The Old-Timer Gatekeeper
The Old-Timer Gatekeeper
The name’s Torne Krieger. Everyone here in Cardiff just calls me “that old-timer gatekeeper,” though.
If somebody says “that old-timer,” you think Torne, and if they say Torne, you think “oh, that old-timer.”
Hmph!
I’d been living in this town for a long time, and this was the biggest incident since its founding: the arrival of a bergbear.
Four years ago, there was a big panic when some wolves snuck into town. But the men of Cardiff got some help in from Donius, so we wiped them out pretty quickly. Well, I say “we,” but we didn’t do much. It was mostly that girl and her lightning.
We needed to be a whole lot more vigilant this time around, though. Wolf-type monsters may be weak, but they’re dangerous. It’s because they’re weak, really; they form packs, and that makes them more trouble.
A bergbear was different, though. Those things never formed packs, because they were strong.
It was enough of a terror that it’d take a whole party of C-rank adventurers to bring one down.
Let me put it this way: I’m one of the strongest guys in town, and I’m just below D-rank. You see? Yeah. That’s the problem.
Apparently the bergbear was spotted near the northeast entrance to the forest, off in the thicket alongside the highway.
...Hey, hold on, that’s only 400 meltortes away, isn’t it?
It wasn’t long before an order came down to close up the gates 2 hors ahead of schedule.
This was sure to be an all-nighter, what with watching the gate and dealing with the merchants who were just passing through. Damn, I couldn’t make time earlier, but I still should’ve gotten in a meal at Derek’s place...
Derek and I have a history — him and that flashy gold hair of his. We’d been pals since back when he made his living down in the mine. Never would’ve thought back then that he’d end up winning over Sola... I’m his friend, so of course I was happy for him, but I couldn’t help feeling like he’d gotten away with the better wife. My missus was on the chubby side, like a slime or something... Well, even so, she was a good, charming woman in her own way.
Ah, speak of the devil. Here comes that flashy-haired father and daughter now. Derek was coming right up to me.
Normally he’d either be in bed or chowing down on his pub snacks at this time of night. And he should’ve been done stocking up, too. It sure was rare, catching a glimpse of him outside this late in the day.
Jeez, the moonlight really was making that blond hair of theirs stand out.
He had his daughter Annie with him and... who was that? Whoever it is, they sure are in a hurry...
“Hey, what’s going on, Derek? Annie, and Logg...? What’s up? What are the kids doing with you?”
“Torne, two kids went outside the town walls. Yuuta and Ana.”
“Please... tell me this is a joke, Derek...”
My mind went blank when I heard Derek’s words. He’d never lie about something that serious, so I knew right away that he wasn’t kidding around.
...Even so, considering what he was saying, I couldn’t help but flare up at him.
“But the gate was closed! Nobody left!”
“They apparently used the irrigation gate. Logg heard them say so.”
W-What...?!
“Damn it!! Konobo, go get everyone from the station! And some oil! We’re mounting a search!!” I called out to my young trainee.
Come to think of it, the irrigation gate was the last place we checked when locking up. They must’ve slipped out before we got around to it!
Still, it should’ve been 3 or 4 hors now since we did our first check. Damn, they may be pretty far out by now...
...This is no time to be standing around thinking.
...Rooooooar...
That was... the bergbear...
“Stop...! Just please make it stop... I haven’t even had a drink today...”
This was a nightmare.
“...The search has been called off.”
“Tell me why,” Derek demanded.
“We’d need to use fire for the search.”
“What’s the matter with that?”
“If we were just talking wolves or something, they’d run from the flames. But this thing’s different. Fire would just attract him. We’d end up getting eaten before we could ever find Yuuta and Ana, without a doubt.”
“But...”
“So that’s reason enough?!” Anti shouted, butting into the conversation.
“That’s a good enough reason?! There’s two kids! We know they’re out there, and we’re just going to leave the gate closed and go on like nothing’s wrong?!! Old-timer! You’re a gatekeeper, aren’t you?! Are you really okay with this?!” There were tears in her eyes as she yelled.
She’d grown up to be real earnest, just like her pa.
But even so, I was a gatekeeper. I had to be willing to harden my heart and make tough choices for the sake of everyone living here.
