Happy Birthday, Krimhild Adelgard
The southeastern frontier of the continent. A small village called Grünwald, where gentle breezes came to rest.
Clear water flowed down from the snow-capped mountains, a place where animals came to quench their thirst.
Children’s laughter filled the streets, and the warm crackle of hearth fires rose from modest homes. It was a humble village.
The people weren’t wealthy, but they lived simply, chasing happiness in their own quiet way.
That was the kind of place it was.
Yes… back then, it really was.
I had believed those peaceful days would last forever.
The stream rippled gently. The water was so clear you could see the riverbed.
That day, I was dipping my feet in and splashing around.
“Humm~♪♬”
I hummed a little tune, enjoying the cool water.
No classes today, so I was going to play to my heart’s content!
Wait… didn’t I still have homework left?
Hmm… Ah, whatever. I can do it later.
Click.
I picked up a pebble that had been rolling along the bank.
If I throw it like this…!
Plop. Plop. Splash—
The stone skipped twice across the surface before sinking quietly into the water.
“Ugh… it’s hard…”
Big brother Sieg managed to make it bounce eight times. How did he do that?
I’ll have to ask him when I get home!
“Home?”
What did Mom say again…?
Um…
『You have to be back before the evening glow fades, Krim.』
That’s right!
Tonight we’re having delicious stew made with the meat big brother Sieg hunted.
“Hehe…”
Just thinking about it made my mouth water, and I couldn’t help but grin.
Rustle—
“Huh?”
What was that? I thought I heard something from the forest.
I turned my head toward the sound without thinking.
From between the bushes, a small creature with silver fur poked its head out.
A fox? Or maybe a rabbit?
I’d never seen an animal like it before!
Was it a fairy?
Anyway, it was adorable!
If I could just hug it tight and stroke that fluffy fur…
Scramble— tap tap tap—
“Ah, wait!”
Did I stare too hard…? It ran away.
Splash— tap tap—
I jumped out of the water and chased after it right away.
I ran without thinking.
Pushing through grass that reached my waist, weaving between the dense trees, I was drawn deeper and deeper into the forest.
“Huff… huff…”
How long had I been running? Where did it go?
When I finally stopped, chest heaving, the mysterious creature had already vanished like smoke.
“Hng… I lost it.”
I pouted in disappointment.
Startled—
The words the village adults used to say came back to me.
They said there were mischievous fairies in this forest who liked to play tricks on bad children.
That kids who didn’t listen to their parents would be taken into the woods and given a good scare.
Wait… am I being punished?
I did leave my carrots on the plate sometimes…
But they taste awful!
Even a fairy wouldn’t eat those, right?
Whoooosh—
Just then, a cold wind blew through the trees and brushed past my body.
“Ugh… it’s cold…”
I shivered without meaning to.
Come to think of it, this was deep in the forest.
I could get attacked by wolves, or lose my way and never find my way home.
This was no place for a child to be alone.
“Uuu…”
What do I do now? Can I even get back home?
I was starting to feel anxious.
That was when it happened.
BOOOOM—!!
“Kyaa!”
A tremendous explosion shook the sky.
The deafening sound came from the direction I had come from.
When I looked up at the sky over there, I froze on the spot.
The clear blue sky had been dyed a bloody crimson.
Thick black smoke billowed up beneath that scarlet heaven.
“Mom…?”
No… it can’t be…
Everything’s fine… it has to be…
A terrible premonition gripped me.
Tap tap tap tap—
“Huff… huff…”
Overcome by fear, I sprinted madly toward the village.
Riiip— slash—
My skirt caught on thorns and tore. Branches scratched my cheeks, drawing blood.
It hurts…
It hurts so much I want to collapse and cry my eyes out…
But I can’t stop…
I have to get home… as fast as I possibly can…
Maybe I had been lured too deep by that fairy.
The way back took far too long.
By the time I arrived, the sky had already turned to twilight.
Splash. Splash.
I pushed through the dense trees, parted the thick undergrowth, and hurried across the churning stream.
When I finally reached the village entrance, the sight before me… I still remember it clearly.
The moment I saw what had become of my village… I couldn’t even scream.
Despair.
Yes. That single word was enough to describe it.
“……Ah.”
It was hell.
The warm village I had known was engulfed in roaring flames.
Between the collapsed ruins of houses, the acrid stench of burning flesh and the metallic tang of blood hung thick in the air.
The baker who used to pat my head every morning.
The friends I studied and played with.
Everyone in the village was either charred black by fire or torn apart, lying scattered across the streets.
The place where clear water flowed from the snow mountains and animals came to drink.
The humble village filled with children’s laughter and the warmth of hearth fires.
The people who lived simply, chasing happiness despite not being rich.
None of that existed anymore.
……
With trembling legs, I staggered toward my house.
Wind God, please… please grant my wish…
At least let my family be safe…
The familiar hill path I had walked so many times.
Just past here is our house.
When I get home, Mom will smile and welcome me.
We promised to eat meat stew together.
……
That wish was in vain.
My small hope burned away in the ash-filled wind, and cruel reality crashed down on the young girl.
