The Destruction of Trash Village and Emi-chan's Departure

Fenoben Village.

The village where I was born.

The village where my biological father lived.

The village my biological mother abandoned.

The village that threw me away.

The village I threw away.

A village like trash.

Now, there is no sign of any living soul there.

The crude houses built of wood have been smashed, leaving no trace of their original form.

The fields have been completely trampled, beyond recognition.

The trees that had been planted like street-side greenery have been snapped off at the roots.

Loitering in the ruins of the village in place of the vanished residents are wolves, probably larger than adults.

There are more than 20 of them.

In the village square, a winged lizard larger than a house...... I wonder if that's what they call a dragon? That thing is sleeping there as if it owns the place.

When I look up at the sky, the silhouettes of several abnormally large birds are wheeling overhead.

The village...... had been occupied by monsters.

What happened to the villagers?

There was no need to even ask such a question.

That thing a wolf has in its jaws, swinging it around and tearing it apart for fun.

I don't really want to see it, but my enhanced vision dutifully shows me exactly what's happening there.

Ah, that's Uncle Rand.

<Emi!!!>

That thing lying on the ground further back, too.

That thing being devoured by a wolf right next to it.

That one over there, and that one over here.

<Emi! Please listen to me!!!>

Every single one of them was a familiar face.

<EMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!>

......Omake-sama?

<Emi, for now, let's just get away from here. It would be best to flee downwind. Keep 【Presence Concealment】 active at all times, and escape in the direction exactly behind you. Without making a sound, and carefully.>

......Got it.

I began to walk, my steps unsteady.

◇ ◇ ◇

<Emi, let's take a break soon.>

......When Omake-sama spoke to me, I snapped back to my senses to find the sky filled with shining stars.

It seems I'd been walking along in a daze the whole time.

Where am I?

Right now, I'm in a grassland I've never seen before.

Because I was fleeing for my life, I'm completely lost.

......But, well, whatever.

Both the village and the forest, I've got nowhere to go back to anyway.

If I get thirsty, I'll just produce water with magic, and if I get hungry, I'll just eat bugs.

As long as I can keep out of sight of dangerous creatures, I should be able to live anywhere.

I spot a big tree nearby, so for now I climb it to use as a bed.

Before I used the Kariva Great Tree as a base, I used to sleep on tree branches like this, so I'm used to it.

I climb a bit, lean back against a branch large enough for several adults to lie on, and just as I take a breath, a wave of sudden fatigue hits me.

I can't put any strength into my limbs anymore.

They're shaking uncontrollably.

I can tell that my magic power is on the verge of depletion.

<......You must be exhausted, Emi.>

Yeah, I'm exhausted, Omake-sama.

I'm so tired, so incredibly tired that my body won't move at all, yet my mind is strangely sharp and I can't sleep.

I think about this and that, all sorts of things.

......I wonder what those monsters were.

<......Probably, though I am speculating,>

Omake-sama begins to explain.

<An ‘event’ has occurred.>

An event......?

<In other words, the story the Holy Goddess Laintorlie is writing has moved forward. The village was in a terrible state...... but young Torch, the hero, is most likely safe. The hero's village is attacked by powerful monsters and destroyed. The hero vows revenge on the monsters, grows stronger, and sets out on a journey to defeat the Demon Lord, the ringleader of evil.>

Eh? Eh? Then, you're saying the one who destroyed that village was the Holy Goddess?

<The ones who destroyed it were the monsters. More specifically, likely the Demon Lord's Army. Those monsters were probably summoned by that girl called Caro, who was acting suspiciously. The Holy Goddess simply wrote the scenario.>

I mean, even if you say she simply wrote the scenario? A lot of people died, okay?

Does a god who's supposedly “holy” actually let that happen?

<No matter how many people die, their souls simply return to the cycle of reincarnation. The total amount of souls does not change.>

Ah......

Omake-sama said something like that before.

So for the gods of this world, people living or dying just isn't that big a deal?