And so, I laid things out. How the bergbear would find the town if we used torches. And the fact that if it ever found out a place had food, it’d hunker down there.
At any rate, when morning came, it’d be sure to see the gate and at least some of the people flowing in and out...
“So... so that’s enough to—”
“What do you intend to do?” Derek cut in.
“Searching the forest would just provoke it. Besides, we’re weaklings. If we ran into it, we’d just get eaten. We’ll send an envoy to Donius. That roar just now came from the small mountain in the depths of the forest. It should still be far enough from the highway that we can slip by it.”
It had wandered towards the northwest part of the forest since we spotted it...
Now might be our chance to send out a messenger without it noticing the entrance to town...
“Will we be able to send out a search when morning comes?”
“...That’d be difficult. The best armor we’ve got in this town is two partial bits of orc leather armor. I can’t tell my subordinates to head off towards the threat of certain death. We’ll just have to pray that Yuuta and Ana can stay hidden until an adventurer arrives from Donius.”
Even I thought I should be ashamed for saying that.
I’ve served as a gatekeeper for so long, protecting this town. For me to say all we can do is pray...
What a disgustingly pathetic, cowardly excuse...
I am a weakling.
Derek must’ve picked up on my frustration, as it wasn’t long before he called out, “Anti, Logg, go back home.”
“But...!”
“Go back!”
Ann seemed to want to say something, but when she saw the look on Derek’s face, she took Logg and left.
“Derek, I’m sorry. I...”
“Torne, I trust your ability as a gatekeeper. You’re the reason that nobody died on that day four years ago. You led the wolves away and set up an evacuation route. And you made sure everyone knew how to stay hidden. Everybody in this town is grateful to you.”
“...”
“There are some things... we just can’t control...”
Derek was close to Ana and Yuuta. They’d grown up alongside Anti since they were babies, and they were practically siblings.
They were like family to him. Damn it... damn it...!
“I’m sorry...”
“Let’s send someone to Donius...”
I was powerless. Back when I was a youngster still aiming to be an adventurer, I traveled all over. All I found, though, was failure. To be honest, I may have just been running away from it all when I came to this town.
But even someone like me, whose dreams had come crashing down, had still learned things along the way. And still had people he wanted to protect...
“Torne...”
“What is it, Derek?”
A man my age should know better than to let himself get this wrapped up in his own pity.
I needed to hurry up and decide who to send to Donius.
It was then that Derek pointed and said, “Look, over there...”
“It’s... burning...?!”
I could see a fire in the center of the small mountain. The sight of it, shining out through the dark of night, made me want to break down in tears.
We’d been discussing the threat of a forest fire for a while now. Everyone knew that around here, the higher up you went, the drier everything got. That was true not only of the trees, but also of fallen branches and leaves. Our neck of the woods was moss-covered and damper than the surrounding areas, but it wouldn’t be strange at all for a fire to break out on the mountain up above us at any time.
There was a plan to fell the trees surrounding town, but all the moss actually worked to our detriment there. It made it easy to slip, for one thing. For another, it provided plenty of water for saplings, so it wouldn’t be long before new trees sprang up. And as you went further in, you ran the risk of running into wolves and goblins. All that made felling the trees a tricky prospect.
“But still, why did it have to be today of all days...?”
“Torne... Yuuta had a Fire magic stone on him for backup.”
“So that was what started it...?! But that’s...”
“Yeah, it’s right in the center. That’s pretty far off... I heard Yuuta had been saying he’d defeat the bergbear.”
“That damn fool...”
It was far off, but it was definitely burning. Had Yuuta run into the bergbear? In that case, things were looking hopeless... Why did this have to happen...?
Konobo finally made it back, bringing some others along with him.
“Captain! That’s a fire...!”
“Yeah, it’s really going...”
“What’ll we do?! We need to pick someone to go to Donius! Oh, and I brought the oil for the search!”
Konobo was a pretty clever youngster, but he still lacked experience.
“We won’t be sending anyone out.”
“Captain?!”
“Konobo, those flames are gonna move fast. They may be all the way out there now, but they’ll reach this town before the break of dawn.”
“T-That can’t be...”
“Konobo, have everyone here gather up all the folks from around town. Have them get together their belongings, too. In the worst-case scenario, we may have to abandon the town.”
