[Illustration]
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—Please, take care of this child.
Wolf had been foraging for herbs in the mountains when he abruptly looked up. He adjusted the basket on his back and walked, as if drawn by something.
He was what you'd call an "ordinary adventurer."
He'd started the trade at twelve, and in those early days, his youth had been his weapon as he fought beasts. But he'd come to know his limits, and one by one, younger, more talented adventurers surpassed him. By the time his gut had started to soften, he'd stopped taking dangerous quests and made his living selling the herbs and ores he gathered.
In the end, his rank was D—third from the bottom. The skills he'd learned were [Appraisal] and [Compounding] at Intermediate Level 3, along with the basics across the board at Level 1. That was all his fifteen years as an adventurer had given him.
Today, too, he'd taken a gathering quest from the guild and ventured into the mountains.
"A woman..."
In the mountains where beasts roamed, a beautiful woman lay collapsed.
Her hair was dark red, straight and smooth. Her body was so thin she looked like she might break at any moment. Her lips, tinged with purple, drew shallow breaths.
One look was enough. She was dying.
There were no visible wounds. His guess was that she'd been struck by some powerful curse-type skill. Beads of sweat dotted her white skin, and she groaned in pain.
Wolf spread out all the herbs he had beside the woman. Breaking the curse was beyond him, but he could at least compound something to ease her breathing—he at least wanted her last moments to be comfortable. He took out his tools and was just beginning when a cool hand stopped him.
"...If you're an adventurer..."
The woman's eyelids lifted. Her eyes were a fiery red, yet they reminded him of a placid lake.
"I don't have long. Will you hear my last request?" she asked.
She looked to the side of her face. There was something that looked like the woman's belongings, wrapped in cloth. At her prompting, Wolf undid the cloth. What appeared was the sleeping face of a lovely infant, breathing softly.
"Could you take care of this child?" she whispered.
Wolf lifted the baby in his arms and nodded firmly. Breathing raggedly, the woman smiled.
"Thank goodness..."
Her eyelids began to close.
"Wait! Don't die!" Wolf shouted. It was the first time he'd raised his voice in years, and he started coughing. Startled, the infant in his arms cried out—a healthy, vigorous wail.
Flustered, Wolf tried to soothe her. She wouldn't stop crying. His life had been one without women. He had no experience raising children. He didn't know the first thing about comforting a child—he wasn't even sure he was holding her right.
The woman's eyelids were about to close for good. Wolf, ignoring the crying infant, asked:
"At least tell me your name—and hers."
Behind those half-shut eyelids, her eyes turned toward Wolf.
"Reminia..." she breathed.
Whether that was the woman's name or the child's, he never learned. The woman left him the baby and a few books, and passed away.
From the day he inherited Reminia from the woman who seemed to be her mother, Wolf retired from adventuring and returned to his hometown, the village of Nikaras.
A one-room inn was no place to raise a child, and if he wanted to live with her in the capital, he'd have to pay double the rent. Besides, he didn't think he could raise her alone while still working as an adventurer. So he chose to go home.
Fortunately, the guild gave him a retirement allowance after more than fifteen years of service. It was modest, but enough to raise a child in a small village for a few years.
He renovated his run-down family home, and Wolf's life as a parent began.
At first, he didn't even know how to fasten a diaper—the village midwife was always scolding him. But Reminia grew up healthy despite his clumsiness. She was a clingy crybaby, prone to night terrors; more than once, Wolf fell asleep in the middle of the village square with Reminia still in his arms. It was the usual struggle of a new parent.
But as he got used to it, he noticed something peculiar about Reminia.
She was the kind of baby who cried a lot. Sometimes, no amount of soothing would calm her down. But when he gave her one of the books her mother had left behind, she'd smile instantly. Whether there was some magic in the books, or whether she was responding to the lingering scent of her mother—he didn't know. One thing was certain: those books were Reminia's only connection to her mother.
By the time she was old enough to understand things, Reminia had grown into a beautiful girl.
Bright red hair, large eyes like amethysts, and skin as white as the woman's that day. There was no doubt she'd be a beauty when she grew up.
She quickly became popular and took on a leadership role among the village children. Though she was a bit of a tomboy, there was something thoughtful behind each of her actions. She was smart and quick to learn. A mage in the village taught her magic, and by age five, she could already use all the basic (Level 2) spells.
But what truly fascinated her were the books her mother had left behind—what might be called her legacy.
"Papa, my mom was a genius, wasn't she?" Reminia said, seated on her father's lap.
Reminia seemed to understand things that Wolf couldn't make sense of. According to the six-year-old, the books contained research papers on beasts.
The beasts of Straval, the Fifth World—creatures that had appeared suddenly two hundred years ago. Their biology remained shrouded in mystery. The books her mother left behind apparently contained hints about that secret.
"But this Double World Theory has a flaw," she continued. "I don't deny the two-layer structure, but there's no mention at all about the energy required for it. What do you think, Papa?"
She sometimes asked for his opinion, but Wolf always changed the subject.
