Chapter 3: Est (Part 1)


TL: Scaramochi


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[Est's POV]


My name is Est.


I was born in a small village, an ordinary child.


The only other child of my age is Athena, and we always do things together.  We are what you might call childhood friends.


Athena is a lovely girl, and I was in love with her even at a very young age.


I thought that in the future I would marry Athena and live in this small village, but then a turning point came for us.


Suddenly, a wild monster attacked our village.


The adults in the village fought as hard as they could, but there was no way a mere villager could win, and the adults were killed.


Just as we were about to die, a party of adventurers happened to pass by and killed the monster.


That scene is still burned into the back of my eyelids.


The adventurers were destroying monsters one after another with their shining swords and dynamic magic.  They were like heroes of justice.


I want to be like them.


It was not only me who felt this way, but Athena as well.


We both admired adventurers and decided to become adventurers together.


Athena and I promised each other that we would surpass the adventurers who had saved our village (......) and become the best adventurers in the world.


That was our turning point.


And Athena changed.


The way she behaved and talked became more masculine, and she tried harder to be stronger than anyone else.


I tried my best not to be left behind.


When I was twelve years old, an old sorcerer came to our village.


We asked him to teach us magic.


Athena, who had talent, learned magic and improved rapidly, but I did not have any talent.


I could not use any kind of magic to strengthen my body, attack, or heal.


The only thing I was good at was grant magic, which increases the abilities of others.


It was unfortunate that I could only use grant magic, but I was undeterred and worked hard to improve my grant magic.


We became fifteen years old.


My body became bigger, and I felt like a little more of an adult man.


Athena became more and more beautiful.  When we were children, she was a pretty girl, but now she is a beautiful woman with a dignified atmosphere.


I love Athena, but I still can't confess my love to her because I feel inferior to her.


When I become a great adventurer, gain confidence, and become a man worthy of her, I will tell Athena that I love her.


Athena and I left the village where we had lived for fifteen years and came to the nearest city.


We registered with the Adventurer's Guild in that city and became adventurers, something we had always wanted to do.


But our goal is not only to become adventurers, but also to become the best adventurers in the world.


We could not afford to get carried away.


We immediately set out to challenge the beginner's labyrinth.


It was just the two of us, but we were more than up to the challenge.  Above all, Athena was amazing.  She was no match for the monsters in the beginner's labyrinth.


She was strong even in her bare form, but when I cast my grant magic on her, she became unbelievably strong.


At that time, even with my abilities, I could defeat the monsters, so I joined the fight with my sword.


Realizing that although we had just become adventurers, we were good enough to do it, we recruited friends to join us in our quest to become even better.


The first to join us was the elf Mirialia.


It was my first time to see an elf, so I was very surprised.  And she was so cute.


She had just recently become an adventurer and was looking for a party when she found us and approached us.


Well, she was more interested in Athena than in us.


Apparently, Mirialia likes women and fell in love with Athena at first sight.  I thought to myself, "How is it possible for a woman to like a woman?"


Mirialia was an excellent magician.


She was versatile in offensive and defensive magic, and could even use recovery magic.  However, she tended to be a bit lazy or troublesome.


Even taking this into account, Mirialia is a dependable magician.


Next to join us was Dale, a warrior.


Unlike me, he is tall and always looks sleepy.  He has a cut on his left cheek that looks like a battle medal.


His hair is unkempt, he has a beard, and his appearance is not that flashy.  He is always saying "kattarii," which means "I'm so cute".  He also loves to drink.


Dale is five years older than me and has been an adventurer for ten years.  He has been an adventurer since he was 10 years old, and has the air of a veteran at a young age.  When I heard that he had been an adventurer since he was 10 years old, I was very surprised.


Dale's personal adventurer rank is also silver.


For some reason, however, he was not in a party and was making meager money in a beginner's labyrinth.  Athena happened to know Dale and invited him to join her.


He initially refused, but Athena's persistent invitation made him join the party.


I wondered why she was so obsessed with Dale and asked her why.  Athena said, "It would be a waste not to pick up such a bargain when it is right in front of you."


Certainly, from my point of view, Dale seems like a prime candidate.


Dale was an excellent warrior, but he was also a dependable senior adventurer.


He taught me how to fight monsters, what items were essential, how to recognize traps, and even how to cook.


He was rough with money and not very good looking, but to us he was like a big brother we could count on.


When we had broken through the beginner's level labyrinth, the four of us had an official party.


The four of us officially formed a party.


The name of the party was Stardust.


The name was given by Dale, who said it meant "Stardust."


The name sounded cool, and it seemed to match the world's greatest adventurers and the stars shining brightly in the sky, so we all agreed on the name Stardust.


The leader of the party was, of course, Athena.


It couldn't have been anyone else.


From that moment on, Stardust's breakthrough began.



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