Chapter 2: Dreams and Daily Days
The roosters crowed just as the sky began to lighten from black to deep blue. I'd woken up before them as usual, sitting on the edge of my straw mattress with my eyes closed—trying to focus on the faint emerald glow I could feel pulsing in my chest. The Meteor Dragon lacrima had been quiet since that day it fully awakened in my mind, but even small attempts to call on its power left me breathless.
I held out my hand, concentrating hard. A tiny gust of wind twisted around my fingers for just a second before fading away completely. I let out a sigh—my reserves were still far too weak for anything more than these little tricks. Even with the power sleeping inside me, I was still just a seven-year-old boy.
"Ram! You're up already!"
I turned to see Erza poking her head through the cottage doorway, her red hair a wild mess from sleep. She was six now—still a year younger than me—and she clutched a woven basket to her chest with both hands, a wide smile on her face.
"I brought breakfast!" she said, stepping inside and setting the basket on our small wooden table. "Aunt Carla gave it to me because I helped her bake bread yesterday afternoon—we made so many loaves, even Old Henrik bought three!"
I chuckled, ruffling her hair gently like I always did. "Haha, you really are a hard worker, aren't you, little one?"
"Of course I am!" she pouted playfully, swatting my hand away. "If we work hard, we'll never go hungry—even if I'm a year younger than you!"
"Alright, alright, you win." I pulled out her favorite wooden stool so she could reach the table, then lifted the cloth covering the basket. Steam rose from two bowls of thick vegetable stew and slices of warm, crusty bread. I took a bite and felt my eyes widen. "Ehm… this is delicious!"
"Right? Aunt Carla said it's her special recipe for helping hands!"
As we ate, I couldn't help glancing at her—watching how she handled the heavy ceramic bowl like it weighed nothing, how she tore through the crusty bread with ease despite her small hands. Even now, there was something different about her strength. As expected of one of the protagonists, I thought to myself. Even at six, she's already physically stronger than most kids her age—while I'm just average, powers or no powers.
After breakfast, we headed down to the stream just outside the village. Erza had brought two water skins and a small basket—she'd heard from the village healer that the blackberry bushes by the water were starting to ripen, and we'd promised to pick some for the younger kids back at the cottage.
"I'll race you!" I called out, darting ahead of her.
"No fair—you're older!" she laughed, chasing after me. But even as I ran with all my might, she caught up to me within minutes, her legs strong and steady while I was already gasping for breath. When we reached the stream, I had to lean over with my hands on my knees to catch my breath, but she was already looking for the berry bushes.
Each water skin was heavy when full—so heavy that I could barely lift one without straining my arms. Erza slung both over her shoulder without so much as a wince, adjusting them like they were made of feathers. I can barely carry half of what she can, I thought with a small grin. My dragon powers don't help much when it comes to plain old strength.
"Look!" she said, pointing to a cluster of dark purple berries hidden under green leaves. "They're perfect!"
She picked them with gentle precision, placing each one carefully in the basket. I tried to help, but kept dropping berries or picking ones that weren't ripe yet. When I reached for a high branch, I had to jump three times just to brush it with my fingertips—while Erza simply stretched up and plucked the berries easily.
"Ram!" she scolded lightly, swatting my hand away as I tried to sneak a berry. "We need enough to share with everyone! Save some for later!"
"Alright, alright!" I held up my hands in surrender. Then I remembered the little trick I'd been practicing. "Hey, want to see something? I've been working on this for weeks."
I held out my hand and focused with everything I had, channeling just a sliver of the Meteor Dragon's power. A weak gust of wind swirled around my palm—just strong enough to lift three small berries from the bush before I had to stop, my head spinning slightly from the effort. Erza's eyes went wide with wonder.
"Wow! How did you do that?"
"Just… practice," I said with a grin, trying not to show how tired it made me. "Want to try jumping from rock to rock? I bet I can make it all the way across without getting wet!"
Erza's face lit up—she loved any chance to test her balance and strength. We spent the next ten minutes taking turns leaping between the flat stones that dotted the stream. I made it halfway before slipping and landing with my feet in the cold water, while Erza took her time and crossed the whole stream without a single misstep. When she landed on the largest rock in the middle, it didn't even shift under her weight—something I'd tried and failed to do just last week.
"See?" she said proudly, stepping onto the far bank with dry feet. "Tobias says patience is just as important as speed when you're training."
When we returned to the village, we stopped by Aunt Carla's bakery to drop off some berries for her. The warm smell of cinnamon and fresh bread wrapped around us as we stepped inside, and the older woman smiled when she saw us.
"There you two are! Erza, would you help me knead the morning dough? Ram, you can start washing the mixing bowls—they've been waiting since yesterday."
Erza nodded eagerly and climbed onto the small stool she used to reach the counter. The dough was heavy and stiff—even after mixing for five minutes, I could barely make it move when I'd tried last time. But Erza worked it with surprising ease, her small hands pressing and folding like she'd been doing it for years. Aunt Carla watched her with a look of amazement.
"Goodness, child—you have the strength of a girl twice your age!" Aunt Carla said, shaking her head in wonder.
I leaned against the counter, scrubbing bowls as hard as I could—but my arms started to ache after just a few minutes. Even with dragon slayer magic inside me, I thought, I still get tired just like everyone else. I'm not special in the ways that matter day to day—not like Erza.
"Erza dear," Aunt Carla said after a while, wiping flour from her apron, "you've been helping me here for months now. What do you want to be when you're all grown up?"
Erza paused, her hands still moving as she thought. She looked up with that serious expression I knew so well.