“Are things really that bad...? But what about sending someone to Donius?”
“If we end up needing to evacuate, then we’ll have to get everyone to the highway by dawn. We’re just plain lacking in guards. I mean, the fire could end up driving wolves or goblins out of the forest. And if our luck is bad enough, it’ll drive out the bergbear, too.”
“...”
“I want to use everyone we’ve got to protect the townsfolk. You’ve got to understand, Konobo.”
“You have my utmost respect, sir...! I’ll make the rounds as soon as possible!”
“I’m counting on you.”
My other subordinates who overheard the conversation dispersed throughout town. They were better men than I deserved.
“Derek, I’m sorry, but your shop...”
“Torne, I’ll say it as many times as it takes: I trust your skill as a gatekeeper. It’s true, it’ll be a shame losing the shop and the town. But no one cares more about the life of this town than you! I’ll do whatever you ask.”
“Derek...”
Afterwards, I got wagons moved to the gate, discussed matters with the townsfolk who had gathered, and helped load everyone’s luggage. Not everyone believed the fire would make it to us at first. But when they saw it continue to spread across the mountain, more of them started packing up and helping out.
“Derek, we’re good here!”
“Got it! I’m going to go find Anti and the wife. My girl must be back home by now...”
“Yeah... Hey! Hold on, look there!”
Just as Derek was about to go, I spotted Sola darting about between the wagons. Yuuta and Ana’s parents were with her.
“Sola! What’s going on?”
“Dear, Anti never came back!”
Derek and I both froze.
“She couldn’t have, but...”
“There’s no way... I mean, she didn’t pass through the gate.”
“She’s so slender, though. She could squeeze through the same places as any kid.”
“The irrigation gate...?!”
“Sola, that fire will be here soon.”
“I know. I passed by someone from the guard station about 30 minits ago.”
“Damn... At any rate, we’d better go check the irrigation gate!”
A group of us adults headed off for the irrigation gate.
...The latch was off. Damn, looks like she really did it.
“...”
I couldn’t look Derek in the face.
Earlier, I said I was willing to abandon Yuuta and Ana. And now, Anti was being added to their number.
Couldn’t I even save my own friend’s daughter?
“Torne, make sure everyone makes it out of town...”
“Derek!”
“...”
Sola was never without a smile, but now her face was serious and tense. That... that was the face of someone who had accepted that her daughter may well be gone for good.
“I’m sorry... I’m so sorry, Sola...! Because of our son, your daughter...!” Yuuta’s mother said, begging Sola for forgiveness.
Damn it... god damn it! How could I let something like this happen?
Was I really going to run away and leave those kids behind?
Like hell!
“Derek, I’m heading out to look for them.”
“But Torne...!”
“I may be a gatekeeper, but I’m a Cardiffer first and foremost!”
“Torne, you...”
“I’ve got to pay you all back for the delicious food you’ve fed me over the years!”
“You old fool...”
“Yeah, I am a fool!! And a first-rate one, at that! You’re coming along with me, right, Derek?!”
“Sola, I’m sorry, but I...”
“Take care, Dear.”
We hurried on back to the guard station and grabbed torches.
Then, I gathered up as many men as I could.
I ended up leaving the town to Konobo, and then we headed out to try to find them before the fire came.
The mountain was already completely red.
Heading off with torches into a forest with a bergbear in it was practically suicide. As night fell, fire was sure to act as a guidepost to lead it towards human settlements. That was why everyone had to be careful when it grew dark.
But now, there was a huge forest fire. Maybe that’d help to camouflage us.
I’d find them. Yuuta, and Ana, and Anti...
I was the old-timer gatekeeper for this town, after all.
“That fire sure is spreading fast...”
The sound of the flames seemed to grow all the more vivid as we passed through the gates. I hadn’t imagined it had spread this far while I was running around back in town...
“Let’s go!”
“Yeah!”
Now that we’d gotten moving, all my hesitation was gone.
We’d keep on looking for them until the last possible second.
We trudged through the damp moss, clawing our way up through the forest.
There were a good number of men who came with us, and all of them found it a struggle, getting tripped up by this slippery ground. But there was no time now to wait around for them.
