Reminiscence
Gong*. Gong*. Gong*.
The sound of the church bell, marking 3 o'clock, echoed in my ears.
This is the orphanage attached to the church.
It's where me, Bruce-nii, who was five years older than me, and Kenji, who was three years younger and who was extremely attached to me, spent our childhoods.
Children can stay in the orphanage until they reach the age of 15, when they become adults. They must somehow find a job and leave the orphanage by then.
At that time, I was 11 years old and admired Bruce-nii, who had already become an accomplished adventurer.
Bruce-nii became an adventurer at the age of 12, started an adventure party with his friends from the orphanage at the age of 13, and became an A-class adventurer at the age of 15.
Incidentally, at the age of 15, he was the youngest person to become an A-class adventurer.
Well, recently Shiro illegally became an A-class adventurer at the age of three.
There's no way I wouldn't admire Bruce-nii, who was from the same orphanage and was so cool.
And he didn't have a shiny head back then either.
At that time, all the boys at the orphanage wanted to become adventurers like Bruce-nii.
Not only that, but I admired Bruce-nii and tried my best to become an adventurer while swinging a wooden sword.
If I had magic talent, I might be scouted by an adventuring party, but at that time, I couldn't use magic at all due to my super concealment skill.
So, I had no choice but to live the way of the sword.
If I can improve my sword skills, I can become an adventurer even though I was a weakling.
Actually, Bruce-nii was also a warrior.
As I was immersed in my sword training, the person who became attached to me was Kenji, who currently belongs to the strongest party in the Amru adventurer's guild, [Falcon Claw].
Kenji was always following me and imitating me.
I thought of Kenji as if he was a henchman, and loved him like a real younger brother.
We are together when we eat and when we sleep.
I taught Kenji everything, including the rules for kicking the can, how to practice swinging a wooden sword, and all the bad tricks.
Even after I turned 12 years old and was able to register as an adventurer and started entering the dungeon, I continued to work with Kenji.
In this world, you are basically at your own risk, so you can enter the dungeon at any age.
Well, there is a tacit agreement that it is decided that you can register as an adventurer from the age of 12.
However, since we were orphans, there were no adults to warn us that it was dangerous.
When we orphans reach the age of 15, our fate awaits us: we will be kicked out of the orphanage.
By then, I have to secure food and a place to sleep no matter what.
This is because those who cannot find food and shelter are destined to become slaves if they are men, or prostitutes if they are women.
So we were desperate.
Even the adults know this, so no one pays any attention to the children from the orphanage entering the dungeon.
So, the two of us started making a living in the dungeon, but Kenji and I surprisingly managed to do something, perhaps because we had talent with swords.
Well, putting aside my talent with the sword, Kenji wasn't normal from that time on.
To put it bluntly, Kenji was a genius.
At the age of 9, he was slashing low-grade goblins with a wooden sword, and was also able to use lightning magic, which is said to be difficult to master. He is a magic swordsman.
Not to be outdone, I also improved my sword skills.
There was no way I, the older brother, could lose to Kenji, the younger brother, in sword skills.
However, as we grew older, Kenji's sword skills became more and more refined.
I used to train desperately with the sword so that my younger brother, Kenji, wouldn't pass me.
Meanwhile, the fateful day arrived.
Hearing about Kenji and I's cool reputation, I was scouted by [Silver Wolf Fang], one of the strongest parties in the Amru Adventurer's Guild at the time.
I was so excited.
Kenji also congratulated me.
I felt bad for Kenji, but in the world of adventurers, it is quite common for party members to be recruited.
Well, if Kenji is as good as he is, even if he's not with me, he'll probably get recruited.
That's what I thought and convinced myself.
However, on the day I decided to join [Silver Wolf Fang], when I went to the Adventurer's Guild, the leader of [Silver Wolf Fang] came to me and bowed to me.
"I'm sorry, but I'd like to have Kenji join the [Silver Wolf Fang], not you."
I had just gone from the best moment of my life to the bottom of the barrel in an instant.
"Yes, I see..."
"No problem!"
"Yes……"
Adventurers are the weak and the strong.
Those who have the ability will move up.
It is not uncommon for party members to be passed over.
"You don’t have enough ability to join [Silver Wolf Fang], but I'm sure there are plenty of other parties that would love to have you!"
"Yes"
The words I had planned to say to Kenji were said exactly to me.
In the end, Kenji joined [Silver Wolf Fang] in my place.
Since then, I have been working as a solo.
On the other hand, Kenji quickly rose through the ranks and later became a member of the [Falcon Claw], which was said to be the strongest S-class party in the Amru Adventurer's Guild.
Well, ever since that incident, I've been avoiding Kenji.
Whenever I saw Kenji, he always looked like he wanted to talk to me,
I was the one who taught Kenji, who was just a snot-nosed little boy, how to use a sword in the first place.
As a big brother, I want to be stronger than Kenji forever.
In short, my heart was not strong enough.
But that's all.
I had been thinking for a long time that I had to do something about this strained relationship, but in the end, I couldn't do anything until it was broken.
Even after I turned into bones, deep down I always regretted that.
That's why I think I was able to remember Kenji clearly even after my brain was gone.
However, after conquering the 33rd level this time, I would like to dissolve that relationship.
I was reborn as a monster, and all my previous values changed 180 degrees.
I was peed on by the Horn Rabbit, and the bones of my body were licked by the Fang Wolves, and everything, including my small pride, was smashed to pieces.
And now, I feel like I can face Kenji properly and talk to him.
Throwing away my petty pride,
Just like when I was a child, living in an orphanage.
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