Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 59 (Part 1)
Rodin headed north. It was a dangerous area, already long occupied by the Imperial Army.
Thanks to Jito’s scouting, he could anticipate the Imperial Army’s movements in advance. If there was any sign of danger, he would take a long detour.
‘This should be the place.’
Before he was sold into slavery, he hadn’t left the house much, and even then, he only wandered within the village, so his memories of the area surrounding the village were vague.
“Jito, let’s take another look around.”
―Squeak!
He sent Jito back into the sky. After lowering the altitude and scanning the area, he found a familiar terrain.
“Got it. Come back.”
As Rodin walked toward what he guessed was the village, he called Jito back. Jito transformed into clothing upon arrival, clinging tightly to Rodin’s body.
He quickened his pace. Without realizing it, his steps grew faster and faster.
“We’ve arrived.”
He reached a small village nestled at the foot of an unnamed mountain.
The population was barely 100. It was a familiar place where he knew everyone, even though he had only gone out a few times.
“I recognize everything. That tree over there, the fence on that side, and even the decorations on the village roofs. It’s all so familiar.”
Surprisingly, the village appeared peaceful. There was no sign of any damage.
“The Imperial Army wouldn’t have just passed through here.”
Rodin’s village was close to the border. It should have already been incorporated into the Imperial Army’s territory long ago.
“Hmm.”
He walked slowly down the village path.
People were outside their houses, hanging laundry and doing household chores. At a glance, it seemed no different from when he left the village as a slave.
However, none of the villagers who were going about their business spoke to him. To them, Rodin was clearly a stranger, and they were deliberately avoiding eye contact.
“It’s strange, but it seems like time has passed this place by.”
The people he had seen in the past were doing the same things as before, with the same faces. It was odd that they treated him like a shadow, but otherwise, the scene was peaceful and warm.
“That used to be a slash-and-burn field, and there was a rather large cultivated area down there. Over there lived the man with the injured eye.”
As he walked leisurely, he eventually arrived at a place he should never forget. It was the house where he had lived for nearly five years after he was born.
“Huh?”
Unlike the village, where time seemed to have stood still, the house he had lived in bore the full brunt of time. The roof had already collapsed, and the walls were in disrepair.
“Excuse me.”
Although he could sense no presence inside, he spoke just in case and pushed the door open to look inside.
“Hmm. It seems like it’s been abandoned for quite some time.”
It had been at least a few months. Perhaps even longer, with no signs of human activity. It seemed his family had either left or died.
Creeeak!
He opened the old door and entered the kitchen. It was a mess, as if someone had ransacked it.
He checked the rooms. The rooms, too, bore the marks of having been thoroughly searched.
He came back out and examined the collapsed roof and walls.
“This… these are signs of forced destruction.”
It hadn’t collapsed naturally over time. Someone had deliberately smashed and broken it with a heavy weapon or force.
“Was it the Imperial Army?”
It was hard to understand why they would attack only this house while leaving the others untouched. Considering his timid parents, it didn’t seem like they would have resisted.
“Did they give up on farming?”
The slash-and-burn field had been left unattended, overgrown with weeds. The large field down below was also neglected to the point of resembling a forest.
“I have no idea what happened here.”
He left the house and walked back toward the village.
Even though a stranger cloaked in a robe had appeared, the villagers continued to glance at him from time to time, just as they did when he first arrived in the village.
‘They don’t talk to me. Are they afraid?’
The villagers were clearly conscious of him. They kept turning their heads away to avoid showing their faces, or they tried to hide their bodies behind buildings.
“Excuse me.”
“Oh, my!”
As soon as he spoke, one elderly woman scurried back into her house.
‘As expected.’
Rodin awkwardly scratched his head and looked around at the other villagers. He then approached someone he recognized. It was the village elder, the Chief.
The Chief used to be a man who was too young to be called old and too old to be called middle-aged. He was the kind of person who would tell people to call him “uncle.”
But now, nine years later, the Chief had truly become an old man. His back was hunched, and his hair was as white as snow.
“Excuse me.”
“Don’t talk to me. We have nothing left to give.”
The Chief looked elsewhere as if he hadn’t heard, a subtle way of refusing to engage.
“Oh! I don’t know what happened, but I used to live in this village.”
“What?”
At the mention of having lived in the village, the Chief finally turned his head. His face showed a hint of curiosity.
“The house up there, remember? I was the fourth child there. My second brother and sister were sold off somewhere, and I was sold off next. Do you remember?”
“Oh! Bronx’ child. You were the fourth child in that family?”
It had been so long that his father’s name felt strange to him.
Back when he lived here, the Chief used to visit their house and call out, “Is Bronx home?” Now, that name had become a thing of the past.
“Yes. It’s been nine years and a few months. I’ve come back after a long time, but the atmosphere in the village feels a bit strange.”
“Oh! Bronx. That fellow… ha.”
The Chief couldn’t continue, glancing at Rodin with a concerned look.
Rodin instinctively realized that something had happened to his father.
“It’s okay. Please feel free to speak. After all, I am his son. I should know at least something.”
“By the way, if you’re Bronx’s fourth child, you must be…”
“I’m 14 years old.”
Rodin answered as he pulled down the hood of his robe, revealing his slightly longer hair and fair face.
“Oh my, you’ve grown up so well, beautiful too.”
“Uh, yes.”
Beautiful. Like a girl.
He really disliked hearing such things. Hedler and Cory would often tease him using such words, and it made him even angrier because he couldn’t deny it.
Calling a smart person an “idiot” might be a joke, but calling a fool an “idiot” is never a joke. The person hearing it would feel offended.
Rodin was the same. As he grew up with fine, delicate features, every time someone said he was “beautiful,” it gave him goosebumps.
“There’s hardly any trace of your old self.”
“Indeed. I don’t know why I grew up like this.”