Chapter 0-5 (1/2)

The Day of Determination

This is the day of the ceremony that turns children into adults

In this world is sole person is born with a Talent

It ht be easier to understand it as an ability

Be it sword or spear or what have you, there is a huge range of talents And today is the day when that is confiric

People without Talents in the sword or spear can still learn thee of growth that can be attained through effort and nurturing

However, it is not so for ic

To be blunt, it is absolutely iic

People who possess a icians, are very few in nuh salaries and offered extreoal of this Day of Deterical Talents

Or perhaps they are even looking for Talents that rank even higher than norical Talents

There probably are Talents like 'Hero' and 'Chae's business

”Line up”

We don't even have enough kids to need a line

The soldiers who've come from the city sure are serious about their job

This year's Ceree of Albat involves me, my friend Nahbal, and shi+eron, who's one year older Just us three

Children who reach 15 years old have to go through this Day of Determination before they are considered adults

But in the case of our village, there are very few children

So that's why the Ceree It's either go to the city personally or wait until a year when there are 3 children That's why shi+eron is one year older than us

In this country, undergoing a Cerele person has to do it once

Our Village Chief and the two soldiers who've coether in the center of the square

Adults ai for the food that will be served in the Co over us

——I don't really like standing out, so I'd be grateful if this would be over soon

Though I adht be partly just my disposition, but I a their attention towards e crowd……

Oh well, this will probably be the last tiather so et the Cereo to sleep, then return to my solitary inconspicuous life froe Chief is going on and on about the nificance of it or whatever, Nahbal whispers toto draw a Talent eventhan Horun's”

Horun

My elder sis, huh

”Do your best”

Is all I can say, so I said it Though this isn't so that can be affected by effort

”I wonder what Horun-chan is doing right now?”

Now even shi+eron has joined in on the conversation So I wasn't the only one as feeling bored Of course, of course Our Village Chief is pointlessly long-winded, after all No one ever really listens seriously to his pointless speeches anyways I think

”Beatsrandom in the capital”

My older sister Horun drew a rare Talent, Shadow Hunter Warrior, two years ago during her Cere froth to resist and fight against evil…… is where her talent lies, apparently

Talents are, at the end of the day, only what the person is talented in Whether or not to use and nurture that talent is entirely up to the person

It was a rare Talent that we had never heard of before in our village

A child with such a rare Talent was naturally taken to the capital by the soldiers who'd come to perform the Ceremony

The aim was to have her meet directly with someone of power in the royal palace, and if she is determined to be of use, then they'll e for the capital two years ago, Horun has never come back

Based on her infrequent letters, apparently she's not eetting by as a jack of all trades with daily employment

Completely opposite to etic Too energetic So energetic that she's just annoying

All the adults ere looking at Horun being Horun were all whispering, 'Horun is definitely too big to be contained within such a se'

I think so too

Probably even this country is too small to contain ree that she's so not suited for working in the palace

”shi+eron of Albat! Step forward!”

”Yes, sir!”

Before I knew it, Village Chief's speech is over, and the Cere

shi+eron of Albat is called first, and he steps forward

”Your hand, please”

What one of the soldiers is holding is an unpolished lump of crystal It's around the size of an adult's head

It's the Stone of Deter one's hand on it, the name of that person's Talent would appear within the depths of that crystal

It's already the nth ti this scene

The other kids who used to play with me have all turned into adults in this way

And now, it has become my turn to becoe expectations of drawing a Talent ain that he wants to leave this tiny and boring village

I don't really care though

Regardless of what co as a hunter

I' work that no way pales in comparison to that of an adult's, and meat from prey is delicious This profession that I can do by inga hunter, I intend to becoardless of whether my elder sis wished for it or not, she will becoer brother only wishes to live in a tiny village like this, out of people's sight

