Grandfather.
It was a word I had never heard before since coming into this world.
The old man, who was looking at me with a kind expression, reminded me of my mother, Agnes, in some ways.
His eyes, his nose…
How should I react?
It wouldn’t be good to seem too reserved in this situation.
Should I act warmly?
But I wasn’t used to the warmth of family.
I worried whether I could even pretend to be warm.
Family?
What even is family?
When I met my mother, I felt it too—whenever I heard words related to family, I felt a sense of dissonance.
My head spun.
“…Did I even have a family in this life?”
Why had I never thought about something so important until now?
I couldn’t remember.
Roots—Kenneth was born under Agnes, and Agnes was born under the grandfather in front of me.
Everyone who lives must have someone who gave birth to them.
So why?
Why is there a blank in my memory?
Fragments of knowledge and memories from the previous world remained in my mind, but it felt like I was only seeing the surface.
As I made a complicated expression, the man who called himself my grandfather sat down beside me.
His presence was immense, comparable to that of Duke Bellot.
“I understand that this must be very confusing for you. To be honest, it’s the same for me.”
Argin, too, had been unsure at first.
Even though the child of the bow had spoken with confidence, there were still doubts about whether this boy was truly his grandson.
But those doubts vanished in an instant.
What?
The boy Frennila had rescued, and the turtle by his side.
A spirit beast—such a clear sign. He immediately let go of all his doubts.
“Now I can finally pass everything on.”
The appearance of a successor—no, more than that, the appearance of a precious blood relative—filled the old man with a sense of excitement he hadn’t felt in a long time.
How should he treat his grandson, whom he was meeting for the first time?
Argin, who had led his tribe and accumulated countless experiences, was also at a loss, as this was his first time experiencing something like this.
“You look so much like Agnes.”
Just as Kenneth had seen glimpses of Agnes in Argin, Argin now saw traces of her in Kenneth.
“May I hug you?”
I nodded silently.
Argin wanted to hug his grown grandson with all his might, but seeing the still-healing wound on his side, he gently embraced him and patted his back.
The civil war in Saka.
A tragedy that had turned even Argin, once one of the strongest warriors among the foreign tribes, into a frail old man haunted by the past.
The wounds from that time might never fully heal, but now, it felt like they were finally beginning to fade, soothing his weary heart.
Tears streamed down the old man’s face.
Not tears of sorrow, but pure joy.
No one noticed, but at the same time, Kenneth’s pendant began to emit a faint light.
Frennila and Werhe quietly watched the emotional reunion from the side.
…
“…Grandfather.”
It was an unfamiliar word, but I mustered the courage to call him.
“Why did you call me?”
Argin, too, found the term unfamiliar, but he couldn’t hide the smile on his face as he responded warmly.
There were many things I wanted to say, but there was a priority.
A message from Agnes, my mother.
“Tell Grandfather. That my death and Mother’s death were not their fault. That the tribe falling into chaos and civil war was all due to the schemes of the worshippers.”
Suddenly, memories from previous cycles surfaced in my mind.
In every cycle, the Shield Tribe had remained at odds with the other tribes until the end.
The reason, as my mother had said, must have been the civil war.
“I have a message from my mother.”
“…From Agnes?”
Could it be the words she left before her death?
Whatever it was, the words that came from his grandson’s mouth were about the event that had been eating away at his mind—the truth behind the incident.
“Father, Mother’s and my deaths were not their fault. The tribe falling into chaos and civil war was all due to the schemes of the worshippers.”
“…I thought as much.”
Argin closed his eyes.
After organizing his thoughts, he opened them again and continued calmly.
“Would you like to hear the story?”
*
The Northern Great Plains.
A world where simple people who love nature and peace raise horses and herd livestock.
The six tribes united under the name Saka, each with slightly different cultures and ways of life, but they maintained a close and harmonious relationship based on their shared roots.
“Agnes, it’s your turn to be ‘it’ this time!”
“You won’t catch me, neener neener!”
“If you get caught, I won’t let you off easy!”
The successors who would lead each tribe gathered in one place to bond.
