The Weight of Growing Up
The sorrowful cries echoed through the mountain, filling the entire forest. The source of that sound was none other than the spoiled young lady, Ariel Robeheim. She was too busy wailing as if the world were ending, all because of the scrape on her knee and the pain radiating from it.
“All this trouble over a single wild strawberry.”
“Tsk, you should’ve just helped me, Edgar!”
Thanks to his childhood friend’s absurd logic, Edgar felt like he was about to explode with frustration.
A short while ago, after searching for some time, the two of them had finally discovered wild strawberries. Unfortunately, their location was far from ideal. It was the kind of spot where even adults would click their tongues, declare it impossible, and turn back. Edgar had gone through his share of hardship to reach them and wanted to bring some back, but the situation was too dangerous. In the end, he had decided to give up.
Yet this reckless young lady, overflowing with fighting spirit, had declared she would get them herself. That was how she ended up falling and injuring herself. At least it ended with just this much. If things had gone wrong, she could have lost her life. That was how perilous the place had been.
“I take back what I said earlier. I’m not making you my wizard anymore.”
“……”
She wouldn’t even be able to do it if he asked, so what was she talking about? With an expression that said he didn’t even know where to begin, Edgar shook his head. Still, the fact that she hadn’t gone so far as to say she wouldn’t even make him her friend showed that he hadn’t completely fallen out of favor. She was simply the type who knew her own faults but hated admitting them. She wasn’t a child who couldn’t even recognize when she was wrong.
Perhaps mentioning only the “wizard” part and leaving out the “friend” was her last shred of conscience.
“That’s enough. Just sit still. I need to treat you first.”
“How are you going to do it?”
“I brought something just in case.”
Edgar rummaged through his bag again and pulled out a thin piece of cloth and two water flasks. Since she had rolled around on the dirt ground, he first needed to clean the soil and dust from the wound.
“It might hurt a bit, so bear with it.”
“I don’t like pain…”
“This is your own karma, you idiot.”
“I-I told you not to call me an idiot!”
“When did you?”
She had told him not to call her stupid, but she had never said anything about “idiot.” When Edgar, whose mental age was similar to hers, stuck out his tongue and teased her, Ariel swung both arms at him in a fierce attack.
Thump. Thump.
“That hurts! Hey, you idiot! I’m treating you right now!”
“You called me an idiot again! Take this! And this!”
Who cared about treatment? Even if the wound on her knee never healed, she felt like she wouldn’t feel better until she punished the cheeky childhood friend in front of her.
Eventually, after quite some time, Ariel grew exhausted and began panting heavily. Edgar rubbed the spot on his head where he had been hit and let out a sigh. His head wasn’t exactly exceptional to begin with—if it got any worse because of this, he wondered if she even planned to take responsibility.
“I’m going to brush off the dirt first, so stay still.”
“O-okay.”
He should have done first aid much earlier, but quite a bit of time had already passed. ‘It’s my fault for letting her do it in the first place.’ Blaming the mistake on himself, Edgar leaned down and began washing the surface of the wound with the clean water he had brought in the flask.
Ariel winced in pain as the cold water touched the injury, but seeing Edgar working so hard made her feel guilty. She did her best to endure it.
“Where did you learn to do this, Edgar?”
“Just… here and there.”
“Hmm…”
To Ariel, Edgar was a truly fascinating boy. He didn’t seem to read that many books, yet he possessed a surprising amount of knowledge. No matter what situation arose, he handled it with remarkable skill. They were supposed to be the same age—how could there be such a difference?
It wasn’t so much envy or jealousy as it was admiration and awe.
“Don’t you think Edgar is really mature?”
“…Are you asking me that?”
Edgar looked at her with a dumbfounded expression at the sudden comment—or perhaps question.
“Yeah.”
“I doubt anyone would say that about themselves out loud.”
“But Mom says it all the time. That Edgar is so mature.”
Ariel often received praise from Helene, but while she had heard that she was smart or kind, she had never once been told she was mature. That was why she found it so intriguing that Edgar received such frequent praise from her mother—praise that she herself never heard.
“Do you think so too?”
“Mm… I’m not really sure. I don’t even understand what Mom means when she says someone is mature…”
It would probably be only after she passed puberty and approached adulthood that she would truly understand what “mature” meant. Ariel was still far too pure and young to grasp all the implications hidden in that word.
“Do you want to grow up quickly, Edgar?”
“Not particularly. What’s so great about becoming an adult anyway?”
“You can do anything you want. You don’t have to ask Mom for permission when you want to go somewhere, and you won’t get scolded anymore.”