Derek, though, had enough stamina to keep up with me. Maybe it was all that work down in the mines when he was younger.
...I smelled wood and water through the darkness. The fire was surrounding even this damp, mossy area.
We need to hurry up and find them, fast. I suppressed my panic as best I could and took one step forward. Then another.
That was when I heard it.
“Roooooooooooooooooooooar...!!!”
W-What was that?!
“...Torne!”
“You’ve got to be kidding me...”
It had come this close to the base of the mountain...?
Derek and I hurriedly hid ourselves by crouching in the shadow of a tree. Of course, that wouldn’t stop it from seeing the light from our torches...
“What’ll we do, Torne...?”
“...”
It hadn’t even been 30 minits since we entered the forest. But even so, the two of us may have already advanced a full 700 mels.
We couldn’t go any further, though.
Both Derek and I had wives. I’d said those harsh words before, and for what?
I wept silent, bitter tears.
“...You’ve done enough, Torne. Thank you.”
What’re you thanking me for? We didn’t find any of them.
And if that damn bergbear finds us before we make it back, we’ll end up dead.
I’m a real idiot.
I couldn’t protect the kids, and all I’d done was put my friend in danger.
“Ugh...”
I wanted to keep on going, but my legs wouldn’t budge.
If I turned around now, it would mean giving up on everything.
And so, in my frustration, I let out a pathetic wail.
All my experience was telling me to flee. But I felt like if I turned tail and ran now, I’d be a failure — not just as a gatekeeper, but as a resident of my town.
That was when it happened.
Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....!!
“Wha?!”
“That sound...”
What was that sound? It sounded like metal rubbing together.
It wasn’t coming from far off, either. It must’ve been 60 mels, no, 50 meltortes at most.
“W-What is that?!”
“Torne! Over there!”
The source of the sound was moving upwards, climbing into the sky.
The leaves and branches blocked my view, so I couldn’t get a good look. However, I could tell that whatever was giving off that strange metallic sound seemed to be clad in light.
Both of us looked up, dumbfounded.
Just what was that?
Maybe it was a spirit or something?
Whatever it was, it gave off a sparkle, then came flying down towards the ground.
It almost looked like a shooting star.
For that one instant, the flames coming off the mountain were outshone.
Neither Derek nor I could move.
Countless drops of sweat dripped down on the leather armor around my thighs.
The light died down, and I could see the raging flames again. All I could see of the trees surrounding us were black silhouettes, lit by the fire.
By this point, it was all but certain that we’d have to abandon the town.
On the one hand, I had to find out the source of that light. On the other, we had to run. Now.
“Go ahead and resent me, Derek.”
“Don’t be stupid!”
I stood up, finally able to move again.
And then, I noticed something was off.
“...Wind?”
In the next instant, a sudden gust blew through the forest! Ah, no, this is more than just that!! It’s not stopping at all!!
“Whooooooa!!!”
“Derek! Let go of your torch and grab onto the tree with both hands!!”
“But...!!”
“Hurry up!! This is no normal gust!!”
“...Alright!!”
Our two torches were swooped up into the sky.
What’s with this wind?! It’s blowing straight up into the air!!
I looked up through the fluttering leaves.
“The flames...!”
The flames... were gathering up in the sky. Was I going crazy or something?
Still, Derek was right there alongside me, just as much in danger of getting sent flying. He was looking up at the sky in shock. And I’m betting the look on my face wasn’t much different from his.
All those whirling flames seemed to be gathering in the same place. It was late at night, but it was bright enough to be the middle of the day!
All we could do in the middle of this flaming storm was cling tight to the tree.
And then suddenly, all of the light disappeared.
Well, the moonlight was still there, but that was all...
The wind stopped, and Derek and I both hit the ground rear-first.
“Owwww...”
The pain in my rear kept my mind from going blank.
I looked around.
“The fire... it’s gone.”
“Yeah...”
Could something like this really happen? It was a miracle. An impossible, brilliant miracle.
I mean, you can’t just put out a blaze that size...
Did a fire spirit save us...?
Something like that was too impossible to even imagine, but...!
“Ah, we can keep searching!”
“Torne...!”
“We’ve got to see this thing through, Derek!”
“...Right!”
We started moving again, heading towards the landing site of that sparkling light. The place where all the flames had gathered.
