I don't want to be a heroic spirit

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

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

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

However, even the gods have appeared... I'm afraid it would be a very scary thing.

However, this village is very nice and everyone in it is very nice.

Because the village chief, Qianhua's father, used a powerful method to keep the monsters out of the village.

Well, Dad is really awesome.

Qianhua couldn't help but think with some pride.

Everything seemed to be the same as usual... except that the atmosphere in the village was always uncomfortable.

People who cry, people who are in pain.

Someone who makes Qianhua feel familiar, and someone who makes Qianhua feel strange.

Those who force themselves to smile are those who become aware.

There seemed to be more people in the village, but also seemed to be fewer people.

Her father, the father that made her proud, the father that was called a hero by the whole village, smiled less and less.

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

Ah... Is Dad worried about something?

But, if I don’t tell Qianhua… then it’s probably a problem that Qianhua can’t help with.

Qianhua is very young, but she is inexplicably sharp in some aspects.

Until...one day.

Qianhua was happy that her father seemed to have made a decision.

Because Dad is 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... Qianhua thought so.

Even if Qianhua doesn't know what decision her father has made, she will 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," and "monster" from her father and others, but Qianhua could not understand what they meant.

But it doesn't matter, because she believes that her father will do everything well and will 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.

Monsters were coming like an endless tide, and there was also a huge monster in the sky.

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

Qianhua searched through the scarce vocabulary in her brain, but in the end she could only come up with these few adjectives.

So, Dad... the warrior uncle... and the God... have been fighting those monsters all along?

The sky and the ocean were a sickening blood-red. Even from a long distance away, one could still hear the monster's roars, and the blood in the body turned cold.

And then... nothing happened.

Qianhua didn't know what was happening, and couldn't describe the scene that was happening in front of her.

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

When she found out about this, she had just woken up from a coma.

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

That day, everyone in the village was very surprised.

Some laughed, some cried, some were silent, and some celebrated.

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

Because the unpleasant atmosphere that had always permeated the village disappeared.

The village truly became peaceful.

Just like the warm sunshine, just like the calm sea.

Oh yes, some things have changed.

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

If Miss Moon is alone, will she feel lonely?

For example, outside the village, her parents repeatedly warned her not to go too far away, because they heard that there were many monsters surrounding the village.

So scary...

However, the village seems to be guarded by my father, so no monsters from outside can get in.

Dad is really awesome.

Then... then...

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

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

People began to stop reminiscing about the past and stopped looking forward to the future.

Because the flowers no longer grow, because the birds no longer sing, because the stars no longer shine, because winter no longer comes.

The village seemed to be changing, yet nothing was changing.

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

A stone was thrown into the lake, which had been silent for too long, causing turbid waves to ripple.

Someone went missing in the village, and everyone in the village began to feel uneasy, and my father began to worry.

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

Sister Serika and brother Shinbei disappeared on the night they confessed their feelings to each other.

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

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

"Everyone just went outside, and we will see each other again one day in the future."

That's what her father told her.

The future...ah.

What a strange and lovely word.

Like the 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 tell me something very important.

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

"You must remain yourself and must not change... Even if I, your Uncle Jian, and everyone else in the village were gone, and you were the only one left in the village... you must not change and must live the same life as before."

"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, only what you should do, and don't worry about anything else!"

Everyone... is gone?

Only... Qianhua is left?

"Everyone's gone... Does that mean everyone's gone out?"

I believe in my father and I want to get the answer from him.

"So... why did everyone go out? And only Qianhua was left here..."

"Don't think too much."

Daddy’s hands are so big, bigger than mine... and mommy’s hands. When he strokes my head, it feels so heavy... and safe.

"If possible, we'd also like to stay by Qianhua's side... After all, Qianhua is so adorable, surely everyone would love her? But... someone must stay in this village. Neither I nor your Uncle Jian can protect ourselves anymore... There's nothing we can do. Facing the [Abrasion] that even the gods fear, our human souls are too fragile, like rocks beneath the waves... But you're different, Qianhua. You possess a pure soul that even [Abrasion] can hardly leave a mark on."

Qianhua didn't understand. What her father said at that time was too difficult to understand.

But... but...

There seemed to be one thing Qianhua could vaguely understand...

"If... Qianhua does what Daddy asked, then... Qianhua... can be considered to have helped Daddy? Can Qianhua... become a good child?"

At that time, after I said this...what kind of expression did my father have?

Dad was stunned for a moment, then he bit his lips tightly, tears began to glisten in his eyes. After blinking, he tried to force a smile, but failed the first time. After closing his eyes and taking two deep breaths, he managed a very reluctant smile and spoke with a sob.

"Well... Chika helped Dad... a lot..."

is it?

A wish that was born at who knows when and has lasted for who knows how long... this wish to help her father... can Qianhua finally realize it?

That’s great…

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

"Perhaps... one day in the future, the messenger of the gods will come to this world and destroy all the monsters here."

The messenger of God?

Remembering a picture book I had read before, I suddenly asked my father.

"Is it... an angel?"

This is what my father answered at that time.

"An angel...? Perhaps, it really is an angel..."

…………

Qianhua had a dream.

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

In the dream, she spent an unimaginably long time, a time so long that it would drive people crazy.

In her dream, she watched the old grandfather who loved to tell her stories leave, watched the children of her age who often came to play with her leave, watched Uncle Jian who looked scary but was actually very gentle to get along with leave, watched her beloved father and mother leave, watched everyone in the village leave one by one... and finally she was left alone.

"Thousand flowers... Thousand flowers..."

The gentle voice that rang in her ears, like the wind blowing through the grass in the woods, made Qianhua open her eyes hazily.

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

"Dad...Mom..."

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

A bunch of braids passed over her shoulders and fell to her chest, and Qianhua's mother had a kind and gentle smile on her face.

Qianhua stretched out her hand and held her mother's hand, which was as soft as jade.

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

After mom... Qianhua looked at her dad 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 release the results, anticipation and fear are mixed in equal proportions in his heart.

"Have I... fulfilled my promise to Dad? 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 boy that makes us most proud."