Episode 1-a. The Village Where Letters Fly In.
Time just keeps passing.
What was a day turns into two days, what was two days becomes three and then four.
Thus, it became six days past five.
Before I knew it, we were rushing towards the end of a week.
In the meantime, nothing was accomplished.
In the eyes of those we are helping, a slightly brighter flame began to bloom, and it seemed like my companions felt a sense of fulfillment in doing so.
However, amusingly, aside from that self-satisfaction, neither they nor we had received any letters.
I felt a bit bitter about this internally, and perhaps my feelings were apparent, as my companions started to say something to me while heading out of the accommodation first.
“Ain hyung, it’s okay if there are no letters! You’ll be guiding us anyway, right?”
“That’s right, Ain oppa. If there are no letters, it just means you have to work harder, right?”
“…If you’re going to console me, at least do it properly.”
““Cheer up!””
The children burst into playful laughter and darted off, taking bread with them as they ran away.
“I’ll try my best. Still, your complexion seems better than a few days ago.”
“Please, Horn-sshi.”
“Of course.”
Rather, it seemed like the old man was quite sentimentally reminiscing about old memories, without any particular complaints he took on my request.
And then.
“Ha ha… then, I will be off as well. Let’s do our best to save many people today….”
“Hey.”
“Yes…? Why do you call me?”
“Don’t make any mistakes and help people well.”
“Ha ha… don’t worry.”
Avery straightened his hunched back and confidently exclaimed those words before heading outside.
At least, the initial chaos due to allergies had calmed down, and there wouldn’t be any major problems now, so he would manage somehow.
With my companions stepping out first, I too set out with bread and medicine in hand.
I couldn’t just have them do everything while I stayed still.
Amusingly.
Lucia… Vicente Todorica Seymour, who once opposed the salvation of commoners, had found herself selling her dream in Litera.
Litera.
If there were rumors circulating in the village of flying letters, it ultimately led back to letters themselves.
Rumors about a robust adventurer having received a letter and set off, or a lofty wizard who smiled derisively as soon as they got a letter upon arrival.
Or tales of some fool who tried to fish for letters with a scoop and fell off a roof, and of someone who ended their life in despair for not receiving a letter.
As letters flew through the sky, rumors swirled among the people below.
They were mainly whispers of those who had not been selected.
Voices filled with envy and jealousy toward the chosen ones who were admired and coveted.
So, for them, there were no words they could utter aside from letters.
They came here for letters, gazing heavenward in search of them.
In Litera, there was always talk of that one piece of paper that everyone earnestly wished for.
However.
At least for now, a different rumor was spreading.
A rumor of strange individuals helping people was circulating through the mouths of many inhabitants of Litera.
“Here, eat this. Apply this medicine to your wound.”
“Ah, thank you….”
The voices of those who seemed to be unnecessarily suffering flowed and flowed until they eventually filled Litera.
It definitely reached my ears.
Because I was directly involved, and my companions working a bit further away were involved too.
I realized that the gazes of many who had only looked up at the sky were slowly turning towards me and my companions.
They say it’s a ridiculous thing.
They say it’s odd to offer help to those who surely will not be chosen, instead of lining up for those who seem likely to be selected.
They whisper it’s hypocrisy.
That we only help those who appear pitiful and unfortunate, foolishly thinking that doing so will earn us a letter.
And.
To put it bluntly, I don’t think either statement is completely wrong.
What they uttered was a majority opinion, so it must have been a reasonable and rational statement.
However, that doesn’t mean my resolve would waver.
I have been a hypocrite since childhood, and I have no intention of casting aside this mask now.
“Little one, what kind of letter do you want to receive?”
“….”
Perhaps I had resolved to live this life since helping the small girl with a gray hue in her aura.
“It’s okay if you don’t want to say it. Come on, take the bread and medicine.”
“I want….”
“….”
What had clearly been hypocrisy now seemed to fray and crumble, the process of calculating its worth simply disappearing.
“I wished to become a great adventurer… continuously….”
“I see.”
From their murky eyes, slowly—vibrantly—flames began to bloom, and it became a truly beautiful sight.
“But now… I wish to be an adventurer like you.”
“….”
“I also… I want to be someone who helps others.”
“…Yeah. You can become that.”
“I will try not to cling to letters….”
The seed I had sown, the hope I had planted, remained alone, slowly sprouting.
It inadvertently brought me to tears.
The desolate and lifeless scenery began to change.
Our efforts, which had lasted only a few days, were making them harbor emotions beyond despair and yearning.
