On that quiet night, Clusius sat in the living room with his family for dinner, as they did almost every day. However, something was different. That night, Axel did not join them because his condition had grown worse.
Marley suspected that Axel might have been poisoned while hunting in the forest. Unfortunately, they did not have enough money to buy an antidote potion. From the beginning, they had always been a lower middle-class family, and even enjoying a proper meal required saving in advance. The antidote itself was very rare, produced in limited quantities because its creation process was complicated and time-consuming.
In the middle of the silence, Clusius gathered his courage and asked his mother,
"Mother… may I become an adventurer?"
The question startled Marley so much that she nearly choked on her food. Clusius continued,
"Father is sick and cannot work now, and I feel it is my duty to help you earn money. I am confident that with my current abilities, I can become an adventurer like Father. If no one works, then who will–"
BRAAK!!! The loud slam of the table made Clusius fall silent.
Marley's face hardened. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to restrain her emotions. Gripping her spoon tightly, she spoke firmly,
"You are not allowed to become an adventurer. You are not skilled in magic, you are still too young, and you have almost no experience. How could you make such a reckless decision?"
Clusius tried to defend himself. "B-but I have gone hunting in the forest with Father before. I even managed to kill a monster. I think… I am experienced enough and ready to become an adventurer."
Marley shook her head.
"You have only gone hunting a few times. That does not compare to your father's experience. Look at him. Even with all his experience, he ended up severely injured. How can a child like you, who is not even proficient in magic, hope to survive?"
Her words left Clusius speechless. He knew she was right, even if his heart resisted accepting it. His innocent younger sister asked how dangerous being an adventurer truly was, but Marley only let out a long sigh without answering.
Dinner ended in silence. Afterward, Clusius climbed the stairs to his room. He lay down on his bed, trying to close his eyes and sleep. However, the sound of his father's worsening cough echoed even into his room, making his heart increasingly restless.
Filled with worry, Clusius stared at the sky through his window. He tried to convince himself that his father would surely recover soon. In the end, he forced himself to sleep, even though fear and anxiety still weighed heavily on his heart.
———
19 August 47
That morning, after finishing the food on his plate, Clusius asked his mother for permission to use several old wooden boards that had long been stored untouched in the warehouse. He wanted to make a target for archery practice. He also invited his younger sister, Ana, to help him once they were done eating.
Clusius hurried to the warehouse, preparing the wooden boards and retrieving a bow and arrows he had once found there.
Meanwhile, deep within the forest, the sound of frantic footsteps echoed. Someone was running in panic, breathing raggedly as if exhausted from being chased by something dangerous.
It was Andra, an adventurer. His breath was heavy, his body covered in wounds and blood, and his left hand pressed against an injury on his abdomen. Even though he looked as if he might collapse at any moment, he continued searching for a way out of the forest.
His steps halted when a Giant Goblin blocked his path. He immediately turned around, only to find a group of low-level goblins closing in behind him.
Andra gripped his axe, preparing to fight. However, the pain nearly prevented him from even lifting it. Hope was fading, when suddenly a chunk of crystal shot forward at high speed and struck the Giant Goblin's head. The monster collapsed, and with it, the morale of the smaller goblins that had lost their leader.
Blood rained down, causing the low-level goblins to panic and attempt to flee. Unfortunately for them, dozens of additional crystal shards descended from the sky, striking them down without mercy.
From behind the trees emerged a woman with short black hair. She was Luna, a mage who wielded the crystal element.
"Andra, are you alright?" she asked anxiously.
"Alright? I almost died. If you had been any later, I would have become goblin food."
"I am sorry. Finding you in this forest was very difficult. By the way, where is Sista? Was she not with you?"
Andra fell silent for a moment before answering with a face full of regret.
"I am sorry… she… was killed by the goblins."
The mage's eyes widened.
"What?! How could that happen? Why could you not protect her, even from a group of low-level goblins?"
"I did everything I could. But there were too many of them, and they were more aggressive than usual. I nearly died myself."
Suddenly, a man wearing a black mask with green patterns appeared between them. He was an assassin.
"What is all this noise in the middle of the forest… wait, where is Sista? I thought she was with you, Andra?"
"She is… dead. Killed by goblins," Andra said quietly.
The assassin clenched his fists.
"Damn it. I knew splitting up was a bad idea. We should not have followed Luna's plan."
"Do not blame me. You should blame Andra. He was the one who failed to protect Sista."
A heated argument broke out until Andra finally intervened.
"Enough. There is no point arguing here. Let us return to the deme first."
Though grief weighed heavily on them, they ultimately agreed to go home.
On the other side, Clusius and Ana were still busy building the target in the yard.
"Clusius, Mother is going to the butcher shop for a while. Take good care of your sister."
"Yes, Mother. Do not worry, we will not go anywhere."
Marley then headed toward the market.
Just before reaching the butcher shop, she noticed a group of battered adventurers.
"Excuse me, miss. Do you know where the house of a healer in this deme is? We are outsiders, so we are unfamiliar with the area."
Marley pointed toward the house of an elderly healer she knew.
"The green house over there belongs to an old healer. Why do you need one? Usually every adventurer party has at least one healer."
One of them replied softly,
"We did… but our healer was just killed. Attacked by goblins."
Marley covered her mouth in shock.
"Goodness… can goblins really be that strong? Even enough to wound iron-ranked adventurers like you so severely…"
"Recently, goblins have felt stronger, and their numbers seem to be increasing. It might be a sign that the Demon King has begun carrying out his plan to try to conquer the world again," Andra explained.
"That is possible. In the past six hundred years, demons have rarely acted. Perhaps they have been recovering from the great war that ended six hundred years ago," Leo added.
"Yes. In any case, we must be more cautious and prepare for any possible danger ahead." After saying that, Leo led his companions toward the healer's house Marley had indicated.
After finishing her conversation with the adventurers, Marley proceeded to the butcher shop.
At home, Clusius and his sister had finished building the target. He immediately tested his archery skills, but unfortunately, his performance fell far short of his sister's expectations.
"Huh… you are terrible, Brother. Not even a single arrow hit the center of the target."
Anna sounded slightly annoyed at his poor aim.
"It is my first time practicing archery, so it is only natural that I am still very bad. But if I keep training, my archery skills could one day become equal to those of a world-class archer."
"You should not dream too much."
"Every success begins with a dream, my sister."
"Whatever you say." Anna shrugged dismissively.
They continued their practice.
That night, they gathered again for dinner. Once more, Axel could not join them because he had not yet recovered.
"Did you buy the medicine for Father?"
"Of course. This afternoon I managed to obtain an antidote potion for him, though it was difficult to find and somewhat expensive."
"Where did you get the money?"
"From my savings."
"Are you really alright using all your savings?"
"I am fine, as long as your father can recover. That is enough to make me happy." A sincere smile appeared on Marley's face.
Clusius felt deeply moved by his mother's sincerity. He believed they were truly a perfect pair.