Episode 1-a. The Town Where Letters Fly In.
Horn has a past.
He has a past that he hides deep within his heart, never speaking of it to others.
It is a past that has not changed for 50 years, nor does it change in the present, always making the old man lonely.
Things were difficult for the dwarf elder who ventured alone out of his territory and stepped into human territory.
The customs were different, the culture was different.
The food they ate was different, and the accommodations were also different.
They were so foreign to each other that it was hard to find anything that aligned.
And as he lived among such things, a year passed, and then ten years; time had flowed through cycles of a few changes.
Horn, with a small spark in his deeply sunken eyes, headed towards a small village where precious things would arrive.
There he met various people.
All had come in search of something precious, just like the old man, and everyone looked up at the sky with hidden reasons.
How long had Horn spent in a place where decisions were made in a week?
Ten days, or maybe even a hundred days.
Perhaps he had let about a year of time pass by.
During that time, he found faces that had become familiar one by one.
There were a few people who were foolish and naive, hoping endlessly for precious things to come their way.
Around the time a year had passed, Horn ultimately gave up and left Litera.
But when he returned 50 years later, there was still a woman standing in front of the fountain, looking up at the sky.
In her flower-like age, she had now taken on the appearance of an elderly woman.
The bittersweet scene that had once been filled with familiar faces had now faded to a poignant scene with only that one woman remaining.
Thus,
Horn paused to look at that scene, clicked his tongue, and stepped inside.
“Hey, long time no see.”
“….”
Horn’s gruff voice reached the woman staring vacantly at the sky by the fountain, but she simply continued to gaze at the heavens with vacant eyes.
“…, Tershi. You’ve aged quite a bit. In that short time, you’ve become just like me.”
And when he called out the name he had not forgotten despite the long time that had passed, the vacant eyes turned toward the old man.
“Horn, sir…?”
“Yes, it’s Horn.”
It must have been quite a while since he had spoken, with his voice that was harshly cracked, Horn gave a bitter smile as he heard it.
“Really… it’s been a long, long time…”
“…, it’s been 50 years.”
“Haha… I didn’t expect you to say that, sir… You said dwarves don’t particularly care about time…”
“That’s a discriminatory remark against dwarves, kid.”
“…, Haha. You’re still the same…”
For a dwarf who could easily live for over a thousand years, 50 years was surely a meaningless passage of time.
But for an old man living among humans, it had taken on a different meaning.
Even if the old man felt that time had not changed, he had come to realize that the humans who filled his surroundings had grown old and faced death over that time.
Thus, Horn looked at the woman before him, with emotions that had been pent up inside beginning to flow out.
“…, did everyone else give up and leave?”
“Give up… if those who returned to the earth first are giving up, then yes, it would be that.”
“…, is that so.”
Thinking of those who had returned to the earth in those 50 years brought a bitter taste that made him spit on the ground.
And the woman with vacant eyes asked a question, curious about the old man who had finally returned to Litera after such a long time.
“Sir, you gave up long ago… so why did you come back?”
“….”
“Cough… are you thinking of begging again?”
The reason Horn had returned.
It was neither of his own volition nor something he had desired.
Simply put,
“No, I didn’t come for my letter. I just…, came for the dream of a certain young one.”
“…, you?”
“Yes.”
That was the wish of a human who had drawn in the old man, who had been gradually consumed and sinking under the weight of the past.
“Haha… you’re still bad at lying now as you were back then… You haven’t given up, have you?”
“…, what are you talking about?”
“Your form is so different now than before… it’s good to see. You’ve become quite eloquent in the meantime…”
And saving the woman before him was also the wish of that foolish human.
The old man continued the conversation with the woman, rationalizing as he went, hoping that other sentiments would take root instead of despair.
Now, there are twin siblings living under a different name.
Children who became orphans after their parents were killed in conflict.
Abandoned children.
Little ones who had to live only with each other.
Did the word hope hold any meaning for the children who had nothing and were rolling around on the streets?