A small smile formed on Edgar’s lips at her childish logic. Well, he had thought something similar when he was younger. He had believed that becoming an adult would mean complete freedom, that he could achieve anything, and that some mysterious power he lacked would suddenly surge forth.
‘What should I say?’
From the perspective of a childhood friend who had already grown up once, what words should he offer her? Should he face reality and tell her that being an adult wasn’t all good things? Or should he play along and say she was right, to protect her innocence?
As those thoughts swirled in his mind, the first aid was finished before he knew it. The thin cloth was now wrapped around her knee. Without saying a word, Edgar moved forward, knelt on one knee, and sat with his back turned to her.
Ariel immediately understood what the gesture meant. With a delighted expression, she approached and leaned her body against his back.
“Am I heavy?”
“It’s fine.”
Thanks to his usual training, she wasn’t unbearably heavy. He hadn’t measured it precisely since arriving in this world, but his strength and physical abilities seemed considerably superior to those of his peers.
They trudged back down the mountain path they had climbed earlier. On the opposite side, the sunset was already beginning to fade. Quite a lot of time must have passed.
‘When we get back to the mansion, we’re definitely going to get an earful.’
There was no helping it. After all, he was an accomplice himself.
“Ariel.”
“Yeah?”
While carefully descending the rather steep slope step by step, Edgar suddenly called her name. He had pondered for a moment, but he realized it would be difficult to leave her with any profoundly meaningful words. Still, as her friend, perhaps he could at least offer this much advice.
“Becoming an adult means this: it means losing something precious in exchange for gaining something else precious.”
“Something precious? What’s that?”
“How would I know? What’s precious to you?”
Precious things? At Edgar’s question, Ariel fell into thought for a moment. Her parents, her friend Edgar and the people of the Bilhark family, the nanny who took care of her. Her favorite toys and picture books. There were many precious things.
“Do I have to lose them no matter what?”
“No, that’s not it. It’s more accurate to say they change rather than that you lose them.”
Edgar listed the things Ariel might consider precious. The picture books she had said were her most treasured possessions, her toys, her accessories, and so on. There were quite a lot of them.
“But once you become an adult, those things might stop feeling so precious to you someday.”
“Why? They’re the things I cherish the most.”
“Probably because something even more precious will appear. Something far more valuable than picture books or toys.”
Ariel found Edgar’s words difficult to understand. But at the same time, she thought it might be possible. If she were told right now to give up either her picture books or Edgar, she would give up the books. If she had to choose between her mother and her toys, she would let go of the toys.
Perhaps what Edgar meant by becoming an adult was that as the number of precious things increased, the ones she had cherished before would gradually fade in importance.
“Do you have anything precious, Edgar?”
“Of course I do. My parents are precious, the people in the mansion are precious…”
He listed quite a few things, but for some reason, Ariel’s name was nowhere to be found among them. She had been secretly hoping to hear it. With her mouth agape, she sank her teeth hard into his shoulder.
“Ow! Why are you biting me?!”
“Why isn’t my name there! You’re such a dummy!”
“That’s…”
He couldn’t exactly say it was because he felt too embarrassed to mention it. After hesitating on his answer, Edgar got bitten once more. Another loud scream rang through the mountain, and only after he added a belated remark did the matter finally come to a close.
By the time they had descended to the middle of the mountain, the deep red sunset enveloped the two of them. It seemed even more intense than before.
Ariel poked her head out slightly to check Edgar’s side profile. His face had turned as red as autumn leaves in full bloom, and the way he gazed at the sunset somehow looked both lonely and incredibly cool.
Thump. Thump.
‘Huh? Why is this happening?’
The moment she became aware of it, her heartbeat began to quicken little by little. It was a sensation she had never felt before. Ariel tilted her head in confusion and cautiously placed her hand over her chest.
Why was this happening? Was her body hurting somewhere? She thought about asking Edgar, but for some reason, the words wouldn’t come out. It felt as if someone inside her heart was shouting, “Don’t!”
“Hey, Edgar.”
“What?”
“Even when I become an adult, I’ll always treasure you. No matter what.”
“…Really? That’s nice to hear.”
She still didn’t quite understand what becoming an adult meant. But the heartbeat she had felt for the first time in her life while looking at his side profile was telling her something. Even if becoming an adult changed what was precious to her, this boy would be the exception.
Ariel quietly whispered “Yes” in her heart to the someone inside her, so that no one else could hear.
It will definitely be that way. Because Edgar and I are friends.
Thump. Thump.
Then her heart pounded fiercely again, as if shouting that it wasn’t so.
‘What on earth is this?’
It was her own body, yet it wouldn’t listen to her. What a strange feeling. But strangely enough, she didn’t dislike it.