Grandpa, I'm Here
After dealing with dozens of orcs and their leader the previous day, Elsid woke in his own bed the next morning. A faint ache lingered in his muscles. He sat up and stretched his limbs and back, loosening the stiffness.
Grumble.
"Guess it's time to eat first."
As the soreness eased, his stomach clock chimed right on cue. After burning through so many calories fighting the orcs last night, it would have been stranger if he weren't hungry. Though his appetite was dull, he decided to make a simple rice porridge in the pot at home.
Elsid filled his belly while reflecting that porridge was, as always, a rather bland meal. Whoosh! Whoosh!
After breakfast and a short rest, he followed his usual routine with light morning exercises.
"Alright, time to go see Grandpa."
Once the meal and exercises were done, Elsid changed into simple travel clothes, opened the door of his cabin, and stepped outside.
While walking toward his destination, someone called out to him.
"Heading there too?"
The speaker was Bernard, lord of Ragna Castle. The man who had looked utterly wrecked the night before now appeared completely fine. Bernard waved with his uninjured arm and hand, greeting Elsid warmly.
"How's your condition?"
Elsid waved back and asked after him.
"I thought you'd ask about the enemy's movements, yet you're worried about an ally's safety instead. That's unexpected."
"I'm from here too. I can guess the orcs' movements without checking, and of course the lord's safety matters more."
With the leader dead, the orcs would stay quiet for a while. In that time, Ragna Castle would repair its walls and stockpile food. They would prepare for the day a new leader emerged and the monsters attacked again.
Some might call it returning to the same old cycle, but it wasn't. This was the land they had protected with their lives against the endless monsters from the Thousand Water Forest.
"We've always defended it that way for decades."
Elsid could declare it with more certainty than anyone.
"Yes. You're right."
Bernard smiled faintly and nodded in agreement.
"By the way, it seems we're headed to the same place. Or is that just my imagination?"
The two men walked until they reached the quiet outskirts of the village. The only notable event along the way was Bernard stopping at a flower shop to buy a bouquet of white chrysanthemums while Elsid waited. Soon they arrived at their destination: a graveyard filled with countless tombstones.
"It's been almost ten years since I last came here."
Even counting the final visit before leaving the village as a teenager, it had been a long time. As the sight of the graveyard made clear, Elsid had come to pay his respects.
"Is that so? I've come every year."
Bernard replied with a nod.
"Since it's been so long, how about offering a greeting?"
"That sounds good."
Elsid accepted with a nod. Bernard, however, asked him to wait a moment. He knelt on one knee and carefully placed a single white chrysanthemum on every grave. The tombstones were all neatly tended, with no overgrown weeds in sight. After laying flowers on every grave, Bernard took a bottle of grain liquor famous in the Eastern Continent from his robes, poured it halfway into a cup he also carried, and respectfully sprinkled the liquor over the graves three times. Finally, he stepped back, closed his eyes, and bowed his head in silent prayer. Elsid stood beside him and did the same.
Bow!
...
...
For several minutes, neither man spoke. They simply stood with heads bowed.
"Now then, shall we go to the place you originally intended to visit?"
After a while, Bernard lifted his head, opened his eyes, and led the way. Elsid followed him deeper into the forest behind the main graveyard.
"Looks like someone got here before us."
At their destination stood another visitor, just as Bernard had said.
"Uncle Tom."
"Figured you'd come."
The man was Tom, the village's only blacksmith and the last surviving friend of Elsid's grandfather. Tom greeted them with his usual rough warmth.
"I was just reminiscing about old times. Time flies, doesn't it? Come on over, you brats."
"By the way, Elsid, it's been nearly ten years since you last stood in front of these graves."
In front of Tom were several massive tombstones, far larger than the ones they had passed earlier. There weren't many of them—only eight in total—yet each was enormous. Elsid's eyes were drawn first to the inscription on the nearest stone.
Ragna Castle's 11th Lord. Buckerson — My son, I never meant to pass this burden so soon. Forgive me for laying such a heavy weight upon you.
Ragna Village's 12th Chief. Berdin — Son, go raise some hell! I'm off.
Lock — Damn it all! They say numbers don't lie in a brawl!
Tori — I lived swinging my sword to protect others. I have no regrets.
Dread — I died before those I admired and loved. A truly satisfying end.
Wochi — I sought the realm that calls down thunder from clear skies and summons storms. Yet even an incomplete realm can save a single child. That much I learned.
Nuana — Those bastards! Dropping a meteor from the sky?! If I hadn't canceled it with my own self-destruction spell, everyone else would be dead!
The towering stones, each marked with a cross, bore the final words of the warriors who had given their lives defending the village. Some inscriptions were humorous, others solemn or filled with rage. Every name belonged to someone Elsid had known since he was five years old.
Seven stones stood in a row. At their center rose an eighth and final monument, the largest of them all. Elsid read the name and inscription carved upon it.
Ragna Village Guard Captain. Elysion — Elsid, when I first met you I wondered what kind of beastly child had appeared. But as time passed, you became a precious son who found his way to this lonely old man. Thank you. Do not misuse the wooden sword I gave you as a gift. Use it only to strike down villains. P.S. That day was not your fault. Do not blame yourself. Find your own path with the sword.
Elsid stared at the stone bearing his grandfather's name, eyes distant.
'That might be difficult, Grandpa.'
Even if everyone else forgave him for that day, he could never forgive himself. Because of him, lives that should never have been lost had been taken.
Thud!
"If you have any sword fights to settle in the afterlife, use this. It's a poor offering for the greatest swordsman, but..."
While Elsid stood lost in memory before the inscription, Tom placed a greatsword before Elysion's grave. Bernard had already left on other business, leaving only Elsid and Tom at the tomb.
"I should be going now."
"I know. You've finished the last thing you needed to do in this village... It's time to leave."
Tom showed no surprise; he had sensed Elsid's departure long ago.
"Before I go, may I ask one thing?"
"I can guess, but what do you want to know?"
Tom tilted his head, granting permission.
"Vandel. If he's traveling while forging weapons and giving them to people he likes, do you know anything about where he might have gone?"
Elsid and Vandel had been each other's only friends in childhood. Knowing Vandel's personality better than anyone, Elsid hoped Tom might have a clue.
"Hmm... Look for the man called the 'Sword of the Eastern Continent' in the trading city of Nao. If anyone has Vandel's weapons, it's him."
"Thank you."
Elsid bowed his head in gratitude.
"Don't push yourself too hard."
"I don't know about that. Worrying..."
"Hah. Even knowing that, I worry all the more. Haa..."
Elsid tried to reassure him, but Tom cut him off with a heavy sigh filled with many emotions.
"Then I'll see you next time, Uncle."
Leaving Tom's worried sigh behind, Elsid offered a light bow and walked away from the graveyard. The intense days in Ragna Castle had ended, and Elsid's journey as a swordsman was about to begin in earnest.