Sirius’ everyday life was ordinary.
When she opened her eyes in the morning, the first thing she did was tend to the village garden.
If she was hungry, she prepared a meal, and repaired the old, warped wooden buildings one by one.
If there were no trees, she chopped them down, and if there was no axe, she would enter the small forge and temper the metal herself.
Once all the chores in the village were done, Sirius would climb LaBrana Hill.
She weeded around the graves that had grown wild with grass. It was to keep the tombs clean.
After pulling out all the weeds from every grave laid there, Sirius would climb the hill again.
Every time she reached the summit, the vast night sky greeted her.
In the deep night, Sirius would sit alone on the hill and gaze at the stars.
Among countless stars, she stared at one star that stood out for a while.
Until its bright light faded, Sirius didn’t leave her spot.
Finally, as the stars set, Sirius returned to the village for the dawning day.
During the 20 years they had been gone, Sirius continued her duties.
One day, monsters came over the fence and caused chaos.
Though few, they occasionally invaded, always digging up the village pillars or gardens whenever they appeared.
Despite being a headache to others, Sirius took it lightly, thinking even this process was part of LaBrana Village’s daily routine.
Tch. Sirius grabbed the axe placed in front of the forge.
Originally made for cutting wood, Sirius used it to strike down the monsters when they messed up the village.
At first, she couldn’t land a single blow before dying. She died hundreds of times. Every time she regained consciousness, she picked up the axe again and charged at the monsters rampaging through the village.
Eventually, after a month-long struggle—
Crack!
Sirius protected LaBrana from the monsters invading the village.
The scattered monster heads rolling on the ground, their burst guts, messily severed tails, and strangely twisted snouts littered everywhere, yet LaBrana remained peaceful.
Then one day, while cooking as usual, a commotion arose in the forest.
Sirius guessed it was a monster.
Normally, she would have ignored it until it entered the village, but today was her birthday.
It was a special day, and she didn’t want to see the monsters ransacking the village.
Deciding to kill them before they stepped into the village, Sirius headed toward the source of the commotion with her axe in hand.
But when she arrived, there was no sign of monsters or even damage to the fence.
Sirius didn’t question or suspect anything.
Even though clear footprints lay hidden beneath the fence grass.
Sirius turned back toward the village, as she still needed to finish cooking.
By the time she reached near the village, she saw an unfamiliar creature approaching her from afar.
Though it shouted something loud, Sirius couldn’t understand it.
Still, instinctively, she knew it wasn’t the cry of a monster.
“…Human.”
Sirius judged the creature in front of her as a human.
Her thought process was simple.
In front of her was LaBrana Village, and someone was coming toward her.
Since the only people in LaBrana were the dead and Sirius herself…
She figured the person in front of her must be one of the resurrected dead, like her.
A question flickered in Sirius’ mind.
Who is it?Who has come back to life?
Thud. Thud.
Sirius’ steps quickened.
“Haa…”
Even with her breathing heavy, she didn’t slow down.
Because there were so many things she wanted to say.
Why do crops keep wilting? What causes the trees to rot? How do you untangle knots? Why does the moon change shape?
There were so many questions she wanted to ask.
Stories about rabbits meeting turtles who go to the sea, tales where lying makes your nose grow longer, birds bringing blessings, and monsters wielding clubs.
There were so many stories she wanted to hear.
And then,
“Huuu…”
She wanted to see them.
Contrary to Sirius’ wishes, the figure standing before her was a complete stranger she’d never seen before.
*
Outside, Agarte and Yihan stepped out upon hearing the commotion, finding a girl with red eyes standing there.
“From outside the village, you say?”“Yes, she suddenly ran toward me and just stood there blankly, so I brought her here first.”“Hmm.”
Agarte let out a hum.
He wore an expression as if something didn’t sit right with him.
“Well, isn’t this good? We can ask this girl where the villagers are and meet them!”
Yihan’s words weren’t wrong. To solve the immediate food problem, they needed help from the villagers.
Just one thing nagged at him—it was the axe Sirius held.