“Heeeeeeeeeeeey!!!”
“Heeeeeeeeeeeey!!! Is anyone there?!!”
We yelled as loud as we could.
“Here!!! We’re over here!!!”
We broke out running, paying no heed to our ages, right in the direction of where that light had landed.
I wasn’t scared in the least, though. Rather, I was smiling and thanking God as I ran.
Once we were out of the forest, we found Yuuta and Ana waiting for us, alive and well. And between them, a girl was collapsed on the ground.
It was Anti, sleeping away in the middle of the clearing.
The pale moonlight reflected off the girl’s signature blonde hair, and even her eyelashes seemed to be shining, despite it being the middle of the night. Now, looking at her sleeping face clearly for the first time, I could see her mother’s charming features. All that, combined with the little crown floating above her head, made her look almost like a princess. Truly, it was a fantastic sight.
The little lady was injured all over, but she was still breathing.
The golden-haired father picked up his golden-haired daughter, cradling her gently in his arms.
He said nothing, but I could see the tears streaming down his cheeks, and the smile on his face.
“Good grief... I didn’t realize we had such a lovely moon out tonight...”
“Um... Old-timer, you see, I...”
...Slap, smack!
“Ack!”
“Ooow!”
“We’re heading back, you runts! Don’t let your guards down till we make it back to town!”
There may have still been monsters lurking around.
We may have lost our torches, but thanks to this moonlight, I could just barely see my feet.
I could also see that a bergbear had definitely been here not long ago.
...Actually, I’m not sensing anything, now that I think of it. Just where did it...?
And then, I saw it. The tree next to me was covered in claw marks... and blood.
I held my breath. It was close... no... it was here.
“You kids... are alright...?”
“Um...”
I knew it was a strange question even as I asked it. I mean, they were obviously alright. They were right here, alive and kicking. But I didn’t know how.
“It was Miss Ann...”
“She saved us!”
“What...?”
What... are you two talking about...? What could a delicate little thing like her do against a bergbear? There’s no way...
...
That light, like a shooting star...
Whatever it was that sucked up all the fire...
But it couldn’t be...
I looked over at Anti, and met Derek’s eyes as he stared silently back at me.
That snapped me out if it. I cleared out all the ridiculous thoughts floating around in my head, and got us back on track toward town.
The trip back to the gates of Cardiff went so smoothly that it almost felt like a let-down. Even though carrying Anti and the kids slowed Derek and me down a bit, we still didn’t run into any monsters. Though considering how fast that fire moved, it may have taken out the monsters’ dens... Either way, it was a happy miscalculation.
We passed through a door to the side of the main gate. On the other side, we found nearly all of the town’s residents waiting for us.
“Hey, Torne’s back! And he brought the kids!”
“The kids are alright!”
“That’s Torne for ya! He’s not the captain for nothing!”
“Is Ann okay?!”
All the townsfolk were shouting at once, causing quite a ruckus.
“Now hold on! Calm down, everybody!!” I yelled out, climbing up onto a wagon beside me and raising both hands. Everyone went silent. “First off, the kids are all safe! Little Miss Anti secured them!”
“Wow!”
“Good going, little lady!”
“So she’s sleeping now? Is she alright?!”
“Yeah, she’s just tired, that’s all! We’re going to let her take it easy and keep an eye on her!”
The townsfolk breathed a sigh of relief. The kids her age may have made fun of her for being magicless, but all the adults frequented the Kythera Eatery. Naturally, a good number of them had gotten attached to the place’s poster girl in the process.
“Torne, what happened with the bergbear? And why did the fire just...?”
The fire, huh...?
Everyone started talking at once again.
“What could you all see from here, Gramps?”
“The fire got sucked up into the sky.”
“I saw it, too.”
“The flames got ripped up out of the forest and off the mountain, and flew up into the air.”
“Then it all got bunched up into one spot.”
“It sure made for a strange sight...”
So that huge gust of wind really did round up all the fire? And it wasn’t blown away... it was sucked up?
It was almost like an act of God...
“...In regards to the bergbear, we went 700 mels into the forest! We found traces there, but didn’t sense it anywhere nearby!”
“Ooh...”
“That sure is scary, isn’t it...?”
