aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa wayback machine had maintenance… that, that"s not my fault! Oh myyyy guess I"ll just have to download the chapters in case this happens again. Thanks for reading~

All of the chosen children are the country"s future champions.
For the sake of the children that skipped grades and have been chosen to enter the great national military academy, a congratulatory party is being carried out tonight throughout the whole country.
With the water fountain town square in the royal capital as the centre, a lot of food and drinks were placed on top of tables, and many people are holding plates or cups while getting excited over the banquet.

""Your son has really done it!""
""Gahahaha, as expected of my son! Just like me, he has excellent blood running through him!""
""What is my husband saying. Really, I"m glad that child doesn"t resemble you.""
""As our family is a duke house, this result is quite natural. It is still too early to be happy over something like this.""
""Uuuu~, my daughter is~ going to the empire~.""
""Geez, that girl is going as a representative of our country, so we need to see her off with a smile.""

The people of the town put up words of blessings and gave them to parents of the chosen children.
I could hear crying, joy, and the noisy voice of a drunkard from the circle of parents.
And further behind that circle, several tens of brats had gathered with their backs at the water fountain.

""Alright! I"m one of the world"s champions now! It"s the same thing as my future being promised.""
""Yeah, I"m also happy I can fight for the king and mankind.""
""Hey, it"s not like it"s been decided that we are going to be attached to the army. If we don"t graduate from the military school, we would be like dropouts.""
""Uu~, I wonder if it"s fine for someone like me to be chosen~.""
""People from other countries are also going to gather, right? I can"t wait to find out what kind of people are coming.""
""I"m scared~, I don"t really feel like it.""
""Then why don"t you just stay? There are so many people that want to go other than you.""
""I don"t care about stuff like champions or medals of honour. My aspiration is to end this era of darkness!""
""Geez, you can get pa.s.sionate and stuff, but medals of honour are important, you know? It properly shows your honour in shape.""

There are commoners, n.o.bles and royalty, all chosen for their talents without any regard to their social status.
The children of the Elfarshia children magic academy with high marks are congratulating each other for their careers, and while expressing their uneasiness, they"re receiving blessings from many cla.s.smates and adults.

While watching that circle from the outside, Ura and I entered the party grounds in our cook ap.r.o.ns.
Our objective isn"t to partic.i.p.ate in the party; we"re just delivering.

""Oya, Velt! Isn"t that Velt!"" (Shalt)

The person that noticed I had come was Shalt.
Reacting to that voice, the adults and my former school friends turned around all at once.

""Yo Shalt, congrats."" (Velt)
""I"m glad you came, Velt."" (Shalt)
""I didn"t come to congratulate you. I came to bring one thousand gyozas from us for the party."" (Velt)
""Ohh, thank you for that! Well~, the truth is, I wanted to eat the food from your shop too, but I didn"t quite get the chance to go."" (Shalt)
""Well, you must"ve been busy."" (Velt)

It"s Shalt, who I almost made cry when I fought him just the other day.
But nowadays, as the top student among the children that were chosen, I can see some dignity from him.
His behaviour looks like he"s overflowing with self-confidence.
Then, noticing something, Shalt looks behind me. His line of sight turned towards Ura, who"s standing behind me.

""Oh, by the way, is that person behind you possibly the person everyone is talking about?"" (Shalt)
""Yeah, she"s Ura. Oi, Ura, this guy is Shalt. He"s my former cla.s.smate, and general Tyler"s son. Greet him."" (Velt)
""…………"" (Ura)

However, Ura just lightly bows quickly, and her usual customer service smile isn"t there.
She"s probably feeling nervous from being in a circle of this many humans.
Besides, although she has slightly opened her heart, Ura doesn"t have much connections with people other than the shop"s regular customers.
Exactly because she understands what kind of existence she is, she tried to not stand out much.
Then, noticing Shalt"s conversation with me, the brats all gather one after the other.

""Oh, Velt! It"s been awhile since I"ve seen you around!""
""It really is Velt-kun! What brought you here!""

Two people rushed over to me straight away.
Tenth place score: Shipp Tonlow. He"s a commoner"s son whose old man is a carpenter.
Ninth place score: Gau Skunbitt. He"s a commoner"s son whose father is a castle guard.
I see them hanging out with each other often.

""Ah, it"s Ve, Velt-kun. Uu~, I"m scared~, I don"t like him.""
""Yeah, I"m scared too. But it was a bit lonely after he quit school.""

