Chapter 42: Raby 1

The dawn air was cold.

While the dim sky gradually illuminated the forest, I slung my bow around my back and quietly headed toward the mountain behind me.

My father’s old bow hung on my back with a familiar weight.

‘I’m definitely going to catch a deer today!’

Another voice was heard in a corner of my heart.

‘Someday, I’ll go beyond this forest… to a wider world…’

My grandfather’s stories came to mind.

The elves I met at the World Tree that seemed to touch the sky.

The merchants of the water tribe I met at the oasis I arrived at after crossing the endless desert.

The dwarves who operated a blacksmith shop in a deep cave city.

The mysterious mermaids I saw while sailing the twilight sea.

My grandfather was an A-class adventurer.

Those stories I heard sitting on his lap as a child lit a small spark in my heart.

“Grandpa, I want to be an adventurer too when I grow up!”

“Yes, I wish our Raby could spread his wings and fly to a wider world.”

My grandfather’s smile at that time was still vivid.

But with those words, my grandfather left for his next adventure… and never returned.

The sound of his footsteps on the leaves echoed through the quiet forest.

I walked with the wind at my back and looked around, just as my father had taught me.

I had to look for traces like footprints, broken branches, and gnawed bark.

My brown hair stuck to my forehead.

Along with this hair color that some say resembles my father, I also inherited my mother’s slender figure.

Born to a mother who was a multi-talented housewife and a father who was a seasoned hunter, the villagers said that I grew up as if I had only the best of both worlds.

My father wanted me to become a great hunter like him.

But that was my father’s second life.

I happened to find out that my father had once been an adventurer.

It was when I overheard my mother talking to him drunk one night.

He had lost his comrades in the Demon’s Land, had faced countless near-death experiences, and had eventually given up on being an adventurer.

And that he had returned to his hometown, met my mother, and settled down.

Maybe that was why.

My father wanted me to be a hunter, but when he taught me how to shoot a bow, he taught me as if I was teaching an adventurer.

Of course, it was probably unconscious.

“Tsk tsk tsk…”

A sparrow flew past my head, chirping low.

It was before dawn, so the birds were chirping half-asleep.

My father said that he could tell if there was a large animal nearby just by the sound of the birds, but I still couldn’t tell the difference.

After walking around the mountain for a couple of hours, I felt something moving in the distance.

I carefully raised my bow.

I put an arrow on the string and drew it slowly.

At that moment, a rabbit jumped out from between the bushes with a rustling sound.

I quickly shot an arrow, but the rabbit disappeared into another bush in an instant.

Swish!

“Ah…”

I sighed.

I searched through the bushes and finally found the rabbit again.

‘This time…’

Swish!

I shot an arrow again and caught the rabbit, but I felt that my skills were still lacking.

“It’s still far…”

On the way back home, I heard a familiar voice.

“Sister! Sister!”

My younger sister Leah was running towards me with her red hair fluttering.

She looked just like her mother, down to her cute dimples, just like her mother when she was young.

Her neatly tied hair seemed like it would come loose in the wind as she ran.

“Leah, run carefully!”

“Wow! You caught a rabbit!”

Leah looked at the rabbit in my hand as if it was amazing.

“Yeah, this is all I have…”

“Amazing! I can’t even draw a bow properly yet!”

Leah looked at the rabbit with sparkling eyes.

“Sister, I want to be good at archery like you!”

“You’re still young…”

“Hey, you were already learning archery when you were my age!”

I snickered at those words.

Leah’s appearance was exactly like mine when I was little.

“Okay, I’ll ask Dad next time.”

“Really? Yay!”

Leah jumped up and down in joy.

“But Leah, why are you out so early?”

“Oh! That’s right! Mom is looking for my sister. She’s running an errand for me. It’ll be a long time!”

When I got home, my father had already gone hunting.

I headed to the kitchen with the rabbit.

“Mom, I’m back.”

“You’ve worked hard, my daughter.”

My mother, with her red hair tied neatly, greeted me with her usual affectionate voice.

The morning sunlight streamed in through the kitchen window, making her hair sparkle like a burning flame.

