Seirei no Moribito

The day before yesterday - The story of a long time ago ①

"A world where existence, called the Spirit, gave civilization to man. This is a world where everything is survived by the Spirit, and without the presence of the Spirit, man cannot exist or even live. Such a slightly irrational world.

In exchange for being given power from the Spirit, man dedicated his "tribute” to the "Spirit Tree”, which celebrates the Spirit, and has lived to this day.

- That was the beginning of it all.

People were arrogant and very stupid.

For his own survival, he committed the greatest contraindication a man should never have done.

- Sacrifice man, let man live, make such a choice. '

The sound of sharp rips of air.

The children's temperamental voice.

Answer that - his voice.

I liked that routine.

Laugh normally every day, eat, play as much as you want, and sleep as much as you want. Every casual day, I liked it.

Because this world was so unreasonable, arrogant, and I hated people who depended on someone.

But that's why I enjoyed the normal routine of dyeing the world rosy like that.

- Even today, the dawn of that routine.

The dojo, which was packed with wooden planks, had a smell of sweat.

I raised my voice to the children who were falling down with their hands and feet thrown out.

"Good day, everyone. I brought you lunch!

More than ten children cheered simultaneously when they saw the rattan cage lowered to their right hand.

"Yay! I've been waiting for your sister Laura's dinner!"

That's what I said and the first thing I came running over was a kid who was facing him and waving a wooden knife.

Wet your brown hair with sweat,

"My master's archery is always hungry... oh, but my master's archery isn't so hard."

"Heh heh, I know."

Give me a sandwich and a bottle of milk wrapped in a cloth from inside the cage.

"Well, I'll have it soon!

The child picked up the thrown wooden knife and ran outside. I'm sure he'll eat in the shade of his usual tree again.

"Oh, that's sloppy, Aroo!

One by one, the children rush to me and they all pop out with one hand of cloth and a bottle.

When everyone goes out to eat, this dojo suddenly shimmers...

This silence after the kids left was also my favorite time.

"... it's always busy at all."

Laughing dull, he turned to me.

Deep green long dark hair shakes in the wind and jade eyes stare straight at me.

- I knew it, that's cool.

a young man of beauty who can't go in without thinking so - Leo is

"Always bad, have everyone bring their meals"

"Without you, the children will start fighting over who is the master's best disciple."

Admired by all of his children, he can often do trivial things from our adults' point of view, such as fight over the most disciples among his children because of their popularity and who will be the first to be coached by their masters.

So instead of him picking up lunch, it became routine for me to come to the dojo at noon.

- Mine, too, came to the dojo for that reason... Yeah, I was going to see him, so I'm satisfied that I have an excuse to go see him in dignity.

"... right. I wonder if Laura would be nice? Do you want to compete with one and me?

"Heh... you want to show me how much swordsmanship arms have gone up?

"... well, there's nothing without it... but come up with one new move. I need you to hang out with me for a second."

That said, he set up the wooden knife he had,

"Oh, wait a minute. New moves... aren't they duplicitous?

His genre is a little different, not one that boys learn from generation to generation in this village, but one that he knitted himself into.

That is, a duplicity with a knife in both hands.

But...

"Yeah. I'm the one who wants to teach the kids. It's not a very complicated shape, and you don't have to force yourself to make a powerful blow..."

"... ok. Then let's do it."

I placed the cage in the corner of the room, lightly resting instead the wooden knife that stood,

"... yeah. You can start anywhere."

"So... at the end of the three moves, I'm going to give you a new move."

After placing a wooden knife on the front, he

"... sharp swords!

Shock waves were emitted from the bottom along with the name of the move.

I guard with a wooden knife as a shield,

"A needle springs!

Wrap the water around the tip of the sword and roll out the poke three times to hit the apex of the triangle,

"Deep Righteous, dusty!

Show off your sword moves like crushing the ground.

Cut it down from the top right, cut it up to the top right, cut it down again to the bottom right, and then release a shock wave to blow your opponent away.

I thought this was a simulation when it blew up. I dodged the last blow in the backstep,

"Skills, leap improvement!

Having been taken off his last blow, he went straight behind my back for some reason,

"Sharp Sword!

Shockwaves were released from behind to make me fall.

"So, your skills just now? How does that work?

I asked him, barebacking the wooden knife in the evening, what he couldn't ask because of the children's intrusion watching him and me play.

"Look at the ability to get around behind the opponent when dodged in the backstep, or even escape to the safety of the back... then what if they exchanged the last blow, which is the shimmer of the move... yes somehow I figured out how to do it now"

"Focus...... was it evasion? What's the last hit version of it?

"Yeah. The last great move...... If they take the last blow off of the Righteous, they can instantly turn back with the power of the Spirit of the Earth and the Wind and take out only one move......"

"Naming leap improvement…? I think I have good skills."