“Tershi, do you remember? Back then, when you were little, you cried all the time, and everyone called you the crybaby instead of your name.”
“Ha ha… I don’t know when that story is from. But now… I don’t really cry anymore.”
The elderly woman, who had only gazed at the sky, sat on the fountain’s edge conversing with Horn.
“Ha, what are you saying? I saw you tearing up the moment we met again, little one.”
“Though I might still seem like a child to you… I’ve entered old age in the human world. I guess that’s just because I spent too long looking up at the sky.”
Her voice, which had been severely crackled, had become quite decent and she spoke rather normally.
“Hmph, I know all about it now. I understand well how long 50 years is, little one.”
“Ha ha… that was not a dwarven discriminatory remark, I see.”
The woman’s eyes, which had once gazed at the sky with all hope crushed beneath despair, now held other things within them.
She no longer looked at the sky.
With a wistful gaze, she looked at Horn, smiling bittersweetly, continuing the conversation.
“I will probably leave tomorrow. So… do you want to come with me? I can give you a ride to the city if you want.”
“….”
“It’s fine if you don’t want to, little one.”
“I… I would like to wait a bit longer, Horn-sshi.”
“…Alright.”
Though she couldn’t let go of her yearning for a letter, the corners of her mouth were slightly raised.
I stared blankly at that scene for a while and then turned to leave.
Litera had quite a few children.
Most had lost their parents or had been abandoned by them, leaving them without any warm hands to hold onto.
Ironically, even in such a small village, the children’s playground was an alleyway untouched by people.
“Yay! I win! Tori, you have to sing since you lost!”
“No… Yaki, that’s cheating!”
“There’s no such thing as cheating in the ruthless world of competition. Right, everyone?”
“““That’s right! Sing quickly, Tori!”””
As I stepped toward the alley, the sight of children gathered there came into view.
Two twins were laughing and giggling together among a bunch of scraggly kids.
“Ugh… All you have to do is sing…”
“Hehe! You have to tell Ain hyung everything when we get back!”
Everyone held marbles in one hand and bread in the other, smiling as they did so.
Perhaps having lost in the marble game, Tori stood up alone with a flushed face and began to sing.
“Shall we go to Jongno~ or Myeongdong~”
“No, Tori. What if you sing the song Ain hyung hummed?”
“I… I don’t know…! This is the only song I know! Should we rather go to Cheongnyangni~”
It was problematic only because it was the song I had hummed while driving the cart, but seeing the children happily laughing made me feel joy.
The twins were doing their best like that.
It was certainly a different kind of help compared to Horn, but it was what made those children smile.
“Fin…! The song is over! Do it again!”
“Guys, let’s make Tori sing again!”
“““Wow!”””
To the children who had been listlessly staring at the sky, it was undeniably filling them with vivacity.
It was truly help that allowed a child to laugh like a child.
The doctor is noble.
Their efforts should not be belittled.
The hand of someone who wishes purely and innocently to save lives is indeed remarkable.
“Ha ha, does it feel better now?”
“Yes, thanks to you, I really feel better now… Thank you, doctor.”
“Not at all. I’m just doing what I ought to do.”
And that was the reason I welcomed Avery as a companion.
Though he was inexperienced and clumsy due to not receiving proper training and lacking the right tools, he would still help.
“How about the others? Is everyone alright?”
“Ah, no. I feel better now. Thank you so much, doctor…”
“Ha ha, well, I need to check other places, so I’ll be taking my leave now.”
His eyes shone brightly like stars without any despair.
He certainly found a way to keep going, unafraid of failure.
In truth.
On the first day, due to an allergic reaction, he was scolded by several people and chased away, treated like a quack.
I heard Horn whispered that he returned to the accommodation after receiving such harsh words from those whose hearts were already broken.
Still, he smiled.
He went up to those who cursed at him, bowed deeply, apologized, and helped them with a smile.
“Ha ha, is everyone’s body feeling a bit better?”
“Oh, doctor! I feel so much better thanks to you!”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
He simply smiled until they felt a sense of gratitude.
And.
“Is there anyone in pain? I am here to help.”
Before long, he didn’t stutter anymore, at least when dealing with patients.
When he returned to the accommodation tonight, he would stutter again, but he wanted to stand as a doctor when treating patients.
We.
Even on the night of the 6th day, continued to plant the seed called hope.
The hope we planted in them was growing, continuing to thrive, hoping ultimately for fruits of letters to bloom among the verdant leaves.
