“Is that really true?”
Luna asked, her face brightening, and Caron answered with a simple nod.
“That’s strange.”
“What’s strange?”
“Everything about this is strange. Buying up a dying village is one thing, but the Academy doesn’t gain anything from it. If they still went through with it… doesn’t that mean there’s some shady motive behind it?”
Luna looked at Caron, anxiety in her eyes.
Caron shot me a glance, then opened his mouth.
“Who says there aren’t any benefits? There’s no better field training ground than this.”
“A field training ground?”
“You know this already, but the Academy’s training grounds are state-of-the-art. There’s not even a pebble on the floor. Actual battle isn’t like that.”
There’s dirt and stone, floors and buildings getting smashed apart in the middle of fights, water and fire and lightning and wind all raging around you.
“Around Trash Village, there are plenty of places where you can train like it’s the real thing. The mine is the same. The maze-like tunnels, the abandoned shafts where beasts show up… it’ll be the perfect training ground.”
“Good for a change of scenery too.”
“Exactly. We can use it to teach about top-grade magic stones as well. It’ll probably only be two or three times a year, but… that should be enough to keep this dying village alive.”
“Mhm! I knew it, Teacher Caron! You handle everything perfectly!”
At Luna’s praise, Caron’s nose went straight up.
Sure, it was a decent justification to back up his claim. At least to someone who didn’t know any better.
“But we already have plenty of places like that. Like that ant nest we went to at the start of the term.”
“…”
“And on the way here, we passed a few other villages… If it’s just about distance, wouldn’t those be better?”
“Why are you so full of complaints? The village survives, they don’t lose their home, and the kids can put food on the table. Isn’t that enough?”
Luna snapped at me.
It’s not like I actually have a problem with it.
‘I just wanted to know what was really going on, so I poked at it.’
But getting Caron to talk was as hard as ever.
Hiring Luna as his personal gatekeeper(?)! That had to be against the rules.
Maybe even he thought it was a bit dirty, because Caron finally spoke.
“You can never have too many training grounds. And there’s another reason we bought this place.”
“What is it?”
“This is the village that produced a hero, isn’t it? For someone who sacrificed himself, this is the least we can do.”
They’d made that fairy tale, ‘The Hero of Trash Village,’ just to turn the territory into a tourist spot.
…He bought an entire village over that? Even though he knows it’s just a story?
One look at Caron’s face, and I understood.
He was messing with me.
“Are you sulking?”
“Keke, me? I’ve never sulked once in my life.”
“So this is your first time. Got it.”
…This guy, seriously?
I glared at him, and he just smiled like he got the reaction he wanted.
Just as he was about to say something—
“Ah! It’s you!”
A kid pointed a finger straight at us.
It was none other than Dolores. The girl who’d been kidnapped by the knights and rescued thanks to us in disguise as the Dark Beast Squad.
“Perfect timing.”
Caron muttered it loud enough for us to hear.
From the looks of it, Dolores was his real target.
And.
‘She’s probably the reason he bought this nowhere village in the first place.’
Thankfully, I wouldn’t have to guess his intentions for long.
The moment Caron took a step toward Dolores—
“If you’re curious who we are, it’s only right we tell you!”
“To stop the destruction of our village! To protect the peace of our village!”
“Y-yeah. We are…”
“The Trash Sprout Defense Squad!!”
Clap, clap, clap…
Dolores’ hollow clapping rang out, like she’d given up on everything.
Adel, Whale, Acela.
The noisy brats appeared with a shout.
What they did was even more annoying.
“Didn’t I tell you never to come back here again?!”
“With that villainous face, he’s definitely here to kidnap someone! Attack!”
“A-attack!”
Acela, sprinting toward us, missed her step and went sprawling forward.
“Acela!”
“An eye attack? That’s dirty!”
Well, she wasn’t exactly wrong. Caron could make people wet themselves with a look.
“U-uuu…!”
Adel and Whale frantically tried to comfort the sniffling Acela.
Rustle.
Caron pulled a piece of candy from his pocket. With an awkward smile, he held it out to Acela.
“…Here. Eat this. And I’m not a bad person.”
“R-really?”
“At the moment…?”
Maybe it pricked his conscience to call himself a good person, because that was an answer I never thought I’d hear from Caron.
Caron brushed the dirt off Acela’s clothes, then handed candy to Adel and Whale as well.
“Mm! I heard anyone who gives you food can’t be a bad person.”
“Isn’t it the opposite?”
“My mom said so.”
“…That man is definitely a good person! I approve as the leader!”
And just like that, Caron subdued the Trash Sprout Defense Squad with candy.
He moved on to stand before his original target, Dolores.
“What is it? If it’s a confession, that might be a bit of a problem.”
“…How old are you this year?”
“Fourteen.”
“Got any dreams?”
“Living happily with my mom, eating until we’re full, not getting kidnapped, and meeting a rich man so I can let my mom live in luxury, I guess?”
I’d felt it before, but from that short exchange it was obvious.
