Rising of the Shield Hero Re-Rise

"I'm going out!"

"Make sure you are back for lunch!"

"Okay!"

The weather is amazing today!

After I said bye to my parents I headed for the town square. Keel and the

others were waiting for me there.

"Hey, you really came!"

"Sure."

Keel wiggled his little dog-like ears while he waited for me.

The other kids were already there.

"They said we can't go to the ocean today because Sadeena isn't here. I

said it would be fine, but still…"

"But Keel, you almost drowned last time."

"Oh shut up! Anyway, let's play in the fields today."

"Okay!"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"All right, let's go! You'd better stick with me so you don't get lost!"

"Who do you think you're talking to? I'm a fast runner!"

We all raced each other out to the fields. But really, I was a fast runner. I was probably just as fast as Keel, and everyone said that he was the fastest.

Once I started running, everyone fell into line behind me.

"You really are fast!"

"If you throw your arms out ahead of you and think about running

faster, you'll really increase your speed."

I was trying to tell one of the slower kids how to run fast, and as we

were talking about it we arrived at the field.

My parents had said that we needed to be careful because there were

monsters, but we had never run into any real danger.

"What do you want to do today?"

"Ah shoot! I lost. I swear that I'll beat you next time!"

Keel shot me a nasty look.

Heh, heh. This was going to be a good day.

"Let's play tag!"

"Sounds good!"

"Yeah!"

Everyone agreed with my plan.

"I'll be it! I'm going to catch you!"

"You won't catch me!"

Keel really hated to lose, but that was one of the best things about him.

"Ahahaha!"

"Shoot! Wait up!"

Keel seemed like he was actually upset. He only chased after me. Eventually we all tired out, and we all decided to take a break.

"What should we do next?"

"Everyone can still play, right?"

"I don't have to help out at home, so I can still play."

For whatever reason, there were times when everyone had stuff they had

to do at home. I helped my mom cook.

"Let's play tag again!"

"But I'm so tired. Let me catch my breath."

Keel had way too much energy. I guess boys are like that.

"Whatever. Then the rest of us will play without you."

"Yeah!"

All the boys got up and went to play tag.

"They sure are energetic."

"I know!"

The girl next to me, Rifana, agreed with me. We both sat and watched

the boys play.

"Hey, who do you like?"

"Hmmm…"

We were all close to the age where we started to care about love and

relationships. We started talking about who was dating who, and who we thought

would get married. Before long we were both talking excitedly.

"Maybe someone like my dad!"

"That's cheating! He needs to be the same age as you!"

"Hmm…"

I turned to watch the boys playing.

Keel was probably the coolest boy among them. He had a good face.

But, and I know I shouldn't say things like this, I'd never liked the look of

my own face in the mirror.

If we went to the nearby town there were a lot of cute girls around, and

the older we got the more obvious their beauty became.

And my race wasn't highly regarded for our beauty…

But my dad was cool, and he was handsome. I wanted to be like my dad.

Everyone said that my mom was cute. She was really nice too, and she

knew how to cook…

I wonder… Will I be pretty when I grow up? I'd asked my mom that

question before.

She smiled and nodded.

So I was pretty sure I'd be pretty once I grew up.

Another time, I asked her what it was like to fall in love with a man. Is it

different from loving your family?

She looked confused.

I guess she loved men differently from the way she loved me.

"I think there are different ways to like people. My mom once said that

she liked people differently from the way she liked me."

"Yeah! I get that. But I want to marry someone like… someone like the

Legendary Shield Hero!"

Rifana was my best friend from the village. She was more girly than I

was, and she liked to talk about love and boys. She especially liked to talk about the Records of the Four Holy Weapons, because it said that the Shield Hero was nice to demi-humans.

"Well I…"

But just then…

Up until that point I had never thought that my life would consist of anything other than a succession of peaceful days. I had really believed it.

Ping!

A loud sound echoed over the fields

Just as I started to wonder what it could be, the air started shaking, and a

sudden and powerful wind blew.

"Ah!"

"Kyaaah!"

"What the?"