[V8 Interlude] The Coward Boy’s Childhood Friend
Translated by Jodas 8: The Witch of the BoundaryOn the other side of the mountains at the far end of the Lange Hamlet where Oliver lived, past the dark forest, there was said to be a place where Monsters lived called the Crystal Territory.
Weak Monsters that lost to stronger Monsters would be driven out from the Crystal Territory and flee towards human lands. It was the duty of those born into the Lange Family to eliminate those Monsters.
Oliver was only nine at the time, but he trained with his father every day, and if he had time in the morning and evening, he would spend it in the mountains, swinging his spear.
While kids were generally warned not to go into the mountains alone, they wouldn’t give him a hard time so long as he didn’t go past a certain point.
They were probably expecting that, when he grew up, Oliver would join his father in entering the mountains and hunting Monsters.
Another reason why the adults never stopped Oliver from his training was the existence of Oliver’s older brother, Frederik.
While it was a tradition that the eldest son would inherit the Lange Family, Frederik was a skittish coward, and if given the slightest opening, would skip out on his training. Whenever the adults tried to lecture him on the duties of a Monster Hunter, he would scream that Monsters were scary and end up crying unconsolably.
Therefore, the adults welcomed Oliver’s every effort to become stronger.
One evening, Oliver carried his spear and walked into the mountains.
When the trees were more densely packed, it became surprisingly hard to use his spear. He could still thrust with it, but if he swung it around, it would end up hitting a tree.
Thus, in order to build the muscle memory needed to fight in those sorts of places, Oliver practiced swinging his spear in a spot where the trees were particularly dense.
He hung a target board from a random tree and ran past, trying to hit the target accurately. When he focused solely on accuracy, his movements became stiffer and more awkward. His father probably wouldn’t be pleased with this one.
‘One more try,’ He ran at it again, but this time the tip of his spear missed the target, instead cutting the thread that the target was hanging from.
The target fell from the tree and landed directly on Oliver’s head.
“Augh…”
Holding his head, Oliver groaned in pain. At that moment, he heard another voice. Not his groaning, but a higher pitched voice.
—That just now was a girl’s scream.
Oliver gripped his spear and ran towards where he heard that voice. He walked around these parts daily, so he was broadly familiar with the mountain’s terrain. He knew the fastest route to reach the place where he heard that voice.
After slipping between the trees and dropping down small cliffs, he caught sight of a kneeling girl and a boar.
The boar wasn’t a Monster, but such a wild animal was enough of a threat to a child.
Oliver scolded himself for even thinking of hesitating as he picked up a rock by his feet and threw it at the boar.
“Hey! Over here!”
The boar noticed Oliver and grunted with ragged breaths as it changed heading.
By the time he realized the boar was looking his way, it was already charging towards Oliver. Quickly.
“Ngh, Take this!”
Oliver lunged with his spear. He aimed directly for the boar’s face. However, the tip of his spear drifted ever so slightly and, losing to the boar’s momentum, slid across its fur, uselessly deflected away.
He just barely managed to twist his body away in time to avoid getting gored by the boar. Even then, his nine-year-old body couldn’t stand its ground as he was blown away, rolling across the forest floor.
He groaned in pain when the girl whom the boar had been attacking earlier ran up to him.
The girl’s face was drenched in tears as she spoke to Oliver with a shaky voice.
“Eugh, Ah… A– Are you okay…?”
“I’m… fine… Ach, augh… I came to… helb yew… Ngh…”
Oliver coughed and vomited as he talked. His head spun and he couldn’t get himself to stand up.
He had to stand up. Where was his spear?
Oliver searched for his spear with a trembling hand. The boar was charging again. Regardless, he had to protect this girl. Because he was a Lange.
The moment he felt the impact, Oliver’s consciousness went black.
The next time he opened his eyes, he was in his bed at the manor.
After waking up, he tried to roll over, but a pain in his rib made him scream. Looking down, he could see that he was wrapped in bandages all over.
Then, from beside his bed, he heard his brother’s voice.
“Oliver, are you okay!? Someone! Anyone!! Oliver’s awake!”
It seemed like his brother was worried for him and watched over Oliver as he was sleeping.
