Chapter 3

The daily life of LaBrana Village was ordinary.

What entertainment could there be in a rural farming village? Finishing one’s duties and gathering at the hall to chat and laugh heartily—that was the joy of life.

One might call it peaceful, but another might say it was dull and monotonous.

But currently, the unusual energy in LaBrana Village was palpable.

“Eat up! You’ll grow tall if you do!”

“You’re eating well, aren’t you?”

“Looks good!”

It was all thanks to a girl who had suddenly appeared one day.

It had been ten years since an outsider visited the village. To those who were waiting for death, her presence was like rain after a long drought.

The elders cherished her as if she were their own blood, treating her like a granddaughter.

“Sit down, you need to read.”

When the girl saw the book the old woman held, she quickly approached her side.

“Where did I leave off?”

Realizing that the girl couldn’t read, the old woman began reading aloud to her.

One letter. Another letter.

Slowly, carefully, explaining the meaning behind each word.

One day, the girl came to the vegetable patch.

“Do you want to try?”

Because she hadn’t learned much language yet, the girl couldn’t understand what the elder said.

“Come here.”

Still, through gestures, she grasped his intention.

Carefully, the girl picked up a plant from the patch.

—

The roots were deeper than expected. Even with more strength applied, they remained firmly attached.

“Take it slow. Rushing won’t help.”

Though she didn’t understand his words, following his example allowed her to pull out the crop.

“Good job.”

—

Holding the harvested crop, the girl pointed hesitantly and asked.

“Ir.”“It’s called a potato.”“Ga… ja.”“Potato.”“—Ga za.”“Ho ho! If you say ‘Ga za,’ then ‘Ga za’ it is!”

The old man laughed. The girl learned that laughter meant approval.

For a while, the girl kept pulling up potatoes.

“One… two… three… four…”

She grabbed the fifth potato, frowning deeply.

—

The old man in the field called out nonchalantly.“Five.”“Da-seo-eo…”

Only after pulling the fifth potato did the girl’s lesson end.

From the five potatoes she dug up, she chose the largest one and headed somewhere.

In a corner of the farm stood a small hut.

Hiding the potato behind her back, she approached Gehran.

Gehran gently wiped the dirt off her cheeks.

“Did you come to play?”

With a casual tone, Gehran received the potato the girl shyly offered.

“Ga za.”

Despite her expressionless face, her actions were undeniably cute, making Gehran smile warmly as he accepted her gift.

“Thank you.”

It was an extremely peaceful everyday scene.

The white and red flowers that grew without being planted brought vitality to LaBrana Village.

Not only the villagers but also the girl found LaBrana Village to be the beautiful world she’d seen in books.

Empire. Emperor. Gold. Coins. Sword. Magic. Knights. Scholars. Heroes. Pope. Followers. Lords.

Among these brilliant things, the girl added a single word.

LaBrana.

Replacing the word “hero,” she engraved his name in her mind.

Gehran.

Hero, Gehran.

The dream of the powerless old man continued through the meaning given by a single girl.

—

Time passed quickly.

Before long, it had been a year since the girl arrived in LaBrana Village.

The villagers gathered in the hall and placed a straw hat on her head.

Next, they lit a candle on a freshly baked loaf of bread.

“Hurry, blow it out.”

People mimicked blowing softly, and the girl followed along.

Ho-o-o…

A gentle breeze extinguished the candlelight. Amidst the rising gray smoke, the villagers shouted together.

“Happy Birthday!”

It was the girl’s first birthday.

—

Late at night after the birthday party, Gehran led the girl up LaBrana Hill.

A place she’d never been before—strange yet mysterious.

Holding Gehran’s hand, the girl looked around the hill.

Flowers. Bugs. Sprouts. Fields. Butterflies. Rabbits. Squirrels.

Things the old woman had shown her in books.

The girl observed the various forms of life that made up the world.

At the top of the hill, Gehran stopped walking. The girl followed and stood beside him.

Gehran gazed at the sky. The girl tilted her head and took in the night sky.

Countless stars floated in the sky. Gehran pointed to the brightest among them.

“Among countless stars, this is the brightest.”

The girl, clutching Gehran’s waist tightly, focused her eyes on the star.

Sirius.

“That’s your name.”

A glimmer of light appeared in the girl’s once-lifeless eyes.

“May you live the brightest life.”

Gehran’s gentle touch felt incredibly warm to the girl.

The girl repeated her first birthday gift.

“Hiriugh.”

Unfazed by her awkward pronunciation, she kept repeating it over and over.

“Shiriuugh.”

Again and again, until it sounded right.

Finally, under the countless stars, the girl proudly claimed her name.

“Sirius.”