If possible, it'd be great if it turns out to be a Talent useful for hunting

shi+eron got the Talent of Nursing

Nahbal got the Talent of Woodcutting

”Prettyat all……”

shi+eron's mother is an herbalist, and Nahbal's father is a woodcutter It really is reasonable if you think of it as the inherited their parents' Talents It's so reasonable that it's just plain boring

But that's just how Talents are

Most likely I'd just get a totally boring Talent like th Farmer' My sister? She's just, you know,one last look at the two guys who look like the world has just ended, I step forward for my turn

For the sake of this day, shi+shou had brought down a fine speciotta be delicious That is the only thing I'et this troublesoa, ne……? It says 'e Chief are all squinting their eyes

The unpolished crystal is luular shape In other words, it's kind of hard to see inside

But the words floating up from the bottom of the crystal are, to ane Glasses

What does it even ane

Support the author Minamino Umikaze-sensei by !

My earliest memory is from when I was 4

I was on a stroll inside a forest with adults, then I was left all alone

That oing to die

That is the oldest htti in the distance The eeriness of the forest with its rustling leaves hadabout hoas deep within that target of fear, I had resolvedthat et home by myself

Adults and the older children that I could rely on were all gone There was onlyabout it myself

That, I fully understood

What I learned at that ti discovered by beasts, search for clues'

I really, really wanted to cry, but held it in

Well, the truth of it was that I cried a little bit in ht trail of sweat flowing froht I'd come froe

After all, I had gotten there by my oo feet in the first place

There were no footprints on the ground

However, there were areas where the grass was slightly flattened

That was likely the traces ofbeen convinced so, I followed that, and was able to safely return horove quite close to the village It wasn't even a forest Nothrough the eyes of a four year old

——Further along, not a single one had even realized that I had been left behind

I was not a conspicuous child in the first place

More like, I was quite the quiet child

I grew up frequently being told 'I didn't even know you were here,' or 'you have no presence, ' or 'speak up if you're there,' and other such

As a result of that experience in the forest, perhaps in readiness for if I find ain, the consciousness of 'don't let yourself get found by the eneely stuck to me

The 'enemy' was the adults after I took part in a prank with friends, the boss of the kids that wasafter etables that I hated in hand

It was not that I had no presence, but that I purposely erased my presence

It was not that no one could sense me, but that I purposely silenced my footsteps

In this way, I became 'the child with a weak presence'

After that, time passed uneventfully, until that incident that happened when I was 10

In the village where I was born in, population is low and everyone is poor Therefore, even kids are considered a source of labor, to soan being brought up every once in a while

By that tith, then in her free tith She was the coetic

But it was then that intervention came in from an unexpected source

It was froe, Bekt

It seemed like my parents wantedunder the hunter living in the village

It was all because of the weakness of my presence…… no, it was because of s Bekt noticed that, and saw the potential in it

The ability to sneak up to prey

The ability to not be sensed by prey

Apparently that was very suitable for beco a hunter, so he went to convince my parents to let me become his apprentice

My will?

It seeet to eat the reed, so I said yes on the spot My motive was the meat

Just as Bekt had predicted, I very quickly awakeneddown rabbits and birds withof ameat festival

My parents, and also hted at the race our dinner table every once in a while

Naturally, I was delighted too

”Ya~HOOOOO————!! It's ht have been creeped out by how ecstatic Sis was, but I was the most ecstatic I was more ecstatic than everyone else I just didn't show it on the outside, but I was very ecstatic indeed

Then that incident occurred about a year into my apprenticeshi+p

”Ah”

When ere in thefor prey in the forest, Bekt the hunter farted Oh, that was some fart indeed The sound was so explosive that it actually sent all the neary birds flying off in startley It can't be helped

Even kids understand that what needs to coiven it ht of a child

That's right

It was a direct hit

The face of the apprentice as closely following behind his h, so smel——ah……UWAAAHHH!!”