Eighth place score: Pett Asouk. A high cla.s.s daughter of a duke family.
Seventh place score: Chett Asouk. Pett"s twin older brother.
They"re elites from a duke family, but both of them have cowardly personalities and didn"t talk to me much, as I always behaved badly.

""Fuun, him huh. He lived very selfishly, and was carefree. Well, when he becomes the king, we will need to work hard instead.""
""Stupid. Not interested.""

Sixth place score: Hawk Nana. A girl war orphan that"s being raised in the church.
Fifth place score: Hau Purunchett. A girl whose dad is affiliated with the chivalric order.
Hawk has gla.s.ses and is the committee chairman type, who manages the cla.s.s, and I remember her thinking I was annoying.
As for Hau, she"s a rare lone wolf type that doesn"t rely on anyone, and since she always moved alone, I didn"t talk to her much.

""Don"t say that. He"s really funny, and besides, isn"t he our friend that we studied with?""
""Yeah. He couldn"t use magic, but he was strong at fighting. But father was saying that the strongest part about him is his heart that doesn"t get discouraged even through misfortune.""

Fourth place score: Sea Chiurom. The grandson of the former cabinet adviser who is the current adviser of the king.
Third place score: Sannu Ekamai. A daughter whose father owns the top company in the royal capital.
Sea"s biggest trait among our year was that he doesn"t have a trait. Or rather, I learnt his name for the first time today after seeing his name hung up.
Sannu is the sweetest, cutest and kindest girl among our year, and is a rich, high cla.s.s girl. Well, she didn"t have much of a connection with me though.

Looking at them like this, even though we all studied took lessons in the same school, it"s not like I"m particularly friends with any of them, and I don"t really have any strong feelings to say to them.
Except for Shalt and one more person, that is.

""Velt, what were you doing by quitting school without even properly learning magic!""

A brat approached me while making an extremely unhappy face at me.
An impressive pink hairstyle that reminds me of cherry blossoms from my past life.
Even though he’s a brat, his eyes are sharp like a wild beast, and they"re tinged with a pa.s.sionate light.

""Yo, it"s been awhile hasn"t it, Barts."" (Velt)

Second place grade: Barts Kuruntape. The son of a tavern owner.
I remember fighting with Barts often at school.
He"s a hot blooded guy that gets fired up over the very picture of justice. On the other hand, I"m unserious.
He doesn"t hate me because I find it fun mocking him, but he hates me because I have a lack of sincerity.
Since Shalt is beyond him in cla.s.sroom learning, his grade itself is second place, but you could say his true strength in combat is the top in the year.
Well, he"s weaker than Forna though…………

""Velt, do you really not plan to go? If you ask the princess or the king, you might be able to come with a recommendation you know?"" (Barts)
""Haa? What are you talking about. That would be impossible. In the first place, I had the lowest grades during school, so how could I go to a school for child prodigies? I would give up on the first day. Like, I"m not interested in it anyways."" (Velt)
""Y, you, have you really not thought about anything!"" (Barts)

At that moment, Barts grabbed my collar and raised an angry voice.
The venue naturally reacted to that voice, and silence spread.

""Velt, do you not think anything from seeing this world?"" (Barts)
""Haa?"" (Velt)
""You"re going to become this country"s king someday. And yet, you"re just going to make the princess go to war, while living comfortably in this country? Don"t you think that"s pathetic? Despite that, can you still call yourself a man!"" (Barts)

With very pure eyes, he hit me where it hurts.
Well, it can"t be helped that I look like someone that abandoned fighting in this world, from the moment I quit magic school.

""Hey, Barts. You always talk about ending the era of darkness, but does that mean you’re going to get rid of war?"" (Velt)
""That"s right. This era of a three-way deadlock between demons, demi-humans, and humans. Each race gave birth to an outrageous number of victims and tragedies. Isn"t it our mission to end that as soon as possible, as people who were born in this era!"" (Barts)

Barts" eyes and mind was filled with pure, honest justice that Asakura Ryuuma had long  forgotten.
I think that it"s absurd, but in my mind, I quite like this guy.

