chapter 9

How to Live as a Hero in a Magical World

Let’s Go to the Volcanic Zone

Kaian put down the teacup he had been drinking from and checked the pocket watch.

Today was September 29th.

And the current time was 2:00 p.m.

It was the time of the final showdown he had decided on beforehand.

From this moment, he planned to find the Flame Veil and return home within eighteen hours.

―Rustle!

Kaian pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper from his trouser pocket.

At the very top of the paper, in large letters, it read:

[Things Needed to Find the Flame Veil]

Kaian gazed proudly at the list he had written himself.

For an eight-year-old, his handwriting was surprisingly neat.

I spent a whole week revising and revising it until I finally finished it…!

Everything written on this list would increase his chances of surviving and succeeding.

Kaian jumped down from the chair, which was still a little too high for him to sit on comfortably.

Beside the chair was the backpack he had brought down beforehand.

It wasn’t particularly large, but neither was it small enough to be considered tiny. It was big enough to cover Kaian’s back and half of his head.

“I can’t forget anything.”

Kaian opened his eyes wide and carefully compared every item on his list with the things inside his backpack.

He had already checked it more than ten times the previous day, but—

“There’s no harm in checking again.”

Counting off each of his fingers, now covered in calluses and scratches from the past several days, Kaian muttered to himself.

“Water bottle… got it. Lantern… got it. Wooden clogs… five pairs, good. Blanket… packed. Oh, right! The—”

There was one important item still missing from his backpack.

Realizing this, Kaian was about to shout out its name, but immediately clamped a hand over his mouth.

Then he hid behind the dining table and looked around warily.

Fortunately, the person he was most wary of—Eldarin—was nowhere to be seen.

“Phew.”

For some reason, Eldarin had finished tea earlier than usual today and disappeared.

Thanks to that, it was easier for him to check the contents of his backpack.

Even so, he couldn’t help feeling nervous.

Kaian got up to retrieve the only item on his list that he hadn’t packed.

“I can’t believe me. I almost forgot the most important thing.”

He put the backpack on as naturally as possible and headed toward the kitchen.

There was no one watching him, but for some reason, he felt like he had to act that way.

Kaian casually slipped around the corner of the kitchen.

And then—

He came face-to-face with Amber’s amber-colored eyes, staring directly at him.

His face immediately lit up.

“Amber…! Please give me my lunchbox…!”

Kaian whispered urgently.

Amber quickly handed him the lunchbox she had carefully wrapped.

She was Kaian’s most reliable ally—and his only ally—in this operation.

…An ally whose voice I’ve never heard even once.

As Kaian put the lunchbox into his backpack, he remembered the first time he had sneaked into the kitchen.

About a week ago.

He had recently learned the recipe for a high-calorie bread made with plenty of honey and nuts, perfect for traveling long distances.

He had found the recipe in a book from the second-floor study Eldarin had prepared for him:

Backpacks Light, Calories Heavy: Recipes for Travelers.

He had gathered the necessary ingredients from his workplace, desperately trying not to get caught stealing them.

His heart had been pounding the entire time.

It was the old saying about how a guilty person always feels nervous.

For a while, Kaian would flinch whenever his eyes met Eldarin’s.

So that’s what they mean when they say you can’t live peacefully after committing a crime.

But once a crime had been committed, he absolutely couldn’t afford to get caught.

So that day, Kaian had headed to the kitchen in the very early hours of dawn to carry out the perfect crime.

And Eldarin wasn’t the only person he had to avoid.

I have to avoid Amber, too. Actually, she’s probably even scarier…

With his body completely recovered, Kaian once again descended the wooden staircase on all fours.

That made less noise.

The moment he rounded the corner of the kitchen, Kaian found himself staring into a pair of amber eyes gleaming in the blue light of dawn.

Hyeeeok…! W-What are those eyes…?!

The fact that he had bitten down hard on his tongue and managed to suppress his scream was an impressive display of quick thinking, even in hindsight.

Kaian tightly gripped his trembling legs.

Even if a tiger—or rather, a spirit—was going to eat him, he could survive as long as he kept his wits about him.

Amber continued staring at Kaian without the slightest reaction.

Then Kaian remembered something Eldarin had told him.

Ah… Amber can’t speak, right.

Amber, who had borrowed the body of a spherical-jointed doll, had no vocal organs.

However, as a spirit, she could communicate directly with another person’s consciousness, so she did have a voice—just not a physical one.

The day he had heard that, Kaian had realized there was no way he would accidentally hear Amber’s voice.

Still… she can at least use body language, right?

Kaian gathered his courage and opened his mouth.

―You’re up early?

No response.

―Can I… use the kitchen for a bit?

Still no response.

―Are you… going to tell Eldarin…? Hup! Or have you already told her?

Kaian asked with the most pitiful expression and gestures he could manage, like a frail little butterfly.

Amber seemed to ponder for a moment.

But soon, she lightly shook her head.

Then she moved slightly to the side, as if telling him that it was fine to use the kitchen.

Kaian silently cheered inside.

Yaaay!

His eighteen-hour plan to find the Flame Veil was impossible to carry out on an empty stomach.

Kaian was extremely happy, though he never figured out why Amber had agreed to keep his secret.

Even on the day he left, he still didn’t know.

His most plausible theory was that she had simply wanted to protect the kitchen.

Probably because I burned it twice…

That morning, Amber didn’t actually leave the kitchen.

Instead, she stood behind Kaian and watched him work.