If I let him hold the knife, the village is the best... Yeah, it's not an exaggeration to say the best in the world. I thought it was a good idea, unique to him.

But...

"I think that's a skill the Spirit can do because he's" loved ”Leo."

"... there's no denying it."

To our lives… the presence of the Spirit is essential to life and death. However, attacks such as moves and techniques can hardly harness the power of the Spirit.

The reason is that it's a force that alters the world.

To emit a shock wave, all you have to do is vibrate the air and hit the target with it. It can be easily accomplished by drawing strength from the spirits who preside over the wind. I don't need any arm strength. The power of the Spirit alone can cause phenomena.

The stronger the power of the Spirit, the more powerful the moves and techniques become. But spirits with strong powers don't lend power to humans that easily.

People drown in power when they have strong powers. What do those who drown in power serve...... that is what might try to destroy the world.

Measures to prevent it. So the Spirit does not lend his strength to techniques and techniques that harm people and the Spirit.

Even if that's the art of protecting yourself.

But if Leo put the Spirit through his heart and built trust with the "Great Spirit" that binds the Spirit, then he who loves and loves the Spirit can cause any phenomenon.

Leo can also use “Spirituality" that maximizes the power of the Spirit, which can only be used by "Protectors” who protect the Spirit-producing tree "Spiritual Tree”.

Most importantly, he won the trust of the Great Spirit of Fire Yfried, so he can only use the Spiritual Art of Fire.

"Hmmm...... that's true, isn't it? The wind and the earth... it's hard to help the two spirits... but the concentration avoidance is similar... it was a little more difficult."

"That's too expensive. It's harder than the top of the sky."

“Top of the sky” means a mountain closed to clouds. In fact, the summit is just pushing through the clouds, and the foothill is a mountain that even children can easily climb.

"... after all, should we have started by putting our minds through with the spirits?

"But even I, the" Witch of the Spirit Tree, "it took me ten years to get my mind through with the Spirit. Just tell me the basics, then just repeat..."

and I went on to say,

"... I'm sorry, I wasn't able to say anything."

"Yeah. I'm always inspired by Laura's words. Thanks, Laura."

My heart suddenly quickens to his tender smile like that.

"Ugh, yeah. This way."

"Yeah. You're so sweet."

He laughed and began to clean up the wooden knife.

Leo wasn't from the village.

Seven years ago now, the village chief was asked to find a place that had fallen on the street connecting the village to the town, and he lives in the village as it is.

He had nowhere else to go, and instead of letting me live, he started teaching his children swordsmanship.

In addition to his own genre, he is a user of spirituality.

The temperate personality of his well-dressed appearance quickly became familiar with the village, and that was when I fell in love with him at first sight.

Though he doesn't realize it at all.

"... so it's almost the next“ ritual "day."

He glanced at the corner of the conversation where there was no other love.

One of the four temples. There, the letters are written on the wooden bills.

"The next“ tribute ”is the youngest daughter in the village..."

In order for the Spirit to exist, it must be a "tribute” to the source that produces the Spirit.

Contributions, how deluded, but in fact......,

"You ordered the Spirit Tree to sacrifice again."

As he put it, no mercy.

This village is one where the Spirit Faith flourishes.

A village of zealous believers who thank and honor the Spirit and seek to fulfill their wishes immediately.

The reality is that

"An unrelenting demand on a blind villager... fourth sacrifice this year..."

Once a year, no, once a decade, we helped the Spirit by offering a "tribute" to the Spirit Tree.

But their demands escalated because the faithful 'village was interested.

Originally, "tributes” were not human beings, but with the help and dedication of the food and offerings they were accumulating and the objects that were symbols of worship for them.

That's the way it is now.

"... the next sacrifice is Niña."

"... yeah, I think maybe it will"

Niña is the youngest and liveliest daughter in the village.

Two years younger than me, but bottomless brightness and masterful mouth-watering are village moodmakers.

But if she finds out she's going to be sacrificed, her family won't shut up.

Her parents had denied the idea of sacrifice for a long time, and she said she didn't really like it herself.

But if the Spirit Tree and... the Village Chief's orders, she throws herself out.

He must have thought to keep everyone out of this because he's a very responsible kid.

"Moon the other day, Niña this month... you're starting to target all those who are defiant of the Spirit Tree"

"Yeah... but that's not why I can do anything about it..."

I am the Witch of the Spirit Tree.

He serves and honors the Spirit Tree and has a role in listening to his words.

As a witch I dedicate a "tribute” to the Spirit Tree and the Protector, and they walk away without leaving any words behind.

But I had no choice.

I was a witch, and the village chief's words were absolute, and I was in a position not to defy the Spirit Tree.

Yeah, a position I have to thank for being able to serve the Spirit Tree as a witch.

That's why I offer my friends.

I can only offer.

"... I wonder what you're thinking, the Spirit Tree"