“Just to be safe, we’re going to keep watch from the lookout tower during the day! But given all those flames, it may have run well clear of here! We’re going to restrict usage of the gate for the time being, but try not to get nervous without reason! After all, if anything happens, I’ll be sure to let you know!”
“You guys were really on the ball today.”
“Yeah, everyone from the station did a real good job.”
“Next up, about the forest fire! To be honest... I don’t really know myself! I may have played at being an adventurer in the past, but I’ve never seen anything like it before! I mean, a blaze like that just up and disappearing...”
“Hahaha! If the guardian deity of Cardiff doesn’t know, then nobody will!”
“That was no act of man!”
The townsfolk were all hooting and hollering, but it didn’t seem like anybody was trying to shoot down what I’d said. They were all good-natured folk.
“...It may have been a fire spirit that saved us.”
“What?!”
“Are you serious?! That’s amazing!”
“Looks like we’ve got a real guardian deity!”
“Maybe it saved Anti, too!”
“She’ll have to give thanks to the god of the flames!”
Phew... somehow, I managed to get the discussion going in the direction I wanted. I sure was nervous. I mean, I figured it was best to hide the fact that we found the little miss right where all that fire disappeared. We needed to let her rest up proper, after all.
“Sorry for making you all pack up for no reason, but go ahead and head on back home! And make sure all your loved ones are accounted for!”
“Got it! And don’t worry about it, Torne!”
“Yeah! I mean, even our good captain couldn’t have predicted a fire spirit getting involved, haha!”
“Right, let’s get this all cleaned up, everybody!”
“Yeah!” all the townsfolk yelled out together, then scattered.
Ana and Yuuta’s folks were scolding them and crying. Haha, I sure am glad I got to see this sight, though...
Then I saw a familiar woman pushing her way forward through the crowd.
“Sola...!”
“Derek! Anti...!”
...That may have been the first time I’d ever seen Sola cry.
Just as I was about to pitch in and help clean up the town, Konobo stopped me.
“You still haven’t had dinner, right? Please, go eat.”
Oh, so that’s how it is? Good grief. I don’t need your concern.
Along the way I ran into my wife, but she just said she was fine and I didn’t need to worry. Women sure are tough.
I was worried about Anti, and Derek and Sola did invite me, so I took them up on that offer and stopped by their place. He just told me, “We’re taking today off anyway, and it won’t even take a single minit to make enough for one person!”
There’s no way you could do it in a minit...
To my shock, though, it really did come in a single minit. Once I finished eating, Sola came down from the second floor. Apparently she’d finished treating the little miss.
“How’d it look?”
“She had some minor cuts, and it looks like she took lots of small blows all over. Her left shoulder looks pretty banged up, too. I don’t think there’ll be any scars, though.”
“I see! Thank goodness...!”
“Torne, we can’t thank you enough for this.”
“Oh, what’s all this about...”
“Yeah, we’re super grateful...!” Sola said, moved to tears even as she smiled.
Oh, cut it out. I didn’t do anything...
“Give it a break. I couldn’t even do anything that’d be worth your gratitude.”
I gulped down water, emptying my glass.
I didn’t do anything. Nothing at all...
“That’s not true at all! I mean, look at the way you handled the townsfolk, and the decision to mount the search. We were relying on you this time, just as we always do.”
“I was going to leave Yuuta and Ana to die.”
“Give me a break. That was the first time I’d ever seen you that distraught. The two kids heard about it, but even they know blaming you would be misplaced resentment.”
“...Hmph.”
“Hey, how about a drink?”
She placed a bottle down in front of me with a thud. Hey, come on now, Sola...
“Haha, come on, just a bit.”
“Hmph, good grief... I just can’t beat you, Sola.”
“Hehehe.”
We ended up having a light drinking party before dawn.
Once we’d emptied a few bottles, Derek let slip, “I’m thankful for a whole lot of stuff with this incident, but there’s one thing I’m grateful for above all else.”
“Huh? And what would that be?”
“You explained things to everyone around town, right?”
“Eh...? Yeah...”
About the bergbear and the fire, he means? Why is he thanking me for that?
“You did a real good job keeping things vague.”
I slapped my glass down atop the desk with a clang!
It couldn’t be... What did he mean by that...?
