Amakawa Fushi no Kami: Rebuilding Civilization Starts With a Village Volume 4

1. Auflage 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7183-3074-0
Verlag: J-Novel Club
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, Band 4, 250 Seiten

Reihe: Fushi no Kami: Rebuilding Civilization Starts With a Village

After spending two years studying in Itsutsu city to bring back the life of convenience and abundance from the legends of the ancient civilization, Ash graduates from the military academy. He is now assigned to the newly established Territory Reform Promotion Office, where he works hard to improve this world's living standards.

When it is brought to Ash's attention that Ajole, the hometown of his co-worker Renge's childhood friend, is on the verge of extinction, he decides to embark on a rescue mission. The inspection task force led by Ash and Maika encounters barren fields and skinny villagers. It appears that they have no choice but to break the taboo and use animal manure as compost.

To make matters worse, there is news of another threat to the village: the demons known as treants! Can Ash find a way to save the village?

This is the fourth chapter of the story about a young boy who sets out to revolutionize the world in order to rebuild civilization and create his ideal life!

Autoren/Hrsg.

Amakawa, Mizuumi

Weitere Mitwirkende

Okuma, Mai

Alesch, Maurice

Leseproben

Paper Folding

Maika’s Perspective

The spring breeze cooled down my hot body. I had just snatched victory from Glen. He had challenged me to a duel to celebrate our graduation from the military academy. In the past two years, our swords had crossed countless times. Because of that, I noticed that Glen looked more motivated and serious than usual when challenging me. And I had a vague idea of why that was. Now that our duel had finished, it was time for my suspicions to be confirmed.

“My plan was to tell you after I won, but...” After wiping the dirt and sweat off himself with a towel, Glen went down to his knees. “Maika, I have something to tell you.”

“Yes, Glen.” I straightened my posture and fixed my bangs to look more ladylike while listening to the words of the boy kneeling in front of me.

“I have liked you ever since I first saw you. I admire your smile, which is as beautiful as a flower, as well as your swordsmanship, which is as swift as the wind. So, would you please go out with me?”

I felt nervous having someone like Glen confess his feelings to me so directly, even though I was pretty used to receiving love confessions. Back in the village, as well as here at the academy, some boys had told me things like, “Please become my wife” or “I love you.”

Nonetheless, most of these confessions were made half-jokingly—they didn’t really mind if they got rejected. And needless to mention, my feelings weren’t so cheap that they would’ve been affected by such offhand confessions. Practically no one had the determination to muster up all their courage and confess while putting their feelings on the line as Glen had done just now. That was why I also needed to be serious.

“I cannot reciprocate your feelings.” I wasn’t going to talk in a roundabout way. I wasn’t going to apologize out of consideration either. I was just as serious as he was. I rejected his confession in the shortest and fastest way possible. “My heart belongs to someone else. Someone who was there before you, and someone more captivating than you. That’s why I cannot give it to you.”

Surely, Glen knew who I was talking about. And without a doubt, he must have also anticipated my answer. Still, he had decided to confess to me. He was shaking when he had told me about his long-held feelings. He must have been scared, knowing that he was going to get turned down. Glen must have been anticipating the pain of having his heart shattered to pieces. Imagining myself someday confessing my feelings to the person I liked, it wasn’t difficult to sympathize with him. Just thinking about it felt as if my chest were being crushed.

The boy who hadn’t given in to his fears concealed his pain with a smile. “I see. Thanks, Maika. What shall I say? It’s a huge weight off my shoulders.”

Seeing how he reacted in this situation, my honest opinion slipped out. “You’re really strong, Glen.”

He was the complete opposite of me.

I also mustered up all my courage and confessed my thoughts, which I usually did my best to hide. “You know, I’m actually quite weak,” I said.

By the look of things, Glen didn’t really believe me. Admittedly, it must have sounded a bit strange. After all, I had just beaten him in a sword fight.

“Really. Whenever I’m sad or I’m having a rough time, my chest tightens. It’s very painful and distressing. I hate the feeling.”

As a child, I disliked the dark and studying. Even now, I still hated seeing the faces of people who restrained themselves or had given up. I didn’t want to see them. I wanted to do something about them. And if I couldn’t do anything, I wanted someone else to act.

“I’m so weak and cowardly that I can’t even put up with such trivial things.”

I had become strong enough to beat the strongest boy in our entire year, but when it came down to my feelings, I was still the same as always. I knew better than anyone how weak my mind still was.

“That’s why I admire anyone strong enough to never make me feel that way.”

Someone who, as a child, took my hand when I was frightened of the creeping darkness on my way home in the evening. Someone who erased everything that I hated and made me scared. The weak side of me wanted to always stay warm and in a bright mood right beside that person.

“You see, I’m a pretty spoiled girl.”

In all honesty, I expected anyone who knew this to loathe me. It was quite depressing, after all. I was like a selfish princess who wanted to have all the bad things dealt with, even though she herself was a coward afraid of the dark. I was sure that, under normal circumstances, I would’ve never ever fallen in love. I would have found a fault in every boy that came along. No matter how wonderful, he wouldn’t have lived up to my ideals.

I wanted someone who kept me warm on a cold night, like the flame of a fireplace. Someone who illuminated the way back to my safe home on a scary night, like a bright torch.

The dreaded night always came, and the light of the stars was too pale to illuminate the path I was bound to walk on. I was shrouded in darkness, paralyzed at my feet. My ideal man was someone capable of conquering the eternal night, for which no flame or light was bright enough. I only managed to fall in love because the person I liked wasn’t normal.

Recently, in the village where I was born, the number of residents kept increasing. All thanks to the decrease in deaths from hunger and illness. My mom was also as energetic as ever, taking command. Our friend, who had only shown a sad smile when we first met, had become more cheerful in front of our eyes as we spent time together. The boy, who had been on the brink of getting crushed by his own dreams, had managed to pursue those dreams and soar through the skies.

The person I liked transformed our reality with the brilliance of a warm light shining in a previously cold and dark world. And once you had known his warmth, you wanted to spend the rest of your life under his light only.

“There is nothing wrong with you at all, Glen. Thank you for liking me,” I said to the person who had confessed to me. “But there’s only ever been—and there can only ever be—one person who my weak self can come to like.”

I was only able to live beside that sunlike, red-haired boy. Like a flower that only blossomed under the sun.

? ? ?

After I had finished reading the letter from my faraway friend, I put it away in the...