"More importantly, Reminia—why are you reading on Papa's lap? I made you a desk for studying, didn't I?" he asked.
"Nope! I like Papa's lap best," she declared.
"Why's that?" he pressed.
"'Cause I love Papa!" she beamed.
She gave him a beaming smile. No matter how tired he was, seeing that smile made him feel like he could keep going.
When Reminia was eight, an incident occurred. A C-rank beast wandered into the village. A barrier surrounded Nikaras, and only E- and F-rank beasts were supposed to be in the area—but misfortune piled upon misfortune.
The beast, a Baywolf, came to the village every night, taking advantage of the absence of adventurers, and ran rampant. The village chief decided to abandon the village and flee. Among the villagers, Wolf raised his hand.
"I'll do it," he declared.
It was a proposal beyond bravery—bordering on recklessness. The opponent was a C-rank beast. Wolf's class was D. He'd been away from real combat for years. It had been a decade since he'd last risked his life.
The villagers tried to stop him, but he refused to listen.
"My daughter is in this village. I want to protect her," he said.
Wolf said this while gently stroking Reminia's hair. It was the first time his daughter had seen her father's back as a warrior. Though she hesitated, she understood his resolve.
"Papa, promise me. You'll come back," Reminia pleaded.
"Don't you worry. I'll come back," he promised.
A small fist met a large one. The daughter made a wish; the father swore an oath.
And so began the duel between Wolf and the Baywolf.
It was a deathmatch. The Baywolf's fangs and claws tore into Wolf again and again. He bled profusely, and before long, the adventurer was drenched in red.
But Wolf didn't lose. Though his consciousness wavered, he kept swinging his rusted sword. He managed to rub a prepared poison herb into the Baywolf's wounds, and the tide slowly turned. Both fought with everything they had.
In the end, Wolf won.
But it came at a cost. Wolf collapsed and remained unconscious for some time. During those days, Reminia nursed him tirelessly, using every method she knew. The villagers later recalled her devotion—it was less like a daughter and more like a lover.
Ten days later, Wolf finally awoke.
Reminia cried with joy. She clung to his newly healed neck, sobbing, pouring out all the anxiety she'd held in.
"When I grow up, I'm going to marry Papa," she sobbed.
That was back when Wolf was still recovering in bed at home.
"...T-That's an honor," he stammered.
"And then, I'll become an adventurer who protects Papa!" she declared.
It was a bold declaration that she'd keep her papa on a leash. Flustered, Wolf replied:
"I see. Then maybe Papa will become a hero who protects Reminia."
"Okay. Papa will be Reminia's hero," she affirmed.
Wolf could tell that Reminia meant it with all her heart. But he never could have predicted—even as a "hero"—that those words would come back to haunt them.
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[Illustration]
Summary:
A D-rank adventurer discovers a dying woman in the mountains who entrusts him with her infant daughter Reminia before passing away. He retires to his village to raise her, and over the years she grows into a brilliant, devoted child who declares she will protect him. When a C-rank beast threatens the village, Wolf risks his life to defeat it, and Reminia's vow to marry him and become his protector takes on deeper meaning as foreshadowing.
Trivia:
The name "Reminia" is ambiguously both the mother's and daughter's name - Wolf never learns which.
The mother's books contain research on beasts and the Double World Theory, hinting at larger world-building.
Reminia can already use Level 2 magic at age five, showing her prodigious talent.
The Baywolf attack was unusual because the village barrier normally only allows E and F-rank beasts.
Wolf's rank is D, but he defeats a C-rank beast through strategy and desperation.
The villagers describe Reminia's nursing of Wolf as "more like a lover than a daughter," establishing a cultural tone.
The phrase "Papa will be Reminia's hero" contains ironic foreshadowing about Wolf's future legendary status.
Wolf's "ordinary adventurer" self-description contrasts with his eventual heroic actions.
Notes:
• Wolf - A D-rank adventurer in his late thirties with a softening gut and fifteen years of experience. He retired from adventuring to raise an abandoned child. He has a practical, humble personality and struggles with parenting but shows deep paternal devotion. A forty-something former adventurer with D-class ranking. He lives a retired pastoral life in Nicalas Village, raising his daughter Reminia alone after his wife's death. He has a gentle, practical personality and maintains a warm but weary paternal demeanor.
• Reminia - A fifteen-year-old girl with beautiful red hair, fair skin, and a slender yet developed figure. She is an SS-rank adventurer bearing the title of Legend, one of only two in Straval. She possesses powerful magic and studies her deceased mother's Double World Theory. She is deeply attached to her father, calling him "Papa." An eight-year-old girl with bright red hair, large amethyst-like eyes, and white skin. She is intelligent, quick to learn magic, and deeply devoted to her father. She displays a thoughtful nature behind her tomboyish behavior and has a strong emotional bond with Wolf.
• Nikaras - The village where Wolf settles after retiring from adventuring. A rural community with a protective barrier that typically wards off low-level beasts.
• Straval - The Fifth World where the story takes place. Beasts appeared suddenly in this world two hundred years ago.