, please be confident and make the village a better place.” (Zack)

　I believe that the village of Rathmore will change. People are getting richer, more affluent, and more knowledgeable through education. Young people will want to go to town, and adults will be looking for entertainment.

　There are no stores in the village yet, but perhaps in a few years there will be some fixed stores that are not peddlers. The only bar in town is the Black Pond Pavilion, but it won’t be long before a new one opens.

　Although they sell only a small amount of “scotch” at the moment, they still earn several tens of thousands of Crona per year. The distillery is directly managed by the Lockhart family, but the villagers have more cash than before because they buy the raw materials, wheat and grapes, for cash as well as for taxes.

　It is good that the villagers are getting richer. That is why the reforms were made.

　But if the changes are too sudden, there will be a distortion somewhere.

　I fear that distortion.

　And I am talking about the safety of this village.

　The children who will become adults do not know the dangerous situation of the past. As the generation changes, more young people will be reluctant to train, and the Village Patrol will become less capable. If that happens, bandits may target this affluent village.

　The same can be said about the Lockhart family.

　My grandfather and Squire Walt are now over fifty years old. Nicholas and Hector are in their mid-forties. They still don’t look much different like how they did in their heyday, but their power is still declining.

　The younger generation that fills in the gaps are Enos Vassell, who is of the same generation as my father, and Will Keegan, who is a little younger than my father, but compared to my grandfather’s generation, they inevitably have little actual battle experience and are inferior to them.

　I don’t know what we should do to protect this village.

　They call themselves a Village Patrol now, but they are more like a conscripted army. In the future, it may be necessary to create a specialized garrison of volunteers and mercenaries.

　If that happens, the current relationship between the Lockhart family and the squires will change dramatically. It may become less of a family-like connection and more of an employer-employee relationship.

　I like the relationship we have now, but whether I like it or not, it will have to change as the Lockhart family grows.

　While I was thinking about this, Nicholas spoke to me with a smile.

“I can’t say you can leave it to me, but to the best of my ability, I will protect this village that Master Zacharias loves so much.” (Nicholas)

　I said nothing, but held his hand tightly.

　Among the squires I spotted Melissa Marlon and Dan Jakes, who looked like they were about to cry.

　I take Dan’s arm and lightly tap him on the shoulder, “Take care of Mel,” I say.

　Dan beamed and said, “Yes, sir. I’ll take care of her,” he nodded emphatically.

　And then I stood in front of Mel.

　She was smiling and making a cheerful face, but her eyes were red and bloodshot, and her nose was a little red as well. She had probably been crying until the early hours of the morning. But she was forcing a smile on her face because it was my departure.

　I became so attached to Mel that I couldn’t help but give her a hug.

　Mel let out a little scream of “Kya!” But she immediately mumbled in a sniffling voice, “Take care, Master Zack…” and began to sniffle some more.

“Ah, Mel will be fine too.” (Zack)

　As I say this, Mel begins to sob.

　Then she mumbles, “Master Zack…” trying to say something.

　I say, “Take it easy. I know.” I hug her body tightly again.

　As I hugged Mel, I whispered, “I’ll be right back here,” and slowly released her body.

　She gave me a tearful smile.

“Please come back. I’ll be waiting…” (Mel)

　I tried to smile, holding back the tears that were about to pour. From the other side, I must have had the same tearful smile as Mel.

　Then, after patting the heads of my brother Theophilus and sister Seraphina, who were both in tears, I stood in front of my grandfather, father, and mother and forced myself to smile, saying, “I will go then.”

　My grandfather nodded with a stern look on his face, as if he were in training, and my father put his hand on my shoulder and said, “Don’t overdo it. I’ll take care of the village,” he smiled.

　My mother hugged me and said, “I know you will be fine, but if you need anything, you can always come home. This is your home,” she said with tears in her eyes.

　Tears started to well up in my eyes too.

　Opening my mouth would have caused tears to spill out, so I simply said, “Yes,” and walked away from my mother.

　Then, once again, I said loudly, “I’m going,” and mounted my horse.

　With tears in my eyes, I smiled once more at my family and left our home.

　Behind me, I could hear the squires and their families saying, “Have a good trip,” and the two cries of Theo and Sera.

　At the gate of the mansion, Liddy, who was leaving with us, Guy, and Sharon were waiting for me.

　Not wanting the three of them to see me cry, I took the lead and led the horse forward.

　This was the first time for me to make such a trip.

　I had said goodbye before when I was in Japan. I remember my mother sending me off when I started working, but this was the first time I had been sincerely sent off by so many people.

　It was the gods of this world who made me meet these people.

　I was grateful to the gods for giving me this happiness.

　And I vowed to do everything I could to fulfill the mission the gods had given me.

　We descended Castle Hill and proceeded through the village, where the afterglow of yesterday’s Midsummer’s Festival was still lingering.

　The villagers, languidly preparing for farm work, noticed us and waved us on. I cross the bridge over the Finn River, taking in the beauty of the village.

　I stopped my horse and looked back.

　There I saw a beautiful landscape of five hills with the steep peaks of the Aquila Mountains in the background.

(This is my hometown. I’m going to Doctus to protect this place. I’ll keep this scenery in my memories, so I don’t lose sight of my purpose…) (Zack)

　With eyes blurred by tears, I let the scenery burn in my eyes and once again continue on my horse.

　Liddy is behind me, but she doesn’t say anything and lets me do what I want.

　After that I never looked back.

　It is about three hundred and seventy kilometers from the village of Rathmore to Doctus. With me and Sharon, who were not used to traveling, we were thinking of traveling about 25 to 30 kilometers per day.