There was no compassionate person to add new fuel to the dying embers, so everyone struggled to survive; the children could not be cared for.
Thus, the twin siblings waited only for the day they would die together, holding each other tightly.
But now.
They had come to harbor hope.
They wished to move forward.
“Tori, shall we go over to those kids?”
“That’s not a bad idea, Yaki.”
They smiled broadly while calling each other by their new names.
And it was certainly the work of some unremarkable man.
Because there was a foolish person who could add new fuel to the dying embers, a man who, despite his own struggles, cared for the children.
The twin siblings got up from where they had been lying and began to walk after him.
“Hello, kids?”
“What are you…?”
Approaching the children who were losing hope just like they had before being rescued by that man.
“We came to receive letters too. Right, Tori!”
“That’s right. We came to get something precious too.”
They smiled brightly and stretched out their hands as the twin siblings.
They hoped.
They hoped that there would be no children who had to die lonely.
They hoped that there would be no children who had lost their parents or been abandoned by them.
“Are you hungry? Shall we share some bread?”
At least at that moment, they hoped that the children who were starving, wishing for letters, could be saved.
Avery.
What was the reason he wished to become a doctor who could defeat the plague?
Was it when the townspeople began to cough and fall one by one?
Or was it when finally even his parents and younger sister began to fall ill like the villagers?
Or perhaps it was when the priests who had come to confirm the spread of such an epidemic just shook their heads and left.
In truth, he wasn’t quite sure.
After all, he had no divine nature, and no mana, only a life of ordinariness.
No matter how much he tried and endeavored, he could only rise to a fairly average level.
When he managed to escape the village where everyone had perished due to the plague and reached the neighboring city, Avery laughed in despair.
There was nothing he could do.
He was powerless and ignorant, unable to accomplish anything with his own hands.
All he could do as an ordinary man who couldn’t grasp anything was eat and sleep.
So,
Avery probably started opening books and reading them without any direction from that time on.
Though he lived day to day, he went to the library and read books aimlessly.
That was the spirit of someone who had nothing to lose.
He was a simple youth from a small village who just wanted to become a farmer like his parents.
He wished to save people.
He wished to live a life for others.
No matter how many times he failed, he would strive to save people.
“Haha… hello. You don’t look well, so I came to check on you. Even though I look like this, I’m a doctor…”
“Uh… are you really a doctor…?”
“Of course. I’m the kind of doctor who tries to save people…”
With that in mind, Avery took a step forward.
“Um… I’m not exactly sure, but would you like to try this potion?”
“No, why would I…”
“Oh, don’t worry! Haha… it won’t kill you, I promise…”
He approached the shabby-looking people who were just staring at the letters in the sky.
He examined them and handed them the potions he had brought with him.
Though it might appear a bit absurd and untrustworthy,
It was truly a simple heart that only wished to help others.
Thus, on the night of the third day, there were comrades returning to their lodging and relaxing from their travels.
“Hey, did you do well today?”
“Yes! We talked to the kids and shared bread too!”
“Good job, tomorrow do the same but try to become a bit closer, and share dreams as well.”
“Don’t worry!”
Yes, it seems the twins did alright.
Next, the final person.
“Sir, how about you…?”
“I’ve tried talking, but I don’t really know what could change with just me. It’s been too long.”
“Um… feel free to stay a bit longer, even a little over a week is fine, please continue.”
“Got it, kid.”
The old man seemed to be making an effort in his own way.
Just the fact that Horn had the will to continue the conversation like that was enough.
Now, for the final person.
“Avery.”
“Haha… um, there was one person who had an allergic reaction after taking the potion, but it’s fine. There were no issues at all.”
“….”
“I’ll keep trying tomorrow. Haha… ah, as long as I can calm it down within three times, right…?”
“Damn you… just, never mind.”
“Haha…”
Why does he always seem so anxious?
Avery simply gave a sheepish smile.
He didn’t know him that well either now.
