Flame User 1-2

1-2 Ruined Village

“…Eh?”

As I head to the entrance of the Hell Gate naked, I notice something strange.

“…Is Hell Gate really this rundown?”

The gate was terribly old.

When I pushed the door, it opened with a creaking sound.

That's strange... this door is sealed with a spell, so it shouldn't be able to be opened by just pushing it.

Looking through the gate, I saw blue sky and white clouds, and the smell of greenery and the comfort of the wind stimulated my body.

“Ahh... this feeling... feels so good.”

This is no time to be intoxicated by the senses.

In the meantime, I need to go to the village and explain the situation, and then I need to get dressed.

I covered my crotch with a rag that had fallen nearby and started walking toward the village.

“Haha, would you believe me if I told you I absorbed hellfire...”

Would the teacher believe me?

I wondered if everyone in the village would be happy to see me.

I thought I was dead, but I wondered what they would look like if I came back suddenly.

“Hehe… Hmm?”

Still, it's odd.

It takes about 10 minutes to run from Hell Gate to the village. If you walk, it's about 20 minutes away... but I wonder if the road was ever this desolate.

The weeds were overgrown, the pebbles and the road were rough. I don't know how many days it's been, but I wonder if there is such a thing as a rough road.

However, this is reality.

◇◇◇◇◇◇

“…It’s a lie.”

I reached the village.

To be exact… former village.

The village I used to live in had been "abandoned”.

“No way, right? Hey... what the...”

The dwellings were crumbling, as if weathered by nature.

The fields were deserted and crops were growing wild. It must be because of the river that runs through the village.

How many years or decades will pass before this happens?

At least, this will not happen in ten or twenty years...

“Oh, my house…”

I headed for the house my parents had left me.

It was abandoned after all.

The walls and roof were crumbling, and the table at which I used to eat had rotted and broken legs. When I opened the box where I had stored my clothes, I found them covered in insect bites.

I found some clothes and underwear that I could use and washed them in the river to dry. Fortunately, I had some shoes left that I could wear.

“…I’m hungry.”

When I went to the field, I found potatoes growing.

I'm not sure what to make of this. I dug up some potatoes, washed them in the river, and bit into them raw... my first meal in a long time was delicious.

"... Is there something?"

I put on some dry clothes and explored the village.

I walk into the teacher’s house and search randomly for something.

The many bookshelves were empty, and there was nothing in the desk either. I found the catalyst for spells, old grubs and leggings.

“...Come to think of it, I didn't get a single one from Teacher.”

I remember my teacher teaching me martial arts.

While watching the adults fighting with swords and spears, saying they knew how to be a sorcerer, I was learning martial arts.

Thanks to that, I was one of the strongest of my generation.

"Well, more than that..."

The floorboard under the desk rotted away and fell, revealing a wooden box inside.

Is this the teacher’s secret? I opened the lid and found a book, a glove and leggings inside. And it was brand new because it had been sealed with a spell. There was a sealing spell on the inside.

“Teacher’s diary…”

There were many things written in it.

Having welcomed me as a disciple of magic. Even though he was a martial arts teacher, but he did it without a single displeased expression. That I grew up without knowing the love of my parents, and that I lacked something in my heart. He decided that he would give me this glove and leggings if I ever took one from him. At the end the diary was soaked in tears.

“I couldn't do anything for him. He told me he was going to the gates of hell. He said he would use his one and only life for the village, not for himself... He was kind. He really believes that he is the only one without parents and that no one will be sad if he dies. That's why no one in the village stopped him… No parent would allow their own child to be sacrificed. I should have been the only one to stop it... sorry, Valflare.”

I think my teacher wanted to keep me around.

Sure, I was willing to die. The sacrifice was supposed to be a young child. I thought it was only natural that I, with no parents, should go.

Teacher saw me off... but he wanted to keep me.

“……”

There is more in the diary.

“The glove and leggings I made for her have gone to waste, but I have a feeling he'll come back someday. I'll give them to him then. I'll give you this magical device called Chaos. I'm really sorry, Valflare.”

“……”

The last date was... twenty years after I entered the Gates of Hell.

◇◇◇◇◇◇

I put on the glove and leggings that my teacher had left me.

They felt right. It's like a part of me.

“Now then…”

There's no point in staying in this abandoned village.

Strangely enough, I felt liberated. The village was gone, and I didn't know anyone. Now that I've come back to life, I'm going to live my life again.

“…Teacher, thank you very much.”

I buried my teacher's book behind my house, placed a stone as a headstone, and added flowers.

Twenty years later was the last date. And judging from the state of disrepair in this village, a lot of years have passed. No one would be alive anymore.

“I'm going on a trip. This life I've picked up... now I'm going to use it for myself.”

I only know the village of Hell Gate.

The teacher said the world is a big place. Then it's not so bad to see it.

“I’m going!!”

I left.

To know this world.

I didn’t know yet.

How did the flames of hell go out? What was that jewel? And...Where did the flames go?

Now, let the adventure begin.

TN: The previous translator wasn't wrong about the ellipses... -_-

 

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