Sensing the arrival of morning, I sat up in bed. The three beds lined up in the bedroom were already empty.
Mom and Lu were already awake.
Oh, and then there is one more person—someone who had come to live with us at our house in the Royal Capital—though at this time, she stayed at the temple.
I slipped on my shoes and climbed out of bed. The cool floor felt pleasant against my body, still warm from sleep. After stretching and getting myself ready, I threw open the window.
Outside, it was still dim. But the breeze that flowed in was warm. The long winter was over, and spring had returned to the Royal Capital.
Standing in the morning breeze, I checked my equipment. The pouch at my waist. My blue crystal short sword. The armor protecting my chest and legs. And the gauntlets covering my arms, which glimmered faintly even in the subdued light of early morning.
For a while, I looked out over the area from my childhood home. I took in the streets and the cityscape, committing them to memory.
One year had passed since the final battle that had engulfed the world.
I had turned fifteen.
And this morning is an important one.
“Has it really been a year already…?”
It felt like it had gone by in the blink of an eye when I said it aloud. But more than anything, it had been one incredibly eventful year.
There had been the rebuilding of cities attacked by monsters, and explaining to everyone what had happened after the gods departed for the Celestial Realm. For a few days, the kingdom basked in the afterglow of victory.
But before long, the entire country was thrown into an uproar. The one who had taken the lead in bringing everything under control was Pauline-san. As the leader of the Raven Warrior Corps—and as a princess—she had worked to pull the kingdom back together amid all the confusion.
Through temples across the kingdom, she informed the people of the adventurers’ victory and the gods’ departure for the Celestial Realm. To the nobles and the other royal families, she urged the restoration of the damaged city walls and roads.
I had even heard people saying that, before long, she would rule the kingdom not as a princess—
but as its queen.
Pauline-san herself merely shrugged, remaining as carefree and unruffled as ever.
“It’s really nothing more than a little extra on top of your accomplishments.”
If there was such a thing as “administrative skill,” then the princess had it in spades.
Within six months, many of the cities had returned to something resembling their old way of life. The eastern side of the Royal Capital, where I lived, was probably even better off than it had been before.
Of course, a great many people had helped with the reconstruction, especially the adventurers. And the global message from the gods had brought everyone’s hearts together. The distant sound of a bell reached me, and I suddenly realized the time.
“I have to go.”
I went downstairs to the first floor of my childhood home.
Lu and Mom looked at me and smiled.
“Good morning, Oniichan.”
Lu is thirteen now. She had grown a little taller, and whenever she smiled, her whole face seemed to light up like a flower in bloom. She had completely recovered, too. Ever since we defeated Ymir, she hadn’t fallen ill even once.
I smiled at Mom and Lu.
“Good morning.”
Magic-stone lamps glowed here and there throughout the room.
We sat down and ate breakfast together as a family. There’s vegetable soup and fried eggs on the table too, and I was hungry, so I hurriedly stuffed the food into my mouth.
I choked a little and quickly took a drink of tea.
Mom laughed.
“You’re in such a hurry… Is it because you’re leaving today?”
“Y-yeah.”
Lu’s sky-blue eyes sparkled.
“It’s the next adventure of the Hero with the Horn, isn’t it?”
I gave an awkward smile and scratched my cheek.
“Well, I guess that’s what they’re calling me. Anyway…”
The many adventurers who had fought in the battle were rewarded by the kingdom and the Adventurers’ Guild. It was a case of making the best of a bad situation, but the great monster invasion also meant that an enormous amount of magic stones had been recovered.
The rewards were so generous that Mia-san had practically been dancing with joy. Among them, however, those who had ventured into the final snowy wasteland—the Frost Palace—were hailed as heroes.
A story that had begun in myth and ended with the gods departing. The tale of the world’s end had become the subject of plays and poems, passed down from one generation to the next.
Mom furrowed her brow anxiously.
“Is it really okay for you to have become that famous?”
“Yeah… I think so. The poets have added so many embellishments to the story that even if someone saw us in person, they probably wouldn’t realize who we are.”
Incidentally, about half a year after the battle, we had quietly returned to our childhood home.
Pauline-san had suggested that we move somewhere new, but fancy places made me feel uncomfortable—and besides, this house was filled with so many memories.
Lu and Mom, however, continued working at the temple just as they had before.
My little sister swallowed a mouthful of bread, then pursed her lips.
“You’re still working as a wake-up caller, too.”
“Yeah…”
After we returned to the Royal Capital, there had inevitably been a bit of a commotion. I could still picture Felix-san’s expression, practically screaming, “See? I told you so.”
And the adventurers who lived in the neighborhood had all been saying the same thing.
“About time.”
