The boy was nothing.

He didn't know his hometown, didn't know his parents, and barely lived by rummaging through the garbage in the corner of the village.

All he had was a tattered rag that someone had thrown away - a penniless child.

It would not be strange if he suddenly collapsed and died, being an orphan.

The turning point in the short life of this boy was the pilgrims of the Temple of Life.

Those who travel the world and spread the sacredness of life.

The great Mother of Life. Praising her name, the healers who care for other lives.

It was only natural that the small, withered child caught the eye of these pilgrims.

The pilgrims took the child in. Caring for orphans who have nowhere to go was also a part of the work for life.

Some of these pilgrims had also been orphans raised in this way.

And so the child began to wander the world with the pilgrims.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The boy thought,

Why is the world so cruel?

If we could all live by helping each other a little, the world would be a better place.

If we could just give a little, just understand each other a little, the world could be a better place to live.

But people did not do so.

Watching them fight over limited resources, envy their neighbors, and live greedily, the boy could not understand.

No, it was rather that people did not understand the boy.

The boy's innate goodness did not fit at all with this era.

In fact, one could say that the boy was a heretic of this age.

It was fortunate that the boy was taken in by the pilgrims of the Temple of Life, so his goodness was not broken.

As the boy served as an attendant to the pilgrims and traveled with them,

[Find and let him grasp the sword. And he shall become the warrior's sword to protect mankind.]

The goddess's oracle spread to all the pilgrims.

The boy did not hear the voice. That voice told them to find the one who would grasp the goddess's sword, and the pilgrims were greatly delighted.

It was said that in the past there were those who could communicate directly with the Mother of Life, but that was not the case these days.

Therefore, the oracle given by the Mother of Life greatly excited the people of the Temple of Life.

"A sword never before seen in the temple!"

"Is this the sword given by the goddess?"

"Let's spread the news! The goddess's sword is here!"

"The one who pulls out the sword will become the goddess's warrior!"

The news spread quickly.

The pilgrims scattered throughout the world quickly spread the news, and the world began to seethe with the goddess's sword.

For the next year, people with leisure flocked to the headquarters of the Temple of Life, and everyone set out to pull out the sword.

And they all failed.

Some said,

It is strange that so many have all failed.

The goddess must have intended for the sword to be unpullable.

Others said,

The one who meets the conditions has not yet appeared.

The one who can pull out the sword has not yet come.

The disgruntled said,

This sword is nothing but the goddess's deception.

In fact, the goddess created monsters, and made humans fight against those monsters.

Of course, the last person was beaten and had both arms broken, and was driven away. But he managed to escape with his life, perhaps the last mercy of the Temple of Life.

Anyway, when no more people came forward to try to pull out the sword and be embarrassed, the boy approached the sword that many had failed to pull.

Thanks to following the pilgrims of the Temple of Life, he didn't starve, but he couldn't eat his fill, so the skinny boy approached the sword. The other people watching the sword began to mock the boy.

"What is this weak child thinking, standing in front of that sword?"

"Leave him be. It's just the foolishness of a child."

"Looks like he's an orphan taken in by the pilgrims of the Temple of Life. Dreaming in vain is no problem."

Ignoring the adults' slander, the boy stood in front of the sword.

What was in the boy's heart was just curiosity.

What kind of sword was the one made by the goddess's own hand?

Is the rumor that it grants wishes true?

The rumor that it will make the goddess his wife... Honestly, it's probably just a rumor. But if it's true, won't he be able to see the Goddess of Life directly?

Thinking such thoughts, the boy grasped the sword.

Clang.

The sword did not move.

It was only natural. Even the strong adults could not pull out the sword, so how could the small and weak boy pull it out?

The person who suits this sword must be a strong and handsome person. Not a weak child like himself.

Even as he thought that, the boy finally pulled out the sword.

And.

Clang.

Swoosh.

The iron chains were released, and the sword embedded in the rock was pulled out.