　Guy is the only escort for me, a ten-year-old child, the beautiful Liddy and the lovely Sharon. We were afraid of being targeted by bandits, so we planned to act together with the merchant corps.

　In reality, Liddy is also a fourth-rank adventurer and a first-rate warrior who can use both bow and magic, but to the casual observer she looks like a young, beautiful woman.

　For this reason, my father wanted Hector or Nicholas to escort me, but I refused, saying that it would be a bad idea to detain two outstanding squires for nearly two months round trip.

　Today we are going to the town of Kilnarc, which is 25 kilometers away.

　Kilnarc is a provincial town with a population of about 3,000, but it is a thriving town in spite of its rural location, as it is a stop on the Ars Road connecting the Kingdom of Caum and Pericritor.

　We finally settled down around the time we reached the road five kilometers from the village.

　To shake off the humid atmosphere, I talk to Liddy in a cheerful voice.

“Come to think of it, this is the first time we’ve been on the road. Are the roads here quite wide?” (Zack)

　Liddy nodded her head slightly, “Yes, they are.”

“Yes, it’s wider than this road, but it’s barely wide enough for wagons to pass each other. In the forest, there are more places where wagons can’t pass each other…” (Liddy)

　The road from the village of Rathmore to the Ars road is narrow enough for wagons to pass, only about two meters wide.

　Compared to a few years ago, the number of wagons passing through the road has increased, so the road width has become quite wide, but it was still a rough road that had hair on the animal road.

(To develop the village, the road needs to be improved. If there were wider and better-maintained roads, it would be easier for wagons to come…) (Zack)

　We continued on our way through the western forest with the sun shining through the trees, swaying on our horses. After an hour or so, we came to the Ars Road, a major road.

　The Ars Highway in this area is built in through the forest.

　The turnoff for the road to Rathmore Village is hidden by trees, and at first glance it is hard to tell where to enter. If you look closely, you will see a small sign, but the grass is so thick that a first-time visitor would not notice it.

　The width of the Ars Highway is wider than the road to the village of Rathmore, and is approximately 3 to 5 meters. Of course, the road is not paved and is quite uneven. The road is overhung by tree roots in places, and a horse-drawn carriage without suspension would be very uncomfortable to ride on.

　The horses were careful not to get caught, and it would be very difficult to carry broken items.

(After all, liquor must be transported in barrels, right? It would have been better if the Farthus River had been well-developed for water transportation, but I’m told that there are too many rapids to use it.) (Zack)

　The Ars Highway is built along a large river called the Farthus River. The Farthus River is a river that undulates through mountains and wells, and is not used for water transportation because it has difficult places with rocks jutting out of the middle of the river and a drop-off that is almost a waterfall. It is also said that there are aquatic monsters and the dangers are not comparable to those of a highway.

　And although this is the Ars Road, it is said that when it rains heavily, the water flows toward the Farthus River and the road soon becomes muddy.

　In particular, the road between Kilnarc and Bogwood in the south is 35 km long, and the speed of wagons slows down drastically after a rainfall. In winter, the wagons often fail to reach their destination before daylight, and it is said to be one of the most difficult sections of the route.

　That being said, no merchant caravan would stop at the village of Rathmore, which is five kilometers away, and they often camp in this area. This is because this area is considered to be a fairly safe place to camp.

　In fact, near the Black River, which flows from the village of Rathmore, there is a space for encampment, and there were some campfires left behind.

　I was thinking about the possibility of building an inn town here.

　Originally, this area was the border between the Kingdom of Caum and the Empire of Caelum, so I heard that no town was built here. It is now Lockhart territory, and if my family does not get involved in the development, the town will never be built.

　I was swaying on my horse, thinking about this.

　We continued north on the Ars Road, taking breaks along the way.

　The density of the forest gradually became smaller and smaller as Mount Schiehallion began to appear on the right hand side through the forest trees. The sunlight shining on us was dazzling as we emerged from the trees.

　Looking around, we saw a settlement of a few farmhouses clumped together in a pothole, and sheep and cows grazing in the grasslands.

　At one of the settlements along the way, we ate lunch prepared by Molly, the head maid, and then continued on our horses again.

　A little past two o’clock in the afternoon, we crossed the Sirin River, a relatively large river, and came into view of a walled city.

　Guy pointed out, “That’s the city of Kilnarc,” and Sharon and I almost leaned forward to see the town for the first time.

　I couldn’t help but mutter, “I can’t wait to see the city. …I’ve never seen a city in this world before.”

　Liddy seemed to hear my muttering and chuckled as she spoke to Guy.

“Guy. Zack’s eyes are twinkling, and he wants to see the city. You should go show him around later… Ufufufu.” (Liddy)

　I then gave her a smug look and said, “Okay. I’ll have Guy show you around with Sharon. Liddy’s staying at the inn, right?”, and Liddy really swoons.

“Don’t be mean anymore. I’ll go with you instead.” (Liddy)

“I’m just kidding. We’ll all go together. Unless Guy has something to do.” ()

　Guy seemed to have heard us.

“That’s fine. I’ll be at the guild, but it shouldn’t take too long…” (Guy)

　Both Guy and Liddy thought I was depressed and were acting more cheerful than usual.

　I knew that.

(Both of them are taking care of me. To be honest, Sharon must be lonely too, but it’s probably because I was looking depressed. But I have to move forward. That’s why I won’t look back. I will grow stronger until I come back…) (Zack)

　And so I set out from my home village of Rathmore.

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