I attempted to back up in evasion, but then realized that there was nothing underneathto escape towards had no ground

Cus the only thing there was a steep slope

So I slipped on dead leaves, crashed into trees, and basically just fell I fell very hard

——And that is whereto what I was told later, apparently I had hit my head My consciousness did not return even after a full day, and I had been toeing the very fine line between life and death

”I'm very sorry! I'm really sorry that my fart almost killed you!”

Bekt, the hunter,to me

I answered with ”That was my mistake”

I knew that it was a steep slope next toshi+shou and killing the sound ofassaulted by a world-ending roar and poison gas, it wasIt was my mistake

However

If I ay for farting, but an apology for the fart directly hitting me and its smelliness

Well, perhaps the s about

But at the very least, the accuracy of the hit was definitely on purpose Premeditated, even That's the kind of ossan that Bekt is The kind of ossan that likes to tease and prank kids That's why I a that attack

But before the sight of a grownmyself to say that out loud

And that is how that incident drew to a close

——Leaving behind just one problem

Was it because I hitthat fall?

After that incident, my eyes becas clearly, but faraway things I can no longer see as clearly as before What I could see noruely

Well, it's not that serious a problem, so it's fine, I suppose

I, Eil, apprentice hunter of the village of Albat, becaained a Talent that I don't kno to ane'

I can't make heads or tails of it, but I can just think about it siotten worse after the farting incident, this was perhaps, above anything else, the power that I would be ht corrective iteane' But for a poor child of a poor fae, it is as far away as the physical distance to said city

Could this be, exactly as it reads, that 'ane?”

I remove my hand from the Stone of Determination, look at that hand, then murth abruptly drains out of me, while at the same time a mysterious item appears on th that was drained from me just now is contained within this itethat looked exactly like this on his face It was troublesoh

But for sure, that was 'ane'

If that's the case, then the way to use this item in my hand is——

”…… Oh”

The two stems are supposed to rest on ht in front of h the lens, is a brilliant world

The cloudy sights, the world, that I had been seeing vaguely up to now, suddenly appears so very vivid and clear through the glass

”M-, materialization……?!”

”Eh?! That was Materialization?! But it's ane!!”

The soldiers are bewildered, and that spreads to the villagers

Everyone is repeatedly ane' with question marks almost visible above their heads

While clearly and vividly and distinctively looking around s, I come to terlasses'

What is with that

What is the point of that

I h

Materialization

With 'a ic Just as the word says, it is the power to create so material

In terms of the Ceremony of Deterical Talent,' after all

The issue, however, is that the itelasses, an item that has very narrow application

The soldiers, Village Chief, and all the villagers too

Even if it was just 'a small knife,' or simply 'can produce fire,' then everyone would surely have leaped with exciteician has been born in this entirely unree would have been honestly received with joy Just as it did for lasses

My Talent is glasses

To be even lasses

Even I can't bring myself to blame them for their bewilderment

Probably the only person who is honestly happy about this is lasses

A so-so ability?

Perish the thought

It is what I wanted beyond anything else

At first glance, I ht now The happiest I've been in years As happy as I hen I hunted my first rabbit As ht down by ht it delicious Really

With this, I can now aier have to get close enough to prey to see clearly

My hunting is going to be way more effective than it ever has been

——It seee nobody seelad about the birth of this shabby ician or to just make a joke out of me

But I am happy

Even if I may not look like it on the outside

Support the author Minaeunaddressed, the Ceremony draws to a close and proceeds into the feast to celebrate our coe in the countryside with no entertainment whatsoever, so everyone kinda just livens it up theht have been mundane, but the Talents that shi+eron and Nabhal dreere easy to understand So just like all the other years, the two of them are welcomed into the ranks of the adults

As for me, who drew a Talent that is so unique and hard to understand that it's al a joke, well, I'm treated like a tumor Tons of adults came over to offer me words that may or may not have been consolation

I found it so bothersome and uncomfortable that I quickly erased my presence and chose to devote myself towards my sole source of enjoyood

As expected of etables The large onions grown in Albat are just a Put it over the fire for a while and it becoood to eat as is, boil it for a while and it turns into the perfect sweet, gentle-tasting, harredient

I hated it when I was a kid, but now I love it, having grown used to eating it It's the best when it's boiled together withby myself under the shade of a tree removed and out of view fro held is my shi+shou

He nor to hide his hu norianta thick beard From afar, he looks like a coarse and jovial ossan

But in reality, he is a highly skilled hunter capable of hunting down prey with delicate and precisereached shi+shou's level

Of course, in terht, I have to look up to him But in terms of skill also, I look up to him Would I ever be able to catch up?