—So, can we ask you again?
—Sorry to bother a hero and all, but…
—After getting used to your “Wake-up, alarm” I just can’t wake up any other way!
Mom remembered those days and giggled.
Lu shot her a sharp glare.
“You don’t have to do it anymore. We’re not struggling with money now. Isn’t it hard on you, Oniichan?”
“Y-yeah. But I still head to the dungeon early in the morning, anyway.”
“You could take it a little easier…”
After returning to my childhood home, I had gone back to being an adventurer. The dungeon I visited most often was the Western Dungeon.
Sometimes I even formed a party with Mia-san, who had returned to her life as an adventurer, too. There were times when I went farther afield with the Crow Warrior Corps, but for the most part, I think it was fair to say that my life had returned to the way it used to be.
“The Hero with the Horn, huh…”
On the wall, Father’s red scarf fluttered in the breeze.
Beside it hung a sheet of paper. It was the certificate of commendation I had received from the kingdom and the Guild along with my medals and decorations.
But glory was just another page in the story of an adventure.
Once you turned the page, I thought, it was perfectly fine to leave it in the past. Lately, I had come to love being accepted once again as the “wake-up caller”—and as an “adventurer.”
The tale of a hero was one thing. But I am still me.
“I’m happier about this than I am about the medals.”
I gave the pouch at my waist a little pat. Inside were the things the gods had given me as keepsakes when we said our farewells.
Not long after we finished eating, there came a knock at the front door.
Knock, knock.
“Yo.”
“Mia-san!”
Mia-san stood in the doorway, scratching her red hair and smiling.
“I figured you’d be leaving soon. Am I early?”
As she spoke, Mia-san made a slightly puzzled face.
She’s probably looking for the person who was usually here.
Then Mia-san said,
“Oh, right. You’re going separately today.”
“Yeah. She said she had some preparations to make, so she’s coming from the temple.”
I picked up the backpack waiting beside the entrance and slung it over my shoulders. It contained everything I needed for traveling far from home as an adventurer.
“I was just about to leave, too.”
I turned back toward the house.
Mom and Lu waved.
“Take care!”
“There’s going to be something like a departure ceremony later, right? I’m definitely going to that!”
Lu raised a fist in front of her chest.
Mia-san and I both laughed.
I raised a hand in return.
“I’m off!”
We walked down the gentle slope toward the eastern gate of the Royal Capital.
It’s still before dawn, but the spring breeze was warm.
Mia-san rolled her shoulders, the chains at her side rattling as she did.
“Looks like we’re finally heading out on an expedition to another country!”
I nodded.
This was the new “venture” that we adventurers were about to embark on.
In the Kingdom of Asgard, Ymir had been defeated, and the threat of monsters was gone. Which, in other words, meant that all sorts of dangers that had previously lurked in the shadows of the kingdom had disappeared as well.
Take slave traders, for example. With Ymir and Ratbone Rata gone, a great many cases of slave trafficking had come to light. Pauline-san and the Raven Warrior Corps had gained considerable influence, and they had rescued many people who had been enslaved.
Apparently, some had even been imprisoned inside dungeons. The same went for monsters. In the end, it had been Ymir and his followers who were loosening the Seals on the dungeons.
From now on, sudden changes in dungeon difficulty and massive monster outbreaks would likely become a thing of the past.
The monsters had weakened, too, and the Seals that had been on the verge of weakening were now stable, keeping the monsters contained within the dungeons.
The Kingdom of Asgard would become safer than it had ever been.
Then what about outside the kingdom?
That was the question we were setting out to answer.
Clack.
The sound of a staff striking the ground reached us.
“The Kingdom of Asgard, once the center of the Mythic Age, has always been home to a great many dungeons. Naturally, it also has a large number of adventurers.”
Mia-san turned around in surprise.
“Felix!?”
“Fatefully enough, it seems we have managed to meet up.”
Mia-san, Felix-san, and I were all headed to the same destination.
So I suppose it was only natural that we would run into each other here on the main street.
Felix-san cleared his throat before continuing.
“On the other hand, there are not nearly as many adventurers in other countries. In some nations, they can scarcely explore their dungeons—or even locate them in the first place.”
He paused.
“And that is where this expedition comes in, right?”
“Exactly.”
Felix-san narrowed his already narrow eyes even further and nodded.
“We will venture beyond the Kingdom of Asgard and search for new dungeons, along with the monsters and items sleeping within them.”
The age of adventure.
Odin’s final words echoed in my mind.
I lowered my gaze to the cobblestones and asked,
“What do you think we’ll find?”
“It is difficult to say at this point. But one thing is certain: with less effort needed to deal with monsters, the movement of people and goods will become more active as well.”
