Translator: Haruto.

I had a dream; a dream of the past.

It was a dream of my childhood, before I ever met Lulune and the other girls.

I was an average boy living in a small village… until it was attacked by bandits. My parents, together with the rest of the adults, fought with everything they had, however, ordinary farmers had no chance against trained bandits.

They died unbelievably fast trying to protect me.

I didn’t have the kind of strength required to chase the bandits away. I was certain my turn would come as well and so, I prepared myself for death.

But I didn’t die. A party of adventurers that was passing by annihilated the bandits. And their leader, Beatrix Austadt, said to me, “I’m sorry we could only save you.”

From that day on, I became a member of the party known as the Golden Horizon. All of its members were kind to me, not just Beatrix, or Bea for short. They’d take me on trips, buy me grilled skewers, and teach me all sorts of things. The guys even took me to a brothel once.

I only found out about this sometime later, but the Golden Horizon was actually an S-rank adventurer party that had been active since before I was born.

They were the ones who taught me how to wield a sword. I think they decided to focus on teaching me swordsmanship because I didn’t have much talent for magic. I can say with confidence that I wouldn’t be who I am today without them.

And out of all the things they taught me, there’s one I’ll never forget…

“For whom do you wield your sword?”

It was something that Bea used to ask me all the time to make sure I understood that helping and protecting others was the main reason why we fought every day, and that idea has stuck with me to this day. Her teachings had such an influence on me that I didn’t even think twice about taking on and crushing that devious slave merchant to save Lulune and the other girls.

I’ve heard that Bea and the rest of the Golden Horizon have retired due to their advanced age, but I truly hope I get to see them again. And when that day comes, I’ll treat them to a grand meal.  

“How nostalgic… I was still nothing more than a naïve little brat back then…”

And yet, I still treasure those days—those bright and beautiful days—in the same way that I treasure the time I spent living with the girls and teaching Ruin how to wield a sword…

“Haha… Me reminiscing like this might be yet another sign that I’m getting on in years…”

Life is comprised of countless different experiences; some joyful, some harsh, and some sad, but all of them are precious memories to me.

“Alright! It’s time to head to the garden! I’m sure Haruka-san is eager to resume our sword lessons!” I exclaim after rising from my bed and slapping my cheeks lightly with both of my hands.

And for some reason, I can’t help but smile to myself as I’m changing clothes.

***

When I arrive at the garden, I see people running around nervously. I walk closer to them trying to figure out what’s going on and, having noticed me, Lulune comes rushing towards me, saying “Alize-san! Have you seen Haruka-san?!”

“Haruka-san? No, I haven’t. She isn’t here yet?”

“No, and we’ve searched for her everywhere in the castle but we still can’t find her…”         

I see. No wonder everyone looks so worried.

I glance at a maid standing nearby, and ask, “Do you have something that could be used to identify her scent? Like the perfume she wears…”

“Her scent, sir…? Um, yes, I believe we still have a few bottles of that perfume she always wears…” the maid answers with a perplexed look on her face.

I nod and continue, “Great, can I have one of those bottles?”

“I don’t see why not…” And the maid runs off to get it for me.

I then whistle as loud as I can, and realizing what I’m planning to do, Mia claps her hands together, and says, “I see! You’re going to ask Kamia-san to track her by her scent!”

“Yeah, I’m sure he’ll find her right away.”

A few minutes later, Kamia makes his appearance. He got here faster than the maid.

“What is it, Master? Is there something wrong?”

“Yeah, I think the princess of this country has been kidnapped, so I’d like you to find her for me.”

“Huh, very well. Since it’s a princess we’ll be saving, I assume I’ll receive plenty of copper coins as a reward…?”

I nod in response and Kamia smiles from ear to ear. This guy sure loves his copper coins.

The maid returns at last and she screams in shock when she sees Kamia, but after a little explanation, she manages to calm down.

I take the perfume she brought and hold it out to Kamia as I say, “This is the perfume that Haruka-san wears all the time… Can you tell where she is?”  

“Of course… I smell a girl with this exact scent moving away from this town as we speak. She isn’t moving all that fast, though.”

Hmm, it seems she’s still alive. Thank goodness. And the fact that they haven’t killed her must mean that they don’t plan to do so at least for the time being.  

“Can you catch up to them, Kamia?”

“Isn’t that obvious, Master? Who do you think I am?”

“Great, let’s go then,” I say, hopping on Kamia’s back.

Lulune and Mia do the exact same thing, though. Oh well, I kind of expected this to happen. There’s no way they’d let me leave them behind.

“This time I want you to run as fast as possible, Kamia,” I say and the four of us depart to rescue Haruka-san.

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