”At least for a day like this, go le with the others”

He sits next to me

shi+shou has also secured for hi over

”Here's fine for me”

I don't want to stand out, don't want to be seen I ht even venture to say that I don't want to be found

That sort of skill is sought after during a hunt

That's why being a hunter suitskid you are Haven't you ever had thoughts of wanting to e, that was all I could think about”

This talk from shi+shou, I've already heard countless tiood for you”

But for today at least, maybe it won't be so bad to hear him out a bit

Cus today I've becoh?”

”You bet I did my very best in the city for ten whole years”

”And the result?”

”The city didn't suit e that needed a hunter and introduced me, and so here I am”

Heeh

”That time, I invited this woman that I was interested in In other words, I proposed to ood on this topic

”I' to lay this out first, but I was only on the level of being interested, and it was her who fell in love with otta keep that a secret, yea?”

”…………”

”…… You aren't going to listen to iven up upon seeing my lack of a reaction, shi+shou ends the conversation that I have zero interest in

”So, your glasses How're they?”

”I like them”

I can see really well I can see shi+shou really well But I could have done without seeing hi an uncle clearly and vividly and distinctively, and for some reason it er than I had expec-…… no, let's not have anymore discoveries

”Still, it sure is an incomprehensible Talent”

So it would seem

For others, it just comes across as questionable

But for rateful for

——It was supposed to be a special day, but here I as that I couldn't care less about with shi+shou as usual

Around when I a off from my full stomach, shi+shou stands up

”Eil, come with me for a bit”

shi+shou's house is at the outskirts of the village

He cuts apart the prey that he hunts, he tans leather, and he processes meat It ith consideration of all the sement came to be

The ers for vegetables, or sells to traveling merchants

I, too, have saved up a bit of money with the prey I hunted

Well, there's no way to use s fro the only exception But there's nothing that I particularly want

Right noould have thought ”if I can buy it with ained without having to spend money

”Wait outside”

shi+shou disappears into his house Incidentally, his rumored wife is currently at the feast

In front of his house are pieces of leather in thetanned and pelts laid out to dry in the sun Apparently he has no intention of going out on a hunt today

”Here ya go Gratz on beco before shi+shou returns and thrusts a boards me

I know shi+shou owns several bows, but I've never seen this one before

”You made it? For me?”

”'Course I did You're ratulate his apprentice upon coe”

I accept the bow

It's a coh It's probably made from Spectre Tree wood

It is reinforced with the horn of a black oat that has been carefully shaved down, curved, bent, and thoroughly polished with resin

It's a brand ne that has yet to be broken in by anybody

It's a shortbow for adult use

Furtherenerate quite so, I've had no proble the child-sized bow that I received when I was a kid all the way to up today

Due to et close towas not strength, but the accuracy to hit a prey's weak point without fail

As can be expected, large prey is beyond ht down a ton

But having obtained this coe prey as well

”I'ht? Give it a try”

Upon being pro that I keep onup the coo without bending the bow I do it again and again, just as taught The way to string the longbow that shi+shou uses is so co just like I doto confirs out

Well, yea, that should do

It probably doesn't need to be said, but this bow is different froht is different, the length is different, the strength needed to draw it is different, the overall balance is different It's going to take so at soth that I've never used before The weight is also different It's an arrow that can fly much further and pierce much deeper

Surely it would not fly like I expect if I loose it like I've been doing so far

This, too, I will need to accusto up the bow, draw, and loose