It had already been three days since I ran away from home.
As I continued to wander through the mountains,
"...Did a monster sweep through here?"
I stumbled upon a clearing that looked as if something had torn through it in a frenzy.
The earth had been gouged and upturned by something sharp, and the wreckage of buildings lay scattered, still smoldering in the ruins.
And then—
"..."
—I saw a blonde girl, staring blankly at the devastation while tears streamed down her face.
I walked over to her.
"Does it taste all right?"
"Yeah..."
I handed her a sandwich made from a few vegetables and some jerky I'd found rolling around in my backpack, and she began to eat slowly.
"What's your name?"
"Aiz... Aiz Wallenstein..."
"I'm Bellf."
Since I was a runaway, I figured it was best to leave the Crozzo part out of my introduction.
"How old are you?"
"Six..."
We were only a year apart.
"Your parents?"
"...They're dead."
"I'm sorry..."
"..."
As Aiz gazed at the ruins with hollow eyes, I could see a flicker of revenge and hatred simmering within her.
"What... am I supposed to do now?"
"Well... do you want revenge?"
"Yeah..."
"Then it'd be best to go to Orario. If you've got the talent, you can become strong there."
Orario was home to countless gods.
They bestowed a blessing known as Falna, which allowed them to draw out and enhance a person's innate talents.
"Is Bellf going to Orario too?"
"Yeah. I was on my way there right now."
Though, in reality, I was wandering in circles because I had no idea how to read a map.
"Are you going too?"
"Yeah... I want to get stronger..."
"Then, do you want to come with me?"
"...Yeah."
And just like that, I found myself with a temporary companion.
"Heh-heh! Hey, brat! Hand over everything you've got!"
Fortunately, I had found a proper mountain path, making the trek much easier than before, when a bandit wearing a headscarf suddenly leaped out.
"Hmm..."
He was several centimeters taller than the average adult man, and the kukri knife in his hand was heavily stained with blood.
"Aiz. Duck."
"Okay."
I pulled out a tool I had crafted specifically for situations like this.
I produced a short dagger—one with a dull edge that couldn't even cut a piece of paper—and then—
"Stella—!!!"
—I hurled it straight at the bandit.
The burly bandit twisted his torso to dodge, but—
"Ghk!?"
The dagger slammed into the ground, triggering a massive explosion that caught the bandit dead-on.
He collapsed instantly.
"Good thing it didn't start a forest fire."
"Bellf. Was that... a magic sword?"
"Yeah. I've got a few more."
Since my ultimate goal was to create an unbreakable magic sword, I had mass-produced several prototypes to better understand their mechanics. Aside from the one I just threw, I had about ten more with me.