“W-What’re you saying?”
“When you said ‘maybe a fire spirit saved us’ or whatever. And the way that you avoided mentioning that light that came shooting down.”
“Derek, you couldn’t mean...!”
“Torne, we’re the only ones here. Go ahead and tell me what you’re thinking right now.”
What I’m thinking...?
“Derek, so you realized...?”
“Torne, I wanted to confirm it. Not with anyone else, but with you.”
“...”
Just before dawn, a strange silence fell over the shop, lit only by a small Light magic stone.
What... What I’m thinking?
Yeah, that’s right, there is something on my mind!
I mean, I studied as hard as I could to be an adventurer once. I was a weakling, after all, so I tried to make up the difference with knowledge. That’s why I knew. The three of them being there like that was strange.
“...”
“It’s fine, Torne. We’re talking about my daughter, after all.”
“Sola...”
“Please, I want to hear.”
I can’t win against these two.
And so, I decided to speak openly...
“...What I say next may make you all disappointed in me.”
“It’s fine. Just get on with it, man.”
“Hehehe.”
“Hmph... First off, the place we found them was strange.”
“The place?”
“Yeah. Do you remember where we first spotted the fire coming from?”
“The middle of the small mountain.”
“That’s right.”
“Huh? What’s strange about that?”
“We found them about 700 mels from town.”
“Eh...?”
“Even at the shortest, it should be 2 kel mel... 2000 mels, to the center of the small mountain... It’s just too far away. How did the three of them move 1300 mels that fast?”
“But there’s no guarantee that they were there when the fire... Ah.”
“That’s right, Sola. Yuuta’s Fire magic stone. When you put it all together, Yuuta had to be the one who started the fire, likely to attack the bergbear.”
“The... bergbear...?”
“That’s the next thing that’s odd.”
I took a sip of booze, then continued.
“There were bergbear claw marks and blood where we found Anti and the kids.”
Sola’s expression changed to one of shock and disbelief. It was rather strange, seeing her with anything other than a smile.
“That can’t be...”
“First off, a bergbear wouldn’t let one nearby prey animal escape, much less three kids. There’s no chance it would choose not to eat them.”
Sola gripped her skirt tightly over her knees.
“And secondly, that blood wasn’t Anti’s. It was from the bergbear. Bergbears get around by rolling around mountains. Their bodies are coated in long, hard fur that normal trees or even swords can’t pierce... If it was bleeding, it had to be from someone attacking it.”
“What are you trying to say...?”
“And lastly, there’s the case of the disappearing forest fire.”
“...”
“Do you really think a fire spirit would just show up on cue like that?!!”
Oh, boy. Looks like the booze is hitting me harder than I expected.
“Derek...”
“It’s alright. Everyone’s safe as a result.”
“Yeah, that’s right. And there’s one person who happened to be there for all of this.” At this point, Sola must have reached the same conclusion. “I mean Anti, of course. Damn, I can’t believe I’m saying something so ridiculous... But everything fits. How did she get from the mountain to town so fast?! And with two kids! And that bergbear must’ve been after them, so what happened to it?! We’ll keep looking, but... I get the feeling we won’t ever find it. And then there’s the flames. Just how... How did they all just disappear?”
I ended up throwing out every dang question that came to mind as they sat there and silently listened.
“Sorry...”
“Ah, no... It just sure must be something for you to say all that, right?”
“Yeah...”
“Still, are you sure you’re not making some kind of mistake? I can’t imagine our girl being wrapped up in all that strangeness...”
“Sola, I understand how you feel...”
“Derek...”
“But try thinking about it. Why did the kids move all that distance? Why is the bergbear gone? Why did all that fire disappear?”
“...To protect us all.”
“That’s right, Sola.”
None of us had a clue how she’d done it. But it was clear as day why she’d done it.
She wanted to protect everything and everyone.
In order to protect the kids, she moved them.
In order to protect us, she drove away the bergbear.
In order to protect the town, she extinguished the flames.
“...”
I picked up from where Derek had left off.
“There was a strong will to protect at work there. And aside from the runts, the only one there who’d feel that way was...”
“Anti.”
Right, it could only be her.
“The little miss did it. That’s the only thing I can think of it. I must be nuts.... I’m a failure of a gatekeeper. Why is this the only thing that comes to mind?”