“Aah… aaaaaah…!!!!”
In a pool of blood that stained the ground crimson,
Mom… wasn’t moving.
A little farther away, Dad lay motionless, his broken sword fallen beside him.
Thud.
Like a marionette with its strings cut,
I collapsed to the ground.
Emptiness. Futility. They swirled inside my head.
Drip. Drip.
My vision blurred, and hot tears poured down.
“Hwaaaaaang…!! Mom…!! Dad…!!!!”
There might have been enemies nearby.
The me of today would never act so recklessly.
But back then… nothing else came to mind.
I buried my face in Mom’s cold chest and wailed at the top of my lungs.
My cries echoed miserably through the burning village.
Glint—
…Something was there.
Through my tear-filled eyes, something out of place caught my attention.
“Dad…?”
Dad’s rough, blood-soaked hand, frozen in death.
It was clutching something tightly.
With trembling fingers, I carefully pried open his rigid ones.
“What… is this…?”
A cold blue pattern. Grotesquely twisted horns and empty eye sockets.
It was a horrifying crest shaped like a dragon’s skull.
For a moment, my tears stopped.
In eyes stained with despair and sorrow,
a flame slowly began to burn.
I clenched the emblem tightly in one hand.
Shhk— drip. drip.
The sharp edges pierced my soft skin and drew blood, but I felt no pain.
No—this kind of pain was nothing compared to the hell of losing my family.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
That was when it happened.
The moment my blood touched the broken sword,
it began to pulse violently, as if a heart were beating inside it.
“It’s reacting to my blood…?”
The demonic sword Gram.
A legendary blade said to have been forged from the power of fallen gods.
A weapon that chooses its master by responding to the user’s rage and vengeance.
Dad never wanted me to wield this sword.
He wanted me to live a peaceful life full of happiness.
But now… it was too late to turn back…
Vrrr—
The sword was calling to me.
As if urging me to use it and fulfill my desire.
Grab.
Without thinking, I took hold of the hilt.
Then—
WHOOOOSH—!!
“Ugh!”
A fierce wind swirled violently around the sword.
My golden hair whipped in the gale, and I instinctively squeezed my eyes shut.
When the wind finally died down, a new blade had grown from the broken sword.
The oversized hilt meant for an adult man’s hand had resized itself perfectly for mine.
It was the birth of a new sword—
one made only for me…
one forged solely for my revenge.
“…Without fail.”
A cold voice slipped from my lips.
Between my soot-stained hair, my green eyes—once filled with the breeze—now burned with hatred.
“I will find them without fail… and make them pay the price.”
I ground my teeth together.
“I’ll tear every last one of them to shreds.”
That day, the innocent child I had been… died.
On the wind carrying ashes, I sent my childhood away.
Plop. Plop plop. Shaaaa—
Perhaps the sky itself was answering the girl’s resolve.
Heavy raindrops began to fall.
The flames died down, leaving only ruins where the village once stood.
“Mm…?”
The scene of ash and ruin had vanished without a trace.
Instead, a small campfire flickered before my eyes.
“Haa…”
It was a dream…
“Krim.”
“Yeah?”
I lifted my head at the voice.
“Having that dream again?”
The girl sitting across from me poked at the ashes with a stick as she spoke.
She looked at me while chewing on a strip of jerky, just like always.
Brita, the red-haired mercenary girl.
I had hired her as a guide from the mountain village of Ostenfels.
She was a bit talkative, but her skills were the real deal.
“…I just closed my eyes for a bit.”
I looked away and answered curtly.
I glanced down at Gram.
The reflection in its blade no longer held any trace of the innocent girl I once was.
Only the two green eyes, carrying the force of a whirlwind, showed that this woman was the same person as that child.
“Well, I won’t pry if you don’t want to talk about it.”
She tossed the stick into the fire and continued.
“It’s just that whenever you stare at a campfire, you get this look like you’re about to murder someone. Such a waste of a pretty face.”
Brita shrugged and chewed on her jerky.
“…Nonsense.”
What is she even saying?
I stared at her with an exasperated look.
“Whoa, scary. Anyway… we’ll finally reach Windenstadt tomorrow morning. Yawn…”
She gave a short yawn and kept talking.
“It’s a pretty big city where the Wind-keepers manage those artificial wind devices… haaam…”
She stretched, then yawned again without covering her mouth.
She had been talking nonstop the whole way, so I figured this would happen.
“And it’s also the place where those guys with the weird crest you mentioned were spotted.”
“Is that information reliable?”
“Huh? You doubting my network? Of course it’s reliable.”
Brita laughed as if she couldn’t believe I’d ask.
Well, I’ll trust her for now. I need any clue I can get.
It had taken a long time.
From that day until now, I had only repeated futile efforts.
Now that I finally had a lead…
it was time to prepare for the hunt.
“We’ll set out as soon as it’s light. Let’s move before the trail goes cold.”
“Yeah, yeah. But first… haaam…”
She yawned once more, lay down, and added,
“I’m tired, so let’s sleep and move after we wake up. I’m going to bed~ Good luck with the night watch~”
Hmm…
Who was it that said they’d stay up all night?