That made Kaian nervous, but it also filled him with a strange sense of motivation.

He intended to show Amber the results of his research.

Hehehe. Just you wait. I’ve memorized the recipe…! Well… there’s no harm in being careful.

Kaian took out the recipe he had written beforehand and placed it near the counter.

Finding the necessary seasonings took longer than he expected.

So once he had gathered the ingredients, he immediately pulled out a kitchen knife.

Just as he was about to bring it down on the ingredients with a confident motion—

Amber tapped Kaian lightly on the shoulder.

He turned around.

Amber’s expression was serious.

Ah… I guess this really is too much. Well, even at the Velore residence, I was the only one forbidden from entering the kitchen…

Kaian assumed he was about to be kicked out.

But Amber tapped his dejected shoulder again.

Then she slowly began cooking according to the recipe Kaian had written.

Huh…?

She even stopped from time to time and tapped the space beside her.

Kaian immediately understood what she meant.

―…!

From that day onward, Kaian learned to cook from Amber every morning before dawn.

Amber carefully inspected the ingredients he had chopped every single time, as if checking whether he had accidentally chopped up one of his fingers along with them.

―Don’t people usually check their hands when something like that happens…?

Kaian tried to stop her, but Amber pretended not to hear him.

But thanks to her, I was able to finish my lunchbox.

If Amber hadn’t helped him, Eldarin would have caught him ages ago, and the lunchbox would have turned out a complete disaster.

Remembering the past week, Kaian carefully packed the precious lunchbox away with a grateful heart.

But Amber, watching him, seemed dissatisfied with something.

Kaian’s thoughts began racing.

That look…!

It was a look he had often seen on his mother Riana.

―Glance.

Kaian showed Amber the inside of his backpack.

And sure enough, Amber immediately began rearranging the things inside.

Was it really that messy…?

Kaian scratched his head and watched her work.

Amber placed a thermos on each side of the backpack so that the weight would be evenly distributed.

She stacked the blanket and various other items between them, then placed the lunchbox right on top.

The five pairs of wooden clogs were hung outside the backpack to reduce unnecessary bulk.

One by one, everything clicked neatly into place.

To Kaian, it looked no different from magic.

Without realizing it, he began clapping in amazement.

―Clap, clap, clap, clap!

“Wow…! You can fit so much more this way.”

Kaian looked inside the backpack again in amazement.

Amber stared intently at the little back of his head.

He looks like a chestnut… No, an acorn.

She even lifted the backpack herself and placed it onto Kaian’s shoulders.

Kaian hopped up and down in place, then turned toward Amber with a bright smile.

“It doesn’t move around, and it’s much more comfortable!”

It was the same smile she had seen countless times over the past week while they made lunchboxes together.

Every time, Amber had to make a conscious effort to suppress the smile that threatened to appear on her face.

If I get too attached to him, it’ll only hurt later.

Even so, Amber secretly cast a spell on Kaian’s lunchbox to give him energy.

Whether he knew about her feelings or not—

Kaian gave her the affectionate smile unique to the youngest child and waved energetically.

“Thank you! Then I’ll be back, Amber!”

Amber still didn’t answer.

She didn’t nod.

She didn’t smile.

But Kaian knew that the amber in her eyes had grown warmer than before.

Hmm. I should say goodbye to my mountain-goat elf teacher, too.

Eldarin had finished tea earlier than usual today and disappeared, but she was surely somewhere in the house.

There was no way she would miss watching her precious disciple leave.

“Ssss…! Eldarin! I’m heading out! Wait for me!”

Kaian shouted at the top of his lungs before hurriedly leaving through the front door before he could get scolded.

With the heavy backpack on his back and his confident stride, he thought he looked pretty cool.

And so, for his great first adventure, he strode away from the house—

Only to suddenly make a U-turn.

Kaian ran back toward the entrance.

“Bathroom, bathroom, bathroom.”

He might as well enjoy the benefits of civilization to the fullest before leaving.

Kaian ran through the golden fields.

The sound of the wind battered his ears.

―Whoooooosh!

My stamina has to be at its best at the beginning. I need to get as far away as possible while I can.

According to the book about long-distance running, Around the World Barefoot: Together, the key was to maintain one’s pace with a steady breathing rhythm.

“In, in… out. In, in… out.”

Kaian concentrated on his breathing.

The days he had spent preparing for this journey flashed through his mind.

The recipe was useful, but the study Eldarin prepared for me helped in so many other ways, too.

For example, the idea of attaching straps to his backpack that connected across his chest and waist so that it wouldn’t bounce around while running came from a book called A Guide for Beginner Travelers.

He had also reinforced the seams several times so the backpack’s shoulder straps wouldn’t snap under the weight.

For that, he had referred to Sewing: From Repairs to Creation.

As for making wooden clogs, the book Beauty for Your Feet, which introduced and explained how to make footwear from various cultures, had been a huge help.

Sewing was harder than cutting things with a knife…

Thanks to that, Kaian was still wearing fresh bandages around his fingers.

He had injured himself plenty while shaping wood, too.

Woodworking was fun, though. Sewing wasn’t fun at all.

There had been quite a few things he needed to make in order to safely reach the volcanic zone.

But it was impossible for a beginner to learn how to work with various materials in just one week.

So Kaian mainly used pieces of wood that happened to be lying around to make what he needed.

One of those things was the object ahead of him.

A red flag fluttering beneath the clear blue autumn sky.

“Haah, haah! I can see it! The flag!”