‘Not something you usually give to a kid.’
Even in the countryside, no parent would gift an axe to a girl who clearly wasn’t an adult.
They wouldn’t have tasked her with chopping wood either.
To Agarte, the axe-wielding girl didn’t seem normal at all.
That said, was there another way? No.
‘Guess we don’t have a choice.’
Following Yihan’s advice, Agarte decided to ask the girl for help.
Most importantly, he had a mission to accomplish.
He couldn’t afford any unnecessary misunderstandings.
“Where are your parents?”
Upon Agarte’s question, Sirius shook her head.
“…My mistake. Do you know where the villagers are?”
At Agarte’s long sentence, Sirius furrowed her brow. She needed time to think.
Fortunately, none of the words in Agarte’s question were unfamiliar to Sirius.
After a brief silence, Sirius gestured for them to follow her and started walking somewhere.
“Is she leading us?”“Seems so.”
In response to Yihan’s question, Agarte gave a short answer and ordered the investigation team.
“Follow the girl.”
He added another command.
“Prepare for combat.”
Despite Agarte’s thoroughness making Yihan wonder if it was necessary, remembering the Monster Forest nearby, he followed his orders without complaint.
Led by Agarte, the investigation team followed Sirius. They passed through the village and wandered across an unknown field.
Meanwhile, Yihan’s movements were quite noisy.
His face flushed red as he kept glancing at Sirius. Whenever their eyes met, he quickly averted his gaze and stared at the woods instead.
‘…She’s pretty.’
For Yihan, who hadn’t interacted much with women or had any significant relationships, Sirius’ appearance was dangerously appealing.
Even as a member of a noble family, as a viscount, most women within the Ketswin territory would nod if approached.
However, Yihan didn’t consider that love.
He believed true love required mutual affection.
Money. Fame. Power.
He argued such things shouldn’t mix with love—a somewhat naive man.
After becoming a knight, his opportunities to meet women dwindled. Occasionally, he heard about female knights joining the ranks, but none were related to his unit.
In such a situation, Sirius’ presence was more than enough to stir Yihan’s heart.
A non-worldly country girl. Fair skin, crimson eyes, snow-white hair that reminded him of winter. Even her looks were perfect.
Yihan’s heart raced continuously.
“Hmph!”
An awkward cough. Embarrassed, Yihan closed the distance between himself and Sirius.
“Uh, may I ask your name?”“…Sirius.”
Though brief, Yihan smiled contentedly just hearing the girl’s name.
“Sirius… Yes, it’s a beautiful name!”
Back during his training days, he learned some conversational skills from a fellow knight, which proved useful now.
Yihan thought he should treat the guy once this expedition ended.
“Your name?”
This time, Sirius asked.
“My name is Yihan Ke… No, just Yihan will do.”“Yihankke…”“No, no! Just Yihan. Simply Yihan!”
Flustered, Yihan waved his hands wildly as he repeated his name.
Afterward, Yihan engaged in small talk with Sirius.
Well, calling it conversation might be a stretch since Yihan mostly talked while Sirius listened quietly.
But Sirius didn’t find it unpleasant. Listening to him reminded her of Rafina reading fairy tales to her.
After chatting one-sidedly for a while, Yihan made a decision.
‘I want to marry her…!’
It might be hasty, but Sirius had a charm different from the imperial women.
She listened well, was calm, and had a high-pitched voice. Her appearance also appealed to him, making her his perfect ideal type.
Yihan internally praised himself for being dispatched here. After all, he met the respected knight Agarte and his dream girl Sirius.
Of course, when battling in the Monster Forest, he often regretted coming, but now they were far from the dreaded woods.
Thinking that, Yihan glanced at the distant Monster Forest. That’s why he failed to notice Sirius stopping ahead of him and bumped into her slightly.
“Oh, sorry.”“Here.”
His hurried apology was met with an unexpected reply.
Yihan looked up at Sirius.
She pointed somewhere with her finger.
“Here, villagers.”
Where Sirius pointed, the villagers the investigation team had been searching for were there.
All buried in the ground.
