Normally, I wouldn't bother coming to the village without any intentions in mind.
But this was an exception.
"Ah, Mr. John! Have you heard the news yet?"
When I came into the village along with Gildot, the village elder came to greet me at the gate.
"Yes, and I'll go there immediately."
Before I could brisk past him, I felt my left arm tugged by something.
It was the village elder.
Now don't start me with this shit early.
"What do you want? You aren't thinking of making me talk my way to her to come into the capital, are you?"
The village elder stared at me quite intently.
He was an average old guy.
His hair was now silver, and his skin was very wrinkly.
Yet behind those thick eyebrows, I could feel his serious gaze.
The village elder then approached Gildot.
"Gildot. I think I would need to talk to Mr. John for a second."
Gildot didn't say anything.
The village elder then started walking towards the direction of the church.
Naturally, I followed him.
Then, when we came into the church, in front of its altar, he stopped.
"Mr. John, I know you realize what being a Hero means."
Of course I do.
But…
"That isn't a reason to just give a child for the sake of this village!"
I angrily shouted at him.
I know what it means.
But it isn't because I was attached to her.
It was because she was a kid!
"How do you expect a child that came from a far countryside to just come into the capital without any support?"
This was what I meant when I said that you can become a Hero from the countryside.
They expect you to just blindly follow the priests from the capital just because you are a Hero.
This was the dark side of getting your fate revealed.
When your village gets to know it, they would place a fixed expectation on you.
An invisible burden that the child would carry as they grow up.
And that's why this world was very prejudiced.
You can't just become what you wanted, because if you do, they'll mock you for being that.
'Isn't he supposed to be a mage? Why is he trying to become a knight?'
That's right.
This is what I hated in this world, coming from someone who reincarnated from Earth.
It wasn't just right, in my opinion.
"Then what do you expect from that child?! Just play around the fields, doing nothing, and not fulfilling her calling?"
The calmness of the village elder that I saw earlier was gone. Now I could see his eyes filled with anger.
But I won't back down.
"Do you want an eight-year-old kid to just blindly agree to what her calling is? What if she doesn't want to do it?!"
"That's why we are here! To show her the true meaning of the calling that the almighty god gave her!"
He stood in front of the altar with both his hands upwards.
This shitty village elder.
From the beginning, when I came here, you hated me because I was an outsider.
But when I showed my worth, you immediately began flattering me.
Of course, he also tried to persuade me to make this village prosper.
But I did not listen to his advancements even once.
Just helping this village is enough.
I don't want it to be known because I was here.
And I also didn't want to ruin the peaceful mood in here.
"Think about it! Our village will prosper if we send her to defeat the Demon King!"
"Village Elder, Do you even realize what you are trying to say?"
Being a Hero is a large responsibility.
It's no joke that a Hero was essential to beating the Demon King who will plague this land.
But Aria was just eight.
Sure, she might get support, but I don't want that kid to get such a heavy burden at a young age.
And even knowing her, I'm sure she'll get lonely.
"All Heroes are like that! She should be proud that her village is cheering on her! It is up to her to fulfill our expectations of her!"
This old guy wouldn't listen to me.
I'm sick of hearing him justify his own delusional thoughts.
"I'm tired of persuading you."
I just walked behind him and left the church.
I'm really not acting based on my personal emotions.
If we send Aria into the capital, then she'll train there for at least five years, then she'll be sent to be a crucial fighter in the Demon Frontier.
Without any family to care for her.
She'll be trained to slay monsters.
Who will comfort her?
But that was… against my reasons.
And I might try to join her, but I can't.
Well… It's a very long story.
In the end, I couldn't think of a way to delay the inevitable.
Because, as Earth's God had said to me, this world's common sense was different from that on Earth.
That's why…
I made my way into Aria's house.
It was located in the far-left side of the main village.
When I came there, Aria's father, Gildot, immediately approached me.
"Mr. John, thank you for coming here…"
But before he could even say more, I quickly spoke and said:
"Mr. Gildot, we need to talk with your wife first."
Gildot welcomed me into his home. It was very average here in the countryside.
The house was made out of wood. The flooring, doors, and other things were mostly wood.
I always thought it was hay in my previous life.
But in this world, wood is pretty much common as a material in homes.
That's why, in a way, this world is a little bit more advanced in architecture than that of a generic medieval.
His house was simple. When I entered his house, I could already see the kitchen and the dining room.
A living room is only exclusive to nobles, you see.
"Excuse me."
When I made my way into the dining table, I could see Gildot's wife seated in one of the chairs, crying.
When she saw me, she stood up fast and began to approach me with her soaked eyes.
She grabbed my collar and said:
"You must be Mr. John, right? Please! My daughter hasn't talked with us since morning!"
She began to shake me violently.
I could already see that Aria's parents are very kind people.
"Calm down… Uhm, what is your name, Miss?"
While she was sniffing, she said that her name was Irmine.
Gildot then appeared and hurriedly comforted his wife.
"I'm really sorry, Mister John, but we were just shocked to see that our daughter was a Hero…"
And before he could mutter more, I immediately stopped him.
"That won't be necessary, but… I only wanted to ask you two a question."
And for the love of our God Xotin, don't utter a background story!
I stood in front of them and said in a straight tone:
"Are you willing to send your daughter to the capital?"
When I uttered those words, the couple began looking at each other with tearful eyes.
Then Gildot's expression started to become very sad as he began to shed tears.
"Frankly, no. We could… never send our daughter. We loved her very much, but… we can't help it."
He knelt down while his hands were covering his eyes.
"We can't just refuse them flat, because she was… meant to save the world. But our little angel would be lonely. But the imperial order stated that a Hero must fulfill their duty, so we can't refuse it."
"Give me the imperial order."
He hurriedly gave me the scroll that he read earlier.
"Hmmm, it seems that it was a legitimate one too. But…"
I scanned the text quickly. The church seal, the emperor's signature, the deployment timeline…
And there, in the third paragraph:
"All designated Heroes must report to the Capital for training upon reaching the age of ten years or above."
"Two years."
"Huh?"
Irmine, who was comforting her husband, became confused at my words. Naturally, Gildot too.
"Give me two years to train your daughter."
"But how!?"
Gildot screamed with a very sad tone.
"The imperial order states that the Hero must come to the capital to train, right? But it says here that it's ten years old and above."
Gildot immediately stood up and snatched the scroll.
He began to earnestly read the contents again.
"It's true…!"
He became shocked at what he saw.
"If you excuse me, I will go meet her now. Is this her door?"
Irmine, who was also shocked at what she heard, immediately nodded.
And so, I approached the door and knocked.
But no one answered.
And then I said:
"Aria. It's me, John."
I heard footsteps inside the room, and the door was unlocked.
It opened, but it wasn't completely open.
Only a face that I know appeared.
"Big brother…?"