He was right. A lot of things had changed after the battle. Magic-stone lamps had become so widespread that even our house had one now. I had even heard that some dungeons where the monsters had disappeared entirely had been closed down.
Monsters were a source of magic stones, but they had also been a constant threat that had to be defeated again and again. Now that the threat they posed had diminished, the way the kingdom itself operated would surely change as well.
Mia-san picked up the conversation.
“So our expedition is basically the first step toward all that, right?”
Felix-san nodded.
“Precisely. We can spread our methods of monster extermination and dungeon management to other countries. If we discover dormant dungeons as well, the threat posed by monsters will decrease even further. After all, the monsters wandering outside are the result of them spilling out from undiscovered dungeons.”
And, in time, the flow of people and goods would become even more active—and hopefully, the world would grow more prosperous.
Perhaps that was too grand a responsibility for someone like me to think about.
Even so…My chest grew warm, and I shivered.
“It really is the age of adventure. Instead of living in fear of monsters, we can finally go anywhere in the world.”
An age when adventurers could travel freely, crossing mountains and grasslands without restraint.
Mia-san shrugged, while Felix-san tapped his staff against the ground.
“We never had the chance to do any of that before. Not with the monsters around.”
“Indeed. And this time, we are not traveling for the sake of the gods, nor simply to survive the monsters. We are traveling for humanity.”
The expedition had been commissioned by the Warrior Corps, but the biggest reason I had decided to take part was simple: It sounded exciting. As an adventurer, I wanted to see other countries, other cities, other dungeons with my own eyes.
Father and the gods would probably say the same thing.
—That’s more like it.
Felix-san added,
“After all, taking risks is what makes an adventure an adventure.”
I looked up at the sky where the gods had departed.
In the Celestial Realm, I wondered, were Odin and Freyja—Thor, Uru, Sigris, Loki, and Heimdall—are still lending their strength to Creation?
If our world had changed—
“What kind of world will Odin and the others create?”
Would there be monsters in that world, too?
Would there be magic?
Adventurers?
Mia-san laced both arms behind her neck and said,
“Who knows? Still, if those gods are the ones making it, I doubt they’ll make it a bad world. What do you think, Felix?”
“I truly cannot imagine it. For now, I have more than enough to keep my hands full with this world.”
I stopped for just a moment and gazed up at the faintly brightening sky.
“…Yeah.”
If I had the chance, I’d like to ask the next world about it.
What kind of world are you?
The names of gods like Odin and Thor might live on in that new world, too.
As part of its mythology.
“We should do our part to make this world better, too.”
As we talked and walked, we eventually arrived at the eastern gate of the Royal Capital.
The adventurers taking part in the expedition had already gathered. Two lines of carts and carriages stretched beyond the eastern gate. With so many people taking part, the convoy was a long one. At the very end of the line, a small figure was bouncing up and down. Twin braids of green hair bobbed with every movement.
When she turned around, it was Safi.
“Rion!”
The dwarf blacksmith is joining the expedition to the other countries, too. She came flying toward me, and I caught her around knee height.
“Morning! Where are the other dwarves?”
“Much farther ahead. They’re all fired up! We might find more of our kind!”
That’s Safi and the others’ goal: to find their fellow dwarves. There might be dwarves besides those in the dwarven kingdom of Alfheim who had survived the calamity of the end and were now sleeping somewhere inside a dungeon.
Safi folded her arms and gave me a confident smile.
“Besides, this is our chance to show off our skills as blacksmiths. If we’re going to make a living, we’ve got to do business!”
One after another, the dwarves poked their heads out from behind the carts, all chiming in with, “That’s right! Exactly!”
They looked so sturdy and full of life that I couldn’t help but smile.
Pauline-san approached as well, dressed in white ceremonial robes. She tapped her rod against the ground and gave us a polite bow.
“Good morning. It looks like everything is in order for departure.”
It was going to be a massive movement of people: two hundred adventurers, twenty dwarves, and around ten civil officials from the kingdom.
I looked around, searching anxiously. For the god who would be joining us on this adventure—No. For the person I wanted to see.
The sky was still dim, just before dawn. Amid the darkness, a flash of golden hair caught my eye at the corner of one of the carriages.
“Solana!”
At my call, a girl raised her head from behind the passenger carriage.
She was dressed like an adventurer. Her shimmering golden hair was gathered beneath a leather cap to protect her head, though several strands had escaped and hung loose.
She wore white clothing beneath a raven warrior cloak, matching ours.
Golden eyes found mine.
“Rion! Good morning!”
Solana smiled at me like the sun itself.
I walked over and looked her over carefully.
The skirt fluttering in the breeze was made of slightly thicker fabric, but it reminded me of the dress she had once worn.
