Chapter 0: Prologue – Diary of a Villager

Someone new came to the village.

He did not leave a good impression. He must have been through some pretty tough times. That is probably why his eyes seemed to have an unknown flame in them. They always gave the impression that something was about to happen.

I wanted to get rid of that man, but the village head accepted the stranger, as always.

Well, because of that attitude, I am here too.

I decided to not care too much about it.

2

It had been four days since the man settled in the village.

He seems like a quiet man, so quiet that his existence can be questioned. It seems like he hardly ever leaves his house.

A few noisy residents in the village showed interest in him, but I was not particularly interested.

I just hope for the peaceful days to continue.

3

A week since then, roughly ten days have passed since the man came.

Now I have an idea as to what that man is doing. The kids who were peeking over his fence told me. That he wields a sword every day.

It always looked like he had a backstory. Now I know what it is.

Still, I am not interested in him.

Whether the children talk or not, I decided to do my job.

4

Another month had passed.

He still wields his sword in his yard.

Haven’t seen him though, just heard it and still not interested.

5

Another month has passed.

The man still wields the sword, and the villagers continue to chatter about it.

That he was sharpening his sword skills for some kind of revenge, that he was a fallen knight or a famous mercenary.

They are nosy. And I’m not particularly interested.

But telling them to stop would be more annoying, so I went ahead with doing my job.

The thing he is doing… it is late. I need to take a nap.

6

Tomorrow I’ll go see him wielding his sword.

He has been training for half a year. Every day, whether the sky is raining or shining.

I used to be indifferent to other people’s affairs, but now I have no choice but to admit it.

My curiosity rose.

How fast is he?

How strong?

How much effort was he put into honing his excellent swordsmanship?

I’ll know it all tomorrow.

7

Disappointing. I am utterly disappointed.

It might look great for residents who know nothing about the sword, but I have seen several swordsmen working, I can tell for sure.

He wasn’t great. To be blunt, he was average.

As I walked towards the yard, I thought that there should be something, a backstory.

A story. There has to be a painful story that will make my heart swell and burn.

But it didn’t look like he would solve his problems.

He is a stupid person. And a pitiful one too.

Now, I really need to stop paying attention to him.

I should have a drink before heading to bed.

8

A family came into the village.

A retired mercenary, one son and daughter.

However, his daughter was quite a beauty.

When she smiled and greeted the villagers, I thought an angel had come down from heaven.

It has been so long. It has been so long since I felt like this.

Even now, when I am writing my diary late at night, I can’t stop sweating.

I’ll try talking to her tomorrow. Definitely, I need to do it. I wrote it down, so I don’t delay it anymore.

Ah, and this isn’t very important but,

The man swung his sword today.

It has been 3 years now.

9

Today was a strange day.

Without a doubt, I am pleased today. Since this is the result of 2 years of courting.

Right now, beside me, my beautiful wife Rema is asleep. I am so happy that I might burst into tears at any moment.

By the way,

Oddly enough.

The guy, who has absolutely nothing to do with me, keeps popping into my head.

5 years is a long time.

To the extent that I, who had been engulfed in pessimism due to my broken dreams, regained hope, fell in love, got married and found happiness.

To the extent that Jackson next door had grown up and left the village to become a mercenary.

But, that person didn’t change.

While many people faced joy and sorrow dozens of times, he just stood there in the same place, swinging and swinging and swinging again.

When I think of the man who continues his asceticism as if he had promised to do the task just yesterday, with the same way that he looked when he came into the village, with the same unknown emotion that still reflects the flame in his eyes…

As I said, it’s weird. It is too late to look at the man when everyone’s attention has left him.

But I decided to accept it.

How long could his penance continue? I will have to check every day from tomorrow.

10

5 years 1 month, and 12 days.

The man has kept training with his sword.

11

5 years 2 months, and 25 days.

The man has kept training with his sword.

12

5 years 5 months, and 3 days.

The day is insanely hot. Still, he trained.

13

Our child was born. Rema and I had a lovely child. A daughter, my lovely daughter.

Everyone, including my father-in-law and the village chief, celebrated the birth of a new life. My wife and I were greeted with smiles by all the residents.

And the man continued his training.

It has been 6 years, 2 months and 27 days.

14

9 years 6 months, and 16 days.

He trained today too.

15

Ah, it is 10 years with this day.

The man trained with the sword.

16

Oops, I didn’t check.

So… today has been 12 years and 3 months.

It didn’t matter since he must have been training, just like yesterday.

Actually, I am not as interested as I used to be.

Just like the sun rises in the morning and moons rises at nights, like spring comes after winter, how could that man be obsessed with it for such a long time?

All of a sudden, I felt like a fool.

Right, I need to pay more attention to my daughter Laura and wife Rema instead of caring for that nonsense.

I need to stop from tomorrow.

I mean it.

…

…

This is the end of the diary written by a village man, Cheonbu.

And 20 years have passed.

Village man with his wrinkled face woke up early in the morning.

He was the village chief. He was Rema’s husband and Laura’s father.

When he was young, he used to be pessimistic and had a bad personality, but not anymore.

Everyone in the village liked him for treating others with a warm smile. The years have changed him.

‘Right. For a day to come when I, who was selfish to the core, turned into a village chief who received greetings from people. The passage of time is truly amazing.’

A small smile appeared on his lips as he walked around in the cold.

The village man moved slowly.

He received greetings from hunters who got up early to hunt in the morning. He heard the snores from the shopkeepers and remembered the locations which needed repairs.

After carefully examining every nook and cranny of the village, the last place he went was where not many people visited.

‘… It has been 35 years since then.’

The house of the man who trained with a sword in his hands.

At first, he wasn’t interested.

Later, he got interested, but the man wasn’t good.

A sneer formed on his mouth, remembering the futile efforts of the swordsman.

The emotions the village man felt was regret.

And pity.

However, after 5 to 10 years, that wasn’t the case.

The emotions he felt were so heavy and massive that he couldn’t put them into words.

“…”

What the hell has he been through?

What on earth was driving him? What could it be, what!

Even that thought was long done.

The village watched the man practice as if he was witnessing something holy.

It was for the very reason that he moved.

But,

Something different came into his eyes.

The villager quickly moved as he was shocked.

“Huk, huk, huk!”

The old man was now over 60 years old.

He wasn’t particularly ill, but he wasn’t strong enough to run.

Even though he didn’t run for a long time, he was running out of breath.

But he didn’t stop, he ran.

Thanks to that, the old man was able to see the end of the miracle.

Woong!

The old man stood with his wide eyes.

A colossal sword was supporting the swordsman.

And the silver-grey light on the sword was clearly fading away, along with the man.

The village man didn’t say anything until it ended.

“…”

The old swordsman’s last moments.

How great it was.

How vast and dazzling the sword of light he created was.

The village man who arrived late didn’t get to see it entirely. But even if he didn’t, he could not understand it as he was no knight.

But that didn’t matter.

What he saw so far was enough.

The efforts of the swordsman and what he had accumulated.

The pain he had been through.

His entire life.

The process was more valuable than the fruits achieved.

The villager looked down at the old swordsman’s body for a moment and spoke with tears in his eyes.

“Please, I hope you go to a good place….”

And after a long time.

When it became a past where no one could remember the man who wielded the sword, the villager was the only one who watched him.

“…. Uhm”

The eldest son of the Pareira family, Duke Irene Pareira, became aware of his past life.