From what he could pick up from the conversation of the adults who came running in, Oliver learned he had been attacked by a boar and passed out.
Upon hearing a girl’s scream, his father came running and swiftly dealt with the boar. The girl was safe and sound, and she was brought back to the village.
(I lost t a wild animal, not even a Monster…)
That fact came as a heavy blow to Oliver.
Of course a boar would be a big threat to a nine-year-old kid. It wasn’t hard to imagine him losing his life in the process.
Still, Oliver lamented his own weakness.
A month had passed since his encounter with the boar, and after recovering from his wounds to a certain extent, he went back out to the mountains to swing his spear. There, in the space between the trees, he caught a glimpse of black hair.
It was that girl. The one who’d been attacked by the boar.
“It’s not safe to hide there. You might get hit by the spear.”
“Ah, ah– um…”
From the shadow behind the trees, the girl nervously showed her face.
It was a young girl with straight black hair extending down to her back. She looked roughly the same age as Oliver. She wore loose-fitting clothes that didn’t look appropriate for walking in the mountains.
“I’m… Romy.”
“I am Oliver.”
“Yeah. I know… You’re Oliver, from the Monster-Hunting Lange Family.”
The girl gripped tightly onto her skirt with both hands and bowed dramatically.
“Thank you, for saving me, last time!”
“I didn’t save you.”
“Eh?”
Romy’s eyes widened and she stared at Oliver.
Oliver whispered with slight displeasure.
“I couldn’t save you. All I could do was pass out from the boar’s charge.”
The reason Oliver hadn’t been able to finish off that boar with one strike was because he was afraid of that boar.
Unable to follow through to the end of his attack or even look the target in the eye, the moment he thought about running away, the tip of his spear drifted off target and was deflected away.
Oliver fell silent when Romy ran up in front of him.
Starting to feel a little awkward, Oliver dipped his head to avert his eyes away from Romy.
“You know, I…”
“……”
“I was so happy when you came for me, Oliver. I’ve never had anyone else come to save me before…”
“It was Father who saved you.”
“But! You were the first one to come for me, Oliver!”
Oliver lifted his face with a start.
Romy smiled, her cheeks flushed as red as an apple.
“So, thank you, Oliver.”
“……Next time.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I’ll save you, for sure.”
When Oliver mumbled, Romy smiled from ear to ear.
“Thank you, Oliver.”
From that day onward, when Oliver went into the mountains to train, Romy would show up and visit him from time to time.
Romy sat somewhere where she wouldn’t be in the way and just watched as Oliver trained.
She was looking quite intently at him, did she have an interest in using the spear? But, when he asked, Romy fiercely shook her head from side to side.
“If you’re not interested in the spear, then isn’t my training boring to watch?”
“Not at all! I always have fun watching you, Oliver!”
“It’s fun?”
“Yeah!”
Romy sat, her knees against her chest and her cheek resting on her knees, looking up at Oliver.
“You know, I watch you because I think you’re so cool, Oliver!”
Oliver couldn’t make sense of what Romy was saying.
That was because Oliver thought of himself as a coward.
“I’m not cool at all. Actually, I’m afraid of everything.”
The people of the Lange Family all said that Frederik was the coward and that his little brother Oliver was the brave one.
But Oliver knew deep down that he was a coward. He was always so, so scared he couldn’t help himself.
“I’m afraid of Monsters. I’m afraid I might lose Father and Brother because of a Monster.”
He was afraid of low trees and bushes. Small Monsters would hide in those places and wait for their prey to approach.
So, he always cowered in fear, thinking that something might jump out at him at any second.
He was afraid of stormy nights. Storms brought Monsters. And the Monsters were always more active at night. The adults said the Monsters would drag humans into the darkness and eat them whole.
“I’m a person who is afraid of everything.”
“It’s okay.”
Romy stood up and looked into Oliver’s eyes from below.
her round eyes reflected Oliver’s face like a mirror.
“You’re strong, Oliver.”
Her young hands gently pinched Oliver’s cheeks.
Romy’s cheeks softened with a big smile.
“I’ll be cheering you on a lot. Do your best, Oliver!”