I don't want to be a heroic spirit

I heard that there are many monsters outside the village...more than the rice in the rice jar at home.

There are many powerful warrior uncles in our country fighting, and even the gods are fighting.

As for the so-called battle... Qianhua has no substantial concept.

However, even the gods have appeared...I am afraid it is a terrible thing.

However, this village is very good, and everyone in the village is also very good.

Because the village chief, Qianhua's father, used a very powerful method to block those monsters outside the village.

Well, Dad is really powerful.

Qianhua couldn't help but think with some pride.

It seems that everything is no different from usual...except that the atmosphere in the village has always been uncomfortable.

People crying, people in pain.

People who make Qianhua feel familiar, people who make Qianhua feel strange.

People who force themselves to smile, people who make up their minds.

There seem to be more people in the village, and there seem to be fewer people.

Her father, the father who made her proud, the father who was called a hero by the whole village, has less and less smiles on his face.

Every time Chika saw her father's originally frowning face forced to smile after seeing her, she felt a pain in her chest.

Ah... Is Dad worried about something?

But since he didn't tell Chika... it was probably a worry that Chika couldn't help.

Chika was very young, but in some ways she was inexplicably sharp.

Until... one day.

Her father seemed to have made a decision, which made Chika happy.

Because Dad was no longer so worried.

Dad seemed to have told everyone in the village about his ideas, and then got the support of everyone in the village.

Because Dad is a hero... Chika thought so.

Even if Chika didn't know what decision Dad made, she would trust him unconditionally.

She also believed that everyone in the village had the same idea as her.

Occasionally, she could hear words like "bait", "sacrifice", "seal", "monster" from Dad and others, but Chika couldn't understand what they meant.

But it didn't matter, because she believed that Dad would do everything well and would never let her and everyone in the village down.

Then... on that day, Qianhua, who had been staying in the village and was well protected, finally saw the enemy that all of them had been facing.

The monsters that attacked like an endless tide, and the big monster in the sky.

So big... so many... so scary...

Qianhua searched through the scarce vocabulary in her brain, and finally could only turn out these few adjectives.

So, dad... samurai uncle... and God-sama... have been fighting those monsters all the time?

The sky and the ocean were a disgusting blood red, and even from a long distance, the roars of the monsters could still be heard, and the blood in the body turned cold.

Then... nothing happened.

Qianhua didn't know what happened, and she couldn't describe the scene that happened in front of her at that time.

She only knew that it was her father who did something to make the monsters as endless as the waves and the huge monsters disappear.

When she knew this, she had just woken up from a coma.

I heard that the whole village fell asleep like her, and it seemed that it was also done by her father.

That day, everyone in the village was very strange.

Some were laughing, some were crying, some were silent, and some were celebrating.

Qianhua couldn't understand why everyone was so strange... but she was still very happy.

Because the uncomfortable atmosphere that had been permeating the village was gone.

The village was truly peaceful.

Just like the warm sunshine and the calm sea.

Oh, yes, some things have changed.

For example, at night, Qianhua found that the stars in the sky disappeared.

If only Miss Moon was there, would she feel lonely?

For example, outside the village, her parents repeatedly warned her not to stay too far away, and heard that there were many monsters outside the village.

So scary...

However, it seems that Dad is guarding the village, so the monsters outside can't get in.

Dad is really amazing.

Then... Then...

How many days and nights have passed? When did it start?

There is no point in calculating time, so the past fades in the long time, and the future collapses at the far end.

Everyone stopped reminiscing about the past and stopped looking forward to the future.

Because the flowers and grass no longer grow, the birds no longer sing, the stars no longer twinkle, and winter no longer comes.

The village seems to be changing, but nothing has changed.

How many days and nights have passed? When did it all start?

A stone was thrown into the lake that had been dead for too long, rippling with turbid waves.

Someone in the village is missing, and everyone in the village is starting to feel uneasy, and Dad is starting to worry.

Grandpa Shimono Takahiro is missing. I remember that he often moved a small chair and sat at the entrance of the village for a whole day. The children in the village liked to listen to the story of his grandfather fighting bravely on the battlefield when he was young as a samurai of the shogunate.

Sister Serika and Brother Shinbei are missing, on the night they expressed their feelings to each other.

Aunt Asami, the best fruit seller, disappeared. The person who appeared at the fruit stall that day was Aunt Asami's husband. I always felt that he was much older than the last time I saw him. Then the next day, Aunt Asami Her husband and their teenage children were also missing.