“Hahaha, seeing my old friends again makes the wine taste even better.”
“Samarat, you’re still a heavy drinker, huh? How many bottles are you going to down?”
“My wife nags me so much at home that I can’t live without a drink in my mouth. It’s only natural that I’ve built up a tolerance, right?”
“Oh, sister-in-law. Hello.”
“What, what?”
“Just kidding.”
“You little…”
The chieftains sparred, drank, and continued to interact.
…Occasionally, when the jokes went too far, wine bottles would fly toward each other’s faces.
Today was no different.
Just as a wine bottle was about to fly and the atmosphere was heating up, a girl who seemed to suit the title of “young lady” entered the tent and stood before Argin, the chieftain of the Shield Tribe.
“Father, drink in moderation!”
“Haha, my daughter’s here? Your father’s just in a good mood today. Just one more, just one more.”
“No. Mother told you to come back early in the morning. If you’re too drunk to wake up, I’m the one who gets scolded! Be prepared for every extra drink you take.”
The girl then lifted a large shield.
Sigh, surely she wouldn’t actually swing the shield at her father, right?
With that thought, he had taken one more drink and woke up the next morning with a big bump on his head.
I guess there’s no helping it.
With a sigh, Argin got up from his seat to prepare to leave.
“Agnes has become quite the lady. Already taking care of her foolish father.”
“Who’s foolish?! …By the way, didn’t you have a daughter recently too? Have you decided on a name?”
“Well, I’ve been thinking about it, but I haven’t decided yet. Hmm, Erina? Arisa? Erka? Which one do you think is good?”
“They’re all pretty names. If I had to choose, the last one feels the most fitting.”
Erka, meaning “rose” in the tribal language.
A beautiful but sharp flower.
Since the child would likely walk the path of the sword in the future, there was no more fitting name.
“Then I’ll head back to the tent first.”
“Take care!”
It was unimaginable that they, who had been so close, would one day point their blades at each other in hatred and shed blood.
Until that day came.
The next morning.
After finishing the schedule of the exchange meeting, Argin and his daughter headed for the capital of the Shield Tribe, Arsaces.
As he grabbed the reins of his horse and tried to leave the venue, he noticed his daughter observing the sky with an ominous look in her eyes.
‘Is something wrong?’
Agnes, his intelligent and beautiful daughter.
She had inherited the blood of the Shield Tribe, but also the blood of the Staff Tribe.
Ah, thankfully, his spouse, a woman of the Staff Tribe.
Thanks to that, his daughter had also inherited the mysterious power of the staff, and occasionally read the flow of the stars and cast divinations.
Of course, since her blood was only half, the divinations were only accurate about half the time.
“Is something wrong?”
“…Father.”
Following his daughter’s gaze, he looked up at the sky.
…Being ignorant of constellations, he couldn’t make anything out.
“It’s nothing. Shall we get going?”
Following his daughter, who smiled as if it were nothing, Argin also mounted his horse and began to ride.
“Let’s go!”
That day, the air felt unusually cold.
*
“I knew I wasn’t mistaken.”
A small shrine located in a corner of Arsaces.
In this place, built to observe the sky in place of the main house, Aya and Agnes looked up at the sky with unease.
The constellations were ominous.
The first-magnitude stars, which should have been shining brightly, were flickering and losing their light.
It could have been a natural process of stellar extinction, but it could also have been a sign of an unfortunate future.
In that uncertain future, mere creatures like themselves would inevitably be swept away.
“Why the long faces? My dear, my daughter, don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”
Looking at the two uneasy women, Argin thumped his chest and spoke confidently.
A shield, literally a tool to protect someone.
Unlike other tribes that used weapons as their symbols, Argin had always been proud that the symbol of his tribe was a shield.
A shield is specialized for protecting rather than harming.
Who would dare harm my women?
No matter what enemy appears, I will block them with this shield.
“My dear.”
“Father.”
Though usually playful, he was always a reliable warrior in times of crisis.
Seeing his serious expression, the two women let go of some of their unease and returned to their daily lives.
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