""Velt, you can"t use magic, but you"re strong at fighting. You have a sharp tongue and you can"t study, but you"re good at thinking. You don"t have much friends, but since you aren"t timid with anyone, you can communicate with various people after talking to them once, like princess Forna, or the demon girl there!"" (Barts)

""What, you"re giving me high praise after saying I"m worthless? Stop it stop it, I"m getting embarra.s.sed."" (Velt)

""That"s not it! There should be any amount of things you can do! As long as you find that duty, you will surely be able to a.s.sist us greatly! And yet, you say stuff like you"re not interested, or it doesn"t matter to you, pretending to not look at the world!"" (Barts)

Yeah, that"s right. I definitely can"t make eyes like his after this.
Thoroughly pure, with no self-interest or a second side to it.
In the future, people like him are probably going to be recognized by the world, and called a ""champion"" or a ""hero"".
A word that will never be related to me for life.

""Barts, this isn"t flattery, you seriously are cool."" (Velt)
""Wha, what is it, all of a sudden!"" (Barts)
""That"s exactly why I"m going to be honest."" (Velt)

After all, I"m just someone of that extent.
I want to leave war as something happening in a world far away, on the other side of the TV.
My meeting with the demon king, confrontation against Gyanza, and the tragedy in the cave.
I definitely don"t have the want to change the world, that I would overcome situations like that where many lives are at risk.

""I"m not interested in it, and I have something else I want to do."" (Velt)

At that moment, something snapped inside of Barts, as he swung his fist down at me with all his power.

""You cowardly b.a.s.t.a.r.d! What"s going to happen if people like you and prince Farga don"t fight for humanity!"" (Barts)

This is the common sense of this world. As I thought, I really can"t get used to this world.
I don"t hate the people I met that much though.

""That"s as far as you"ll go, stop it."" (Ura)

At that moment, the fist that was supposed to fall down on me stopped.

""What do you want."" (Barts)

The person who stopped him, was Ura, who had been silently standing behind me the whole time.

""Let go, I want to talk to Velt right now."" (Barts)
""Velt has his own life. Besides, if you know him that well, you should know that he"s not a coward."" (Ura)
""Shut up, that"s exactly why I"m angry! In this era, there"s nothing for a guy that can fight to do other than fighting!"" (Barts)

By the time I realized it, everyone in the the happy congratulatory party had fallen silent, and a dark atmosphere was in the air.
To be honest, I didn"t think this would happen, but if this atmosphere turned like this because of me, I feel that leaving quickly is the best.
And then,

""Stop it, Barts."" (Forna)

The moment they heard that voice, everyone turned around with surprise.
It"s Forna.

""Pri, princess!""
""Princess Forna!""
""Forna-sama is here!""
""Ooh…………""
""What a beautiful appearance.""

Furthermore, she wasn"t being her usual noisy, precocious brat.
Wearing a pure white dress, she appeared in this dress as a princess, with calmness and elegance.

""Barts."" (Forna)
""Ye, yes!"" (Barts)
""It is not your duty to impose the idea of going to war on the citizens. As long as Velt has no intention to be involved with it, you cannot coerce him to do so."" (Forna)

While making a sour face, Barts still looks like he has something to say.
However, he couldn"t say it.
Forna"s indifferent tone and look kept him from saying it.
And then, Forna slowly turned around and looked at me.

""Velt…………"" (Forna)
""Yo."" (Velt)

Forna still looks calm. We"re both sympathising with each other.

""It was sudden, so I could not consult it with you at all."" (Forna)
""Yeah, I was surprised too. Well, I did think a day like this would come sooner or later."" (Velt)

We meet almost everyday, ever since the day we first met.
However, from now on, we can"t do that so easily.
A temporary parting visted us.

""I do not mind you not going. However, are you not going to tell me not to go?"" (Forna)
""Yeah, I"m not going to. Even if it"s just a brief comment, if you say you don"t want to go, I will try and do something about it, but that"s not how it is, right?"" (Velt)
""………… indeed. Although, I would take you to the empire no matter what method I use, if you say a single comment about how being separated from me will be lonely."" (Forna)
""Is that so? I would be quite lonely though."" (Velt)
""You really are mean and uncooperative!"" (Forna)

Going to the empire. Going to war.
In this unavoidable situation, we would never say ""don"t go"", ""I don"t want to go"", ""you definitely can"t die"", ""come back no matter what"" and so on.
Even though we both have a lot more things to say to each other, Forna and I both couldn"t say it aloud.
But the one thing that Forna did ask me, is……

""Velt, could you just tell me this one thing?"" (Forna)
""What is it?"" (Velt)
""What is the thing you want to do, that not even I, who was always with you, does not know?"" (Forna)

In a way, it was a question that got straight to the point to both Velt Jeeha, and Asakura Ryuuma.