......Guess not.

A god with ethics like “cherish life!” wouldn't be bidding on souls harvested from Earth at an auction in the first place.

“............Haah.”

A sigh had slipped out before I knew it.

Even though it's summer, the night wind is cold; it strokes my cheek once, then sets the leaves going kasakoso.

The village was destroyed.

......I'm not particularly sad.

They're the people who bullied me and kicked me out of the village, so I couldn't care less what happens to them.

So if you asked me whether I feel better now that they're dead, whether I'm happy...... not really.

Apparently, my psyche isn't rotten enough to be happy about people dying.

However, I was simply shocked.

That village had its own kind of everyday life.

There were the villagers' livelihoods, built up day after day.

And that was destroyed in an instant.

The monsters trampled it, and now only rubble and corpses remain.

Things that had been there until now were senselessly snatched away, gone in a heartbeat.

That was unbearably shocking.

“......Me, I,”

I find myself talking to myself.

“Me, I. Don't want to end up, like that.”

<Emi?>

“I don't want to be broken. I don't want things taken from me. ......I don't want to be, killed.”

I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm scared.

There was something in that place so senseless it made the thieves who stole my home seem like nothing.

What if that senseless force had turned its spearhead toward me?

......I don't even want to imagine it.

I was fine when facing the thieves, but now my body is shaking......

<......Emi.>

......Omake-sama?

Suddenly, the night wind stopped.

I felt a warmth, as if I were being hugged by something.

<It's okay, Emi. There is nothing to fear.>

......But, even if you say that......

After facing the thieves and seeing the monsters that took over the village, I get it now.

I am weak.

Sure, a 5-year-old who can live alone in the forest is tougher than anyone in my previous life could have imagined.

But I was getting cocky......

By this world's standards, Naso Forest really was a nice lukewarm bath, huh......

If I were pushed into a situation with no escape, I probably couldn't even beat those thieves.

And I have to survive alone from here on out?

In this world where such terrifying monsters roam?

There's no way, there's no way I can do that......!

My body is still shaking.

Before my eyes, a starry sky stretches on forever, so beautiful it's frightening.

I feel as if my already small body has become even smaller.

But.

<......Emi, didn't I tell you before? You are not alone. I'm right here with you!>

As I trembled, Omake-sama said it with a little giggle.

<So you're weak? Well, obviously! What's a mere 5-year-old even talking about~!>

She keeps talking to me brightly, probably working hard to sound carefree.

<......If you're weak, you just have to become strong.>

Omake-sama......

<Leave it to me. After all, I am the most die-hard Isekai Reincarnation Broadcast fan there is! With the knowledge I've gained from broadcasts! It would be no exaggeration to say that even pushing you up to the strongest in the world isn't impossible!>

......No no no, what are you talking about?

That's a HUGE exaggeration! A HUGE exaggeration!

<Fufufu, believe me, Emi. Isekai Reincarnation Broadcasts...... that is where you will find all the information you need to become strong!>

Surely not all of it!?

<Now that it's come to this, strike while the iron is hot! Training starts immediately! First, 10,000 push-ups! In the Muscle God's Isekai Reincarnation Broadcast, the protagonist's training started right here! Now, Emi! Lie face down and imagine your body stretching out in a straight line......>

Calm down, Omake-samaaaaaaa!

You're dancing to its tune! You're dancing to the information's tune!!

There's no way a human without a blessing can suddenly do 10,000 push-ups!!

And a Muscle God, really? So there's yet another god out there whose personality sounds way too intense!?

<He is a man who trained and trained his muscles until he became a god.>

Fine! I didn't ask! I didn't ask for the Muscle God's background!!

<He is a buff male god with a shaved head and chiseled features.>

I didn't ask about his physical features eitheeeeeeeeeeeeer!!

The night deepens as I chat with Omake-sama.

Wrapped in a mysterious warmth, I'd stopped shaking before I knew it.

And that is what happened on the day Emi the vagrant, age 5, left her hometown.