The small kitchen was filled with the faint scent of herbs.

“Today, we only had rabbits…”

I shyly held out the rabbit.

“But you caught them. Dad said the same thing at first. You’re doing well.”

My mother stroked my head.

I could smell the familiar scent of herbs from her hands.

“Laby, can you go to town today and buy me some?”

My mother handed me a piece of parchment.

It had honey and a few spices written on it.

“Yes, I’ll be right back!”

The road down to the village along the mountain path was always exciting.

The sunlight shining through the tall trees seemed to sparkle and dance.

Purple wildflowers bloomed along the roadside, and the stream flowed sparklingly.

The noise of the village from afar was somehow enjoyable.

I sat down by the stream for a while to rest, and a merchant’s carriage passed by.

“So, do you know how great the Heshet Empire Academy is?”

“Huh, it’s a place only nobles go to.”

“No, commoners can go too if they have the skills! The tuition is really expensive, though…”

I overheard the merchants’ conversation.

The academy… ‘You have to be 16 to enroll…’

Suddenly, I calculated my age and realized that in 4 years, I would be old enough to enroll.

It was a place I had never even thought about before.

Of course, I couldn’t go because of the tuition.

…

When I arrived at the village, the atmosphere was different than usual.

The usually deserted streets were filled with people, and each store had more items on display than usual.

The streets were swept clean, and the air was filled with excitement.

“What’s going on…”

I was walking around, bewildered.

The sound of horse hooves was heard from afar.

“It’s the Third Prince!”

At someone’s shout, everyone simultaneously stepped aside.

I unconsciously retreated to a corner.

And… at that moment, time seemed to have stopped.

The boy who emerged from the magnificent imperial carriage looked like a prince from a fairy tale.

His golden hair shone brilliantly in the morning sunlight, and his sky-blue eyes were as deep as a clear lake.

He had such a dignified appearance that it was hard to believe he was 13 years old.

‘Ah…’

A corner of my heart tingled.

This was the first time I had felt this way.

The Third Prince slowly got off his horse.

He was even more dazzling when I saw him up close.

He wasn’t very tall, but his upright posture was impressive.

At that moment, the Third Prince’s gaze turned to me.

For a moment, my breath stopped.

The warm smile he gave me when our eyes met… was like the sunlight of a spring day.

‘Ah… this is fate…’

My heart beat faster.

I felt my cheeks getting hotter.

The way he talked to the merchants was as beautiful as a painting.

In front of an old woman’s fruit shop, he bought some fruit himself and ate it, praising it for being delicious.

There was no arrogance in his appearance.

My heart pounded.

This was the first time I felt this way.

It was different from the excitement I felt when I heard my grandfather’s adventure stories, and it was different from the joy I felt when I successfully hunted.

It was like… it was a mysterious feeling, like the first buds sprouting in spring.

I stayed there blankly until the Third Prince left.

How much time had passed?

‘That’s right… errands…’

I suddenly came to my senses and took out the list of errands.

Honey and spices…

“Rabyni? How about this honey? It just arrived…”

“Yes? Oh, yes…”

The merchant’s words did not enter my ears.

The Third Prince’s image kept coming to mind.

In particular, that warm smile kept lingering in my mind.

“Rabyni? It’s a bit expensive, though…”

“Oh, yes! I’ll just take this.”

I left without thinking.

The spices were the same.

I couldn’t even check the price properly, let alone bargain.

“Laby! Is it really Laby?”

I turned my head at the familiar voice.

It was my childhood friend Sophie.

“Sophie! It’s been a long time!”

“It’s really been a long time! I heard you’ve only been in the mountains lately, so it’s really hard to see you.”

I ran to Sophie and hugged her happily.

“That’s right… I was busy learning how to hunt with my dad.”

“More than that… Your face is really red… Did you see the 3rd Prince just now?”

Sophie playfully glared at me.

“Ah… No! I was just running an errand…”

Sophie giggled at my flustered appearance.

“Hey, your face is so red~ Actually, I saw it too! Wasn’t it really cool?”