""There"s someone I want to find."" (Velt)

I can"t tell her everything, but I can"t dodge the question with lies.
My childhood friend that was always by my side, is going somewhere far away.
And, from my prediction, she will surely go to a far heigher world that I can"t ever reach again, and become one of the champions that controls the fate of this world.

""Forna. You might not understand the meaning of the words I"m about to say, but I"ll say it anyways."" (Velt)

Therefore, I had no choice but to say it right now, when we are still on equal terms.

""In the past, there was a hopeless trash in a certain world. That guy hung out with worthless guys, punched and injured people after distracting them, stuck his nose into things without any important reason to oppose something, and yet he had no friends to properly hang out with, so he always felt empty."" (Velt)

That was Asakura Ryuuma"s middle school days. There was never a time when I spent a more worthless and empty time than that.

""However, one day, a woman appeared in front of that trash. She was a hopeless idiot and a fool, but would always be herself no matter who the other person is, worked her hardest at everything, and was living life happily."" (Velt)

That was Asakura Ryuuma"s high school days. After meeting that woman, I felt that there was never a time I changed myself more than that.

""Getting dragged in by that woman, before he realized it, that trash naturally connected with people and more people started gathering around him. For the first time in his life, he became able to have fun."" (Velt)

That was Asakura Ryuuma"s life.
A very thin and trite life.
A very small story to the people that are trying to change the world.
However, even so, as far as I"m concerned right now, it"s valuable enough for me to sacrifice my second life for.

""The idiot that was saved by such an idiot wants to search for that person and thank them. And then, if that person has any problems, he wants to support them. That"s what I want to do right now."" (Velt)

That is the way of life I found for myself, that is neither being a hero nor a champion.

No one here is saying a single word.
Even though everyone here thought they knew me, they could hardly understand my story just now.
They didn"t even know what to ask, if they were going to make a question.
And then, Forna

""Velt………… I want you to tell me one more thing."" (Forna)
""Sure, what is it?"" (Velt)
""……………… If I become a good woman, you will marry me. Is that agreement still valid?"" (Forna)

………… Kuhahahahahaha, she really is cute.
Even though she"s just 10 years old, to think that this would be the question she asks with the most serious face.

""Well, if your feelings don"t change, that is."" (Velt)

Will the next time I meet her be in three years? Five years? I don"t know when it"ll be.
She will surely have many meetings in that time, become an adult, become a good woman, and finally realize what a good guy really is.
I feel a bit lonely, but Forna"s first love will end today. So, as thanks for how much she"s looked after me until now, I told Forna the words she wanted to hear.

""Velt!"" (Forna)
""Hmm?"" (Velt)
""Chu!"" (Forna)
""………… Ah."" (Velt)
""Fufufufu, it is for the proof of your vow."" (Forna)
""Good grief, you~."" (Velt)

By the time I realized it, Forna had reverted to the Forna I know.

""I understand! That is plenty! That being the case, Ura! So that no unnecessary insects cling onto Velt, please make sure to properly look out for them from now on!"" (Forna)
""………… Nn, okay. We"ll decide who the legal wife is the next time we meet."" (Ura)
""Just what I wanted! But you cannot steal the march on me and cross the line, so bear that in mind!"" (Forna)
""………… Fuun."" (Ura)
""Why are you averting your eyes! Promise me!"" (Forna)

Without even caring about being in public, Forna and Ura started a noisy scuffle, and I was laughing.
By the time I realized it, the silent town square was engulfed in laughter once again after seeing this scene.

Like this, we ended up having a temporary parting before becoming adults.

And then, a few years after this day, my own story finally started moving.

Author"s Note: I don"t know how many people are really reading this novel, but for now, there"s no need to remember the names of the new characters that came out in this chapter.

And so, this is the end of the 10 year old period.
I don"t personally know if it is interesting or not, but I will continue writing freely like I have been doing.

TL Note: I don"t understand this author"s naming sense "Ship", "Pet", "Hawk", "Sea" and even "Baht"…. Well anyways, yeah, end of volume 1, next is a 5 year time skip to when Velt is 15 years old. Also, I"m going to spend some time translating the character page now, since I was going to do it but completely forgot about it. Hopefully it won"t take that long…