Ch. 4: A Secret Plan
And after one week passed…-
Lian and his tribe went to face the tribe that had ransacked the village.
(Lian…)
I watched over Lian, along with the villagers from a hill a short distance away.
Lian: “Are you the ones that stole from this village?”
Opposing Tribesman 1: “Who the hell’re you? And who’re you callin’ thieves? We entered into a proper deal.”
Lian: “I heard it was an unfair deal. I’ll have you return the excess you took.”
Opposing Tribesman 2: “I dunno what you’re talkin’ about. But more importantly, you’re in our way. From now on, this village is our base. Get ’em!!”
Then the battle started…-
Although each person of Lian’s tribe was stronger that the enemy, when it came to numbers, the opposing tribe had an overwhelming advantage. Lian and his people were hard pressed.
Village Man 1: “Master Lian…! Should we fight too!?”
Village Man 2: “No way! We’ll just get in the way.”
Village Man 3: “Yeah… if only we could at least bring down the numbers of the other tribe!”
(Numbers… That’s it…! I don’t know if it’ll work though.)
OO: “Everyone! Please, will you help me with something?”
(I want to help Lian!)
Thinking of a plan, I called out to the villagers.
Ch. 5: A Clumsy Hand
With the help of the villagers, we quickly crafted flags bearing the symbol of Lian’s tribe.
Lian himself was fighting on the front line, defending his people.
Village Man: “Alright! This should be plenty!”
OO: “OK everyone, let’s go!”
The villagers spread out from the hill as if to surround the opposing tribe and brandished their flags.
Village Man: “Master Lian! Reinforcements have arrived!!”
Lian: “…!?”
Opposing Tribesman 1: “Wha…reinforcements!?”
Opposing Tribesman 2: “Chief! Their numbers are too many! If we fight them…”
Opposing Tribe Chief: “Damn…! Retreat!!”
Seeing our flags and believing reinforcements had arrived, the enemy tribe mounted their horses and galloped away from the village at full speed.
Lian: “…this is…”
OO: “Lian!”
I rushed over to where Lian was from my spot on the hill.
OO: “I’m glad…it worked!”
Lian: “This was your doing? …I’m surprised.”
OO: “Not just me! Everyone from the village worked together.”
Villager: “Master Lian! We did it!!”
Lian looked around at me and the villagers, then deeply bowed his head.
Lian: “You have my thanks. You saved us.”
OO: “N-no…Lian, raise your head.”
And so in this way, peace returned to the village…-
Then several days later…-
(I’m glad Lian was safe.)
Lian: “I thought you’d be here.”
OO: “Lian!”
Lian came to stand beside me and turned his eyes to the starry sky.
Lian: “We’re going to move on to another village.”
OO: “Eh…”
Lian: “I’m concerned about this village…but there is no food here for our horses and sheep.”
OO: “I suppose that’s true…”
Lian: “What will you do? If you want to return to another country, I’ll have someone escort you.”
OO: “I thought I’d stay here a little longer and help the villagers.”
After the battle was settled, the villagers had welcomed me, and I had come to help them in taking care of the pastures.
Lian: “I see…”
Lian looked up at the star-filled sky.
A brilliantly bright red star lit up the night.
Lian: “Goddess of the Dawn.”
OO: “Eh?”
Lian: “You may be just like her.”
Unexpectedly, Lian’s large hand nervously touched mine, and my heart started pounding.
(Lian…?)
Lian: “…”
His appearance seemed to say he didn’t know how to take hold of my hand, and he fumbled about and grasped it with some force.
OO: “…that hurts a little.”
My cheeks were red, and I smiled as I said that to him…
Lian: “S-sorry. I’ve never held a woman’s hand. I didn’t know…they were so delicate.”
Lian’s face was so red that I could see it even in the dark.
Lian: “You saved me with this hand. You’re quite brave.”
He looked at me kindly.
Lian: “We won’t go far, and then we’ll return here. Until then…will you wait? When that time comes, I want to show you so much more.”
(Lian…)
OO: “Yes! I’ll wait.”
Up in the heavens, the brilliant star called the Goddess of the Dawn glittered on forever with a gentle light.
END