Dolores was far more mature than her age, a kid forced to grow up fast.
‘The rougher your surroundings, the quicker you grow up.’
Her mind had grown much faster than her body.
She watched the people around her, tried to act in ways they liked.
With those small hands she earned money, played along with the mood, and threw herself into all the dirty work without complaint.
‘Just to survive.’
For now it might seem fine, but she’ll only understand later.
The feelings you can only have as a child, days where you don’t worry about tomorrow, memories you should be piling up with friends.
All of it will have been stolen from her.
“What about you, mister? I’d be fine even as a concubine.”
“…I’m single.”
“Wow, didn’t see that twist coming. Well, even better then. What do you think? You won’t find someone like me easily, you know.”
She wouldn’t be a wife, she’d be a live-in caretaker. With how old Caron is.
Before Caron could say anything, Luna jumped in.
“Hey! Our Caron isn’t like that, okay? He’s not a bad person!”
Luna, just step back. That man is a serious lolicon. He’s glaring daggers at you even now, you know?
“…”
Oh, he was looking at me?
“Mmph!”
I clamped my hand over Luna’s mouth and dragged her back. I realized that was exactly what Caron wanted.
“…We got a bit off topic. What’s your dream?”
“I told you. Eating well and living well with my mom. That’s my dream.”
“Not that kind of dream. The one you keep deep down, that you don’t tell anyone about.”
A dream.
Dolores’ body flinched.
Maybe she’d never let herself think about it, or maybe it brought back an old dream she’d once had.
But judging from that reaction just now, it was clearly the latter.
“…Thanks for the concern, but I know my reality very well.”
A life where every single day is a struggle just to eat.
Dolores had never been given the time to even dream of having a dream.
“I’m poor… but I’m not a stupid kid.”
A smile appeared on Dolores’ face.
It was a smile to hide her feelings, to wiggle out of the situation.
It wasn’t the kind of smile a child should be wearing.
‘How many times has she had to wear that smile until now?’
A child who learned the world too quickly.
A child who had to live pretending to be an adult without actually being one.
But maybe even for someone like Dolores, today had been too much.
A single streak of tears slipped down from the corner of her eye.
“Ah… what’s wrong with me. Normally this kind of thing is nothing. Is it because I just got dumped?”
Dolores wiped at her tears, trying desperately to hold them back.
The startled kids immediately rushed to her.
“I’ll become a hero and take care of you!”
“I’ll definitely pay you back for all those eggs you gave me!”
“D-don’t cry, sis… W-want some candy?”
Being comforted only makes the tears flow harder.
Dolores kept wiping away the tears that wouldn’t stop.
Bracing herself, trying not to fall apart.
“So she still had some childlike innocence left.”
“Everyone does. They just struggle to pretend they don’t.”
Caron stepped forward. From inside his coat, he pulled out a rolled-up sheet of paper.
Golden threads were embroidered through it here and there. It was clearly expensive at a glance.
Caron unrolled the paper and began to read the lines one by one.
“As acting in the stead of Annwood Academy’s Principal, Dwener, I hereby decree.”
Even when she was kidnapped, she never gave up on life.
She took care of the other children despite being a child herself.
Her devotion to her mother was unwavering.
And.
“Annwood Academy values such talent highly.”
Only then did I realize what the paper in Caron’s hand was.
A recommendation letter.
“Dolores of Trash Village is hereby guaranteed the right to sit next year’s entrance exam.”
“…!”
Having gone through it myself, I know Annwood Academy’s entrance exam is based on a point system.
Anyone with a recommendation letter starts with a high base score, giving them a huge advantage.
‘The nobles refuse recommendation letters because they don’t want people gossiping, though.’
Not that they need them in the first place, considering the specialized training they get.
Even if you never graduate, it doesn’t matter.
Just having ‘Annwood Academy’ on your record is enough to land a good job.
I don’t know what Dolores’ real dream is, but with an education, she’ll get that much closer to it.
And if it’s at the best institution, Annwood Academy, then there’s nothing more to say.
“Ah…”
Maybe it was overwhelming, because tears streamed down from both of Dolores’ eyes.
“Can I… can I really do this? Is it okay if I start dreaming?”
Dolores covered her face with both hands, struggling to hide her tears.
Caron spoke to her.
“How would I know?”
“What kind of answer is that! This is where you’re supposed to say something cool like, ‘You can do it!’”
Caron didn’t answer. He just silently handed her a handkerchief.
“Because I know all too well that dreams aren’t easily achieved. My cheering you on won’t change that.”
Caron was right. No one can achieve your dream for you.
The only one who can do it is yourself.
You, alone.
“Just because an opportunity comes along doesn’t mean everyone can seize it.”
They say only those who are prepared can grab it.
But there is a clear exception.
“The courageous can claim it too.”
That’s right. Even if you’re not fully prepared, you can still succeed.
With luck, with perseverance, and—
“With the courage to try.”
–TL Notes–
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Oh my…Junior Dolores hidden piece?
And I thought Dolores is 20 or something!?