Gradually... everyone in the village disappeared, even my mother disappeared.

"Everyone just went outside. We will meet again one day in the future."

That's what dad told her.

The future...ah.

What a strange, lovely word.

Like twinkling stars in the night sky.

"Qianhua...you must remember this."

That day, my father suddenly came to talk to me and seemed to want to say something very important.

Hmm... maybe it's as important as not eating sweets before going to bed.

"You must keep yourself, and you must not change yourself... Even if I, your uncle Jian, and everyone in the village disappear, and you are the only one left in the whole village... you must not change, and you must be the same as before. Life."

"Even if your playmates are gone, you must continue to play. Even if your mother and I are gone, you must not do housework...do what [you] should do, and only do what [you] should do." Don’t worry about anything else!”

Everyone... is gone?

Only... Qianhua is left alone?

"Everyone is gone...Does it mean that everyone has gone out?"

I believed in my dad, and I wanted to get answers from him.

"So...why has everyone gone out? But Qianhua is the only one left here..."

"Don't think too much."

Dad’s hands are big, bigger than mine...and mom’s hands. When he touches the top of his head, he feels so heavy...and feels safe.

"If possible, we also want to stay with Qianhua... After all, Qianhua is so cute, no one will like it, right? But... someone must stay in this village, whether it's me or your uncle Jianhua , can no longer hold on to oneself... There is no way, facing the [wear and tear] that even the gods are afraid of, our human souls are too fragile, just like rocks under the waves... But you are different, Qianhua, you have a pure soul that cannot even leave traces of [wear].”

Qianhua didn't understand, because her father's words were too difficult to understand at that time.

But... but...

There seems to be one thing that Qianhua can vaguely understand...

"If... Qianhua does what dad said, then... Qianhua... can be considered as helping dad? Can Qianhua... be a good child?"

At that time, after I said these words... what kind of expression did my father show?

Dad was stunned for a moment, then bit his lip tightly, and his eyes began to sparkle. After blinking, he tried to suppress a smile, but failed the first time. He closed his eyes and took two deep breaths. After that, he forced out a smile and said with a choked voice.

"Well... Qianhua helped dad... it was a big help..."

Yeah?

The wish that was born from an unknown time and lasted for an unknown length of time...the wish to help her father...can Qianhua finally realize it?

That's great...

"So...how long will Qianhua stay alone in the village? When will everyone come to pick up Qianhua?"

"Probably... until one day in the future, the messenger of the gods will come to this world and wipe out all the monsters here."

A messenger from the gods?

Reminding me of a picture book I had read before, I suddenly asked my father.

"Is it...an angel?"

At that time, my father responded like this.

"An angel...? Maybe, it's really an angel..."

…………

Qianhua had a dream.

A very long...very long...very long dream.

In her dream, she spent an unimaginable amount of time, a time that made people crazy.

In the dream, she watched the grandfather who loved telling her stories leave, watched the children of the same age who often came to play with her leave, watched Uncle Jian leave who looked scary but actually felt very gentle when they got along with her. Watching my beloved father and mother leave, watching everyone in the village leave one by one... In the end, I was left alone.

"Thousands of flowers...thousands of flowers..."

The gentle voice that sounded in her ears, like the wind blowing through the grass in the forest, made Qianhua open her eyes in confusion.

The strange yet familiar face was reflected in her eyes, making her unable to help but call them. Calling them would bring happiness to Qianhua.

"Dad...Mom..."

"Qianhua...Dad and I are here to pick you up."

A bunch of braids hung down from her shoulders to her chest, and Qianhua's mother put on a loving and gentle smile.

Qianhua stretched out her hand and held it with her mother's gentle, jade-like hand.

The touch was so real, so beautiful... that Qianhua couldn't bear to let go.

After her mother... Qianhua looked at her father again.

"Dad...I..."

Seeing her father and mother again, Qianhua became uneasy again, and her little hands tightly grasped the corners of her clothes.

Like a student waiting for the teacher to announce his results, expectations and fears are mixed together in his heart in equal proportions.

"Have I... fulfilled my promise to my father? Have I... been a good child?"

"Of course."

Qianhua felt her body being thrown into a warm embrace, and a lingering sense of happiness surrounded her.

"You will always be the good child that makes us most proud."