Under the vast sky, another bright star was born.

—

Happiness. Luck. Blessings. Miracles.

When you enjoy such things, certain things inevitably follow.

Misery. Bad luck. Trials. Despair.Hardships and adversity.

That’s human life.

You must laugh to forget sadness, and sorrow teaches you how to laugh.

The fairy tale the old woman read to the girl. Sirius didn’t understand its meaning at the time.

Even when she tried to listen, she couldn’t fully grasp it.

“Not done reading yet…”

The old woman’s palm caressed Sirius’ cheek.Her wrinkled hands hinted at her age.

“Sorry.”

The hand that fell weakly was caught by Sirius.

Rough skin.It was the same hand that turned the pages of the book, teaching her about the world.

The old woman complained that fairy tales were absurd, but to Sirius, they were invaluable knowledge and memories.

The next day, holding Gehran’s hand, she attended a funeral.

On a slope near the hill lay a single grave.

A tombstone bore some writing.

[ Rafina ]

The old woman’s name. In a soft voice, Sirius called out her name.

“…Rafina.”

And she memorized it.

Fairy tale, Rafina.

It was the moment Rafina was etched into the depths of Sirius’ heart as a cherished piece of knowledge.

There would be more knowledge for Sirius to preserve.

Vegetable garden, Griselle.

Songs, Dana.

Straw sandals, Fern.

Dark spots, Kashan.

Washing clothes, Braman.

Cleaning, Rael.

Mayor, Karsha.

Muscles, Gawin.

Laughter, Piel.

Clown, Jeroni.

Kindness, Peyno.

Energy, Brick.

Jokes, Edermen.

Perfume, Laila.

Cooking, Bella.

Clothes, Mandy.

Fire, Braush.

And.

Hero, Gehran.

Each of them faced nature’s inevitability in turn.

Just like in the books, their deaths brought new life alongside nature.

Various flowers spread across the hill.Plants flourished, and unknown animals leaped about.

The world flowed according to nature’s principles.

Life and death.

Things that naturally happen.Unchanging truths amidst the passage of time.

Yet, only Sirius remained frozen in place.

She still looked like a young child,still lived without dying,and still stepped foot on LaBrana Hill.

This wasn’t something written in any of the books she’d read.

Things that don’t change.

She’d never learned about such things.

Because time flows and the world changes—that was the natural order, the truth.Books regarded it as obvious.

To Sirius, her own existence felt alien.

Whenever this happened, Sirius sought out Rafina.

“Human.”

She spoke to her again and again.

“I am human.”

A leaf carried by a sudden breeze landed on the tombstone.

A white chrysanthemum leaf.

That was enough.

Sirius descended the hill and returned to LaBrna Village.Though it could barely be called a village with only her left, she didn’t leave.

You shouldn’t regret those who have gone.But neither should you forget their significance.

Sirius didn’t forget what they had taught her.

She sowed seeds and cultivated crops.Cut down trees to repair fences.Spun thin threads to make clothes.

Small rural LaBrana didn’t disappear.The brightest star in the world shone upon them.

—

If someone asked which sect held the most influence in Garcia Empire, everyone would answer the same way.

The Rotarium Sect.

Even within the empire, they weren’t influenced by imperial authority.They were an independent group and religion.

They worshipped a deity and selected a pope to convey His will.

Alzhaberd.The current pope of the Rotarium Sect.

He had ambitions.He wanted to expand his power just a little more.

After all, no matter how dominant a force might be, it was still merely a force.

He aimed to create his own empire.To make all citizens of the empire his followers.

Thus, Alzhaberd cautiously plotted rebellion.Secretly recruiting large numbers of followers and buying up empty lands on the outskirts to hide their existence from the empire.

“LaBrana?”

The pope’s question was answered by a priest.

“Yes, it’s a small farming village on the edge of the empire.”“If it’s a village, then it means there are imperial citizens living there, doesn’t it? We were told to avoid drawing the empire’s suspicion.”

There was always the risk of exposing the hidden followers on the outskirts.Alzhaberd, ambitious and cunning, didn’t want to leave even the slightest room for error.

“The residents of LaBrana Village are all elderly. Perhaps because it’s near the Monster Forest, they don’t pay taxes, so there’s no concern about catching the empire’s attention. They might not even know such a village exists.”

The priest’s words were reasonable.Except for the fact that people lived there.

“In my opinion, they’ve probably all died of old age by now.”“—Indeed.”

Thinking back to when he was an imperial administrator, Alzhaberd agreed that it was possible.

“I’ll submit a document to the empire under the guise of cleansing the Monster Forest. Investigate it once.”

Three days later.An investigation team from the papal office set out on an expedition.