“…Looks like you’re all ready, then.”
“Indeed. The temple examined my body and provided me with equipment.”
Solana smiled brightly and raised her right arm.
A golden bracelet gleamed around her wrist, just like before. It served much the same purpose as a mage’s staff, and apparently had been made specifically for her.
“A bracelet, huh…”
I remembered the first time I had met her.
Solana placed her right hand over her chest.
“Now, I am with you—and I am happy that I can keep that vow.”
She said it right in front of everyone, and my cheeks turned bright red.
If Lu had been here, I was sure she would have stared at us wide-eyed and bounced up and down in excitement.
Well, I felt like I had become much more sensitive to things like romance than I used to be.
As her older brother, leaving her behind made me a little worried.
Solana murmured,
“I wondered what would become of me back then.”
She had nearly ceased to exist during the final battle.
Even though Freyja had given her some of her own magical power, Solana’s condition had remained critical. And yet she had thrown herself into the Ginnungagap, then expended an enormous amount of magical power on the surface as well.
The goddess had exhausted herself completely. If even a little more time had passed, she might have disappeared entirely. Apparently, even after entering the gold coin, she wouldn’t have been able to survive for long.
That was when Odin came up with a plan. Some of the gods—like Freyja and Freyr had done—would inhabit human bodies. Using the Power of Creation the gods had reclaimed, they gave Solana, a goddess, a physical form—a human body.
From here on, she would live as a human, adventure, and grow, gradually recovering the power she had possessed as a goddess. By leveling up alongside us, she would regain her divine strength. That’s Solana’s goal now.
While every other god had returned to the Celestial Realm, Solana alone remained here with me. Until one day, she died as a human and returned to the Celestial Realm.
Solana patted and prodded her own body.
“However, I am still not accustomed to this thing called a level. I believe mine was…”
“…Fifty.”
Even after everything I had been through, I was only Level 38.
Mia-san was two levels ahead of me at 40, while Felix-san was 44.
Solana had started out at roughly the same level as my father. Which meant she was unbelievably strong.
I scratched my head.
“I guess you really are a goddess after all…”
Incidentally, Blessing of the Sun was still intact, too. The fact that the goddess Solana had remained on the surface was a secret known only to the Raven Warrior Corps and a select few adventurers.
“E-even if I continue to level up, I will remain with you, Rion.”
“Solana…”
“According to Luisia, that is what they call a vow for a lifetime.”
“Wh—! Then that means—”
I almost shouted the words out.
I hurriedly clapped both hands over my mouth.
Mia-san and the other adventurers were watching us with enormous grins on their faces.
Felix-san was very obviously looking away.
With my heart pounding this hard, I might not survive the day. While all that was happening, preparations continued.
Then, suddenly, a ray of light pierced the sky.
Solana spread her hands.
“The sun is rising.”
Beyond the eastern gate, the morning sun slowly rose over the rolling hills.
I answered her.
“Yeah. It’s time to go.”
Pauline-san tapped her rod against the ground and stepped before the enormous gate.
By then, the people who had come to see us off had completely filled the area. Despite how early it was, crowds had gathered on either side of the line of carriages.
The princess climbed onto a platform.
“Today, the Kingdom of Asgard will embark upon its first expedition to another country led by adventurers.”
The morning sun illuminated the princess from the side as she smiled.
“May the gods bless you on your journey. And know that we, the people of the Royal Capital, will be watching over you as well.”
A cheer erupted from the crowd of well-wishers.
I could see Mom and Lu among them.
I opened my pouch.
Inside were two things: the horn and a coin.
I had returned the Awakening Horn Gjallarhorn to Heimdall, but in its place, the dwarves—Safi and the others—had given me a horn of their own. Its delicate decorations proudly caught the light.
On the gold coin was Solana and Heimdall on one side. On the other were Thor, the God of Thunder; Loki, the God of Mischief; Uru, the God of Hunting; and Sigris, the God of Medicine.
When the gods had said goodbye to us and departed the surface, they had used their magical power to leave their likenesses behind. I could still feel their warmth lingering in the gold coin. And with my heart swelling with emotion, I raised the horn to my lips and blew.
Its sound rang far and wide across the dawn sky, proclaiming our departure.
From the crowd, Lu called out at the top of her lungs.
“Have a safe trip, Oniichan!”
Pushed onward by the cheers and the spring breeze at our backs, we set out from the Royal Capital.
Solana was beside me.
Hand in hand, we waved to everyone in the Royal Capital.
“I’m off!”
The age of myth had ended.
And the next age had begun.
With the gods’ kindness lingering in the morning sun and the open sky, we took our first steps toward a new adventure.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