"I want to be strong enough to protect everyone in the village," she said firmly. "You, Tobias, the kids at the cottage, Simon and Kagura's family… you're all my family. I won't let anything happen to any of you."
Aunt Carla's face softened as she ruffled Erza's hair. "What a wonderful heart you have, little one."
I leaned forward, grinning despite my tired arms. "So that means I'm part of your family too?"
"Of course," Erza said without looking up, though a small smile curved her lips. "We've been best friends since I was four and you were five—we look after each other, always."
Once we'd finished helping at the bakery, we had time to play before our daily training with Old Man Tobias. We met up with Simon—eight now and already the strongest boy in the village—and his five-year-old sister Kagura, who was sitting on the well curb drawing pictures in the dirt with a stick.
The four of us played hide-and-seek in the village square until Tobias called us over with a wave. The old man led us to the training clearing on the edge of town, where wooden practice posts stood in neat rows and a soft patch of grass was used for falls and rolls.
Tobias taught us basic defensive stances that day, walking each child through the movements slowly and carefully. Erza focused harder than anyone else, repeating each stance over and over until her feet were planted just right and her arms were held perfectly straight. When Tobias had us hold a low stance for as long as we could, Simon lasted thirty seconds, I made it to twenty-five before my legs gave out, but Erza held on for nearly two full minutes before finally standing up—her legs steady, no sign of shaking.
As expected, I thought to myself with a small smile. She's just naturally strong, while I have to work twice as hard for half the result—even with magic. Protagonists really are built different, and that's okay.
When training ended, we sat under the big oak tree that grew at the edge of the clearing, sharing the extra bread Aunt Carla had given us. I'd barely eaten half my piece before my eyes started to droop—I was exhausted from all the work and the little bit of magic I'd used earlier.
"Erza," I said between bites, breaking off a piece for Kagura, "you said you want to protect everyone—but what's the dream you have just for you? Something you'd do even if there was nothing to protect us from?"
She thought for a long moment, staring up at the clouds drifting across the blue sky. After a while, she spoke in a soft but steady voice.
"Maybe… maybe I want to be a Wizard Queen," she said. "Someone so strong and kind that people everywhere feel safe. A queen who makes sure no child ever has to be alone like we were when we were little."
My eyes went wide with amazement. "A Wizard Queen! That's so cool—you'd be the best queen ever!"
"What about you, Ram?" Simon asked, stretching out on his back in the grass. "What do you want to do when you're grown up?"
I sat up straight and struck a dramatic pose, making Kagura giggle—even though it made my tired muscles ache. "I want to marry two beautiful and strong women!"
Simon burst out laughing, while Erza scowled and punched my arm lightly.
"Pervert! Why two? Isn't one enough?"
"Of course not!" I laughed, rubbing my arm. "After all—I want one in both hands!"
"Pervert!" Erza repeated, her cheeks turning pink as she looked away.
"Hey, there's nothing wrong with dreaming big!" I protested.
"Then why not dream of a hundred wives?" Simon joked, sitting up to punch my shoulder in return.
"Nope," I said, my voice turning serious for a moment. "I want to love whoever I choose with everything I have. I don't think I could give more than two people all the care and attention they'd deserve. Two is enough for me."
Erza studied me for a moment, then let out a soft huff. "Playboy."
I leaned forward with a mischievous grin. "Well then—how about you be one of them? Become my wife when we're older?"
Erza's face flushed bright red, and she scrambled to her feet so fast she nearly knocked over our basket of berries.
"Him—pervert! In your wildest dreams!"
"So that's a no?"
"Who said no?!" she stammered, her usual poise completely gone as she fumbled with her basket.
"Does that mean you accept?!"
"NO!" she yelled, then turned and ran toward the village as fast as her legs would carry her.
"Hey! Wait up!" I called after her, laughing as I jumped to my feet—but I only made it a few steps before I had to stop and catch my breath. Even when I'm not using magic, I thought with a grin, I can't keep up with her. But that's okay—we don't have to be the same to be good friends.
The rest of our day moved as it always did. We helped Old Henrik mend the fence around his vegetable garden—when it came time to lift a heavy wooden post that even Henrik struggled to move, Erza stepped forward and lifted it clean off the ground with barely any effort. The old man's eyes went wide as saucers.
"Where in the world did you get that strength, young lady?" he asked, shaking his head in disbelief.
I just smiled to myself and kept hammering in the smaller stakes—they were heavy enough for me to handle, and I took pride in making sure each one was straight and secure. I might not be strong like Erza, I thought, and my magic might be weak right now—but I can still help however I can.
Later, we joined a group of kids to help the village healer gather mint and chamomile in the woods, with Kagura carefully pointing out each plant her mother had taught her to recognize. I took my time, making sure to only pick what we needed and not damage any of the plants—my patience was one thing I had more of than most kids my age.
As the sun began to set, painting the sky orange and pink, the villagers gathered in the square where large pots of stew were bubbling over open fires. Erza sat beside me on a wooden bench, her face calm and content as she listened to Tobias tell stories of distant kingdoms where mages could do incredible things with magic. I leaned my head back against the bench, feeling tired but happy.
Every so often she'd glance at me and roll her eyes when I made silly faces at her—but I could see the small smile she tried to hide. I felt the Meteor Dragon lacrima pulse gently in my chest, its energy quiet and steady—not pushing me to be more than I was, just waiting patiently for me to grow strong enough to use it properly. These were simple days, following our familiar rhythm, filled with work and friendship and dreams that stretched as far as the horizon. And even though I knew one day I'd have to train hard to unlock my true potential, for now, I was happy just being Ram—Erza's best friend in Rosemary Village, doing my best to keep up with her one step at a time.