“Yeah… It was really cool…”

I let out a sigh without realizing it.

“But you know, the 3rd Prince will be entering the Heshet Empire Academy in three years. Won’t you be old enough by then?”

Sophie’s words were clearly a joke, but a new dream was already blooming in my heart.

If I were to enter the academy when I was 16, the Third Prince would already be a second-year student… wouldn’t we meet again there?

The path to the wide world that my grandfather had shown me.

If I could meet the Third Prince again on that path…

‘I should become an adventurer right away and save up my tuition…’

…

On my way back home, I saw my father who had gone hunting in the distance.

He looked impressive as he returned carrying a large deer.

The beads of sweat on his brown hair glistened in the sunlight.

‘Amazing… I barely caught a rabbit today…’

“It’s Raby. Are you coming back from an errand?”

“Yeah! And Dad?”

“So-so.”

He said humbly, but the deer was a size that would be difficult to catch with ordinary skills.

When I arrived home with my father, my mother was preparing dinner.

“Raby, come here and help me.”

“Yeah!”

My mind was complicated as I prepared dinner with my mother.

How should I bring up the Academy story…

How should I talk about adventurers…

It was dinnertime, when the whole family was gathered.

I carefully opened my mouth.

“Dad, Mom… I have something to say.”

“Huh? What’s going on?”

My father put down his spoon.

“I… want to go to the Academy.”

For a moment, the table became quiet.

“I want to study… and learn more.”

“Raby…”

My father’s eyes looked complicated.

“I’m sorry… If Dad had earned more money…”

“No! I’ll earn money! Actually… I originally wanted to be an adventurer!”

For a moment, the table froze.

Leah looked back and forth between me and my parents as if she was anxious.

“Adventurer!”

My father shouted.

At that moment, my father’s eyes were different from before.

It was as if he was recalling something from long ago.

“No! That’s too dangerous!”

Mother waved her hand in surprise.

Her red hair shook and sadness flashed across her eyes.

“Dad… I know. That Dad was an adventurer…”

The table became quiet once again.

Father’s face hardened.

“That time in the Demon Territory… And that I lost my comrades…”

“Who… Who told you that story…”

“I… accidentally overheard it. One night…”

Mother gently grabbed Father’s hand.

Leah just stared at us with a bewildered expression.

“But I can do it! I have the archery skills I learned from Dad…”

“You want to be like your grandfather.”

Mother’s quiet voice rang out.

“Mom…”

“My father… He always told you adventure stories. But in the end…”

Mother’s voice trembled.

“But I can do it! I’m going to become an S-class adventurer!”

“What do you know yet?”

Father slammed the table.

Leah flinched in surprise.

“Trust me, Dad. I learned archery just like Dad taught me… and I looked around meticulously like Dad…”

There was a moment of silence.

My father’s hardened expression seemed to loosen up a little.

“The academy… is fine. If you really want to study, I’ll send you there no matter what. But you absolutely cannot become an adventurer.”

My father’s voice was firm.

However, I could feel the trembling hidden behind it.

“Then… then I’ll train until Dad approves. When Dad sees me and thinks I’m strong enough… then let me become an adventurer.”

“Raby…”

My mother looked at me with worried eyes.

“Please. I… I know. The life of an adventurer is dangerous. But I dreamed of it that much. While listening to my grandfather’s stories… and while receiving Dad’s teachings…”

Leah quietly took my hand.

Warmth was transmitted from her small hand.

There was a moment of silence.

My father and mother looked at each other.

“Whew… I understand.”

My father finally spoke.

“I will train you myself. But you absolutely cannot do it if you don’t meet my standards.”

My father’s eyes were still hard, but there was a little pride in them.

“Really? Thank you, Dad!”

“Ravie… Be careful…”

My mother hugged me tightly.

“Yeah! Thank you, Mom.”

Leah jumped up and down and cheered.

“Sister! I want to learn too!”

My special training began the next day.

Now, she is no longer simply a hunter’s daughter, but a girl who dreams of becoming an S-class adventurer.

And… waiting for the day she will meet the Third Prince again.