New chapter of May Our Village be Happy is out (1/1 chapter)

 

 

Mika’s Dream

(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)

I had always wished to become master of one castle and one land. Even if it were small, I longed for a castle of which I would be lord, and for a society I could rule as both sovereign and protector.

The beginning of this dream was a children’s book I had read in my youth. Within that story, which depicted a gentle king ruling over a small kingdom, there was a world of happiness. The king, together with his retainers, protected the peace of his realm and strove to enrich the kingdom further. The people, in turn, respected and loved their king.

I, too, wished to become such a king. And so, whenever I was asked as a child about my dream for the future, I would always answer without fail, “A king”.

That dream, though shifting somewhat in form, never changed at its core. Even as I grew older, I continued to read and watch works of fantasy or history, forever yearning to be king, noble, or in any case, master of one castle and one land.

To dwell in a castle, to rule over a society, to labor for the prosperity of that society and the happiness of its people, to be rewarded with the reverence of the people, and to leave one’s name to posterity as a great ruler. My admiration for such a life never diminished; indeed, my dream only grew greater.

Thus, while at first I was regarded as a child with a rich imagination, in time I was thought of as “unique,” and eventually came to be seen as “a somewhat worrying fellow.”
Though I continued to bear this dream even after being certified a weirdo, there was, alas, no way to realize it in modern Japan. I thought constantly about whether I might at least find some similar position, but nothing felt quite right. To become a politician, to become a company president, even to live in a mansion like a castle after some great success. All of these were, in some decisive way, different.

I had been born in the wrong era. I had been born into the wrong world. With such a sense of estrangement I lived on for decades, until, struck by sudden accident, I faced the end of life. As consciousness faded, I prayed:

If there is to be a next life, then may I be born into a world where I might fulfill this dream.

 

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“Then, Nii-sama, I am most grateful for all your care until now.” (Mika)

In the northeastern part of the Dariander region stood the castle of the Carossa Household, which held three villages. Before its gates, Mika spoke thus.

“Enough of your punctilious farewells. Be off already. My obligation is fulfilled. Do not come back.” (Brother)

Mika bowed deeply, while the man he had called Nii-sama answered with a scowl. Though treated with open disdain, Mika did not grow angry.

The former lord of the Carossa Household, their father, had in his later years sired a child with a village woman. That child was Mika. Thus, the man Mika called Nii-sama, the present head of the house, was in truth his half-brother.

Born into such misfortune, Mika lost his mother to illness shortly after birth, and when his father passed away at six years of age, the rest of the family treated him openly as a burden.

Yet Mika bore no grudge against his half-brother nor against the family. Though they despised him, still they gave him decent food, clothing, and shelter, if only for the sake of blood ties. For that, Mika felt genuine gratitude.

All the same, it was clear his life would not improve if he remained there. Thus, on his sixteenth birthday, he resolved to depart of his own will, and informed his half-brother, the present head of the house. Today was that very day, his sixteenth birthday.

“Ah, and here is travel money for the time being. Think of it also as severance. Do not expect much. We are but petty lords, and life is not so easy.” (Brother)

So, saying, his half-brother held out a small pouch. Mika received it with both hands. The hard clink of coins striking one another and the weight in his palms told him there was a fair amount within.

“Well, well… together with a full set of traveling gear, even journey money bestowed. Such generous provision. I offer you renewed thanks.” (Mika)

“That affected way of speaking has always annoyed me. Now, off with you, off with you. Live well enough, at least. May the blessings of the Gods be upon you.” (Brother)

“Yes, farewell. And upon the Carossa Household, too, may the great blessings of the Gods abide.” (Mika)

His brother was a man of considerable faith, and perhaps for that reason had raised Mika with the bare minimum of decency, even sending him off properly at the end. And since his brother had at least prayed for his future happiness, Mika, too, returned words of prayer with formal grace. Then he departed at last from his birthplace, never to return.

 

—

 

“At last, I am free! At last, I can rush forward toward my dream!” (Mika)

Leaving Carossa lands behind and proceeding south along a rough road, Mika spoke with a face filled with delight. The sky, blue and clear, seemed to bless his departure; the summer air was warmly gentle.

Today was not merely the day he left home. It was the day his journey began, the journey to fulfill the dream he had held since birth, no, even before birth.

Though yet unspoken to any, Mika possessed memories of a previous life. Memories of living in twenty-first-century Japan while dreaming of becoming master of one castle and one land, and of dying with that dream unfulfilled.

When first reborn into this utterly different world, he naturally felt confusion. Yet, as he came to know the stage of his second life, that confusion turned into joy.

This world resembled medieval Europe of his former life. And yet, there existed strange beings called monsters, and mysterious, rare powers called magic. It was without doubt another world.

In the Dariander region where Mika was born, there was no king. Rather, lords both great and small, chieftains one might say in his former world, ruled over their respective lands. From great lords commanding tens of thousands of people, to petty lords ruling but a single village, hundreds, even thousands of houses each governed their domains, sometimes clashing, sometimes allying. Indeed, when Mika was small, the Carossa Household had formed a league with neighboring lords to wage war against an outside domain.

Thus, in these times, some houses perished while others rose anew. There were even those who became lords starting as wanderers.

In other words, if he managed well, he too could become a lord. He could become master of one castle and one land. Until now, he had endured being the outcast of his house, waiting for his body to grow, learning letters, reading books, and studying society. But now, at last, he could advance toward his dream.

His brother had forbidden him from bearing the Carossa name, and so he was now a wanderer, alone in the world. The travel money he had been given would last a month or two at most. As yet, he had no connection to magic. Beyond the knowledge and intellect of his former life, he had no weapons. He might, rather than rise to lordship, just as well die nameless by the roadside.

Even so, there was a chance to fulfill his dream. With effort, he might one day possess a castle and a domain. That alone was joy beyond measure. Compared with his previous life, this world, though undeveloped and cruel, was also wondrous indeed.

Through a land of forest, hills, and plains, Mika advanced in high spirits.

 

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