The boy did not understand that sight.

Why was the sword being pulled out? He did not understand at all.

As the large sword embedded in the rock gradually revealed itself, the surroundings were enveloped in silence.

As if they were seeing something incomprehensible. Astonishment was reflected in the eyes of the people.

The sword that had not moved for a year was pulled out by the hands of that small child.

"Y-You! Hand over that sword!!"

"Money! I'll give you as much money as you want! Sell the sword!"

"What insolence!!! I am the Second Prince of the Arcad Kingdom, Orcus! If you hand over that sword, I will spare your life!"

It was only natural that people's eyes turned to the boy in such a situation.

The boy unconsciously took a step back, and the people approached the boy.

It was a sight close to madness. Losing their sanity and turning into beasts. The boy began to be afraid those beasts about to devour him.

The one who saved the boy was.

"That's enough."

The silver-haired girl with horns on her head, who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I let out a small sigh at the sight of the greedy people's eyes rolling back.

Human greed is endless, and repeating the same mistakes... But that's not what I should say now.

Well, I don't want to let the hero I just picked fall into misanthropy. It's better to stop the fight.

Hmm. I was thinking of attaching a dragon or a child from the Temple of Life to help the hero, but... Well, he's the first hero, so even though it's a bit troublesome, I'll take care of him myself.

Human life is only a few decades. Even though my affairs are quite a lot, if I force myself a little, I should be able to spare that much time.

So.

"That's enough."

I revealed myself.

"Those who are unqualified cannot grasp this sword, so the rest of you should give up and withdraw."

A low warning. At the same time, the footsteps of the humans stopped.

Their gaze was all focused on me. What are you looking at? Haven't you seen a girl with horns on her head before?

But that was only for a moment, and they did not stop walking. My appearance alone could not stop their footsteps.

It was only natural. The sword made by the goddess herself. Its value was enough to cloud the eyes of all humans.

So I clicked my tongue slightly.

"Come behind me."

"Y-Yes!"

I hid the boy behind me and said to the approaching people.

"If you withdraw now, it will be as if nothing happened. Your rudeness, your offense, your mistake, your wrongdoing. All will be forgotten. But."

I lightly swung my right hand, and a long line was drawn on the stone floor by an invisible strike.

"If you cross this line, be prepared."

At my calm words, the footsteps of the humans paused for a moment.

"A beast person...?"

"No, the women of the beast people don't have horns like that..."

"Then, with that appearance, is it a man?"

"No, it can't be!!!"

"No, with that kind of appearance, it might even be possible for a man..."

Possible? What possible?

I forcibly suppressed the anger that was about to rise and spoke.

"I am the representative of the Goddess of Life. The one chosen by the sword has appeared, and I have come to guide him. So the rest of you should withdraw."

At my words, the humans began to withdraw little by little. No matter how their eyes were rolling, who would be foolish enough to attack the representative of the Goddess?

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way, you weak ones!!"

I once had that kind of thought too...

"The Second Prince of the Arcad Kingdom, Orcus, commands you! Hand over that sword immediately! Then I will spare your life!!"

Found the fool. No, the word "fool" is not enough.

If it's the Arcad Kingdom, it must be the most powerful kingdom among the current human kingdoms, but the Second Prince of that kingdom is rampaging like this without any sense of direction. The future of the kingdom looks grim!

I just sighed softly.

"Oh houu. Did you say you are the representative of the Goddess? You are very beautiful! Good! Hand over that sword to me! Otherwise, you will face the power of the Arcad Kingdom! The Temple of Life with only weak pilgrims will be destroyed in one night!"

Crossed the line. Really. I'd like to just smash him to pieces, but this is the first hero I've picked, and he's still a young child, so I don't want to show him a rough side.

I took a deep breath to slightly suppress my anger and spoke calmly.

"You foolish brat, you don't even have any manners. Did your parents teach you that way?"

Oops, my mistake.