“Stop making that face, Torne.”
“Hey, the little miss had her Skill Bestowal just recently, didn’t she? What sort of ability did she get, Derek?”
“Torne.”
“If she got a skill strong enough to let her take down a bergbear on her own, then she may end up getting ranked gold in the future! Unlike me...!”
“Hey, Torne...!”
“Ah...! Sorry...”
I really spoiled the atmosphere, there. Damn, looks like I let the booze get the better of me...
“Sorry... I went too far, there.”
“Speaking hypothetically...”
“Huh?”
“If my girl did have that kind of power, what sort of future would she have?”
“Her future...? You mean, the sort of work skilled adventurers handle? Right...”
I switched over from booze to water.
“Haa... There’s all sorts of stuff, like getting employed by the royal court or hired by nobles. I don’t really know, but she definitely wouldn’t be hurting for money, at least.”
“I don’t think Anti would be interested in things like that.”
“Ah...”
“Right. But still, I want to ask Anti.”
Yeah... That’s right.
What did the little miss want to do? That was what mattered most.
What was wrong with me...?
“I sure am jealous of Anti, having parents like you two.”
“Wha...? Haha, what’re you saying?”
“Hehehe.”
“I’m serious. You see, my folks...”
All the awkwardness washed away after that, and I ate until dawn broke. It was the most enjoyable meal I’d had in some time.
Not long after, Anti woke up.
She looked to be doing well, the little tomboy.
Apparently she was concerned what we thought of her running off into the forest on her own. But I knew. If she hadn’t gone, we would’ve lost a whole dang lot. I was confident of that fact.
“I just need you to tell me one thing.”
“What’s this all of the sudden...?”
“Did you run into the bergbear?”
The little miss’s expression froze when she heard Derek’s question. Somehow, though, she managed to get the words flowing again.
“...I saw something that looked sort of like it in the distance, and ran away with Yuuta and Ana in a panic.”
“...”
Just what do you think a bergbear is, you dang fool? The second you saw something that “looked sort of like it,” you were already done for.
And then, she added, “There’s no way an innocent little 15-year-old girl like myself could beat a bear, right?”
The question was just if you’d ran into it, little miss, so why is your response about whether or not you’d beaten it?
Seemed she was still just a child in a lot of ways...
“...Yeah, that’s true...”
Derek looked somehow relieved and satisfied with that answer. And Sola was all smiles, too.
There were two things I learned from that exchange.
First off, the bergbear had probably been defeated, and the little miss was also the one who put out the flames.
Secondly, she wanted to hide that fact. She didn’t want to be famous. She had just wanted to protect everyone.
I slowly closed my eyes.
I was real grateful, and proud of her, too.
She had power, but she didn’t let that make her arrogant. Instead, she was hiding it and trying to protect others.
That was how I’d wanted to be when I was young.
If it weren’t for the little miss, the townsfolk would’ve ended up drowning in sadness and grief.
But the little miss, this golden-haired girl, fought all on her own and protected us all.
And now, she was making it clear she wanted to keep her power secret.
As if I’d ever say a word. My lips were sealed.
I was real, real proud of her.
With that burning heart, she protected everything.
She really was the best poster girl in the whole damn world.
A few days passed, and sure enough, we didn’t see hide nor hair of the bergbear. And so, the gate started closing at the normal time again.
Thanks to the forest being burnt, monster sightings ground to a halt. This may actually give us a chance to expand the town...
The eatery was open today for Anti’s farewell party. Apparently she was going to try her hand at being an adventurer in Donius.
To be honest, I was kind of looking forward to it. Unfortunately, though, I ended up being on duty.
Damn you, Konobo... I won’t forget this!
Apparently everybody from her school was really getting into their magic training, so hardly any of them were coming. I understand, but that’s still damn insensitive. I mean, if it weren’t for the little miss, the whole town would’ve been wiped off the map.
Of course I wouldn’t say any of that, though.
Tomorrow morning, the little miss would pass my station. I had to think about how I’d greet her then...
After all, those were the words that would see the hero who saved the town off on her modest journey.
The name’s Torne Krieger. Everyone here in Cardiff just calls me “that old-timer gatekeeper,” though.